Cultivating Immortality, Starting from Childhood Sweethearts-Chapter 380 - Take a Walk Together?

“Your Majesty.”

The maid, Xiao Lan, entered the Dragon Empress’s chambers and bowed.

“How did it go?”

From the grand bed, the Dragon Empress’s voice drifted out.

Xiao Lan replied, “Reporting to Your Majesty, Young Master Xu attempted to bribe this servant with another first-grade magical artifact, hoping to probe Your Majesty’s true intentions.”

“Hmm.” The Dragon Empress acknowledged, unsurprised. “And how did you respond?”

Xiao Lan answered, “I told him that Your Majesty appointed him as the Qiju Lang because the Observatory foresaw something. In the coming great catastrophe, Young Master Xu will be of great importance to the North Sea Dragon Palace, and it is also a means to maintain good relations with the Wu Kingdom.”

The Dragon Empress nodded. “And how did he react?”

A slight smirk appeared on Xiao Lan’s lips. “Young Master Xu... more or less believed it.”

The Dragon Empress yawned. “Good. You did well this time. You may leave.”

Xiao Lan, however, remained standing, her eyes shifting as if she had something more to say.

The Dragon Empress’s voice cooled. “Is there something else?”

Xiao Lan nodded hesitantly. “Your Majesty, is Young Master Xu truly the one you’ve been seeking?”

In an instant, the Dragon Empress’s voice turned ice-cold. “And what does that have to do with you?”

Xiao Lan immediately knelt. “This servant has overstepped!”

Through the bed curtains, the Dragon Empress’s pale blue eyes glanced at the maid who had served her for four thousand years. “I know what you’re thinking. This time, I’ll spare you. There won’t be a next time.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Xiao Lan kowtowed, sweat beading on her forehead despite her cultivation at the Jade Purity Realm. The sheer pressure of the Dragon Empress’s presence made it difficult for her to breathe.

“Leave now.”

The Dragon Empress turned onto her side, her serpentine figure draping elegantly over the bed, curves flowing like a divine sculpture.

“This servant takes her leave.” Xiao Lan bowed once more before rising and retreating.

“Wait.”

Just as Xiao Lan had taken a few steps, the Dragon Empress spoke again.

“Your Majesty?” Xiao Lan turned back.

“Show me the first-grade magical artifact he bribed you with.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Xiao Lan retrieved the Liu Li Ming Guang Lamp from her storage pouch.

Under an unseen force, the lamp floated past the curtains into the Dragon Empress’s grasp.

“Go to the treasury and claim a half-immortal weapon for yourself.” The Dragon Empress’s voice carried softly.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Xiao Lan nodded and withdrew.

Although she had exchanged a first-grade artifact for a half-immortal weapon, she cared little for such things—she had no shortage of treasures.

As she stepped out of the palace, Xiao Lan glanced back at the tightly shut doors of her sovereign’s chambers and sighed.

Read 𝓁at𝙚st chapters at ƒrēenovelkiss.com Only.

Her Majesty had clung to this obsession for ten thousand years. Even if she had finally found him this time, so what? After all these cycles of reincarnation, could he still be the same person he once was?

Inside the chamber, the Dragon Empress turned onto her back.

Even in repose, her form remained stunning, as if two towering peaks stretched beneath her silk robes.

She held the Liu Li Ming Guang Lamp in her slender, elegant fingers, its translucent surface illuminated by the glow of the night pearls, gleaming like white jade.

—

Back in his own courtyard, Xu Ming carefully replayed Xiao Lan’s words in his mind.

Truth be told, something still felt... off.

Yet the reasoning given was sound—there was no flaw he could easily point out.

Besides, given his current status and cultivation level, he had little to offer. Apart from future potential, he was, in all honesty, a man of no real worth to someone like the Dragon Empress.

What could she possibly want from him?

“I should ask Master Gui about it first—see what exactly is so dangerous about the North Sea Abyss, then make my own judgment. If it really seems impossible, I’ll just deal with my business in the Western Regions first, and when I return, I can spend a few years as the Qiju Lang in the North Sea Dragon Palace. It’s not like I’d be losing anything anyway.”

Xu Ming reasoned with himself, thinking this was the best course of action for now.

He left his courtyard and headed for Master Gui’s residence.

But when he arrived, he found that Master Gui wasn’t home—he had made the trip for nothing.

The steward there told him to check the brothel, as that was where his master had gone. But Xu Ming couldn’t possibly do that. Going to a brothel to find someone? That would just be ruining the man’s good time.

“I should’ve asked Miss Xiao Lan earlier,” Xu Ming thought with some regret.

If he had asked her then, he wouldn’t have had to go through the trouble of bringing gifts or running around like this.

But at the time, his mind had been entirely occupied with thoughts of the Dragon Empress. It hadn’t even crossed his mind.

With nothing else to do, Xu Ming wandered through the Dragon Capital for a while, stopping at a street stall to have a few drinks.

If he had friends to drink with, he welcomed the company. But if he was alone, drinking by himself wasn’t bad either.

When he drank alone, his thoughts would wander in all directions. He might not always reach a conclusion, but by the time the drinks were finished, he would at least feel lighter.

Before he knew it, night had fallen over the North Sea Dragon Capital. Feeling he’d had enough, Xu Ming paid his tab, dispersed the lingering scent of alcohol from his body, and made his way back toward the palace.

A small regret lingered in his heart—being in the Dragon Capital, he couldn’t allow himself to get drunk.

Sometimes, losing oneself in a night of heavy drinking could be quite a relief.

As he entered the Dragon Palace and walked toward his courtyard, he happened to pass by Zhu Cici’s residence.

At that moment, her door suddenly opened.

Zhu Cici stepped out.

Their eyes met, and both stopped in their tracks.

She was the first to avert her gaze, lowering her head slightly. Her long eyelashes trembled, and her fingers gently intertwined—a delicate, bashful posture that made a faint sense of guilt rise in Xu Ming’s heart.

“Good evening,” he said, breaking the somewhat awkward yet subtly intimate silence between them.

“Mm...”

Zhu Cici nodded.

“Good evening.”

As if gathering her courage, she lifted her gaze to look at him. “Did you go out?”

Xu Ming didn’t hide it. “I had a few drinks outside.”

“By yourself?” she asked, blinking.

Xu Ming chuckled and replied in a teasing tone, “Brother Yu and the others have been avoiding me lately. They wouldn’t go drinking with me.”

“Why?” Zhu Cici’s eyes flickered with curiosity.

“Because...” Xu Ming started, but midway through his sentence, his voice trailed off. In the end, he simply shook his head. “It’s nothing.”

Zhu Cici’s cheeks tinged with pink—she had already guessed the reason.

Most likely... it was because of her.

Xu Ming changed the subject. “Is Miss Zhu heading out?”

“No, I just felt like taking a walk,” she replied.

Xu Ming thought for a moment. “If Miss Zhu doesn’t mind, shall we walk together?”