Chapter 50: Ticking Time

When Yi Chen and Feng Yu arrived at the dining hall, the servants were in the middle of laying the plates.

"While the table’s being arranged, come with me, you two, I have something to show you," Zheng Ru said while smiling meaningfully towards Feng Yu.

A confused expression formed on both Feng Yu and Yi Chen’s faces at this action.

They momentarily glanced towards each other, and seeing the clueless expressions on each other’s faces, they followed after him.

They were soon brought inside the main hall, where several packed items and wooden carts were stacked.

"This..." Feng Yu’s eyes couldn’t help but widen at this view.

"These are all the items I prepared with the help of servants. There are several packets of your favourite snacks. Beside it are the sweets which you love a lot.

That’s a box containing all the available stocks of the perfume you like. The one over there contains all the cosmetic items that you may need.

Oh, and this one contains several pieces of cloth material you find comfortable..."

Zheng Ru began introducing one item after another to his daughter, not wanting to miss even a single one.

He had been preparing for all this since the afternoon to ensure that Feng Yu would be able to adjust well in the new place.

Seeing the enormous amount of effort, Yi Chen was at a loss for words.

Meanwhile, Feng Yu, who kept listening to her introducing one item after another, found her eyes becoming moister and moister.

Finally unable to control herself, she rushed towards her father and hugged him tightly from behind.

"Thank you...Father," she managed to mutter tearfully and submerged her face in that reliable back.

"Haha!"

Zheng Ru chuckled warmly when he felt his daughter’s delicate arms around his chest.

Turning around, he pulled her into his embrace and affectionately rubbed the top of her head as if she were the same eight-year-old kid from years ago.

"Silly girl, this is the least I should be doing as your father since you’re leaving me," Zheng Ru smiled comfortingly.

Knowing that this really would be the last time she would be seeing her father, tears kept trickling down her face.

A while later, he asked while releasing his arms around her.

"I prepared a lot more than I had anticipated...you’ll be able to take them with you, right?"

He asked with the intention of distracting her from the grief.

"Y-Yes, the subspace of that pendant can carry all of this easily," Feng Yu answered while glancing towards all the items.

She was referring to the pendant Elder Jing carried with her.

"That’s good. Then I can rest assured," Zheng Ru said and gestured towards the door.

"Let’s go and eat then. I’m starving. It must be the same for you as well, right Chen’er?"

He asked Yi Chen, who was standing near the door all this time.

"Well...I would be lying if I said I’m not," Yi Chen answered with a wry smile while rubbing his stomach.

His action brought out a soft chuckle from Feng Yu, who was now in a much better mood.

"Mhmm, let’s go," she answered with a subtle smile on her lips.

Seeing her amused response, both Zheng Ru and Yi Chen felt elated, and the three of them soon made their way towards the dining hall.

This time as well, all the dishes that were prepared were to Feng Yu’s liking and the three of them ate until they couldn’t.

After the plates were taken away, Zheng Ru muttered with a sigh.

"If your mother were still here, she would be so glad to see that you’ve grown up so much."

"She would also be surprised to see that you’ve started talking so emotionally," Feng Yu replied with a smile.

"Hah!" Zheng Ru exhaled in amusement and said while laughing, "That’s true hahaha!"

Although Yi Chen didn’t know much about Feng Yu’s mother, he didn’t ask any questions at the moment.

He only nodded from the side and smiled, seeing their reaction.

This was a precious moment for the two of them, and he didn’t want to sully it with his questions.

Memories of the past kept being exchanged across the dining table, and at times Yi Chen too couldn’t hold himself back and burst into a fit of laughter.

Unknowingly, it was soon half past eleven. If not for Elder Jing’s sudden arrival, they would not have even realised this.

"Greetings to the Empress and her family," Elder Jing bowed towards them from the room’s entrance.

"Mhm, get up," Feng Yu acknowledged and asked, "How much time do we have?"

"Approximately, an incense stick’s time," Elder Jing responded deferentially.

"Alright," Feng Yu nodded at her words and said, "There will be many items placed in the main hall, place them all inside your pendant and wait for me in the outer garden."

"Yes, Empress," Elder Jing answered and soon took her leave.

Feng Yu then glanced at her father and Yi Chen. A yearning feeling welled up inside her as she said with a forced smile, "We really talked a lot, didn’t we? I didn’t even realise so much time had passed,"

"That’s true..." Yi Chen responded from the side, but Zheng Ru was too taken aback by the sudden turn of events to respond properly.

"Father?" Feng Yu called out, seeing him blank out.

"Oh? Yes haha! I was just a little surprised by how quickly the time passed," Zheng Ru responded with a laugh and asked.

His eyes suddenly widened in realisation, and he stood up from his seat.

"There’s a present I had prepared for you. It’s in my room, so let me get it for you."

With that said, Zheng Ru bolted out of the hall.

When Feng Yu glanced towards Yi Chen, he raised his shoulders, implying he didn’t have any idea as to what it was.

While waiting, Yi Chen randomly asked, "So what are your plans once you arrive there?"

"I’ll first survey the condition of the sect, meet other elders to understand the latest happenings in the realm, before finally devoting myself to cultivation, as I have yet to recover my full cultivation base,"

"I see,"

Hearing her organised thoughts, Yi Chen was quite impressed. He also noted down in his mind what he had inferred from her words that just breaching the [Heaven Ascension Stage] wasn’t enough, and there were many more stages above it.

For the next few minutes, he kept asking a few titbits of questions about the higher realm until Zheng Ru arrived.

He brought with him an item wrapped in a white silk cloth.