Cultivating Immortality, Starting from Childhood Sweethearts - Chapter 386

“What’s going on?”

Xu Ming frowned as he gazed at the strange sight in the distance, a vague sense of unease creeping into his heart.

That waterspout not far away gave him a particularly ominous feeling.

Yet, the other residents of the Coral Sea seemed completely oblivious to the unusual phenomenon in the sky. They carried on as usual, enjoying the picturesque scenery of this underwater garden.

Xu Ming quickened his pace toward the source of the disturbance.

Upon arriving, he found himself standing before… a lake.

A lake? Under the sea?

Xu Ming was momentarily at a loss for words.

Was this truly an underwater world? He speculated that this lake was likely an artificial creation—perhaps a gift from the Dragon Empress to accommodate her old lover’s preferences.

By the lakeside, a number of people were fishing, while vendors busily sold fishing rods and bait.

In other words… was this the legendary “fishing for one’s own kind”?

Above the lake, droplets of dense literary fortune dripped steadily into the water, creating gentle ripples on the surface.

Of course, those ripples were invisible to everyone but Xu Ming.

He then noticed a dragonkin angler reeling in a fish, skillfully rebaiting his hook, and then adding a few drops of a strange blue liquid onto the bait before casting it back into the lake.

At first, Xu Ming didn’t think much of it. Many fishermen had their own secret bait formulas—nothing unusual about that.

But when the hook entered the water, Xu Ming saw something intriguing.

Threads of spiritual energy intertwined with the literary fortune, condensing into a single line that extended from the lake straight to the fishing rod.

“Now, this is interesting,” Xu Ming muttered to himself.

He had no idea what the dragonkin was trying to do, but such covert actions were rarely associated with good intentions.

Beyond the dragonkin aristocrats, Xu Ming also noticed some familiar figures—Zhu Cici and the others.

That was unexpected. He hadn’t thought he’d run into them here.

At that moment, Yu Wenxi, who had been fishing, spotted Xu Ming approaching.

“Brother Xu!” Yu Wenxi called out in greeting.

Xu Ming smiled and nodded, stepping forward.

Hearing Yu Wenxi’s voice, Zhu Cici’s delicate frame trembled slightly. She lifted her gaze toward Xu Ming, her heartbeat quickening.

A soft blush spread across her cheeks, making her look like a young girl experiencing her first love—shy and flustered after confessing her feelings, now wanting to avoid the person she liked yet unable to look away.

The dragonkin nobles also noticed Xu Ming’s arrival but didn’t pay him much attention.

“You all seem to be quite at leisure, fishing here,” Xu Ming remarked with a smile.

“Haha!” Fang Yu chuckled. “The dragonkin here are having a little competition with us.”

“Oh? A competition?” Xu Ming raised an eyebrow.

Chen Kun nodded. “Some visitors from other sea territories are joining us, and we’re seeing who can catch the most and rarest fish. The loser has to treat everyone to drinks and a meal.”

“I see,” Xu Ming said, glancing at the dragonkin princes and princesses before turning back to Chen Kun. “That does sound fun. I’m feeling a bit tempted myself—would I be allowed to join?”

“Of course!” Yu Wenxi grinned. “Brother Xu, please!”

“Alright then, I guess I’ll have to put my skills to the test,” Xu Ming said jokingly before heading over to a nearby vendor to purchase a fishing rod and some bait.

As he scanned the lakeside, deciding where to sit, Zhu Cici instinctively tightened her grip on her fishing rod, her heartbeat racing.

Will he sit next to me?

But in the end, Zhu Cici watched with her own eyes as Xu Ming took a seat beside Princess Ao Yin’er of the Eastern Sea.

Ao Yin’er herself was momentarily stunned. She hadn’t expected this man to choose to sit next to her.

Though surprised, she couldn’t help but feel a bit put off—was this man interested in her? That would be rather disappointing.

However, when she glanced over at Zhu Cici and another cousin, a flicker of smugness flashed in her eyes.

When a man chooses to sit beside one woman among several, it’s undeniably a boost to that woman’s pride.

And right now, that was exactly how Ao Yin’er felt.

“So what if she’s ranked in the top ten of the Beauty List? In the end, he still chose to sit by my side. Clearly, this princess is the more attractive one.”

Zhu Cici pursed her lips lightly, a hint of disappointment flickering in her gaze.

Ling Bisheng noticed her expression, and his heart ached a little more.

Seeing Zhu Cici like this, how could he not realize that she hadn’t completely moved on? Deep down, she still cared about Xu Ming.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Ling Bisheng reassured himself. “It’s only been a day. How could she just let go so easily? Cici still has feelings for Xu Ming, but with time, she’ll get over it. I still have a chance!”

With that thought, he felt significantly better.

Meanwhile, Yu Wenxi and Miao Feng were completely speechless.

They weren’t particularly interested in Zhu Cici, knowing full well she would never like them. What they cared about was Xu Ming himself.

“Brother Xu, what are you thinking? It’s one thing not to sit next to Cici, but you actually chose to sit beside another girl? Are you trying to piss off our academy’s Cici on purpose? You totally deserve to be single!”

…Then again, now that we think about it, Brother Xu isn’t single at all. In fact, he has plenty of admirers. And those admirers… they’re all ranked in the top ten of the Beauty List…”

Ao Jin, sitting nearby, introduced himself with a friendly smile.

“Ao Jin of the Eastern Sea. This is my sister, Ao Yin’er.”

Xu Ming nodded slightly. “A pleasure to meet you both. My surname is Xu, given name Ming. I hail from the Wu Kingdom.”

“You’re Xu Ming?” Ao Yin’er looked at him in surprise.

In that instant, the man, who already seemed quite decent-looking to her, suddenly appeared even more handsome in her eyes. Her earlier sense of pride grew even stronger.

After all, being admired by an outstanding man was an entirely different feeling compared to being pursued by someone ordinary.

“You’ve heard of me?” Xu Ming asked with a polite smile.

Seeing his refined and elegant demeanor, Ao Yin’er’s cheeks flushed slightly.

“Of course,” she replied. “I’ve read your poetry, and with your high ranking on the Qingyun List, your name is well-known.”

“Just an empty reputation,” Xu Ming said humbly.

Then, without further conversation, he skillfully baited his hook and cast his line in one fluid motion—his movements were impressively practiced.

His hook landed not far from Ao Jin’s.