The backdrop can also be propped up.

Chapter 22 Ascension to Immortality: A Mistake

Chongxiang waved his hand and said to Xinhe, "Then you take him to eat first, and Xinping and I will chat with Mr. Wang here for a while longer."

“Yes, Master.” Xinhe bowed and turned to Nolan, saying, “Let’s go. I have already stopped eating. You can have my food.”

Nolan then looked up, his previously mournful face now beaming with a sunny smile. He followed Xinhe eagerly, finally seeing the meal he had been dreaming of.

After chatting with Wang Shounan, the head of the Wang family, Chongxiang and his apprentice Xinping brought over a plate of lotus-shaped pastries, they said that the First Madam had requested them and that they were brought over for the guests to try.

The head of the Wang family smiled and nodded, then invited Chongxiang and Xinping.

Looking at the plate of lotus-shaped pastries, Chongxiang knew it was a token of the host's appreciation, so he smiled and said, "Then I won't stand on ceremony." He then picked up a pastry and put it in his mouth.

After taking just one bite, Chongxiang's eyes widened suddenly, and he incredulously pulled the lotus flower pastry away.

After carefully examining it, Chongxiang's face lit up with surprise.

"What's wrong, Master? Why aren't you eating?" Xinping noticed that Chongxiang had suddenly stopped. At first, she thought the pastries were too sweet and her master didn't like them, but when she saw the surprised expression on her master's face, she dismissed her idea.

Chongxiang did not answer Xinping's question, but turned to Wang Shounan and said with a smile, "I wonder if the head of the family could introduce me to the person who made this pastry."

Wang Shounan, not understanding the reason, assumed that Chongxiang liked lotus flower pastries very much, so he asked with a smile, "Does Immortal Lord Chongxiang like to eat these lotus flower pastries? If you like them, I can have the cook tell you the recipe and make some for you to eat on your journey."

“No, no.” Chongxiang seemed a little excited. “I sensed the aura of spiritual beings from heaven and earth on this.”

Upon hearing this, the other two people in the room were also surprised. Xinping quickly took another bite of the pastry and chewed it carefully. He had been thinking about how many good talents he had found this time and hadn't really savored it. Now, as he tasted it carefully, he realized that in addition to the sweetness of the red bean paste, the lotus pastry also had a hint of lotus fragrance. After taking a bite, he felt more energetic and his fatigue was swept away.

"Truly, there is a divine object! It seems to be a lotus flower!" Xinping exclaimed in surprise.

Wang Shounan also took a bite of the lotus flower pastry. Apart from feeling that the pastry tasted a little better than usual, he didn't feel anything special.

Seeing that the two immortals were treating the lotus flower pastries like treasures, Wang Shounan took the initiative to say, "Since the two immortals need them, then I will call all the maids and servants in the kitchen who made this plate of lotus flower pastries so that the immortals can see them."

"No need! It seems that the lotus spirit has already recognized its master, so we must go and see for ourselves." After calming his excited mood, Chongxiang wanted to take Xinping to the kitchen to find the spiritual treasures of heaven and earth.

Seeing how much the two immortals valued this rare treasure, Wang Shounan offered to take them to the kitchen.

Back in the kitchen, Caiyue, still shaken from delivering the pastries, patted her chest and said to Caihua, "I never imagined that the pastries I was supposed to deliver to the master would actually be for an immortal! Caihua, thank goodness you caught that plate of pastries, otherwise I would definitely have been scolded for being late."

Caihua smiled without saying a word.

Just now, Caiyue accidentally tripped over a stone, and the plate of lotus flower pastries flew into the air.

Ayaka couldn't have caught the plate of pastries before, but in her haste, she tried to make it float in the air for a second or two. To her surprise, the plate of pastries actually floated up, and she was able to catch it.

Caiyue looked at the weather outside. The sky was clear and the air was fresh, perfect for going out to play. Seeing that the nannies and maids in the room were busy, she secretly said to Caihua, "Let's go out to play later. Anyway, we've finished all the work. We can come back when it's our turn to work in the afternoon."

Caihua glanced at everyone still busy in the kitchen and whispered to Caiyue, "Two immortals have come to our mansion today. They are very distinguished guests. The kitchen must be too busy for them. Let's take a walk around the kitchen. That way, it will be more convenient for us to come and go."

Caiyue thought about it and felt it made sense, so she took Caihua to the grass by the kitchen door and squatted down to watch the ants move their house.

After a while, Caihua and Caiyue saw three people walking over. Caiyue immediately recognized the three as the head of the Wang family and two immortals.

The two maids nervously stood up and bowed as the three men approached.

Wang Shounan waved his hand, signaling the two maids to stand up. As the master of the Wang family, it was most appropriate for him to ask the two maids.

Wang Shounan began, "That plate of lotus flower pastries from earlier..."

The two girls' hearts were in their throats.

"...Who did it?"

"Reporting to Master, the dough for the lotus flower pastries was made by Granny Zhang, the shaping was done by Granny Li, and the red bean paste filling was made by Sister Huamei..." Caihua didn't know why her master was asking this today, but she still tried hard to recall who made these lotus flower pastries.

"Wait a minute," Wang Shounan interrupted Caihua's list-style reply, "The demeanor of someone in the kitchen makes a difference."

Caihua and Caiyue looked up, somewhat bewildered, not understanding what Wang Shounan was talking about.

Seeing the two maids' blank expressions, Wang Shounan was wondering if he had asked the wrong question when Chongxiang looked at Caihua and asked, "Young friend, you seem to be an ordinary person, but why do you have spiritual power in your body?"

Ayaka knew they were after Xiaobai. Since the other party was an immortal, whose level was so much higher than hers, it was normal for them to recognize him at a glance.

Within the consciousness space, Lu Renkui and the system WQBYRZM were urgently discussing what to do next.

"Chongxiang is asking these questions now because he must have already sensed the existence of the Lotus Spirit, which is why he came to the kitchen specifically to look for it." The system WQBYRZM found the original description of Chongxiang. There was very little information. It could only be seen that Chongxiang was a kind old man who had helped the male protagonist Jing'an many times, but later he had his cultivation destroyed by the male protagonist Jing'an for preventing him from going to the Demon Realm.

"Jing'an is a real beast. What do we do now? How can we prevent Chongxiang from handing over the Lotus Spirit to them after he discovered it?" After complaining about Jing'an, Lu Renkui returned to the main issue.

System WQBYRZM frowned and said, "Children are always very attached to what they like, and even if Caihua is willing to give it, the Lotus Spirit is not willing to follow—it is very difficult to get a spirit to abandon its original master and recognize someone else as its master."

Outside the space of consciousness, Chongxiang bowed to Caihua and asked, "Young friend, would you be so kind as to summon that magical creature of heaven and earth? I have never seen it before, and I would like to take a look at it so that I may not have lived such a long life."

Upon hearing Chongxiang's words, both of them felt a jolt in their hearts.

“This servant…” Caihua returned the greeting, biting her lip, hesitating whether to reveal the matter of Lotus Spirit—she did not expect that she would be discovered only one day after bringing Xiaobai back.

Will they take Shiro away? Ayaka wondered anxiously.

Xiaobai was unaware of what was happening outside. All she knew was that Caihua was very nervous and uneasy. She tightly wrapped herself around Caihua's arm, using this method to tell Caihua that she was there.

Ayaka felt even more uneasy.

“Young friend, there’s no need to worry. I will not try to steal your spirit object. Once a spirit object recognizes its master, it is very difficult to change its mind.” Chongxiang could see that Caihua was unwilling, but he was not angry. Instead, he patiently spoke to Caihua, just like a kind old grandfather talking to his granddaughter. “If you are not willing, then let it be.”

Before Caihua could even think of a response, she felt Xiaobai crawling up her arm. Before she could stop it, Xiaobai poked its head out from Caihua's sleeve, baring its teeth at Chongxiang, Xinping, and Wang Shounan.

Chongxiang and Xinping's eyes lit up, and the two quickly stepped forward, wanting to take a closer look at the magical object. However, Lotus Spirit slapped each of them hard—because Lotus Spirit could sense that they were the source of her little master's unease, and she wanted to defeat everything that made her little master uneasy.

Chongxiang and Xinping were beaten, but they were not unhappy at all; on the contrary, they were even more excited.

Chongxiang, in particular, was extremely excited. If they could bring this little girl back to their sect, they would possess a rare treasure from heaven and earth. With such a treasure, other sects would no longer look down on them.

Thinking of this, Chongxiang gestured for Xinping to take out the spirit root testing stone from his person. Xinping did so, put on a kind smile, and said to the terrified Caihua, "Young friend, please relax. We have come here to recruit people for the Huaiyu Sect. I wonder if you would be willing to have your spirit root tested?"

Caihua didn't immediately put her hand on it. Instead, she first looked at Wang Shounan's expression. Only when she saw that Wang Shounan's expression was normal did she dare to put her hand on it.