Chapter 16: A Pledge of Love

Bai Xiaoli asked me, “My father said you were the one who broke off the engagement. Is that true?”
I was startled; I hadn’t expected this girl to think so much about it. I didn’t deny the fact that I had ended the engagement.
Bai Xiaoli looked disappointed, her voice trembling on the verge of tears. “Why did you break it off? Is it because I’m too ugly, or do you already like someone else?”
I hurriedly shook my head. “No, it’s not that at all. Xiaoli, you’re wonderful, and I really like you.” I didn’t tell her the real reason but instead changed the subject, saying, “Xiaoli, look at the times we live in now. Shouldn’t we date like people do these days? I want to court you properly, to have a romantic love affair with you.”
She laughed, bright as a flower blooming in the rain. “What smooth talk!” Her mood lightened in an instant, and she grinned, “Alright!”
Seeing her spirits lifted, I began to ask Bai Xiaoli about my grandfather. Pi Sansha had told me before that only by marrying Bai Xiaoli could I obtain clues to the Prosperity, so Bai Xiaoli must know something about it.
But when I asked her about the Prosperity, Bai Xiaoli looked completely bewildered, as if she knew nothing.
She didn’t seem to be lying, and that made me even more confused. Bai Xiaoli didn’t know anything about the Prosperity, so even if I married her, where would I get the clues?
Moreover, there was something else that struck me as odd. Bai Xiaoli had never met me before, yet her feelings for me were incredibly genuine—not something that could be faked. So I asked her why she was so determined to marry me even though she had never met me.
Bai Xiaoli couldn’t really explain it herself. She said it seemed as if she’d seen me somewhere when she was little, and that we’d grown up together. Ever since then, she felt she belonged to me. But she also insisted she’d never left Crossing River City; maybe it was fate from a previous life.
To be honest, I’ve never believed in the so-called fate from a past life. Even if people reincarnate, everything starts anew—how could there be so many coincidences?
As I pondered this, I saw the headlights of a car in the distance approaching the riverbank, speeding toward us.

It was probably Bai Xiaoli’s father. Not wanting to run into Bai Ranhe, I took off the pocket watch my grandfather had left me and handed it to Bai Xiaoli. “Xiaoli, this was left to me by my grandfather. Now I’m giving it to you. Please take good care of it.”
She held the pocket watch, beaming at me. “Is this a token of our love?”
I said it was, then gave her the address of where I was staying, telling her she could come visit anytime. After that, I jumped into the water.
“Hey!” Bai Xiaoli called out, a little worried, as I headed for the riverbank.
I smiled at her, waved goodbye, and didn’t actually leave, but submerged myself to observe what was happening on shore.
The distant lights grew brighter, and soon three or four luxury cars raced up to the river mouth. More than a dozen people jumped out—it was Bai Ranhe and his group.
At this moment, Bai Ranhe’s face was pale with anxiety. Another person shared his concern: Chen Yetian.
It seemed the city’s top geomancer truly cared about Bai Xiaoli.
In stark contrast was the middle-aged woman behind them, dressed in designer clothes, elegant and dignified. Though she jogged behind Bai Ranhe, her face showed little worry.
When Bai Ranhe and the others spotted Bai Xiaoli on the shore, their anxious faces finally relaxed. Especially Chen Yetian—his expression was as if he’d been given a new lease on life.
Strange. Even if Chen Yetian truly wanted Bai Xiaoli as his granddaughter-in-law, his reaction seemed overly dramatic.
“Xiaoli, are you alright? And what about the infant spirit?” Chen Yetian hurriedly shielded Bai Xiaoli, gazing out at the muddy Yellow River ahead.

Bai Xiaoli shook her head. “I don’t know. I only remember being dragged into the water by the infant spirit, and when I woke up I was already on the shore.” She really didn’t know anything, because the moment the infant spirit pulled her under, she lost consciousness. She only regained her senses when I performed CPR on her.
Chen Yetian took out a handful of white glutinous rice from his pocket and scattered it over the river. The rice sank instantly, without creating a ripple.
Seeing this, Chen Yetian finally said, “That infant spirit is gone.”
“Hurry, get her a clean set of clothes,” Bai Ranhe instructed the woman behind him, who led Bai Xiaoli to a waiting car, presumably to change.
So that woman was Bai Xiaoli’s mother?
Hearing Bai Ranhe’s words, I was surprised. Normally, a parent whose daughter had been in danger would be frantic. Yet this woman only asked Bai Xiaoli a few perfunctory questions about whether she was cold, and even took her to change clothes with deliberate calm.
After Bai Xiaoli changed into clean clothes, she returned to the riverbank. She’d dried herself off, her short hair neat and fresh, like a lotus rising from the water—a different kind of beauty.
“Zhiqiang, kneel!” As Bai Xiaoli emerged, Chen Yetian barked the order, dragging the terrified Chen Zhiqiang from behind him and forcing him to kneel.