The beauty in the white dress didn't reply. Instead, as if sensing something, she turned towards the doorway and saw Ning Fa standing frozen in place.
An expression of surprise flickered across her delicate face, and a hint of an unidentifiable emotion flashed in her beautiful eyes.
The man in white beside her noticed the woman's abnormality and also saw Ning Fa. A half-smile played on his narrow eyes, though a hint of coldness lingered within them.
"It really is a narrow road for enemies. I didn't expect to run into that 'green tea' so soon."
"Tsk tsk, she's truly like a fairy descended to earth. Compared to her, those ancient beauties from my past life are completely outshone. No wonder she could bewitch the original Ning Fa into a daze. Even after having their engagement broken, he still dreamed of becoming a family alchemist so she would change her mind."
Ning Fa snapped back to reality, marveling inwardly.
He recognized both people before him, and their relationship was quite significant.
This beauty in the white dress was Liu Qinghui, the childhood sweetheart of the original Ning Fa, who had been a complete fool.
She hailed from the Liu Family, a minor family that was affiliated with the Ning Family. Her father and Ning Fa's father were close friends, and the two families often interacted.
So, it was no exaggeration to say they were childhood sweethearts. When Ning Fa was ten, Liu Qinghui's father proactively proposed an engagement between Ning Fa and Liu Qinghui, which Ning Fa's father readily accepted.
However, after Ning Fa's defective Lightning Spiritual Root was confirmed, the family abandoned him.
Liu Qinghui, on the other hand, displayed rare alchemical talent and officially became a formal alchemist of the Ning Family at a very young age.
Under these circumstances, Liu Qinghui's father unhesitatingly broke off her engagement with Ning Fa.
Ning Fa clearly remembered that his father's face turned ashen and he spat out a mouthful of blood when he received the letter of broken engagement.
Although his father was furious, he had to swallow this immense humiliation because Liu Qinghui's exceptional alchemical talent was highly valued by the family.
The original Ning Fa was struck as if by five bolts of lightning, suffering an unprecedented blow. He fell gravely ill and only recovered after several months.
Subsequently, the original Ning Fa became fixated on learning alchemy, aspiring to become a formal alchemist of the family. The fundamental reason for this was Liu Qinghui.
Therefore, seeing her now, even the current Ning Fa felt an instinctive sense of humiliation and anger.
Ning Fa narrowed his eyes as he looked at her, thinking to himself, "Don't worry, my dear brother. I will repay the humiliation you suffered a hundredfold."
"Ning Fa, I didn't expect to meet you again after only three days," the man in white said to Ning Fa with a smile, his words carrying a deeper meaning.
Ning Fa looked at the man, his eyebrows involuntarily rising.
He recognized this person too. His name was Ning Ruiming, and he hailed from the Yuan Chang Island lineage, now one of the eight major direct branches of the family.
Although their lineage had no Foundation Establishment cultivators, they had secured the top two positions in the last direct disciple competition, becoming one of the family's direct branches.
Ning Fa's lineage and Ning Ruiming's lineage had a significant feud. The ancestors of their two branches had been hostile towards each other since the founding of the Ning Family.
When Ning Fa's ancestors produced a Foundation Establishment cultivator, they had made Ning Ruiming's lineage suffer greatly. However, the development of the two branches now was like the difference between heaven and earth.
In the previous family direct disciple competition, Ning Ruiming's father had defeated Ning Fa's father to secure a spot in the top two, earning a direct disciple position.
According to Ning Fa, there were some hidden circumstances behind this, but his father remained tight-lipped about it, unwilling to elaborate.
Now, Ning Ruiming's branch had not only become a direct branch of the family, but Ning Ruiming's father had also become the Tenth Elder of the family.
Ning Ruiming had also entered the family's Alchemy Hall early on, receiving abundant resources for alchemy. He was now a mid-grade Rank 1 Alchemist of the family, being groomed as the Ning Family's chief alchemist.
During the family alchemist assessment a few days prior, Ning Ruiming and Liu Qinghui were both present and had personally witnessed Ning Fa's failed assessment.
Therefore, Ning Ruiming's current statement was essentially a mockery of Ning Fa's failure in the family alchemist assessment three days ago.
These memories flashed through Ning Fa's mind. Facing Ning Ruiming's taunt, Ning Fa remained unfazed.
He simply gave the man a smiling glance and walked directly to the counter to purchase spiritual materials for the Essence Replenishing Pill, bargaining with the shop assistant as if no one else were there.
In the end, he bought fourteen sets of spiritual materials for the Essence Replenishing Pill for 140 spirit stones and spent three spirit stones on twenty Grain Abstinence Pills.
Then, Ning Fa left without a backward glance at the two of them.
Only after Ning Fa departed did Liu Qinghui's gaze withdraw. A hint of confusion appeared in her misty eyes.
Ning Ruiming also frowned. He felt that Ning Fa seemed a bit unusual today. In the past, Ning Fa wouldn't have remained so calm when encountering him and Liu Qinghui.
"Ning Fa just bought materials for Essence Replenishing Pills. It looks like he hasn't given up, but no matter how many times he tries, the result will be the same. Moreover, he has no time left; his bet with the Fifth Elder is about to take effect," Ning Ruiming said with a smile.
Liu Qinghui glanced at him faintly and said softly, "That's not necessarily true. There's still a month left. Perhaps a miracle will happen."
Upon hearing this, a look of disdain flashed in Ning Ruiming's eyes. But then, as if thinking of something, a cold smile touched his lips, and he said faintly, "Yes, perhaps a miracle will happen."
Then, with a normal expression, he said to Liu Qinghui, "Qinghui, let's go too, otherwise, we'll be late for Tianshui Market."
Liu Qinghui remained silent for a moment before softly nodding. She and Ning Ruiming also left the place.