Chapter 27: Miss Cheng, Serene as Water

After lunch, Xiao Yao made his way to the courtyard, reclining on a lounge chair beneath the shade of the trees. He appeared to be resting with his eyes closed, yet in truth, he was fusing with Pan Wu’s memories.

Ever since acquiring the Foundation of the Sacred Soul, he had already integrated Pan Wu’s memories in their entirety. Every recollection of Pan Wu’s was now indistinguishable from his own, and with a mere thought, any fragment of memory—regardless of its nature—could be effortlessly assimilated into his mind.

Such was the marvel of the Foundation of the Sacred Soul!

For an ordinary soul, such an immense volume of memory would be utterly unbearable; one might be forced to forget the majority of it, or risk their mind being overwhelmed and destroyed, leaving no third possibility.

But with the Foundation of the Sacred Soul, not only had he received the vast expanse of Pan Wu’s three millennia of memories intact, he could also integrate them with remarkable ease. Any knowledge or skill Pan Wu had ever mastered, Xiao Yao could make his own simply by recalling it in detail, as though he himself had acquired it through experience.

Yet, his body was not yet in perfect harmony with the memories housed in his mind.

While he could easily grasp the intellectual aspects, those requiring only mental effort, skills that demanded coordination with the body were another matter. To translate the memories into reality, extensive practice was still necessary before his current form could perform to perfection.

Thus, to wholly inherit Pan Wu’s knowledge and skills, he needed to proceed in two steps.

The first step was to absorb the knowledge.

Though this was comparatively easy, Pan Wu’s three thousand years of memory and learning were so vast that even to revisit them all in his mind would take a considerable amount of time.

The second step was to synchronize his body with the skills he had acquired.

Compared to the first, the second step would certainly take far longer. Pan Wu’s repertoire of skills was staggering. Those requiring little physical prowess could be mastered with a bit of practice; but others, demanding great physical strength or finesse, would require prolonged training to reach the standards etched in his memories.

In recent days, Xiao Yao spent every spare moment sifting through the knowledge Pan Wu had amassed, even sacrificing much of his leisure and entertainment. Yet, despite all this time, he had barely organized even one percent of it.

For an ordinary person, suddenly becoming fabulously wealthy—possessing more money than could ever be spent—would almost certainly lead to a spree of indulgence and extravagance.

Had Xiao Yao not received Pan Wu’s knowledge and skills, he would doubtless have done the same. As a young man of the new era, without any particular ambition, he too longed to experience the thrill of wanton extravagance.

But after inheriting Pan Wu’s memories, all those wondrous skills and profound knowledge made the pleasures of squandering wealth seem utterly trivial. Rather than waste time on fleeting delights, he preferred to devote himself to truly mastering Pan Wu’s legacy.

Within the Sacred Soul Ring lay inexhaustible wealth. If he ever wished to savor the allure of money, there would be ample time for that in the future.

At last, at three in the afternoon, Xiao Yao was roused from his lounge chair by the butler. “Young Master, Mr. and Mrs. Wang Chuanjie and Miss Cheng have arrived at the gate. I will greet them now. Should I bring them to the small drawing room for your meeting?”

Xiao Yao replied, “Li Jingyi has sung endless praises of Miss Cheng, calling her the very embodiment of beauty and grace—a true lady of refinement. I am indeed curious. To show due respect, let us meet in the small drawing room.”

The last time Xiao Yao had received the Wang couple, it was in the family’s living room. The small drawing room was reserved for distinguished guests, signifying how much importance Xiao Yao attached to Miss Cheng.

While Butler Lu went to greet the guests at the door, Xiao Yao made his way to the drawing room to await them.

It was not long before Butler Lu led the three guests inside.

Mr. and Mrs. Wang were already familiar acquaintances, so Xiao Yao’s gaze naturally fell first upon Miss Cheng.

This was the era of information explosion. Although Xiao Yao had not met many beauties in person, he had seen no small number of them online—and that was to say nothing of the countless peerless women within Pan Wu’s memories.

Yet at the very moment he laid eyes on Miss Cheng, he was utterly dazzled.

By rights, Sang Qingye was also a top-tier beauty—the first true beauty Xiao Yao had ever encountered in reality. But when he first met her, he had not felt such a strong sense of awe. Sang Qingye’s features were pure and delicate; she was not astonishing at first glance, but her charm deepened the more one looked.

Cheng Mo’s beauty, on the other hand, was the kind that seized your attention in an instant, making it impossible to look away—a classical beauty that could topple cities and nations, embodying the very essence of feminine grace.

Today, Cheng Mo wore a light blue, modernized cheongsam that perfectly outlined her graceful figure. Yet it was not her form that this attire highlighted, but rather a serenity and elegance reminiscent of a lady from the Republic era.

Such composure and elegance seemed to emanate from her very bones, so intense that Xiao Yao had never before witnessed such water-like gentleness.

He had seen many beauties in cheongsam in films and television, and had once thought those actresses portrayed the image quite well. But now, seeing the aura that Cheng Mo exuded, he realized how limited his past experience had been.

There is no harm in comparison—next to Cheng Mo, even the greatest stars who had donned cheongsam in the past looked like ugly ducklings beside a swan.

As they entered the drawing room, Li Jingyi took the initiative to make introductions. “Mr. Xiao, this is Miss Cheng Mo.”

Then, turning to Cheng Mo, she said, “Miss Cheng, this is our host, Mr. Xiao Yao.”

Xiao Yao greeted her warmly. “Miss Cheng, hello. Li Jingyi’s praises for you have nearly worn my ears out. Now that we’ve met, I realize her vocabulary is far too limited. Of course, I can’t find better words myself, but I think ‘serene as water’ is the most fitting description for you.”

Miss Cheng replied with a gentle smile, “I quite agree that Li Jingyi’s vocabulary is limited. She said she would introduce me to an exceptionally handsome gentleman with a most unique presence. She used many adjectives to describe your looks and bearing—some even contradictory. At first, I wondered if her taste had become a bit peculiar. But after meeting you, I realized it’s not her vocabulary that is lacking, but that you truly are extraordinary, Mr. Xiao.”

Despite her serene, water-like grace, Miss Cheng Mo was poised and self-assured, free from affectation. She extended her hand and said with composure, “It is a pleasure to meet you, the remarkable Mr. Xiao.”