Chapter 17 Chapter 17 “But, Chen Qian, I don’t love you…
Yao Ning slept very restlessly, and the past memories came into her dreams one after another. One moment it was the time when petals were falling, and she and Shen Qian met eyes across the branches, with a faint smile on his lips; the next moment it was that night when the red candles warmed the tent, and when she was infatuated, Ting Ni's cold sword pierced her chest, and Shen Qian, fully dressed, left indifferently.
Chaotic images overlapped one after another until she was suddenly awakened by the sound of a loud noise.
Sunlight came in through the window and fell on the couch.
She stretched out her hand towards the small patch of light and felt a little warmth.
Only then did she realize that her face was cold. When she touched it, she found it was covered with tears.
Yao Ning stood up expressionlessly, tidied himself up, opened the door, and met Chen Qian's gaze.
His white clothes were spotless and his whole body was radiant, which was totally out of place with the simple and gloomy dormitory.
The eaves were low, and Shen Qian, being tall, could only hunch his back slightly. He didn't know how long he had maintained this posture. When he saw Yao Ning, he subconsciously pursed his lips and stood up straighter.
Yao Ning didn't look at him and walked past him.
Chen Qian lowered his eyes in silence for a moment, then followed.
The noise came from the back hall. As soon as Yao Ning entered, he heard a servant's scream.
Several servants gathered together, with a tied-up figure in the middle. The tied-up figure was twisting wildly, and the servants couldn't hold him down. Vulgar curses came out of their mouths. Soon there was another scream, and a servant rushed out with a defeated face, about to bump into Yao Ning.
Yao Ning dodged to the side and saw that the boy's face was pale, with his bloody hand raised and half of his index finger missing.
When everyone saw Yao Ning coming, they all quietly stepped back a few steps, and the man in the middle was revealed.
He was thin, ragged, with blood on his mouth, and his peach blossom eyes were full of cruelty.
Adu.
Adu struggled a few times but couldn't break free from the rope. She crawled on the ground like a wounded and ferocious wolf cub, looking up at Yao Ning.
Yao Ning had changed back into her usual outfit, a red dress with gold jewelry, bright and vivid colors. She walked towards Adu.
Adu narrowed his eyes slightly, a flash of embarrassment passed through his eyes, and then he returned to his ferocious look.
Yao Ning squatted down and lifted Adu's chin.
Adu was seriously injured, the wound on her face was deep enough to reveal the bone, which showed the cruelty of the person who attacked her. She had been able to use the time to trap Yao Ning, but now she was tied up and unable to escape. Yao Ning thought, and poured spiritual power into her hands to explore Adu's meridians.
All the meridians were broken and all the cultivation was wasted.
Just as Yao Ning was stunned, Adu's drooping eyelashes suddenly raised up, with obvious malice in his eyes, and then he opened his mouth unexpectedly, trying to bite through Yao Ning's palm.
But she had lost her cultivation, and although her skills were enough to deal with ordinary servants in Xizhou Pavilion, they were many times slower in Yao Ning's eyes.
Yao Ning pinched Adu's chin with two fingers and removed it with a "click".
Adu roared like a trapped beast.
Yao Ning stood up, wiped his fingers, and turned to Shang Linran who was attracted by the commotion here.
"Brother, you have to repay the favor you owe me." Yao Ning gestured to Adu, "Don't kill him."
Shang sternly responded: "Okay."
He came over to check on Adu's condition, his face suddenly became serious, and he picked him up carefully.
Adu thought her death was approaching, but she didn't expect that Yao Ning didn't want her to die quickly, but wanted her to suffer while alive. The light in her eyes became more and more fierce, and filled with hatred. She looked at this elegant man sinisterly, thinking about how to bite open his throat.
Shang Linran saw the wolf cub's undisguised gaze and raised an eyebrow. His words were still gentle, with a strange soothing power: "Don't be afraid, it will stop hurting soon."
Adu was stunned.
Yao Ning dealt with Adu and then looked for Boss Chen's whereabouts.
Boss Chen is still nowhere to be seen.
She released her spiritual sense and explored every corner of Xizhou Pavilion, then frowned after retracting it.
Shen Qian, who had been silent behind him, asked, "Who is she?"
Yao Ning was upset and didn't want to pay attention to him.
She looked around Xizhou Pavilion.
Early morning has arrived, and the cries of hawkers can be heard faintly on the street. This ancient city has awakened, and is about to begin a prosperous and bustling day full of fireworks. However, it is closing time for Xizhou Pavilion. The ghosts have become silent after sunrise and are quietly dormant in the invisible shadows.
The waiter in Xizhou Pavilion is a ghost, and ghosts absorb people's yang energy.
The top performer is the leader of Taohua An, who practices the Hehuan technique to absorb the essence of men.
All the men who came at night had unsteady steps when they left.
Both the essence and yang energy were absorbed, but it was not fatal. In Yao Ning's opinion, as long as the men did not come here too often, or changed their ways and never set foot here again, and took good care of themselves, they would fully recover in a few days at the least and a few months at the most. Not only would it not harm their bodies, it would not endanger their lives.
So Yao Ning didn't intend to care.
But if these lonely souls are indeed from the demon world, and Boss Chen has connections with the demon world, Yao Ning has to find out.
Maybe Boss Chen knew about it, so he hid himself.
While I was thinking, I heard a clear and cold voice behind me: "Who is she?"
Yao Ning glanced at Chen Qian, who hesitated to speak: "You care about her? Is she a friend you know?"
Yao Ning walked back, and Chen Qian followed behind him, as if he was determined to get an answer. Yao Ning didn't want to get entangled with him, so he replied: "I don't care, she owes me money."
Chen Qian seemed relieved and stopped asking.
Yao Ning returned to his room and closed the door.
When the door was about to close, Chen Qian pressed his hand on it, and the solid wooden door frame hit the back of his hand, leaving a red mark on the snow-white skin.
The two looked at each other through the crack in the door.
Yao Ning opened the door and Chen Qian came in.
He looked around the small room, a gloomy look flashing across his eyes. "Have you been living in a place like this these days?"
Of course, the servants' room was not a good place. When Boss Chen tried to curry favor with Yao Ning, he offered to give her a more luxurious room, but Yao Ning was too lazy to move and refused.
Yao Ning smiled and said, "There's a roof here, and the walls are thick. It can keep out the wind and rain. I think it's pretty good."
She said with sarcasm, "You forgot you were born rich and noble. You've probably never seen such a humble place in your life."
Chen Qian was stunned for a moment before he remembered that Yao Ning did not grow up with him. When he first met her, it was the coldest time of the year. She was wearing thin clothes and could only hide in a pile of firewood to keep warm.
For some reason, these facts that he had never paid attention to before now caused him to feel a slight pain in his heart.
He looked at Yao Ning.
Yao Ning turned his back to him as soon as he entered the room.
It was a cold gesture of rejection.
I have the impression that Yao Ning would never be like this.
Chen Qian felt his breathing was sluggish, and a dark restlessness arose in his limbs.
Under the dim light, Chen Qian stretched out his hand, wanting to touch Yao Ning, wanting to turn her over to face him, wanting to see the undisguised love and concern on her face, wanting to see her eyes suddenly brighten when his figure fell into her eyes.
When the hand was about to touch Yao Ning, it seemed to be afraid and slowly withdrew.
Shen Qian didn't know what was wrong with him.
In the past, when Yao Ning only had eyes for him, he didn't care about these things; but now that Yao Ning turned around and no longer looked at him, he felt as if he had lost something, and his heart felt uncomfortable as if ants were gnawing.
Even though his mind was in turmoil, Shen Qian's face remained calm and indifferent.
He asked, "You knew the leader of Taohua An? Why were you two so... close back then?"
Chen Qian frowned slightly, and his mind uncontrollably recalled that scene: the man put his hand on Yao Ning's shoulder and held her in his arms.
Yao Ning finally turned around, tilted his head and looked at Chen Qian, with a shocking indifference surrounding him.
She said, "What's it to you?"
Shen Qian's lips moved.
Yao Ning continued, "We are no longer Taoist companions."
"I didn't agree."
Yao Ning gave a mocking smile: "Chen Qian, sometimes I think you take yourself too seriously."
Chen Qian stared at Yao Ning quietly. The lights were dim, casting half a shadow on her face. Although her facial features were familiar to him, they revealed an indifference that made him feel unfamiliar and frightened.
This unprecedented Yao Ning had a very different temperament from before, like a gorgeous peony with a delicate petal turned to ashes in an instant. The mixture of dead ashes and bright colors gave rise to a breathtaking and strange beauty.
The Adam's apple moved.
He looked away awkwardly.
Even Yao Ning's harsh ridicule did not cause any ripples in her confused heart.
In Yao Ning's eyes, Chen Qian was calm and composed from beginning to end, as if everything was under his control. He was always at ease and superior.
Chen Qian said, "Yao Ning, you've made enough trouble. Let's go back to Xuanqing Sect, okay? When you left, I asked Xianxian to buy Peach Blossom Wine. When we get back, I'll cook for you and make your favorite dishes. We can still be like before, isn't that good?"
Chen Qian washed his hands and cooked soup for her.
If it were in the past, Yao Ning would have found it difficult to control himself.
Today, Yao Ning looked at Chen Qian for a long time, but just smiled.
That smile was desolate and lonely, making Shen Qian's heart tighten: "Don't you want to?"
Yao Ning shook his head: "Chen Qian, do you think that if you want something, you will definitely get it."
Shen Qian was stunned.
Will he definitely get what he wants?
When he was young, he longed for the love of his father and mother, but he could only watch Chu Liangxiu acting coquettishly to her parents alone, with envy and sadness.
Later, when his parents passed away, he wanted to cultivate the great way and ascend to the upper realm, but he was never able to break free from the barriers of the heavenly way and failed again and again.
Now, what does he want?
He wanted his wife to go back with him to Xuanqing Sect, to Wendao Peak, to their home. He knew that he was not considerate enough and had neglected Yao Ning a lot in the past, but this time he would try to make up for it.
He searched for Yao Ning for a long time, but without the Mirror of Origin, how could he find a person who had hidden himself in the crowd among the countless living beings in such a vast country like Jiuzhou?
When he was at a loss, Shang Linran found him and started jokingly: "I was wondering how anyone would be willing to follow someone like you for so long. I think Yao Ning is probably..."
It was probably something, he looked up at Lin Ran in a trance, but saw that the other party suddenly stopped gloating and looked at him with a complicated expression.
So they found Yao Ning.
But Yao Ning was very close to another man.
Yao Ning said that they should each cultivate their own path and not interfere with each other.
It seemed like he never got what he wanted.
Seeing that he didn't answer, Yao Ning thought Shen Qian had acquiesced. Unspeakable anger welled up in her heart: "Why did you come to me? Why did you kiss me in public? Why did you keep pestering me even though I said we were done with each other from now on?"
Every time Yao Ning asked a question, he took a step forward, and Chen Qian was forced to retreat step by step until his back hit the door.
Yao Ning laughed sarcastically: "It's because I feel that as long as you wave, I will definitely turn back; as long as you beg, I will definitely not refuse; as long as you show me the slightest favor, I will be unable to control myself."
Every word pierced his heart, exposing his past humility and weakness to the public and drying them in the sunlight. Yao Ning asked him softly, "Is that so? Immortal Master Chen."
Chen Qian wanted to deny it, but he couldn't.
Although the ending of their only kiss was not happy, he remembered that Yao Ning liked it at the beginning.
Since she loves him, he has coaxed her and kissed her, so why doesn't she want to come back?
Yao Ning was very close to him, and he could kiss her again by just turning his head.
For some reason, Chen Qian felt a little panicked. He didn't want to listen to Yao Ning say these words anymore. He was afraid that if he said some words, the rift between them would collapse into an abyss.
Yao Ning whispered slowly and firmly in his ear, "But, Chen Qian, I don't love you anymore."
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