Chapter 35
Everyone assumed that the relationship between the two female disciples of Jian Ge was very bad.
"I said that Sheng Ningyu is clearly exceptionally talented, but the Sword Master Guihai dotes on the youngest one the most... what's her name, 'Ning Jiaojiao'? I feel so sorry for Sheng Ningyu!"
"Don't tell me, those two both have the surname Ning, could they be related?"
A clear and resonant sword rang out as it was drawn from its sheath, accompanied by a cold and dazzling flash of light that seemed capable of piercing through all the darkness in the world.
As they were speaking, the man cautiously raised his eyes to try and see which sect the attacker belonged to. But when he saw who it was, his legs went weak and he almost fainted.
Who doesn't know that this immortal lord is exceptionally talented? After comprehending the Dao of the Sword, he was taught the Ninefold Sword by the Sword Master. This was the most advanced cultivation technique at the time!
Slaughtering through the entire Demon Realm is a piece of cake, so killing these two small fry would be even easier!
Just when the two men thought they were doomed, a fair and delicate hand reached out and rested on the hilt of her sword.
"There's no need to bother with them."
Before she could finish speaking, a burst of spiritual energy flashed by, and the white silk, like flowing snowflakes, emitted specks of silver light, just like the person's snow-white demeanor and emotionless tone.
"I'll do it."
The two had just breathed a sigh of relief when they heard this, and were so frightened that they knelt down on the ground with a thud.
I wanted to cry but couldn't.
Seeing this, Sheng Ningyu completely lost her temper. She pressed down on the man's hand, both amused and exasperated: "You were just advising me to think twice before acting, so why are you getting angry now?"
She waved her hand at the two cultivators below: "Let it go this time. But if I hear you speaking ill of my sect members again, it won't be a matter that can be resolved with just one sword."
The person next to him, wearing a veil, seemed to respond softly.
...
Each word, each phrase, felt like a dream.
The lingering mist that always shrouded the past has finally thinned out a bit, revealing its true nature.
Sheng Ningyu was lost in thought while holding her own spiritual bone until her right hand grasped nothing.
Sheng Ningyu suddenly woke up with a start and said angrily, "Why did you steal my pastry box?"
Xie Qianjing closed the lid: "There's no need to eat it."
Sheng Ningyu suspected that this person had seen through something again, so she didn't dare to continue the topic. Instead, she asked, "Xie Qianjing, have I taken you to a teahouse before?"
Xie Qianjing seemed to smile slightly, his gaze lingering on the spirit bone she was holding in her hand. Then he raised his eyes, his dark pupils revealing no emotion.
How much of it do you remember?
Sheng Ningyu abandoned any attempt to conceal anything, leaned back, and honestly said, "Just a little bit. I guess if I fuse with this spiritual bone, I'll remember more."
Xie Qianjing: "No rush."
Neither of them spoke again. A faint fragrance of pear blossoms filled the air, and wisps of smoke began to rise, like curtains billowing in the wind, slowly spreading through the air and enveloping every corner of the room.
Sheng Ningyu shifted to a more comfortable position, squinted her eyes, and spoke in a relaxed and carefree tone: "Back then, everyone in the Sword Pavilion knew that I had the best talent, but I wasn't Master's favorite disciple."
"It's Ning Jiao."
Life is unpredictable, and people's hearts are fickle, something Sheng Ningyu has always understood.
For example, she was the most talented disciple of the Sword Pavilion, but she was never the disciple that her master, Ning Guihai, liked the most.
His favorite girl is his junior sister Ning Jiao, who is well-behaved, sensible, innocent, and knows how to be charming. She always has a beautiful smile.
Some busybodies deliberately inquired about the matter, lamenting, "It's such a pity."
Sheng Ningyu looked at the man with a strange expression: "What's there to regret?" She said, "My talent is the best, and which disciple Master likes the most is not the same thing. Besides, Master has never treated us poorly, so what is there to regret?"
This was not an excuse from Sheng Ningyu, but rather what she truly thought.
Of course, when she first faced the changes in her sect, Sheng Ningyu was also at a loss.
She was immersed in cultivation at the time and did not understand why, as soon as she came out of seclusion, her master, who had said he would no longer take on disciples, gave his magic weapon to someone else. Her second senior brother no longer played the zither and joked with her, nor did he tie her hair. Even the layout of the Sword Pavilion seemed to have changed.
Later she learned that all of this was done for her junior sister.
Sheng Ningyu also had doubts and even some dark thoughts, but she quickly let them go.
"I've discovered that I also really like Ning Jiao... Ning Jiaojiao back then."
Sheng Ningyu lowered her eyes to look at the spirit bone in her hand and chuckled softly.
Who wouldn't like that?
A pretty, innocent, and adorable junior sister followed behind her all day, calling her "senior sister, senior sister." Whenever she made a little progress, she would present it to her with both hands, looking at her expectantly, hoping to receive her approval and praise.
Sheng Ningyu tossed her spiritual bones up and down in her hands, while a demonic cultivator beside her listened quietly to her story.
Amidst the interplay of light and shadow, and the swaying of the energy, demonic and spiritual energies intertwined, seemingly intent on tearing all the beauty of the past to shreds.
However, what seemed like a chilling scene to outsiders took on a strange harmony in Sheng Ningyu's calm tone.
"...She was sickly since she was little, and Master forbade us from taking her out, saying it would bring great trouble. But she always looked at me with longing eyes, and I couldn't bear it. When I went out, I always thought, could I bring her back something fun and novel?"
At this point, Sheng Ningyu found herself unable to continue.
What happened next? Ning Jiaojiao grew extremely annoyed with her, first changing her name to "Ning Jiao," and then there was the matter of Chu Chang'an...
Regardless of the current outcome or Sheng Ningyu's speculation about Ning Jiao's past personality, Ning Jiao probably doesn't like Chu Chang'an.
She was just trying to express her dissatisfaction with her senior in a childish way.
But now, there's even more to it than that half of Zong Yan is without beauty.
Recalling Ning Jiao's increasingly extreme personality, Sheng Ningyu frowned slightly, and the smile on her lips faded.
Once she regains her identity, she can simply kill Qi Baiya with a single sword strike and then bring Ning Jiao back to the Sword Pavilion.
If Ning Jiao hates her, so be it, it's nothing.
As long as Ning Jiao doesn't really act recklessly and do something unforgivable, that's fine.
"I know."
A clear, crisp voice interrupted Sheng Ningyu's thoughts.
“You’ve bought her earthly pastries, brought her rice wine, and even brought her a few clay figurines from roadside stalls.”
Sheng Ningyu asked in surprise, "How do you remember this so clearly?"
Xie Qianjing remained silent for a moment, then raised the corner of his lips and smiled.
If shrouded in mist, it is like facing pearls and jade.
"Because of these, you'll also bring them to me."
That's not all.
There were also paper-cut clay figurines and wood carvings, rough bamboo flutes and storybooks from the mortal world... even a pear blossom that touched her hair and made her think it was particularly beautiful was placed in a gold and jade glass bead and sent to him from afar.
Meeting those smiling, jade-like eyes, Sheng Ningyu remained silent for a long time.
"Even after all this, you still say we're not sworn brothers?!"
She's been so good to him, yet he won't even give her the title of close friend?!
Xie Qianjing turned to the side.
The candlelight flickered, casting shifting shadows, like a spring breeze shattering the moonlit night through half a window.
The shadowy figure chuckled softly, then grasped her right hand tightly, their fingers interlocked without the slightest gap.
Xie Qianjing raised his eyes, and something seemed to be burning in his dark pupils.
He said calmly, "If I still say no, then besides being sworn brothers, what other relationship can you think of?"
What other relationship could it be?
Sheng Ningyu was stunned.
She was still pondering this even after Xie Qianjing left.
Sheng Ningyu thought about Xie Qianjing, about his protection of her these past few days, about the sword she had once used to stab him... and even thought about Ning Jiao.
In a flash, Sheng Ningyu finally came up with another possibility!
"Could it really be a case of the upper beam being crooked, and the lower beam being crooked as well?"
But in this story, is she the one who should be killed with a single sword strike?!
Yuan Shu, who came to give her the mask, was taken aback: "Senior Sister Wang, what are you talking about?"
In the past few days, Sheng Ningyu, who did not have a new mask, was ordered by Yuan Bushu to stay at home and reflect on her actions. Not only her, but all the Yunwang Palace disciples who participated that day were also ordered not to go out.
This is perhaps a form of protection.
Sheng Ningyu put the mask on her face, turned around, and said to Yuan Shu and Shen Tong, "Xiao Er, do you think your senior brothers and sisters have a big influence on you in this sect?"
Yuan Shuhe was somewhat puzzled, then nodded: "The senior brothers and sisters of Yunwang Palace are all people of noble character and are role models for us. As those who come after, we naturally have something to follow."
"Absolutely! The saying 'what the superiors do, the inferiors follow' is not just for show."
This time, without Sheng Ningyu having to speak, Yao Youling picked up the plate, rolled her eyes, and said, "Who has time to poison you? This is the most fashionable hot and sour pastry right now, which can strengthen the divine sense and harmonize the Yuan Dan! If you have no taste, don't blame others."
"Hey, who are you calling tasteless!"
The two started playfully bickering, Ji Qingwu laughed on the side, and Yuan Shuhe sighed helplessly, showing a maturity beyond his years.
After they finally quieted down, Yuan Shuhe and his group went to today's lesson together.
On the way, they first took Ji Qingwu and the others to the classroom where the professor was teaching how to cultivate one's spiritual consciousness.
The instructor was still an elder from the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion, but there was a different one.
Her hair was lightly styled, her eyebrows delicately arched, and a deep sorrow seemed to linger between her brows. She was petite and frail, and the silver-gray elder's robe she wore added to her ethereal beauty, making her appear as if she were a dodder clinging to an ancient tree, a sight that evoked pity.
But no one dared to look down on her because of her appearance.
As the winds rise and the heavens and earth tremble, a single divination with a whisk settles the universe.
Elder Ruan Shu of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion, though having been a disciple for less than a hundred years, is renowned throughout the world for the accuracy of her divinations.
Sheng Ningyu glanced at it only once before quickly lowering her eyelashes.
Upon seeing the people from Yunwang Palace, she seemed to pause for a moment, her phoenix eyes appearing to freeze with tears.
Yuan Shuhe stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Elder Ruan."
"So it's the second young master of Yunwang Palace," Elder Ruan said softly.
Yuan Shuhe turned his head and said, "You can go in."
After saying this, he was about to accompany Sheng Ningyu and Jin Xianyao to the talisman class, but Sheng Ningyu quickly stopped him.
"Why make such a fuss?" Sheng Ningyu chuckled and joked, "It's just a talisman lesson, what are you going to do with Junior Brother Jin and me?"
She patted Yuan Shuhe on the shoulder, turned around and waved casually, "I'm leaving, don't bother seeing me off."
"Please wait, disciple."
The person who spoke was not Yuan Shuhe.
Her voice was soft and sweet, like the taste of candy in my memory.
Sheng Ningyu channeled her spiritual power and strode forward, intending to gloss over the matter, but Jin Xianyao beside her tugged at her arm: "Fellow Daoist Wang, Elder Ruan seems to be calling you?"
The next moment, Elder Ruan from the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion gracefully arrived, landing a few steps away from her.
"Is this disciple surnamed Wang?"
Ruan Shu's voice was melodious and pleasant, like the song of a nightingale.
She took a few more steps forward, staring intently at Sheng Ningyu.
The disciple before me had a silver silk mask covering his face, leaving only his eyes visible.
But it was those eyes, that fleeting glimpse, that reminded Ruan Shu of so many things.
She is now in the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion, where she is the esteemed Elder Ruan, revered by millions, and no one dares to underestimate her.
In the beginning, she didn't have a nice name like "Ruan Shu," nor did she have the good opportunity to move into Tianji Pavilion.
She was just an ordinary village girl who could be bullied by others at will.
A little village girl who didn't even have a name.
This world doesn't treat them like human beings. While the gods are fighting in the sky, they shout about slaying demons and monsters, spouting righteous words, as if they are all willing to sacrifice themselves for the righteous path. If this were on a stage, Ruan Shu would feel a sense of satisfaction watching it.
But what good is it to be so happy?
This is a living, breathing human life!
A mere wisp of spiritual energy from those immortals could be fatal, and a single, carelessly dropped magical artifact could reduce an entire village to ashes.
escape.
All they could do was run for their lives.
Ruan Shu doesn't remember which direction she ran in. She only remembers that in the end, she was forced into a corner by the villagers, with her younger siblings behind her.
In despair, Ruan Shu tightly protected her younger brother and sister, but in the end, she was no match for the magical power that the celestial beings in the sky could casually unleash.
She closed her eyes tightly, awaiting the death she had already foreseen.
She thought that she was probably going to die in this dark and boundless night.
……No.
Before death arrived, a sword light was faster than it.
Someone stood in front of them, directly blocking all the attacks. He wore a lotus crown, and his clothes fluttered in the wind, like an immortal descending to earth.
The village scholar immediately knelt down: "Your Majesty, please accept my bow!"
"Thank you so much, Immortal Lord, for saving my life!"
Ruan Shu was confused and was also pulled down to kneel.
She had never been to school, so she couldn't speak the refined language of the village scholar, nor could she use the ornate language of literary figures. She was too young then, and even her memories were somewhat hazy. Now that she could read and write, and had read books, she still couldn't describe the scene from that day no matter what she tried, and in the end, only four words remained.
The moonlight suddenly appeared.
That sword cleaved through all the gloom and darkness, and the moonlight of the night finally scattered across the world.
In the many days that followed, Ruan Shu endured hardship and suffering, but she was no longer afraid.
She has a bright moon, and is infinitely gentle.
Imprinted in my eyes, etched in my heart.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Elder Ruan Shu of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion makes her debut!
The key force that brought down the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion has emerged!
Master of Tianji Pavilion: ?
Ruan Shu loves Mingyue not only because of this, but there are other reasons too~
I recommend my friend's novel! "The Empress Bound to Her Former Stepchild by Wo Shan Mao"
[Copywriting]
On the day the eldest son of the Ji family first met his stepmother, who was five years older than him, she mistook him for his father because of the love potion. Afterwards, she forced herself to remain calm and sighed, "You and Ji Hu are very similar."
Ji Junling kept his distance from this woman who, despite their divorce, still maintained ties with his father.
Until that day, he accidentally wandered into the flower grove. After the flowers fell, the woman's eyes were red and her clothes were disheveled as she leaned against his father's chest.
When she saw him behind the tree, her eyes were unfocused, showing no shyness, and she stared straight at him.
It was like a provocation, and also like tempting him to fall.
As she shrank into her father's arms, Ji Junling's phoenix eyes darkened slightly, and he met her gaze without flinching, even through his father's arms.
Their eyes met, and he suddenly remembered her soft sigh when they first met: "You and Ji Hu are very similar."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com