Three months have passed, and summer has arrived in the blink of an eye.
Neither the ancient ruins of the Northern Frontier nor the ancient ruins of the Andasdaia Mountains in the Western Continent showed any further abnormalities. The prophet faction, which had been fiercely criticized by many indignant people of Middle-earth for their attempts to sow discord between the Nine Districts and the Great Districts, remained silent. The implementation of the new plan in the four major bases also proceeded quite smoothly.
Everything was unusually calm.
In July, as the sun blazes and umbrellas are hung high, good news also arrives.
Gu Yujing and Hua Anning are preparing for their wedding and have invited Chang Le to attend.
It is said that a month ago, the two and their elders originally planned to get engaged first, since Hua Anning was only twenty years old. However, after thinking about it for a long time, they decided to get married.
It was a bit rushed, but fortunately everything was easy to prepare. The couple didn't like big celebrations, so they planned to invite only close relatives and friends, and exchange gifts with other families as a token of their goodwill. The wedding was set for early August.
Just then, Chang Le was preparing to leave District Nine.
Her ninth-tier cultivation was now stable, but her mastery of the various supernatural abilities within her body had not yet reached its peak. She hadn't forgotten her goal of venturing deep into the no-man's-land, nor the "third gift" that Jiu Fanggui had hinted at in the Mystic Realm.
"Would you like to meet me again?"
Whether it's the no-man's land or the starry space beyond this world, it all comes down to her first reaching a level that is on par with Fu Guang, or even surpassing him.
Having finished dealing with the busiest tasks of this period, Chang Le decided to go out and train, and his first choice for training grounds was undoubtedly the various secret realms.
On her way to Hua'an City to attend the couple's wedding, Chang Le decided to take the opportunity to visit the Suspended Sword Lake at the Heaven-Mending Tower.
Beneath the Hanging Sword Lake lies an ancient [Bronze Tomb Secret Realm], a challenge-based assessment realm suitable for Chang Le's cultivation.
Wang Yao and Fu Heqing accompanied them. Tao Zi and Chen Wu, whose talent in cultivation was slightly inferior, felt immense pressure and worked even harder after witnessing the power transition within the Wolf Sect and observing the four people around Lu Jin'an. Therefore, this time, Tao Zi and Chen Wu chose to practice their respective strengths.
Besides the two of them, Bai Xie, Ling Ren, and Li Jie were also present. Kulai and Raymond had already returned to their families. Both families had heard about the cooperation on the Golden Medicine and had tried to negotiate with the Dragon Sect. However, Chang Le's requirement was to prioritize the Central Plains before the Central Plains, which neither family objected to, and they only tentatively agreed to cooperate.
Before heading to Hua'an City, Chang Le stopped in the Gray Domain to visit Lu Yanhuai. Crow had also returned to Lu Jin'an's side and was now his right-hand man.
The others didn't follow. Crow led Chang Le towards the back garden: "The old gentleman is over there."
Old gentleman?
This form of address felt incredibly incongruous to Chang Le.
But when she saw Lu Yanhuai lying in the garden with his full head of white hair, she couldn't find the words to refute him.
"Hmm? Lele is here?" Although Lu Yanhuai had lost his cultivation, his alertness and skills honed through years of training remained, and he immediately noticed someone approaching.
Lu Yanhuai gave the crow a wink, and the crow scurried over, moved a chair next to Lu Yanhuai, waved to Chang Le, and left.
Chang Le sat down next to him, glanced at him, and said nothing.
Lu Yanhuai squinted in the sun without saying a word.
A silence ensued.
Finally, Lu Yanhuai chuckled, breaking the silence: "You weren't this silent in front of me before. It's only been two months, and you've already become distant? Or do you look down on this old man?"
“Where are you old!” Chang Le immediately retorted to his self-deprecating humor.
Lu Yanhuai chuckled: "That's true, that's true. I can't say I'm old in front of you."
He teased Chang Le on purpose, but Chang Le wasn't annoyed: "I'm actually not that old. If we're really talking about it, we're about the same age."
"Hmm?" Lu Yanhuai adjusted the reclining chair and sat up. "What do you mean?"
Just like chatting about everyday things, Chang Le briefly told him about her experiences.
Three hundred years is a long time, long enough for even a prosperous world to become desolate. But now, standing at the end and looking back, telling others about the past, it only takes a few minutes to summarize it.
After all, although it is said to be more than three hundred years, her life trajectory that truly overlapped with this world was only two periods of less than twenty years each.
Eighteen years in Green Vine Courtyard, and now more than ten years.
In this sense, a period of just over thirty years has been far more complex and turbulent than the usual three hundred years.
Chang Le was supposed to only live to be eighteen or nineteen, but she couldn't find any of the spirit of an eighteen or nineteen-year-old anymore. Just like the Chang Le who was bickering and joking with 422 at the beginning of the story, she had disappeared into a very, very distant time.
Looking at the girl beside him calmly recounting her hardships, Lu Yanhuai's smile had long since vanished.
It turns out that decades of time can weigh as heavily on a person as a mountain.
"Old Lu, I guess I'm getting old too," Chang Le chuckled self-deprecatingly.
“In the past, I would feel sad and upset if I didn’t meet other people’s expectations. I would often be melodramatic and reflect on myself, feeling that I wasn’t good enough and not knowing how to become better. I felt wronged and frustrated, and I was easily hurt. Also, I feel terrible whenever I think about even the smallest thing related to Fuguang.”
But now, those burning emotions seem to have drifted away from me. I know that Chang Le is still there, but I can't find her anymore, and I don't want to find her again.
Chang Le took a deep breath, leaned back in her chair, and squinted in the sunlight: "Although I feel old-fashioned, this is good. Yes, Lu Yanhuai, I think I'm good this way."
Really?
Lu Yanhuai subconsciously wanted to ask that question.
Is Chang Le, who is rational, calm, strong, and hard to hurt or get hurt, really that good? Is she the person you aspire to be?
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com