Chapter 572: The One in My Heart
Chen Ping'an gently let go and stepped back, to get a better look at her.
She was still wearing that ink-green robe, taller now, but not by much—he had finally surpassed her in height.
A faint blush crept across her face. All the mountains and rivers of the entire Haoran World combined could not compare to the beauty of her eyes and brows. Chen Ping'an could even see his own reflection in them.
She raised an eyebrow. "Chen Ping'an, you've made something of yourself, haven't you?"
Chen Ping'an dodged the question and said softly, "Over the years, I didn't dare think of you too much."
Ning Yao was about to speak.
From behind the screen wall, someone whistled—a fat man squatting on the ground, with several heads hidden behind him, like a peacock spreading its tail, all eyes wide, staring toward the main gate.
Just as Ning Yao was about to move, Chen Ping'an grabbed one of her hands and held it tightly. "This time I'm here to stay. Even if you try to chase me away, I won't leave."
A woman whispered, "Sister Ning's ears are turning red."
Ning Yao yanked Chen Ping'an forward, slammed her elbow into his chest, wrenched her hand free, and turned to stride toward the screen wall, tossing out a line, "I haven't agreed to anything yet."
Chen Ping'an grimaced in pain—that blow was heavy. He rubbed his chest and quickly followed. He didn't need to close the door; an old servant with cloudy eyes smiled respectfully and silently shut the mansion gate behind them.
By the time Chen Ping'an reached the corner of the screen wall, the group had already stood up.
Walking side by side with Ning Yao, Chen Ping'an smiled and greeted them, "Yan Zhuo, Dong Huafu, Die Zhang, Chen Sanqiu—it's good to see you."
The stout, muscular fat man was Yan Zhuo, the legitimate son of the Yan family. In the Sword Qi Great Wall, the Yan family's status was akin to the Ministry of Revenue in a secular dynasty. Apart from the private channels of the major clans, the Yan family managed nearly half of all material logistics. Simply put, the Yan family was wealthy—very wealthy.
Dong Huafu—the surname itself said everything. He was a dark, wiry young man with a face full of scars and a taciturn demeanor. He never liked to talk, only to drink. Yet his sword had a very feminine name, "Red Face." He had an older sister with an even stranger name, Dong Bude, but she was one of the few innate Sword Embryos in the Sword Qi Great Wall. She appeared frail, but in battle she was a madwoman. They said once, when she was bloodlusted during a fight, the Hidden Officer himself had knocked her unconscious and dragged her back to the Sword Qi Great Wall.
The slender one-armed woman carried the great sword Zhen Yue on her back.
She came from a humble alley in the Sword Qi Great Wall, had no surname, and was simply called Die Zhang. When she was young, A Liang had encountered her and often sent her to buy wine for him. Over time, they became close, and she gradually came to know Ning Yao and the others. She was still saddled with a mountain of wine debt incurred on A Liang's behalf.
The last person was an exceptionally handsome young master named Chen Sanqiu, also from a prominent family. He had been secretly in love with Dong Huafu's sister, Dong Bude, since childhood, and his obsession had never wavered. Chen Sanqiu wore a sword on each side of his waist—one without a sheath, its blade engraved with the archaic characters "Cloud Pattern," and the sheathed sword called the Scripture.
The fat man at the front pinched his throat and mimicked Ning Yao's soft voice, "Who are you supposed to be?"
Ning Yao stopped in her tracks and glanced at the fat man without speaking.
Chen Ping'an quietly asked her, "Golden Core Sword Immortal?"
Ning Yao still didn't answer. Chen Sanqiu chimed in with a smile, "At least Fat Yan isn't a fourth-realm Qi Refiner or a dumb pure martial artist."
Chen Ping'an smiled slightly. "It's fine if you look down on me, but looking down on Ning Yao's judgment? That won't do."
Fatty Yan thrust his hips back, bumping the charcoal-like Dong behind him. "Hear that? Back then he was already a fourth-realm martial grandmaster on our city wall. Looks like he's a bit unhappy."
Ning Yao frowned. "Enough already."
Fatty Yan raised both hands and quickly glanced at the young man's sleeves—the ones in green. "It was Chen Sanqiu who put me up to being the sacrificial lamb. I have no grudge against Chen Ping'an. How many pure martial artists, at his age, have fought Cao Ci three times? I respect that. But I have to be fair: Talisman Sect cultivators are among the most looked-down-upon fringe paths here, second only to pure martial artists. Chen Ping'an, from now on when you go out, don't carry so many talismans in your sleeves. Nobody here buys that stuff. We're just a poor, remote corner of the world, never seen the big picture."
Ning Yao's face showed a trace of anger.
Fatty Yan quickly retracted his almost nonexistent neck.
The truth was, they neither liked nor disliked Chen Ping'an much—they certainly weren't going to bully him just because of status.
But to them, Ning Yao was too special.
And the Sword Qi Great Wall had a natural barrier with that Haoran World.
Including Yan Zhuo, Chen Sanqiu, and the others, they all knew Chen Ping'an hadn't done anything wrong. But everyone of the same generation on the Sword Qi Great Wall, as well as some elders with ties to the Ning and Yao families, didn't believe that Ning Yao and an outsider could have any future. Besides, the biggest story about the boy who practiced boxing on the city wall back then was that he had lost three times in a row to Cao Ci. Moreover, the cultivators on the Haoran World side had it far too comfortable compared to the harsh reality of the Sword Qi Great Wall. Ning Yao's growth was incredibly fast, and the Sword Qi Great Wall's concept of a good match had always been only one thing: the man and woman should be close in realm and comparable in killing power.
Chen Ping'an smiled. "Maybe we can spar sometime."
Yan Zhuo glanced at Ning Yao and shook his head like a rattle-drum. "No, no, wouldn't dare."
Ning Yao said softly, "You're only at the sixth realm. Don't bother with them. These guys have nothing better to do."
Chen Ping'an held back a laugh. "Pretending to be a Far-Traveling realm martial artist is a bit hard, but pretending to be a sixth-realm martial artist? What's so hard about that?"
The next moment, Ning Yao drove her elbow into his waist again, fuming. "Lying to me just for fun?"
This time she was genuinely angry.
Yan Zhuo and the others fell silent, cowed.
Chen Ping'an grabbed her hand and said softly, "I'm used to suppressing my realm when I travel far. If I were in the Haoran World right now, I'd be a fifth-realm martial artist. Even ordinary Far-Traveling realm martial artists wouldn't be able to tell the difference. The decade agreement said I had to break into the Golden Body realm before I could come see you. Did you think I couldn't do it? That makes me angry."
Ning Yao stared at him. You're angry? And you're grinning like that? Are you seriously trying to play the aggrieved party? She stared blankly at this stranger who was also so familiar. It had been almost ten years since they'd last seen each other. He wore a jade hairpin, a green robe, and still carried a sword on his back. She even had to tilt her head slightly to look at him now. Did she not know the customs of that Haoran World? She had once traveled alone across most of the Nine Provinces. Did she not know that a decent-looking man, traveling the martial world, would inevitably encounter all kinds of romantic interests? Especially a Golden Body martial artist as young as him—that wasn't common in the Haoran World either. With his stubborn, pigheaded personality, some shameless women would definitely take a liking to him.
Although Chen Ping'an had no idea what was going through Ning Yao's mind, his intuition told him that if he didn't do or say something, his life might be in danger.
But when he gazed intently into her eyes, all words vanished.
He simply lowered his head slightly, gently touched her forehead, and whispered, "Ning Yao, Ning Yao."
Between heaven and earth, there was nothing else.
Only Miss Ning.
Ning Yao turned her head, slapped his face away, and glared. "Chen Ping'an, are you possessed by a ghost or something?"
Even Chen Ping'an felt a bit embarrassed.
Yan Zhuo turned his head with a grimace. "I surrender. I can't take it. I really can't."
Chen Sanqiu rolled his eyes dramatically and muttered, "I have a bad feeling—like that damn A Liang is back again."
Dong Huafu rarely spoke. "If you like someone, you like them. Realm or no realm, what does it matter?"
Die Zhang nodded. "I think he's pretty good, actually. Strange how well he matches Sister Ning. But what will they do when they go out now? There's no fighting these days, and plenty of people have nothing better to do—they'll easily cause trouble. Can Sister Ning just keep him hidden in the mansion, or sneak him onto the city wall? That's hardly ideal."
Chen Ping'an suddenly said to them, "Thank you for always being by Ning Yao's side."
He clasped his fists solemnly, his eyes clear, his smile bright. "I should have said that back then on the city wall. I've owed you this for almost ten years."
Die Zhang smiled without speaking.
Chen Sanqiu hummed in acknowledgment. "Too bad Ning Yao never had eyes for me from childhood, or else you'd be sobbing outside the door this time."
Fatty Yan clapped his cheeks lightly with both hands and laughed. "At least you've got a little conscience."
Dong Huafu asked, "Can we drink?"
Ning Yao snapped, "Drink what?!"
Dong Huafu replied, "If he won't drink, then just me."
Ning Yao led Chen Ping'an to a square and showed him the Dragon-Slaying Platform—a stone cliff as large as a house.
A sword immortal had carved a set of steps leading upward, where a rough little pavilion stood.
Ning Yao glanced at the one-armed girl carrying the great sword Zhen Yue.
Die Zhang winked, stood up as soon as she'd sat down, and said she had something to do.
Chen Sanqiu and Yan Zhuo each found their own excuses to leave. Only Dong Huafu remained sitting there, dumbly saying he had nothing to do.
Chen Sanqiu grabbed him by the neck and dragged him away.
Now only the two of them sat facing each other.
Chen Ping'an placed his fists on his knees, loosely clasped.
With Yan Zhuo and the others gone, Ning Yao relaxed a little.
She asked, "Over the years, have any girls liked you?"
Chen Ping'an nodded. "Yes. But I've never been tempted. Not before, and never will be."
Ning Yao pressed, "How many?"
Chen Ping'an sat frozen like a wooden chicken.
Ning Yao continued, "Which ones?"
Chen Ping'an's eyes widened, speechless.
Unexpectedly, Ning Yao said, "I don't care."
Chen Ping'an had no reply.
Then Ning Yao turned her head and looked down toward the bottom of the Dragon-Slaying Platform. "Granny Bai, is this guy really a Golden Body martial artist now?"
Where she looked, besides the old servant who had closed the gate, there was a tall, elderly woman. The two stood side by side.
The old woman smiled and nodded. "Young Master Chen is indeed a seventh-realm martial artist now, and his foundation is excellent—beyond imagination."
Chen Ping'an said softly, "See? I didn't lie to you."
Ning Yao ignored Chen Ping'an and said to the two elders, "Granny Bai, Grandpa Nalan, you can go about your business."
The old woman hesitated, her eyes carrying a hint of inquiry, but Ning Yao shook her head faintly. The old woman smiled and nodded, then left with the stooped old man.
Chen Ping'an asked, "Is Granny Bai a Peak-mountain Grandmaster?"
Ning Yao nodded. "She used to be at the Ultimate realm. But she lost realms for my sake."
Chen Ping'an suddenly asked, "Are there any sword immortals around your age here who have already reached the Nascent Soul realm?"
Ning Yao snorted disdainfully. "I'm not even at Nascent Soul yet. Who could be?"
Chen Ping'an hummed in acknowledgment.
That answer was very Miss Ning.
Ning Yao frowned. "Why do you ask?"
Chen Ping'an smiled. "No reason."
Ning Yao warned, "The sword immortals here on the Sword Qi Great Wall are not comparable to those in the Haoran World."
Chen Ping'an nodded. "I know. You told me before that Northern Juque Continent was worth a visit. Just before coming here, I stopped by there and got a taste of their sword cultivators' skills."
Ning Yao said "Oh," her brows relaxing imperceptibly. In someone's eyes, that might have been the view of the moon rising over the treetops.
Chen Ping'an twisted his wrist and took out a thick, self-bound book. He was about to stand and move to sit beside Ning Yao.
Ning Yao said, "You stay right there."
Chen Ping'an scratched his head, then lightly tossed the book toward her. "Back then, when I borrowed the Old Sword Immortal's sword to go to Tongye Continent, the senior warned me that it would be best to hold back and not casually send letters to the Sword Qi Great Wall, because it might distract you, and he worried that I might implicate you if I wasn't careful. So I kept that in mind. Whenever I had free time, I wrote down my travels through the mountains and rivers these years. Flip through it—everything big or small is recorded. Some entries are detailed, others just rough sketches."
Ning Yao took the book and started flipping through Chen Ping'an's self-written travelogue.
Chen Ping'an sat for a while, saw that she was absorbed in reading, and simply lay down, closing his eyes.
Inside the small pavilion, only the sound of flipping pages remained.
At first, he was still thinking about things, but before he knew it, Chen Ping'an actually fell asleep.
Ning Yao occasionally lifted her head and glanced at that familiar figure. After each look, she placed the book on the bench as a pillow, lay down softly, but kept her eyes open.
In the darkness of night, she finally turned over quietly, gazing at him.
She slightly lifted her head, pressed her hands together to rest on the book, and laid her cheek against the back of her hand. She whispered, "After you left back then, I found Grandpa Chen and asked him to cut the threads of arranged fate between us. Grandpa Chen asked me, 'Are you sure you want to do this? What if you really stop liking each other? What if I, Ning Yao, stop liking you, and you, Chen Ping'an, stop liking me? What then?' I said, 'No, it won't happen. Who I, Ning Yao, like—no one can control. And if I like someone, no one can stop me.' Then Grandpa Chen asked, 'What about Chen Ping'an? If the fate thread is gone, and he's thousands of miles away from the Sword Qi Great Wall, what if he drifts further away and never comes back?' I answered for you: 'Impossible. Chen Ping'an will definitely come find me. Even if he no longer likes me, he will come tell me in person.' But the truth is, I was terrified. I liked you even more, but you might not like me anymore."
Ning Yao fell silent, then slowly drifted off to sleep.
Chen Ping'an opened his eyes, gently sat up, and settled down beside Ning Yao.
He looked up and saw three moons in the sky. When he looked down, there was the one in his heart.