Dust-Sealed Past
Mei Lu looked at him with a knowing expression, as if to say, "You don't understand me." She replied very seriously, "Chuan Gang thinks I'm a bit flamboyant, but there's nothing I can do about it. Deep down, I'm actually a pretty low-key person. Women are my own, and I'm sincere with each and every one of them. There's no need for me to use them to prove I'm a man and show off. That's why I'm telling you this now; otherwise, I would have kept it a secret."
"You beast, you speak so eloquently!" Nong Zhu spat out each word with utter hatred. "Shameless scoundrel!"
"You mean me?" Yue Qianchou pointed to his nose, his face full of confusion. He didn't know what had gotten into this guy, turning on him so suddenly. What had he done to provoke him? He retorted, seething with anger, "Even if I'm shameless, I've never done anything like starting a relationship and then abandoning the woman. Unlike some people who think they're so great, going around swindling and cheating, using one woman and dumping her. Ask them to count on their fingers how many women they've slept with in their lives, they probably can't even count themselves, yet they have the right to judge others? It's unbelievable, I've never seen such a shameless person. Pah!"
With Nong Zhu overturned the table, scattering bowls, chopsticks, and plates all over the floor. Pointing angrily, he shouted, "Who are you talking about?"
When Yue Qianchou turned hostile, he was the kind of person who wouldn't listen to reason. He Yue Qianchou sneered in a sarcastic tone, "Whoever did that kind of thing—starting a relationship and then abandoning it—I'll name the person. How pitiful! On the Wangyue Sect, the Qionghua flower stands alone, facing the cold moon. She longs for her beloved, but he is nowhere to be seen. She meets a woman, but she doesn't recognize her. Her heart is broken, year after year. It's truly a miserable existence. I wonder who caused it all."
"Say it again if you dare!" Nong Zhu roared furiously, seemingly about to make a move.
"Heh heh! You Mr. Nongzhu, are famous throughout the land, quite formidable! If I can't afford to offend you, I'll stay away. I won't say anything more." Yue Qianchou adopted a conciliatory attitude, glanced at the mess on the ground, shook his head and sighed, "Hoeing the fields at noon, sweat drips onto the soil. Who knows that every grain in the bowl is the result of hard work? Damn, you really are a master of poetry. It's just a pity about all this grain."
"Ugh!" Nong Zhu groaned, clutching her chest, staggering back a step until she bumped into the chair behind her and plopped down. Her face was pale as she gasped for breath, her bloodshot eyes fixed on Yue Qianchou without blinking.
He'd truly witnessed what sharp tongue meant today; his head was buzzing, and he felt a surge of Blood Qi rushing to his chest, almost vomiting. His lips were tightly pressed together, and he couldn't utter a sound.
Yue Qianchou was stunned for a moment, then clicked his tongue inwardly and reflected to himself, "Goodness! Back in the day, I used to make a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator vomit blood in the Qingguang Sect. Am I going to make a Spirit Transformation stage cultivator vomit blood again today? Has your ability to annoy people increased with your cultivation level? Aren't you going a bit too far? After all, we're not strangers, but you shouldn't be so overbearing!"
He understood that someone whose cultivation had reached this level would have all their blocked meridians opened long ago, so a minor injury was a small matter. But if they were to vomit blood from anger, that would be a much bigger problem, far more serious than that of an ordinary alchemist. The chaotic flow of Qi and Blood would disrupt the meridians, not unlike the danger of Qi Deviation during cultivation. At best, it would require a long period of recuperation; at worst, it could destroy all their cultivation—no joke.
"Let's talk this out, don't be angry. If you want to scold me, go ahead. I absolutely won't fight back or talk back." Yue Qianchou sincerely admitted his mistake, then asked weakly, "Are you alright?"
"Hmm!" Nong Zhu put his hand down again and pressed it to his chest, his chest heaving rapidly. He quickly closed his eyes, placed his hands on his Dantian, and silently circulated his internal energy to regulate his breathing.
"You can get angry over something like that?" Yue Qianchou was so shocked that he quickly covered his mouth, afraid he might blurt out something else. He was truly surprised that Nong Zhu, who was usually so thick-skinned, was so easily provoked. He dared not speak again. After all, this wasn't just anyone; if he got angry and something bad happened, he wouldn't be able to explain himself back home!
After a long while, Nong Zhu's flushed face gradually returned to normal. She slowly exhaled and opened her eyes. She stared at Yue Qianchou, who was standing there obediently, for a while, then suddenly showed a look of bewildered amusement, and sat there shaking her head and chuckling to herself.
He never imagined that anyone could anger him so much. Good heavens! Every word was like a knife, specifically targeting his weak points. It was truly a bone-chilling attack, and even his mid Spirit Transformation stage cultivation almost couldn't withstand it. Who would believe it if I told them!
His smile, though seemingly insignificant, startled Yue Qianchou.
"Could he have gone mad with anger? That would be a terrible sin!" Yue Qianchou asked cautiously, somewhat fearfully, "Senior Nong Zhu, are you alright?" He asked three times, but when he saw that Nongzhu was still grinning foolishly, he panicked completely. He rushed over, grabbed Nong Zhu's wrist, and was about to examine him.
"Slap!" Nong Zhu slapped him away. Standing up, she unleashed a torrent of abuse. "What are you doing? Do you think I'm already dead? Let me tell you, you can't kill me. Even if you were dead, Zhou Dingbei would still be alive and kicking. Damn it, you're infuriating!"
"Yes, yes, I was wrong." Yue Qianchou nodded and bowed, patting his chest and saying, "Damn, that scared me to death."
Once the anger subsided, he calmed down considerably and wasn't so impulsive anymore. Nong Zhu regained her composure, and looking at his lingering fear, a hint of warmth flashed in her eyes before she regained her coldness and said, "How rare! You didn't intend for me to die early."
"Look at what you're saying! I swear to God! I burn incense and pray for you whenever I have time, hoping you'll enjoy good health and longevity!" Yue Qianchou said, trying his best to say kind and comforting things, genuinely afraid this fragile fellow might do something rash again. He realized that the other person's mental age and actual age were completely mismatched; wasn't this just childish behavior?
"Stop!" Nong Zhu, both amused and exasperated. "With all the energy you have to cause around the world, you still have time to burn incense and pray for me? What were you doing?" He was about to explode again, but swallowed the words he was about to say and instead admitted his mistake, "Yes, yes, I deeply realize my error and will definitely mend my ways to satisfy you." "Is it really retribution? Heh! It's all fate!" Nong Zhu shook her head helplessly. Glancing at the mess on the ground, her expression softened, and she sighed as she stared at Yue Qianchou, "Stop being so glib! There's something I need to tell you. Tell Ziyi when you find the right opportunity. I believe you can seize that moment!"
Yue Qianchou looked puzzled. He asked, "Is there something you can't tell Ziyi directly, and you insist on having me relay it? Is it something about your father-daughter relationship?"
Nong Zhu shook his head sadly and said, "It doesn't matter whether Ziyi acknowledges me as her father or not. I haven't truly fulfilled my responsibilities as a father, and I feel really ashamed towards her. If you have the chance in the future, tell her that her father's name is Xiaoyao and that I, Nong Zhu, am just her master. What I want you to tell her is the past between her father Xiaoyao and her mother Immortal Qionghua. She has the right to know these things, and I can't keep it from her forever."
Yue Qianchou's eyes lit up; gossip about handsome men and beautiful women was quite interesting. But seeing Nong Zhu's unprecedentedly dejected expression, he had to restrain himself to avoid upsetting her further, and nodded repeatedly, saying, "I will definitely do my best and live up to Senior Nong Zhu's trust."
"It was a beautiful, sunny day when we met amidst the green hills and clear waters, and we fell in love at first sight. Everything seemed so wonderful, and I truly fell in love. However, such a beautiful beginning could not end well, which was something I never expected." Nong Zhu's handsome face was filled with confusion about the past, and he recounted that long-forgotten story across time and space.
"Some things are destined, and you can't escape them no matter how hard you try." It turns out that Nong Zhu truly fell in love with Immortal Qionghua at first sight. Unlike his other women, he didn't just play around with them; he genuinely wanted to spend his life with her. Therefore, he implanted their love child in Immortal Qionghua's body. Otherwise, with his cultivation level, how could Immortal Qionghua have gotten pregnant so easily?
From the beginning, Nong Zhu knew that Immortal Qionghua was a cultivator, assuming she was Rogue Cultivator. However, given her cultivation level, she couldn't discern that Nong Zhu was also a cultivator. Since Immortal Qionghua didn't mention her identity as a cultivator, Nong Zhu didn't reveal it either. At the time, Nong Zhu was blinded by love, only wanting the two to be equals, not wanting to compete for superiority, so she didn't reveal that she was a legendary Spirit Transformation stage expert. This was partly because she didn't want to frighten Immortal Qionghua.
Having experienced the vicissitudes of life and witnessed too much deceit and treachery, he was somewhat weary of it all. He only wanted their love to be pure, with fewer other distractions.
He naively assumed that perhaps the Immortal Qionghua thought the same way, which was why she didn't tell him that she was a cultivator.
He felt that given the foundation of their relationship, the truth revealing themselves would be an incredible surprise. Their love wouldn't be limited by lifespan like mortals; how could they not be overjoyed?
Nong Zhu had already planned that once they knew each other's identities as cultivators, he would take Immortal Qionghua back to the South Sea Purple Bamboo Forest to live a free and unrestrained life.
After Ziyi was born, Nong Zhu was overjoyed. But at that moment, Immortal Qionghua suddenly told Nong Zhu about her identity as a cultivator—she was a disciple of the Wangyue Sect.
Nong Zhu didn't care which family she belonged to. He thought that with his cultivation level, who would dare to stop him from taking a younger brother from the Wangyue Sect? But what Immortal Qionghua wanted to say was that, in addition to being a younger brother of the Wangyue Sect, she was also the successor of the next sect leader of the Wangyue Sect.
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