Hearing the woman before him call herself Ning Yao, Li Yuan knew she was that Ning Yao. There might be plenty of people with the same name in the world, but he was no fool. At least in the Sword Qi Great Wall that Chen Ping'an had visited, there had never been two Ning Yaos.
Li Yuan's legs trembled. He hurriedly seized Chen Ping'an's arm. When it came to mending the pen after the sheep were lost, this former Water Official of the Grand River had a gift. Too guilty to look at Ning Yao, he offered Chen Ping'an a line of inspired honesty: "Brothers are brothers, and the truth is the truth. Chen Ping'an, you really aren't worthy of Sword Immortal Ning."
Could he address her casually as Miss Ning? He had to call her Sword Immortal Ning!
Li Yuan did not know whether Sword Immortal Ning appreciated that, and he was not about to guess. Fortunately, Chen Ping'an smiled with genuine delight, apparently finding nothing wrong with what he had said.
Only then did Li Yuan feel a little reassured. He turned carefully, straightened the collar of his water robe, and bowed. "Li Yuan of Ji Ditch pays his respects to Sword Immortal Ning."
Ning Yao returned a sword cultivator's salute with one hand. "Ning Yao of Ascension City greets Marquis Li of Ji Ditch."
Li Yuan had been promoted to Dragon Pavilion Marquis of the Grand River and, a few years earlier, had received Conferring Orthodoxy from the Temple of Literature. Among the Mountain and Water Officialdom, he was a duke of the highest rank. Being counted among the immortals amounted to little more than that.
So Ning Yao's address of "Marquis Li" was a fitting mark of respect.
Li Yuan's beaming smile was real. So was