Going Against His Original Intent

Although Ning Yutan could be a little bitchy at times, and lost some of her rationality whenever Ning Sujin was involved, she had become the only Immortal seedling in all of Chong'an Prefecture. Aside from possessing peerless talent and Bone Structure, her intelligence and comprehension naturally could not be lacking.

The significance of Ning Sujin passing down a top-tier cultivation method to her at this moment was self-evident.

"Y-you... What you said before, about my trip being marked by great misfortune... that couldn't be true, could it?"

Ning Sujin turned her head away and no longer looked at her. "Believe it or not, get lost!"

"You... Hmph!" There were too many things Ning Yutan had failed to sort out in that instant. On top of that, she had suddenly received such a gift from her nemesis. Whether emotionally or in terms of courage, she swallowed her sharp retort for the moment.

Watching Ning Yutan leave, Li Ji'an let out a slight breath of relief.

Then, thinking of Ning Sujin's act of passing on the cultivation method, he asked, "Sister Jin, has her fortune changed at all?"

Ning Sujin shook her head.

"Will it happen on this journey?"

"I don't know."

"What about me?" Li Ji'an asked casually, as though it had merely occurred to him.

Ning Sujin frowned slightly, but still looked directly into Li Ji'an's eyes and sensed him carefully.

In the end, she shook her head. "No significant change."

Li Ji'an nodded in satisfaction.

"Sister Jin, what realm do you think we need to reach within ten years to be absolutely certain?" After their heart-to-heart last time, Li Ji'an had learned the root of Ning Sujin's inner affliction—no one had been willing to believe her. Thus, all his interactions with her afterward had been making up for that shortcoming.

He had gone against his original principle of "letting things take their natural course," absolutely not because Ning Sujin had the face of an angel and the body of a devil. It was only because her ability of Auspiciousness and Inauspiciousness Avoidance gave him far too great a sense of security.

For the sake of keeping his road to Immortality open through all ages, he wished he could tie Ning Sujin to himself for life after life!

Feeling a little pressure, Ning Sujin said, "Only Organ Refining offers any hope! To be absolutely certain, I think we need to reach minor success in Organ Refining.

"Among the ten Immortal seedlings of this generation, aside from that idiot, there is another monstrous genius who is barely seventeen and has already reached Blood Transformation Perfection. Then there are five geniuses, twenty-three or twenty-four years old, who had already undergone Marrow Cleansing during their first Immortal Ceremony selection. As for reserves like us, who need to undergo a second Immortal Ceremony selection, there are only three. Two of them are merely twenty-seven or twenty-eight, yet both have, without exception, stepped into Organ Refining."

"Sister Jin, you're absolutely right. I think so too. In that case... the next ten years will be very difficult for us. Let us cross the same river in the same boat, supporting each other! We do not ask that every matter succeed, only that we be without shame in our hearts." Li Ji'an spoke with a solemn expression as he extended one hand, gesturing for Ning Sujin to place hers atop it.

"Physical contact" was surely the quickest catalyst for drawing a man and woman closer, especially in such a feudal society.

Looking at Li Ji'an's outstretched hand, Ning Sujin instinctively felt some resistance. But when she saw his serious expression and resolute gaze, she felt that she was being too softhearted.

After taking a light breath, Ning Sujin placed her slender jade-like hand over the back of Li Ji'an's hand.

"Only that we be without shame in our—" Yet before she could finish shouting the slogan along with him, a current ran through her entire body.

Li Ji'an flipped his hand over and tightly clasped Ning Sujin's, their fingers interlocking. "Only that we be without shame in our hearts!"

Yet his expression remained just as solemn, just as resolute, as though utterly devoid of desire or stray thoughts.

"...hearts." Ning Sujin had no reason to pull free. Suppressing the tremor in her body, she spoke the final word.

Fortunately, after speaking that final word, Li Ji'an very cleanly released Ning Sujin's hand.

After that physical contact, the relationship between the two had clearly grown closer. Ning Sujin let go of more of her reserve, and the Guard Against in her heart lessened by thirty percent.

For the rest of the journey, Ning Yutan, whether restrained by Duke Dingguo or immersed in the Intensive Study and comprehension of Floating Duckweed Steps, did not disturb Li Ji'an again.

Meanwhile, after finishing his cultivation, Li Ji'an would occasionally take the initiative to seek Ning Sujin out for conversation.

"Sister Jin, has my fortune changed at all?" Half a month later, with only another half month's journey remaining before they reached the imperial dynasty, Li Ji'an asked Ning Sujin about some insights and experiences regarding the stimulation of qi and blood. Then, he once more steered the subject into the realm of "Auspiciousness and Inauspiciousness Avoidance" and asked casually, as though it meant nothing.

"..." Ning Sujin held her breath for a moment and stared at Li Ji'an.

At last, she suddenly understood!

"You bastard, are you really that afraid of death?"

For half a month straight, Li Ji'an had asked her about "fortune and misfortune" almost every day in this seemingly untraceable manner.

No matter how casual he made it sound each time, the result was right there—he asked once every single day.

"You trust my feelings that much? Or rather... this ability of mine that you call Auspiciousness and Inauspiciousness Avoidance? You don't suspect in the slightest that it might just be a delusion?" She did not mind Li Ji'an making use of her. Instead, his behavior made her somewhat happy.

From childhood to adulthood, none of her relatives had believed her. Even when many things had already been proven, they still refused to think it was her sensing ability. Instead, they said she was delusional, said she had the mouth of a crow.

Yet Li Ji'an had never even seen the verified results of her ability, and he already treated it as truth!

Li Ji'an was proving through his actions that he "believed her."

Having had his little thoughts exposed, Li Ji'an was not embarrassed in the slightest. Instead, he rose from the seat across from Ning Sujin, went to sit beside her shoulder to shoulder, then turned and stared straight into her eyes. "Sister Jin, what sort of person in this world isn't afraid of death?"

"One who has achieved nothing, likes nothing, expects nothing, and longs for nothing!" Before Ning Sujin could think, Li Ji'an answered his own question.

"And I—we have already decided to seek Immortality hand in hand, joined in spirit and branch, and we have achieved a little already. With you by my side, with the hope of becoming Immortal... how could I not fear death?"

"As for my trust in you, there is no one under heaven I cannot doubt—but you alone I will never doubt, because I understand you!"

Rumble—

Those sudden, calm, straightforward words, delivered with such plain sincerity, exploded in Ning Sujin's mind like a thunderbolt.

She felt the blood throughout her body accelerate. Every inch of her skin trembled, as though something were growing beneath it. Her mind went blank, her heart seemed ready to leap from her chest, and her face burned unbearably hot.

She wanted to snap that he was all honeyed words to ease the awkwardness, but then she thought of Li Ji'an's conduct over the past five years. Not only had he never been frivolous or slick-tongued, his every word and action had been measured, courteous, and sincere.

"You... you should go back first. I suddenly feel like the qi and blood throughout my body are showing signs of a breakthrough..."

Just as Ning Sujin used that clumsy excuse to cover her visible embarrassment, Ning Yutan, in Duke Dingguo's carriage at the center of the convoy, was on the verge of tears.

"Father, she... she isn't even married yet. How can she so brazenly stay alone in the same carriage as Brother Li? If word gets out, where will you put your face? You have to stop them!"

During this time, she had watched helplessly as Li Ji'an and Ning Sujin grew ever closer. Aside from her feeling that Ning Sujin did not seem to have lied to her and truly was working hard to intensively study and comprehend Floating Duckweed Steps, as the convoy drew nearer and nearer to the imperial dynasty, her father had also strictly forbidden her from leaving the central carriage on her own.

She had the powerful feeling that something belonging to her was being snatched away by her sworn enemy.

Unable to endure it any longer, she tearfully complained to Duke Dingguo.

"Hm?" Duke Dingguo frowned.

"I advise you not to meddle in other people's business!" he immediately warned her with utmost seriousness.

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