Ning Xuan slowed his steps and stopped in front of a row of white walls. He stood ramrod straight, his head tilted slightly upward, his eyes flickering with a complex light.
The voices from the study in the distance gradually quieted. The two people inside were clearly speaking in a softer, more secretive manner.
Still, those few words had been enough for Ning Xuan to glimpse the tip of the iceberg.
It was the truth about his family.
Clearly, this world wasn't as he—or most people—perceived it to be: a world of nothing but a low-martial-arts pugilistic realm.
The imperial court in this world possessed a mysterious power. That much could be gleaned from hints about "Great General Qin Shanjun," "Dragon Qi," and the "Celestial Master realm."
And his father's true identity was, in all likelihood, that of a member of the mysterious imperial court.
He didn't know what his father had done before the age of thirty-five. But he knew that by then, his father already had a child—a successor he hoped would inherit his legacy. That person was the one who "claimed to be his older brother."
But the mysterious imperial court seemed unwilling to allow his father to do that.
He could more or less guess why.
To prevent a situation where "local emperors" passed power down through the generations.
Ning Xuan could easily imagine that with his father's prestige, all his father would have to do was give the word, and plenty of forces in the surrounding prefectural cities would flock around him. That was while he was still nothing but a pretty-faced wastrel. If someone who had truly inherited his father's legacy rose to power, then it would absolutely amount to "a private realm." The mysterious imperial court would never allow that.
So his older brother couldn't be exposed.
And so his own birth had become a matter of course.
To keep up appearances, his father had fathered him with his mother.
He, in turn, had naturally been raised into a wastrel who ate, drank, whored, and gambled, so that the mysterious imperial court would feel at ease.
Come to think of it,
he had inherited wealth and luxury from his father, while his older brother had inherited the skills, the danger, and a road full of hardship.
Now, his father seemed to be in declining health. No matter how reluctant Ning Xuan was to admit it, he could sense that his father didn't have many years left. Beneath that seemingly refined exterior, his flesh and blood had already rotted like those of a man nearing eighty.
So an arranged marriage was inevitable.
The mysterious imperial court clearly had rules, and those rules demanded that "potential heirs" be completely removed from their homeland. That was why the court wanted him married off.
His father had his own plans, too. He had to consider Ning Xuan, his mother, and the whole Ning Family, so he had fought to arrange what, from his own perspective, was already a pretty decent marriage for him.
Moving to Hanzhou Ranch and marrying the illegitimate daughter of General Qin was, in essence, hardly any different from marrying into her family.
But General Qin's family was sure to be powerful.
His father's thinking was: a little hardship was just a little hardship. Who didn't suffer? As long as he could live in peace and comfort, that was enough.
For a moment, Ning Xuan couldn't tell whom his father favored more.
Suddenly, his thoughts drifted far away.
He remembered being a child, riding with his father across ancient plains, seeing flowers in full bloom, while his father told him fairy tales about other worlds that he'd heard somewhere. His father carried him on his back as they ran all over the place, held his hand and taught him to fly kites, and never scolded him when he did something wrong. In short, his father had spoiled him rotten.
Ning Xuan could already imagine that his father must have been ruthless, decisive, and ambitious to have made it this far. Otherwise, he would never have taken such a gamble.
And yet that same father had once given him the gentlest love of his life.
In this life, his father was his true father.
So he should cooperate with him.
He shouldn't let anything upset his father's plans.
He shouldn't put his whole family in danger through his own stubbornness.
That was how he could honor the bond between father and son in this life.
"Hanzhou Ranch, huh."
Before Ning Xuan's eyes, an endless grassland seemed to appear, with white clouds drifting lazily overhead.
He would send Xiao Jie away so that his future wife wouldn't be angry. He would live under someone else's roof and do his best to make a good impression, carefully keeping his power in check and revealing only a little at a time to earn himself a place. His future wife was an illegitimate daughter, and at home she, too, would sometimes be a punching bag. He would have to be the punching bag among punching bags, a good-for-nothing on the surface who grew stronger and stronger in secret, all the while telling himself, "One day. One day."
Night fell.
In the Ning Family study,
Old Master Ning was still awake.
The door opened again.
Old Master Ning looked tenderly at the young man who entered, a kindly smile on his face. "I knew you wouldn't be able to sleep. You'd come looking for me to get the whole story. I already had the cook prepare some food and wine. By the way, have we ever had a drink together, father and son?"
"Father."
Ning Xuan cut him off.
Ning Taiyi looked at him with interest and smiled. "Have you got a surprise for me?"
Ning Xuan nodded.
Ning Taiyi's smile faded. He rose to his feet and said solemnly, "I'm looking forward to it."
He said he was looking forward to it, but in truth, he wasn't. He had even guessed what his son was about to do: nothing more than act up, thinking he was a martial arts prodigy and wanting to refuse the marriage that would send him to Hanzhou.
He was extremely tolerant of his son's "immaturity," so he wanted to hear him out first, then slowly persuade him and make him understand: in this era, martial artists were nothing more than meat with a little more bite to it, cannon fodder on the battlefield of a new age, useless trash.
But, to his surprise, Ning Xuan calmly said, "Father, I know you always think things through carefully. You must have considered every angle before deciding to arrange this marriage for me at Hanzhou Ranch."
Ning Taiyi was taken aback. "My Xuan'er has grown up."
Ning Xuan said, "That's exactly why I don't want anything to upset your plans."
Ning Taiyi asked, puzzled, "What could upset them?"
"Father, can you judge someone's level by observing their qi and blood?"
Ning Taiyi nodded.
Ning Xuan said, "Then take a look at how I'm doing now."
As soon as he finished speaking, he stopped concealing the calm qi and blood within him. Even without using the Heavenly Demon Scroll, his physique had already reached 2.2.
Before he spoke, his qi and blood had been no more than a calm stream. Now, they surged and boiled, rushing forward with a roar.
He clenched both fists. Ropes of sinewy muscle bulged like steel cables. His eyes lifted, like a ravenous beast prowling through a midnight forest. His presence blazed like wolf smoke, so oppressive it was hard to breathe, so chilling it made one shudder.
He truly was a monster wearing human skin.
Ever since Ning Xuan's base physique had broken through 2.0, he had vaguely sensed that "2.0" might be the limit for martial artists.
Breaking through that limit required outside help.
And he had just such a natural source of outside help—the Heavenly Demon Scroll.
He had easily broken through a limit that was all but impossible for anyone else to overcome.
Ning Taiyi's pupils slowly filled with disbelief.
The next instant, he suddenly shouted, "You've contracted the Demon Plague?!"
Ning Xuan was dumbfounded. "What's the Demon Plague?"
Ning Taiyi strode forward and anxiously pressed a finger to his brow.
The refined old man suddenly blazed with golden light.
He closed his eyes, clearly examining Ning Xuan.
After a long while, he withdrew his finger and said, sounding bewildered, "You—you haven't contracted the Demon Plague? That's impossible. Without the Demon Plague, you could never have reached this level. You—you..."
Ning Xuan answered honestly, "I train hard every day. It's not just talent."
Ning Taiyi asked, "How do you train?"
Ning Xuan told him about his daily training.
Ning Taiyi was clearly flustered. He rubbed his forehead and said, "Xuan'er, go get some rest first. Let me think this through. I need to sort it all out."
P.S. It's summer vacation. I came out traveling with my family and the kids today, and spent the whole morning on a train. After a short rest following lunch, I've been typing away in the hotel. Here's the first chapter.
Updates may be a little late over the next few days, but I definitely won't miss any. Just wanted to explain in advance. Sorry, sorry.
Before you continue