Page 23

[Follow the established plot and humiliate Wen Hemian.]

Ohhh! We've finally reached this guy's part!

In the original, aside from the male lead, Ning Ning was most impressed by Senior Wen.

Wen Hemian had been born with a Sword Heart, a youthful prodigy, and the youngest elder in the history of the Xuanxu Sword Sect. Unfortunately, during the Immortal-Devil War ten years ago, although he and several other experts had joined forces to destroy the Demon Venerable, he had also suffered grievous injuries. His spiritual bones were damaged, his Consciousness Sea shattered, and his cultivation completely lost.

After that, he had lived in Qingxu Valley ever since. The disciples all knew an elder resided there and had the good sense to stay away.

But the original Ning Ning had been in a bad mood after getting her heart broken at Zhaixing Pavilion. Fueled by the reckless courage of a newborn calf that didn't fear tigers, she had actually barged right in.

As for Wen Hemian and the original Ning Ning, the two of them had quite a history.

From the moment she was born, the original Ning Ning had displayed astonishing spiritual talent. As it happened, Wen Hemian passed by the Ning Mansion one day, and out of a fondness for promising talent, he frankly told her that once she grew up, if she wished to embark on the path of cultivation, she could come to the Xuanxu Sect anytime and become his disciple.

But by the time the original Ning Ning had finally grown up, the long and grueling Immortal-Devil War had begun. After that came the fall of a genius, who shut himself away in Qingxu Valley.

Had nothing gone wrong, Wen Hemian should have been her master.

Perhaps that was exactly why the original Ning Ning had treated Wen Hemian so abominably—

She thought her master ought to hold a position of lofty honor. A useless cripple like him was a laughingstock not even worth mentioning.

Who could have guessed that, later in the story, Wen Hemian would encounter a fortuitous opportunity and unexpectedly recover his strength? By the time she went to call him her master again...

Ning Ning had nearly cringed herself to death when she read that part.

Qingxu Valley was a place where immortals could recuperate and restore their strength. In the distance, towering peaks vanished into the drifting clouds. Beyond a narrow passage with sheer cliffs rising on either side lay a lush, verdant valley.

A gentle breeze wound through the valley, and the water lay still. The fragrance of flowers and the shadows of trees mingled in the distance, while the deep-green branches brimmed with shards of shattered sunlight. Orioles and swallows filled the land with the colors of spring, and scattered blossoms drifted down with the wind, rippling across the ground like a pool of pale pink.

Ning Ning heard the sound of a zither.

She had studied music theory and had quite a talent for music. She could tell that although the melody was long and lingering, refined and otherworldly, it concealed a deep sorrow, like a dense grief that could never be dispelled.

This was her first meeting with Wen Hemian in the book.

Wen Hemian, frustrated and unfulfilled, had been playing his zither in the valley. The original Ning Ning had already looked down on him, and not only had she insulted him, she had smashed his ancient zither with a boulder.

There was always someone more determined to court death.

Everyone she provoked later became a big shot she couldn't afford to offend. With luck like that, she might as well buy lottery tickets backward and end up with a seaside mansion.

Ning Ning expressionlessly picked up a boulder and headed in the direction of the zither music.

She walked slowly, and then, for no apparent reason, abruptly stopped.

Ning Ning: ?

Ning Ning tried putting weight on her right leg. Nothing.

The left wasn't any better.

Her whole body seemed to have gone limp. She stood frozen in place, unable to move.

"Wait, wait, wait! What's going on?"

Ning Ning frantically poked at the system in her mind. At last, that voice, which had played dead for ages, appeared, sounding deeply reluctant:

[You've been poisoned by a Soul-Bewitching Flower. These flowers grow throughout Qingxu Valley. Anyone below the Nascent Soul realm who smells their fragrance will be paralyzed for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Once you gradually adapt, the effects will wear off on their own.]

Oh, come on.

If she had to stand here for an entire incense stick, wouldn't Wen Hemian just leave? How come the original Ning Ning hadn't run into anything like this? Was her luck even worse than the original's?

Was it because she always got to the cafeteria just after the last serving ran out, could only pull an SSR after hitting pity, and made a complete mess of herself every time she tried to court death?

Ning Ning's mind filled with little question marks. Before long, they gathered together, forming one giant exclamation point.

She was still holding a boulder.

But she no longer had the strength to hold it up.

Realizing what was about to happen, Ning Ning decided to keep smiling through it all.

Once, she'd been offered the perfect opportunity to court death, but she hadn't treasured it. By the time she lost it, regret had come too late. If Heaven would give her another chance, Ning Ning would say this to that boulder:

So you didn't fall at five centimeters per second after all.

The boulder dropped, landing squarely on the top of her foot.

Her five trembling toes curled up together, quivering in unison, and finally learned the meaning of tenderness.

A breeze swept through, and the clouds parted.

So when Wen Hemian looked up, he happened to catch sight of a graceful figure in the distance.

A beautiful young woman stood alone beneath an ancient tree, with pale flowers blooming quietly around her.

She stood ramrod straight, lost in the desolate depths of the valley. The breeze swept over her dark hair and white skirt, stirring the shadows and subtle fragrance around her. As she wandered alone in silence, she seemed cold, lonely, and forlorn.

They gazed at each other without a word. Amid the melody he played, a tear slipped from the young woman's eye.

Wen Hemian couldn't help but pause.

The melody concealed boundless sorrow, though it did not reveal it easily. Everyone who heard it said it was relaxing and refreshing.

Only she had listened and wept.

This—this was what it meant to find a kindred spirit!

When Ning Ning saw that he had noticed her, she didn't have time to worry about anything else. Struggling with all her might to move her lips, she forced out a few crooked words through lip-reading: "Master, save me! Come and help!"

Wen Hemian watched her quietly, trying hard to make out her lips.

"Let go of old dreams... break free soon?"

What a thoughtful, courteous young disciple, even speaking so gently. She must have known what he had gone through and wanted to comfort him.

But how could anyone so easily escape the nightmares of the past?

Wen Hemian gently shook his head at her and answered with the zither, playing with greater force until the melody grew ever more plaintive.

Seeing him sit there and shake his head, Ning Ning nearly spat blood from sheer frustration and cried even harder.

You old bastard! Not only were you refusing to help her, you were playing the zither even more enthusiastically! Please, try being a decent person!!!

So what if she hadn't become your disciple back then? So what if she'd been a little spoiled? She was still just a child, waaaah!