Incense still curled through the secret chamber, carrying Zhao Ningyi's favorite osmanthus fragrance.
She held a freshly peeled orange segment between her fingers. Hearing Qing Chen's words, she immediately offered it to his lips, without the slightest hesitation in her voice:
"Is it for the cultivation arts or spirit pills in the treasury? My dear, there's no need to sigh. If you want them, I'll fetch them from my father's treasury for you."
"My father's treasury will be yours sooner or later anyway."
Qing Chen did not take the orange segment. He merely shook his head:
"Li Muyun told me about immortals before. After hearing about them, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep at night. I only wanted to investigate for myself just how wondrous immortal cultivation really is."
"That Li Muyun again!" Zhao Ningyi's hand clenched sharply.
As she gritted her teeth, the soft flesh of her cheeks tightened. "Had I known, I should have taken his worthless life back then!"
Those were not merely words spoken in anger.
Two and a half months earlier, she had realized that Li Muyun's coldness toward her had all been an act, and promptly gone crying to her father, begging him to punish Li Muyun.
The city lord already doted on his daughter. He immediately found a charge of "embezzling tax silver" and stripped Li Muyun of his post.
For the sake of their past affection, Zhao Ningyi had spared his life and sent him to serve as a minor clerk in a nearby town.
What she did not know, however, was that two months earlier, Qing Chen had already had his subordinates pose as mounted bandits and ambush Li Muyun, turning him into a eunuch and an imbecile before destroying his martial arts.
Then he had informed the families of the victimized pharmacists, and those villagers had already hacked Li Muyun into countless pieces.
Hearing Zhao Ningyi curse Li Muyun now, Qing Chen patted the back of her hand, took the orange she had crushed in her fingers, and placed it on a porcelain plate beside them:
"Don't be angry. He can no longer be a thorn in our eyes."
Only then did Zhao Ningyi calm down a little. She peeled another segment and offered it to him. "Immortals? Are you looking for immortal cultivation arts, my dear? There definitely aren't any in my father's treasury.
"I sneaked inside when I was little. The best manuals there were only first-rate martial arts. They didn't even mention the word 'immortal.' Besides, throughout the Jing Kingdom, I've never heard of anyone possessing the ability to cultivate immortality. Even if such arts really existed, you couldn't practice them without the aptitude."
"Li Muyun once told me that cultivating immortality seems to require a token. So I want to search for one and see whether a destined opportunity awaits me." Qing Chen bit into the orange segment, but tasted little of its flavor.
"A token?"
Zhao Ningyi frowned. "But even with a token, you still need a spiritual root. My dear, among hundreds or thousands of people, there might not even be one with the aptitude to cultivate immortality.
"My father once invited the Jing Kingdom's state preceptor to test my older brother and me. We both had mortal roots, not even the poorest 'mixed spiritual root.' Actually, having no spiritual root is quite nice. Staying with the family's wealth and spending every day with you-wouldn't that be more carefree than cultivating immortality?"
"But I can't give up."
Qing Chen interrupted her. "Now that I know about immortal cultivation, I want to see it with my own eyes. If I don't try, I'll never give up."
Seeing his stubborn expression, Zhao Ningyi softened a little. Suddenly, she leaned close and rested her forehead against his shoulder:
"Then I'll fetch a token for you, but you have to promise me one thing."
"Not just one thing-even a hundred or a thousand, I'd promise you." Qing Chen's voice softened a little, and he rested his hand gently on her back.
"I'll fetch you a token. When the immortal ship arrives, if you have no aptitude for immortal cultivation and the immortals take the token back, you must stay with me for the rest of your life and marry me." As Zhao Ningyi spoke, she lifted her head to look at him, her eyes filled with expectation.
She had worked it out clearly in her mind. Barely one person in a thousand had a spiritual root, so Qing Chen most likely did not have one either.
Then she could tether him to her side and never again have to fear that he would run away.
They would enjoy themselves together and savor wealth and honor.
Qing Chen suddenly froze and did not answer immediately.
He looked into Zhao Ningyi's eyes, which shone like stars at that moment.
Suddenly, he remembered how she had stood before the dressing table three months earlier, wearing a pomegranate-red ruqun;
He remembered how, last month, she had disguised herself as a serving woman and hidden at a street corner near the western city residence, only leaving in relief after seeing him return;
He remembered how carefully she had peeled the orange just now, afraid its juice would splash onto him.
For some reason, a faint flutter suddenly stirred in Qing Chen's heart.
"Are you unwilling, my dear?" Seeing that he remained silent, Zhao Ningyi's voice took on a hint of panic.
Qing Chen abruptly came back to himself and suppressed that faint flutter.
He drew a deep breath, his voice carrying a trace of something inexplicable. "No... it isn't that I'm unwilling. If I have no aptitude for immortal cultivation, then we'll spend our lives together."
"Then it's settled!" Zhao Ningyi immediately smiled, her eyes curving into crescents. "The Condensed Jade Sect's receiving envoy will arrive in a month and stop at Sea City in the Jing Kingdom.
"The princes and nobles of all seven kingdoms will go to Sea City to wait then. I'll set out with my father in the next few days and give you the token in Sea City a month from now."
"Mm." Qing Chen nodded, unable to find anything to say for a moment.
Half a month later, within the Shu Kingdom, in Hanchuan Ancient City.
Dawn had only just begun to break. Dew still clung to the blue stone slabs at the city gate, and a chill lingered in the air.
"Eldest Brother, must you really leave? Must you embark on the path of immortal cultivation?" Qing Jie was already sixteen.
His eyes had reddened, and he gazed at his older brother Qing Chen with reluctance filling his gaze.
Qing Chen did not answer directly, merely saying, "Second Brother, now that you've entered Shu, remember to act cautiously. You've attained some proficiency in the Jade Forging Art and have begun to possess the strength to protect yourself.
"I've also written my insights into Phantom Double and the Appearance-Altering and Bone-Shrinking Art in a small booklet. Remember not to be impatient in your training, and read more Taoist scriptures.
"Several months ago, I quietly settled some former subordinates and trusted followers from the Twin Eagles Association here, those willing to come develop our foothold with me. Spend more time with them and keep in close contact."
"Must you truly leave? Can't we discuss it further?" Second Mother asked reluctantly, her voice choked with tears.
Having weathered wind and rain together all along the way, Qing Chen had long since become no different from her own flesh and blood in her heart.
Qing Chen smiled freely, his heroic spirit soaring to the clouds. "Ha, all my life, I've feared neither heaven nor earth. Now that I have a chance to pit myself against Heaven, how could I give up so easily?
"Besides, the scriptures speak of reincarnation. Perhaps I truly existed in a previous life. I often glimpse that blurred figure in my dreams. In my previous life, I seemed to be bullied constantly, drinking with others and fawning over them, my life bitter beyond words.
"Since I'm fortunate enough to have such an opportunity in this life, I, Qing Chen, want to explore that unknown world step by step, to see whether I can reach that supreme realm, climb to the summit of the Nine Heavens, and beat Heaven by half a move!
"Haha, once I succeed in cultivation, I'll certainly return. Why be so sad? Even in immortal cultivation, no one will be able to bully me. I'll be the only one doing the bullying, haha."
Second Mother's children, his third brother Qing An and younger sister Qing Yun, were still young and merely watched in silence.
Having said this, Qing Chen smiled slightly, roused the force within his body, squeezed the horse's flanks, and then drew up its reins.
The horse seemed to sense its master's resolve as well and gave a neigh,
Then turned and galloped forward, like an arrow loosed from its bow, cleaving the vast sky.
Qing Chen never looked back.
The immortal path stretched vast; the mortal path lay faint and distant.
Heaven's Way spread boundless; the roads of the world stretched into the unknown.