Click.
“As long as he’s alive, my heart will never find peace.”
After placing the black chess piece on the board, the woman spoke in a cold, calm tone.
“Sigh…”
Seeing this, the old man let out a helpless sigh, shaking his head and refraining from further persuasion.
“Fine, do as you wish, as long as you don’t do anything foolish.”
“His current status in the dynasty is extraordinary, rivaling the forces supporting the young emperor. Even I can’t easily move against him.”
The woman’s voice remained flat. “Qingluo understands Master’s words.”
The old man nodded slightly.
“By the way, you think highly of that youth named Jiang Ling?”
“He’s Qingyue’s direct disciple, born with an innate sword bone, with exceptional talent and comprehension—a rare swordsmanship prodigy.”
“If he doesn’t fall prematurely, his future achievements will surely surpass both mine and hers.”
“It’s rare to hear you praise a junior.”
A trace of weariness flickered in the old man’s eyes as he sighed. “Sigh~ It seems… this will be a golden era of rising geniuses.”
At an inn outside the Wine Sword Manor.
After several inquiries, Shen Mu learned the true identity of the youth, and his brow gradually clouded with worry.
Damn it… what terrible luck!
“Sigh~~”
Shen Mu propped his head on one hand at the table, letting out a sigh, his face filled with a sense of hopelessness.
He never would’ve imagined that, after just over a month, the male protagonist would show up in a place like this.
And he’d made quite the spectacle, pulling off a classic trope: breaking through mid-battle and comprehending a special sword intent.
In the end, he successfully defeated an opponent a whole realm above him, earning a spot on the Tianjian Spirit Ranking and becoming the first Foundation Establishment sword cultivator in its history.
The crowd’s gasps and praise were nearly unanimous.
Classic, just too classic, Shen Mu could only think.
Truly worthy of a protagonist—always dazzling no matter where he went, a stark contrast to an “ordinary person” like him.
One in the heavens, one on the earth.
Though this was somewhat unexpected, fortunately, Jiang Ling seemed to have left the city shortly after the battle, not giving other cultivators a chance to connect with him.
This was good news for Shen Mu.
At the very least, he didn’t have to worry about some unexpected incidents.
“Sir, your beef and wine. Enjoy.”
At that moment, a waiter brought a plate of steaming beef and a jug of clear wine, placing them on the table.
“Thanks.”
With things as they were, Shen Mu decided to eat first.
He stopped overthinking, poured himself a cup of wine, picked up his chopsticks, and took a piece of beef into his mouth.
In that moment, a graceful young girl stepped into the inn, her waist-length black hair swaying lightly, her clear, lively eyes scanning the room before locking onto the handsome man sitting in an inconspicuous corner.
Her pink lips curved into a slight smile, and with light, cheerful steps, she approached his table…
“Brother Shen Mu, long time no see~”
Hearing the sweet, girlish voice at his ear, Shen Mu’s fingers paused as he reached for his wine cup, lifting his eyes with slight confusion…
Before him stood a lovely girl in a light purple fairy dress, her figure delicate and graceful.
“Miss, do we know each other?”
He asked, puzzled, with little recollection of the elegant girl before him.
“It’s me, Ning’er!” The girl leaned down, bringing her flawless, beautiful face within three inches of his eyes, as if eager.
“You don’t remember me?”
“Ning… Ning’er?”
Shen Mu’s eyes widened in shock, his body involuntarily leaning back as a faint image of a frail, thin girl in tattered clothes surfaced in his mind.
Is it really that coincidental?
“Jiang Ning’er?”
He tentatively said her full name, carefully studying her face for confirmation…
“Mm!”
The girl nodded, immediately sitting on the empty bench beside him, acting like a clingy neighbor’s little sister, completely at ease with him.
“…”
Shen Mu rubbed his chin, quietly scooting inward, carefully sizing up the youthful, radiant, and beautiful girl before him…
His eyes still held disbelief.
“You… are really her?”
In his memory, that thin, frail little girl barely reached his waist, her face sallow and malnourished.
She was worlds apart from the vibrant, lovely girl before him.
“Two years ago in Luoxing Village, Brother Shen Mu held me as we slept for about half a month, hugging me almost every night.”
“And sometimes, in the evenings when we had free time, you’d even help me bathe, ten times in total, nearly every inch of my body was…”
“Alright, alright, alright!”
Feeling several strange gazes from the inn turning toward him, Shen Mu hurriedly cut off the girl’s vividly accurate recollection.
“I believe you… stop talking.”
If she kept going, he’d probably get mobbed.
“Hmph~”
The girl let out two cute nasal hums, then hugged Shen Mu’s arm more closely, her delicate face beaming with bright, joyful smiles, like blooming spring flowers.
Shen Mu merely rubbed his forehead, a helpless expression on his face.
Like an older brother facing his little sister’s clingy affection.
Two years ago.
Shen Mu had taken a simple demon-slaying commission from the sect, heading to a village near Luoxing Village.
That year, a once-in-a-century drought ravaged the land, leaving many villages with no harvest, their people crying out in despair.
Luoxing Village was one of the areas hit hardest by the drought.
Its fields were visibly cracked and dry, devoid of any greenery, just a barren expanse of lifeless brown earth.
Walking along the rural paths outside the village, one could feel waves of heat and scorched dust blowing in.
Shen Mu, having completed the demon-slaying task, had planned to bypass Luoxing Village to avoid meeting the protagonist born there and getting entangled in unnecessary karma.
But.
As he passed a barren plot outside the village and saw a frail little girl in tattered clothes, her emaciated arms digging up grass roots from the dry earth…
His heart, which had chosen to remain indifferent to the drought’s victims and maintain a detached attitude, yet always felt heavy and stifled…
Was finally torn open by an invisible force the moment he saw the girl lift her bloodied fingertips, revealing a weary smile.
Under the merciless, scorching sun, he took a deep breath, stepped toward her, and let his tall shadow gradually cover her malnourished, tiny frame…
He crouched down, smiled gently, and softly said, “Can I help you with anything?”
The little girl froze, lifting her sallow, dust-streaked face…
With those clear eyes, clouded by suffering and hunger yet still holding a glimmer of hope, she saw the white-clad figure shielding her from the relentless sun.
And she saw that refined, unforgettable face that etched itself deep into her heart.
From that moment, the two formed a special bond.