Chapter 3689: Sword Fighting Across the Realm (28)
Chapter 3689: Sword Fighting Across the Realm (28)
Ning Shu lowered Qin Nianzhi from her shoulder. The girl was still unconscious. Ning Shu took out a water skin and took a drink, silently watching her. During her time away from home, Qin Nianzhi had lost a lot of weight. It seemed she really had suffered.
Why do people mistake the feeling of pain for love?
The sound of hoofbeats approached. Ning Shu stood up and looked toward the newcomer. To her surprise, it was the spirited and valiant Yin Nanlian.
Seeing Ning Shu, Yin Nanlian immediately pulled the reins to stop her horse. She performed a graceful dismount and cried out, "Chong Xuefeng!"
Ning Shu raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?"
Yin Nanlian tied her horse to a tree and walked over. "Are you alright?"
She scanned Ning Shu from head to toe. Seeing blood on her clothes, she asked, "Where are you hurt?"
Ning Shu shook her head. "This isn't my blood." It was the blood Situ Xun had sprayed on her. "Why did you come?"
"I was worried something would happen to you, so I came anyway."
Yin Nanlian turned and saw Qin Nianzhi leaning against a tree. She asked in surprise, "What’s wrong with her?"
"I killed Situ Xun. She was so heartbroken she refused to return to Wanjian Manor, so I knocked her out," Ning Shu explained.
Yin Nanlian was taken aback. She hadn't expected Chong Xuefeng to have the heart to knock out Qin Nianzhi. Then, she was even more stunned. "You actually killed Situ Xun?"
"I did." She had waited until now to kill him. There was no reason to let him keep jumping around.
Qin Nianzhi let out a soft moan as she began to wake up. Ning Shu walked over and delivered another strike to the back of her neck, knocking her out again. This decisive and clean movement made Yin Nanlian’s eyelids twitch.
This was truly…
Was it really okay to just knock her out the moment she woke up?
Noticing Yin Nanlian’s look, Ning Shu explained, "She is very sad because Situ Xun is dead. She would likely cause a scene the whole way back. It's better to let her sleep so she isn't sad and doesn't make trouble."
Yin Nanlian nodded.
To prevent the demonic cult from catching up, Ning Shu hoisted the girl onto her horse and galloped off. Yin Nanlian breathed a sigh of relief. At least nothing had gone wrong.
Yin Nanlian had been unable to sit still at Wanjian Manor. A day after Ning Shu left, she had also taken a horse and headed toward the demonic cult.
After several days of traveling and camping in the wilderness, they finally returned to Wanjian Manor. Along the way, whenever Qin Nianzhi was awake, she had wailed and lamented. After the shouting fits passed, she would fall into a deathly silence, looking at Ning Shu with eyes full of coldness and resentment.
She questioned Ning Shu on why she had killed Situ Xun. "The two of you were both so important in my heart! I would be sad if anything happened to either of you! Why did you have to kill him?"
In the face of Qin Nianzhi's accusations, Ning Shu only gave a sarcastic smirk. The rest of the time, she remained silent. Some people will always defeat you with their extensive experience in idiotic logic.
Ning Shu really wanted to ask her, ‘Why the hell wouldn't I kill Situ Xun?’
Ning Shu knew that Situ Xun’s death would deal a devastating blow to Qin Nianzhi.
Looking at the current situation, Ning Shu just wanted to say that it was absolutely fantastic.
Seeing Qin Nianzhi acting like a madwoman and blaming everything on Chong Xuefeng, Yin Nanlian couldn't help but want to defend Ning Shu. However, Ning Shu shook her head at her. There was no need to say anything.
Qin Nianzhi was currently immersed in her own world of grief. She was likely making a secret vow never to give Chong Xuefeng another chance for the rest of her life.
Currently, she viewed Ning Shu as her mortal enemy.
Upon returning to Wanjian Manor, Qin Nianzhi locked herself in her room. she sat there in a daze, refusing to eat or drink.
Ning Shu thought, ‘I don't care if you live or die.’
She could do whatever she wanted.
Yin Nanlian was feeling incredibly conflicted. Was this man still thinking about marrying Qin Nianzhi even now? If they married like this, they would just be a resentful couple. What was Chong Xuefeng even aiming for?
Why would he choose to spend his days with a soulless woman who acted like a piece of wood instead of living a good life?
Couldn't he find someone who would care for him through thick and thin and live a warm life together?
Yin Nanlian felt somewhat disheartened. The day after they returned to Wanjian Manor, she bid Ning Shu farewell. "I should go back. My father must be worried."
She wanted to leave because the situation was so frustrating, but she also hoped the man would ask her to stay.
Ning Shu nodded. "Travel safely. I will visit Lingyun Manor when I have the time."
Yin Nanlian’s face turned pale. Seeing Ning Shu’s expression, which didn't seem affected by her departure at all, her eyes suddenly began to sting. She was truly heartbroken.
Yin Nanlian didn't think that she couldn't live without Chong Xuefeng, but she didn't know how long it would take to recover from this heartbreak.
Yin Nanlian sniffled and managed to say, "Chong Xuefeng, whatever you do, do not marry Qin Nianzhi. You won't be happy."
Ning Shu saw that Yin Nanlian was about to cry. She wanted to comfort her, but doing so would only give her false hope. Thus, she chose to say nothing at all.
Ning Shu thought Yin Nanlian was quite a good person. Being willing to sacrifice for the one you love was a beautiful thing, especially if the other person reciprocated.
However, Ning Shu didn't know how Chong Xuefeng actually felt about Yin Nanlian, or if he had simply made getting Qin Nianzhi an obsession that had to be fulfilled at any cost.
Even after learning her own father was dead, Qin Nianzhi hadn't been this despondent.
One couldn’t choose one’s parents but one could choose one’s partner. For the sake of that choice, some people could abandon everything, including their own family.
Yin Nanlian left. She rode her horse very slowly, constantly looking back in hopes that he would appear. But an entire day passed, and he never showed up.
Yin Nanlian gave up. She snapped her whip, and the horse galloped away.
Regarding Qin Nianzhi, who remained in her room like a piece of wood, Ning Shu stood at the door and said, "Junior Sister…"
Before Ning Shu could finish, she heard a heart-wrenching scream from inside. "Go away, Chong Xuefeng! I never want to see you again!"
Ning Shu smiled slightly and said directly, "Junior Sister, some of our fellow disciples have gone home. I expect they won't be coming back. Also, because of these troubled times, I have closed Wanjian Manor’s weapon shops."
Qin Nianzhi didn't know why Ning Shu was telling her this. "I don't want to hear your voice!"
But Ning Shu continued anyway. "I am leaving as well. I am departing Wanjian Manor to roam the world. Take care of yourself, Junior Sister. Although Master asked me to be the sect leader, you are the true heir. From now on, you must shoulder the burden of Wanjian Manor."
Qin Nianzhi was completely stunned. What did this mean? What did her senior brother mean? He was leaving?
This was completely outside of her expectations. She felt that her senior brother had killed Situ Xun because of her, and she had never imagined he would stop looking after her. After all, subconsciously, she still relied on him.
She assumed that no matter what happened, her senior brother would never leave her side, even if she hated him for killing Situ Xun.
She planned to refuse his apologies, yet now…