Nine Years in the Blink of an Eye
In the air above Serpentwing Lake. A tall, willowy, silver-armored woman appeared, standing atop a giant sword.
“Ji Ning!” The silver-armored woman called out in a high voice. Swoosh! A wind suddenly howled forth from Brightheart Lake, and then Ji Ning appeared in midair.
“You are…?” Ji Ning looked at the silver-armored woman.
“My mistress is your ‘senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus’. Per the orders from my mistress, I have come to notify you of something,” the silver-armored woman said. Ning, actually, had already guessed that this woman had something to do with Ninelotus.
“My mistress said that she needs to remain within her clan for a time and won’t be able to come out in the near future. She asks you to wait for her patiently.” The silver-armored woman said in a cold, clear voice, “Mistress also said that the two of you could take this opportunity to consider if the two of you were perhaps too rash in deciding to become Dao-Companions.”
Ning frowned. Ninelotus had gone back to her clan and would not return? And was asking him to consider if they had decided to become Dao-Companions too rashly? What was this supposed to mean?
“I’ve delivered my message.” The silver-armored woman, after finishing, flew away on her giant sword, quickly disappearing into the horizons.
……
Ning returned to Brightheart Island with a belly full of suspicions. Auutmn Leaf was there by the beach, quietly waiting for him. “What happened, young master?” Autumn Leaf, seeing the restless look on Ning’s face, couldn’t help but ask him.
“That was senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus’ servant, just now,” Ning said with a frown. “She came on orders to deliver a message. Ninelotus won’t be able to leave the clan for a period of time, and also said that I should calm down and think about if we were perhaps too hasty in choosing to be Dao-Companions. What does this mean? Since we’ve already chosen to become Dao-Companions, what’s this about it being ‘too hasty’?”
In both the previous life and this one, Ning’s romantic history, or lack thereof, was completely blank.
“Young master,” Autumn Leaf said hurriedly, “I think these words don’t come from senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus. She treats you with sincerity. I imagine that the high-level members of the Dongyan clan instructed this maidservant to speak those words, so as to make you nervous. If you were to give up on your own, then they would have successfully separated the two of you.”
“Riiiight.” Ning’s eyes lit up. “You are right. This is probably their scheme. The Dongyan clan, in truth, doesn’t quite want to see myself with Ninelotus.”
Autumn Leaf, seeing Ning’s spirit rise, couldn’t help but laugh. So long as Ning was happy, she was happy.
………
Life went on without Ninelotus for Ning. He continued to live at Serpentwing Lake. He had concluded that the words sent by Ninelotus had come from the Dongyan clan, which was seeking to cause trouble between them! Thus, Ning didn’t question Ninelotus’ dedication at all. Rather, Ning felt absolutely irritated with the Dongyan clan, and truly wanted to find a chance to shock the contemptuous clan. This, Ning was quite industrious in his training at Serpentwing lake.
Every so often, he would go into seclusion to practice his swordplay…
Every so often, he would go to the Raindragon Guard’s branch to take on some missions to chase after and kill criminals or problem-causing Diremonsters…
Every two or three years, he would make a trip into the underwater estate to meditate on the Dao in the Stellar Hall…
And oftentimes, he would just lie there on his boat, letting it drift about on the surface of Serpentwing Lake. These moments were the calmest, most peaceful moments for his soul…
……
In the blink of an eye, nearly nine years had passed. After having killed many powerful criminals, Ning was now extremely famous.
“It’s a new year.” Ning stood there on his balcony, which was decorated with red lanterns, illuminating the snow that continued to fall down in this dark night.
“Young master, the dinner banquet is ready.” Autumn Leaf walked over. Ning looked sideways towards Autumn Leaf. Although it had been nearly nine years, Autumn Leaf’s appearance looked just as it had in the past. But perhaps because of her innate talent, despite using the many spirit-pills and medicines which Ning had provided, Autumn Leaf remained at the peak of the Xiantian level, and was still yet to establish her Zifu. The primary reason was her lack of comprehension into the Dao, and so Ning would often provide her with personal guidance. With his guidance, Autumn Leaf had begun to advance quite a bit, and most likely in a few more years, she would finally step into the Zifu level.
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