Martial Cultivator

“The matters at Infatuation Daoist Temple have been handled. Now I need to start preparing for what comes next.”

Chen Chao rubbed his head, feeling a bit exhausted. With Yun Jianyue imprisoned, this game had only just truly begun, there were still things for him to do after this.

He would have to leave the Divine Capital again, and he had no idea whether he would be able to return.

Xie Nandu said, “Roast a sweet potato.”

Chen Chao said with a headache, “I really don’t feel like eating that right now.”

Xie Nandu looked at him and asked, “Then what do you want to eat?”

Chen Chao turned his head toward the young woman before him, wanting to speak but swallowing the words back.

But Xie Nandu easily saw through Chen Chao’s thoughts and clicked her tongue, “Still don’t have the guts.”

If she had not mentioned it, it would have been fine, but bringing it up only irritated Chen Chao. Back when Xie Nandu had dragged him into the bamboo building, he had thought something unspeakable was about to happen. In the end, Xie Nandu summoned her nine flying swords and chased Chen Chao around, hacking away.

Chen Chao was utterly speechless at that time, unable to even complain.

Inside that bamboo building, he had been pursued in utter misery by those nine flying swords. Of course, it was only because he had held back for her sake. Otherwise, given his status as a Nepenthe martial artist now, Xie Nandu would have been no match for him.

Someone had once said - Chen Chao could not quite remember who - that even if he became invincible in this world one day, he would still be helpless when facing Xie Nandu.

At the time, Chen Chao had not taken it seriously. But now, he really had no choice but to believe it.

Helpless, he was just too damn helpless!

Thinking of this, Chen Chao looked at Xie Nandu, licked his lips, and narrowed his eyes as he grinned. “How about I just eat you today?”

Xie Nandu raised an eyebrow and said, “Come on.”

Chen Chao had just taken a step forward when he sensed sword qi stirring not far in front of him.

Chen Chao immediately raised his hands in surrender. “Forget it, forget it!”

Xie Nandu grinned, though not too widely. There was always a certain cool aloofness about her.

Just like the first time he had seen her, Chen Chao had always thought she resembled a pear blossom.

Fragrant and elegant.

Chen Chao walked over and sat down, and Xie Nandu followed, sitting beside him. In a soft voice, she said, “When you get there, think things through carefully. Plan before you act, don’t take things for granted. You need to understand that in this world, you’re never just the only smart person.”

Chen Chao grinned. “I know.”

After a moment of thought, Xie Nandu asked, “You, Yu Xiyi, and Yun Jianyue, are the three of you confident you can kill him?”

If anyone else had asked this, Chen Chao would have just given a casual answer. But since it was Xie Nandu, he seriously considered it before replying, “We should have a fifty percent chance.”

“Only fifty percent, and you dare to take action?”

Xie Nandu shook her head. “You’re far bolder than I am.”

Chen Chao chuckled. “Back in those years in the mountains, there were many times when I didn’t even have fifty percent confidence, but I still took action. Back then, I had no choice, and it’s the same now.”

“You three are all geniuses of this era. If you join forces, there’s indeed a chance of victory. But when the time comes, it’s hard to say whether you guys will truly be of one mind.”

Xie Nandu frowned slightly. Even now, she still did not really trust Yun Jianyue. It was not exactly that she did not trust him, but at this moment, there really was not anything that could ensure Yun Jianyue would risk his life from beginning to end.

For ordinary matters, she was not too concerned. But when it came to life and death, there was no such thing as a trivial detail.

Chen Chao shook his head. “When it comes to judging people, I have a better eye than you.”

Xie Nandu did not refute, just smiled slightly.

Suddenly, Chen Chao lowered his head and plucked a bamboo leaf that had unknowingly fallen onto Xie Nandu’s chest. But the moment he removed it, the leaf split cleanly in two.

The cut was precise; very clearly the work of sword qi.

Chen Chao sighed. As expected of a truly rare female sword cultivator, the sharpness of sword qi was beyond what ordinary sword cultivators could compare to.

Just as he lifted his head, Chen Chao’s gaze met Xie Nandu’s.

He had looked at this girl carefully before, but for some reason, at this moment, looking into her eyes, it felt as if they were the most beautiful pair in the world.

Even his own could not compare.

If Chen Chao’s eyes held a thousand stars, then in Xie Nandu’s, there was a lake; crystal clear and serene.

The lake was so clear that even the fish swimming within it seemed not to be in the water, but suspended in midair.

Such clear eyes, there were probably few in this world who possessed them.

For a moment, Chen Chao was entranced. He seemed to see pear blossoms drifting down from the sky, falling upon the lake’s surface, it was a breathtaking scene.

He was somewhat mesmerized.

Xie Nandu could not help but reach out and gently touch Chen Chao’s cheek. He continued looking at her, and at that moment, he saw it clearly, on Xie Nandu’s face, two blushes bloomed like peach blossoms.

A woman was at her most beautiful when she was in love.

Chen Chao could not help but murmur, “In the past, there was no rouge. A woman’s face flushed only for the one in her heart.”

Xie Nandu listened to his words, pondering for a moment before coming back to her senses. Smiling, she asked, “That’s quite interesting. Which book did you read that from?”

Chen Chao snapped out of his daze at her question and replied, “I don’t remember. I’m not sure which book it came from.”

Xie Nandu withdrew her hand without saying anything more, but the emotion in her eyes did not fade. In this world, there was only one person she could look at this way - only him.

There had been no one before, there was only him now, and in the future, there would be none but him.

Chen Chao gazed at her flushed face and said seriously, “That day, that brat He Liang told me that if he ever fell for a girl, he wasn’t sure if he’d still have the courage to go north. I don’t know what he’ll do in the future, but right now, I don’t want to leave the Divine Capital at all.”

At this moment, Chen Chao suddenly felt that spending a lifetime with the girl before him like this seemed like a truly wonderful thing.

Xie Nandu said, ”Leaving home doesn’t matter. No matter how far or how long you go, as long as you can come back, that’s all that matters.”

For someone like her, who had never been good at expressing emotions, these words already conveyed a great deal.

”I have some admiration for Uncle. He cared so much for Aunt, and I imagine there must have been countless times when he wanted to simply put everything down and spend his life with her. But in the end, he still did everything he could for Great Liang. He never once laid down the burdens on his shoulders.”

Chen Chao smiled, though there was also a trace of regret in his eyes. After the martial examination that year, he had planned to go to the palace to see Aunt, to call her ‘Aunt’ just once. But in the end, he never managed to say the word to her face.

”Maybe in his next life, Uncle would never want to be emperor again.”

Of all the people in this world, Chen Chao understood his uncle the most. The world had never been what he truly desired. It was only because of the blood flowing through his veins that he had forced himself to bear the weight of it all. But deep down, the life he wanted was certainly not the one he ended up living.

Chen Chao’s gaze dimmed, and he said softly, ”Even though I know Uncle might not really be gone, I still miss him. I miss Aunt, Imperial Sister, and Mother too.”

”If Mother knew the girl I liked was someone like this, the best in the world, she would be so happy. She’d probably even cook a whole table full of dishes herself. But compared to Aunt’s cooking, hers is far worse. When the time comes, just have a taste, don’t eat too much, it’s too salty! Though, at least Mother’s pastries are somewhat edible...”

At this point, Chen Chao suddenly stopped speaking. It was as if he had just remembered, his mother had already passed away many years ago. The girl he liked would never have the chance to taste his mother’s cooking in this life.

At that thought, Chen Chao didn’t know why, but his eyes suddenly grew wet. Then, the tears surged uncontrollably, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not stop them from falling.

Before long, his face was covered in tears.

After the great flood, he had traveled alone, starving to the point of being nothing but skin and bones, nearly dying on the road. He had not cried then, even when he had no choice but to eat human flesh. Later, when he became the warden of Tianqing County, fighting countless demons in the mountains, he had not cried either. When he returned to the Divine Capital and endured endless cold stares and ridicule, he had not shed a single tear. Even when he took on the responsibility of carrying the entire Great Liang at such a young age, he still never cried.

Yet now, just talking about his mother’s cooking, he could not stop the tears from falling.

Chen Chao lowered his head, his entire body trembling, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably. He bit down hard, desperately suppressing the sound of his sobs.

Xie Nandu looked at Chen Chao and understood perfectly why he suddenly broke down like this.

This guy before her had long grown accustomed to hiding all his pain, not letting anyone see it. It was because he had known, from a very young age, that he had no one left to rely on, and no family.

Later, when he faced His Majesty, bit by bit, he had opened his heart, finally accepting him as his last remaining elder. But now, even that last elder, who knew if he was still alive, if he would ever return?

For a while, he had forced himself to keep going, handling all those matters without allowing himself a moment to think. But now, with things momentarily settled, that taut string in his heart had suddenly loosened, and this was the inevitable result.

At the end of the day, he was still a young man who was not even thirty, and not yet married. No matter how decisive and ruthless he appeared in daily life, there was still a soft part of him.

”Chen Chao, crying in front of the girl you like, don’t you find it embarrassing?”

Xie Nandu suddenly spoke, but she knew very well that this man, no matter how much pain or vulnerability he felt, would only cry in front of her.

A long while passed before Chen Chao finally raised his head and looked at the girl he liked.

Xie Nandu saw the fresh bite marks on his lips, blood seeping through. She leaned in, gently licking away the blood with her tongue. Then, looking into his eyes, she said softly, ”It’s not embarrassing, Chen Chao. Crying in front of the girl you like isn’t shameful at all.”

As she spoke, she reached out, gently wiping away the tear stains on his face. In a quiet voice, she said, ”You’re not alone. You still have me.”

Chen Chao looked at Xie Nandu and asked, ”Will you always stay by my side?”

Xie Nandu nodded, giving a firm answer: ”Of course. I’ll always be by your side. If you don’t believe me, you can keep asking me, and I’ll keep answering you.”