Chen Ping’an gently released her hand and stepped back, wanting to take a good look at her.

She was still in her ink-green robe, a little taller, but not much. Now, she was no longer taller than him.

Her cheeks flushed slightly, and all the mountains and rivers of the Vast Expanse, added together, were not as beautiful as her eyebrows and eyes. Chen Ping’an could even see himself reflected in her eyes.

She raised an eyebrow, “Chen Ping’an, you’ve made something of yourself, haven’t you?”

Chen Ping’an answered irrelevantly, softly saying, “These years, I haven’t dared to think of you too much.”

Ning Yao was about to speak.

From behind the spirit screen, someone whistled. It was a stout man squatting on the ground, with several heads peeking out behind him, like a peacock spreading its tail, all staring wide-eyed at the gate.

Ning Yao was about to react when Chen Ping’an grabbed one of her hands, holding it tightly, “This time, stay longer. Even if you chase me away, I won’t leave.”

A girl whispered, “Ning-jie’s ears are turning red.”

Ning Yao abruptly pulled Chen Ping’an in front of her, elbowing him in the chest, freeing her hand. She turned and strode toward the spirit screen, leaving behind a sentence, “I never agreed to anything.”

Chen Ping’an grimaced, that blow was truly heavy. Rubbing his chest, he quickly followed. He didn’t need to close the gate. An old servant with cloudy eyes nodded and smiled, silently closing the manor gate.

The group had already stood up at the corner of the spirit screen.

Chen Ping’an walked shoulder to shoulder with Ning Yao, smiling and greeting them, “Yan Zhuo, Dong Huafu, Diezhang, Chen Sanqiu, hello.”

The stout man was called Yan Zhuo, the嫡系 descendant of the Yan family. The Yan family’s position in the Sword Qi Great Wall was similar to the Ministry of Revenue in a secular dynasty. Aside from the private channels of those great families, the Yan family managed nearly half of the material transportation. In simple terms, the Yan family was rich, very rich.

Dong Huafu, the surname alone said it all. He was a dark-skinned, wiry young man with a scarred face, taciturn, and only loved drinking. His sword, however, was a very feminine Ru-Zhuang. He had an older sister with an even stranger name, Dong Budé, but she was a innate sword genius counted among the best in the Sword Qi Great Wall. She seemed frail, but when she fought, she was a lunatic. It was said that she once became so bloodthirsty that the Hidden Official 大人 directly knocked her unconscious and dragged her back to the Sword Qi Great Wall.

The slender, one-armed woman carried a large sword on her back.

She came from the slums of the Sword Qi Great Wall, without a surname, simply called Diezhang. When she was young, she met A Liang and often helped him buy wine. Over time, they became familiar, and she gradually got to know Ning Yao and her friends. Now, she still owed A Liang a mountain of debt for wine.

The last person was an extremely handsome young master named Chen Sanqiu, also a scion of a renowned clan. Since childhood, he had secretly loved Dong Huafu’s sister, Dong Budé, his affection unwavering. Chen Sanqiu wore a sword on each side of his waist, one without a scabbard, its blade engraved with the ancient characters “Cloud Pattern.” The sheathed sword was named Jing Shu, meaning Classic.

The leader, the stout man, pinched his throat, mimicking Ning Yao’s delicate voice, “Who are you?”

Ning Yao stopped, glanced at the stout man, and said nothing.

Chen Ping’an softly asked Ning Yao, “Golden Core Sword Cultivator?”

Again, before Ning Yao could speak, Chen Sanqiu said with a smile, “Anyway, Yan Zhuo isn’t a Qi Refinement cultivator of the Fourth Realm, nor is he a foolish pure martial artist.”

Chen Ping’an smiled, “You can look down on me, but you can’t look down on Ning Yao’s judgment.”

Yan Zhuo stuck out his butt and bumped into Dong the dark charcoal behind him, “Did you hear that? The one who was already in the Fourth Realm on our city wall back then seems unhappy.”

Ning Yao frowned and said, “Are you done yet?”

Yan Zhuo immediately shrunk his already barely visible neck.

They didn’t really have a strong negative or positive impression of Chen Ping’an, and they wouldn’t stoop to bullying.

It was just that Ning Yao was too special in their eyes.

The Sword Qi Great Wall had a natural barrier with the Vast Expanse.

Including Yan Zhuo, along with Chen Sanqiu and the others, knew that Chen Ping’an hadn’t done anything wrong, but all the peers in the Sword Qi Great Wall, as well as some elders with close ties to the Ning and Yao surnames, didn’t believe Ning Yao and an outsider had any future. Moreover, the cultivators of the Vast Expanse lived far more peacefully than those in the Sword Qi Great Wall. Ning Yao was growing rapidly, and in the Sword Qi Great Wall, the only kind of suitable match was when the man and woman were close in realm and had comparable killing power!

Chen Ping’an laughed, “Maybe we can spar sometime.”

Yan Zhuo looked at Ning Yao and shook his head like a rattle, “No way, no way.”

Ning Yao softly said, “You’re only in the Sixth Realm, don’t bother with them. These guys have nothing better to do.”

Chen Ping’an suppressed a smile, “Pretending to be a Distant Roaming Realm is a bit difficult, but what’s so hard about pretending to be a Sixth Realm martial artist?”

As a result, Ning Yao elbowed him in the waist again, angrily saying, “Is it fun to lie to me?”

This time, she was truly angry.

Yan Zhuo and the others fell silent.

Chen Ping’an grabbed her hand and softly said, “I’m used to suppressing my realm when I travel. If I were in the Vast Expanse, I’d be a Fifth Realm martial artist right now, and most Distant Roaming Realm cultivators wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. Our ten-year agreement, I said I had to reach the Golden Body Realm before coming to see you. Do you think I can’t do it? I’m angry.”

Ning Yao looked at him. You, Chen Ping’an, are angry? Then what’s with that smile on your face? Is it okay to falsely accuse someone first? Ning Yao stared blankly at the somewhat unfamiliar yet familiar Chen Ping’an before her.
Nearly a decade had passed. He wore a jade hairpin, a cyan robe, and still carried a sword on his back. She even had to tilt her head slightly to look at him. As for the customs and people of the vast world beyond, would Ning Yao not know them? Back then, she had traveled alone across most of the Nine Provinces. How could she not know that a man with even a slightly handsome appearance, who walked the path of the martial world, would inevitably encounter all sorts of beautiful women? Especially such a young Golden Body Realm martial artist, a rare sight even in the vast world. With Chen Ping’an’s stubborn temperament, he might precisely be the heart’s desire of some shameless women.

Chen Ping’an, however, had no idea what Ning Yao was thinking. But his intuition told him that if he didn’t do or say something, his life might be in danger.

But when Chen Ping’an carefully looked into her eyes, all words vanished. He simply lowered his head and gently touched her forehead, softly calling, “Ning Yao, Ning Yao.”

Between heaven and earth, there was nothing else.

Only Miss Ning.

Ning Yao turned her head and pushed Chen Ping’an’s head away with a slap, glaring at him. “Chen Ping’an, are you possessed?”

Chen Ping’an was also a little embarrassed.

Yan Zhu turned his head, a mournful look on his face. “I concede, I can’t take it anymore, I really can’t.”

Chen Sanqiu rolled his eyes and muttered, “I have a bad feeling, it’s like that damned Ah Liang is back.”

Dong Huafu rarely spoke, saying, “If you like her, you like her. What does realm matter?”

Diezhang nodded. “I also think they’re a great match with Sister Ning. But what will they do when they go out in the future? Now that there’s no war, many people are idle and prone to causing trouble. Is Sister Ning just going to hide him in the house all the time, or secretly go to the city wall? That won’t do.”

Chen Ping’an suddenly said to them, “Thank you for staying by Ning Yao’s side all this time.”

Chen Ping’an clasped his fist deeply, his eyes clear and his smile bright. “I should have said this back then on the city wall. I owe it to you for almost ten years.”

Diezhang smiled and said nothing.

Chen Sanqiu hummed. “It’s a pity Ning Yao never liked me, otherwise you’d be crying outside the door this time.”

Yan Zhu raised his hands and gently patted his cheeks, smiling. “At least you have some conscience.”

Dong Huafu asked, “Can you drink?”

Ning Yao said, “Drink what?!”

Dong Huafu then said, “If he doesn’t drink, I’ll drink.”

Ning Yao led Chen Ping’an to a plaza, where they saw the Dragon Slaughtering Platform, a stone cliff as large as a house.

A staircase had been carved out by a Sword Immortal, and the group ascended it one by one, reaching a somewhat crude small pavilion at the top.

Ning Yao glanced at the one-armed girl, Diezhang, who carried a large sword.

Diezhang blinked, sat down, then stood up again, saying she had something to do.

Chen Sanqiu and Yan Zhu also found their own reasons to leave, leaving only Dong Huafu sitting there like a fool, saying he was fine.

As a result, Chen Sanqiu grabbed him by the neck and dragged him away.

Only the two of them were left facing each other.

Chen Ping’an clasped his hands together, placing them lightly on his knees.

Without Yan Zhu and the others, Ning Yao was a little more at ease.

Ning Yao asked, “Over the years, have there been any girls who liked you?”

Chen Ping’an nodded. “Yes. But I never fell for them. That was true before, and it will be true in the future.”

Ning Yao asked again, “How many?”

Chen Ping’an was stunned.

Ning Yao continued, “Which ones?”

Chen Ping’an was speechless.

Unexpectedly, Ning Yao said, “I don’t care.”

Chen Ping’an was at a loss for words.

Ning Yao turned to look down at the Dragon Slaughtering Platform. “Granny Bai, is this guy really a Golden Body Realm martial artist?”

Within Ning Yao’s line of sight, besides the old servant who was closing the gate, there was also a tall old woman. The two elders stood shoulder to shoulder.

The old woman smiled and nodded. “Young Master Chen is indeed a seventh-realm martial artist, and his foundation is excellent, beyond imagination.”

Chen Ping’an said softly, “Didn’t lie to you, right?”

Ning Yao ignored Chen Ping’an, and said to the two elders, “Granny Bai, Grandpa Nalan, you can go ahead.”

The old woman hesitated for a moment, her eyes smiling, as if with a hint of inquiry. Ning Yao shook her head slightly, and the old woman smiled and nodded, leaving with the hobbling old man.

Chen Ping’an asked, “Is Granny Bai a Mountain Peak Realm Grandmaster?”

Ning Yao nodded. “She used to be a Peak Realm, but she dropped realms for my sake.”

Chen Ping’an suddenly asked, “Are there any peers around your age here who are already Nascent Soul Sword Cultivators?”

Ning Yao scoffed. “I’m not even a Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator yet, who could be?”

Chen Ping’an hummed.

That answer was very much like Miss Ning.

Ning Yao frowned and asked, “Why are you asking this?”

Chen Ping’an smiled. “It’s nothing.”

Ning Yao reminded him, “The Sword Cultivators here at the Sword Qi Great Wall are not comparable to those in the vast world.”

Chen Ping’an nodded. “I know. You once said that the Northern Ju Continent was worth visiting. Before coming here, I just went there once and experienced the abilities of the Sword Cultivators there.”

Ning Yao ohhed, her brow subtly smoothing, a sight that, in someone’s eyes, might be like the moon rising above the willows.

With a twist of his wrist, Chen Ping’an took out a thick book he had bound himself. He was about to get up and sit next to Ning Yao.

Ning Yao said, “Just sit there.”

Chen Ping’an scratched his head and lightly tossed the book. “Back then, when I went to Tongye Continent carrying the sword of the old Sword Immortal, the old senior reminded me that it was best to be patient and not casually send letters to the Sword Qi Great Wall, lest it distract you, and even more worried that you would be implicated because of me. I kept that in mind. So whenever I had time, I would write down my experiences of the mountains and rivers over the years. You can flip through it. All the big and small things are written down. Some are recorded in detail, and some are just a rough outline.”

Ning Yao took the book and began to browse through Chen Ping’an’s own written travelogue.

Chen Ping’an sat for a while and, seeing that Ning Yao was engrossed in reading, simply lay down and closed his eyes.

Inside the small pavilion, there was only the sound of turning pages.

At first, he was still thinking about things, but later, without realizing it, Chen Ping’an actually fell asleep.

Ning Yao occasionally raised her head to look at that familiar fellow. After looking at him, she placed the book on the bench as a pillow, gently lay down, but kept her eyes open.

In the night, she quietly turned to the side, gazing at him.
Ning Yao lifted her head slightly, clasping her hands together and gently placing them on the book. One side of her cheek rested against the back of her hand, and she whispered, “After you left back then, I sought out Grandpa Chen and asked him to sever those preordained threads of fate connecting us. Grandpa Chen asked me, ‘Are you truly going to do this? What if you really grow to dislike him? What if you, Ning Yao, no longer fancy him, and he, Chen Ping’an, no longer fancies you? What then?’ I said, ‘That won’t happen. Who I, Ning Yao, like is no one’s concern, and no one can stop me from loving someone.’ Grandpa Chen then asked, ‘What about Chen Ping’an? If he loses the tether of fate, and is separated by ten thousand leagues from the Great Wall of Sword Qi, won’t he drift further and further away, never to return?’ I answered for you, ‘Impossible. Chen Ping’an will definitely come looking for me. Even if he no longer loves me, he will definitely tell me so himself.’ But I was actually very afraid, afraid that I would love you even more, but you would no longer love me.”

Ning Yao fell silent, slowly drifting off to sleep.

Chen Ping’an opened his eyes, gently rose, and sat beside Ning Yao.

He looked up, seeing three moons in the heavens. He looked down, seeing the one he held in his heart.