Should he not question me, there was no need for a reply.
But should he mention it, our reunion would be endless.

Originally, Zhu Biqiong was as pure and innocent as a blank scroll. What she had endured these past two years, Jiang Wang knew not. Yet, from the demeanor of Lu Shiru Wu Shi of Diao Hai Tower, one could glean a hint. Her current ranking as the vice-list champion of the Sea Exploration List probably served as a testament to the tales hidden beneath the surface.

The little girl who was once led in circles by Hu Shao Meng had today become an extraordinary figure overseas. The little girl who, once sheltered by her elder sister, saw no earthly storms, now, on the near-sea islands, could stir up wind and rain with a single word… Time, indeed, was impartial to everyone.

The Marquis of Wu An of Great Qi, the True Inheritor of Jing Hai from Diao Hai Tower. What they gained was displayed for all to see. What they lost was buried deep within their hearts.

“Pass on my thanks to her…” Jiang Wang paused, and in the end, merely said, “Many thanks.”

Lu Shiru Wu Shi retreated respectfully. Jiang Wang did not linger on Hai Men Island but returned directly to Qi Country. He had no news of Fourteen being at sea and could not send a long-distance message to Chong Xuan Sheng. He feared Chong Xuan Sheng would go mad.

But… there was no trace of her in the border prefecture, nor was she overseas. Where, then, could Fourteen possibly be?

Inserting red flowers, wearing a long skirt. Applying rouge, dotting crimson lips.

Fourteen had not dressed like this for a very long time. Or rather, she had never dressed up… hence, she was quite clumsy.

That day, she went into the famous rouge and powder shop in Lin Zi and bought back many bits and pieces of makeup. Then, alone in her room, she quietly dressed up for a very long time. Not speaking was not an uncomfortable thing for her; she had always spoken rarely. Because her voice was naturally soft and not at all fierce enough, in order to maintain the deterrent force of an iron-armored guard, she tried not to let herself make a sound for a long time. Gradually, she almost never opened her mouth in front of others.

But without that ceaseless, nagging voice beside her ear… she was not quite used to it either.

Chong Xuan Sheng was a person very skilled at concealing his inner thoughts. He would greet people with a three-point smile, with nine out of ten sentences being untrue. For many years, only when he was alone with her would he often chatter on endlessly. Although she mostly didn’t understand the human schemes and entangled interests he spoke of.

But she was willing to listen.

There was no dressing mirror at home, so she used a water mirror condensed with Dao technique. She felt her Dao technique release was not bad; the water mirror was very stable and clear, and the allocation of Dao Yuan was also very reasonable… It was just that painting eyebrows and lips was truly a bit complex, making her hands busy and feet clumsy. The powder shop had attached a picture tutorial, which she looked at for a long time before she understood.

She was quite stupid.

But she wanted to dress up nicely once, to show Sheng Ge Er. For no other reason, she just wanted to show Sheng Ge Er. To show him how carefully she dressed herself up, to show him her painted red lips, her newly bought beautiful clothes—unfortunately, she could not show Sheng Ge Er.

She, of course, knew her own identity. From a very young age, someone had told her, repeatedly told her… what kind of person she was, what her responsibility was, and what her destiny would be.

Actually, she didn’t remember much about those trainings because her memory wasn’t very good. She only remembered that she had to protect Sheng Ge Er… with her slender shoulders and brave heart.

That was… a very long, very long time ago. That time, she was probably a little over two years old, not yet three. That day, she and more than ten children walked into a Buddhist hall. She saw a very handsome, but very haggard man. In her memory, he wore his hair up, but was dressed in a monk’s robe. In his arms, he held a chubby baby, kneeling before the Buddha statue.

That man looked at her for a while. She still remembered that gaze. Clearly, his eyes were so tired, so disgusted, so pained, yet they held such a compassionate gaze.

That man said, “Just her, then.”

Her destiny changed from then on. She began to receive the best guidance, began to prepare for adapting to the Open Pulse Pill, and began to have extraordinary possibilities. She only needed to remember one thing—protect that child. Protect that child.

From when everyone was very young until everyone grew up. She should have never had too many thoughts; her mind was always very simple. She just very clumsily wanted to protect that little fatty. This was a kind of obsession, a kind of mood, a kind of life’s ideal.

But from when did everything begin to change subtly?

Now, thinking back. Perhaps it was that day, coming out of the mouth of East Street. She died and revived, and he shed tears for the first time. They supported each other, walking on the streets of Lin Zi. The sunset was gorgeous, and the sky was so brilliant. At that time, she really wanted to just keep walking like that.

Perhaps it was even earlier. In those moments when she wasn’t yet aware. Such as when she pulled him up from the ground time after time, such as when she wore iron armor and held an iron sword, fiercely and fiercely blocking in front of him. Such as those days when she quietly listened while he talked on endlessly…

“You dislike me too, right?” That little fatty once asked, his eyes red, puffed up with anger. “You’re also forced to follow me all the time, aren’t you?”

At that time, she mustered her courage and pinched his fat face, “I think you’re very cute.”

Thinking of these things, Fourteen laughed. But after laughing, she felt a little sad again. Sadness didn’t start today. Nor did it start from Old Marquis Ye’s conversation. It began during that battle against Wang Yiwu, when she exhausted all her strength, yet her consciousness was easily shattered. At that time, her last thought was—what about Sheng Ge Er?

It was when Chong Xuan Sheng removed the Fa Tian Xiang Di divine ability and the Chong Xuan divine ability, and the foundation of the renowned Chong Xuan family became more and more concrete within his body. It was when she discovered that no matter how hard she tried, she was firmly being pulled further and further away from him. It was during the Fa Xia battlefield, when Jiang Wang could raise his sword and fight the divine Lin, while she could only hide within the army ranks, contributing her own Dao Yuan and blood energy—that was when she felt sad.

Originally… I could no longer protect him. Her life’s meaning was no longer clear; her life’s ideal was gradually unattainable. What a cruel fact this was!

Perhaps she wasn’t smart, or perhaps she intentionally avoided it. She realized these things, yet hid everything inside her iron armor. Until that day Old Marquis Ye summoned her to the manor and told her that she was a very important person to Chong Xuan Sheng… and that Chong Xuan Sheng, who was about to inherit the position of Marquis Bo Wang, should have better choices, a more brilliant future.

Old Marquis Ye described to her how this world operated, what kind of lessons history had left for people. Old Marquis Ye told her what kind of woman the next Marquis Bo Wang’s wife should be, what kind of family background she should have, and what kind of help she should bring to Chong Xuan Sheng… Her iron armor was uncovered. As if she was back in her timid childhood, hugging her knees and shivering. Before stepping forward to protect Chong Xuan Sheng, she was actually very afraid.

Now, she had to see the real world, had to face the reality of the world. That pair of iron armor had protected her and Chong Xuan Sheng, and also hid her timidity.

She put on red makeup to wait for Chong Xuan Sheng and left alone before dawn. Her last act of courage was to bid farewell through a long night. She had already made up her mind to bravely wander the world from now on, and cultivate diligently.

But at this moment—

She looked around at the strange scenery, a little lost. “I’ve walked for so many days, I should already be at sea. This place seems familiar, yet seems unfamiliar. Going out to sea is walking east, right? She remembered very clearly that two years ago, she accompanied Chong Xuan Sheng to String Moon Island.”

She had a rough idea in her heart. As long as she always walked east, it wouldn’t be long before she could reach Lin Hai Prefecture, find a dock casually, and board a boat. Going out to sea was very simple.

Wait… Which direction was east?

A long skirt was very inconvenient for travel… She really wanted to hide inside her iron armor, but she had promised to face this world, hadn’t she? Thinking like this, Fourteen mustered her courage again.

But the problem was… Which direction was east?

Fourteen thought hard for a long time, recalling that one could apparently judge direction from tree rings. She looked left and right, then lifted her heavy sword and chopped down a tree. Sure enough, she saw the annual rings!

But the problem was… Which side pointed east? Was it the wider side, or the narrower side?

Forget it, walking west was fine too. She could go to Jing Country, or cultivate at the Wan Yao Zhi Men. In any case, just aim for one direction and keep walking, and she wouldn’t get lost. Thinking like this, Fourteen set off again.

But her footsteps stopped very soon. She saw a person standing not far away. That was a medium-built, loose-haired man, with a calm face, not angry but majestic, with faint thunder light around his body.

This person was called Lei Zhan Gan. She knew him. He was very fierce before, but was beaten several times by Wang Ge Er and completely subdued. Sheng Ge Er and Wang Ge Er still went to Tai Yi Yuan to bully him. After the funeral of the Eleven Halls, he left Lin Zi and hadn’t returned for a very long time, nor was he active in official circles, generally disappearing without a trace.

She hadn’t expected to meet him here…

Fourteen gripped her heavy sword tightly, not speaking. Although the two sides weren’t enemies, Sheng Ge Er had said that one must be cautious of people’s hearts. She was out alone and had to remain vigilant.

But Lei Zhan Gan just faintly glanced at her. There were no emotions in his eyes. Then he turned and walked into the deeper forest.

Fourteen let out a breath. Although she wasn’t afraid of this person, she might not be able to beat him. The Lei Xi divine ability was still very powerful.

Speaking of which… why would she meet Lei Zhan Gan? Where was the Lei family’s clan land located? Or was it that Lei Zhan Gan also wanted to go out to sea? Should she have casually asked for directions just now…

“Ai.” Fourteen sighed softly. Going out was so tiring. She thought for a bit, then went back to look at the tree stump’s annual rings again. Finally, she had a clear impression in her heart and set off again. But today was destined to have many twists and turns; her journey to the edge of the world was repeatedly frustrated.

“Fourteen girl!”

She suddenly heard such a crisp shout. She looked over in a panic, then saw a woman quickly leaping through the forest, her figure very agile, appearing in front of her very soon. This woman wore tight clothes and a green square scarf on her head, looking very neat. It was exactly that green badge holder Lin You Xie, who had come to the door of Yao Guang Fang multiple times.

Bad! Fourteen turned her head and ran. She hadn’t committed any crime, nor done anything bad. But inexplicably, meeting a green badge holder now made her very nervous.

“Ai, why are you running!” Lin You Xie leaped and chased after her. “Do you know how many people have been looking for you these days? They’re all going crazy! I’ve already sent a message to Jiang Wang; he’ll be rushing here immediately.”

When Fourteen heard this, she flew even more urgently.

Lin You Xie also felt very strange. Jiang Wang and Chong Xuan Sheng had mobilized so many connections, almost sealing off the borders of Qi Country, yet they still couldn’t find Fourteen. It made people involuntarily worry if something had happened to this girl. Based on her professional experience, she determined that Fourteen’s first target after leaving Lin Zi was definitely to go out to sea. In order to find her as soon as possible and not miss any clues, she directly went to Lin Hai Prefecture from the beginning to thoroughly investigate clues, tracing tracks at each dock. Later, she really had no harvest, so she returned to Lin Zi and began to analyze what information Fourteen had left behind. Ji Xia Xue Gong was too special a place; traces fundamentally could not be captured by ordinary people. Things like divination and stargazing were useless. She also borrowed the power of the green badge system and communicated with the country’s momentum, then re-discovered Fourteen’s traces at a location ten li away from Ji Xia Xue Guan.

At that time, she actually suspected that Fourteen had already met with harm. Lin Zi always had deep waters; the surface seemed calm, but the underwater currents were turbulent. Whether the target was the Marquis Bo Wang’s Residence or Chong Xuan Sheng personally, there were too many reasons. Those traces twisted and turned in the eastern and western borders of Qi Country, with no fixed direction, and no apparent intention. She also suspected that a murderer was deliberately setting up a red herring. While quickly contacting Jiang Wang through green badge channels, she also carefully followed up herself.

She just didn’t expect to follow the vine and find the melon all the way over. She actually found Fourteen. This girl had walked for four or five days and was still circling around Lu Shuang Prefecture, fundamentally not touching the border prefecture’s door, let alone leaving the border! Lin You Xie suspected whether Fourteen had fundamentally not intended to leave, and that all of this was just a flirtatious and scolding farce between this girl and Chong Xuan Sheng. But this girl was also clearly escaping very seriously—look, she suddenly accelerated and restrained her aura, disappearing in a blink of an eye. She was also hiding her heartbeat and wiping away traces of blood energy; she was hiding very hard!

Because of her cultivation, Lin You Xie was unable to catch up for a while, but she was not anxious. She had already met the person; it was impossible for her to escape her tracking again, what’s more, Nian Chen had already fallen. She walked slowly through the mountain forest, beginning to think about some of her own inner matters. Somewhat doubtfully, she glanced in the direction Lei Zhan Gan had left.

Moreover, as Fourteen accelerated and flew, she panicked and didn’t choose a road. After finally flying out of the mountain forest, she discovered that she had forgotten the direction again… That circle of annual rings, who still remembered which side it was on? But this time, she didn’t need to be entangled again.

Because amidst a booming, thunder-like explosion, a fat figure, who had been flying over at extreme speed, the Marquis of Wu An of Great Qi, was thrown in front of her with a long pass. The explosive sound in the air had not yet dispersed, but Chong Xuan Sheng had already stopped in time. In the sky of Lu Shuang Prefecture, he looked at his Fourteen.

Today, the other in their eyes was very different. What Chong Xuan Sheng saw was a timid little girl. Stubbornly standing in the air, her long skirt swaying slightly in the wind. Red flowers were inserted in her temples, and she held a heavy sword in her hand. Her clear and pale small face made her lip color appear even redder. He realized that for all these years, he had ignored too many of her feelings. He thought he could arrange everything; he thought Fourteen would never leave. He was used to that kind of companionship, and he had never asked, what about Fourteen? What kind of life did Fourteen want?

And what Fourteen saw was a Chong Xuan Sheng she had never seen before. He was still wearing brocade clothes and fine robes, and his figure was still so thick and solid. But his face was haggard. In his bloodshot eyes, there was no longer the composure of holding a pearl in his hand. He was only looking at her, still smiling at her. Smiling very foolishly, with his mouth open, hiding his eyes…

She suddenly felt very sad.