11 Never Leaving Your Side

A person's Essence was like a pillar of water, which was divided into three sections, similar to segments of bamboo. These would be the most important meridians in the world dictated by Sword's Way. 

Like countless streams merged into the ocean; nothing could stop this flow of nature. 

Compared to the twelve divergent meridians and the eight mythical meridian streams that Zhou Yan knew, that was much simpler. However, it would appear more complicated from a different perspective. 

Zhou Yan had fully unblocked and cleared every node in the countless meridians in his body. He felt a strong rush of energy surging through his body. It felt different from the shackles of his training in the Sword's Way. However, it resembled the segments of bamboo, a deep and vast amount of knowledge. 

The act of unblocking every single meridian was a difficult task. He was now facing a difficult hindrance to his progress because the grueling cumulation of every meridian was being forced upon him all at once. 

From his current perspective, it seemed the depths of a rank one Blade's Cardinal was a void, endless abyss. 

He initially assumed that he would focus the essence of the heavens and Earth into one dense and raw power based on the Nine Folds Yin-Yang Manuscripts. Besides that, he would use his body's remaining strength with the skill of 'Spatial Destruction' to break through the roadblocks of this realm all with a single rush of power, which would allow him to ascend into the second stage of his Qi's pillar or better known as the second rank of a Blade's Cardinal. However, with all his strength and might, he forced a single condensed powerful wave of Qi into his body, and the energy that resonated from his body sounded like the violent hum of a sword.

As powerful as this rush of condensed, raw power was, it still could not break through the enormous mental fortress. After the transmutation of that powerful wave of energy in his body, the shackles that bound him to his current realm seemed to be reinforced several folds.

The recoil after such a massive attack forced a surge of blood upwards in his body, making him nauseous and dizzy. This setback almost forced him to irrationally unleash a series of curses and swears, due to his cold personality.

"Master… Are...you… Are you okay?"

Ping'er stared at her master with a concerned look. Judging from her gaze alone, she seemed anxious and worried.

She had spent most of the night crossing the treacherous hills and raging streams of water. Although the journey was not a long one, the beautiful dress that she wore was now tattered and covered in dust.

Zhou Yan had attained the ability of night vision. Through the dark veil of the night, the dim light allowed him to visualize objects around him. This enabled him to see Ping'er's worried and tattered appearance. He also noticed the overwhelming exhaustion of Ning'er.

With utmost compassion in his heart, he stared at Ping'er and hiding no emotions, he pulled her close into the comfort of his loving arms and said, "Worry not Ping'er, all will be well."

As he spoke, he gently kissed Ping'er's forehead.

This simple, random act of compassion stunned Ping'er, causing her to stand frozen in her spot, while her mind went completely blank.

The lady in white who was standing next to him was also shocked by how compassionate his actions were. She stared wide-eyed at them since she never expected Zhou Yan to show such comforting compassion toward his handmaiden in that moment.

Zhou Yan appeared to completely drop his arrogant, stubborn, and inflated ego of his past. It was as though he had totally morphed into a completely different person.

Ning'er stared curiously at Zhou Yan.

"Ning'er."

Zhou Yan spoke with a calming voice while looking at Ning'er. It was the look of utmost sincerity.

"Yes, Zhou Yan, the state of your current condition seems to have drastically improved. What about your body, how does it feel?" Ning'er never avoided Zhou Yan's gaze as she was a wise maiden with the facade of a naive girl. She was known to be a woman that was unfazed by change, extremely generous, elegant but complicated on the inside. 

"I'll explain in greater detail about my condition to you later." Zhou Yan replied with a warm and indescribable sincere smile on his face.

Ning'er slowly avoided his gaze as both their eyes met.

That strong, sentimental, deep, penetrative gaze from his black pearly eyes was not something she wished to see. She knew that at this very moment, the only thing Zhou Yan needed was his fighting spirit and not an emotional attachment, or anything else. 

However, as she got lost in her thoughts, Zhou Yan had already made his way over to her. He grabbed her hands and clutching her palms tightly, he tugged her into his strong, loving arms, embracing her. 

At this very moment, she felt a wave of searing heat. His breath was heavy and stank of blood, yet so compassionately full of love and inexplicably calm.

As she struggled to escape his warm embrace, she was instead grabbed by the waist and his strong arms wrapped around her tightly, making it impossible to break free. 

It was at this moment that she realized Zhou Yan was not as frail and weak as she assumed. His strength was inhumanly strong, and this newfound change in his personality had completely rid his previously frail demeanor that he had presented. He had now transformed into an exceptionally strong and confident man. This was now an extremely attractive and remarkable man!

"Don't struggle. Allow me to give both of you a tight hug. You have both suffered much."

As Zhou Yan whispered softly to both of them, they both seemed to fall into a trance instantly.

"Although we did not wish to be born on the same name day of the same moon's cycle of the same year, we very much do wish dearly to die on the very same day! The instant both of you decided to follow me when I left, I am determined to never abandon both of you for as long as I live.

"I will make sure I train harder than I ever did before, so that I can protect both of you for the entirety of my lifetime. No longer will I allow both of you to experience even an ounce of sorrow any longer!"

As Zhou Yan whispered, it almost seemed as if he had spoken the most beautiful and captivating words of romance in the world.

Typical moonlight romance never existed in this realm. The only thing that existed was the distinction in the various ways of the sword, the possession of crystals, training, legendary swords, mythical artifacts, swordplay alchemy, and strategy. 

Thus, Zhou Yan had spoken the exact words of romance from the collective memories of the ancient sage. Even more so, he had spoken with such indescribable volumes of sincerity. It was an undeniably shocking declaration made by Zhou Yan.

This was a declaration of self-sacrifice. A confession of compassion of the highest degree, which was extremely touching to anyone.

As for both ladies, Ping'er's heart was beyond moved and touched by his words, and for the calm and collected Ning'er, a glimmer of admiration could be seen reflecting from her face. It almost made her unable to keep her vow of utmost 'purity and chastity.'

She let out a long sigh after a long while, as hints of worry became visible on her face.

"Zhou Yan, we spent most of our childhood together. You were forbidden to train, and I was merely trash, abandoned by my family. When we were little, you attempted to 'heal' me, even though you knew nothing of the ways of the sword. Even though you were an extremely frail and weak kid, you were always optimistic and never once complained of tiredness.

"Even as we grew up, you were always kind and caring towards me, and I really felt your compassion. However, there's nothing I can do to help but instead become a burden for you to carry.

"I happened to have a life-saving wild card, however in that situation, I did not dare to use it because I was unsure of this wildcard's ability."

…

"I love you with all my heart, and I am extremely grateful for your compassion. However, please do not make your struggles even more difficult than it already is for my sake."

"In my hand is a golden tablet, it can save lives, and I want you to have…"

"Ning'er, hold on to what you own. We are not left with nothing. I have inherited my father's grace and teachings. Besides that, I still have my natural gifts and powers, so, how am I, Zhou Yan, useless trash? Both of you don't need to wait too long. Just give me a cycle of a moon's time, and with that, I will return to reclaim what is rightfully mine!

"That was my father's obsession, and it's also the opportunity for stability in this new situation that I can provide you both with!"

Without hiding any secrets, Zhou Yan whispered softly to both maidens while maintaining his sincere gaze at them.

There was warmth in his whispers, and it seemingly landed directly onto Ning'er's cheeks. The usually calm and collected woman blushed a little. It was almost as if her status as a glacial deity had gracefully descended amongst the common-folk without warning.

As Zhou Yan stared at her, his heart burned with amusement at the sight of her unparalleled beauty.

Such beauty could only be the work of the gods, to have made a maiden such stunningly beautiful!

Ning'er felt an indescribable odd feeling as she was being stared down by Zhou Yan. She wanted to resist it initially. However, being comforted by Ping'er by her side, she was instantly tamed like a kitten. Hence, her instant submission stopped her from struggling and resisting, simply allowing Zhou Yan to stare at her.

"Zhou Yan... My current situation is unbearably complicated. There's no need to mention the members of your family. It was even something I had felt. I...am, not a normal, regular human being.

"I sense that I, too, have a journey that only I must embark on. It feels like a calling in my head, speaking directly to my mind. Recently, these occurrences have been more frequent… 

"Zhou Yan, no matter what happens in the future, I need you to believe me. The moment you attempted to heal me when we were little, you already hold a special place in my tiny heart.

"However, I can't lose my purity right now… I can't help but feel this would be extremely important to me.

"I will only belong to you alone. Your natural gifts… I too, can't help but fear it's ferocity.

"I used to assume that perhaps I made a mistake initially. However, as of right now, Zhou Yan, you're truly a hidden natural genius."

Ning'er's heart was touched, thus causing the usually calm and collected woman to speak more than she usually did. Even some of her words were fragmented, almost as if they were dissipating.

However, Zhou Yan knew that her words conveyed her deepest feelings.. It was due to her compassion and mixed feelings that caused her to lose her composure.

"Yes, anything that troubles you, I will understand. Any hardship you face, I will shoulder it along with you!"

Zhou Yan spoke with a soft tone. He continued with a whisper, "Ping'er, I will do the same for you."

Zhou Yan's words undeniably touched the hearts of these two young maidens. The trio had grown up together, struggled together and depended on each other for anything and everything. 

The speedy chain of current events was undeniably quickened by his recent encounters.

…

This calm and quiet environment was a rare occurrence. This simple embrace was a lengthy one. When the embrace was broken, unknown to them, they had been hugging till the break of dawn.

As the first light of dawn greeted them, both maidens were still drowsy and dazed, inciting a deeper sense of love in their hearts.

The morning dew had soaked both their dresses.

One was indescribably adorable, and the other was calm, collected and quiet. Both of them possessed distinctly different personalities that they presented to Zhou Yan. The beauty could only be described as different and unique.

Zhou Yan realized that he had an inhumanly strong urge of lust. However, at this very moment, he forced himself to resist his base urges, even though… strong, powerful flames were dancing in both his pearly eyes.