AZI Volume 6 Chapter 30

Sitting down at the terrace's table together, Nuo'er, who is accompanied by Yao Ying, asks the latter—

"You're certain?"

"…Grandpa said, a practitioner shouldn't be a carp that is trapped inside of a pond for their entire life, especially so if they wish to leap through the gates to become a dragon."

"…"

Hearing this, Nuo'er blinks her eyes, as she asks—

"…Do you even understand the meaning of these words fully?"

"…"

"…Ai."

Seeing the determined light in Yao Ying's eyes, Nuo'er eventually raises a sigh, as she explains—

"The next ruins excavation will be much more dangerous. I don't know what sort of report that surnamed Qing gave to the elders, but the clansmen of the Ling Yuan family are surely going to enter this world to perform a more thorough investigation. Under these circumstances, entering the ruins is simply-"

"If I cannot even overcome a danger of this level, I cannot hope to acquire a normal life in the real world. In that case, I should just die in tranquility ahead of time."

"…"

Directing an odd look at Yao Ying, Nuo'er asks—

"…Something that Long-shao said?"

"Uh…"

Somewhat embarrassed to have to quote another person to show her determination, Yao Ying nods awkwardly. However, there isn't much that she can do about this—since her life experience isn't as plentiful.

"I feel like you're simply just in a hot-headed state right now."

"I…-"

Raising a finger, Nuo'er cuts Yao Ying off, and continues to say—

"If you still haven't changed your mind by the time the next ruins excavation rolls around, I'll take you in."

Leaving Yao Ying to her own devices might cause more trouble in the long-run; that being said—

(Once she learns of the cruelties of bloodshed, she should be able to cool herself off. But if she's still determined to push her way forward after that, then… I don't exactly have any right to stop her.)

"Thank you."

Towards Yao Ying's show of gratitude, Nuo'er chuckles in an awkward manner, and replies—

"You don't need to thank someone who might sending you off to your death."

...…

Having returned to the Ling Yuan family's estate, Qing Ming Yang had informed Hou Chang Feng that he would make his report after a day of rest.

During that time, Qing Ming Yang had secretly made contact with Lin Yu Heng to get their stories straightened out.

On the promised day—

"…"

Qing Ming Yang walks into Hou Chang Feng's courtyard, which consists of 20 garden plots.

"Elder Hou."

Clasping his hands together, Qing Ming Yang directs a bow to Hou Chang Feng, who is dressed in red robes over a white layer.

"Oh."

Acknowledging Qing Ming Yang's presence, Hou Chang Feng finishes watering one of the spirit herbs before placing the watering pot aside.

Turning around, Hou Chang Feng looks to Qing Ming Yang, and immediately—

"You…-?"

Noticing something off about Qing Ming Yang, Hou Chang Feng's expression turns a bit odd.

"…? …!"

Suddenly, Hou Chang Feng understood why Qing Ming Yang had taken an entire day to report back to him.

"…"

Straightening his back, Qing Ming Yang says—

"I'm here to give my report, Elder Hou."

Clearing his throat, Hou Chang Feng replies—

"Speak then."

"I assume that Lin Yu Heng had already given you a report on everything that had happened before we parted ways; hence, I won't bored you with my version of it. Simply said, Xia Ri'er and I came across a rare weapon spirit after parting ways with Lin Yu Heng. As we argued about who should be the one to obtain the weapon spirit, Xia Ri'er and I ended up fighting each other, which resulted in…"

Opening and closing his dried mouth, Qing Ming Yang meekly states—

"…Me killing her."

"…This-"

Before Hou Chang Feng can ask anything, Qing Ming Yang continues to explain—

"…Fated encounters and opportunities can be met, but cannot be begged for. If a practitioner misses one of them, who knows when they might be able to encounter another? Until whatever treasure it is actually lands into your hands, and is refined, it cannot be considered your own. I… I chose to compete for this opportunity, so…"

Quoting directly from Long Hua, cold sweat rolls down the side of Qing Ming Yang's head, and eventually, he raises a sigh, as he says—

"…In the end, I suffered a major wound while competing for this opportunity, and in a fit of rage, I chose to kill Xia Ri'er as payback. But by then, the weapon spirit had already escaped—resulting in me having missed this opportunity."

With an expression of disappointment on his face, and using an enlightened tone, Qing Ming Yang continues to remark—

"Elder Hou, fate truly works in odd ways, doesn't it? Perhaps, missing this opportunity was my punishment for killing a fellow clansman?"

Fortunately, Lin Yu Heng hadn't revealed any details of Long Hua in his report; hence, the news of Qing Ming Yang being wounded—while they were still together, was never told to Hou Chang Feng ahead of time.

"Your injuries, is it…?"

Instead of saying the injury outright, Hou Chang Feng points to Qing Ming Yang's lower body with a hinting light in his dark eyes.

"…Un."

Averting his face—as if in shame, Qing Ming Yang nods his head.

No man would ever want to experience what it's like to be crippled in the lower body, but having experienced what it's like, Qing Ming Yang refuses to let the experience go to waste; hence, he had decided to incorporate it into his falsified report.

(A report this awkward… Should be safe, right? He won't ask me anything else, right?)