Sunlight was just beginning to rise.
Yue Hongling lazily got up to wash, then turned her head to look at the man seated cross-legged on the bed, engrossed in his cultivation, which was both aggravating and amusing.
A man who, despite his injuries, insisted on not resting properly and dragged his lover hundreds of miles away to find an affectionate place for Dual Cultivation—who could understand...
If one were to think positively, Zhao Changhe’s trust and dependency on her were truly unrivaled; he didn’t care at all about his own injuries, acting as if having Yue Hongling by his side guaranteed absolute safety. It was a mystery where such confidence came from.
But revisiting this place certainly surprised Yue Hongling; it felt genuinely interesting.
What was the fun in a stodgy man? A man brought surprises from time to time...
Standing on the mountain and looking down, the villagers of the snow-covered stronghold all gathered at the Martial Arts Arena and conscientiously practiced their arts, which was quite astonishing. Yue Hongling didn’t believe these folks were so diligent right after getting out of prison, but things changed once Zhao Changhe arrived.
It was as if they all suddenly had souls.
Perhaps Zhao Changhe’s sweep of the Earth List over the past year had inspired those from a similar background... everyone had the same origins and studied martial arts at around the same age, yet now the Village Chief Hidden Dragon was famous throughout the world, while the rest were not. When Zhao Changhe appeared alongside the real Yue Hongling, the impact on people’s hearts could be imagined.
Is it too late for them to start practicing diligently now?
Actually, it’s not... Just don’t compare with Zhao Changhe, who is a rare talent; there are not many in the world who could match him. Without the limitation of his meridians, he might have soared to the heavens. If they aimed to be like Sun Teaching Instructor or Fang Buping, then there was definitely a chance.
Moreover, if the leader’s wife was pleased to give them a bit of guidance, it would be far more valuable than what Sun Teaching Instructor could offer...
Thinking of this, Yue Hongling found it somewhat funny, yet also slightly startled.
She had never before entertained the idea of playing the role of a wife supporting her husband and teaching children after achieving her own mastery. She was really taking her role as the leader’s wife seriously...
While she was lost in thought, footsteps approached from behind, and Zhao Changhe’s familiar arms wrapped around her from behind: "What’s on your mind?"
Yue Hongling asked, "How’s the injury?"
"Almost no problem now, just some roots left to remove... The Vulture Hunting Teeth are indeed formidable, the remnants of their True Qi linger like maggots on one’s bones, very difficult to extract. This might be the most troublesome injury I’ve ever received. Without the Dual Cultivation Divine Skill, I’d likely be bedridden for quite a while."
Yue Hongling curled her lips: "Even if you don’t take Vulture Hunting Teeth seriously as an Earth List power, he was definitely destined to be the top of the Human List. I wouldn’t dare provoke him, and you really dared to challenge. You said Ba Tu was fearless because of ignorance, but you aren’t much better..."
"That was a battlefield, someone had to bear the brunt."
"In those moments, you simply do not think about such things. Once some issues are thought about, no one will do them."
Yue Hongling smiled slightly: "You’re a hero."
"How else could I be your man?"
After a moment of silence, Yue Hongling asked, "Now that things have come to this, do you ever think of organizing a small force?"
Zhao Changhe said, "Staying here as the leader of a force is out of the question, I can’t stay."
Yue Hongling finally seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and smiled: "If you leave after a few days once your injury heals, it feels like they’ll lose their spirit again."
Zhao Changhe said, "I don’t need to be responsible for them... but as the former Village Chief, I can still show them a path."
"You want them to join the army? They won’t do it."
"That’s none of your concern. If they want to be bandits for the short term, let them be. We’ll see about the rest later." Zhao Changhe changed the subject: "Coming back this time, did you feel a sense of change between eras?"
Yue Hongling said, "Yes, it’s really interesting."
"I’ve been thinking about something..." Zhao Changhe lightly recounted his conversation with Ying Wu and continued: "At that time, Ying Wu mentioned that the biggest difference between ancient and modern times is the world’s incompleteness; I didn’t continue to discuss it with him, just directly negotiated cooperation. Since we had only just met, I didn’t want to reveal my intense interest in the subject in front of him; otherwise, it would turn from cooperation to me being overeager... Truthfully, I am extremely interested."
Yue Hongling’s eyes twinkled with mirth as she laughed: "You have so many schemes in that belly of yours, not fitting at all with your brutish bear-like appearance."
"That man you’re talking about is Ba Tu..."
"Do you think Ying Wu is after the lost comprehension of time and space, or is he searching for the ancient God Demon’s ladder through these spatial constructs? Or perhaps, once the space is complete, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth will become more concentrated, and everyone’s cultivation could improve by leaps and bounds?"
Yue Hongling pondered for a moment, "It should be a combination of all three. This is a big endeavor; it wouldn’t be significant for just one aspect, and he wouldn’t selflessly do it for everyone’s cultivation improvement."
"Right... If it leads to concentrated spiritual energy and everyone’s cultivation improving, then it’s even more likely to result in the awakening of God Demons... So Xia Longyuan allows the Secret Realms to go uncollected, as he doesn’t want a mass awakening of ancient God Demons once the space is complete, which would be troublesome. And whether Ying Wu has a God Demon standing behind him is still unknown..."
Zhao Changhe stroked his chin, suddenly wondering if this is also what the blind man wanted to do, but Xia Longyuan wouldn’t cooperate.
Of course, the blind man might not necessarily want the world to be complete, or at least not only that; there’s at least one more objective for him: collecting the complete Heavenly Book.
Xia Longyuan must know about the existence of the Heavenly Book, and there’s a possibility he holds a page himself, but he seems to have no interest in collecting it, otherwise, he would have asked during their conversation.
At least this proves he’s not a collector... but Zhao Changhe, on the other hand, has a bit of a collecting desire.
That must be why the blind man, knowing Zhao Changhe’s dissatisfaction with her, had no reaction... because what Zhao Changhe is doing is exactly what she wants to see, although the progress is a bit slow.
But knowing this, Zhao Changhe couldn’t stop doing it; only by following this path might he get a glimpse of the door of time and space.
Yue Hongling said, "There are some things you’re keeping to yourself... perhaps you prefer to keep them private?"
"Er... It’s not that I don’t know where to start. Also, I worry that you weren’t originally involved, and suddenly involving you might be good or bad... Some things are not something you and I can take on right now."
"So, it’s like a tiger is chasing you from behind, and you’re desperately moving forward."
Yue Hongling smiled slightly, turned around, and gently caressed his cheek, "You know... you’ve never really seen me as family. You’re just like me, a wanderer at heart."
"Er, that’s not what I mean... why don’t you say this is something a man must endure on his own..."
"Alright, whether you are or not, I certainly am," Yue Hongling said. "I told you before the decisive battle that I wanted to leave afterwards, to go to the Southwest. Your injury is the only reason it’s been delayed until now, but now that you’re almost healed, it’s time for me to go."
Zhao Changhe, despite being mentally prepared, still couldn’t let go, tugging at her sleeve like a spoiled child, "Sister..."
"Even after I called you ’sister,’ what more do you want?"
Yue Hongling glanced at the bustling martial arts arena and knew that she was leaving a bit hastily; she should have at least waited until Zhao Changhe fully recovered... but she suddenly felt afraid.
Afraid of taking on the heart of a leader, managing household affairs.
"Alright, there’s no banquet in the world that doesn’t end," Yue Hongling gently stroked his cheek, and gave him a soft kiss, "You said yourself, some things are not for us to take on right now, so let’s not linger and proceed forward... When the day comes that you think I can bear it, I’ll be waiting for you to speak up, and sister will help you."
Zhao Changhe said nothing, just held her tightly in his arms and lowered his head to kiss her.
Yue Hongling closed her eyes and surrendered to the embrace.
On the snowy mountain top, a man and woman kissed deeply, while those training in the martial arts arena below stopped their exercises, their faces expressionless.
Zhao the boss isn’t human; he used to hide in the house away from his brothers, and now he’s openly flaunting his love.
Especially after everyone learned that she was indeed Yue Hongling, the feelings in their hearts were indescribable.
Yet the scene before them, although difficult to accept, was undeniably well-matched and beautiful.
Perhaps only a hero like Boss Zhao was worthy of such a lady... Google seaʀᴄh novelꞁire.net
Just as they pondered this, Yue Hongling gently pushed Zhao Changhe away and said in a low voice, "Then we shall meet again?"
"Yes, we shall meet again," Zhao Changhe took a deep breath, "I hope that by the time we meet next, I will have broken through the door of the Secret Treasure, and then perhaps there will be some things I can tell you."
Yue Hongling gave a gentle smile, "I’ll be waiting for you."
She turned and entered the courtyard, leading out her red steed and galloping away.
The bandits’ jaws dropped.
Boss Zhao has been dumped again!