Chapter 41: Green Eyebrows
Sycamore Fall was very quiet, occasionally ringing out several barks, echoing in the doorway on an autumn night.
Ding Ning pushed open the wooden door of the wine store that was covered, and walked into the wine store that did not have a burning lamp.
The furnishings in the wine store were no different than usual, however, Ding Ning's brows quickly furrowed deeply, and a chill surged in his heart.
Previously, when he and Changsun Shaxue had spoken here and practiced here, it seemed that many times they had not been the slightest bit on guard, and that was because he was very clear that in the entire Changling, aside from a very few people, the moment anyone walked into this street, they would not be able to escape Changsun Shaxue's perceptions.
And if those few people really entered the alley, then there is no defense, there is no difference at all.
Right now, Changsun Shaxue did not walk out from the backyard, and he could not sense any of Changsun Shaxue's scent...Changsun Shaxue was not in the liquor store.
The reason why he had to come back was because he was afraid that something would happen to Changsun Shaxue.
This was because over the past many years, he and Changsun Shaxue had gotten used to each other's presence.
Changsun Shaxue's cultivation was enough to instantly kill countless present-day him, yet this was Changling, and even the most powerful cultivator had countless possibilities of being killed.
To live on in Changling and how to walk in Changling, she was very much like a blank sheet of paper.
Ding Ning lifted the cloth curtain leading to the backyard, his heart growing cold.
Changsun Shaxue was indeed not in the backyard, where exactly had she gone?
Ding Ning stood motionless in the center of the backyard, and after dozens of breaths of time had passed, he silently walked into the stove hall on one side and began to build a fire to cook the noodles.
As the water began to boil and the noodles were put in, Ding Ning saw that his hands were trembling slightly.
He couldn't see his own face at this moment, but he was certain that even under the light of the warm stove fire, his face must have been pale.
He understood that at this time in Changling, he also had weaknesses.
Changsun Shaxue was his greatest weakness.
She absolutely must not have any accidents.
So he started the stove fire, hoping that in the darkness of the night, Changsun Shaxue would be able to see the sparks coming out of the chimney here and understand that he had returned.
The snow white noodles gradually floated in the boiling water.
Without adding any seasoning, he fished the noodles into the large coarse porcelain bowl he specialized in, and then began to eat them.
Although every time he sat in front of the store early in the morning, he ate noodles in thick soup with red sauce, yet this kind of clear water without any seasoning was actually the flavor he was most accustomed to.
The noodle soup was hot, but as he listened to the sound of the cool wind in the surrounding streets, his heart grew colder and colder.
If Changsun Shaxue left this way, how much time would it take for himself to appear by her side again?
In the snow-white hot air rising from the noodle bowl, his eyebrows looked so childish, yet they were filled with endless sadness.
Suddenly, the hot air rising from the noodle bowl created a slight distortion.
Ding Ning raised his head in a huff.
Right at this moment, Changsun Shallow Snow appeared in front of him as if she had appeared out of thin air.
"You... "Ding Ning stood up, subconsciously thinking that he would definitely be unable to hold back his angry scolding, yet seeing her quiet and cool eyes, his heart instantly softened, and he said in an astringent voice, "You...where have you been? "
Changsun Shaxue frowned slightly.
She could see the concern for herself in Ding Ning's eyes at the moment, but there were some emotions other than concern that she did not like very much.
Ding Ning took a deep breath and quickly calmed down, looking at her and saying, "You promised me that you would never take it lightly..."
"It was just an accident." Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Changsun Shaxue.
She glanced at him and continued, "You said that there was a possibility that the people of the Cloudwater Palace had gotten important clues to the Lonely Mountain Sword Collection."
Ding Ning's body suddenly tensed up, his mood suddenly incomparably tense, "You found out about the Cloudwater Palace's people?"
Changsun Shaxue said in a bland tone, "I suppose so."
Ding Ning became even more nervous and asked, "Were there any exchanges?"
Changsun Shaxue said, "Just memorized that person's aura and descriptive characteristics."
Ding Ning was instantly relieved, and his tense body relaxed.
In every dynasty's vast territory, there would always be some marvelous sects, and there would always be some marvelous characters.
The Cloud Water Palace of the Wei Dynasty was still remembered by every Qin person even after the Wei Dynasty had been extinguished for more than ten years, so it was also a clan that could be described as not getting up.
Although it wasn't like Zhao Jian Furnace that had so many terrifying sect masters, Yunshui Palace had produced a mysterious and powerful Bai Shanshui.
At least the cultivators of all the major dynasties were certain that Cloud Water Palace's Bai Shanshui had already crossed the sixth realm when the Great Wei Dynasty was destroyed, and had become a cultivator who had officially stepped into the seventh realm.
More than ten years had passed, and no one had heard of Bai Shan Shui having the kind of illustrious deeds of a disciple of Zhao Jian Furnace who slaughtered a city with a single sword, yet everyone knew that he was still alive and well.
To be able to survive under the pursuit of countless armies and cultivators of the Great Qin Dynasty meant that he was even more powerful than before.
Bai Shanshui, was not yet an enemy that he and Changsun Shallow Snow could face head on right now.
"You should leave this matter alone, I will look into it." Ding Ning was silent for a moment, drank all the remaining noodle soup in the bowl, and while starting to wash the bowl, he looked at Changsun Shallow Snow and said gruffly, "And now that the matter is about the Lonely Mountain Sword Collection, the Supervisory Heavenly Division and the Divine Capital Supervisory Department will use all of their power in tracking down the people from the Cloud Water Palace, and before Bai Shan Shui eventually shows up, it would be best for us to do nothing more than silently spectate on the development of this matter, or else be dragged down into it. Otherwise we'll be dragged down,and won't be able to reap any benefits at all."
"I will tell you the characteristics of that person."
Changsun Shaxue pondered for a moment, nodding her head in agreement with Ding Ning's statement before she turned towards the bedroom, "I'll wait for you on the bed."
These unusually ambiguous words were still unusually cold in her mouth at this moment, and even carried a solemn intent that could not be overstepped in the slightest, however, looking at her back, warmth only began to return to Ding Ning's body.
......
The night in the mountains was as cool as water.
On a mountainside not far from White Sheep Gorge, there was a green-colored temple.
This temple itself was all built out of gray mountain stone, and it was only because the outer walls were all entwined with very old green vines that it appeared to be all green in the dark of night.
In the deepest part of the temple that was covered with countless sword scars underneath the green vines, gorgeous blankets woven with the finest wool made the entire temple look warm even in the thick autumn atmosphere.
A slender old man with flowery white hair coiled up with a green jade hairpin looked incomparably clean, and even his nails were neatly trimmed.
His eyebrows were slightly greenish in color, his eyes were slightly sunken in, and his face was calm yet still looked very majestic.
He was the dean of the Green Vine Sword Academy, Di Qingmei.
At this moment, he was coldly gazing at a note in his hand, and the corner of his mouth slowly surfaced a cold and mocking smile.
"These two old fools from the White Sheep Cave, Xue Forgetfulness and Du Qingjiao, have always been obstinate and unrepentant, not even knowing how to repent after seeing so much bloodshed in the early years of Yuanwu. Now that it has been returned to our Green Vine Sword Academy, this old fool Xue Forgetfulness actually came up with such a trick, going so far as to say that since the two sects are united, and there is no longer any difference between the disciples of Green Vine Sword Academy and those of White Sheep Cave, then the disciples of White Sheep Cave will also be able to take part in our Sword Sacrifice Trials, and even reversed the idea of hitting on our Green Grease Jade Perch."
Opposite Di Qingmei sat a green-shirted middle-aged man with dual swords on his back.
This green-shirted middle-aged man was his only true disciple so far, Duanmu Lian.
At this moment, hearing this majestic old man's sneer, Duanmu Lian frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "Then, Master, will you agree to his request?"
"I will naturally agree."
The majestic old man said with cold sarcasm, "If I don't even agree to such a request from him, how can I in turn put words in his mouth, and how can I figure out his Spirit Vein?"
"Spirit Veins?" A strange light instantly flashed in Duanmu Lian's eyes.
"These two old fools, Du Qingjiao and Xue Forgetfulness, had already destroyed the White Sheep Spirit Vein into three strands before the Empress expressed her meaning, but they thought they could keep their Spirit Vein that way?"
Di Qingmei sneered, "The Empress has managed to find some of their faults elsewhere and allocated all of the White Sheep Cave to us, so if we still allow them to keep those three strands of the spirit vein, how will the Empress be satisfied with us?"
"Xue Forgetfulness wants to leave those three strands of spirit veins for their White Sheep Cave people to use, there's no way we'll let him have his way."
Di Qingmei looks at Duanmu Lian who is in front of him and slowly says, "You go and reply back to Xue Forgetfulness for me and tell him that I granted his request, but these three spirit springs are naturally shared between the Qingteng Sword Academy and the White Sheep Cave, and only those who qualify will use them, so when the time comes, it will also be used as a reward in the Sword Sacrifice Trial for the winners of the Sword Sacrifice Trial."
Duanmu Lian pondered for a moment and said, "Master's grand plan, but of all the students in White Goat Cave, Zhang Yi and Su Qin should not be underestimated, these two meet the criteria for participating in the Sword Sacrifice Trial, whether it be in terms of time of entry or age."
"Since I'm afraid that our disciples within the sect won't be able to deal with them, I'll act like a way to truly turn them into our people." Di Qingmei glanced at him and said in a slow voice, "I've heard that Zhang Yi is more of a ritualistic and pedantic person, but Su Qin is a talented person and has always been at odds with Zhang Yi."
Duanmu Lian's eyes brightened slightly as he stood up and earnestly bowed to this majestic old man who held the power of the Qingteng Sword Academy, excusing himself and saying, "Disciple understands."
(I have to go back to my countryside home for dinner at night, so today's second shift will be posted earlier than now ah~~)
