Chapter 169
The black dragon quickly re-explained its previous sentence.
“Ahem, what this dragon meant was that the Xuanqing Sect is in a hurry, and we can’t delay here for so long. Within five days, you must resolve your mortal affairs and set off with me.”
Looking at Zheng Xuening’s hand resting on the sword at her waist, the black dragon remembered the few dragon whiskers that had been cut off before. Before its brain could react, its mouth had already begun to explain.
After saying this, it stared at Lu Dieqing and Zheng Xuening, ready to roar at any moment.
After all, the Xuanqing Sect’s mission was of great importance. It was not something that could be pushed aside just because a few dragon whiskers had been cut.
Zheng Xuening’s hand rested on her sword, her long, slender phoenix eyes narrowed.
From the black dragon’s reaction, she guessed that there was almost no room for maneuver in this matter.
This dragon was not the type to be deep and cunning. If this matter could be delayed any longer, the other would probably not be so insistent.
Zheng Xuening’s eyes narrowed for a moment, and then she said, “What senior says is reasonable. Naturally, we cannot make things difficult for you. In five days, we will go to the valley to meet you.”
The black dragon wanted to say something but held back. “You’re not coming with this dragon right away?”
It wasn’t that it didn’t trust these two, but that these two girls both had a quirky air about them, as if they were up to something.
This feeling was something it had only felt when it was dealing with those old and cunning sect masters and elders in the Xuanqing Sect.
The black dragon’s half-believing, half-doubting look was really amusing. Lu Dieqing spoke up to smooth things over.
“We won’t go back on our word, senior. As you said, since I am the successor of the Xuanqing Sect, I believe that they are taking me over to teach me cultivation methods. This is a great opportunity. How could I have any other thoughts?”
“Besides, this place is the mortal world. It’s only so big. Even if we wanted to run, where could we run to? Senior black dragon would find us in a few somersaults.”
“Since we are mortals and know that after we leave, it will be extremely difficult to come back, our hearts are naturally reluctant. We want to handle all our mortal connections properly. I’m sure senior black dragon can also understand.”
After she had said these few sentences, the suspicious look on the black dragon’s face began to fade.
“Forget it. You two little girls, one is more eloquent than the other. This dragon can’t win an argument with you.”
It snorted, clearly not intending to pursue the matter further, and accepted what Lu Dieqing and the other had said, that they still had some things to deal with and would see it again in five days.
The black dragon flew up and flew towards the distance. At this time, it finally remembered the progress of its palace construction and rushed back to see it with the last five days of effort.
Zheng Xuening and Lu Dieqing exchanged a look, and both of them let out a breath, unable to say whether it was relief or the feeling of a stone falling to the ground when they knew the final outcome.
“Ningning…” Lu Dieqing opened her red lips, her almond eyes like a cute little deer in the forest, so wet they made one’s heart soften.
Zheng Xuening knew what she wanted to say, but she just reached out her hand without a word and pulled her into her arms.
The girl’s slender waist, just as when she had first touched it, was still soft and graceful. But it was an existence she had sworn to protect for a lifetime.
Zheng Xuening held her, her voice gentle.
“Since it has come to this, whether the Xuanqing Sect is a dragon’s den or a tiger’s lair, we will go through it together.”
She kissed the hair on the top of the girl’s head, the kiss extremely delicate.
Lu Dieqing pressed her lips together and leaned her head into Zheng Xuening’s embrace, whispering, “…Alright.”
Now, facing this choice, she was no longer so apprehensive, resistant, and fearful.
Because she understood that human strength has its limits, and the affairs of the world are inherently impermanent.
But if there was a person who loved her and was always by her side with their whole heart, and would go through thick and thin with her, then everything became less scary.
Her feelings for Ningning were no longer a simple gratitude, dependence, or liking.
It was mixed with many subtle and complex emotions, like a fine and dense thread that allowed them to be gently intertwined, with no distinction between you and I, and to support each other on the road ahead.
The road ahead was much clearer now.
“Shall we go to the Shan Kingdom?” Zheng Xuening suggested.
Lu Dieqing was also thinking the same thing and nodded upon hearing this.
Not just the Shan Kingdom, but the other vassal states also had to be visited.
Zheng Xuening said softly, “We will copy out the ordinary cultivation methods besides the Spring Rain Technique and choose some suitable people to pass them on to.”
The law is not to be passed on lightly, but in the part of the jade slip that did not involve the legacy of the puppetry art, their master had noted that they were allowed, if they felt it was appropriate, to choose cultivation seedlings with a suitable character to pass them on to.
“But Ningning, how do we judge if they have a spiritual root?”
Lu Dieqing was confused.
Zheng Xuening smiled. “A mountain man has his own clever plan.”
Lu Dieqing was happy at first, and then a little self-abased.
Clearly, she and Ningning had received their legacy from the same place, but Ningning knew more than her.
This often made her a little ashamed.
However, Zheng Xuening, as if she could know what she was thinking, bent down and gazed into her eyes.
“What are you thinking about?”
Being suddenly looked at so seriously by Ningning, as their eyes met, Lu Dieqing stammered, and her heartbeat even skipped a beat.
“I was just thinking… Ningning knows everything and is always so confident…”
This made her subconsciously feel a sense of security, but she would also blame herself. How was she not as good as Ningning in any way?
Seeing the girl press her lips together, her almond eyes darting around as she said this, Zheng Xuening held up her chin, her fingertips using a little force.
“Ningning…” Lu Dieqing hummed softly, appearing delicate, as if she had been pinched too hard, her almond eyes even becoming watery.
Zheng Xuening felt a pang of heartache and bent down to kiss her lips.
“It’s not always confident, for example, with you.”
Zheng Xuening held her in her arms, her face pressed against the girl’s soft hair, feeling its cool temperature, and sighed softly.
“I will worry, what if I… can’t protect you well…”
These words were difficult to say because she had to face her own heart honestly, to face those deeply hidden fears.
However, the little rabbit in her arms suddenly looked up and said to her with a pout, “Then I can protect you, Ningning!”
The girl’s expression was vivid and bright, her almond eyes filled with an ardent love.
Zheng Xuening froze there, and for a moment, she was caught off guard and had her cheeks pinched, the soft and tender cheek meat slightly lifted. Her wide phoenix eyes instantly lost their usual indifference and were actually a little cute.
Lu Dieqing liked her Ningning’s little appearance so much.
She wrapped her arms around Zheng Xuening’s jade-like neck, took the initiative to come closer and kiss her lips, and not just a kiss, but also a suck.
Her little rabbit was rarely so proactive. Zheng Xuening’s ears turned red, and her cheeks were as if covered by a layer of evening clouds.
Lu Dieqing blinked her sparkling almond eyes, and as she looked at her, her breath was as fragrant as an orchid.
“You don’t have to shoulder everything on your own, Ningning. I will also cultivate well and protect you. This is our common affair.”
“Alright, sister?”
The little rabbit, it was unknown when she had started to learn this set of tricks, when she acted cute and soft, she could almost charm a person’s soul away.
