Chapter 50
Suddenly, a figure in red arrived in the dream.
Xiao Hongyi tapped Qingning on the head and scolded, “Qingning, are you being spoiled with your Eldest Senior Brother again?”
Hearing this, Qingning stuck out her tongue and quickly bowed in respect.
“It’s not your fault. You have a simple nature and great fortune upon you. If it weren’t for your Eldest Senior Brother always being with you, all those heavenly treasures you’ve obtained would have been snatched away by others long ago,” Xiao Hongyi said with a smile.
“Exactly!” Another voice echoed from afar.
Lin Mubai came forward and also said with a smile while holding a book, “Not just that, if it weren’t for Eldest Senior Brother’s care, not only would my Core Formation have shattered, but the Innate Dao Bone within me would have been taken by that demonic enchantress!”
“Fourth Senior Brother sent a message back, saying he won’t return to the sect until he breaks through his cultivation level. Otherwise, it would be too embarrassing.”
Jiang Lianyue followed suit.
“What’s there to be embarrassed about? Eldest Senior Brother doesn’t care about such things. Instead of wandering around aimlessly, Fourth Junior Brother would do better to help Eldest Senior Brother manage the Ninth Peak and alleviate some of his stress.”
Qingning was extremely dissatisfied.“It’s not his fault.”
Jiang Chen spoke up in his defense, “Fourth Junior Brother takes things too seriously. I told him not to rush, but he’s more anxious than anyone.”
“It’s not that he takes things too seriously. He admires you too much and doesn’t want to let you down.”
Xiao Hongyi interjected.
“Having Eldest Senior Brother in the Ninth Peak is our good fortune.”
Lin Mubai remarked sentimentally.
“Stop flattering me!”
Jiang Chen said helplessly, “If it weren’t for your trust when all those coincidences and misunderstandings happened, and you still chose to believe in me, I wouldn’t have been able to keep going.”
“What are you talking about?”
Xiao Hongyi asked sternly, “I trust my disciples, and they trust you as their Eldest Senior Brother. Isn’t that natural?”
“Exactly!”
Lin Mubai nodded earnestly.
“It should be so.”
Jiang Lianyue nodded as well, then smiled mischievously, “Eldest Senior Brother, be honest! When I had an attack of cold poison during my bath last time, you rushed in with the Fire Impurity Pill. Did you or did you not see anything?”
“Nothing! Absolutely nothing!”
Jiang Chen shook his head vigorously.
“I accuse you! Eldest Senior Brother is blushing!”
Qingning raised her right hand high.
The next second.
“Hahaha…”
Everyone burst into hearty laughter, creating a warm atmosphere.
Suddenly, Qingning’s body stiffened.
Her eyes blinked rapidly as she pointed to the sky above the Ninth Peak, puzzled, “Eldest Senior Brother, why are there characters in the sky?”
“Characters? What characters?”
Jiang Chen looked up but saw nothing.
“Qingning, don’t talk nonsense.”
Xiao Hongyi also saw nothing.
“I’m serious!”
Qingning became a bit anxious. “There really are characters in the sky, and they’re big golden ones! Eldest Senior Brother, looking at these characters makes me uncomfortable. Can you help me erase them?”
“I really didn’t see them.”
Looking up at the sky again, Jiang Chen wondered, “Why would the characters make you uncomfortable?”
Qingning fell silent.
She didn’t know why.
It was just that those few golden characters seemed exceptionally glaring to her, their brilliant radiance like sharp knives piercing straight into her heart.
“What does it actually say?”
Seeing her pained expression, Jiang Chen also straightened his demeanor.
Suddenly, Qingning began to choke up.
After a long while, she finally managed to utter a sentence, haltingly:
“In the sky, it’s written…”
【Do you want an Eldest Senior Brother like this?】
“Do you want an Eldest Senior Brother like this…”
As her voice faded, the scene before her eyes suddenly froze, and then rapidly faded away.
Sparks appeared out of nowhere, spreading like burning paper, gradually engulfing everything in her field of vision.
Qingning just stared blankly.
Until the sparks reached the motionless Jiang Chen, slowly consuming his smile…
“No, stop!”
Qingning cried out in desperation, attempting to rush forward and extinguish the sparks on Jiang Chen.
But she had only taken one step.
All the images vanished in an instant!
The world fell silent, leaving only her standing alone in the pitch-black void.
She was stunned.
Her normally lively eyes seemed to have lost their luster.
“Eldest Senior Brother…”
After a long time, Qingning murmured, her mood somber.
【Do you want an Eldest Senior Brother like this?】
The golden characters appeared before her eyes.
“I want it! Can you just give him to me?!”
Qingning became angry, her question tinged with tears.
She truly wanted him, more than anything, even in her dreams!
【No, you don’t want it】
“I do!!”
Qingning shouted again.
【No, you really don’t want it】
“How would you know what I want when you’re not me?!”
Qingning argued.
This time, no text appeared, but the void around her began to twist.
Then, a ray of sunlight broke through, dispelling the darkness.
Qingning quickly realized.
She was back at the Jiuyan Sect’s Ninth Peak, but the golden characters that floated in the sky had now change.
【First Life】
“Qingning, from now on, this will be your home.”
At the foot of Ninth Peak Mountain, a woman in red clothes was leading a bright-eyed girl who looked to be about ten years old.
Qingning in the void knew that the little girl was herself.
She was an orphan and didn’t even know who her parents were. Before she met Xiao Hongyi, she lived with an old lady.
Although life was hard, the old lady always taught her to have a heart inclined towards goodness and to never lose the innocence in her heart.
Six years ago, she arrived at the Jiuyan Sect. At that time, she was full of hope for everything and felt the meaning of ‘home’ for the first time.
But…
“Master, is this my Third Junior Sister?” A young man dressed in a white robe arrived.
“Mhm.”
Xiao Hongyi nodded and warned, “Qingning is still young. If you dare to bully her, I will not forgive you!”
“Master, rest assured, I may have been unruly in the past, but from now on, I will take on the responsibilities of the Eldest Senior Brother,” the young man replied.
The young man was Jiang Chen from six years ago.
Qingning always remembered these events, and the scene before her was no different from her memory.
“Wait, wasn’t the eldest senior brother wearing black clothes that day?” Qingning in the void was a bit uncertain.
Regardless, it was the first time she had met Ninth Peak’s Eldest Senior Brother.
She remembered it clearly.
Back then, the naive and romantic girl even took the initiative to hold Jiang Chen’s hand, thinking it would bring them closer.
However, although Jiang Chen was smiling, his dark eyes were as cold as the depths of winter.
“Are you my Eldest Senior Brother?” the little girl in the scene indeed stepped forward and took Jiang Chen’s hand.
Qingning felt a pang in her heart.
If only she had realized Jiang Chen’s true character, then she wouldn’t have been deceived for a full six years!
“Indeed, I am your Eldest Senior Brother,” the young Jiang Chen said while patting his chest.
“From now on, you are my Third Junior Sister. If anyone bullies you, just tell me! I’ll beat them up!”
Hearing this, Qingning was stunned.
No, that was completely wrong!
She couldn’t have misremembered. Jiang Chen had definitely not said those words back then!
“Eldest senior brother, Qingning has something to give you,” the little girl spoke again.
After saying this, she searched her bosom with her small right hand and then took out a wooden object. It was a small wooden sword.
Though crudely made, its shape was recognizable.
“I made this myself. Grandma always praised me for being skillful with my hands,” the little girl said with a proud smile.
“Wow!”
The boy’s face lit up with joy as he took the wooden sword as if it were a precious treasure, praising, “Qingning, you’re amazing! I really like this wooden sword. I’d even take it with me to the grave if I died!”
“Hehe.”
The little girl touched her nose.
Seeing this scene, Qingning felt a pang of pain in her heart.
The dialogue was correct: Jiang Chen had indeed said that on that day.
However, it was only after her Jade Spirit Grass was taken that she heard from a fellow disciple that Jiang Chen had actually thrown the wooden sword into the latrine long ago.
It was because of this that she finally realized she had been deceived by Jiang Chen for a full six years!
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