Chapter 20: Can we not stay? Hearing her Shifu"s guarded tone, Ning Guang immediately retracted her hand. She quietly stole a glance at Di Jiufeng. With a proper look, she said, "Shifu, it seems there"s an insect bite on your leg. "
"There is?" Because they were two girls, Di Jiufeng didn"t think of impropriety, carelessly hoisting up the hem of her skirt.
The jade-pale skin was bare under the sunlight, reflecting a sleek and glossy color, dazzling Ning Guang until her eyes went straight. She couldn"t resist slowing her breath, her expression not as self-a.s.sured as before. "Of course there is, it"s here. "
Her finger tapped a place near the back of Di Jiufeng"s knee.
Di Jiufeng bent over to look, and saw a not quite obvious small red b.u.mp, standing up on her skin.
It really was an insect bite, and she even suspected her disciple of some nefarious schemes! She really shouldn"t have, what a slight! Di Jiufeng lowered her head to reflect on her conscience for a while. Unseen, in the moment she lowered her head, her disciple shook aside the little flying insect on her hand.
As soon as Di Jiufeng made a sound, Ning Guang had thought of a countermeasure. If she dared to do it, then she wouldn"t fear her Shifu finding out. After so long an a.s.sociation, she had gotten a handle on her Shifu"s nature. Though she was intelligent and farsighted in times of great danger, in daily life she was dazed and disorganized and would believe anything she said. This foolish, how could she let her out to get deceived and coaxed away by others?
Ning Guang subconsciously hardened her expression, the hands behind her back clenching tight in her clothes.
Her Shifu could only belong to her alone, anyone who tried to steal from her she would put to death!
Dark thoughts flourished like mold, making the demonic energy in Ning Guang"s body sluggishly begin to stir. But, Di Jiufeng had not yet seen. She took a look outside the window, where the bright sun had already risen extremely high, tirelessly sprinkling bright light.
"Oh no, oh no, it"s already this shichen." Di Jiufeng jumped up from the bed in alarm, carelessly throwing on her clothes, grabbing her disciple, and jumping on her sword.
In the gale-force winds, her head full of crow-dark hair violently fluttered and spread. Though disheveled, it added a type of difficult-to-elaborate charm.
Ning Guang didn"t like it when others saw her beauty. She reached out her hand to press on the spiritual sword Hong Shang, slowing their flying speed. "Shifu, I"ll comb your hair for you, it"s messy this way, so improper." Taking the head full of beautiful hair in her hand, the ice-cold black strands flowed down like dark water.
Ning Guang thought, then directly coiled it up into an orderly Daoist knot.
"Shifu, you are going to give direction from the seat of honor, so I won"t give you any other style, is this alright? "
Di Jiufeng fished out a mirror to take a look. She felt this look was quite proper, just dignified enough, so she nodded and said, "Not bad, your skill is getting better and better." The scenery by her side gradually advanced and gradually slowed, until, finally, they were nearly stopped in midair.
Her disciple could stop her sword, so that meant her cultivation wasn"t that far from hers. Di Jiufeng was quite pleased, but then thought of something, her brow slightly furrowing with a wisp of distress.
"Shifu, what"s going on?" Looking through the stray hair, Ning Guang found her Shifu"s face held a bit of hesitation and uncertainty.
Her crow-feather lashes drooped slightly, hiding the liquid worry in her pupils. "Shifu, what are you thinking about? Are you unhappy? "
Di Jiufeng shook her head. "I"m not unhappy, I just don"t know… what I should do…" According to the information the Sect Leader had sent earlier, this inner disciples" grand compet.i.tion had two purposes. One, to spur the disciples" cultivation progress, and two, to select candidates to partic.i.p.ate in the demonstration compet.i.tion.
Ning Guang had followed her into the sect. Though there was some deviation from the plot of the book, the main plotline would not change. For example, the inner disciples" grand compet.i.tion. There was no suspense, Ning Guang would definitely be one of the victors.
She would go to the demonstration compet.i.tion, she would be sabotaged by others, she would wash the lost treasure lands with blood, and she would start on the road to world extermination, a reign of terror amidst foul winds and b.l.o.o.d.y rain.
On this main plotline, the further Ning Guang walked, the more difficult the task of reformation she wanted to complete would get. But, if she was able to cut off this road before the demonstration compet.i.tion, could she prevent everything afterwards from happening?
If she didn"t walk the road to world extermination, her reformation mission would be complete. Everything would return to normal, and she could also return to the real world and continue to live her life.
And if she wanted to achieve all of this, it was very easy. She would just not go to the inner disciples" grand compet.i.tion.
Di Jiufeng knew very well, with the extent of her disciple"s obedience, as long as she opened her mouth, Ning Guang would definitely obey.
But, at the last minute, she herself began to hesitate.
After five years" time, one would feel affection for even a pet, not to speak of a person, a person who was dedicated to her heart and soul. The reluctance chipped away at her like spring winds and thawing rain, sinking into her bones, even disturbing her mood and thoughts from time to time. Di Jiufeng sometimes thought, what if she just didn"t return. In that ice-cold place, no one would be waiting for her, and there especially wouldn"t be anyone willing to give up their life for her.
"Shifu, what are you thinking about?" Seeing her Shifu"s fearful gaze towards the main peak, expression wavering without rest, Ning Guang thought, then said, "Shifu, do you not want me to partic.i.p.ate in the inner disciples" grand compet.i.tion? If so, then I will not go, it"s also quite alright if we stay on Pear Peak the rest of our lives. "
Hearing her disciple"s words, Di Jiufeng wanted to blurt out an "alright", but she swallowed the words back down as soon as they reached her lips.
She asked, "Ning Guang, have you thought about your future?" She turned to take a look at Ning Guang——
Her disciple was already this big, and her features had gradually blossomed to reveal an indescribable elegance and beauty. Though her manner as a whole had not yet reached its culmination, a bit had subtly began to show through; she already had an imposing air as if looking disdainfully down at the whole world. "Though the Zhangjian sect is the largest sect of the Xuanzhou region, the cultivation mainland is large, and Xuanzhou is only a corner of it. You have been in the sect for this long, have you thought about going out to look around? "
Ning Guang took a look at her Shifu, then asked in reply, "Then what about you, Shifu? If I go out to train, would you come with me? "
"Of course I would." Because to complete the reformation mission, no matter where the ancient witch went, Di Jiufeng would follow. So, she said without a second thought, "No matter where you go, I will follow. Ning Guang, do you want to go out? "
"I do. "
Ning Guang turned her head, her gaze pa.s.sing through the mountain gate to to look into the far distance. High in the frigid air, mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas all seemed so small, like you could reach out your hand and take them in your palm. And, being in the cultivation world was like this as well. When she was small, she had suffered all kinds of bullying and humiliation, and long ago she had sworn to become the strongest one in this world. Then, they would never dare bully her again.
But, when she was taken back by Shifu and received all of her care and favor, Ning Guang suddenly felt that in this life, as long as she could hold on to Shifu, even if she had to give up on everything, it would all be worth it.
She could need nothing, as long as Di Jiufeng always stayed by her side.
"Shifu, if you do not want to go out, then I will stay with you. Mountains and lakes are nice, but they are not as important as you. As long as I can stay by your side, I don"t care about anything else." Ning Guang spoke solemnly, and her luminous gaze warmed Di Jiufeng"s heart like a ball of fire.
Suddenly, she very much wanted to stay. Once this idea took root, it was like springtime bamboo shoots after rain; nothing could stop it from growing.
She tapped the tip of Ning Guang"s nose, smiled lightly, and said, "Ning Guang, Shifu has something she needs to discuss with the resentful ghost, can you fly for Shifu? "
Handing control of the spiritual sword Hong Shang over to Ning Guang, Di Jiufeng sat on the back to call for the System she hadn"t seen in five years.
Hearing it"s host"s voice, the System very much did not want to respond because at the time, it was holding its family and quietly laughing at the world the great System had created. It really didn"t want to have an uninvited guest disturb its public display of affection.
[T/N: I have. No idea how literal this is. Leave your thoughts in the comments I guess?] But, though it was unwilling, it couldn"t help but dart out, because under the ancient witch"s threat, it was already trapped from all sides and all angles.
It"s terrific to have a mountain to lean on! [T/N: 靠山 (kao4 shan1), can mean "patron" or "supporter".] This gla.s.s-hearted System made of steel could only acknowledge!
"Honorable host, honorable host, what do you need from this little one?" The System squeezed its nonexistent smiling face, flatteringly pressing near to Di Jiufeng"s side. "Do you need a leg ma.s.sage? A shoulder rub? "
Di Jiufeng spat, looking at it out of the corner of her eye. "Do you have hands? If you don"t have hands then don"t open an empty check. "
The System internally gave Di Jiufeng three arrogant spits, but showed none of it on the surface. It asked obsequiously, "Then, honorable host, are you seeking advice on some matter? As long as the System knows, I will not hide anything I know, and say it through. [T/N: 知无不言,言无不尽 (zhi1 wu2 bu4 yan2, yan2 wu2 bu4 jin4). An idiom.] "
For her aloof and heartless System to suddenly become this shameless, Di Jiufeng expressed her surprise.
No wonder she hadn"t seen it for five years, it grew a whole layer of fat, even its face had piled up.
Di Jiufeng stroked her forehead. She really didn"t have much heart to laugh, and only said, "Stop playing around, I have a question to ask. When you first took me to this place, what happened to my body in the real world? Would it be taken as an accidental death by others? Dragged away and cremated? "
Notes:
This chapter was translated by Lily "like spring winds and thawing rain": 春风化雨 (chun1 feng1 hua4 yu3), this usually refers to the long-term transformative effects of a good education.