The Northern Plains, a land of bitter cold.
As the freezing wind howled through a valley blanketed in ice and snow, several stalks of spirit herbs emitting a faint fluorescence swayed in the gale.
Ning Xian leaned down, carefully plucking the last ice-soul cold blossom by its roots and placing it into a specially made jade box.
"Roar—!"
A massive beast, shaped like a giant bear but with a single horn on its head, roared as it lunged forward.
Ning Xian didn't even turn her head; she simply pointed her fingers like a sword and made a casual horizontal slash behind her.
An invisible sword qi swept past.
The beast's hideous head was quietly severed from its massive body; before the hot blood could even spray out, it was frozen into ice crystals by the extremely cold sword qi, crashing into the snow along with the corpse.
Only then did Ning Xian slowly straighten up, not even glancing at the beast's remains.
She walked over to a nearby boulder, brushed away the snow, and sat down.
She pulled up her legs, wrapping her arms around her knees and gently resting her chin on them.
On her cold, ethereal face, her eyes stared blankly at a spot on the ground.
It had already been... 643 shichen and three quarters since she had seen her junior brother.
Back in the small courtyard, let alone 643 shichen, even if she didn't see him for half a shichen, she would feel the courtyard was empty.
From now on... there would be no more comfort from her junior brother.
She should get used to it...
Just like in the dozens of previous cycles, she had always been alone.
She was used to the cold and the loneliness, used to the killing.
But why... when she thought of this, did her heart still feel as if it were being pricked by dense needles, aching with a surge of bitterness?
It was more painful than the freezing wind of the Northern Plains scraping against her face...
She blinked forcefully, suppressing the moisture welling up in her eyes.
She hadn't finished collecting the main ingredients needed to refine the Nine-Revolution Heart-Stabilizing Pill; the ice-soul cold blossom was the last one.
Next, she had to make a trip to the Eastern Sea to obtain the fragments of the broken Void Ancient Mirror from the Guixu ruins; they had to be forged into a defensive artifact, as they were incredibly effective at resisting heavenly lightning...
She forced herself to pull her thoughts back to the task at hand.
Standing up, she walked out of the sheltered valley into a head-on blizzard of thick, fluttering snow.
The several kingdoms of the Northern Plains were still refusing to hand over those things.
Then they couldn't blame her...
......
The next day, at the Fang family villa.
Fang Xuan had just finished the family head succession ceremony and was ready to leave for the Northern Plains.
He pushed open the door and saw the Fifth Elder standing outside as if facing a great enemy, dark circles under his eyes, along with a green-robed old man beside him who possessed an even deeper aura and a face that commanded respect without anger.
"Young Master, you're awake. This is the Second Elder, who rushed here overnight from the Southern Wilderness ancestral grounds."
......
Over the next half-shichen, Fang Xuan deeply experienced the meaning of "an elder's persistence."
The Second Elder was clearly at a much higher level than the Fifth Elder; he didn't cry or make a scene, but instead laid out facts, spoke with logic, discussed family righteousness, and mentioned the allocation of resources.
He quoted classics and spoke incessantly, his core message being only one.
Stay, become the family head, and lead the Fang family toward glory.
The Fifth Elder nodded like a pecking chicken beside him, occasionally adding a few words, looking equally earnest and well-meaning.
Fang Xuan grew dizzy listening to them; two great cultivators in the Tribulation Crossing stage were surrounding him, a mere boy in the Transformation Realm, acting as if the Fang family would collapse without him.
"Enough," Fang Xuan finally couldn't help but interrupt.
"Becoming the family head is impossible."
Was his father insane? Or had the Fang family run out of people, wanting him, an eighteen-year-old, to be some family head?
Realizing it was a lost cause, the Second Elder and Fifth Elder exchanged a glance, their faces filled with deep disappointment, but they didn't push further.
They knew that pushing too hard might produce the opposite effect.
"In that case... since the Young Master insists on leaving, we cannot force you to stay." The Second Elder sighed, taking out a storage ring and an ancient token from his robes.
"Inside are some sacred healing medicines and the family token. If you encounter difficulties outside, you can use this token to mobilize all of the Fang family's resources and manpower. There is also a flying artifact in the ring called the cloud-piercing shuttle; its speed is decent and can save you some spiritual energy."
Fang Xuan did not refuse and took the items. "Thank you."
Seeing him accept them, the two elders' expressions softened slightly; at least he hadn't completely rejected the family's goodwill.
Fang Xuan turned, preparing to leave the villa that made him feel so pressured.
After taking just two steps, he looked back.
"Senior Sister?"
But in his sight, there was nothing.
However, immediately following that, a slender, fair hand reached out from a ripple in the void.
It then scooped up Xiao Hei, who was lying on the ground dozing off in a daze, and retracted instantly.
The spatial fluctuations smoothed out immediately, as if nothing had ever happened.
Fang Xuan: "......"
He stared at the spot where the hand had vanished, stunned for several seconds.
So... did Senior Sister think he didn't want her anymore and got angry? She was hiding from him, refusing even to show her face...
Senior Sister... why is she still so silly...
......
Atop a snowy mountain peak in the Northern Plains.
Ning Xian's figure stumbled out of the void, wavering before she steadied herself.
She held Xiao Hei in her arms; it was still a bit dazed from being suddenly snatched away, instinctively letting out a protest.
Leaning against the cold mountain rock, she slowly slid down to a sitting position, hugging her knees tightly again and burying her face in her arms.
Only her slightly red eyes remained visible, looking down at the vast, desolate snowfields below.
Junior brother is awake... his complexion looks a bit better.
As expected... he isn't some illegitimate child of the Fang family who cannot see the light, but the next successor of the Fang family who carries great expectations.
His talent is so great, and his background is too; his future holds infinite possibilities.
He is different... from someone like her.
She only brings calamity, like a shadow in a gutter that cannot see the light, always involving the people around her...
......
Ning Xian bit her lower lip.
Why couldn't she just control herself?
She had clearly decided not to go see him, so why... why had she instinctively... torn open space and snuck over again?
If... if junior brother had discovered her just now and insisted on following her, what would she have done?
She simply wouldn't be able to refuse him.
As long as junior brother looked at her with those beautiful eyes and called out "Senior Sister" in a soft voice, all her defenses would instantly crumble...
But she couldn't; she absolutely couldn't.
The people from the Upper Realm had already begun to notice her.
There were also the remnants of Dao Yi and those three lingering immortals who had been eyeing her like tigers... they would eventually discover her tracks.
It would be too dangerous if junior brother stayed by her side.
She couldn't let him be dragged in again...
She wouldn't go sneak a look at him for at least a month.
She lowered her eyes.
No... a month is too short; what if she couldn't help herself? At least a year...
But... she had gone too hurriedly just now, and the space had opened at a slight angle; she only saw junior brother's profile and back, she didn't see his face clearly...
He seemed... a bit thinner, and his injuries must still be very heavy, right?
Is the Fang family's medicine useful? Will those two elders force him to do things he doesn't like...
Maybe... she should go back and take just one more look?
Just one look, once she saw his face clearly, she would definitely not stay a moment longer, and she definitely wouldn't let junior brother find her.
Ning Xian's arms tightened around Xiao Hei, her gaze full of struggle...
Rate on N.U.
