46 - Crazy! Criticizing the Prime Minister for Being a Servant

Chapter 46: Another Kiss! Inside the room, the residual warmth was no longer annoying. The lingering heat from the door made the back no longer cling to the cold wall. At least the heat was evenly distributed, instead of being scorching hot in particular spots due to someone’s antics. Chirping orioles flitted among the damp flowers, with deep, sorrowful sounds resonating from the hidden springs, flowing only with difficulty. More infuriating than the residual heat was the finger resting at her lips. The girl’s voice was clear and serious, "Shifu, Xiao Wu is about to take form soon. Don’t corrupt her." Taking advantage of their changing positions, Ran Fan Yin, half teasing and half retaliating, looked at her with reddened eyes and quivering lips. She couldn't utter a word for a long time, and could only continue to look at her pitifully with glistening eyes. "Isn't this also a form of refining the mind, isn't it, silly disciple?" The night dragged on. Summer nights never seemed to cool down completely before the sunrise gradually brought another round of rising heat. In the lazy morning light, it was only then that a good time for rest came, lying together, an invaluable opportunity. *Outside Qiping City* A woman clutched a long flute, her loose robes draped over her body. Her black hair hung lightly, her bare feet gently touching the ground. She formed a hand seal and calculated for a moment, then lightly leaped into the air. Suddenly, many swords appeared behind her, wildly striking the ground. Amidst the rising dust, only deep pits were left, into which trees fell and gradually covered the traces. When the dust settled, the woman’s face was half indifferent and half gritting her teeth. She casually twirled the flute in her hand, pondered for a moment, and then draped the flute over her elbow like a whisk. With a casual point of her toes, she flew several hundred yards away. Shortly after she left, from the boughs of a half-fallen tree, a seed dropped. "Hey! If she finds out, the tree will suffer again!" another woman, panicking, tried to catch the fruit in the girl's hand. The girl dodged slightly to the left, exclaiming, "Don’t think you can use this excuse to steal my fruit! She’s long gone, don’t act!" "Ning Jinyu! Am I not your granny?" "Xiao Wancheng! Stop using your age as an excuse!" The woman laughed softly, striking a delicate pose against the tree trunk, pretending to cry, "Is this what you mean by using one's age? You are indeed forgetting me now that your mother is around." The girl rolled her eyes and moved another half inch before speaking softly, "That old scoundrel Daocheng? Haven't seen her in over a thousand years, and she looks even crazier." Xiao Wancheng stopped pretending and leaned casually against the tree, speaking leisurely, "She’s called Wu Yan Zun Zhu now. Huh, who would’ve thought I left such a deep psychological shadow on her. She carries a flute wherever she goes." "Why didn’t you catch her back then?" "I only found out there was a rare gem when I returned to the formation. I originally thought I’d refine her after a few years, but she escaped pretty quickly. You say she’s quick, but why did she reincarnate so late, younger than everyone else." "...How would I know? Alright, let’s go back and prepare to watch the show." "And complained that I suck at naming, ha! Little Yu, do you like the name I gave you?" Spirit standing up while supporting the tree trunk glanced at Xiao Wancheng. She wasn’t very fond of this name. Who would want to suddenly take up a surname, making it seem like she’s connected to Ning Songwu, this pseudo-spiritual entity? But whatever, if Xiao Wancheng wants to call her that, so be it. As a tethered spirit, she didn’t have many pleasures. Ning Jinyu thought and then said, "But there's something I'm curious about. Didn't that old scoundrel Daocheng face a tribulation a thousand years ago? Why is she still going through one? She should’ve gathered enough energy by now." Xiao Wancheng honestly shook her head, then jumped down, her voice lingering and distant— "Five years, the last piece of the story puzzle is about to start. Let’s go, to Xianshan to watch the show." Meanwhile, in the Tiancheng Immortal Sect, multiple martial stages were simultaneously activated. The chaotic, dazzling immortal arts were on full display, a grand scene only present during the sect competition. All major sects were gathered, each selecting five disciples from their core group of Nascent Soul to Nascent Void stage to participate, hoping to win glory for both the sect and themselves. But in the Yun Sect area, the expressions of everyone were less than favorable. Luo Sheng rubbed her temples, looking slightly exasperated: "Sect Master, you mean we drew the Tiancheng Immortal Sect right off the bat?" Since Ning Xiujie and Cheng Yunhuan resided outside Yun Sect in the four towns, and after being conferred as Yun Sect elders, they provided Ning Clan’s much-touted secret art of spiritual control to the core disciples of various peaks. This slightly boosted Yun Sect's overall strength. Now, all participating disciples were under a hundred years old, and the lowest cultivation level was Luo Sheng's, who was about to break through the Nascent Soul stage at nearly thirty, with boundless prospects. This time, Yun Sect was definitely among the top-tier sects. But still, even among the top tier, encountering the Tiancheng Immortal Sect, whose weakest cultivator was mid-Nascent Soul stage, in the first match was daunting. Moreover, they only had four disciples present; one still hadn't left seclusion. Cen Ran sighed heavily, feeling helpless. Luo Sheng: "Sect Master, can we substitute someone at the last minute? Ning Songwu should be out in a few days. We can..." Helan Mianmian interrupted her with a wagging finger, "No, A-Sheng. It's against the rules; we must go with four participants." "…I really want to drag Ning Songwu out. She's had it easy for over four years, not even facing a Nascent Soul tribulation properly! It’s too unfair!" Luo Sheng complained angrily, burying her head in Senior Sister Liu Ruoying’s arms as she counted herbs with her. She whined pitifully. Elder Helan shook her head helplessly, "No semblance of maturity." Despite the jesting, the situation remained urgent. They didn't need the sect’s fame from the competition, but they needed time to investigate any anomalies in the area. If they were sent off in the first round, getting back in would be tough. Helan mused, no wonder Wu Yan Zun Zhu said to meet at the sect competition in five years. They were already presented with a dilemma right at the start, and who knows what’s next. Troublesome. As the enforcement elder began calling for participants to step forward, Cen Ran could only suppress her anxiety and said, "A-Sheng, lead the charge, let’s go." 【Yes, disciples should indeed work for their master, whereas the master being so meticulous for my sake… truly rare.】 【If seeing my master become better, then that's good too.】 【Master… What is master…!!】 【Is this, the legendary, act of a straight girl!!】 Ning Songwu... "Xiaoning, you..." The girl's long hair turned silver again, her eyes gradually whitening, "I have things I must do. Please, Elder." Her hand was suddenly tightly grasped, a woman’s weak voice said, "You must not go. If you go…" "Shifu, even if I’m expelled, there will still be a sect." Ning Songwu looked at her, carefully adjusting the temperature to prevent her from feeling cold, and tried to keep her voice steady, "This time, I'm doing it for you." "Shifu, you must be safe." As her words fell, Chaoshang and several ice swords slowly formed behind her, her eyes filled with frost. Her hands were too frozen to grip, but Ran Fan Yin still clutched her tightly. "You must not go, Ning Songwu, you must not go." Her voice trembled to the extreme, eyes red as if about to cry. Ning Songwu gently broke free and said, "Shifu, be safe." She stepped back and knelt mid-air in salute. Then, Ning Songwu turned and drew Chaoshang. The sword's shadow followed her, and as she flew forward, several streams of purifying spiritual power from the formation wrapped around her sword. With one slash, that spiritual power plunged into the body of the maddened person before her. Slowly, she landed opposite Xiao Wancheng. The woman raised an eyebrow and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "My little Ran'er is still heartbroken. You're in trouble." "Having a sect is better than regrets. Come on, let’s not waste time." "How ruthless~" "How about you reunite with her and then torment me to your heart's content afterward?" "Ugh! Evil mother-in-law, tch, that sounds interesting. Call me mother-in-law once." "…Stop wasting time." 【The difference between the plants on the other side is significant. Don’t even know what this one’s called.】 【Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower.】 【Now that the leaves of Six Peaks are gathered, making a leaf bookmark will surely be beautiful.】 【But it's nice like this, silly and pretty.】 【Almost squished into a little hamster, Shifu.】 "Do you know why there’s a depletion of spiritual power and great droughts?" The woman suddenly rushed over, tightly grabbing Ning Songwu's arm, her eyes nearly popping out of her sockets, "Because the heavens above took away this world's spiritual power! Hahaha, they take as they please, release as they please—this can’t be allowed." She laughed maniacally, a whisk in her hand, sending out arcs of light with each swipe, "There are three thousand minor worlds beneath the heavens. I will break through them all, force them down from the heavens to confront me, and ask how they can so carelessly treat lives like grass! Hahahaha." Her laughter was annoyingly loud, and Ning Songwu instinctively wanted to cover her ears, but her arms were gripped tightly and forced to her sides. The woman's face suddenly loomed large before her eyes, "Tell me, are the heavens not obliged to explain themselves to me, the spirit of the Absolute Heaven Array?" The laughter ceased abruptly, leaving only the heavy breathing from their confrontation. Ning Songwu’s eyes darted around, then she said, "You… you’re right." Wu Yan Zun Zhu stopped laughing suddenly and nodded slightly, "Hmm~ compared to those outside, you really understand me. Bringing you in here wasn’t a mistake." Seeing her attitude soften slightly, Ning Songwu seized the opportunity to ask how she planned to build this new world. The woman seemed to regain her sanity momentarily and pulled Ning Songwu close, explaining her grand plans passionately. She spoke of creating a utopian society, breaking through the three thousand minor worlds to counterattack the nine heavens, ensuring everyone could freely visit the underworld to see their loved ones, making the underworld and the mortal realm two ends of a single world... Listening to her elaborate plans left Ning Songwu feeling only disgusted. "And after that?" Ning Songwu probed. After the world is established? After counterattacking the nine heavens? Wu Yan Zun Zhu hesitated, mumbling, "After that?" "After that…" She clapped her hands suddenly, "After that, I will be the god of the new world!" "…Ah, of course." Ning Songwu initially thought the person inside might just have been mad from prolonged suffering and perhaps was another personality that could join forces against the person outside trying to drag the whole world down. But now it seemed... She had overestimated; this person was undeniably a lunatic, merged with the source of poison like conjoined twins. Blinded by greed. Maybe she initially intended to build an ideal society, but the poison had gradually turned her into a hysterical, pitiful figure. Ning Songwu slowly took a half-step back and asked, "So how do you plan to achieve that?" "I... I have grand ambitions that the world should support! Even a low-grade five-element root could cultivate to the tribulation stage and ascend, as long as you all help me!" "Help me!" She screamed and lunged at Ning Songwu, who reacted quickly, gripping a short ice blade condensed with the power of the array spirit— "You are deeply imbued with the poison, beyond saving." She intentionally said this, and sure enough, Wu Yan Zun Zhu abruptly stopped, pausing before responding, "What nonsense are you spouting! It's not poison; she promised to help me unify the world, to ascend to godhood, to unify the nine heavens…" "But isn't your new world meant to be one where everyone is equal and fed? How can everyone be equal if you ascend and unify it?" Ning Songwu pressed her chaotic consciousness further, taking the chance to quietly approach her. "No! No! You’re wrong! Only by ascending can there be equality. The nine heavens treat lives like grass, treat them like grass!" "How can there be equality if you ascend?" "I! I!" Wu Yan Zun Zhu roared twice and then suddenly quieted down, chuckling softly, "Almost got tricked by you…" She glanced down incredulously; a short sword was embedded in her heart. It didn’t hurt, but a wave of weakness surged. Before she could react, the girl twisted the sword sharply. "Lunatic, you long forgot your original intent. You’ve been completely beguiled by the poison," Ning Songwu whispered, pulling out the blade forcefully, extracting a piece of flesh deeply infused with dark golden substance. The shadow stared daggers at her, unable to make a sound, and collapsed, shattering the illusionary space. Ning Songwu slowly closed her eyes, only reopening them once the sensation of weightlessness had vanished, feeling relieved. 【…Some people really distribute dog food unconsciously.】 【Shifu truly understands, but this takes the highest priority, so it has to be done regardless.】 【Twice it has consumed demonic creatures, not humans. Suggesting to break through faster, it still needs to consume demonic creatures? Or otherworldly cultivators?】 【If it’s the former…】 【Considering the situation, let’s just carry on…】 【My mom said I did well; hope it helps Shifu too.】 The little ice sprit shrugged helplessly. Ning Songwu knew they were right; if she could hear heart voices from the start, then she'd know she didn’t belong to this world from the beginning and understood the future, knowing so much. If she had ulterior motives, she’d have been used for research as bait, and the other elders wouldn’t have objected. After all, she was just a new outer disciple back then, rootless, and no one would care. Yet, Shifu always cared deeply, spending much money on equipment and spiritual weapons, meticulously nurturing her, never forcing her to do anything. And later, always waiting... In truth, the sincerity was evident. The little snow spirit huffed, "But she also eavesdropped on lots of your private thoughts! Imagine the nonsense you’ve thought about. Can you still face her now?" "..." What to do, she’s even more right. What she thought truly made her lose face for eternity in front of Ran Fan Yin. It’s said the last thing before dying is to format one’s phone. If that's true for a phone, then her mind should certainly be... Unpresentable!!! Before, ignorance was bliss. Now knowing, she couldn't pretend otherwise. What to do... going to die... Ning Songwu buried her face tightly and whimpered softly. The little ice spirit, unwilling to back down, continued, "So, you’ve decided to give up? Now that she knows everything, if you leave, you lose face and your wife. Think it through!" The little snow spirit chuckled, "Is this despair? It's just a wife, but if you keep going, you’ll lose all dignity for the latter part of your life. Cultivators live for thousands of years, this embarrassment will never be forgotten." The little ice spirit: "Even if you escape… she still hears everything?" Ning Songwu buried herself entirely in the snow cloud she made, ignoring the squabbling and not wanting to contemplate the truly irritating matter. Escaping for a moment was a moment gained. Ah… Ran Fan Yin arrived at this scene—her silly little disciple molding two tiny figures of ice and snow in a fierce argument, while her small disciple was almost entirely buried in the snow, only a small head exposed, seemingly distressed. Struggling not to think was indeed hard. But honestly, it was kind of cute. Is this the advantage of not fearing the cold? She walked quietly but didn’t hide her presence. Sitting beside the cloud, she silently accompanied her. The two tiny figures instantly fell silent, not daring to make a sound. For a long while, long enough for Ran Fan Yin to question if she had subconsciously shielded her presence, preventing her little disciple from sensing her arrival. Or perhaps… she truly didn't welcome her anymore, wanted to bid farewell. If that's the case, she would understand and respect it. Fortunately, that wasn’t so. Ning Songwu suddenly realized the convenience of heart voices; some things she found hard to say could be conveyed this way since Ran Fan Yin could hear them. Wouldn't that express her emotions better! But that didn't mean she would easily forgive her master. Ran Fan Yin nodded helplessly, pondered for a moment, then said, "Go on, I'll wait for you in Cangcheng." "Shifu isn't returning to the peak?" "The peak is lonely like Cangcheng. I don't want to return." "..." Determined, Ning Songwu rose to leave. The two tiny figures leapt onto her shoulders, continuing their chatter until she’d had enough. But she had barely taken two steps when she heard coughing behind her. Her heart pulsed agonizingly, as if warning her that the person on the other end was in trouble and she needed to turn back. The ice spirit panicked, "Turn back! Shifu's spiritual energy is still in turmoil, any emotional fluctuation could cause issues!" The snow spirit chuckled, "She’s probably bluffing to make you turn back. Stay strong, take two more steps..." Without waiting for her to finish, Ning Songwu rushed back, flying on her cloud. The woman’s face was indeed much paler, a blood trail at her lips. When she saw her return, a faint smile appeared, "Missed Shifu so soon?" Ran Fan Yin relaxed her breath, her flushed cheeks, and silver hair swayed, and she chided, "At this moment, doesn’t it matter less...?" Her eyes, shimmering like autumn ponds, brimmed with tears, on the verge of spilling over. Still catching her breath, she gazed at her, chest gently heaving, causing her silver hair draped over her shoulder to sway. Without hesitation, Ning Songwu leaned in, pressing her lips against the softness she found, and as she pulled Ran Fan Yin closer, she almost caused them both to topple backward. But today, Ran Fan Yin was mischievous, murmuring between gasps, telling her to support herself, struggling to sit upright. On this cloud, falling could indeed become a reality. Mischievous child. Yet today, this mischievous child had reason and leverage. Ran Fan Yin felt her waist weaken in waves, fighting hard to keep from collapsing. Her breath was wholly taken away by the girl, who didn’t even allow her a moment to catch it. Just when she caught a glimpse of dawn with the corner of her eye, her voice trembled, "Ning'er, the sun is rising." At this, Ning Songwu released her tormenting thoughts, and their flushed cheeks, indistinguishable from one another, shone even redder under the rising sun’s splendid light. Ning Songwu's eyes, even now, were captivating, and the sight of her glowing eyes made Ran Fan Yin's heart tremble, filled with a watery light that brought joy. This time, she wrapped her arms around her waist, no longer urgent or aggressive. She placed gentle kisses, softly sucking, extremely gentle yet torturous. Each touch made Ran Fan Yin's waist even softer, dependent on the hands at her waist to support her. In those tender breaths, Ning Songwu whispered, "I want to go to Jiangnan, then continue north, to see the desert, and also…" This site has no pop-up ads, permanent domain...