Chapter 348.2 (1/2)
Becoming A Mortal Once Again
Xu Qiuling stroked the hair on her temple gently and lifted the corners of her mouth. A smile as beautiful as an orchid bloomed on her face.
“Of course I will come for you!” Ning Fan felt angry but also amused at the same time.
This Xu Qiuling really is a troublesome woman, being second only to Yin Suqiu… No, perhaps from a certain aspect, she could be as troublesome as Yin Suqiu.
“Do you know the origin of that line in the poem…” Xu Qiuling suddenly changed the topic. At the same time, she hurriedly navigated the boat, sailing towards a specific direction at a faster speed.
“Which line? Since the day we met, you have uttered quite a lot of poems.”
“It’s a pity that a young master never thinks of worldly pleasures! Do you know that this is what I felt when I first met you … Pity, yes, it purely means having pity for you, not admiring you like what you were thinking… You’re too stubborn. It was obvious that your cultivation base was not strong enough, but you still chose to fight with that Zhao Zijing just for an orchid. Was it really worth it…”
Xu Qiuling seemed to have recalled the dream she had. She felt like helping that orchid ask the butterfly.
Butterfly, was it really worth it for you to stubbornly fly towards the sky even if you have to risk your life…
Even though the orchid had not gotten the chance to ask the butterfly before, it believed that there must have been a reason for the butterfly to persistently fly towards the sky, a reason which was more important than death…
“I won’t ask anything about your past because I wasn’t part of it in the first place…” Xu Qiuling said composedly. Then, she pointed in the direction in front of them and suddenly smiled.
“I’ll take you to a place. That was the first place that I visited after sneaking out from the Pleasure Devil Island for the first time. It was my master who brought me there. It’s a kingdom of mortals. In the past, my master also used this boat to bring me there to watch the life led by these mortals… At that moment, I realized that I was not the only person who had the most bitter life in this world…”
“My physique is too weak. Thus, I am unable to attain the Nascent Soul Realm. Besides, my lifespan is too short. There is not much hope for me to live for more than ten more years. But even so, I have already been living for hundreds of years, haven’t I? These mortal people, on the other hand, have to suffer the torments of wars, plagues and natural disasters. However, they are still tenaciously surviving. Even if they can’t have three square meals a day, and they have to suffer many mishaps in their life, they are still struggling to live…”
“At that moment, I finally understood that no one can choose their own fate in their life. However, what we can decide is our attitude in facing our fate. No matter how hard life is, we can choose to live on with a smile… If one can meet his or her beloved at the right time in their life before passing away, so what if one has to go against what was common?”
Xu Qiuling’s eyes were filled with affection as she looked deeply at Ning Fan. “As long as you dare to defy it, then I will never back away!”
“Is that so?”
Ning Fan looked at Xu Qiuling, feeling great pity for her. He was at a loss for words all of a sudden.
Even his thought of scolding her for secretly leaving the island had also subsided.
If Xu Qiuling has not met me, perhaps she would have died alone inside her own hollow valley in this life.
”I will take you to wherever you want to go. But you need to promise me that after that, you will follow me obediently back home and receive your medical treatment with a peace of mind.”
”No, can I receive my treatment at the mortal kingdom? I like the ambience over there.”
”There are a lot of people there. The more people, the more interference there is. If anyone harbors bad intentions and wants to conspire against us…”
”With that powerful strength of yours, can’t you even protect me, a weak, feeble lady from a bunch of mortal people?” Xu Qiuling asked and her eyes flashed with a hint of mischief.
“... I’m not as powerful as you think. But if this is your will, I will try my best to protect you.”
Ning Fan shook his head. Somehow, he just instinctively felt that he did not want to reject any requests that Xu Qiuling makes today.
It was as if he had once harmed her and owed her something in his previous life.
Xu Qiuling's eyes were brimming with happiness. This was the only time she could be so willful in her whole life. She just wanted to see whether the person she loved would be willing to tolerate her willfulness.
However, just as the blissful feeling rose within her, her face became filled with surprise and shyness right afterwards.
Ning Fan suddenly placed his hand around Xu Qiuling's waist and swept her off her feet, bringing her into his arms. Then, he made a light step on the boat. When the tip of his toe touched the boat, it immediately turned into a ray of light which then flew back into Xu Qiuling’s storage pouch.
”W-why did you…”
It was her first time being hugged by a man in such an intimate way. No matter how calm Xu Qiuling was, it was difficult for her not to feel surprised and shy.
”Your boat is too slow!” Ning Fan's eyes flashed with a sense of pride. A pair of massive purple black demon wings spread from his back. As he flapped his wings, they stirred up waves as high as the skies on the surface of the sea. If he was hovering among the clouds above the sky, a single flap would be able to propel him ninety thousand li (500 m per li) forward!
“There is actually such an incredible speed in this world!?”
Xu Qiuling was totally stunned.
The boat that Dong Xu gave her was built focusing on two kinds of special abilities: staying stealthy and allowing the user to hide in the space of an Immortal’s Abode. Its speed, however, was not very fast as it was just equivalent to the movement speed of the usual Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.
No one had taken Xu Qiuling on a trip in the skies before. Other than the few times she left the island, she could be said to have spent most of her life cooped up inside the Pleasure Devil Island. Therefore, it was her first time being carried by a man while flying in the air.
This man’s speed allowed them to travel ninety thousand li* (500 m per li) in an instant. In terms of speed, he could be regarded as the fastest being among the cultivators under the Void Refinement Realm in the entire Endless Sea.
Xu Qiuling laid in Ning Fan's arms, putting her arms around his neck. Her eyes were glued to his face and was gradually enthralled by his features.
For a moment, she saw him as a butterfly, a butterfly that didn't even bother to have a second glance at her in her previous life. That butterfly, however, was hugging her tightly in this life.
”Speaking of which, where exactly do you want to go? Is there really a mortal kingdom here?”
”Yes, there is. To be precise, it is a half-mortal kingdom. It is a small country located on an island in the northern part of the sea. This kingdom was originally established by a few Nascent Soul Realm old monsters who wanted to comprehend the life of mortals, as a preparation for ‘Being Mortal’[1] and ‘Mortal Severance’… That is to say that most of the mortals here were actually caught and brought to this island generations before our ancestors. They have never been told that there are actually other kingdoms in this world, and neither have they been told about the existence of cultivators. Any cultivator who enters this island will be affected by the mortal ambience of this place, making them voluntarily restrain their magic power and live incognito here. Of course…”
Xu Qiuling suddenly paused and her expression changed.
”Of course, there is a minority of cultivators who see that mortals are weak and nice to be bullied. Thus, they came here to kill or to avoid their enemies. This kind of people will usually be secretly eliminated by several Peak Nascent Soul Realm cultivators who are hiding on this island of mortals… They are the guardians who maintain the safety and peace of this kingdom. According to rumors, they were once mortals on this island a few generations ago. However, they wanted to protect this kingdom and therefore…”