Chapter 482: Chapter 482

What kind of temperament does your Imperial Father have, or rather, what kind of existence is an emperor? Don't you understand that yourself?

Casually taking the piece of fruit her disciple handed over, An Ning couldn't help but click her tongue lightly.

If it were before, when she was not even at the first level of Qi Refining, forget about spells, aside from some low-consumption talismans, she couldn't even fly a sword. She could only rely on her experience cheat to forcefully put on an act, barely able to play mind games with this emperor.

Now? Her great vengeance has been avenged, and the deterrence has already been established. She believes that after that previous scene, even if she leaves now, her master and Siya wouldn't be bullied.

So, if not now, when is the time to run away!

Not to mention, the older he gets, the greater an emperor's desire for control becomes. Isn't being free and unfettered outside much better?

To be honest, breathing the free and fresh air of the mountain, An Ning couldn't help but think to herself: She was actually a bit surprised that this emperor could hold back until now before starting to test her.

Indeed, as a ruler, compared to someone who acts willfully and without any reverence, she still preferred dealing with this kind of smart and cautious emperor. Even his probing was done with great care.

A common ailment of emperors!

Receiving his master's almost blunt look of disdain, Sima Rui couldn't help but chuckle. He immediately realized he had spoken too quickly and said too much.

It couldn't be helped. Although his master was intelligent, she truly had an overly straightforward personality and never liked empty, insincere words. On the mountain, aside from occasionally having to deal with his Imperial Father, the only real masters were the two of them, master and disciple.

Plus, those who follow the path of cultivation need broad-mindedness and openness.

As time passed, the once precociously mature Sima Rui, who used to think three steps ahead for every step he took, had now developed a more "say what you mean" personality.

Now, being given the side-eye by his master, the young boy wasn't annoyed. He just smiled, rubbed his head, rolled up his sleeves again, and continued with his task.

On the boundless high mountains, birds occasionally swooped by.

Deftly using chopsticks to carefully tear off the freshly roasted venison, sprinkling it with secret-recipe seasoning powder, he arranged the slices neatly and aesthetically on a jade plate. Then, he carefully took out the plum wine he had brewed earlier from his jade ring.

"By the way, Master, did we come here to find something?"

Several months had already passed since the two of them left. The originally sweltering heat had gradually been replaced by the slight coolness of autumn.

Seeing them go further and further up, Sima Rui couldn't help but feel curious.

What kind of temperament did his master have? Although she was quite diligent in her cultivation, she was absolutely the type who would lie down if she could and not move an inch.

Yet now, unprecedentedly, she kept heading deeper inside.

He really is quite sharp!

An Ning glanced at him without surprise, her tone as light and indifferent as ever, as if speaking casually.

"Came to look for some medicinal herbs. It just so happens you officially began your training half a month ago. The longsword in your hand should also be reforged."

As the words fell, the thirteen-year-old boy couldn't help but be stunned. He stared blankly at the woman in front of him, clad in a cyan robe, her expression still carrying three parts of aloof detachment.

He knew that his master occasionally read medical texts, even quite a lot of them. But he never thought...

This... so all of this was actually for him!

Swiftly chopping down a beast that was about to pounce, the thirteen-year-old boy's eyes unconsciously reddened. He hurriedly wiped them away when his master looked over.

As for An Ning, she simply pretended not to see it.

Watching the little disciple who became more and more diligent and hardworking day by day, not only laboriously searching for medicinal herbs and ores every day but even almost hand-feeding them to his host's mouth.

Then looking at the host who, under the banner of cleansing her disciple's marrow and strengthening his body, actually fed less than one percent of the refined medicine to her disciple, quietly stashing most of it into her own space to replenish her stockpile.

Not just medicinal herbs, but also all sorts of spirit jade and the like.

It couldn't be helped. In many previous worlds, she was indeed noble and precious, but whether as a young maiden from a prominent family or any other identity, the items around her, even her stockpile, always had to be registered by maidservants.

If things just randomly disappeared one or two at a time, the first to suffer would be the maidservants under her.

She wasn't that lacking in virtue.

Now, with such a great opportunity to travel around and collect materials, and such an obedient and clever little worker... ahem... might as well make use of him!

"Besides, although I did pocket a tiny, tiny bit, hasn't the other party also benefited?"

Leisurely sitting on a bluestone slab covered with a felt rug, watching her little disciple ahead in the vast snowy expanse, both wielding his longsword to fight "monsters" and huffing and puffing as he dug up medicinal herbs, An Ning felt exceptionally at ease with herself.

Jade must be carved to become a vessel!

"Master, look at this one! I picked it well, right?"

In the vast snowy expanse, An Ning gave a faint nod, the corners of her mouth curling up with a barely perceptible trace of a smile.

The teenage boy's face instantly blossomed into a radiant smile!

The system couldn't help but twitch its corner.

Sigh, schemes, all schemes!

It finally understood. What does it mean that sincere feelings alone cannot endure, only schemes can win hearts!

No wonder it could never really get ahead in the system realm before. So it was all because it was too honest?