Chapter 534: Chapter 534
"It was not until the girl turned to leave that Qi Ling hurriedly followed," he asked from behind her, "My name is Qi Ling, what’s your name?"
The girl suddenly stopped in her tracks, slowly furrowing her brow.
It seemed she did not have a name.
The girl had been silent all this time, and Qi Ling just quietly waited for her to respond.
As time passed, he could smell the refined scent of the girl, reminiscent of pine and bamboo.
It was a familiar scent too.
The deep night on Kunlun Mountain, filled with the sounds of insects and birds, disturbed his mind.
"I am Jianxin, you may call me Jianxin," she said at last.
Having finally received the girl’s response, Qi Ling murmured, "Jianxin? What a beautiful name."
"Thank you," Jianxin said politely.
She headed deeper into Kunlun Mountain, but after a while, noticed that Qi Ling was following her at a not too distant pace.
"Why are you following me?" she asked.
Qi Ling sheepishly scratched the back of his head, "Those things from before will probably come looking for me. I feel you’re quite formidable, and it’s safer to be with you."
"Then follow me," Jianxin said.
Jianxin thought of the Female Ghost King they had encountered earlier; such a sight was rare.
This powerful Female Ghost King, offering the Changyuan Sword, would see her cultivation grow ever stronger.
If she had this man with her, and the Ghost King was after him, she could use him for the Sacrificial Sword.
Jianxin was a soul separated from Shangguan Qiu to focus on the cultivation of swordsmanship; thus, her mind was filled with cultivation, and she habitually resided where the Spiritual Energy of this world was most dense.
She lived in the most secluded valley on Kunlun Mountain.
The majority of Spiritual Energy in Kunlun Mountain originated from here.
Inside the valley, there was a small bamboo house that Jianxin had built casually.
The furnishings in the bamboo house were simple, with nothing but a bamboo bed.
Jianxin sat cross-legged on the bamboo bed, still cultivating with closed eyes.
"As long as you don’t leave this valley, I can protect you," she said.
Qi Ling took a cushion out of his storage bag and sat down on the ground not far away.
He hung his head and watched Jianxin.
She looked so young, only about sixteen or seventeen years old, but why did she speak like a mature adult? And her cultivation was so high, even Rui Ji couldn’t withstand a single move from her.
Could she be an old demon in disguise?
As Qi Ling watched her, many questions arose in his mind.
But seeing her in the midst of cultivation, he didn’t dare to rashly interrupt and ask.
His thoughts returned to the night’s events; he never expected Luo Han to test him and send people to pursue him.
He hoped that after Rui Ji’s death, Luo Han would not come in person.
"Do I have to hide here forever?"
Qi Ling furrowed his brow, feeling himself in danger.
He took out a Communication Talisman from his storage bag, ready to inform Chu Yan about the situation.
Since Luo Han had discovered his betrayal, his only option was to seek refuge with Chu Yan and have Chu Yan deal with Luo Han as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, Chu Yan was currently searching for Qing Dai in the Xuanhai World. They were separated by two realms, and the place where Chu Yan was located was quite special, so Qi Ling could utterly not get in touch with him.
"Why isn’t there a response? I’ll try again tomorrow," Qi Ling sighed and put away the Communication Talisman, preparing to rest for a bit.
He fell asleep against the wall.
When he woke up, it was already the next day at noon.
Qi Ling heard the sound of sword practice outside and realized Jianxin had been up early.
She was outside practicing her swordsmanship, but he didn’t know for how long.
"May I boldly ask, how high is your cultivation?"
Qi Ling watched her for a while and, seeing her cease her movements, couldn’t help but ask.
"Cultivation? I don’t know," Jianxin answered as the Longsword in her hand, merely a shadowy projection of the Changyuan Sword, vanished.
She turned and walked towards Qi Ling as the Longsword disappeared from her hand.
"Have you been cultivating alone here all this time? Don’t you have parents or family members?"
"No," replied Chu Yan.
"So how old are you? Without anyone to teach you cultivation, did you really learn all by yourself?"
Perhaps he asked too many questions, for Jianxin stopped in her tracks, looking steadfastly at him.
Qi Ling’s expression froze, worried that she might be displeased and send him away. He quickly added, "Uh, I just mean to say, you’re really amazing!"
"Twenty-three years old, someone did teach me cultivation, but not here."
Jianxin didn’t feel upset; she was simply pondering these questions.
When she first came out, she was almost like a ghost, utterly unable to interact with the living.
Immersed in cultivation every day, she was like a true sword.
Now, having cultivated for a while, she seemed almost indistinguishable from a living person.
Nobody had ever asked her such questions before; she had to think about how to respond.
Qi Ling, feeling inferior, commented, "To have reached such a level of cultivation at twenty-three is quite impressive!"
"I won’t drive you away; there’s no need for this."
Jianxin glanced at him indifferently and continued to sit cross-legged on the bed.
"So have you never left Kunlun Mountain? Aren’t you curious about the outside world?"
Qi Ling hadn’t expected her to have never ventured outside, and strangely, he felt some pity for her.
"When I get the chance, I’ll take you out for a walk, yeah!"
Her voice was without fluctuation, and such a cold attitude reminded Qi Ling of someone.
Shangguan Qiu, that woman, spoke just like that.
He would say a lot, and she’d just perfunctorily respond with a word or two!
And she always bullied him by relying on her higher cultivation level!
Thinking of his past experiences with Shangguan Qiu, Qi Ling felt it was a Chapter of his humiliation.
If he encountered Shangguan Qiu now, he wouldn’t be so passive, and she certainly wouldn’t be his match!
"It’s almost noon; what’s for lunch?"
Qi Ling sat cross-legged on the ground, dragging his head around in boredom.
Jianxin was still cultivating and didn’t pay him any attention.
"Do you have any pheasants here? My game barbecuing skills are second to none; I’ll show you."
Perhaps finding him too noisy, Jianxin finally opened her eyes.
She said, somewhat helplessly, "I don’t need to eat."
Qi Ling stared at her for a while then suddenly realized, "I guess I don’t need to eat either."
Having reached the Nascent Soul Stage, his body had long since fasted.
However, eating was a habit of many years, and Qi Ling still instinctively wanted to eat something.
"I’ll still go catch some game. My cooking won’t disappoint you!"
With that, he sprang to his feet.
Seeing his excitement as he ran out, Jianxin only reminded him, "Don’t leave the valley."
Besides Jianxin’s bamboo house, the valley was also filled with a large expanse of forest.
Qi Ling didn’t leave the valley but caught some wild chickens and hares in the forest.
Before long, he returned with his catch.
At the doorstep of the bamboo house, Qi Ling set up a barbecue grill and began roasting the game.
"Wow, this smells so good, I’m drooling just from the smell."
He muttered to himself as he praised his own cooking.
Inside the house, Jianxin, who was cultivating, furrowed her brows again.
Why couldn’t she smell anything?
Jianxin couldn’t just smell the scent of the barbeque; even when Qi Ling handed her some of the game, eagerly asking her to taste it, Jianxin couldn’t taste anything.
"It has no taste at all, like dry wood."
"How could that be! It’s clearly roasted to be tender with a crispy skin!"
Qi Ling took the roasted rabbit leg she handed back to him and bit into it directly.
After he finished eating, he realized that his ears had slowly reddened.