Chapter 29: The Distance Between Life and Death

Sword Dynasty

Volume 1: Great Rebel

Chapter 29: The Distance Between Life and Death

A carriage from the Two Level Tower transported Ding Ning into Falling Parasol Alley and stopped under the blue flag.

The driver was a gray-robed swordsman. Although he did not know what Ding Ning's contribution tonight was, he had great respect for Ding Ning because this wine shop youth was able to stand by Wang Taixu's side.

Ding Ning thanked the gray-robed swordsman, Zhou Sanshen, before pushing open the wine shop door and entering.

There were no lights inside. After closing the door, Zhangsun Qianxue's footsteps could be heard.

She appeared to have just bathed, her hair wet and curled around her head, emitting a faint fragrance.

Although he could not see clearly in the darkness, she was still strikingly beautiful. However, her voice was still too cold.

“You’re too impatient.” She looked at Ding Ning in the darkness and said, “You once told me that you wouldn't attract too much attention before reaching realm three. Since you're that person's disciple, before you reach the Vital Energy realm, you're too easy to kill.”

Despite her stunning beauty, Ding Ning was usually relaxed and at ease when speaking to her. But now, Ding Ning fell silent as if he had been swallowed by darkness.

After a long moment, he asked, “Are you worried about my safety, or are you worried about your cultivation?”

“You have a problem. In the past, you wouldn't have asked such meaningless questions.” Zhangsun Qianxue's voice grew colder. “You should understand that there's no difference between the two.”

Ding Ning was silent for a moment before saying, “I’m a little impatient, but according to our plan, Prince Li Ling didn’t come here. An accident like proposing to you… With Prince Li Ling’s abilities, if nothing unexpected happened in the Chu Dynasty, he wouldn’t be so impatient. The White Goat Cave is a long-established cultivation place in the Qin Dynasty. The cultivation places are the foundation of the Qin Dynasty. Even if they angered the empress, if nothing unexpected happened, the emperor and the two prime ministers would never allow the empress’s power to directly touch a cultivation place like this by forcing this sect to merge with the Green Vine Sword School. This union is tantamount to allowing a cultivation sect to disappear. The military forces are so eager to intervene in the battle between… The Lonely Mountain Sword Hoard is about to appear. Many places are undergoing change. It seems that after the rainstorm, everyone in Changling has become impatient.”

Ding Ning paused for a moment and then said coldly, “I must quickly attain cultivator status. You heard what Wang Taixu said to me today. You should know that entering the White Goat Cave like this and then the Green Vine Sword School is an opportunity we might not have had if we waited for years. I must not miss it.”

“I don’t care what your reasons are. You’ve been restless ever since killing Song Shenshu at the Fish Market.” Zhangsun Qianxue said matter-of-factly, “I just know that with your low cultivation, you’ll easily die when you encounter so many nobles and cultivators.”

He thought about the burden he had to shoulder. He looked at this woman who was colder and prouder than most people in Changling, but more affectionate than most people. Thinking about how her life and death were inextricably linked to his, the coldness in Ding Ning’s eyes vanished.

His eyes glinted in the darkness.

“I will be more careful than before.” He looked into Zhangsun Qianxue’s eyes and promised solemnly, “Before you reach realm eight, I will be careful and protect my life.”

Sensing the strange tone in Ding Ning's sincere words, Zhangsun Qianxue's brows furrowed slightly.

However, she did not speak and turned to walk back to the inner courtyard. When she reached the bedroom door, she seemed to remember something and asked, “When you and Wang Taixu said that you must enter the Min Mountain Sword Sect to obtain the Heaven Replenishing Divine Art. Is that true?”

“More or less. If I can’t cultivate the Heaven Replenishing Divine Art, I will die at a very young age,” Ding Ning replied softly. “But that’s not absolute. Besides the Heaven Replenishing Divine Art, there are several other vital energy cultivation methods that will allow me to live.”

Zhangsun Qianxue’s voice rang out again. “But the Heaven Replenishing Divine Art is definitely the best of them all.”

Ding Ning was silent for a moment, then nodded in the darkness, “Before this, I didn’t have the opportunity to receive the secret art of the Min Mountain Sword Sect… this art of Min Mountain Sword Sect will allow me to live well, and I can become stronger.”

“If you have the Heaven Replenishing Divine Art and combine it with your branch cultivation strategy, you will become even stronger?”

Zhangsun Qianxue was silent for a moment, then said in a very cold voice, “I remember the sect leader of the Min Mountain Sword Sect and that person were mortal enemies. He couldn’t even enter the gates of the Min Mountain Sword Sect, so he wouldn’t be able to obtain the art of the Min Mountain Sword Sect.”

Ding Ning never hid anything from her. However, she usually did not want to ask.

So he simply answered briefly, “Yes.”

Zhangsun Qianxue calmed down and said, “If you successfully enter the Min Mountain Sword Sect, what about my cultivation.”

Ding Ning also calmed down. At least, his voice sounded calm. “I’ve considered this already. In my plans, entering the Min Mountain Sword Sect is the second method. Those who join the Min Mountain Sword Sect through the entrance trial are not considered true disciples of the Min Mountain Sword Sect. They only have a limited time to study in the sect. They won't be like the true disciples of Min Mountain, who can't leave the mountain until they reach the Vital Energy Realm. So, it won't affect your and my cultivation.”

Zhangsun Qianxue did not ask any more questions. She entered the room, saying, “I'll wait for you on the bed.”

This was an ambiguous sentence that could send one's imagination wild.

In this shop filled with the scent of wine, this sentence would appear almost every day. There was nothing ambiguous between the two of them.

There was only danger and murder.

As usual in the past, Ding Ning arranged the bedding and lay down on the inner side of the bed.

Zhangsun Qianxue lay down next to him. The water in her hair was repelled by the strands of primal energies of the universe she radiated.

Wind and snow began to swirl around him and Zhangsun Qianxue once again.

After overcoming her her last obstacle, Zhangsun Qianxue’s recent cultivation was no longer in danger.

He no longer needed to forcibly touch the openings in her body and forcibly inject vital energy to help her cultivate. He no longer needed to use his body temperature to warm her body.

From day to night, so many things had happened today. Everything happened faster than he had planned. Those distant people and matters appeared so clearly in front of him.

Looking at Zhangsun Qianxue’s side profile in the darkness and snow, he suddenly wanted to embrace her.

But he knew that if he embraced her now, she would not hesitate to kill him.

So he just stared at her in the wind and snow.

In his eyes, her body was only a foot away from his. But this distance was filled with mountains and rivers, separated by life and death.

 

At the same time, Ye Celeng walked into the Bureau of Astrology.

She passed through the long corridors toward the deepest room of the Bureau of Astrology.

The walls of the corridor were lined with oil lanterns, which were extinguished as she passed.

She walked in the darkness.

However, as Zhao Zhan had said, the white dress she wore seemed out of place in the darkness and dust of Changling.

There were many the thick, heavy curtains in the deepest room. The overlapping curtains formed a labyrinth, making it difficult for enemies to easily detect her when they attacked. At the same time, the the thick, heavy curtains concealed many presences, making it impossible for even the mental powers of many powerful cultivators to penetrate.

At the center of the curtains was a round couch. In front of the couch was a boiling medicine cauldron.

Puff.A light sound was heard.

Ye Celeng suddenly threw up blood without any warning. The blood stained her white dress and the ground in front of her.

But her expression remained calm and strong.

She knew that many in Changling wanted her dead. She must appear strong in front of everyone. She would only live if she was strong.

She walked forward expressionlessly.

A wave of water vapor followed her.

The blood on her body and the ground gradually faded until it disappeared.

She calmly and confidently sat on the couch and opened the medicinal cauldron in front of her.

Within the boiling crimson medicinal liquid was a golden turtle-dragon pill.

She placed a few spoonfuls of the medicinal liquid into her mouth and slowly swallowed.

Her brows furrowed slightly as if in pain. But in the next moment, her expression returned to calm and resolute.

Notes:

This novel is not my work... I just translated it from a Chinese web novel written by Wu Zui

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