Chapter 3: Because You are too Beautiful

Sword Dynasty

Volume 1: Great Rebel

Chapter 3: Because You are too Beautiful

For a city that usually did not receive much rainfall, a storm came without warning, battering banana trees, collapsing walls, causing leaks in the roof, and sinking unloaded goods. It was truly frustrating.

Alleys like Falling Parasol, as the name suggests, were once filled with parasol trees.

In Changling, poor households were the collective term for street vendors, travelling merchants, renters and servants who did not own land and residences of their own. The environment around where they live was much worse and dirtier than ordinary streets.

Besides the fallen leaves caused by the wind and rain, some vegetable leaves and chicken droppings floated in the puddles formed by the uneven slate path.

Ding Ning, his feet soaked and covered in mud and dust, hurried along. The handmade yellow canvas umbrella he held was of a higher quality than ordinary umbrellas on the market and also heavier. This put a heavy burden on him. He had to constantly switch hands between the umbrella and the oil bottle. He also had to keep the umbrella from being blown to one side by the wind and rain, making it difficult for him to walk quickly.

The streetside shop ahead was completely hidden under the shade of the storm and the parasol trees. He could only see a blurry blue wine flag flapping helplessly.

Beneath the blue flag was a small wine shop. The decor was like any other shop that brewed its own wine. The streetside hall had several thick, rough square tables. On the counter, besides the wine bottles, there were rough pottery dishes for holding peanuts, pickled vegetables, and other dishes that paired well with wine. Inside the shop was a winemaking room and a private residence.

As he walked under the eaves of the wine shop, Ding Ning finally breathed a sigh of relief. He closed his heavy umbrella, shook out his sore arms, and scraped the mud off the bottoms of his shoes before entering.

The wine shop was completely empty.

It was not that business was usually bad. From the worn corners of the rounded, polished tables, worn by cloth sleeves, one could tell that people would touch these tables and chairs many times a day.

But wine customers with money and free time probably would not want to go out on a day like this. And those without were likely dealing with their leaking houses from the sudden storm.

“Can’t you clean the mud on the stone steps outside? Why is it on the doorstep?” A displeased female voice chided from within the courtyard, like a cool autumn breeze sweeping across the empty tables and chairs.

Ding Ning smiled indifferently. “You don’t even want to do business. Even though the winemaking process has more than a dozen steps, you’re still going to make some mistakes. You are afraid of the mud on the doorstep?”

The courtyard was silent for a few seconds. Then, soft footsteps were heard, and the curtain separating the inner courtyard from the outer courtyard was lifted.

“If I had known so many idle people would come to this wine shop, I would never have listened to your idea.” The woman who lifted the curtain had a voice filled with anger. “Besides, whether the doorstep is dirty or not is my personal feeling; it has nothing to do with business.”

Ding Ning thought for a moment and said seriously, “I can apologize if I offended you personally. But business being too good and having too many people has nothing to do with me; it’s because you’re too beautiful. Besides, opening a wine shop is better than your initial idea of going to the red district to gather information. When have you ever heard of a woman, born into a free family who can earn a living, going to a brothel of her own free will? They may be born prostitutes, but prostitutes who only sell their skills and not their bodies are extraordinary people… Do you think the people at the Bureau of Astrology and Bureau of Divinity are stupid?”

The woman did not say anything because she knew every word Ding Ning said was the truth.

Including the sentence about her being too beautiful.

Most women’s beauty came from their makeup and charm. They hade many beautiful features or a unique presence. Some women’s features were not beautiful, but when combined, they give people a very pleasant feeling.

However, the woman standing in the empty wine shop was beautiful in every part of her being.

Her face, her body, whether seen in part or in whole, she was stunningly beautiful.

She could not be considered young, but her age was somewhere between youth and maturity. She possessed the charm of both. Although her eyes were filled with anger, her expression cold, and she wore the most ordinary clothes, the feeling she gave others was one of extraordinary beauty.

When she wore those ordinary hemp clothes, they seemed like the most beautiful and precious clothes in the world.

Anyone who saw this woman would believe that such devastating beauty, the kind that would drain the color from the world, truly existed.

She stood there coldly, dressed in the most ordinary clothes, but every part of her body seemed to radiate, captivating people’s hearts.

Her beauty was extraordinary, and the conversation between her and Ding Ning was also extraordinary.

Because in the Bureau of Divinity’s file her name was Zhangsun Qianxue, and she was Ding Ning’s aunt. However, it was impossible for an aunt and nephew who depended on each other for survival to quarrel like this.

The wine shop became quiet and looked cold.

Ding Ning’s expression slowly turned solemn. He remembered the five academians of Bureau of Astrology who had surrounded Zhao Zhan’s courtyard, the small courtyard that had been destroyed in an instant. His bright eyes became complicated.

“Zhao Zhan is dead, Ye Celeng has returned,” he said softly.

There was a long silence. The stunningly beautiful woman frowned and asked coldly, “Is Ye Celeng alone?”

Ding Ning guessed what she meant and replied seriously, “She’s alone. However, five academians from the Bureau of Astrology formed a formation outside, causing most of Zhao Zhan’s energy to dissipate into the sky. Furthermore, Ye Celeng was injured.”

“She was injured?” Zhangsun Qianxue’s brows furrowed slightly.

“I couldn’t see the extent of his injuries, but she was clearly injured.” Ding Ning looked into her eyes and said, “Ye Celeng comes from the Heavenly Prime Sword Pavilion, and cultivates the Fire-Water Divine Art. In a storm like this, she’s much stronger than usual. So, even though she was able to kill Zhao Zhan alone, she was injured. This means her strength is almost on par with Zhao Zhan.”

Zhangsun Qianxue thought for a moment. “So, she’s a realm seven third class.”

Her voice was very calm as she spoke to Ding Ning, as if they were just having a casual conversation. However, if the officials of the Bureau of Divinity from back then had overheard their conversation, they would have been extremely shocked.

Today, in that alley, dozens of cultivators had appeared together, and dozens of swordsmen had been forced to vomit blood by the released energy. They looked utterly miserable, unable to stand. Normally, one swordsman could completely flatten ten of that alley in fifteen minutes.

Only those with special talents, opportunities, and physiques could enter the ranks of cultivators.

The word cultivation was something that was beyond the reach of ordinary people. Cultivators who reach realm six were destined to leave a lasting mark in the history books.

This was especially true for mysterious individuals like Bureau Chief Ye. Her birth and cultivation methods are incredibly mysterious. Even the academians of the Bureau of Astrology might not know, but it was no secret to these people!

And if the plainly-dressed old man and the scholarly young man in the tower were to overhear this conversation, they would be even more shocked.

They were some of the most discerning individuals in the city. But if they overheard this conversation, they would discover that these two were even more knowledgeable and insightful than they were!

A breeze blew into the wine shop, ruffling Zhangsun Qianxue’s long hair.

The stunningly beautiful woman casually gathered her loose hair. She said solemnly in a commanding tone, “Go take a bath, then wait for me in bed. I’ll close up shop.”

Even Ding Ning paused, then his expression changed. “Now... isn’t it a little early?”

Zhangsun Qianxue glanced at him and turned away coldly, “Perhaps the cold energy of this storm is too strong, making my vital energy a little unstable.”

Ding Ning’s relaxed expression disappeared. He said solemnly, “This is extremely urgent.”

Notes:

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

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