Chapter 382: Acceptance
“Oh, right.” Sun Lingtong continued to remind him.
“Don’t forget about the matter of the Fetal Breath Spirit Vessel. If we ever discuss it in the future—acquiring such a treasure of inheritance—I can’t even imagine the price.”
Sun Lingtong suggested, “Why don’t we join hands and completely ransack the Myriad Medicines Sect!”
“We’ll pick all their herbs and sell them in bulk—we’re guaranteed to make a fortune.”
“Then find a chance to steal the Fetal Breath Spirit Vessel, and that’ll be the end of it!”
Ning Zhuo shook his head and said nothing.
Sun Lingtong added, “As long as we rely on the Wanli Dragon, we still have a good shot.”
“Right, I’ll be the one to act. Xiao Zhuo, you go around creating an alibi.”
“You still need your reputation.”
Ning Zhuo shook his head and sighed. “Boss, let’s talk about this later. For now, let’s wait for my clan’s Ancestor to arrive first.”
Yesterday, he had already received a letter specially sent by Ning Jiufan before departure.
The letter was transmitted through the courier station and arrived in Myriad Medicines Valley even faster than Ning Jiufan himself.
Several days later.
Lesser Strife Peak, Martial Arena.
Ning Zhuo and Han Zhou had just finished a sparring session.
Ning Zhuo was drenched in sweat, staring at Han Zhou with a slightly dazed look.
A thought surfaced in his mind—if he used Han Zhou as crafting material for a mechanical construct, how much would it cut the costs?
“I really am broke,” Ning Zhuo muttered with a wry smile, shaking his head to chase off the absurd idea.
“Human labor is precious! Using Han Zhou like that would be an absolute waste.”
Ever since Sun Lingtong last reminded him, he had been under heavy financial pressure and kept racking his brain over what could earn him a large sum of money.
Han Zhou, completely exhausted, asked with curiosity and a trace of anticipation, “Daoist Friend Ning Zhuo, the Lesser Strife Day is approaching—who are you planning to challenge this time?”
But Ning Zhuo only shook his head. “In the short term, I plan to consolidate myself a bit. For me, the only ones truly worth challenging are Zheng Xingchen and Lai Wuying.”
Han Zhou nodded.
Having sparred with Ning Zhuo many times, he had gained a full understanding of the latter’s combat strength.
Although Ning Zhuo’s cultivation was only at the early Foundation Establishment stage, relying on mechanical fists and feet, his combat strength was considerable—he was definitely among the top-tier on Lesser Strife Peak.
People like Chang Yan, Hua Guzi, and Ning Zhuo had already been publicly acknowledged as a single tier.
And subtly above this tier stood only two people—whose past battle records were unmatched. Even when facing Chang Yan, Hua Guzi, Luo Xiao, and others, Zheng and Lai rarely suffered defeat.
The two of them left the Martial Arena and walked side by side.
Along the way, pedestrians who saw them mostly took the initiative to greet and salute them.
Whether it was Ning Zhuo or Han Zhou, both were renowned figures on Lesser Strife Peak.
Han Zhou’s strength was solid. The only reason his cave residence was ranked so low came down to two factors:
One, he cultivated the Bitter Cold Sutra, which required him to endure hardship—even when there was no suffering, he had to seek it out in order to maintain the bitter cold intent in his upper dantian.
The other, to allow him to challenge cave residences from bottom to top, and then “deliberately lose” to others to earn certain benefits.
The Bitter Cold Sutra was, as far as Ning Zhuo currently understood, the cultivation method with the lowest resource requirement.
Yet even so, Han Zhou still had to work hard to earn spirit stones and other resources to accumulate mana and maintain his cultivation.
Cultivation, after all, was simply the transformation of external materials and energy into personal strength through certain methods or techniques.
As for Ning Zhuo, he had already become famous throughout Myriad Medicines Valley.
His battle with Hua Guzi had fully displayed his combat power, silencing the skeptics.
Once his strength was publicly recognized, Ning Zhuo’s days became much more peaceful. No more gossip or backlash targeted him.
Ning Zhuo knew well: aside from proving his own strength, the senior brother of Myriad Medicines Sect, Linghu Jiu, must have stepped in behind the scenes, reining in his junior brothers and stopping them from troubling Ning Zhuo.
The only downside was…
“Lord Ning Zhuo, we meet again!” Around the corner, Hua Guzi burst forth like a streak of fire.
Ning Zhuo and Han Zhou widened their eyes.
“Meet again?” Ning Zhuo’s mouth twitched. “Three times a day… Daoist Friend Hua, I’ve made myself quite clear. You don’t need to apologize, and I don’t want your dumplings either.”
Ning Zhuo sighed, utterly helpless.
Han Zhou was silently overwhelmed—had he not witnessed it with his own eyes, he would never have believed what was happening!
A few days ago, Hua Guzi had come to apologize, bringing spirit food dumplings, only to be rejected outright by Ning Zhuo.
Han Zhou thought Hua Guzi would erupt in anger.
Instead, she returned the next day to apologize again, with different dumplings. This left Han Zhou thoroughly stunned.
What surprised him even more was that Ning Zhuo still refused, actively avoiding her.
Han Zhou had tried to persuade Ning Zhuo in private, asking him to ease his stance. After all, Hua Guzi was a skilled cultivator, and since she had already apologized, there was no need to turn a potential friend into an enemy.
But Ning Zhuo had only replied, “You don’t understand.”
What followed completely shook Han Zhou’s perception of the world.
No matter how Ning Zhuo refused, Hua Guzi never lost her temper. Instead, she shamelessly kept apologizing. Where once it was once a day, it became three times daily—growing worse!
The colder Ning Zhuo’s attitude, the more enthusiastic she became, almost fawning over him.
“Is it really that serious?” Han Zhou always believed Hua Guzi, even after losing to Ning Zhuo, belonged to the same tier of Foundation Establishment elites on Lesser Strife Peak.
Yet now, she showed no dignity of a top cultivator—she was practically like a dog.
Of course, to others, Hua Guzi was still the same as before. Only when facing Ning Zhuo did her attitude drastically shift—humble, flattering.
After much bewilderment, Han Zhou finally turned his gaze toward Ning Zhuo’s appearance.
He understood.
“Hua Guzi’s reached that time—her spring heart is fluttering.”
Only this explanation could barely satisfy Han Zhou’s confusion.
“Lord Ning Zhuo clearly noticed Hua Guzi’s feelings early on and didn’t want to lead her on, hence his cold refusals.”
Ning Zhuo’s odd behavior suddenly made perfect sense.
“How did I not think of this before?”
“Come to think of it, Lord Ning Zhuo’s instincts are quite sharp. That very day, he already noticed something was off and gave her the cold shoulder.”
Han Zhou silently admired Ning Zhuo. If it had been him, he certainly would not have noticed the change in Hua Guzi’s state of mind.
“As expected of a young lord carefully raised by a cultivation family.”
“This kind of pursuit by a woman—Lord Ning Zhuo must have experienced it many times before. That’s why Hua Guzi’s behavior triggered an immediate reaction from him.”
“Comparing people really is…”
Han Zhou glanced at Ning Zhuo, then at himself, and could only shake his head repeatedly, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
“Lord Ning Zhuo, this is a Gilded Phoenix Tail Flower I cultivated with great care. I earnestly beg you to accept it—please!” Hua Guzi widened her eyes, staring fixedly at Ning Zhuo, her face full of longing and hope.
Her pitiful appearance seemed as if she were about to burst into tears the next moment, causing even a cultivator like Han Zhou, who practiced Buddhist Sutras, to feel unwilling to reject her.
But Ning Zhuo still mercilessly refused.
“How many times have I said it? I don’t need your apologies. Farewell, Daoist Friend Hua.”
Ning Zhuo walked around Hua Guzi and continued on his way.
“Lord Ning Zhuo!” Behind him, Hua Guzi turned and called out mournfully, tears streaming down her face and stirring sorrow in the hearts of those who saw.
Ning Zhuo quickened his pace, because through Life Hanging by a Thread, he sensed the intense excitement and joy hidden in Hua Guzi’s heart.
Original Mountain.
Lin Shanshan stared at the intelligence in her hand, her expression grim. “What’s wrong with this Hua Guzi?”
“Ever since she lost to Lord Ning Zhuo, she’s been entangling herself with him—does she have no sense of shame?”
Lin Shanshan gritted her teeth.
She had only enjoyed the good news of Ning Zhuo’s victory over Hua Guzi for a few days before receiving such intelligence.
“Lord Ning Zhuo rejected her again?”
“A rejection is just perfect!”
“Lord Ning Zhuo, with his keen insight, naturally sees through your ulterior motives—how could he be so easily deceived?”
Lin Shanshan’s gaze turned cold.
Her personal maid Xiao Ju nervously waved her hand in front of her. “Miss, wake up. Don’t look at me like that—I’m Xiao Ju, not Hua Guzi.”
Lin Shanshan paused, finally realizing and quickly apologized to Xiao Ju.
Lesser Strife Peak.
Ning Zhuo’s cave residence.
“What’s with this Hua Guzi?” Ning Zhuo sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion, clearly troubled.
He hadn’t expected that speaking coldly and refusing her outright would not discourage Hua Guzi but instead make her even more excited and persistent.
“Boss, what do we do in this situation?” It was the first time Ning Zhuo had encountered such a person. He couldn’t casually strike her, so he decided to seek Sun Lingtong’s opinion.
Inside the Puppet Dragon, Sun Lingtong was laughing so hard he held his belly.
Too amusing.
As Ning Zhuo grew older, it became increasingly rare for Sun Lingtong to see him at a disadvantage.
Sun Lingtong wanted to keep watching, so he suppressed his laughter and pretended to speak earnestly. “Xiao Zhuo, Hua Guzi is actually a pitiful person.”
Ning Zhuo: “?”
Sun Lingtong continued, “Think about it—does that kind of temperament seem normal?”
“The more twisted her nature is, the more it proves that her childhood was filled with terrifying trauma.”
Ning Zhuo was silent for a moment. “Hearing you say that, Boss, I do feel differently about Hua Guzi now.”
Sun Lingtong clapped his fist into his palm. “So, you should act—to save her.”
Ning Zhuo: “Ah?”
Sun Lingtong said again, “People like her are prone to extremes. If you keep rejecting her like this, what if one day she can’t take it and ends her life?”
But Ning Zhuo still had his own judgment. “That seems unlikely. Every time she’s rejected, I can feel her secretly delighted.”
Sun Lingtong shook his head. “You never know with people like that.”
“What if she turns love into hate? If she can’t have you, she might try to destroy you!”
Ning Zhuo frowned and let out a cold chuckle. “The only reason I haven’t dealt with her is because I respect the rules here and care about my reputation. But if she ever—”
“No, no, no.” Sun Lingtong interrupted. “Xiao Zhuo, you misunderstood me.”
“What I mean is, rather than waiting for her love to turn into hate, you should strike first and recruit her.”
“With her temperament, she’s the type usually trained into a deathsworn.”
“She’s a blade of madness—one must use her with caution. Mishandle her, and you’ll only get hurt yourself.”
Ning Zhuo shook his head again and again. “She’s too crazy. I can’t believe someone like her exists in this world. I really don’t want any involvement with her.”
Sun Lingtong said, “If you ignore her completely, that’s dangerous. Even if she doesn’t target you directly, what if she goes after the branch family you founded?”
“Given her current obsession with you, what if she can’t find you after we leave here—do you think she won’t go to Huoshi Immortal City?”
Ning Zhuo’s brows furrowed even deeper.
“Boss, you’re right. But I have a bad feeling—if I agree and accept part of her intentions, I fear no good will come of it in the future.”
Just then, a Message Bird arrived.
Upon opening it, it turned out to be a letter from Hua Guzi.
Ning Zhuo’s face turned slightly pale, and his tone even carried a trace of fear. “Boss, what do I do? She’s come straight to my cave residence!”
Sun Lingtong scanned the letter with his spiritual sense. “Xiao Zhuo, don’t panic. Look closely—Hua Guzi is offering as apology the cultivation methods for seven kinds of rare flowers.”
“That’s a real treasure. Give it to the family—if we can cultivate them on a large scale and start a business, won’t our cultivation resources be secured?”
“These are rare in the market, and once they appear, they’ll be snatched up like crazy.”
Ning Zhuo examined it carefully—indeed, it was true.
He fell into a brief silence.
A moment later, he brought Hua Guzi into his cave residence.