Dawn broke.
The villagers, still shaken from their ordeal, were cleaning up the bandit corpses and the blood-stained snow.
Last night’s events would remain etched in their memories forever—especially the sudden appearance of that battle-robed man who single-handedly annihilated so many bandits.
The child called Little Tiger stood at the window, trying hard to stand on his toes to peek inside, only to be dragged away by his ear by his mother.
Uncle Guo, who had been gravely wounded, now crouched at the doorway drinking strong liquor.
Strangely enough, yesterday he’d thought himself at death’s door, but after taking a single pill, his body had healed rapidly. Now he was completely fine.
Inside the room.
Sister Qiao’er stood there at a loss.
Before her, the battle-robed man had already removed his mask.
It was Li Qingyang.
He had returned after leaving Little Cold Village.
More precisely.
He couldn’t let go of his beloved.
“Brother Qingyang…” Sister Qiao’er began, “How… how did you end up in Northeast Lu Province?”
Li Qingyang turned around, looking at her. “I should be asking you that.”
Sister Qiao’er didn’t dare meet his eyes. She lowered her head slightly, stammering, “I came… came to seek refuge with distant relatives.”
The lie was told too clumsily.
Li Qingyang stepped forward, placing both hands on her fragrant shoulders, his tone heavy. “Come back with me to Southwest Yang Province. Come back with me to Eternal Ancient Sect.”
After experiencing the bandit attack, he realized that it was far too dangerous for a weak woman to live out here alone. If he brought her back to the sect, the Sect Master would surely not refuse.
“I…” Sister Qiao’er kept her head lowered. “Don’t want to be a burden to you.”
Like Pei A’niu’s fiancée, she was one of those ordinary people without talent or aptitude. If not for that chance encounter at the lotus pond by the lake years ago, their paths would never have crossed.
Actually, at first, Sister Qiao’er hadn’t known Li Qingyang’s identity. Only after learning he was from the direct line of the Li Family of Qingyang City, and was a one-in-ten-thousand martial arts genius, did she develop feelings of inferiority.
Her decision to leave him was made on the eve of the Hundred Sects Alliance recruitment, when Family Head Li came to her, placed ten thousand taels of silver on the table, and said, “Take this money, leave Southwest Yang Province, and stop pestering my son.”
Sister Qiao’er didn’t accept the silver that would have ensured her comfort for life. She simply packed her belongings, left a letter, and departed.
To hide farther away, to never meet again.
She came to Northeast Lu Province—the farthest point from Southwest Yang Province on the continent.
The difficulties and dangers a girl without martial cultivation faced traveling such a distance to the other end of the continent need not be elaborated.
If not for Eternal Ancient Sect’s later rise to fame, if not for Li Qingyang’s name reaching her ears again, Sister Qiao’er wouldn’t have asked Uncle Guo to deliberately seek information.
Not pestering Li Qingyang—she had accomplished that.
But forgetting him forever—that was utterly impossible.
Sister Qiao’er didn’t dare hope to stay forever by her beloved’s side. She only wished to hide in a corner and silently follow his progress.
Uncle Guo saw through this clearly, which was why he had urged her last night to learn to forget, to face the future with a better mindset.
Sister Qiao’er had also realized that her attention to Li Qingyang was becoming increasingly frequent, which led to her decision to tear up the paper crane she’d kept all this time.
The paper crane was a gift from Li Qingyang.
Though it was clichéd, it was like a love token.
By choosing to tear it up, Sister Qiao’er intended to sever everything and learn to forget him.
These matters of love between men and women were truly both complicated and troublesome.
This was why Sect Master Jun was quite clever, always focusing his energy on the sect. Otherwise, if he wrote several chapters about romantic entanglements, readers would complain about filler again.
“I’m already a Martial Emperor now. How could you possibly be a burden to me?” Li Qingyang said.
Though spoken lightly, when these words reached Uncle Guo’s ears outside the door, he sprayed out a mouthful of liquor on the spot, exclaiming in shock, “Mar… Martial Emperor… Good heavens!”
After spending so much time with Jun Dog Leftover, Manager Li had also changed—he’d learned to casually show off without making a sound.
“You… you’re a Martial Emperor now?” Sister Qiao’er’s eyes widened.
Though she’d never cultivated martial arts, she’d heard something of the continent’s realm system. Forget about a Martial Emperor at that level—even a Martial Master was an existence to look up to.
“I know Father once came to see you, but he won’t oppose us being together now, so…” Li Qingyang pulled Sister Qiao’er into his embrace. “Come back to Eternal Ancient Sect with me.”
“If you feel you’re not worthy of me, I’ll ask the Sect Master to give you the aptitude and realm to match me!”
This was completely feasible.
As long as Jun Changxiao was willing, he could turn an ordinary person into a genius in minutes.
As the first disciple to enter the Hall of Luminous Smoke, if Li Qingyang truly came to ask, Dog Leftover would certainly not refuse.
“Brother Qingyang.” Sister Qiao’er raised her head. “You once said you wanted to become a heaven-reaching, earth-supporting powerhouse. Though Martial Emperor is very formidable, it’s not the highest level. You still need to work even harder.”
Li Qingyang’s expression changed slightly.
He understood what this girl meant.
—
“Creak.”
The door opened. Li Qingyang walked out without looking back and left Little Cold Village.
Sister Qiao’er sat in the room, holding in her hands the paper crane that had already flown away once, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Uncle Guo walked in and crouched at the doorway. “He cares about you deeply. Why did you refuse?”
“If I went with him to Eternal Ancient Sect, would Brother Qingyang still have the mind to cultivate?” Sister Qiao’er choked out.
“Ai.” Uncle Guo shook his head. “Girl, you think too much about others. In the end, you’re the one who gets hurt.”
—
“Uncle Guo, who was that big brother?”
“What big brother—that was clearly an immortal who can soar through heaven and earth!”
“Right, right, an immortal!”
A group of little kids spoke with worshipful expressions.
Though the bandit attack had left some psychological shadow on them.
However, Li Qingyang’s appearance and his overwhelming elimination of the bad guys brought them even stronger shock, and for the first time they learned that such powerful martial artists existed in the world!
“Little ones.” Uncle Guo took a sip of liquor. “His name is Li Qingyang, second disciple of Eternal Ancient Sect.”
“Ah?”
“He’s Li Qingyang!”
“Heavens, no wonder he was so strong!”
“Uncle Guo, how does an Eternal Ancient Sect disciple know Sister Qiao’er?”
Uncle Guo thought for a moment, then said meaningfully, “They’re friends. Very good friends.”
—
Extreme Cold Palace.
The Palace Master and disciples stood excitedly before the mountain gate.
Li Qingyang leaned against a tree outside, ignoring everyone’s welcoming party, still thinking about matters, silently vowing, “You’re afraid of delaying my cultivation, so I’ll come find you again when I no longer need to cultivate.”
How could one no longer need cultivation?
Break through to Martial Saint and become a Martial Emperor!
“Grand Elder!”
The Extreme Cold Palace Master said, “You’ve finally returned!”
Gongsun Haohai was also somewhat moved.
However, he forcefully suppressed that slightly agitated mood and said, “This old one was just passing through to take a look. I must hurry back to Eternal Ancient Sect.”
“Grand Elder.”
The Extreme Cold Palace Master glanced at the preoccupied Li Qingyang and lowered his voice. “This young friend seems to have something on his mind?”
“Troubled by love.” Gongsun Haohai shook his head.
He didn’t stay long at Extreme Cold Palace, then left with Li Qingyang to head back to Eternal Ancient Sect. However, before leaving, he instructed the Palace Master to handle something.
—
Little Cold Village returned to its usual calm.
The villagers still rose with the sun and rested with its setting as always.
However, not many days later, an Extreme Cold Palace elder and dozens of disciples suddenly arrived, announcing they would be permanently stationed there.
Little Cold Village was located in a remote area under the jurisdiction of a seventh-rate sect. So when a fourth-rate sect sent people over, it immediately alarmed the entire sect, and the sect’s leader personally rushed over with high-ranking members.
“Sect Leader Sun.”
The Extreme Cold Palace elder said coldly, “You can’t even handle bandits, so this place will be taken over by Extreme Cold Palace.”
“Yes, yes!” Sect Leader Sun immediately nodded and bowed.
That a fourth-rate sect would personally dispatch experts to protect a small village—could there be some great personage living in seclusion here whom they couldn’t afford to provoke?
—