Ning Wuxia stopped there, her large, lively eyes darting thoughtfully.
Yet Xu Yao understood her completely—and grasped the unspoken implication beneath her words.
Deeply content and filled with longing, Xu Yao was endlessly astonished. "Reaching the prefectural office is actually possible? Even the mere possibility is incredible! To someone like me, that's already a path straight to the blue clouds!"
Ning Wuxia felt her breath catch in exasperation.
"A mere prefectural office..."
Ning Wuxia simply could not stop her eyes from widening. "...is a path straight to the blue clouds?"
Xu Yao nodded solemnly. "Truly!"
Sighing heavily in sheer frustration at his lack of ambition, Ning Wuxia remarked, "Sigh... Big Fatty, you need some higher aspirations!"
Xu Yao widened his eyes in equal incomprehension. "...That's already an extravagant dream! My biggest aspiration right now is just to become a regular member at the Mountain Guard Compound!"
"...Sigh."
Ning Wuxia pouted and said nothing more.
Taking advantage of the lull, Xu Yao focused on committing everything she had said to memory.
Everything Ning Wuxia had told him was beyond anything he had ever encountered before. At this moment, he truly envied and admired her vast knowledge; she knew so much...
Xu Yao had developed a habit lately: whenever anyone spoke, he chose to listen attentively and learn.
With some people, he listened with selective reservations, but when it came to things told by Ning Weiyu or Ning Wuxia, he chose to believe them unconditionally.
Besides, he knew the Ning siblings were about to leave.
Ning Wuxia had spoken with unusual density today, carrying a clear, deliberate tone of instructing him and resolving his doubts.
Xu Yao asked thoughtfully, "Are you not heading back to the Mountain Guard Compound?"
A glint of appreciation flashed in Ning Wuxia's eyes, and she replied with a smile, "You're pretty sharp, Big Fatty."
Then she added, "Once we reach the main road, we'll wait for my brother. When he arrives, we're leaving. We took a life this time. Even though it's jianghu vendetta and sect rivalry, if we return to your compound after killing someone and their side takes out their vengeance on you, it won't end well for your people."
"But even if you leave just like that, couldn't they still take revenge on us?" Xu Yao asked, puzzled.
"As long as the corpse doesn't enter your compound, you'll be fine."
Ning Wuxia smiled faintly. "Actually, even if it did, nothing would happen. You belong to the Demon Suppression Bureau, after all. That lord of the Demon Suppression Bureau in the Southeast Circuit is famous throughout the mortal realm for fiercely shielding her subordinates... Now that their identities have been exposed, she wouldn't dare lay a finger on you."
"I see."
Xu Yao felt reassured. Then, coughing twice, he asked with some embarrassment, "The Demon Suppression Bureau is very strong, isn't it?"
"Haha..."
Ning Wuxia could not help but chuckle, finding it comical that someone in this world could even ask such a question. "The Demon Suppression Bureau... heheh, you'll know how strong it is later on. But remember: the Demon Suppression Bureau being strong doesn't mean you are strong. You must understand that clearly."
Xu Yao nodded, accepting the advice humbly. "Yes, yes. Just like the Great Qin Empire being strong doesn't mean I am strong."
"Hahaha..."
Ning Wuxia laughed until she was breathless. Suddenly wanting to tease him, she asked, "Then do you know what the Great Qin Empire is?"
"..."
Xu Yao stared back blankly, speechless.
"Hahaha..."
Clutching her belly, Ning Wuxia laughed hysterically, thoroughly amused.
Right at that moment, a gentle, cultured voice sounded: "Restrain yourself! How does teasing someone like that befit a proper young lady of a good family? If word got out..."
No need to guess.
Just hearing that dogmatic scolding tone was enough to know it was Ning Wuxia's 'hundred-year-old' elder brother, Ning Weiyu.
Ning Wuxia's little face fell at once, but she also breathed a sigh of relief. Her brother was safe.
Sure enough, a moment later Ning Weiyu appeared. His clothes bore numerous mud splatters, tears, and bloodstains. His complexion was somewhat pale, and his hair had clearly come undone and been tied back up.
Yet aside from that, he was completely unharmed. Xu Yao surmised that he must have held the upper hand.
"You managed to take down your opponent smoothly this time."
Looking at the corpse draped over his sister's shoulder, Ning Weiyu praised her generously, "Not bad this time. You actually gave your brother a pleasant surprise! Haha..."
Encouraging his sister when she did something right to bolster her confidence—Ning Weiyu excelled at this.
"Big Fatty helped me..."
Ning Wuxia blushed slightly. Lowering her head, she ground her toe against the ground, her voice like the buzzing of a mosquito: "The person's sword was poisoned... If Big Fatty hadn't been there, I would have been a goner..."
"..."
Ning Weiyu choked back his breath. The smile froze on his face. Mouth agape, eyes wide, he stood stunned for several moments before gulping loudly and asking in concern, "Where were you hurt? Is it serious?"
"I'm fine. Just a few cuts on my thigh, shoulder, and back. Ahem, I found the antidote..."
Ning Wuxia mumbled, squirming self-consciously as she muttered, "It was nothing..."
Before she could finish, she was met with the torrential downpour Ning Weiyu had been holding back once his initial relief had settled:
"What did I tell you before? What did Father and Mother say before we set out? Did your jianghu experience go straight to your backside? Where's your brain? All you ever think about is eating! Eating, eating—do you know anything besides eating?!"
"A heart has seven apertures, and six of yours are focused on eating while the seventh is scheming how to find food!"
"In your twenty years of life, you've spent twenty-one goofing off! Would it kill you to put in some effort?!"
"Not even guarding against poison from an enemy—were you born just to hand out accomplishments to other people?!"
"You haven't broken through in half a year! Tell me, when are you going to fix that gluttonous head of yours?!"
A tempestuous tirade of scolding rained down; Ning Weiyu was truly frantic with anger and fear.
Ning Wuxia was berated so thoroughly she did not dare lift her head, murmuring weak, defensive noises: "Nuh... nuh..."
Ning Weiyu reached out to take the corpse onto his own back while continuing to rant at Ning Wuxia: "...What am I supposed to say to you?! Can't you use your head in the future? How old are you now?! All those lessons—every time you say you remember, you remember! What did you actually remember?! ...Let go! I'll carry it!"
He was both terrified in hindsight and deeply worried. He had thought that by holding off the stronger opponent, his sister would easily manage the other, never imagining she would end up injured or nearly lose her life. And yet...
The more he thought about it, the more shaken he felt, wishing he could smack some sense into her.
Ning Wuxia was scolded to the point where she could barely stand, trembling like a blade of grass in the wind. Knowing she was in the wrong, she did not dare utter another word.
Only then did Ning Weiyu reluctantly break off his lecture. Turning to Xu Yao, he said with profound gratitude, "Big Fatty, it's all thanks to you this time. We of the Ning family owe you another favor!"
He said these words with great gravity.
Xu Yao, on the other hand, felt it was no big deal. Oblivious to just how weighty the 'favor' Ning Weiyu spoke of truly was, he simply scratched his head and gave an honest, good-natured chuckle. "It's nothing. You entrusted her to me back then, so I had to live up to your trust."
"Entrusted..."
Ning Weiyu murmured the word, seemingly weighing the sheer gravity behind it.
It had truly been out of habit. He constantly worried about his sister, so whenever she was around others, he would always ask them to look after her.
Moreover, upon learning today that the opponent was a woman, he felt that such a female enemy would be far more treacherous than an equivalent male foe, so he had specially cautioned Xu Yao.
Yet without question, that single remark had carried immense weight today.
It had saved his sister's life!
He fell silent for a moment, then said softly, "Thank you."
He said nothing more on the matter, but engraved it deeply in his heart.
Xu Yao had saved his sister; this was far beyond what a light word of thanks could ever repay.
Sensing that the storm had passed, Ning Wuxia hurriedly changed the subject to escape her awkward predicament. "Brother, what about the other person?"
"She escaped. Her cultivation base is formidable. I could hold her off and eventually defeat her in a prolonged fight, but capturing her was far beyond my reach. Even if I could have captured her, taking her right on the spot wouldn't have been wise. She needs to remain alive as a witness for both sects to handle the matter."
He smiled faintly and said, "Her identity is clear now, and our mission was merely to seek treasures, not to seek vengeance. Accomplishing this much already exceeds our objectives. The rest will be left to the sect—holding them accountable, negotiations, compensation, interests, retribution, and the like..."
Looking at his sister with doting affection, he added, "This isn't as simple as you think—cutting them down with a sword and calling it vengeance won't do. The two great sects will leverage this incident as a game of chess, turning small gains into major leverage and channeling power upward to the highest ranks. There are endless intricacies involved. Avenging the grievance can only happen after the sect concludes its dealings. Besides, this time our Tianshu Purple Mansion holds full initiative..."
Smiling, he stopped there.
Ning Wuxia sighed softly. It was not that she did not understand; she simply preferred direct, uncomplicated vengeance.
Now, however, it was clearly not that simple.
Even Xu Yao grasped the gist of it: in the end, the major sects of these great figures handled things in the exact same manner as humble mountain villagers—settle the compensation and material interests first, then figure out how to vent their anger.
Ning Weiyu picked a gentle slope beside the road and led his sister and Xu Yao up. Looking toward the cloudy sky to the east, he said softly, "Big Fatty, my sister and I must head back now."
Chapter 29