Chaotic World Book

Yue Hongling used "I saw you" instead of "Illusion Technique"; she was very clear about it, because what she saw was Zhao Changhe.

Her Zhao Changhe of the heart.

It was a mirror-like sheet of clean ice, within which she couldn't see her own image at the time but rather Zhao Changhe riding his horse through the sandy dust, with thousands of troops chasing behind him.

Yue Hongling knew that was the moment she felt most moved by Zhao Changhe, where her true love began, not during the earlier accidental romantic encounter in the Maitreya Sect temple or the embrace in the inn after being tricked by Sisi.

Such romantic moments could be treated as a short-lived dream, soon leaving no trace. Yet those memories of racing horses across the sandy dust were forever etched in her heart, reoccurring and unforgettable.

However, for a martial artist and a lone swordsman pursuing the pinnacle of Martial Arts, such sweet memories and longing had an unfortunate term to describe them.

They were called Heart Demons.

They could weaken one's will, immersing one in tenderness, thus the heart wouldn't remain firm nor the sword sharp, abolishing the lone struggle against adversity and independence, causing one to depend on others and be apprehensive.

At this moment, Yue Hongling couldn't help but immerse herself in the Heart Demon, her heart filled with past intimacies, even unconsciously smiling as she gazed.

She deeply desired to step in, hold his hand, and ride together.

The person in the mirror also seemed to smile, extending his hand as if saying, "Look, across millions of miles, we meet. Won't you stay?"

Her soul seemed dizzily drawn into the vortex on the mirror surface. Once absorbed, it was a point of no return.

This was not an Illusion Technique; from beginning to end, it was her own heart tangled in weakness, reflected in the mirror, captured by the demon.

Yet this couple was always unlike others; just moments ago involved in intimacy, yet soon contemplating traveling the world. One could brazenly suggest such a thing, and the other found it oddly appropriate, such was the imposing Sister Yue.

Had the real Zhao Changhe been standing in front of her suggesting to meet thousands of miles away and honor a promise, perhaps Yue Hongling might have faltered, but only seeing it within her heart made Yue Hongling deeply reflect, questioning her inexplicable desire to stay by his side. She still had many places to visit, many sights unseen.

With this thought, she immediately broke away from the soul-draining ice wall and noticed something was wrong with it.

Yue Hongling forcefully kicked the ice wall, hearing a deep sob from within, as if someone were crying.

Yue Hongling felt no cuteness at all—only chilling fear.

Such a brief indulgence in love almost killed her right there!

Romance has always been considered an obstacle to Martial Arts, certainly not without reason.

"Clash!" She thrust her sword backward unexpectedly, just in time to block a sword Qi coming from a hidden assassin in the shadows.

Seeing that neither the ice wall nor their sneak attack worked, the assailant immediately darted into the densely snowy forest, leaving a trail of falling snow.

Yue Hongling feigned following into the woods, thrusting her sword Qi in first, yet she swiftly turned back and floated away upon entry.

A volley of arrows and dark weapons "swooshed" through the clearing sword Qi, while Yue Hongling had already vanished into the sky's rosy clouds, nowhere to be seen.

"…Truly worthy of being the Sunset Divine Sword, her reputation well earned. Let's move. The Sect Master is absent; we shouldn't entangle with her. Let's head into the Secret Realm first."

A group of people left the forest, escaping further into the depths of Snow Mountain. Yue Hongling, seemingly far gone, then peeped out from behind a boulder.

"Is that how you followed them into the Secret Realm?" Zhao Changhe lay in his sister's arms listening to the story. Though the heroine's storytelling was dry, lacking embellishment, especially glossing over her frequent thoughts of Zhao Changhe, just mentioning Heart Demons, Zhao Changhe still found it interesting, thoroughly enjoying it.

Thus, it's nice to have a spin-off in a novel, to see another's journey.

Speaking of which, Hongling really was strong... A true veteran of the Worldly Society.

Yue Hongling leisurely said, "A bunch of assassins from the Snow Watch Tower, they couldn't outplay this heroine... But I originally thought their lair was inside; it turned out not to be… or maybe their lair was also there, just not in the direction they took. Following them, I discovered they discussed mostly Buddhist and Taoist matters, apparently trying to incite a dispute between Buddism and us."

"Eh..." Zhao Changhe was taken aback, "Inciting conflict between Buddhism and us, I did see that. Is there also Taoist business here, how so?"

"They spoke of a plan concerning Yuxu, but I was following from a distance and could only catch some fragmented phrases," he recounted. "It's mostly about the Heavenly Venerate being extremely dissatisfied with Yuxu and losing the Heavenly Book among other things... They are plotting something while Yuxu is away."

"Yuxu is not around... They mentioned earlier that the Sect Master wasn't around either, the Sect Master being Snow Eagle, right? Both of them absent at this time... when they ambushed Elder Xia?"

Yue Hongling said crossly, "I have been in the Secret Realm all this time; how would I know when they ambushed the dazed ruler?"

"Ah..." Zhao Changhe then remembered that Yue Hongling didn't have the slightest good impression of Xia Longyuan. To her, a ruler is a dazed ruler, officials are nothing but eagles and hunting dogs, that's how they all appear in the eyes of the Worldly Society knights. Yue Hongling was slightly better; she had a decent opinion of Tang Wanjuang. In more extreme views, even Tang Wanzhuang was considered an eagle and hunting dog, just like he initially thought himself.

That wasn't important anymore; what mattered was that it should be around that time. At that time, Snow Eagle was in the capital, Yuxu was out of town, and taking advantage of this, Ting Xue Tower and some entities behind it were conspiring against Yuxu and Yuan Cheng.

Yuan Cheng leaving Chang'an might have been a stroke of dumb luck, or else he might have been in trouble... but even here he hadn't completely escaped. The space was deliberately connected by the other party, and they chased him all the way here. They had initially seen the Vajra and had other thoughts, otherwise they might have wanted to kill Yuan Cheng first.

The before and after could roughly be tied together now; it should be so. But what exactly they are plotting, he still couldn't figure out, and Yue Hongling might not be able to understand either. However, this clearly had great value for his upcoming journey to Kunlun, perhaps even requiring a change in plans.

Yue Hongling said, "In fact, I didn't follow them for too long, just because I'm unfamiliar with the place, leading to unexpected encounters with many demons and ghosts. It's clear Ting Xue Tower hasn't fully developed the whole Secret Realm; there are many monsters that they don't control... They are also exploring and treasure hunting, and some of my gains came from there, and some were forcefully taken from them."

Zhao Changhe: "…"

Snow Eagle probably thought he was screwed.

This matter of Wuding, it seems like Yue Hongling messed up Snow Eagle's big plans again. Why is it always you?

Then again, if there's a predestined law among them, shouldn't Han Wubing and Snow Eagle be bonded more deeply? Where did Han Wubing go?

Yue Hongling continued, "This also exposed my whereabouts. Now that Snow Eagle has returned, he led Ting Xue Tower to surround and block me. They have the upper hand, so I run; escaping danger before turning back to ambush them, entangling them till now. They can't possibly devote all their energy to me; they still have plans to carry out, doing things while entangling, gradually bringing us here, where I met you. I really don't know at what point I moved from Heavenly Mountain to Xiangyang. I didn't feel it on the way..."

Yue Hongling's explanation was very brief, Zhao Changhe could fully imagine the heart-stopping days of the past months, countless monsters and battles, endless running and counterattacks, completely worn out wounds, up until now.

Talking about being tired, wasn't Sister Yue tired too?

He could no longer lie down, and sprang up: "Let me look at your injuries."

Yue Hongling spat, "It's just minor external injuries, no need for Dual Cultivation!"

Zhao Changhe couldn't help laughing and crying, "I just wanted to heal your injuries... If you don't want to show them, then don't."

Saying so, he reached out and took Yue Hongling's hand.

Yue Hongling was about to say something but soon felt an extremely strong sense of rejuvenation spread throughout her body. The internal and external injuries, various subtle hidden injuries accumulated over months, were unexpectedly mostly healed in that instance. He didn't even need to check where the injuries were, he simply resolved them in a blanket approach, as if bathing in an all-encompassing hot spring.

Yue Hongling looked at Zhao Changhe's face in amazement. His strength now was all-encompassing; this Rejuvenation Technique was more than a hundred times stronger than before!

Zhao Changhe smiled, "Sister, if you want to help me, you'll need good spirits. Haven't you gone months without proper sleep, always on alert?"

Yue Hongling hummed a response, preferring not to speak.

Why did seeing him make her feel like she had a roof over her head? It was because she could finally relax a bit, get some proper rest. If the sky were to fall, there was a man beside her.

His warmth still emanated from his hands, cozy and lazy; Yue Hongling's eyelids began to fight each other.

Zhao Changhe spoke softly, "Sleep... at least for today, I'm by your side."

The blind man crossed his arms, feeling that these two were kind of stupid. Always thinking about who helps whom, who relies on whom... What's there to divide, really?

Relying on each other, being each other's harbors, isn't that what you two always wanted... to venture the world together, arm-in-arm with swords?

Wait a minute, why am I doing an emotional analysis here? Who's ever seen a book have feelings... The blind man scratched his head, wondering when this odd thought began.

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PS: It's the end of the month, ask for a wave of monthly tickets~