Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“How do you feel?” Ren Baqian asked Ning Caichen as they sat in a secluded corner.
“Never felt better!” Ning Caichen’s eyes were bright and brilliant while talking.
With that charming face, Ren Baqian felt that few people in this world could resist her appeal.
Sometimes, it was really strange. Previously, Ning Caichen was just a delicate-looking man.
However, after he became a woman, the change was dramatic. Every wink and smile would enchant the soul, and anyone would have a hard time associating her with her previous self.
If members of the Ning family were to see her now, they wouldn’t be able to recognize her as the sword master from their family.
Under such circumstances, Ren Baqian could only say that she was suitable to be a woman.
“How do you feel about this world?”
“It’s very interesting… I like this place very much… As mentioned by Your Highness, almost everyone has the knowledge of an imperial scholar or more, which is astounding. Furthermore, the cell phones and computers let everyone know what’s happening in every corner of the world. The information available is endless and much, much more than what an ordinary official in Great Xia knows.” Ning Caichen paused for a moment as if she were going to elaborate and Ren Baqian eagerly waited.
Ning Caichen put her thoughts together and continued, “Nevertheless, those talents from Great Xia or the Yun Nation, who are one in 10,000, are outstanding people. If you put them here, they would not be lost among the crowd.
I can only say that the people here are richly endowed and envied by others.
No matter how poor you are, you will not go hungry. If you have the will, you will have a chance to gain knowledge. This is simply not possible in Great Xia.”
“Of course people will only have the energy to pursue other things when the productive forces are liberated and there are abundant resources,” Ren Baqian said. This was what he was hoping to achieve in Dayao—to let the citizens be liberated from the endless fight to survive.
He also agreed with Ning Caichen’s opinion on those officials in Great Xia.
To him, capable people would still stand out anywhere.
“Do you know how to use a cell phone?” Ren Baqian asked.
“I do. It’s very convenient and interesting. I have a TikTok[1.TikTok: video-sharing social networking service owned by ByteDance, a Beijing-based company founded in 2012 by Zhang Yiming] account and made it out of curiosity, but I have… about 18 million followers now.” Ning Caichen chuckled.
Ren Baqian was stunned.
“What?”
TikTok… Ren Baqian knew it as a social media platform that was used to make short videos more than ten years ago.
There were many competing products, which had lessened over the years, but the number of users on this video platform was still quite large.
However, with the advent of cultivation, this video platform became popular again.
After all, many people wished to express themselves.
Ordinary people could see other martial artists performing in videos and learn some cultivation methods as well.
But what was Ning Caichen doing for the past six months? She had her operation, learned how to use a cell phone, created a TikTok account, and became an online star with 18 million followers.
“Did you perform your flying sword repertoire?” Ren Baqian subconsciously thought of this.
“Of course not! There are no sword slaves in this world, though there are sword masters like me in novels and movies. However, they are more carefree!” Ning Caichen pouted, “I performed a sword dance and taught women how to do their makeup and be more attractive…”
Ren Baqian didn’t know what to say and just gave her a thumbs up.
“Keep a lower profile since you will have other missions. As an internet celebrity, it may affect your future missions negatively,” Ren Baqian said.
“I like this very much! It’s so wonderful that so many people pay attention to me and praise me!” Ning Caichen’s eyes shone even more brilliantly.
“There is no need for Your Highness to worry because I can make sure that they don’t recognize me. Makeup can make me look like a different person. Does Your Highness want to see those so-called stars and have a good time with them?
Bang!
In a flash, Ning Caichen disappeared right in front of Ren Baqian.
There was a hole at Ning Caichen’s original position. The empress, who was looking at him with a spurious smile, was next to this hole.
Ren Baqian felt that the empress seemed to enjoy showing this expression more and more.
What was the approximate meaning of this expression? Was it “How do you want to die?”
“She is a man!” Ren Baqian’s expression didn’t change. “Your Majesty, how can you be jealous of a man?”
“Me? Jealous? Haha!” The empress’s expression was getting worse.
“I will assume that you aren’t.” Ren Baqian changed his tone quickly. “Furthermore, I treat him like a man and as one who may be bigger than me.”
“Ptui!” the empress exclaimed before walking to the window to take a look.
She turned to speak to Ren Baqian after a pause and said, “The new palace must have high windows for a good view!”
Ren Baqian wanted to say… that its collapse would also be fast, especially with the empress’s impulsive ways. The demolition day might be the same day the place was completed.
When he lowered his head to look at the hole, the reinforcing bars could be clearly seen.
Ren Baqian started to get worried. Was it possible that Ning Caichen had been killed by this blow from the empress? Ning Caichen wasn’t in the same league as Tong Zhenye.
Even a winged cavalry warrior at the Kismet Heaven level wouldn’t be able to withstand this blow, let alone a person who depended on a spirit sword for strength.
Fortunately, a voice was soon heard from below. Ning Caichen pushed away a concrete block and climbed up the staircase with a dejected and dusty appearance.
Ren Baqian was relieved. This wasn’t the first time that Ning Caichen had been beaten by the empress, so why didn’t she remember?
Ning Caichen was crying as she came up and looked like a lovable weeping beauty.
“My face is bleeding.”
Ren Baqian examined her face and found some cuts. Besides these, there were no fractures or other injuries. It seemed like the empress had shown her some mercy.
It looked like a fierce strike, but the empress channelled her strength through Ning Caichen to hit the ground directly… Ning Caichen only suffered some cuts on her face.
The cuts on her face were definitely intentional!
Ren Baqian felt that if the empress didn’t change her destructive habits, it would be of no use to construct more buildings.
Seeing Ning Caichen looking carefully at her face in the mirror, Ren Baqian sighed and said, “Stop looking. Your face can still be saved! I still have a box of black mud cream!”
“Oh, then it’s fine!” Ning Caichen was weeping just now, but she calmed down quickly.
Ren Baqian felt like saying, “Haha” to her.
Subsequently, he inquired about the things that Ning Caichen had learned so as to understand her situation better and decide whether there was a need to find her a home tutor.
Then, his expression changed.
She had learned Simplified Chinese and pinyin, could operate a computer, spoke fluent Thai, could pass grade 6 English, and was learning Japanese and even coding?
Ren Baqian felt like he didn’t need to kidnap any experts or scholars; he just needed to keep her here for eight to ten years before bringing her back.
Compared to her, he was living those 30 years in… He had fared very well, so what was there to compare?
What was the point in comparing?
Was he the type of person who liked to compare with others who were better than him?
“Continue learning the things you are interested in. Information will be collected about some people, and your mission is to catch these people and bring them here without arousing the attention of others. In terms of detection and counter-reconnaissance, there are modern technologies such as locators, cameras, and other things that may be useful for your mission. You should learn more about these things.” Ren Baqian gave her a kind smile. Initially, he wanted others to do all these things and only have Ning Caichen be responsible for catching the targets and acting as an escort during their transportation.
However, after discovering Ning Caichen’s learning ability, he wanted to see how far she could go.
After explaining the situation to Ning Caichen, Ren Baqian suddenly felt listless.
He didn’t feel like talking to her anymore!
He was emotionally tired!
