Ding Ning was waiting for her at the gate to the courtyard.
People’s minds were the hardest thing to understand in the world.
On the stormy summer day last year, Ding Ning had seen her from a distance. Just like Zhao Zhan had seen, she still appeared to be isolated from all of Changling. Yet he had been unsure as to where her heart sided until Bai Shanshui had come with her presence.
Ye Celeng quickly saw the youth standing in front of the centermost courtyard in Ink Garden.
She thought she would be very excited or moved. Yet she found her emotions were calm.
She smiled self-deprecatingly, and showed two faint dimples. After having waited for so long, revenge had become a part of her, and did not have much to do with anyone else. Success could not change what had already happened. Revenge was just for her pleasure. The pleasure was mental and came from the process of getting revenge. It had to do with what she wanted to do, and nothing to do with the end result.
Seeing Ye Celeng’s calm face as she got off the carriage and approached, Ding Ning’s mind suddenly grew calmer.
He could sense her pleasure, and her clear conscience. In that moment, he thought of everything he should do. Regardless of the result, he would pursue a clear conscience
Seeing her white dress, and her beautiful face which was no longer useful, Ding Ning could not help but give a small smile.
“You are good, you are very good.” Ye Celeng also smiled. The simple words were rich with her emotions.
She did not waste words. She looked at Ding Ning and said in an ordinary conversational tone, “An hour ago, the Guanzhong Xie Family sent the burnt-tail letters. All the prestigious families of Guanzhong, and those cultivators who come from Guanzhong will gather the Wolf Poison Flower and Celestial Demon Vine. This should be your move… what do you want to do?”
Ding Ning looked at her and said directly in a calm voice, “I want to kill that palace attendant.”
Ye Celeng was not shocked and her smile grew brighter. “How to kill?”
Ding Ning said, “I will force her to agree to a duel with me. Min Mountain Sword Sect will help me think of a way. With the help of the Astrology Bureau, this matter will be much simpler.”
Ye Celeng smiled and said without even thinking, “This is very simple. A palace attendant is still a person. She has a lover.”
“You know?” Ding Ning was surprised.
Ye Celeng glanced at him. “Palace Attendant Rong is not an unimportant person. It is not strange that I know.”
“Then that is even simpler.”
Ding Ning smiled like they were talking about a minor matter and said, “I have the Nine Death Silkworm, and the Heaven Replenishing Divine Art. The Celestial Demon Flower and the Wolf Poison Flower can make my energies stronger, and so the Nine Death Silkworm will speed up my cultivation and stop me from being harmed by the poison in these two medicines. The Heaven Replenishing Divine Art can nourish my body and eliminate the side effects of the Nine Death Silkworm.”
“The Heaven Replenishing Divine Art is a perfect complement to the Nine Death Silkworm, so you had to enter Min Mountain Sword Sect…” Ye Celeng thought of that person who had always wanted to enter Min Mountain Sword Sect in the past but had always been refused. She could not help but shake her head slightly and was filled with emotion.
“Also, I have a cultivation method I obtained from White Goat Cave as a disguise.” Ding Ning also grew emotional and said, “The Heaven Replenishing Divine Art is too mysterious. No one outside knows what the Heaven Replenishing Divine Art is, and Min Mountain Sword Sect, while surprised at my cultivation speed, will only think that this is due to the Three Corpses Nonself Consciousness Sutra I accidentally obtained from the White Goat Cave.”
“You do not kill, but when you do, it is one of Zheng Xiu’s people. In the last decade of Changling, it has always been her who kills who she wants, but no one dares to kill her people.” Ye Celeng sneered. “What next?”
“Then we kill Liang Lian and break into the Great Floating Water Prison.” Ding Ning looked at her. His smile faded and he said seriously, “Then we leave Changling, then enter realm eight and fight our way back.”
Ding Ning looked up at her bright eyes and said slowly, “This is my entire plan.”
Ye Celeng smiled and said, “This sounds like a perfect plan.”
“I hope it is really perfect.” Ding Ning replied.
“I hope it is really perfect.”
Ye Celeng smiled and repeated. Then she took out a white jade bottle from her sleeve. The white jade bottle carried her body warmth. It contained a black medicinal fluid so thick it was almost solid.
“My plan and your plan match.”
Looking at Ding Ning, she said slowly with some contentment. “With the Xie Family as concealment, no one will think your advancement in cultivation has to do with me.”
“There are more people paying attention to me than to you.” Ye Celeng looked at Ding Ning and said after a pause, “I will try to not help you, because anything I do may leave a trace. It is likely people will sense our connection.”
Ding Ning said after a moment of silence, “I understand.”
“Then see you later.” Ye Celeng smiled. She turned and walked back to her black carriage. Even from the side, it was possible to see the pretty dimples on her face.
“See you later,” Ding Ning looked at her back and said softly.
She did not ask him about where his inheritance came from. He did not ask her why she had not appeared when she should have in the past.
Everybody had a reason. The past was not important. Their perfect future was what was important.
He gripped the small but heavy jade bottle in his hand and walked back to his bedroom. Then he dumped all of the medicine in the bottle into his mouth.
His body rumbled.
The medicinal fluid flew in his body like stars with terrifying power.
But at the same time, countless silkworms appeared in his body and surged towards the shooting stars.
The medicine fluid was gradually consumed, and the small silkworms returned astounding energy which travelled through his meridians and gathered in his energy sea to become condensed vital energy.
His mental consciousness seemed to start merging with his vital energy. The two gradually came to the verge of merging into one as stars seemed to flash in his vital energy. His cultivation was advancing at an astounding rate.
At this speed, he feared he could pass through realm four second class in less than a night. Also, Ding Ning was certain that when he passed realm four second class, the star-like medicinal energy in his body would mostly still remain in his body.
This kind of cultivation advancement was too simple. Yet this was what Ye Celeng had accumulated through cultivating overseas and fighting to the death for over a decade.
It was simple to speak of, but how could it be simple?
Translator Ramblings: Ye Celeng just gave away her entire saving of over a decade to Ding Ning. That’s dedication to revenge right there.
