Chapter 18: The Second Path

That night, Ning Xuan slept as usual.

He had already “shown his special nature to his father.” Presumably, his father would give it more thought when picking up this chess piece. If, even after all this, his father still wanted him to go to the Hanzhou Ranch to marry the Qin family’s illegitimate daughter, then so be it.

His father was in control of the overall situation, and the judgment he made was naturally from the perspective of the overall situation.

Although he still couldn’t see it clearly, he would just cooperate.

He would not, in a situation of extreme lack of information, self-righteously believe that what he thought was correct.

That would only put the Ning family in an extremely dangerous position.

He slept until dawn.

The fragrance of a woman still lingered on his body.

Just after Ning Xuan had breakfast, he heard a servant come to report, “Young Master, the Master is looking for you.”

Ning Xuan responded and came to the study for the third time.

Ning Taiyi stared at him intently and said in a complex tone, “Xuan’er, Dad has to admit that you may be a once-in-a-century martial arts prodigy. Now, Dad will give you two choices.”

Ning Xuan nodded.

Ning Taiyi said, “First, from today onwards, you can show off your martial arts in the surrounding areas and build up your reputation. This way, you won’t be despised for having only the name of a dandy after going to the Hanzhou Ranch. At that time, you might be able to carve out a world for yourself with your abilities.

However, it is also extremely dangerous. An illegitimate daughter is ultimately not a legitimate daughter, and an illegitimate daughter will never be willing to be just an illegitimate daughter. If you are just a dandy, then that illegitimate daughter will be beaten to the bottom by the Qin family, and all her thoughts will be extinguished. Misfortune is where fortune lies, and in this way, you can live in peace and prosperity.

But if you are not, if you do your best to perform, that illegitimate daughter will definitely have ideas. At that time, you will inevitably be drawn into a vortex, either going all the way to the end or dying without a burial place halfway. This is called… fortune is where misfortune lurks. It seems grand and magnificent, but it is actually full of crises.

But since you possess such power, you will certainly not be willing. If you choose this path, Dad’s advice to you is to show off your martial arts, but not too much, not to the point of making that Qin Jin’er’s ambitions erupt. In this way, you can preserve yourself and the Ning family.”

Ning Xuan shook his head.

He didn’t really want to get involved in other people’s messy affairs, scheming against each other every day, hiding and sneaking around, and then having to be a憋屈的孙子 (biēqū de sūnzi – a wronged and submissive grandson).

He wanted to laze around, not become a pile of rotten shit.

So, he said, “What about the second path?”

Ning Taiyi was silent for a moment, then said, “For the second path, you have to do one thing first. When you have done it, Dad will tell you. Otherwise, you should obediently take the first path.”

Ning Xuan nodded and said, “I’ll do it.”

Ning Taiyi clapped his hands.

A golden light suddenly flashed on the ground beside him. The golden light dissipated in an instant, revealing a purple-robed Taoist wearing a bronze ghost mask.

The Taoist was otherworldly. Standing there, he had a sense of detachment, but the bronze ghost mask added a bit of ferocity and horror.

As soon as this purple-robed Taoist appeared, he made an unexpected move.

He put his hand on the mask, took it off casually, and revealed a terrifying face.

The face was torn and pitted, and it was disfigured beyond recognition.

But such a face showed a smile to Ning Xuan, and then he put the mask back on, and at the same time said, “My name is Chou Nu. Thanks to Mr. Taiyi, I was able to reach this step today. Now I am considered the Heavenly Master of Wangyue Prefecture and the surrounding nine counties and twenty-eight townships. The Young Master can call me Chou Nu in private, and call me Heavenly Master in front of outsiders.”

Ning Xuan recognized this voice.

This was the person who had called himself “Big Brother” yesterday.

In other words, this was his big brother.

Big Brother was truly miserable.

For a moment, he felt that his father was definitely biased towards him.

Ning Taiyi said, “Xuan’er, before you finish that matter, Dad will not say anything. But Dad still hopes you know that Chou Nu is not an outsider. You treat him… as you would an older brother. You are not allowed to call him Chou Nu in private.”

The purple-robed Taoist smiled and said, “It’s better to call me Chou Nu. Chou Nu is better.”

“Big Brother.” Ning Xuan bowed seriously.

Suddenly, the air became quiet.

Ning Taiyi was stunned for a moment.

The purple-robed Taoist’s eyes turned red for a moment.

But it was only for a moment.

A moment later, the purple-robed Taoist bowed and said, “As expected of Mr. Taiyi’s son, he is as courteous to the worthy as the master.”

Ning Taiyi seemed quite happy and laughed loudly, “You are not a subordinate, you are the most talented cultivator I have ever seen in my life.”

After a pause, he looked at Ning Xuan solemnly and said, “Xuan’er, remember, you can always trust Chou Nu. Chou Nu will not harm you… In fact, you may not know, but Chou Nu has actually watched you grow up, but he only watched from a distance and never got close to you.”

Ning Xuan nodded.

Ning Taiyi waved his hand and said, “The thing you have to do is to be Chou Nu’s Taoist boy for a while.

Chou Nu will tell you the details.

Only after you have passed can Dad truly be sure that you will not die easily after stepping into the true side of this world.”

Ning Xuan looked at the purple-robed Taoist.

Chou Nu said, “Young Master, this matter still needs to be arranged first. In a month, I will come to find you.”

Ning Xuan said, “I will wait for you.”

Chou Nu’s figure flickered, and a golden light surged from the ground. In the blink of an eye, he had disappeared without a trace.

From the second day on, Ning Xuan began to double his training.

He did frog jumps with a small mountain-like boulder on his back, did one-finger Zen on a cliff with a huge rock on the bottom of his feet, held a python with both hands and shook it back and forth like a battle rope, wrapped his arms around a small mountain and tried to pull it up, jumped down from a high place and then endured the powerful rebound force… Of course, there was also long-distance running, push-ups, sit-ups, and stepping on the Swallow’s Return stakes, so as not to turn his strength into dead strength.

He took a saber and practiced that one move, Flying Swallow Crushing the Mountain Peak, over and over again.

He thought hard, trying to find a trace of mystery from the Mountain-Crashing Bear’s demonic art, so that he could use Flying Swallow Crushing the Mountain Peak without summoning the Heavenly Demon Record.

Time passed day by day…

After arduous training, Ning Xuan’s constitution had also changed from the original “2.2” to “3.0,” and the bonus from the Mountain-Crashing Bear Heavenly Demon Record had also been reduced to “1.7.”

After he summoned the Heavenly Demon Record, his body could completely withstand the change without mutating again.

Not only that, Ning Xuan had actually found a trace of the “Flying Swallow Crushing the Mountain Peak” power from that demonic art. That power was mysterious and profound, rooted in his flesh and blood, and required an extremely clear understanding of the Mountain-Crashing Bear to be able to comprehend it.

Ning Xuan didn’t know what this power was.

But demonic art was obviously no longer suitable.

Soon, a month had passed.

Chou Nu came on time.

He threw Ning Xuan a set of wide-sleeved, cross-collared blue Taoist robes, and a bronze ghost mask of the same style.

“Change into it. Before Mr. Taiyi has determined whether you can take the second path, your identity cannot be exposed.” Chou Nu thought for a moment and added, “From today on, I will temporarily call you Qingfeng. I have wronged you, Young Master, to be my Taoist boy.”

Taoist boy, Ning Xuan had seen them.

That day, the yellow-robed Taoist had levitated in mid-air, closed his eyes and performed a spell, and used the golden snake to bind the demon.

The two Taoist boys guarded him, holding swords, and looked left and right nervously and vigilantly.

Now, it was his turn.

Ning Xuan quickly put on the Taoist boy’s clothes and put on the mask.

Chou Nu asked again, “You use a saber, right?”

Ning Xuan nodded and said, “I learned from Master Zhang, the Wind-Chasing Swallow Saber.”

Chou Nu said, “Then a more agile long saber will do.”

Ning Xuan shook his head.

Chou Nu showed a look of confusion.

Ning Xuan said, “I use a Beast-Slaying Saber. The longer the better, the bigger the better.”