Chapter 113: An Ambiguous Exchange
A chilly wind blew on the horizon, drawing the curtain of the rising sun. The cold wind caused a frown to form on the sleeping face. The girl’s eyes suddenly relaxed and opened wide, cautiously glancing at her left and right. The obscure figure in the distance immediately attracted her attention.
His back leaned on a tree, posture relaxed. One hand held a book with a black cover and the other turned the page. His golden eyes ran along with the book, the dim surroundings failed to bother him in the slightest.
Shen drew his attention from the book and stared straight at the bed. As expected, Leng Yulan regained consciousness. Thanks to her, Shen had to spend the night outside. If anyone saw them together and the bed, it wouldn’t take a brainer to know what would run through their heads.
Shen cleared his throat, waking Leng Yulan up from her daze.
She suddenly felt this young man didn’t seem as insignificant as she thought. Letting out a deep breath, her fingers ran along the bedsheet...
Bed?
This time Leng Yulan’s whole body jumped up, leaping 10 meters backward from her lying position. Apparent anger, face flushed, she asked, “You! What did you do to me?”
Thup!
Shen closed the book with a deep sound, the book disappeared and he assumed a more relaxed position. Amused by her antics, Shen shrugged, “Woah, is that how you thank your guardian? The world is unfair, I should’ve just thrown you out of my house and enjoy the show.”
Leng Yulan looked at him, speechless. She also realized her worry was unfounded. Aside from the slight moisture on her skin, which was probably from dews, she didn’t notice any irregularity in her body. Not to mention she had plenty of safety measures in case she passed out after a fight, there was no reason for her to get worked up over nothing.
“That, just an instinctive move. Did you really not do anything.” She still inquired.
“Let’s see, other than touching here and there, and throwing you on the bed, I don’t think so.” Shen casually responded. Not that he had no intention of checking her equipment and items, but the words she uttered were disturbing enough to make him cautious to not be her enemy.
To him, those who uttered words such as ‘Destined One’ or ‘Chosen One’ are all someone he must avoid without fail. It did fill him with curiosity that he couldn’t see through her. Her cultivation looked exactly that of a peak Houtian cultivator, but her movements definitely surpassed the limit of the said realm. He could at least detect Yuyu had used some items to disguise her appearance and cultivation but the exact opposite became for Leng Yulan. She might look defenseless when unconscious, but Shen found himself hesitating to search for anything unusual. In the end, he decided to look over her for the night.
“Hey! What do you mean by here and there?”
Shen shrugged once again, “Just like how it meant, here and there. Relax, I’m not interested in you. Even if you were to push me down, and get your way with me, I won’t touch you.”
“You! You dare bring me to a secluded area and say you did nothing? Even Buddha won’t believe you.”
“Oh, so you are buddha himself? I didn’t know you were a man... Relax, no matter how perverted I am I definitely won’t touch a man.”
Leng Yulan once again staggered back, “You, you...”
“Hey, are you done? I have a lot of things to do. Since you are up, I’ll take my leave.” Shen already started moving, he truly wanted nothing to do with this crazy girl.
At a loss, Leng Yulan watched Shen’s moving figure with a blank gaze.
“Hey!” she suddenly called out and ran up to him. “At least tell me, did the Yin-Yang Pendant really have the power of Space and Time?”
Shen stopped and looked at her with amusement, “Why should I? Give me a reason.”
“Hey, why do you have to be so mean?”
“Because I don’t have any reason to be good. You’re not my lover, nor do we have any good relationship. So, tell me, why should I be good or tell you what you want to know?”
Leng Yulan remained silent for a moment before she reluctantly said, “What do you want.”
“Oh, at least you are not a total idiot. Just tell me what you know about Qing Shui and how you learned everything.” Shen smirked inwardly, he badly wanted to know how she learned about Qing Shui.
“No way, our level of information is totally different. I’m in the losing end, besides, I don’t plan to reveal anything.”
“Sure, I don’t want to either. Well then, let’s hope we won’t see each other again.” Shen had no regrets as he started walking again, for she would stop him.
As expected she rushed before him and blocked his path, “I will tell you anything I can.”
Shen smiled, “Sure, the same goes for me. You go first.”
“Ugh,” Leng Yulan made an unwilling face but who told her to be late? “I had something that lets me know anything I want. I used it to search for the Destined One... well, my first attempt ended in failure. So for the second, I asked for someone with the most promising future for the next 100 years. Then it showed me Qing Shui. Only knowing his face and name didn’t help me. So I used my last chance and asked for everything about Qing Shui. It showed me his look when he becomes an adult. Some information about the mysterious stone and his position on the map of five continents... Now, it's your turn.”
“What’s that item called and where did you get—”
“I’m not saying anything else!” Before Shen could finish his words Leng Yulan sharply interrupted him.
“Yeah, not that I mind.” In reality, her information bothered Shen in more than one way. If she could really just learn about anything, wouldn’t someone ask for the most powerful cultivation technique in existence? Or possibly the technique itself? But he again shook his head, it probably at most would show the location and the technique. Or if it was him who got the item just after reincarnation, he would surely ask for the most beautiful female in the universe!
Then it hit him, what if her previous world had Destined Ones. And that same person was her lover, she would surely want him to be her lover in this life too. He looked at her with a little pitiful expression. In this world what mattered the most was luck and strength. Without either of them, even if you are destined, nothing but death and humiliation awaits you.
Besides, she probably didn’t have more of that item either, nor can she get more. Else, Shen refused to believe she would go so far as to lower herself and ask about the pendant.
“I can confirm the pendant does contain the power of Space, as for Time. I didn’t find anything that can possibly be related to Time. Since what you told me so far sounds true, albeit a little unbelievable, I’ll see if I can find anything related to Time later.” Shen nodded as he calmly explained how much he trusted her words while momentarily deciding to forget the Immortal Realm. He didn’t lie, he just merely forgot about the Immortal Realm!
“Just this?” Leng Yulan watched Shen, almost unable to believe. “Hey, your information is worth shit in front of mine!”
“Huh? Miss what did you ask in the first place? Try and remember.”
As Leng Yulan recalled her cheeks flushed crimson. She only asked whether the Yin-Yang Pendant had the power of Space and Time. Shen exactly answered what she asked but... But she couldn’t come to terms with his answer. Maybe ambiguous, but she revealed a secret she never told anyone.
However, it wasn’t Leng Yulan only. Even the other party, Shen, had revealed a secret he only divulged to Yu Ruyan and Mingyue Gelou, albeit similar to Leng Yulan, ambiguously.
“Well then, Miss Leng, wish we will never see each other again.”
“I don’t wish to see you either but wait there! You are getting on my nerves from the day I forfeited that match! We will fight here and decide who is stronger!”
Shen stopped on his track, his expression turned grim, “Are you sure? My sword might fail to see properly.”
“Bring it on, but be prepared to lose a hand or leg.” Leng Yulan didn’t back down either, her adamant and unyielding personality wouldn’t let her.
Of course, Shen didn’t have anything bad on her, but he disliked to fight for someone else’s curiosity or ire. Moreover, he very much wanted to avoid interacting with her.
He started with his left foot and in just four steps, he covered the twenty-meter distance and they were face to face.
Ting!
It was unknown from where or when they pulled out their swords, but they crushed against the other with a sharp sound. With the sound of buzzing air, their sword strike tinked another five times.
Leng Yulan’s attacks were meticulous but flashy, unlike the attacks from Shen which looked no different from basic sword strikes. His strikes had some flaws. However, for some reason, Leng Yulan couldn’t see through the flaws. She understood they were flaws, but her mind didn’t register them. No, more clearly, she felt they were all intentional flaws.
Flaws for her to step into.
“Stop, I think we can end here.”
Shen stopped his sword on her neck. However, she stopped after their initial exchange, he couldn’t call this a win, “You know that you are annoying. You say we fight, so we fight, we stop, just because you say so?”
Leng Yulan frowned, “I believe there’s no use wearing ourselves down.”
“Sure, sure. As you say, so what’s the result.” Shen put away his sword and watched her face up close. With the golden rays of light highlighting her beauty, she really looked enchanting at this moment. If not for her princess complex and slight unyielding personality, Shen would have thought she was really beautiful. But the encounters with her made him think otherwise.
“Draw,”
Shen nodded. He thought the same. Exchange moves, more like a duel. Not a fight to death. Even if they fought for an hour, the result would’ve been the same. However, if they fought to death, they both had the confidence to win.
“Alright, that sounds good.” Shen walked ahead and waved his hand as he disappeared inside the forest.
Leng Yulan's gaze got lost inside the forest for a moment. The seemingly unimpressive sword strikes flashed before her eyes. She followed the movements of his hands and imitated his strikes. However, let alone natural, every move felt rather weird and uncomfortable.
Out of the youths she saw, Shen definitely wasn’t the strongest one. But he had the most amazing swordsmanship among the youth she exchanged moves with or watched from afar. And she realized one point that Shen didn’t. It was as if that set of swords technique was specifically made for him, or he created the sword technique himself.