Chapter 1121: Chapter 623: Min Ning (Double Length)

Chen Yi immediately withdrew his hand, his eyes still filled with suspicion, the sword held horizontally in front of him, remaining alert.

The black-clad guard quickly removed her face armor and walked up to give a big hug.

Suddenly embraced, Chen Yi was momentarily at a loss, then he heard a familiar "Hey!" and promptly reacted, holding her in his arms.

It was indeed Min Ning.

Those heroic yet slightly sorrowful eyes, Chen Yi would never forget, although he already had many women he would never forget in his life.

Chen Yi looked down at her face, noticing a faint scar at the corner of her forehead, hair by her temple cut short and not yet grown back, her cheeks more taut than before, showing the marks of her trials, and he silently sensed a tinge of world-weariness.

"Ouch." Min Ning gasped, pushing him half a step back, frowning and pressing her ribs, "Easy! You nearly broke my bones." Though she complained, a fleeting relief of a long-awaited reunion flashed in her eyes.

Only then did Chen Yi notice the dark stains spreading on her black clothing, the familiar scent of her mixed with a hint of blood wafting towards him.

His gaze darkened, "Where are you hurt, who did this?"

"Not fatal, almost healed." Min Ning curled her lips, indifferently wiping the dust splattered on her face, pointing at her clothes, "I got in here, and got injured before that."

Chen Yi glanced over, took out an exquisite small porcelain bottle from Square Land, and pushed it over, "Make do with it, two pills at a time." His tone casual, as if handing over an old item, "Have you gotten into trouble?"

Min Ning took it, glanced casually, though her gaze stalled slightly.

It’s Taihua Mountain’s medicine.

"This is Infinite King’s Royal Palace, not a place to linger," she looked at Chen Yi, exhaling, and with a light laugh said, "Find a place to talk?"

Chen Yi slightly nodded.

Finding a place, in truth, involved scaling the palace walls and finding a secluded corner, where Min Ning leaned against the wall, removing the wine gourd from her waist.

This was when Chen Yi asked, "How come you are here?"

"Long story, my apprentice was captured by Infinite King’s people, so I snuck in." As she spoke, Min Ning glanced sideways at him, "Though I haven’t seen you for a while."

"I’m helping someone named Qin Xuzhi, a big shot, investigate this place." Having long been accustomed to being glib, Chen Yi naturally wouldn’t divulge deeper intentions, "He seems to have a blood feud with Infinite King."

Receiving favors and seeking vengeance, is simply the most straightforward and commonplace affair in Jianghu. For a Jianghu hero, whether it’s a thousand gold taels or a bowl of poor wine, killing is the best form of repayment. Min Ning nodded slightly and said, "Understood."

"...Hmm."

No probing deep, only unconditional trust, having not seen Min Ning for a long time, and accustomed to the coyness of other women, Chen Yi was unprepared for her straightforwardness.

Min Ning drank a sip of wine, handed it to Chen Yi, who took it and drank it too, this subtle intimacy would make sheltered girls bashful or even fearful, yet for them, it was as natural as could be.

Min Ning fiddled with the face armor and said, "Along the way I saved a brother and sister, the little girl kept pestering me to be her master, so I reluctantly took her in, she’s your junior sister now, called Qing Li."

Chen Yi blinked noncommittally.

Min Ning still seemed eager to take him as a disciple, whether this was to compete with Zhou Yitang was unknown, but amongst women, it’s not his place to meddle.

"I taught her some self-protection methods, she’s quite mindful and doesn’t cause trouble, but before, I followed a guide to find an Ancient Swordsman’s sitting and dying place, a cliff, a cave, a coffin, and a sword, I learned that swordsmanship, lost in it for a while, unaware of time, she accidentally ate some kind of spirit mushroom, her soul left her body falling into the Underworld."

Min Ning gave a brief account, Chen Yi roughly grasped the situation, but still had doubts about some details, "A guide?"

Previously knowing from clashes with Min Ning, in these few years of absence, her Martial Arts improvement was astounding, not only had she reached the Fourth Rank, her swordsmanship, bold and expansive, yet elusive, each strike carried tremendous masculine force, the dazzling sword light concealed thunderous sounds. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Her Spring and Autumn Sword Master silhouette was becoming clearer.

No matter how gifted, this was far beyond what conventional training could accomplish, he can’t help but worry Min Ning was deceived, led down a dead-end street, or had a mysterious figure behind, with hidden intentions stretching miles.

"Ha, that’s nothing you need worry about, I trust that person." Min Ning waved dismissively, "Can’t reveal the name though."

Even though Chen Yi found it amiss, after invoking a spell, he relaxed slightly, only then did he have the leisure to carefully scrutinize Min Ning’s face, she was still beautiful and dashing.

She lifted her face, glanced sideways at him.

Chen Yi opened his mouth, after so long not seeing her, there were many things he wished to say, yet upon the unexpected reunion, found himself unprepared and unsure of where to start.

Instead, Min Ning was more carefree, saying, "How is it that I ran into you here?"

"...Right, how come you’re in Southern Border?" Chen Yi just said, abruptly, "Is this on the border of Bashu and Southern Border?"

Min Ning seemed surprised, "Border?"

"Doesn’t Southern Border adjoin Bashu?"

Min Ning was bewildered, shaking her head to show she didn’t know, "I thought it’s separated by another province."

"What province could separate them?"

"Uh, Lingnan?"

Chen Yi was momentarily wordless, only offering a wry smile, Min Ning’s level of cultural knowledge was as expected.

Min Ning was slightly embarrassed, coughing twice to clear her throat, "Before, I had infiltrated the Royal Palace, discovered by Infinite King, luckily escaped, the injuries from then, so I settled inside first, mingling among the guards, due to my espionage, all entrances were closed, except for the route you took."