Luo Qing hesitated a moment, then said, “Chen Jin!”
The black-suited youth was startled. Chen Jin was his true name; however, Qingqing usually referred to him by his Daoist title, as ‘senior apprentice-brother Flowcloud’. For her to address him by his actual name…she most likely was going to discuss something important with him.
“You, me, and Ninelotus, we all came to Stillwater City together,” Luo Qing said in a low voice. “You and I both know about her background.” Chen Jin nodded. “Of course I do.”
“In the past, when senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus was in the Dongyan clan, you continuously wooed her. When she brought me to Stillwater City and the Black-White College, you decided to enter the Black-White College as well…I know that your heart has continued to be infatuated with her,” Luo Qing said.
Chen Jin laughed. “Although Ninelotus has never nodded and accepted me, I’ll continue to wait. Ten years, a hundred years…I’ll slowly wait for her.”
“There’s something…” Luo Qing gritted her teeth. “…that I think I must tell you about.”
“What is it?” Chen Jin laughed. Luo Qing looked so unwilling to speak out; could it be that she was about to confess feelings for him?
Luo Qing took a deep breath. “Senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus has chosen a Dao-companion.”
Chen Jin was stunned.
“But unfortunately…it isn’t you.” Luo Qing looked at him.
It was as though a thunderbolt had fallen out of the clear skies, completely stunning Chen Jin.
* * *
Book 9, Chapter 23 - Holyfire
“What did you say?” Chen Jin stared at Luo Qing, an incomparably terrifying look in his eyes. “Say it again!”
Luo Qing knew Chen Jin very well. She naturally could guess at what Chen Jin was currently feeling, and she immediately said with solemnity, “I said…that senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus has already chosen a Dao-companion. She’s chosen someone else, not you.”
Chen Jin’s face was ashen, and his body swayed.
“A pity,” Luo Qing murmured to herself secretly. They had been friends for many years, and so she couldn’t bear for Chen Jin to be kept in the dark. However, she also knew exactly what a blow this was for Chen Jin to hear. “He pursued her for so many years without success. In the end, junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, who didn’t even pursue her, ended up attracting her attention.”
Chen Jin shook his head. “Impossible. Ninelotus is the future Matriarch of the Dongyan clan; she has tremendous expectations for her future. Not even the many geniuses of the Black-White College have ever attracted her attention. Soundless and silently, she suddenly selected a Dao-companion?”
“His name is Ji Ning,” Luo Qing said. “He’s our junior apprentice-brother. His Daoist title is Darknorth.”
“Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth?” Chen Jin was stunned. Ji Ning, also known as Adept Darknorth, was quite resoundingly famous within the Black-White College. When this crazy junior apprentice-brother had first joined, in the Dao Debates, his performance had been such that the reincarnated Immortal, Rainbowflame Fairy Yu Wei, had been forced to personally intervene to overcome him. However, back then, Chen Jin had been carrying out a mission for the Raindragon Guard, and so hadn’t been in the College and hadn’t met Ning.
But he knew very well…for him to have been so powerful immediately after joining the school, and to have been selected by Immortal Diancai as a disciple, this person, Ji Ning, would definitely be one of the most supreme disciples of the Black-White College.
“Him?” Chen Jin couldn’t help but say, “How can that be? How long have they even known each other? Ninelotus is the future Matriarch of the Dongyan tribe; she’s extremely cautious by nature, and she considers all of her actions thoroughly. Even if truly she were to choose a Dao-companion, she would be more prudent than prudence itself in doing so. It is precisely this temperament of hers that has led the various Immortals of the Dongyan clan to jointly concur on her as their choice. Even though her background is astonishing, it alone wouldn’t be enough for her to be selected as the next leader. Given her temperament…she couldn’t possibly have chosen a Dao-companion this quickly!”
Luo Qing nodded. “You understand her very well. The choice of a Dao-companion is a choice that will change one’s life. Indeed, she didn’t come to a decision this quickly. I’ll tell you something…she’s already spent an entire year with Ji Ning, in the secluded Serpentwing Lake of Swallow Mountain.”
“She’s spent a full year with Ji Ning in his secluded residence?” Chen Jin’s face changed. There was no man who could accept the fact that the woman he loved had been living with another man for a full year! The same was true for Immortal cultivators! In fact, the purity of an Immortal cultivator’s Dao-heart made it so that they were far more terrifyingly stubborn than most mortals.
“So what if they were together for a year?” Chen Jin suppressed the rage in his heart.
“When senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus and I first arrived there, we spent three months there, and I left,” Luo Qing said. “I’m a woman as well; I could sense what senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus was feeling. After just three months…she was already beginning to show hints of bashfulness on her face. Now that a year has passed…I can’t even guess at how far the relationship between her and Ji Ning has developed!”
Chen Jin’s face was as lifeless as steel! He was completely dazed, and his mind was in a state of chaos.. Bashfulness? Three months? Now a year? How far the relationship had developed? What had happened? Could it be that the two of them had already…
“IMPOSSIBLE!” Chen Jin let out a growl, then transformed into a streak of light, flying into the distance.
Watching him fly away, Luo Qing couldn’t help but shake her head. “He actually lost composure this badly. It seems this truly was a major blow to him. I really didn’t want to tell you, but I had to…telling you now means that you’ll have a chance to fight for her. If I were to tell you in a few years…you would probably have no hope at all.”
As far as she was personally concerned, given that she, Ninelotus, and Flowcloud had all come to Stillwater City together, she naturally felt extremely close to both of them. Between Ji Ning and Flowcloud…she naturally was biased towards Flowcloud, Chen Jin!
Chen Jin flew blindly through the skies, confusion raging in his mind. “No, no, I can’t…I can’t continue like this. I need to immediately go to the place where Ji Ning is living, to that Serpentwing Lake place in Swallow Mountain. Right now! Immediately! This very moment!”
Panic. Worry. Unease. These emotions tore at his breast.
“Flowcloud, come in.” A voice suddenly rang out in his mind, carrying a hint of meditative dhyana; it actually was able to instantly suppress the turbulent emotions in Chen Jin’s heart.
“Uncle Fire?” Chen Jin was stunned. He looked ahead of himself, towards a mountain peak and the scarlet red estate built atop it. This was the residence of one of the leaders of the third generation disciples of the Black-White College – Holyfire.
“Earlier, my mind was in a state of chaos. I actually unconsciously made my way to Uncle Fire’s place. It seems as though…my heart subconsciously felt that this was the safest, most secure place for me in the entire Black-White College?” Chen Jin immediately flew into the estate below.
Within a courtyard.
Desolate Era (Book 6 - Book 10)
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