Chapter 0097

Chapter 97: Without You, That’s What Matters Most

Cold moonlight poured down. Insects chirped.

Outside the Imperial Capital, on empty wild land, two beauties stood shoulder to shoulder and watched the sky. If a common person passed by, they would stop and be entranced. If a scholar passed by, he would take up his brush and leave a graceful poem. Sadly, only the clear wind and bright moon could share the view.

“Sister, am I beautiful?” Chen Ling’er asked shyly, looking at the cold, silent Lian Han Xing beside her.

Tonight she looked very different. Because she loved the Sword Dao, she usually wore tight training clothes. They made her look crisp and heroic, but they hid some gentle charm. Tonight she changed into a long, flowing aqua dress, a long-missed feminine style. The water-blue fabric rippled like waves and outlined a graceful figure. Her slender waist could be held in one hand, her stomach lay flat, and her chest rose in two proud curves. She wore gold-thread shoes, jade rings at her wrists, moon-shaped earrings, and a cinnabar dot between her brows. Every glance and frown was soft feeling. Every motion showed natural grace. Even the best painter could not fully catch this on paper.

“Very beautiful,” Lian Han Xing said. Even she could not lie while staring. Chen Ling’er truly looked stunning, and that frail, tender air made people want to protect her.

“Thank you, sister,” Chen Ling’er said, lifting one side of her skirt to spin so the hem traced a playful circle in the air. “These were gifts he once gave me. Do you think he will like them?”

She giggled. Ever since Zhou Tong agreed to meet, happiness had wrapped her whole heart.

Clothes are best when new. People are best when they are old friends.

“Clothes are best when new,” Lian Han Xing said lightly, hinting that the Zhou Tong of the past no longer existed.

“Yes, and people are best as old friends,” Chen Ling’er answered at once. “My junior brother always remembers old ties. I do not believe he will ignore me forever.”

Lian Han Xing could only rub her forehead and go speechless. [Simp logic really knows how to comfort itself.]

A wind blew and moonlight drew a long shadow.

“He is here,” Lian Han Xing said, stepping back to watch.

“Junior brother,” Chen Ling’er cried with joy. Even with the moon behind him, that figure she had dreamed of still filled her eyes. Her heart skipped half a beat and she held her breath without thinking. A peerless youth should look like this.

[How did I miss it back then? I must have been blind. Whose love potion did I drink?] She blamed herself, then felt happy again. Luckily, she still had a chance to make things right.

“You really came. Is it really you? I knew you would,” she said, ready to fly into his arms the moment Zhou Tong landed.

“Sixfold World Breaking Sword,” Zhou Tong said, bringing two fingers together and drawing a line through the air: “Fire, worlds apart.”

A strip of fire shot up from the ground and split the two of them apart. Chen Ling’er stopped, not because of the heat but because of the ice in Zhou Tong’s eyes.

“Junior brother,” she called, her face drained of color.

“Say what you came to say,” Zhou Tong said.

“Can we go back to the past? Just like before,” she asked, biting her lip, eyes full of hope. Faced with such a look, most men could not refuse. Zhou Tong answered with a cold smile.

“You want me to keep being your simp? You do enjoy comfort,” he said.

“You were not and never were,” Chen Ling’er said in a rush, almost crying. “I was stubborn. I saw your feelings but did not dare answer right away.”

“I wanted to see how much you cared, so I acted cold. But I liked you too.” She lifted her skirt a little to show the outfit. “Do you remember this look? You chose it for me yourself.”

“My taste is always good,” Zhou Tong said with pride. Hearing that, she finally showed a small smile.

“Too bad my eye for people was terrible back then,” he added.

Her smile froze.

“Why did you keep these things?” he asked. “Do you not feel sick? Do you not feel stained? Do you not feel ridiculous? When I was at the Jade Purity Sect, you thought these things were filthy. After I left, did they become clean? If so, you should stay even farther from me. Best not to meet again.”

“I do not want that,” she cried, stepping across the fire line and letting sparks bite at her hem. “Are you truly this cold, this heartless, this cruel? We lived together for ten years. Can you throw it all away? Do you not even feel a ache in your heart?”

She opened her arms to embrace him, her chest almost pressing against him. “Why can’t you look at me a little longer? Maybe then you will like me again.”

“Heh. Chen Ling’er, I have nearly forgotten some things. May I ask you a few questions?” Zhou Tong asked with a friendly smile. She nodded hard.

“Ask anything. I will answer.”

“Good. Tell me this: back then, for whom did I wear down my spirit to arrange a Heavenly Dao Array Arts, helping her become the Sword Dao chieftain of our generation?” he asked.

“Me,” she whispered.

“Who, afraid that my Sword Dao would surpass Tang Qi’s, smashed five of my fingers so I could hardly use a sword?” he asked.

“Also me,” she said, swaying as if she might fall at any second.

“Who took all my cultivation resources for herself? Who forced me to hand every chance to Tang Qi?” he asked.

“Still me,” she said.

“And during the Hundred Sects War, for whom did I risk nine deaths to rush into a deadland? Who then slandered me for stealing credit and counted all the merit as Tang Qi’s?” he asked.

Chen Ling’er could not speak. Her body lost strength and she sank to her knees before him. Even then, one hand gripped the hem of his robe with all its might.

“And also…” he began.

“Do not say more. I was wrong,” she sobbed. She remembered each thing clearly. Some had even been done on purpose. Back then she thought it was fun. Now she saw it was the work of a beast. If she and Zhou Tong traded places, she would not last a day. Yet Zhou Tong had stood against seven at once and endured ten whole years.

“Junior brother, can we let the past go? We can start again. Whatever you want, I will give it to you. Even if I…” she began.

“No,” Zhou Tong said, crisp and final.

Why? Were those old things more important than her?

“No. None of that is more important than you,” Zhou Tong said calmly, and light returned to Chen Ling’er’s eyes.

“But what?” she asked.

“Without you, that’s what matters most to me,” he said.