Martial Cultivator

Chen Chao rubbed his head somewhat irritably, but said nothing.

He understood the woman before him far too well. He knew that there were some things that simply could not be persuaded.

”Actually, I’d rather you put me on the gambling table. After all, I’m stronger, so my chances of staying alive should be greater.”

Chen Chao spoke half-jokingly, but judging by his expression, he was not joking.

Xie Nandu looked at Chen Chao and smiled. ”In most people’s eyes, your staying alive is more useful than my staying alive, but if you were the stake, you would indeed be more attractive.”

Some girls, most of the time, simply do not tell lies.

Without question, Xie Nandu was that kind of girl.

”It’s just that I’m a little reluctant.”

Xie Nandu looked at Chen Chao and said calmly, ”In the past, I thought it would be fine if you died. As long as things could be accomplished, your death would have been worth it. But later I realized that if you really died, I would be very sad.”

”So I’d better be the one to die.”

She seemed to be talking about something completely insignificant, as though a fallen leaf had landed on the surface of a lake without even creating a ripple.

Most of the time, she was just like this.

Leaving people with nothing to say.

”I heard that some time ago, that girl Zhu Xia really wanted you to eat her?”

Xie Nandu suddenly spoke. Although she was at the Northern Frontier, it was not as though she knew nothing. Since some things were not truly secrets, they would inevitably be carried everywhere by the wind, and naturally they would reach the Northern Frontier as well.

Chen Chao did not know what to say. He naturally knew that Xie Nandu was not joking, but it was precisely because she was so serious that it left him at a loss.

”You know, she’s just a child. It seems like she’s lived for a very long time, but in reality she still hasn’t grown up. She’s still a child, so sometimes the choices she makes...”

Chen Chao had only spoken halfway before Xie Nandu interrupted him. Smiling, she shook her head and said, ”Chen Chao, whether she has the mind of a child or not is beside the point. But you have to understand one thing, not every man would make her willingly let herself be eaten.”

Chen Chao had nothing to say, because it was the truth and could not be refuted.

There was only one thing about which he could say he had a completely clear conscience, that from the very beginning, he had told Zhu Xia that he would never like her. The person he liked had always been only one, and in the future there would only ever be one.

”If even Zhu Xia can die for you, can’t I?”

Xie Nandu looked at Chen Chao and said very seriously, ”Chen Chao, if one day I have to make a choice where I die and you live, don’t worry about me.”

Without waiting for Chen Chao to speak, Xie Nandu looked into his eyes and said, ”Promise me.”

Just as Chen Chao was about to shake his head, Xie Nandu had already waved her hand, signaling for him not to say anything.

Chen Chao felt somewhat helpless. He did not know why, but it seemed that no matter how high his cultivation realm became or how high an office he held, in front of this woman, he always seemed to be at a disadvantage.

It was a very strange feeling, but Chen Chao did not seem to dislike it very much.

He had a feeling that if one day there was no longer anyone who could make him feel this way, that would be the truly terrifying thing.

Xie Nandu said softly, ”The next time the demon race attacks the city will probably be the hardest time. If we can hold out through it, perhaps we can move the battlefield from the Northern Frontier Great Wall to the desolate north.”

Chen Chao asked curiously, ”A cavalry clash? Would we still have a chance of winning?”

“I don’t know. We have to try to know. Besides, don’t you think letting the cavalry ride across the Onan River is a very remarkable thing?”

Xie Nandu’s eyes shone brightly, her whole body seeming to radiate a special light.

Chen Chao said helplessly, “How are you even more like a man than I am?”

Xie Nandu smiled without speaking. She simply walked to the front of a small courtyard and pushed the door open directly. Chen Chao had just been about to say something, but at a glance, he saw that the layout of this small courtyard was almost exactly the same as the one beside South Lake in the divine capital.

“After coming to the north, the General’s Office gave me this small courtyard. I haven’t come here many times, but I still tidied it up a bit.”

Xie Nandu was not really talking nonsense. After coming to the north, apart from the General’s Office, the places she appeared were the desolate north.

Being able to come here at all counted as snatching some leisure from a busy schedule.

Chen Chao looked around and really did find a brazier under the eaves.

It looked like someone had once tried roasting here as well.

“When I had nothing to do, I tried it. The taste was much... worse than yours.”

As Xie Nandu spoke, her cheeks flushed slightly red. A woman like her rarely had anything she could not do well, but for some reason, this was the one thing she simply could not do properly.

Chen Chao sat down and began lighting the fire skillfully, raising an eyebrow as he said, “A young lady from a great noble family like you, how could you possibly understand this sort of thing?”

Xie Nandu sat down on the bamboo chair beneath the eaves and muttered, “What do you mean, ’a young lady from a great noble family like you’? Have you forgotten what your own background is?”

That single sentence left Chen Chao speechless. Speaking of background, who in this world could compare with him?

“Then that just makes me even more remarkable.”

Chen Chao found some sweet potatoes and placed them on the brazier, smiling as he said, “There are two things you’ll never catch up to me in, no matter how long you live.”

The first was cultivation, the second was roasting sweet potatoes.

Xie Nandu ignored him. She simply sat beneath the eaves, and before long, closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Looking at her face, Chen Chao felt a little heartache. Although she had never appeared on the city walls to fight, almost all of the current frontier army’s strategy came from her hands. From that alone, it was obvious how much pressure she was under.

For her to be utterly exhausted in both body and mind at this moment was only natural.

Chen Chao roasted the sweet potatoes, looking at the flames before him. He smiled. In truth, none of it was easy. The things she was doing, the things he was doing, were all like this.

In the past, he had thought these things were optional, that he could do them or not. But now, he said they had to be done. As for her, she had never thought about anything else. She only wanted to finish those things, so she would definitely do them.

No one knew how much time had passed before Xie Nandu opened her eyes.

Chen Chao was currently peeling the sweet potatoes.

When she looked at him, he handed over one that had already been peeled and smiled. “If possible, I’d roast sweet potatoes for you forever.”

Xie Nandu accepted it and took a bite. She said nothing, only squinting her eyes from the sweetness.

......

......

After the General’s Office’s military report was rushed to the Divine Capital with the utmost urgency level, it was quickly delivered to the imperial palace. Morning court session had already ended by then, so the urgent dispatch was sent directly into the Imperial Study.

After His Highness the Crown Prince finished reading it, he let out a long breath, but did not show any joy. Although the great battle had temporarily ended, there was no telling when it would begin again, and although the Northern Frontier Great Wall had been held this time, the casualties had not been small.

The General’s Office stated one matter bluntly: regarding compensation for the cultivators of the foreign lands, they hoped His Highness the Crown Prince would not be too frugal. It should be generous, so that the foreign lands could see Great Liang’s sincerity.

Together with the military report, there was also a personal letter from Ning Ping, and what it said was more or less the same.

Wu Xinyue had received increasing favour these past days. A few days earlier, the imperial physicians had confirmed that she was already carrying an imperial heir. As a result, His Highness the Crown Prince trusted his Crown Princess even more than before. After reading the military report, he casually handed it to Wu Xinyue.

“My elder brother didn’t write a letter reminding me of anything this time, this imperial is actually a little unused to it.”

His Highness the Crown Prince searched around, but indeed could not find any letter from Chen Chao. His emotions were somewhat complicated; he could not tell whether he was disappointed.

Wu Xinyue smiled and said, “Your Highness, it’s only natural that the Lord Warden Commander didn’t write a letter. Your Highness should also prepare yourself. Under these circumstances, Lord Warden Commander will not be writing letters anymore.”

His Highness the Crown Prince pondered for a moment, then understood what she meant, but still felt somewhat melancholy. “Even Elder Brother thinks this imperial should grow up now?”

Looking at her husband, Wu Xinyue bit her lip. She thought about it, but in the end, still could not bring herself to say certain things.

The reason Lord Warden Commander had done this was not to use these actions to tell His Highness the Crown Prince that he should grow up. In truth, it was more an act of helplessness. He himself no longer had confidence that he would be able to return alive from the Northern Frontier.

Or rather, before this great war truly ended, among those who would die, he had already counted himself as one of them.

Just thinking about such a thing felt tragic. What was even more painful was Lord Warden Commander’s age. He was not even thirty yet.

Most of the time, he should have been the young man protected by others.

Yet he had become that great tree.

His Highness the Crown Prince seemed unaware of what his Crown Princess Consort was thinking. He merely turned around, reached out to touch Wu Xinyue’s lower abdomen, and softly said, “When the child is born, this imperial wants Elder Brother to choose the name.”

Wu Xinyue nodded. “This consort was thinking the same.”

His Highness the Crown Prince smiled. “I just wonder what name Elder Brother will choose for the little one.”

......

......

Divine Mountain, by the lakeside.

The thing the Divine Daughter and Zhu Xia had done most these past days was sit by the lakeside and chat.

The Divine Daughter truly had far too many things to talk about. It was just that in the past, there had never been anyone suitable to listen to her stories. Now that Zhu Xia had come, it was perfect.

For that reason, the Divine Daughter had personally made a long bench by the lakeside so the two of them could both sit comfortably.

“Are there some things that you know won’t go well if you do them, and won’t have any result, but you still want to do them anyway?”

The Divine Daughter suddenly asked such a question.

Zhu Xia said, “Liking someone is like that, especially when you like someone who doesn’t like you.”

The Divine Daughter looked at Zhu Xia with some heartache.

Zhu Xia shook her head. “Elder Sister isn’t much better off either.”

The Divine Daughter sighed. In the end, such things were still matters of chance, things that could be encountered but not sought, things that could not be obtained no matter how much one wished for them.

“But I’m a little better off than Elder Sister. I can still see him. Elder Sister can’t anymore.”

Zhu Xia spoke to herself, but those words really were rather hurtful.

The Divine Daughter understood her temperament, so she was not angry. She merely said, “I don’t know whether he would go north if he were still alive.”

Zhu Xia said nothing. She merely quietly looked at the surface of the lake.

After waiting a long time without getting an answer, the Divine Daughter said somewhat wearily, “I’m waiting to hear what you think.”

Zhu Xia shook her head. “Elder Sister, don’t ask questions you already know the answer to.”