"After that, there's not much more to tell. I returned to the Masked Moon Sect, and once our sect had established a foothold in the Beiliang Kingdom, I sneaked into the Yue Kingdom to look for you one more time. But the news I received was terrible — I only learned that you seemed to have been hunted by the Ghost Spirit Sect once again, though the specifics were unknown. Before long, I was discovered by the demonic faction and had no choice but to return to the Nine Nations Alliance. After that, I heard nothing more of you, and I assumed with ninety percent certainty that you had perished. The heart demons related to you gradually faded as well. Later, I was fortunate enough to successfully condense my Nascent Soul, and became an Elder of the Masked Moon Sect — which brings us to the present." Nangong Wan spoke calmly.
Listening to Nangong Wan's leisurely recounting, Han Li's expression shifted several times. Back then, this woman had done so much for him, and he had been completely unaware of it. His gaze toward Nangong Wan now held an extra measure of warmth.
"What about Wei Lichen?" After a long pause, Han Li couldn't help but ask.
"Wei Lichen! He was an Elder of the Hua Yi Gate that I happened to encounter during a trip several years ago. I don't like this man. He's essentially a textbook hypocrite — outwardly refined and elegant, but inwardly nothing but debauchery. I've heard he has no fewer than seven or eight so-called female disciples. Moreover, I've also heard that this man secretly practices a yin-harvesting technique. The fact that he proposed to me was almost certainly motivated by impure intentions. So the first time he proposed, I rejected him outright." Nangong Wan's face carried a cold smile as she spoke.
"Rejected him? Then how did it end up like this?" Han Li asked, his expression turning puzzled.
Instead of answering directly, Nangong Wan suddenly asked: "Do you know of the three great Nascent Soul cultivators of Tianlan?"
"Of course I do. The righteous path, the demonic path, and the Nine Nations Alliance each have one cultivator at the late Nascent Soul stage — just one step away from entering the Deity Transformation stage. Otherwise, the major powers wouldn't have been able to maintain their balance all this time. As for our Nine Nations Alliance, there's a husband-and-wife pair at the mid Nascent Soul stage who are skilled in combined techniques. When they fight together, they can barely hold their own against a late Nascent Soul cultivator. Why — does Wei Lichen have some connection to one of them?" Han Li's face darkened, a vague sense of foreboding rising in his heart.
"That's right. Wei Lichen's own great-uncle is none other than Wei Wuya, one of the three great cultivators. This Wei Wuya serves as the Supreme Elder of the Nine Nations Alliance, and cultivates an obscure poison-technique art that can take a person's life invisibly with a mere gesture. His abilities far exceed what any ordinary cultivator could imagine." Nangong Wan's voice was low, her ten jade-like fingers tightly intertwined, a bitter smile on her face.
"Could it be that Wei Wuya himself has been giving you trouble!" Han Li's mouth twitched slightly, a flash of killing intent passing through his eyes as he spoke in a cold voice.
"That's not exactly the case. But Wei Wuya did indeed interfere in this matter. Did you know that the current Grand Elder of the Bright Moon Sect is no longer the same one as before? It's been replaced by a former senior martial sister of mine. Although her cultivation isn't low, she's extremely ambitious, and she and I have always been at odds. Even though another Elder has tried to mediate, our relationship is absolutely terrible!" Nangong Wan said, her face clouded with anger.
Han Li's expression sank, realizing that Nangong Wan had arrived at the crux of the matter.
Sure enough, after gritting her jade-like teeth, Nangong Wan continued: "After I repeatedly rejected Wei Lichen's marriage proposals, I don't know what methods he used, but he personally got Wei Wuya to approach my senior martial sister. Though I don't know what the two of them discussed, just half a year later — during the reincarnation period of my Pure Snow Reincarnation Art — she suddenly made her move and restrained me. Then she forced me to marry Wei Lichen."
"Is something wrong with your senior martial sister's head? To actually use such methods against a fellow sect's Nascent Soul cultivator?" Han Li was stunned for a moment, finding it somewhat hard to believe.
"You're right! I never expected her to be this crazy. But the conditions Wei Wuya offered were indeed very hard for her to refuse. I only learned later that as long as the Bright Moon Sect agreed to this marriage, they would not only be permitted to expand beyond Beiliang Kingdom — even the Six Great Sects along with them — but Wei Lichen was also willing to leave the Transformation Meaning Hall and join the Bright Moon Sect after marrying me. With such a deal that killed two birds with one stone, it's no surprise she'd stop at nothing. She didn't even wait for my answer before spreading the news that I had agreed to dual-cultivate with Wei Lichen. She was even preparing to hold a celebration, trying to make it a done deal so that even if I wanted to renege, I wouldn't be able to." Nangong Wan's lips curled upward in a mocking smile.
"So you never agreed to the marriage at all — and you deliberately said something about getting married at first, giving me quite the shock!" Han Li exclaimed, overjoyed upon hearing this.
"I was just about to ask you! If you formed your Nascent Soul several years ago, why didn't you come find me sooner? If you had come just one year earlier, perhaps none of these troubles would have arisen." Nangong Wan shot Han Li a glare, speaking with some irritation.
"It wasn't that I didn't want to come find you — it's just that I..." Han Li faltered, opening his mouth to explain, but upon thinking it over carefully, he realized she did have a point.
Although he had always vaguely sensed that Nangong Wan was truly the one he loved, for some reason he had never dared to directly confront those feelings. Had it not been for the sudden news that Nangong Wan was to be married, there would likely still have been a trace of hesitation in his heart, too fearful to face these emotions head-on.
While Han Li's expression shifted uncertainly, Nangong Wan rose gracefully to her feet, took a few steps forward until she stood before him, and looked straight into his eyes as she spoke.
"Truth be told, my situation is much the same as yours. Though our experience and powers far surpass those of ordinary mortals, when it comes to matters of the heart, this is a first for both of us — we are unfamiliar and even a little afraid. Even though we have each left a deep impression on the other's heart, we are not ordinary worldly men and women. We cannot be like them, burning through all our emotions in one dazzling instant and then releasing them freely. To maintain the best possible state of mind for cultivation, we cultivators have no choice but to dim and bury the majority of our feelings deep in our hearts. What remains after the passion fades is likely that quiet, enduring respect between two people. So when I learned that you were still alive, although I was overjoyed, I still spent two full days and nights deliberating carefully before finally deciding to follow my heart and accept you."
Having spoken these words in a gentle voice, Nangong Wan extended her slender, pale hand and clasped one of Han Li's palms.
Han Li fell silent for a moment, then placed his other hand over hers without a word. Feeling the delicate softness and silky smoothness of a young woman's palm, a warm and tender sensation rose in his heart.
Nangong Wan's cheeks flushed red, and she swiftly withdrew both her hands, shooting Han Li a reproachful glare.
Han Li was unperturbed. Instead, he smiled faintly and suddenly said: "Wan'er, you may be confined here, but judging by how composed you appear, you must already have a brilliant plan to escape. Otherwise, from the moment we met until now, you wouldn't have shown the slightest hint of anxiety."
Upon hearing this, Nangong Wan pursed her lips and smiled, a glint of cunning flickering in her starry eyes as she replied: "You're quick to catch on! Indeed, although I've been placed under house arrest within this cave dwelling, only a handful of senior figures know about it — the ordinary disciples have no idea. Otherwise, I never would have received that message talisman from Junior Nephew Tang directly. But to prevent me from escaping, they placed several different restrictions on me. The other restrictions are nothing. They don't know that once my Samsara Pure Yin Art advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, it unlocked a number of extraordinary abilities — those common restrictions cannot hold me at all. I can restore my Magical Power at any time. The only exception is the Heart-Locking Technique that Senior Sister personally placed on me, which is rather difficult to break. This technique was something she intended to use during the ceremony. If I continued to refuse the marriage, she would use it to temporarily control me — she planted this restriction using her own essence blood. The key to this restriction lies in a restriction token. Unless that artifact is destroyed, I remain under its control as long as I'm within a hundred-li radius. Fortunately, my cultivation and hers are not too far apart, so this control can only compel simple physical movements — she cannot manipulate any of the Magical Power within my body.
"So what was your original plan?" Han Li asked curiously.
"Hehe! My original idea was to wait until a few days before the ceremony, pick the moment when they were least on guard, secretly restore my Magical Power, and then flee far away immediately. As long as I'm outside the range of that restriction token, there's nothing she can do about it. But now that you're here, this problem naturally falls to you. After all, you're the man who's going to marry me. Besides, I've heard you defeated an early Nascent Soul cultivator of the same level without much difficulty. You must have quite a few tricks up your sleeve." Nangong Wan let out a soft laugh, speaking in a relaxed tone.
"The Heart-Locking Technique? This restriction is indeed troublesome. Apart from destroying that token, there's no simple way to break it." Han Li furrowed his brow, murmuring thoughtfully.
"If there's really no way, then forget it. We'll just leave the Concealed Moon Sect far behind," Nangong Wan said with a casual glance, not the least bit concerned.
"It's fine! It's just a restriction token, isn't it? Your senior sister should have it. I'll just go and retrieve it. And vent your anger while I'm at it!" Han Li narrowed his eyes slightly, a cold glint flashing past them, and declared with bold confidence.
"I was just saying that to test your feelings! I didn't actually mean for you to go steal the token. My senior sister has already cultivated to the mid-stage of Nascent Soul. Her techniques and abilities are far beyond what we early-stage cultivators can compare to. We should just sneak away quietly. At worst, I'll spend another ten-odd years slowly refining away this restriction bit by bit." Nangong Wan shook her head, a smile playing on her lips, a hint of playful mischief showing on her lovely face.
Han Li was rendered speechless, and he couldn't help but be reminded of the spirited, clever young girl he had first met all those years ago!
(End of Chapter)