Chapter 8 : Chapter 8
Chapter 8: Ning the Sun, a Fine Lad
After leaving the Defying Heaven Sect, Ning Ri traveled farther and farther away while turning over a single thought in his mind the whole way: career planning in the cultivation world—how exactly was a rogue cultivator with a panel supposed to go from thirty years east of the river to thirty years west of the river?
And then he saw a frail, bedraggled, pitiable woman fall right in front of him.
“Young Hero, save me.”
“I can give you anything.”
“Please save me.”
At Kite Plaza, Liang Chengdao fell silent for a moment when he heard this—
Why was he called a Young Hero, while I was only a kind sir?
Why was I not the Young Hero?
At the same time,
the moment Ning Ri noticed her, his gaze turned sharp and direct, locking onto the woman. He took in her delicate face, the fair skin dotted with mud from her desperate flight, her disheveled hairpins, and the slightly loosened collar at her neck.
His heart skipped a beat.
Then a thought arose that proved his mind had already begun to be assimilated by the cultivation world—
First-grade Qi Refining?!
Weaker than me!
Then the woman’s cry for help—“I can give you anything”—fell into his ears as well.
That single sentence struck him like a curse, freezing the feet that had already begun edging backward. His eyes fixed on her lovely face, all red lips and white teeth, the very image of a pitiful beauty.
Looking at her, an idea suddenly flashed through his mind, making his blood surge with excitement—
Anything?
Then does that include your cultivation method?!
In the briefest of instants, countless thoughts swept through his mind like a barrage of scrolling comments—
Men die for wealth birds die for food if not now then when I want every sect to regret this if heaven will not take me then I Ning the Sun will rise the cultivation world has lain in endless night for ages it had no sun until I Ning Ri arrived but even the sun needs cultivation methods to cultivate and a thief who cannot even catch a first-grade Qi Refining girl is probably not all that strong so I might as well try...
In the next moment,
a blade appeared in Ning Ri’s hand at some unknown point, while he at once took two tactical steps backward. Wind began to stir beneath his feet as he prepared Gale Step, just in case the woman and the person behind her were working together to lure him into a honey trap.
His gaze swept the surroundings, and then he saw the masked bandit...
And he gathered another piece of information—
The bandit was at second-grade Qi Refining!
Ning Ri’s heart steadied at once, and he swiftly settled on a battle plan, though he still did not dare relax his guard.
According to the usual web novel routine, once you beat the small one, the old one would come.
There might very well be a Bandit King behind this fellow.
Then the bandit drew close and sneered, “Heh heh, there is no one around for miles. Let’s see how you plan to run this time... Hmm? Boy, are you thinking of interfering in my business?”
While watching the fear on the woman’s face, Ning Ri calmly replied, “I do not want to interfere. I want to join you.”
Bandit: “?”
Woman: “?”
Everyone: “?”
Ning Ri said, “But you are weaker than I am, so I go first, and then you.”
Bandit: “??”
Woman: “??”
Everyone: “??”
Ning Ri continued, “Still, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Before it is your turn, you will have to let me have a go with you first. I need to balance yin and yang. I have had too much yin lately, so I need some yang for a change.”
The moment those words came out, the bandit froze...
The terrified woman froze...
And everyone at Kite Plaza froze as well...
Everyone: “????????”
What kind of nonsense was that?
What did he mean by balancing yin and yang?
Was that how yin and yang balance was supposed to be used?
Had he not said he liked a woman who loved him and whom he also loved???
Xun Cang, the elder of the Joyous Union Courtyard, was also briefly taken aback. Then admiration appeared in his eyes...
When this child said those words, there had not been the slightest trace of hesitation in him...
He was promising material indeed!
Meanwhile, Mo Cuidao, who had been sitting calmly among the elders, hurriedly circulated his cultivation method and linked himself to two puppets...
The bandit and the woman were both puppets he had refined. They had never encountered a disciple who opened with such lines before, so Ning Ri’s two sentences had stunned them on the spot.
If they stayed frozen for even one breath longer, Ning Ri would notice that something was wrong.
And just as the bandit and the woman were switched over to manual control...
Ning Ri suddenly lashed out with his leg. Using Gale Step, he kicked like a gust of wind and struck the bandit in an instant. The bandit let out a scream and collapsed to the ground at once, unable to rise—but he was not dead...
Because Ning Ri had deliberately held back.
Then, moving with astonishing speed, Ning Ri seized the woman and pulled her to her feet. In a deep voice, he declared, “I am a disciple sent by the Golden Stratagem Immortal Sect to negotiate with the Defying Heaven Sect. My name is Liang Chengdao!”
Liang Chengdao at Kite Plaza: “?”
What did I ever do to you?
In the next moment, for some unknown reason, the atmosphere at Kite Plaza suddenly turned rather strange...
One gaze after another, filled with speculation, excitement, confusion, curiosity, and more, all landed on Liang Chengdao.
Liang Chengdao: “????????”
What are you all thinking?!
Ning Ri then said, “Do not be afraid, Miss. What I said just now was not Liang’s true intention. I only wished to save you.”
“May I ask why he was chasing you?”
When he referred to himself as Liang, Ning Ri’s expression did not change in the slightest. Borrowing a false name was perfectly normal. He meant no harm by it.
Liang Chengdao was a prince, while the Golden Stratagem Immortal Sect was also a famous righteous sect. Many people knew of it, mainly because it was famous for making money...
A Liang prince, the Defying Heaven Sect, and the Golden Stratagem Immortal Sect—these were the three great mountains Ning Ri had hauled out. If there really was a Bandit King behind this, then those three names ought to be enough to delay him for a while at least...
The woman said mournfully, “He coveted my beauty and wished to violate me.”
While glancing at the bandit sprawled on the ground, Ning Ri thumped his chest and said, “Then rest assured, I will definitely protect you. However, according to the Golden Stratagem Sect rules, there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Disciples of the Golden Stratagem Sect may not help others for free, otherwise cause and effect will become impossible to disentangle.”
“So if you want me to save you, you must give something in return.”
Ning Ri was not making that rule up. It truly did exist.
But when the people at Kite Plaza heard those words, their expressions immediately turned strange again...
They all remembered what Ning Ri had said earlier—“I go first, and then you.”
At the same time, Mo Cuidao, now linked to the female puppet, and the other elders all wore similarly strange expressions—
Ning Ri spoke so smoothly and so naturally that they were beginning to suspect he really was from the Golden Stratagem Immortal Sect.
At the same time, the woman froze for a moment. Then, with three parts fear, three parts trepidation, and three parts cautious unease, she asked, “Then... may I ask, Young Hero, what do you require?”
Ning Ri replied, “I do not wish to take advantage of your distress or bully you. It is very simple. Since you are a cultivator, you must also have practiced a Qi Refining Art. Let me borrow your 【Qi Refining Art】 for a look, and this karma between us will be settled.”
The woman immediately revealed a delighted expression, clearly letting out a sigh of relief. Then gratitude appeared on her face as she said, “Very well. Many thanks, Young Hero!”
Then the ring on her hand flashed faintly, and a jade slip appeared in her palm—
【Qi Refining Art】.
The female puppet had not originally been carrying such a thing. Mo Cuidao had stuffed it in there at the last moment.
The instant Ning Ri saw the Qi Refining Art, he immediately sent out another Gale Step kick, giving the bandit one more blow. Then he smiled faintly at the woman and began examining the Qi Refining Art...
At the same time, Mo Cuidao and the other elders all smiled as well, their faces full of admiration and approval—
This boy might speak utter nonsense, but his heart truly was exceptionally good!
Very good indeed!
They had already understood what Ning Ri was doing.
Ning Ri was warm-hearted by nature and wanted to draw his blade in the face of injustice, yet he was clearly also afraid that the bandit might have powerful backing. That was why he had chosen to drag out one famous name after another.
And in order to make his lie hold together, his actions also had to fit the “never for free” principles of those old hounds from the Golden Stratagem Sect.
That was why, when he first tried to divert the bandit’s attention, Ning Ri had deliberately emphasized that “there is no such thing as a free lunch.” It was meant to keep his story consistent, so that upon reflection, nothing would feel abrupt.
Finally, as a Qi Refining cultivator himself, he had obviously already read a 【Qi Refining Art】 before. It was only because his spirit root was incomplete that he had been stuck at third-level Qi Refining cultivator...
Under such circumstances, he still chose to examine the 【Qi Refining Art】, which showed that he had no intention of asking for any real payment at all. He was only doing it to complete the lie...
Clearly, Ning Ri was someone who had spent far too long living in a treacherous world, making him extraordinarily cautious in the way he dealt with others. Yet after all that cruel tempering, he still retained the simplest and purest kindness toward life, while also plainly knowing how to protect himself.
A truly fine young man!