Chapter Eighteen: Cannot Marry

  "My name is Li Shao, and the child Ning Cheng saved that day was my son..." Li Shao spoke with a mixture of fear and gratitude, unsure whether it was due to Ning Cheng's previous identity as Ning Xiao or his thankfulness for saving his son.

  What made Ningcheng slightly relieved was that after Li Shao's carriage had been running for a day, the road it took became increasingly desolate, and still no one came chasing after.

  "Li Dage, let the horse rest for a bit. You've brought us this far, and there shouldn't be any major issues from here on out." Ning Cheng said, noticing that the horse was getting somewhat tired.

  Li Shao also pitied his two yellow horses, and listened to Ning Cheng's words, stopping the carriage. At the same time, he took out dry rations and handed them to Ning Cheng and An Yi, "Don't worry, sir, after I send you on your way for another stretch, we can bypass the Dingbi Town relay station. Then I can head directly to Haichengbei, where there are also many adventurers returning from the Manggo Sea area, and the silver coins earned will be a bit more."

  An Yi, who had been silent all along, suddenly said, "Brother Li, I have some impression of this place now. You can go to Haicheng first, and I can take Ningcheng out."

  Before Li Shao could say anything, Ning Cheng said bluntly, "Alright then, Brother Li, you can take us to the front and bypass Dingbi Town. Then we'll part ways, and you can head to Haichengbei."

  An Yi originally had no intention, now Ning Cheng has said so, of course there will be no dissent.

  Ning City rested for a day, and he was also a cultivator of the third layer of Qi gathering. With An Yi's healing skills, his injuries had largely recovered by now.

  After the three horses rested well, they continued on their journey. The next morning, Ning Cheng and An Yi parted ways with Li Shao.

  This time, An Yi didn't lie, she really knew the way. Although they walked on mountain paths for a day or two, they didn't get lost. After walking for another two days, they finally brought Ning Cheng into a lush green forest. As soon as they entered the forest, An Yi directly pulled Ning Cheng's hand and said, "There is an array here, you must follow me closely, otherwise you will get lost."

  Ning Cheng has been here for more than a day or two, and he naturally knows about the formation. It seems to have something to do with ancient Chinese civilization, it's a kind of arrangement through directions and some things he doesn't understand, very mysterious. Anyway, he is completely clueless.

  Following An Yi's twists and turns, they finally emerged from the lush green forest. In front of Ning City was a not-so-high mountain peak. At the foot of the mountain were several hectares of farmland, all planted with small vegetables. On the mountain waist was a gray-brown nun's temple, and the three characters on the temple could be seen from afar - Lan Xin Temple.

  "Is that Lanhxin An where you live?" Ning Cheng asked.

  An Yi let go of Ning Cheng's hand, a happy smile on her face, "Yes, I've been here since I was a child, this time I went out for several days, my heart has always been thinking about it, now I'm finally back. I want to go see Master, you come with me..."

  An Yi spoke as she quickened her pace towards Lanhua An on the mountain waist.

  Ning Cheng followed behind An Yi, feeling somewhat uncertain in his heart. An Yi was already at the third layer of Qi gathering, and An Yi's master's cultivation definitely wouldn't be too bad. If An Yi's master had a strange temper, what would he do? This wasn't Earth, where there was no room for reason.

  "Come in." A slightly hoarse voice sounded in Ning Cheng's ear, and Ning Cheng knew that this must be An Yi's master. An Yi's master already knew he had arrived.

  Ning Cheng walked into a somewhat worn-out gate, and a faint scent of sandalwood wafted over.

  This made Ning Cheng very surprised. An Yi said that her master was going to die, but there wasn't the slightest hint of decay in the air, and instead, there was a fragrance of sandalwood.

  An Yi's master was a middle-aged woman who didn't look very old, wearing a gray long gown, sitting upright in the center of the main hall. She didn't appear to be elderly, only her complexion was somewhat pale. Ning Cheng still sensed a hint of death from her body, apparently An Yi said that her master was about to die, and it was true.

  What shocked Ning City was not that she looked like she was about to die, nor was it that her cultivation couldn't be seen. It was An Yi's master who wasn't a nun, because she had a head of long hair, even though the aura of death surrounded her, that one head of long hair was still jet black, only lacking some luster.

  "Although An Yi has always treated me as her master, in fact I have nothing to teach her. You must also see that I am about to pass away, An Yi is kind-hearted and inexperienced. If possible, I hope you can take An Yi with you until the day she can be independent." The woman in gray robes said calmly to Ning Cheng.

  She didn't ask Ning Cheng how he came with An Yi, nor did she ask about Ning Cheng's background, let alone his injuries, just these straightforward few words.

  An Yi was suddenly shocked, "Master, I won't leave you, I want to stay in Lan Xin An forever. How can I go with Ning Cheng? Ning Cheng is just passing by here."

  Ning Cheng hastily said, "Senior, I'm going to the Mang Ocean, I've heard it's extremely dangerous there, and one can be killed at any time. Moreover, I have several enemies. It would be safer for An Yi to stay in Lan Xin Temple than to follow me."

  These words Ning Cheng did not say blindly, originally he still had some worries about An Yi. An Yi was simple and pure like a white paper, but now that she has arrived at Lan Xin An, Ning Cheng is no longer worried. There are formation protections here, ordinary people can't get in at all.

  An Yi's master sighed, holding An Yi's hand and speaking in a gentle voice, "I will eventually have to go, and you don't need to treat me as your master. This place seems safe, but it is actually extremely dangerous. Once I leave, you will be left alone here and will surely not be able to survive."

  After finishing, she didn't persuade Anyi anymore, but instead looked at Ning Cheng and said, "When a person is about to die, some things can be seen. No matter how you know Anyi, I believe you are not a deceitful person, so I want to ask if you have engaged or married..."

  Ning Cheng immediately thought of the possibility that An Yi's master wanted to give An Yi to him as a wife. How could he marry a nun? Even if An Yi wasn't a nun, it was still impossible for him to marry her.

  After realizing this, Ning Cheng hurriedly said, "I have a girlfriend, although we recently had some small conflicts and broke up, I still want to win her back."

  Ning Cheng sighed inwardly as he spoke. Without mentioning that he knew Tian Muwan's resolute attitude at the time was irreversible, even if Tian Muwan had a change of heart, would he be able to see her again?

  Ning City added again, "I also have a fiancée, she just left temporarily..."

  The words behind Ning Cheng really couldn't be said, even if he himself knew that his fiancée Ji Luofei and he had no relationship left. Not to mention whether he could reach Huazhou or not, even if he could reach Huazhou, Ji Luofei and him were already past events. He was very grateful to Ji Luofei, but if he really liked Ji Luofei, that wasn't it either.

  What Ning City didn't expect was that the middle-aged woman in gray robes nodded after hearing his words and said, "Then I can rest assured. You must remember, An Yi can be with you, but she absolutely cannot get married. And she absolutely cannot have emotional entanglements with anyone, otherwise..."

  Before she could finish her sentence, a faint trace of blood appeared at the corner of the grey-robed woman's mouth. An Yi hastily hugged the middle-aged woman in grey and cried out, "Master, what's wrong?"

  Ning Cheng didn't expect the grey-robed woman to ask him if he had a fiancée, was reminding him not to have designs on An Yi. He had misread her intentions. It turned out that An Yi was someone who couldn't get married, no wonder she was a young nun. Ning Cheng didn't know what the reason was. However, immediately after seeing the grey-robed woman's expression become even more dispirited, Ning Cheng also didn't dare to say anything more.

  The woman in grey robes waved her hand at An Yi, took out a pale yellow jade pendant and hung it around An Yi's neck, then took out a brown cloth bag and hung it from An Yi's waist. Only then did she say, "An Yi, when I picked you up back then, this jade was by your side, it must have been left behind by your parents. This bag is a storage pouch that I've used for many years, remember not to casually take it out and let others see... Also, you must remember, you cannot marry..."

  After finishing speaking, she stared at Ning City and said, "Please take care of An Yi for me. An Yi will not be an ordinary person in the future, she won't let you down..."

  "My life is in An Yi's hands, Senior, please be at ease. As long as I still have a breath of air, I will absolutely not let An Yi come to harm."

  "An Yi, I'm leaving now. Take good care of yourself and don't be sad. What's meant to come will come, what's meant to go will go. Your road is still long, take care of yourself."

  The woman in grey robes finished speaking, looked up at the vast empty sky outside the hut door, let out a soft sigh, with a hint of desolation in her eyes, and slowly closed them.

  An Yi had already gathered her energy for three layers, but when her master passed away, her vitality dissipated, and she immediately knew. She burst into tears, unable to speak. Even though she had long known that her master's lifespan was coming to an end, she still couldn't accept this reality.

  Ning Cheng knew that the woman in grey was definitely waiting for An Yi to return, otherwise she might have left long ago. He walked up and patted An Yi's shoulder, saying, "An Yi, birth, aging, illness, and death are all part of life. You don't need to be too sad, we will also reach this point in the future, it's just a matter of sooner or later."

  Ning Cheng sighed as he spoke, and he didn't know if he would be able to see his sister Youlan again when he died.

  An Yi's master's cultivation was clearly dozens of times stronger than his, yet even so, he couldn't escape this heavenly law and principle.

  An Yiming knew that Ning Cheng's words were reasonable, but she couldn't hold back the sadness in her heart. For over a decade, she had always lived with her master, relying on each other for survival. Now that her master had suddenly left, she was at a loss.

  Ning Cheng looked at An Yi's expression and knew he had to take care of these matters.

  Under Ning Cheng's persuasion, An Yi gradually calmed down her sorrowful emotions. Then together with Ning Cheng, they buried their master behind the Lian Xin Nunnery.

  After staying with Anyi at Lanxin An for three days, Ningcheng and Anyi left Lanxin An and continued on to the Mangguo Sea.

  In three days, with An Yi's help, Ning Cheng's injuries had mostly recovered. However, An Yi's mood became low and depressed, she was originally a introverted person who didn't talk much. After this incident, An Yi spoke even less.

  Ning Cheng really wanted to see what was in An Yi's pouch, but he didn't dare ask.

  (Second update is online, friends who haven't added it to their bookshelf, please add it while you're at it, goodnight!)

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