Chapter 218: What Better Time Than a Full Moon and Blooming Flowers, Every Meeting Is a Good Night

Ning Changjiu concealed all his presence, as silent as a faint ray of dawn in the dim forest.

Lu Jiajia stood before the wooden figure, her gaze fixed as always on the abyss. Great swathes of morning mist swept past her eyes, tinged with a delicate lotus color in the light, gradually dissipating.

Ning Changjiu reached out, gently picked two leaves, and folded them into a butterfly, which he sent flying towards Lu Jiajia's back.

He then hid behind a large tree.

“Who’s there?”

Soon, a shadow flickered across Lu Jiajia’s sword heart. Her gaze withdrew from the abyss, and she turned sharply. A streak of white sword energy followed her eyes, cutting a straight line across the ground.

The forest and the thatched hut were separated by this line of sword energy. The butterfly made of withered leaves was stopped outside.

Lu Jiajia stared at the two withered leaf-butterfly, her gaze piercing like lightning into the dim, light-streaked forest behind it, searching for a human figure. A sense of alarm rose in her, and she spoke coldly, “Who’s there? Cross this line and die.”

So the withered leaf-butterfly stopped just outside the line. Then, it surprisingly began to speak like a person, though its voice sounded extremely dry.

“I am an envoy sent by the Divine Kingdom to the human realm. I can grant you any wish,” the withered leaf-butterfly said. “Provided you answer my three questions truthfully.”

Lu Jiajia raised her delicate eyebrows slightly, thinking, *Have the demons of the Southern Wilderness not been utterly terrified by me yet, to resort to such foolish and clumsy methods?*

Her white sleeve covered the ancient sword at her left hip, her slender fingers already resting on the hilt.

The withered leaf-butterfly seemed to retreat a little, as if to show sincerity, and continued, “After the three questions, your wish can be granted. If any answer is dishonest, the wish will be void.”

Lu Jiajia didn’t want to waste words and was about to draw her sword to destroy it, but a glimmer of hope flashed in her heart.

For the Divine Lord to send an envoy to the human realm, and for three questions to grant a wish—this was utterly outlandish. But what if…

Lu Jiajia immediately dismissed the thought. She believed in opportunities, but she also knew that opportunities were seized, not offered on a silver platter. Moreover, everyone knew she was waiting for someone, and the intention behind the withered leaf-butterfly’s words was too obvious; only a fool would fall for it…

“Ask away,” Lu Jiajia thought, though disdainful, she spoke indifferently.

Her clear sword heart transformed into invisible lines, denser and sharper than the myriad morning rays, refracting into an impenetrable sword prison.

The withered leaf-butterfly flapped its wings and said, “First question: Is the person you are waiting for your beloved?”

Lu Jiajia initially wanted to blurt out *no*, but then she thought this kind of question was, in reality, inconsequential; there was no need to deceive herself. So, she nodded gently and said, “Yes.”

After answering, she immediately probed her sea of consciousness, checking for any other consciousness intrusion. After all, folk ghost stories tell of answering a ghost’s questions in a dream leading to being dragged into the netherworld.

But she found nothing.

*Perhaps someone from the Four Peaks is trying to amuse themselves by teasing me?*

Lu Jiajia’s gaze turned slightly fierce, thinking, *Who is so reckless?*

The withered leaf-butterfly was silent for a moment, then said, “First answer passed. Second question: Do you wish for the person you are waiting for to become your husband?”

“Hmm?”

After this question, Lu Jiajia understood. Someone was definitely playing a trick on her.

If a few questions could penetrate her sword formation and invade her consciousness, then the opponent must be at least a peak Five Dao master, so whether there was a trick or not, it was all the same.

She initially didn’t want to bother responding. After all, she knew without thinking that over the years, whether in the Four Peaks or elsewhere, speculation about her had never ceased. She didn’t hear it, nor did she care. But speculation was just speculation; now, with this question laid bare before her, she felt a little unsure how to face it.

*So Xiaoling left a month ago; who else would dare be so reckless in front of me?*

“Who sent you?” Lu Jiajia asked back, not answering the question.

The withered leaf-butterfly calmly replied, “I was sent by the supreme deity, the ultimate being residing in the human realm. This abyss is her domain. You have guarded it for over two years, earning the Divine Lord’s favor.”

*Still trying to bluff…*

Lu Jiajia grew even angrier. The cold morning wind and mist swept across her brows and eyes. Above, white clouds flowed like a stream, and light and shadow interwove on her sword robe with the movement of the clouds.

Her sword intent intensified, as if to pierce through this butterfly and reveal the mastermind behind it.

“Divine Lord? Baizang?” Lu Jiajia asked again, while nurturing her sword intent.

Hoof Mountain had silently passed, and the Month of No Gods had recently ended. The year of Baizang had arrived.

The withered leaf-butterfly said, “Do not utter the divine name directly… You have three breaths to answer the question. If you do not, the wish will be void.”

Lu Jiajia took a deep breath, treating it as a test of facing her own heart.

“I hope so,” Lu Jiajia said.

“You hope to become the wife of the person you are waiting for,” the withered leaf-butterfly repeated, as if confirming, and then after a moment said, “Answer passed.”

For some reason, when Lu Jiajia heard the words "answer passed," she felt a subtle sense of relief.

She didn’t know that behind a large tree, Ning Changjiu, who had shrouded himself with the laws of time and concealed all his presence, could no longer suppress the slight curve of his lips. He yearned to appear instantly, but having endured over two years of separation, he wouldn’t mind this brief moment of restraint.

After all, the last question directly concerned his future standing before Lu Jiajia.

The withered leaf-butterfly spoke, “Last question: In your deepest heart, is the person you are waiting for your disciple or your master?”

“?” Lu Jiajia was completely stunned, thinking, *Can this question possibly have another answer?*

Lu Jiajia said, “Naturally, he is my disciple.”

“…” Ning Changjiu was silent for a moment, then activated the authority of time.

Time rewound to before Lu Jiajia answered the question.

“The great Divine Lord takes pity, willing to grant you another chance to choose,” the withered leaf-butterfly said solemnly, as if its words were truly a divine decree.

Lu Jiajia didn't laugh, because she felt that time had really flowed backward!

She didn’t know if it was an illusion, her gaze sweeping around, searching for clues, but her heart was slightly bewildered. Such power over the world’s very essence should belong to the authority of ancient gods…

She felt a hint of fear, and her gaze towards the withered leaf-butterfly had changed.

If it truly was sent by the Divine Lord, then perhaps she had missed out on an incredible heavenly opportunity by answering incorrectly earlier.

*Better safe than sorry…*

But why was her answer wrong?

Lu Jiajia involuntarily fell into contemplation.

That year, during the battle on the lake with the old fox, in the snowy rain, she was saved by Ning Changjiu and Ning Xiaoling. Upon waking, she unilaterally decided to take them as disciples. She hadn't felt anything amiss at the time, believing that guiding someone onto the true path of immortality was the best way to repay a kindness. Moreover, she was much older than them, so being a master was quite fitting.

Later, after the tribulations in the imperial city and the apprenticeship at Tianku Peak, Ning Changjiu became her registered disciple, yet he never seriously learned swordsmanship. Even during lessons, he was merely a study companion for Ning Xiaoling. Many disciples on the peak had complained about this at the time.

In fact, she didn’t seem to have taught Ning Changjiu much. Even during the perilous trip to Linhe City, she had arrived late.

But Ning Changjiu, on the other hand, had tempered her innate sword body to an exquisite degree, like an immortal's physique, and had clarified many doubts about swordsmanship for her. Those brilliant insights had caused many shifts in her cultivation path, like clearing the clouds to see the blue sky.

At that time, she had seen truly dazzling stars in the night.

For her to reach her current realm, it would have been almost impossible without Ning Changjiu’s help.

Nominally, he was her disciple.

But in reality?

She could have given many other answers, but the withered leaf-butterfly only offered two choices.

Lu Jiajia finally confronted her own heart.

Her silky, flowing hair and her spotless sword robe were like a canvas. The light and shadow flowing across the canvas were the world’s noisy brushstrokes and the ripples stirred by her inner state.

“Master,” Lu Jiajia said with unprecedented seriousness, “He is my master.”

She didn’t know if this was someone’s trickery or a divine blessing.

It might even be a devil’s temptation.

But now she had resolved another matter of the heart, her mind clear as a mirror.

So she believed her sword could become very fast, faster than ever before!

Even if evil was rampant, she had the confidence to eradicate it.

But there was no other unusual movement.

The voice of the withered leaf-butterfly remained emotionless, not congratulatory, but rather stating, “Answer passed. Wish granted.”

Lu Jiajia heard the words "wish granted," but her heart remained calm.

She knew this was simply impossible.

She turned slightly, gazing at the entire abyss, its surface endlessly sinking and falling, like a dark eye that would never awaken.

The withered leaf-butterfly disintegrated before her.

Lu Jiajia smiled faintly, dismissing it as a joke from heaven.

But the next instant, she froze.

In the damp forest, myriad rays of morning light suddenly shattered, like a fine rain swept by a storm, transforming into a massive, vertically descending thunderstorm from the sky, splitting like a sword into her eyes. Then, she could hear no sound.

The clouds covering the morning sun gradually dispersed, the scattered light vanished, and in its place came an overwhelming tide, submerging everything in its ordinary embrace.

Wind rustled through the trees.

The corner of a robe, white as a cloud, floated out from behind the large tree—a cloud that appeared only in dreams.

Lu Jiajia watched that figure appear, standing before her, revealing a smile that blurred the line between reality and illusion.

After a moment of daze, the sword at Lu Jiajia’s waist clanged from its scabbard, turning into a vast mist, like a water dragon coiling around her body. Within the water dragon, her figure stood tall, black hair and white robes dancing together, her soft features sharpened with a sword-like edge.

“Who exactly are you?” Lu Jiajia demanded sharply.

Ning Changjiu made no move. He looked at Lu Jiajia’s familiar, slightly fierce face, at her cold yet struggling expression. The fatigue of a month’s journey completely melted away. He smiled and asked, “How dare a disciple draw a sword on her master? By sect rules, what should be the punishment?”

The familiar tone entered her ears. Lu Jiajia’s heart skipped a beat, but she couldn’t bring herself to believe it. Yet, the sword energy around her involuntarily thinned. She used her sword to draw a line on the ground and asked coldly, “The first time we met, you asked me why immortals avoid the world. You quoted your senior brother’s answer then. What was it?”

Ning Changjiu said, “It is not that I avoid the world, but that the mortal realm avoids me. Hmm… At that time, Junior Sister also said, ‘Sister is already peerless; there’s no need to be peerless anymore.’”

As Ning Changjiu spoke, he couldn’t help but laugh, “I think Junior Sister was right.”

The frost on Lu Jiajia’s brows flickered like the shadows on her sword robe. She still gripped her sword and continued to ask, “Is it true that swords emerge from the sixteen orifices?”

Ning Changjiu replied, “No.”

Lu Jiajia asked again, “Is it true that swords are hidden in darkness and revealed in light?”

Ning Changjiu replied, “No.”

Lu Jiajia then asked, “What was the material you used to forge my body?”

Ning Changjiu replied, “Golden Crow.”

The sword energy around Lu Jiajia grew thinner and thinner. She dared not blink, fearing that beyond the light curtain was merely an illusion conjured by her own mind.

She bit her lower lip and quietly asked, “My… my most sensitive spot is where?”

Ning Changjiu laughed and said, “Is disciple referring to the earlobe, or the sword embryo, or perhaps other places I don’t yet know?”

His smile blurred in Lu Jiajia’s eyes.

Her long, clear autumn eyes instantly filled with tears.

She still held her sword, but it was like an empty shell now.

“Then… then between me and Zhao Xiang’er, who do you like more?” Lu Jiajia’s teeth bit into her soft lips, almost drawing blood.

Ning Changjiu smiled slightly, “Jiajia is, of course, my dearest little disciple.”

“Bastard!” Lu Jiajia cursed, her tears flowing involuntarily, unable to tell if it was from sadness or joy.

Ning Changjiu raised a finger and drew stars in reverse beside him. By the thatched hut, the long-silent small teleportation array finally lit up.

The small teleportation array activated.

Ning Changjiu stepped through the light curtain and came to her side. He wrapped his arms around Lu Jiajia, leaned close to her ear, softly said, “You’ve waited long enough,” and then gently bit her amber-colored earlobe.

Beneath the soft, beautiful mountain-like figure, it was as if lightning flowed, causing the earth to tremble and mountains to shake.

Lu Jiajia trembled all over. She had so many words she wanted to say, but they were all choked in her throat by salty tears.

Ning Changjiu was the same.

This face, seen only in dreams or heart demon tribulations, was finally touched by his fingers in reality.

He, too, felt his mind go blank.

Lu Jiajia’s beautiful face was like the finest wine in the world; he took one glance and felt slightly intoxicated in her clear, shimmering eyes.

Their reunion was unexpectedly silent.

Lu Jiajia tidied her delicate hair.

Ning Changjiu recalled her previous answer, and with no further hesitation, he cupped her face and leaned in.

Lu Jiajia’s clear eyes gently closed, her body swayed slightly, but she did not resist.

Ning Changjiu bit her petal-soft lips and pressed his against hers. Then, Lu Jiajia’s cherry mouth parted slightly, and something damnably moist invaded between her jade teeth. They initially separated as if shocked by electricity, then reunited, and her small, fragrant tongue became entangled, unable to escape. So they wholeheartedly savored each other’s embrace, like two clouds colliding.

The cool morning mist by the abyss gathered, like a perfectly formed curtain, veiling the perfectly matched master and disciple, now dao companions.

For a long, long time…

It wasn’t until the sunlight tore through the morning mist, once again clearly outlining their embracing figures, that they finally slowly separated.

Ning Changjiu looked at Lu Jiajia’s face.

Her face was covered in tears, yet it was the happiest he had ever seen her.

Inside the thatched hut, dust motes danced in the light. Lu Jiajia and Ning Changjiu sat opposite each other at a simple table, a pot of clear tea between them.

“That butterfly… it was you, wasn’t it?” Lu Jiajia bit her lip, her voice a little low.

Ning Changjiu smiled at her, the answer self-evident. He said, “If I didn’t ask you those things, and then met you again, what would I do if you put on that cold, reserved front?”

Lu Jiajia sat properly, her head reluctantly bowed, her fingers smoothing strands of falling hair. Her long eyelashes were illuminated by the light, like swan’s down.

Lu Jiajia complained softly, “Are you trying to disown me as your master?”

Ning Changjiu said innocently, “It’s clearly you who are disrespecting your master and ancestors.”

“Stop talking,” Lu Jiajia said, a little annoyed.

“Do you want to go back on your word?” Ning Changjiu asked.

“I…” Lu Jiajia’s cheeks felt hot. She used the act of pouring tea to compose herself, then said, “Where have you been all these years, and where have you returned from?”

Ning Changjiu, however, did not give her a chance to change the subject. He firmly grasped Lu Jiajia’s tea-pouring hand; it felt like cool jade.

Ever since she cultivated the sword body, Lu Jiajia’s body had always been cool and clear, truly having skin like ice and bones like jade. Yet, this delicate and firm texture was not without softness, just like her glazed lips, which looked like porcelain but were so soft and fragrant that one couldn't bear to let go.

Ning Changjiu said, “What? Are you truly unwilling to admit it?”

“Admit what?” Lu Jiajia feigned ignorance, trying to pull her hand away.

Ning Changjiu said, “Good disciple, call me ‘Master,’ let me hear it. Hmm… ‘Husband’ would also work.”

“No,” Lu Jiajia said.

“Hmm? Why not?”

“You… I am your master,” Lu Jiajia insisted stubbornly.

Ning Changjiu said, “I helped you fulfill your wish, yet you want to go back on your word. How can there be such a bad girl in this world?”

Lu Jiajia pressed her lips together, her aura of proud coolness gradually crumbling and melting away.

Ning Changjiu gazed at her tenderly and continued, “After so many years apart, when we met again in the Great Night Palace, I taught you so much. Can I still not be called that?”

Lu Jiajia’s body trembled slightly. She knew that her heart had been clarified after the withered leaf-butterfly asked the three questions. But now, with Ning Changjiu before her, the person who used to call her ‘Master’ now wanted to reverse the roles. How could she possibly say it?

Ning Changjiu said, “Now it’s just the two of us in the thatched hut, Jiajia. Are you still unwilling to be honest with me?”

Lu Jiajia still said nothing.

Ning Changjiu smiled slightly, “Then, when we are alone, I will be your master, and in front of outsiders, I will let you maintain your Master’s dignified bearing, alright?”

Shao Xiaoli had said similar words to him.

Lu Jiajia raised her head, her clear eyes holding a hint of resentment. She thought, *He clearly wants to tease me by exploiting the taboo nature of the master-disciple relationship…* Her delicate nose twitched, and finally, her body softened, and she still chose to compromise.

After all, she hadn’t prepared any meeting gift for this reunion, so she might as well indulge his wicked pleasure.

“Hmm… Master,” Lu Jiajia’s voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.

Ning Changjiu pretended not to have heard clearly.

Lu Jiajia had anticipated this. She took a quiet breath, stood up, her sword intent withdrawn, her downcast brows and eyes conveying endless gentleness.

Lu Jiajia gently knelt on the ground and performed a solemn master-disciple礼. “Disciple bows to Master.”

This scene had once appeared in her heart demon tribulation.

Now the illusion had become reality.

She knelt on the ground, her flowing robes spread like lotus flowers in water.

Summer was precisely the season for flowers to bloom.

Outside the thatched hut, thousands of trees swayed like brocade waves, silently embracing them.

Ning Changjiu gazed at the slender figure kneeling gently, lost in thought for a long time. *How could there be such a beautiful woman in the world? And she is my disciple now, and my future wife… Could there be any greater fortune in the world?*

“Is Master not planning to let disciple get up?” Lu Jiajia’s lips curved, her tears had dried, and her eyes curved with a smile, the sunlight flickering within them.

Ning Changjiu finally came back to his senses, quickly put his hand on her jade shoulder, and gently helped her up, unable to resist embracing her again.

Lu Jiajia also wrapped her arms around him.

A moment later, Lu Jiajia’s cool voice sounded again, “You… where are your hands going?”

Ning Changjiu said, “To examine disciple’s sword body.”

Lu Jiajia hummed softly and said coldly, “As a master, you are not only failing to be a role model, thinking of teaching disciple dao techniques and swordsmanship, but you are also so restless, trying to take advantage of your disciple. I think you are not fit to be a master. Perhaps I should be the master instead.”

Ning Changjiu embraced her, gently pushed her body down, pressing her to the ground, and asked, “How am I not fit? I do indeed have a set of dao techniques that align with the merging of yin and yang during dawn and dusk, and some sharp, forceful, profound sword arts. I wonder if my disciple is interested in learning?”

“Nonsense!” Lu Jiajia reprimanded him, pressing down on Ning Changjiu’s unruly hands. She had cultivated in seclusion for two years, and her realm was higher. The inherent coolness in her bones would not easily dissipate. Her words and gaze were still tinged with frost and snow, carrying a hint of admonishment.

After a brief playful struggle, Lu Jiajia finally settled back down. She straightened her cool, thin white robes and gathered her casually draped hair.

Ning Changjiu looked at her long, tense jade neck as she lowered her head, wanting to leave a mark. But Lu Jiajia mercilessly pushed his leaning body away. She sat upright, her expression serious, “Where have you been these past two years? What have you experienced?”

“It’s a very long story…” Ning Changjiu fell into recollection.

The tea on the table gradually cooled.

Lu Jiajia’s expression was extremely serious. She clenched her fists on her lap, listening to Ning Changjiu’s narration, her cheeks almost transparent in the sunlight.

Ning Changjiu naturally couldn’t tell the entire story verbatim.

He portrayed Shao Xiaoli as a lonely, thin, small girl of only six or seven years old, and depicted Siming and Ye Chu as ugly, fierce, and malevolent figures.

Lu Jiajia had never imagined that place was a broken divine kingdom, nor had she thought that the Heavenly Lord and divine officials would be exiled there.

Divine officials hunting, escaping through snow gorges, vast ice plains, barely surviving…

Then the Sin Lord descended. Ye Chu ascended, becoming a sword, gravely wounding the Sin Lord. Afterward, they, along with the green-faced, fanged Siming, fought the Sin Lord. There were countless twists and turns. By the time Ning Changjiu finished recounting every detail, the grand sunlight outside had already begun to dim, slowly moving westward, and the birdsong grew faint. Only the two figures sitting opposite each other seemed tireless.

It was a very long and convoluted story, a two-year story.

When Lu Jiajia heard about the Sin Lord’s descent, her heart couldn’t help but constrict. She couldn’t imagine the terror and pain Ning Changjiu had endured—it was an existence infinitely more powerful than the Nine Infants.

“The small teleportation array…” Lu Jiajia heard the most crucial point in the battle with the Sin Lord, and recalled how the small teleportation array had glowed for half a year. Her questions from back then finally found their answer today.

Ning Changjiu took her hand and said, “Yes, that was your hand reaching out to me.”

Their hands were finally truly clasped together.

“What happened next? How did you get out?” Lu Jiajia couldn’t help but press for more.

Ning Changjiu eloquently described the structure of that world to her.

Lu Jiajia’s expression was dazed… To walk through billions of years and finally witness the first sunrise in the primordial chaos at the beginning of everything—what a magnificent and beautiful scene that must have been. It was just a pity she couldn’t see it with him.

“So you’ve been through so much…” Lu Jiajia’s faint smile was like ink blooming in water: “And I’ve been foolishly sitting here, doing nothing, unable to do anything…”

Ning Changjiu gently stroked her hair and said, “Precisely because I knew you were always here, I was able to come here step by step.”

Lu Jiajia smiled.

Ning Changjiu’s story was finished.

Next would be their story together.

Ning Changjiu embraced her again, bit her lips, and exchanged their warmth.

“You… what are you doing?” Lu Jiajia’s eyes flickered, her body growing softer.

Ning Changjiu smiled, “Of course, I’m checking on disciple’s cultivation progress over the past two years. If you’ve been slacking, Master will have to punish you.”