Ning Wanqin immediately took a step back and said, “Sister Zhian, why are you looking at me? I can’t do it!”
When she saw Ruan Fei’s gaze turn toward her as well, she forced a smile and said, “Little Fei, didn’t we agree on this before? I’ve already been to the Jiangbei fortress complex once. Lu Chaosheng has had his eye on me ever since. I can’t go again. If I do, I’ll be walking straight to my death!”
Shen Zhian shook her head. “Ah, Sister Wanqin, that’s where you’re mistaken. Precisely because you’ve been there once, this trip will be much easier for you.”
“Besides, everyone already knows who you are. As long as you inform General Zhang Shi, he’ll understand why you’ve come, and that will save us a great deal of trouble!”
Ruan Fei also came to her senses and joined in persuading her. “That’s right, Sister Wanqin. You’re the most suitable person for this. We’re sisters, and we joined forces with Lord Gu Qingyue to establish the all-female army. We’re so close, yet I wouldn’t feel at ease sending anyone else. You’re the only one I can trust!”
Ning Wanqin jumped to her feet and flatly refused. “No! Absolutely not!”
“I can’t agree to this!”
Shen Zhian said calmly, “But if you don’t go, who will?”
“We’re working together to build something, so naturally everyone has to contribute. General Zhang Shi’s arrival will allow Little Fei to use his influence to drive away the Grand Commander’s wife and take her place!”
“Little Fei will have done her part.”
“I’ve contributed a million taels of silver, so I’ve done my part as well.”
“That only leaves you…”
“You can’t contribute nothing, can you?”
“It doesn’t matter how much you contribute. After all, we’re sisters. But you can’t refuse to do anything at all, can you?”
Ruan Fei chimed in, “Sister Zhian is right. Sister Wanqin, it’s time for you to do your part as well. This time, I’ll have to trouble you to go again.”
“You came back safely and easily last time, so it’ll surely be the same this time. I believe in you!”
Shen Zhian nodded. “Bestie, I believe in you too!”
Ning Wanqin stood there, stunned.
What…
After all that going around in circles, she still had to make another trip to the Jiangbei fortress complex?
The last time she went, she had nearly been unable to get out of bed for three days after returning. What would happen this time?
But…
Faced with the almost aggressive attitudes of Ruan Fei and Shen Zhian, she suddenly realized that she seemed to have no choice.
“All right, all right, it’s settled!” Shen Zhian hurriedly comforted her. “Bestie, just think about the good life we’ll have in the future. A little hardship now is nothing!”
“That’s right, Sister Wanqin,” Ruan Fei added. “We have to endure a little hardship now for the sake of the future. Besides, just focus on doing your part. As for General Shen Moyan’s body, I’ll find a way to convince Brother Mengyan to spare it. I’ll find a proper place to bury him, so you won’t have to worry about anything.”
Ruan Fei should never have mentioned Shen Moyan. The moment she did, a terrible pain tore through Ning Wanqin’s heart, like an arrow piercing her chest.
When she had first seen Shen Moyan killed, her immediate reaction had been fear. The Grand Commander Zhou Mengyan was mercurial, and since he had been willing to kill Shen Moyan, he would surely turn on her next.
But as she gradually calmed down and her fear of Grand Commander Zhou Mengyan slowly faded, another feeling surged up within her—the searing pain of grief.
Shen Moyan had been her closest friend. She had come to seek refuge with the Grand Commander after much effort, and Ning Wanqin had accompanied her every step of the way. Yet in the end, Shen Moyan had suffered the fate of being torn from life and left without a whole corpse. How could Ning Wanqin possibly accept that?
Ruan Fei’s words struck the wound in her heart. Her mind instantly went blank, and she failed to notice that Ruan Fei had taken her by the arm and led her all the way out of the Zhou residence.
It was only when Ruan Fei’s voice sounded beside her that she came back to herself.
“Sister Wanqin, please don’t be angry. Shen Zhian was being far too forceful back there. I had no choice but to agree.”
“But don’t worry. Once you go there, you’ll have rendered a great service. You’ll be a hero from then on. The two of us can join forces, and once the all-female army is established, we’ll be the most powerful among them.”
“Then Shen Zhian won’t be able to pressure us like this anymore!”
Ning Wanqin slowly raised her head, still dazed.
“All right, Sister Wanqin. Get some rest today, then prepare to cross the river.”
Ning Wanqin nodded absentmindedly. With Ruan Fei accompanying her, she returned to the camp.
After sending Ning Wanqin back to the camp, Ruan Fei immediately returned to the Zhou residence and sought out Shen Zhian.
“Sister Zhian, Ning Wanqin is being terribly ungrateful. We should all contribute to something this important, yet she has nothing to offer and still refuses to go persuade General Zhang Shi to switch sides. Honestly, I don’t know what makes her think she deserves to call herself our sister.”
Shen Zhian was in complete agreement. “Exactly. She can’t even rely on Lu Chaosheng anymore. She has no power and no influence, yet she still thinks she’s worthy of being our sister. We’ve really been too generous to her.”
“You’re right, Sister Zhian,” Ruan Fei said. “Why don’t the two of us form an alliance? We’ll rely on our own abilities from now on and stand together through thick and thin.”
Shen Zhian was delighted. “All right! From now on, we stand together through thick and thin!”
After making their agreement, Shen Zhian saw Ruan Fei out. But on her way back, she immediately ordered the servants to prepare some supplies for crossing the river.
She planned to personally see Ning Wanqin off when Ning Wanqin crossed the river—first, to offer her a sincere apology, and second, to form an alliance with her.
…
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
