Chapter 195 - 195: Cannot sleep
Chapter 195 - 195: Cannot sleep
Wei Yao’s face turned ashen, and he grabbed Wei Hao, who had just risen to his feet and was about to charge towards Su Liang again.
“Miscalculation, let’s end it tonight!” Wei Yao whispered harshly to his son, “Let’s go!”
The father and son originally wanted to defeat Su Liang in public, trampling the Martial Arts Champion of Qian Country, boosting Wei Hao’s reputation in Liang Country and even the world, while at the same time uplifting the morale of Liang Country’s army, and getting a large amount of food to relieve their army’s food shortage.
The ideal was full.
Reality was a slap in the face.
Wei Hao was unconvinced, his neck stiff as he stared at Su Liang, “She cheated! She used tricks, deliberately wearing me out!”
Wei Yao’s face darkened, “You’ve lost enough face already, don’t make a fool of yourself! It’s just as well this time, to let you see that beyond Liang Country, there is a bigger world and more powerful enemies! Your skills aren’t enough!”
Wei Hao’s face looked even uglier, but he did not act impulsively again, clenching his teeth and saying, “Sooner or later, I will make that girl kneel down and beg me for mercy!”
Wei Yao comforted his son, looked around, and noticed that the morale of Liang Country’s army had already been worn down due to Su Liang’s speech before the battle and Wei Hao’s loss in the contest.
Even though he had originally planned to take advantage of Qian Country’s recent change of commander to fight a battle, by now, Wei Yao felt that their chances of winning were slim.
The twenty thousand Qian Country soldiers who had left the city did not return, and both sides remained in a standoff.
Che Yun and Lin Bojun escorted Su Liang back to the city building.
Xing Ji gave a thumbs up, “You performed well tonight. I will send a letter to the capital city tonight, asking the emperor to reward you.”
Su Liang raised the Luoying Sword in her hand, “It’s the powerful sword that
Uncle Xing gave me.”
Xing Ji smiled, “As long as you can handle it well.”
“What about that city?” Su Liang brought up the main issue, “Will they really give it up?
Xing Ji shook his head, “It’s hard to say.”
“They’ve already said it, if they can’t bear to lose and renege on the agreement, won’t they lose face?” Su Liang thought that Liang Country might still fulfill their promise, “Which city did they agree to give?
Lin Bojun interrupted, “They initially said it would be Nanfeng City.”
Upon hearing Nanfeng City, Su Liang thought of the smoked meat Ning Jing had specifically bought. Speaking of which, she hadn’t really eaten the late-night snack she had prepared. She didn’t know if Ning Jing could save her a piece of meat bun.
“From a geographic point of view, Nanfeng City is easy to attack but difficult to defend, and not a very good place.” Xing Ji said.
“There’s no advantage in taking it?” Su Liang was startled.
Xing Ji shook his head, “No, if we have to go to war with Liang Country, it’s better to take Nanfeng City early. Even if we don’t garrison troops there, leveling the city would still be advantageous.”
“That makes sense.” Su Liang nodded.
Xing Ji shouted at Wei Yao below, “When will General Wei withdraw from
Nanfeng City? I will send someone to take over!”
Wei Yao snorted coldly, “On this matter, I will send an envoy to Xuanbei City within three days to discuss in detail with Qian Country! Take my leave!”
The horn of the Liang Country army sounded desolate and cold in the night.
Standing high above, Su Liang watched the Liang Country army retreat like a tide, “Uncle Xing, what do you think of Wei Yao?”
After contemplating for a moment, Xing Ji said, “The reason why I was able to break into the Liang Country’s army and capture Wei Teng successfully was that Wei Teng was impulsive and reckless in his actions. Tonight, it seems that Wei Hao has inherited his grandfather’s temperament, while Wei Yao is very rational.”
Su Liang nodded, “If they readily give us Nanfeng City, we should be careful of their tricks.”
“We’ll decide how to proceed when the Liang Country envoy arrives.” Xing Ji said.
“I have nothing to do tonight, right? Then I’ll go back first?” Su Liang yawned as she spoke.
Xing Ji looked at Su Liang with a fatherly gaze, “You go back and sleep now. Sleep in tomorrow, don’t get up too early.”
“I’ll see General Su off!” Che Yun said.
Lin Bojun reached out and took Su Liang’s sword, “I’ll do it!”
Xing Ji nodded, “Alright, Bojun, you escort Su Liang back to the General’s Mansion. Che Yun, you lead people to keep watch and ensure that there is no trouble in the city tonight.”
Che Yun responded, and when he turned his head, Lin Bojun and Su Liang had already left the city building.
“Xiaoliang, you’re really amazing! Ajing is truly blessed!” Lin Bojun firmly believed that Su Liang and Ning Jing were a couple, seizing every opportunity to mention Ning Jing.
Su Liang chuckled lightly, “Someone doesn’t think so.”
Lin Bojun shook his head, “I really don’t understand what you two are doing, just get married sooner!”
“Second Brother Lin, you shouldn’t worry about us. If Liang Country is really sincere in discussing peace this time, even if it’s for food, and we can have two or three years of peace, it would save us trouble, and we can find an opportunity to return to the capital city and get married,” Su Liang said.
When it came to this, Lin Bojun’s eyes also brightened, “That would be great!” Although his dream was to be a general, he didn’t like fighting.
As they spoke, they reached the entrance of the General’s Mansion. Lin Bojun watched Su Liang enter, then turned his horse around and left.
Su Liang entered the courtyard, which was quiet and deserted as she had instructed the servants not to come in.
As she passed the kitchen, there was still a red glow of fire in the stove.
Su Liang pushed open the door of her room, the candle she had lit before was nearly burnt out, and the wax had dripped down onto the candle holder, forming a red flower.
The bowl and chopsticks she had used for the chicken soup had been taken away, and everything else was as it was when she left.
Su Liang placed the Luoying Sword on the table and went into the small study next door.
The bedding on the soft couch was still neatly stacked, and Ning Jing had gone out.
Su Liang thought she didn’t need to worry about Ning Jing’s safety at all. The Great God was just playing around, unlike her, so it was best to let him do as he pleased.
Having fought one battle during the day and another at night, Su Liang decided to take a bath before going to sleep.
Ning Jing had heated up some water before he left, and Su Liang scooped it out, carried it into her room and poured it into the bath.
The room filled with mist, and Su Liang soaked in the warm water, feeling every pore in her body open up, it was unbelievably comfortable.
Already a bit tired, Su Liang intended to soak for a while before going to sleep, but she dozed off and eventually fell asleep in the bathtub.
The slight sound at the window in the small study didn’t wake Su Liang up.
Ning Jing returned from outside, having changed his clothes, his black hair draped behind him, with some slight dampness remaining.
He placed the clothes he was going to wash on a stool, looked at the beam of light coming from the next room and listened for a moment, but heard no movement. He thought Su Liang was reading.
Ning Jing walked to the door and didn’t see Su Liang sitting at the table. He glanced over to the other side of the screen and saw a white and delicate arm draped over the edge of the bathtub.
Ning Jing’s first reaction was to freeze, then he immediately turned and went back to the small study.
However, because there was no door in the small study, the light from the next room was not blocked out.
Ning Jing spread out his own bedding, lay down, and closed his eyes.
After a while, hearing no movement from the next room, he got up and walked over to the wall that separated them, raised his hand and knocked, “Su Liang?” Su Liang didn’t react.
After thinking for a moment, Ning Jing picked up the hairpin he placed on the table, looked at it, and put it back. He picked up a book, put it back as well, and finally took the jade pendant he carried with him, placed it in his hand, and weighed it lightly.
He took a step forward, half of his body outside, and looked towards the screen. He saw Su Liang’s arm again, raised his hand, closed his eyes, and the jade pendant drew a smooth parabola in the air, flying behind the screen.
Ning Jing stood sideways in the entrance of the small study room, and soon heard the sound of the jade pendant falling into the water.
As the sound of water rose again, Ning Jing called out to Su Liang.
“Huh? Is that you? What’s going on?” Su Liang was sleeping soundly when the jade pendant suddenly fell into the bathtub, startling her awake. She thought someone was trying to kill her, but then she heard Ning Jing’s voice.
“You fell asleep while bathing. I came in and you didn’t even notice. You’re too careless.” Ning Jing’s voice was cold.
Su Liang didn’t hear him clearly because she was searching for Ning Jing’s jade pendant in the bathtub.
“Found it.” Su Liang took out the jade pendant. “What did you say just now? Are you afraid my water is getting cold? Indeed, it’s a bit cold, thanks!”
Ning Jing furrowed his brows, stood still, heard the sound of Su Liang getting out of the water, didn’t say anything else, went back to the small study room, lay down on the couch, covered himself with the quilt, and closed his eyes.
After tidying up, Su Liang specially cleaned and dried Ning Jing’s jade pendant, took it to the entrance of the small study room, and called out softly, “Great
God?”
No response.
“Great God, are you asleep?” Su Liang muttered to herself, “You shouldn’t be.
Even if you were, you should’ve been awakened by me.”
Without getting up, Ning Jing spoke in a faint tone, “Yes, I was asleep.”
Su Liang leaned against the doorframe and talked to Ning Jing. “Sorry for waking you up. Since you’re awake, let me tell you about what happened tonight. Did you go to watch my martial arts competition?”
“What do you think?” Ning Jing asked in return. Su Liang laughed softly, “I think you did.”
“Why?” Ning Jing asked.
“If something happened to me, who would make your late-night snack?” Su Liang said quite seriously.
“That’s right.” Ning Jing replied.
“How do you think I did tonight?” Su Liang asked.
“Average. Your swordsmanship needs more practice; it’s far from enough.” Ning Jing answered.
Su Liang sighed slightly, “I think so too. Neither Che Yun nor Wei Hao can compare to you. There’s nothing to be proud of defeating them, let alone the fact that I didn’t even manage to beat Che Yun.”
Though Su Liang heard praises daily since arriving in Xuanbei City, she was very self-aware, especially when it came to martial arts, as Ning Jing was by her side.
While she was indeed a strong young warrior, Su Liang aimed higher. If a real enemy wanted to kill her, there would be no fair competition or concerns on age and gender. If a powerful old man appeared, she would be in trouble.
Based on her experience over the past six months, Su Liang felt that both she and Ning Jing had somewhat troublesome traits and couldn’t afford to be careless.
“Is there anything else?” Ning Jing asked.
Su Liang nodded, “Did you finish your late-night snack?”
“Yes. It’s not tasty when it’s cold. If you want to eat, you can make it again.” Ning Jing said.
Su Liang sighed slightly, “Even if I make it again, it won’t be this meal’s meat buns.”
“What do you want?” Ning Jing asked.
‘Go to sleep.” Su Liang said and left the small study room. She returned to the inner room, sat down by the bed, and realized she was still holding Ning Jing’s jade pendant, forgetting to return it to him earlier.
She originally planned to go back, but decided to leave it until tomorrow.
Su Liang casually stuffed Ning Jing’s jade pendant under the pillow, blew out the candle, and went to bed.
There was only dim light in the small study room, and it suddenly disappeared.
Ning Jing opened his eyes, touched his chest, and felt a bit uncomfortable without the jade pendant he’d worn for many years…
The next day, Su Liang indeed woke up late, and no one came to summon her.
While Su Liang was still asleep, the news of her fighting Liang Country’s top warrior, winning the victory, and gaining a city for Qian Country had spread throughout Xuanbei City.
The name Su Liang was on everyone’s lips. This was different from when she became the Martial Arts Champion.
Back then, outsiders only praised her.
But now, she had won a crucial competition, brought tangible benefits to Qian Country, and quickly established a high reputation, winning the love of many people.
It was a sunny day, and at the northernmost part of Qian Country, Xuanbei City finally felt a hint of spring warmth.
When Su Liang woke up, the sun had already risen high.
She stretched, put on her clothes, went to the window, pushed it open, saw the bright sunshine outside, and decided to take a day off! Although she was only a fourth-tier junior officer, her commander wanted to be her adoptive father so she had some freedom.
There was no one in the small study room next door. The bedding was neatly folded as if it had never been used.
Su Liang didn’t know where Ning Jing had gone, and wanted to ask him if there was anywvhere interesting nearby.
When Su Liang finished washing up and was about to leave, she heard a noise coming from the small study room. She looked in and saw Ning Jing returning with a basket in his hand.
“Did you go to pick wild vegetables?” Su Liang asked, mainly because, back in the village, they often followed Mrs. Bai in the early morning to pick wild vegetables on the mountain.
“Breakfast.” Ning Jing came forward and handed it to Su Liang. He was now in a new disguise, looking very ordinary.
“For me? Thanks.” Su Liang took it back to her room, placed it on the table, still warm.
As she ate breakfast, Su Liang talked to Ning Jing next door, “I don’t want to go to the military camp today. Is there any interesting place nearby?”
“There’s an ancient temple called Ping’an Temple, located between Nanfeng City and Xuanbei City,” Ning Jing said.
Su Liang found it amazing, “Does it belong to Qian Country or Liang Country?”
“Neither,” Ning Jing replied, “Cheng Yun was originally a monk at Ping’an Temple. ”
“Will we meet Cheng Yun’s master if we go?” Su Liang became interested.
“Perhaps,” Ning Jing said.
“Then let’s go,” Su Liang decided quickly, “You’re free, right? Otherwise, I’ll ask Second Brother Lin to go with me!”
“If you grill me a pheasant today, I’ll go with you,” Ning Jing set a condition.
Su Liang coughed, “We’re talking about going to the temple, and all you think about is eating meat. Is that appropriate?”
“If you add a grilled wild rabbit, it’s even more appropriate,” Ning Jing said.
Su Liang: …
Su Liang brought spices with her, so they could barbecue in the mountains later.
Just as she was about to leave, Ning Jing stopped her, “Where’s my jade pendant?”
“Oh, I forgot about it if you didn’t mention it.” Su Liang went back into her room, reached under her pillow, and took out Ning Jing’s jade pendant. It had no words on it, only complex patterns.
They were separated by the small study room’s door as Su Liang handed over the jade pendant.
As her sleeve fell, it revealed her wrist, as white and smooth as jade.
Ning Jing’s gaze lingered on it for a moment before he withdrew it, took the jade pendant from Su Liang, and said, “Don’t fall asleep while bathing in the future..”