An Ran

There was a village which was cut off from the outside world on Ping Yun Mountain which was located at the east of Yue Country. It was called Ping An Village.

The spiritual qi of Ping Yun Mountain was very thin. It was not suitable for cultivation. Besides, there was no cultivation family, cultivation city or cultivation sect within the thousands miles of the area.

There were only a few ordinary human cities.

Normally, not a single shadow of a cultivator could be seen in the village. It was not easy to have such a land of happiness for ordinary humans in Yue Country which was a low-ranked Cultivation Country. 

A year ago, a young man dressed in black clothing came to the village and lived there.

After a year, that young man who was called Ning Gu has grown into a big guy, leading an ordinary life in the village.

When the sun rose, he would get up to work; when the sun set, he would go back to rest. He hunted for a living with his exceptional hunting technique. In Ping An village, even the hunters who had been hunting for generations could not match his technique. Once, there was a tiger spirit that entered the village by accident. The tiger spirit had actually cultivated a trace of demonic qi by luck which made it have uncommon strength. It was very ferocious as it always entered the village during the day to eat the pigs and cows. It even bit the villagers. Some of the hunters in the village went to hunt the tiger, but all of them met a tragic death. Some of the villagers who had lived there for generations started to consider leaving the village.

However, the lawless tiger spirit was shot dead with an arrow by Ning Gu who had an ordinary appearance.

The skin of the tiger spirit was very thick and it also had the protection from the demonic force. How could an ordinary human with just a bow and arrow which were simple and crude harm the tiger spirit? Nonetheless, Ning Gu delivered a fatal shot to it, piercing it from its forehead to its tail, killing it. The strength of that bow was atrocious!

The villagers were saved while Ning Gu became famous in the small village. Besides, the daughter of the village chief had secretly fell in love with him.

Unfortunately, Ning Gu disliked hunting. He only hunted to obtain necessary food. Taking a life and seeing blood were not something that he liked. There seemed to be a traumatic experience in him. In fact, the thing that he loved the most was growing Camellia. Every plant rooted, germinated and finally bloomed under the bamboo fence. Each of the plants carried his thoughts.

For a year, he was still unable to remember Ning Fan. Therefore, he occupied his thoughts with the Camellia.

In his yard, he looked at each of the Camellia plant, swaying in the wind. His sight which was cold had slowly relaxed.

The Camellia plant was named as sea pomegranate by the villagers. The Camellia that was grown by Ning Gu had a special spiritual qi. There were some kind-hearted villagers that helped him sell the spare Camellia to the large cities outside the mountain. Gradually, Ning Gu had gained some income just by growing the plants and selling them. At last, he did not need to hunt anymore.

It was better to choose not to kill…

When the wind of the autumn rose, the black clothing of Ning Gu had become thin. Outside the fence, a voice of a young lady which carried the local accent of the village was heard.

“Ning Gu, the weather had turned cold. My father asked me to bring this wolf fur coat for you to wear!”

A girl who was dressed simply and plainly in the style of a villager stood outside of the fence. She pushed open the wooden door. There was a thick silver wolf fur coat on her hands.

The fur coat was made purely from wolf fur. It was not blended with any other fur. If it were to be sold to a large city, it could definitely sell at a high price. However, it was gifted by the lady to Ning Gu in the name of her father.

The lady was the daughter of the village chief. Her name was An Ran. Although her appearance was not perfectly beautiful, she looked plain and clean. It was hard to forget her appearance after the first look.

The lady had been liking Ning Gu for a very long time.

For the fur coat, she had risked her life, going into the deep mountain to hunt the wolf. Then, she sewed it stitch by stitch, making it into a coat.

Therefore, the fur coat actually contained the lady’s silliness – she only begged for Ning Gu’s glance on the coat.

“Why did you come again?”

Ning Gu frowned slightly. His cultivation base had not changed. His cultivation base still remained at the tenth level Vein Opening. With this cultivation base, he was not afraid of the coldness of the weather like any ordinary humans did.

He did not need the fur coat!

“Hmm, such a bad temper at such a young age. I made this coat for you out of kindness and good intentions…” said the lady, feeling wronged.

“I don’t need your kindness!” said Ning Gu in a stubborn manner.

“You! Don’t be arrogant because you have a better skill in shooting arrows. I want to challenge you!” said the lady without holding back. She placed the fur coat on the table in the yard and untied the bow on her back.

“You can’t win over me!” Ning Gu showed his temper and also untied his bow on the wall.

The villagers who passed by their fence began to laugh.

“Aiya, Ning Gu squabbled with An Ran again. Their relationship is really good!”

“However, An Ran will definitely cry with dissatisfaction a while later… Her archery could never match Ning Gu.”

The villagers’ gossip did not disturb Ning Gu’s thoughts. On the other hand, the lady appeared to be ashamed, but she felt sweet in the bottom of her heart.

In the yard, there was a rock. There were countless holes on the surface of the rock.

The lady bent her bow and nocked an arrow on it. After firing the arrow, it hit the tip of the bluestone, penetrating more than half an inch into the stone.

She had excellent mastery in archery as her shot was precise, and her strength was not weak at all.

However, before she could start to feel proud of herself, Ning Gu nocked his arrow apathetically. With a single shot, the arrow spilt the lady’s arrow into two. The arrow itself  penetrated entirely into the stone!

A sound of cheering was heard from outside the fence. The lady burst into tears and left.

“Ning Gu, you bullied me again! I will not be good to you anymore!”

Upon hearing that, Ning Gu kept his bow and arrow emotionlessly. He was seen as an analogy of wood as he did not even chase after the lady

…

Amongst the cloud and mist on top of Ping Yun Mountain, there was another young man dressed in white clothing with a black cloak, standing upon the clouds. In the wind, he kept his spirit sense and understood the situation in Ping An village.

Ning Gu had a good life. It seemed like he had recovered a lot after a year of rest.

The thing that excited Ning Fan the most was that Ning Gu actually gained admiration from a girl.

However, there was also one thing that made Ning Fan worried. Ning Gu was a blockhead. Not only did he not know how to coax a girl, but his actions were also frowned upon by other girls. Fortunately, that girl still had her affection for Ning Gu after so long. It was so rare to have this type of girl.

“‘An Ran’ was a good name which is better than ‘Ning Gu’. You need a peaceful life. This kind of life is what you are longing for. The bloodshed in the world of cultivation really does not suit you…”

An inexplicable emotion appeared in Ning Fan’s eyes. With an escaping light, he vanished amongst the top of the mountains.

…

At the house of the village chief, An Ran came back home, crying. Upon arriving at her house, she was reprimanded by her father.

“Bad girl, why did you give the fur coat which was in perfectly good condition to someone else? Do you know how much it could sell for in Ping City? Your mind is always thinking about people outside of this family. You really irritate me! Go and get that fur coat back later!”

“It was all my fault! Since it has already been given, I am not going to get it back. You can’t have control over it!” said An Ran loudly, talking back to his father.

As the chief of the village, all the villagers respected him dearly. No one had dared to talk back to him. Even if it was An Ran, she would never dare to reply defiantly to her father normally.

Perhaps she was in a moment of desperation which made her speak in that manner. Her father was really provoked this time.

Since he was a hot tempered man, he slapped the girl after being provoked.

Regret surfaced in his thoughts almost immediately after he thrust his palm. With the strength of his entire body, the slap that he delivered might even weigh thousands of *jin. This was a power that could fight a tiger or a bear. If the slap struck on her daughter’s face, he was afraid that she could not withstand it with her petite body.

However, it was hard to stop at this moment due to the force applied.

At the next second, a cool breeze blew over them. That breeze blocked the powerful slap which could beat a tiger or a leopard.

At the same time, a cold sound was heard outside the house. Immediately, a young man who was wearing white clothing with black cloak came in.

He looked very thin, and his appearance was very pale. It was obvious that he had deficiency of qi and blood. However, when the village chief who was a big man with a height of seven *zhang met his eyes, the village chief had cold sweats dripping all over him!

Of all his hunting experience in his life, countless fierce animals like tigers and leopards had become his preys. He had been accustomed to the coldness of the beasts’ eyes. However, he had never once seen a gaze that was even more terrifying than the young man before him!

Under the young man’s gaze, the village chief was trembling in fear uncontrollably.

If this young man was an ordinary human, he must be an expert who could fight hundreds of enemies at a time. If he was an immortal, he must be a devil who had killed countless of people.

Although the village chief could not see through this young man, he realized that this young man must never be provoked! This thought surfaced on his mind just from the look of the young man.

That was the instinct which was trained from numerous trials of life and death in his hunting experience.

This feeling had only arisen in the heart of the village chief. In contrast, the girl was not invaded by that feeling at all.

Actually, the girl was not aware about the situation around. When she opened her eyes secretly, she was shocked to discover that her father did not slap her. She let out a sigh of relief. Then, her sight shifted to the young man at the door with curiosity.

Who is this guy who came into my house directly without any permission? Is he unaware that my father extremely hated villagers who were impolite and never greeted before entering the house?

Ning Fan smiled faintly and kept his pressure. Then, something that surprised the girl happened.

Her father did not blame the young man for his lack of politeness. In contrast, her father no longer displayed his cold face. Instead, her father deliberately gave a smile which was really unpleasant in her eyes.

“This master, are you coming here for a rest in our village?” said the village chief apologetically.

The girl noticed his father’s respectful attitude towards the young man. She was filled with astonishment. Is this young man who looked unspectacular an important person? This was the only reason that could make her father, who had little exposure of the outside world, so frightened.

*jin = 0.5 kg

*zhang = 3 metres

No matter how hard An Ran tried to figure things out, she could not get the slightest clue of how special the young man was before her. He seemed to be very weak, and he was even not as fit as herself.

“There is no need to be so polite, village chief… Just now, I have heard everything when you were scolding your daughter. Actually, I am Ning Gu’s brother. Since the fur coat was already gifted to my brother, it’s not right to get it back. Besides, I do not have any money to compensate for that coat…”

Even though the young man spoke those words with a smile on his face, the village chief sweated more profusely. Upon seeing his smile, the village chief’s smile became broader.

So, it turned out that the young man is the brother of Ning Gu. He seemed to be stronger than Ning Gu by a lot.

It was already terrifying that Ning Gu could kill the tiger spirit with just a single arrow. Therefore, Ning Gu’s brother must be a ruthless person who was much stronger and cruel.

Moreover, there was a faint bloody smell on his body. The smell had terrified the village chief even more.

Undoubtedly, this young man must be a devil who killed people like flies. It didn’t matter if he was an immortal or an ordinary man, the village chief could not bear to offend him.

If the village chief had known that Ning Gu had such a strong brother, he would have never scolded his daughter. He wouldn’t even have the idea of getting the fur coat back.

Although the young man had stopped him from teaching his daughter a lesson, he would never dare to accuse the young man of being a busybody.

As the village chief, he at least know how to be a sleek person. In front of the simple villagers, he could act like a tyrant. However, in front of this young man, he would surely face a big trouble if he dared to act ruthlessly.

“Hehe, so you are Ning Gu’s brother. Excellent…” the village chief said with an apologetic smile. He actually did not understand why he said “excellent”. That was completely irrelevant.

On the contrary, the lady’s eyes brightened. She gave a softer look to the young man.

So, he is the brother of that Ning Gu who is as dull as a wood. Ning Gu had never given me a happy look before no matter how kind I was to him. His brother was the complete opposite. He was quite easygoing.

Since he is Ning Gu’s brother, I must be more courteous to him.

“Brother Ning, do you want to rest for a while in our humble house? I am going to make some tea for you…”

The village chief felt that his daughter’s friendliness had gotten him into troubles. However, he could not say it in front of the young man.

The person before us is malefic. It is hard to ask him to leave. Why did you still make him stay?

Such a stupid, foolish and idiotic girl!

The young man gave a wee smile and shook his head. He rejected the girl’s good intention as if he had felt the fear of the village chief.

“It’s fine. I am not thirsty… Is your daughter called An Ran?” the young man said firmly.

“Yes. It was a name given by her mother. It was not a good name as it does not carry any culture…” the village chief said with a bitter smile.

“No, it is a good name.’

“Yes, you are correct. Although this name seemed to be bad, it is good after all…” the chief village said without understanding what he had just spoken. To him, whatever came out from the young man’s mouth was right.

“An Ran and Ning Gu. It’s a good match, isn’t it?” the young man said to himself.

When the village chief heard this, he was stunned speechless as though thunder had clapped above the sky.

It’s over. This young devil had come to conduct a match-making. Is he going to rob my daughter to be the wife of his brother? 

It’s bad. If my daughter is to be wed to his brother, she would be in grave danger.

Although he was snobbish and stingy and loved to display his wealth, he was quite concerned for the safety of his daughter. He was not willing to put his daughter in danger.

However, he did not have the guts to speak his mind before the young man.

At that moment, the lady put down the firewood and went into the house with her glittering eyes.

“Brother Ning, do you really think that Ning Gu and I are a good match?” the girl asked after understanding the young man’s implication.

“Yes. Both of you are indeed a good match. Are you willing to be Ning Gu’s wife?” the young man said with a smile.

“Yes, I do!” the girl replied with a huge smile. But almost immediately, she let out a soft sigh and said, “I think he would not agree…”

“No, in fact, Ning Gu likes you too. Based on my understanding of him, he will never glance at something that he does not like at all. He only lacks the knowledge of how to make you happy. From youth, he had never learnt how to speak to girls and he never appeared to be likeable in front of others. He also got himself into troubles,” the young man answered while recalling old memories.

After that, he opened his pouch and took out a crystal hairpin and a bottle of jadeite pill bottle.

The village chief had never seen a storage pouch like this in his entire life. His face was full of astonishment when he saw the young man took those two things just like watching a magic trick.

This young man must be an immortal! Other than that, no one could take out a treasure in that manner without any tricks!

The crystal hairpin was very fine and was glittering. It was something that the village chief had never seen before too.

As for the pill bottle, there was a whiff of fragrance wafting in the air. The village chief smelled it and felt energetic instantly. He could never guess that the bottle contained the Immortal Dan! Moreover, the jade bottle which was used to store the Dan could be sold for thousands of *striped silver in any ordinary human world!

Treasure, all of them were treasures!

“This hairpin is a gift for you. If you wear this all your life, you will be prosperous and safe. These pills are called ‘Good Fortune Pills’. Any ordinary human who consumes this pill, his or her life will be prolonged by ten years without any sickness or calamity… These pills are yours now. It is your choice whoever you favour to consume this pill… You also do not need to worry about others stealing these treasures. Whoever dares to steal those will die.”

The young man’s eyes shone. When his sword qi was stirred, several sword sensesubmerged into the crystal hairpin.

“These gifts are the rewards for your kind intentions towards Ning Gu… Also, I will be leaving for a period of time. Please take good care of Ning Gu…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of him even if he doesn’t like me…” the girl said determinedly.

“It’s good then,” the young man replied with a smile. He seemed to be very satisfied with the girl’s answer. At this moment, he gazed outside of the house as though he felt something was coming.

Then, he smiled broadly and looked at the girl, “Look, he is here now. He really cares about you.”

After that, a black light flashed around the young man. With just a wave of Spiritual Energy of the heavens and earth, the young man vanished out of thin air before the village chief and the girl!

After witnessing this, the girl was dumbfounded. Now, she finally understood that Ning Gu’s brother was not an ordinary human, but a God.

As for her father, he let out a long and deep breath of relief after the young man had left.

Tiring, it was indeed very tiring! Just staying in front of that young man had made the village chief feel that his life was shortened.

However, when he recalled the treasures, his eyes glowed again and he was as energetic as before.

He was not interested about the crystal hairpin. But, he was interested in the pills because based on the young man’s description, one’s lifespan could be increased by 10 years just by consuming a single pill.

Lifespan was the most precious thing for mortals! Even if the person was an emperor, he, too, could not escape death!

The pills were really priceless treasures!

After receiving all the gifts, he sighed with a certain feeling. He knew that these gifts were too precious. It was enough to take these gifts as payment for the wolf fur coat. It was enough to accept these gifts as Ning Gu’s betrothal gifts for An Ran!

Besides, the way the young man gave these presents did not leave the village chief any choice to refuse, although he did not have the intention to do so…

It looked like he had to stop meddling in the affair between Ning Gu and An Ran. He should let his daughter try it out herself…

…

The girl was in a daze while holding the crystal hairpin and the bottle of pills. While she was staring blankly into the air, a familiar sound was heard outside the door. It was Ning Gu’s indifferent voice. This time, however, his voice carried a particular concern for the girl.

In a quick manner, he barged into the house. While entering, he did not even give the chief village a glance. His cold eyes relaxed when he saw An Ran was safe and sound.

“Are you okay?” he said and let out a sigh of relief.

“*Puff*, what could happen to me? Since you are asking about that, are you worried about me?” An Ran smiled while speaking. The happiness in her heart was beyond description. As for Ning Gu, his face turned emotionless again and he almost wanted to leave immediately.

He did not like to see the proud face of the girl. However, deep down in his heart, he was very worried about the girl.

The aura from a cultivator just now was just too strong. What had actually happened?

When he was leaving, his sight fell upon the crystal hairpin and the pill bottle.

To his surprise, it was a high grade magical treasure. Besides, it contained a few streams of strong spirit sense. Every stream of it could kill Gold Core experts with ease!

On the other hand, a whiff of fragrance from the pill emanated from the bottle. This fragrance was even thicker than Second Revolution pills. It was the smell of Third Revolution pills. In fact, the quality of the pills was at peak of Third Revolution!

The most important reason that made Ning Gu stop his footsteps was the familiar aura on the crystal hairpin and the pill bottle.

“This, this is…” Ning Gu muttered to himself. He was very familiar to this aura but he could not recall anything about it. The inability to remember stressed him out.

“These things are given to me by your brother…” said the girl. It was her first time seeing Ning Gu losing his calm. Her pride pushed her to brag about the treasures in her arms.

“Let me see!” Ning Gu said hurriedly.

“No way. Unless, you can catch me!” said the sly girl, blinking her eyes. The moment she closed her mouth, she slipped away from the house. As for Ning Gu, who was usually dumb, chased after her without a second thought.

“Don’t think that I can’t catch you. I will still be able to see it even if you don’t give it to me!”

Both of them started a chase amongst each other in the village.

This scene warmed the hearts of the old folks in the village. Their lips curled upwards, forming beautiful smiles on their faces.

“Hedgehog is the perfect analogy for this kid, Ning Gu. The ‘thorns’ are the means for protecting himself. In contrary to the ‘thorns’, he likes camellia plants. He likes peace. He likes the girl. However, aren’t they too noisy today?”

*Striped silver = a type of currency

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