Chapter 382: Acceptance

“Oh, by the way.” Sun Lingtong continued to remind him.

“Don’t forget about the Fetus Breathing Spirit Raft. If we were to negotiate for this inherited treasure in the future, I dare not even imagine the price.”

Sun Lingtong suggested, “How about we work together and rob the Myriad Medicine Sect blind!”

“We’ll pluck all their herbs and sell them off in large quantities, which will surely earn us a huge sum of money.”

“Then, we’ll find an opportunity to steal the Fetus Breathing Spirit Raft, and that will be the end of it!”

Ning Zhuo shook his head and remained silent.

Sun Lingtong said, “With the Myriad Miles Wandering Dragon, we have a high degree of certainty.”

“Right, I’ll do the work. Little Zhuo, you can move around and create an alibi.”

“You still need your reputation.”

Ning Zhuo shook his head and sighed, “Boss, let’s discuss this later. Let’s wait for my ancestor to arrive first.”

Yesterday, he had already received the letter specially sent by Ning Jiufan before he set off.

The letter was transmitted continuously through the postal service and arrived at Myriad Medicine Valley faster than Ning Jiufan.

Several days later.

Little Conflict Peak, Martial Arts Field.

Ning Zhuo and Han Zhou finished their sparring.

Ning Zhuo was drenched in sweat, staring at Han Zhou, his eyes a little unfocused.

A thought arose in his mind – if he were to use Han Zhou as a treasure material to create mechanisms, how much cost could he save?

“I’m really poor.” Ning Zhuo chuckled, shook his head, and dispelled this absurd thought.

“Human resources are precious! It would be too wasteful to use Han Zhou like this.”

Since Sun Lingtong reminded him last time, he had been feeling the pressure on his finances recently and was racking his brain for something that could make a lot of money.

Han Zhou was exhausted and said with curiosity and a certain anticipation, “Fellow Daoist Ning Zhuo, the day of the Little Conflict is approaching. Who will you challenge this time?”

Ning Zhuo, however, shook his head, “I plan to settle down for a while. For me, the most challenging ones are only Zheng Xingchen and Lai Wuying.”

Han Zhou nodded.

He had sparred with Ning Zhuo more times and had a better understanding of the latter’s combat power.

Despite Ning Zhuo’s cultivation being only in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, his combat power was quite considerable with the help of his mechanical fists and feet, definitely placing him in the first-class tier on Little Conflict Peak.

Chang Yan, Hua Guzi, Ning Zhuo, and others were already recognized as being in the same tier.

And slightly above this tier were only two people, who had significantly better past records. Even when they fought against Chang Yan, Hua Guzi, Luo Xiao, and others, Zheng and Lai rarely lost.

The two left the Martial Arts Field and walked side by side.

Most passersby, upon seeing them, actively bowed and greeted them.

Both Ning Zhuo and Han Zhou were well-known figures on Little Conflict Peak.

Han Zhou’s strength was not weak. The main reasons for his low cave dwelling ranking were two:

One was that he practiced the Suffering Sutra, and had to seek suffering, even if there was no suffering, he had to endure it to maintain the true meaning of bitter cold in his upper dantian.

The other was to make it convenient for him to challenge the cave dwellings from bottom to top, and then voluntarily "lose" to others to earn related benefits.

The Bitter Cold Sutra was the cultivation method with the lowest resource requirements that Ning Zhuo currently knew of.

But even so, Han Zhou still had to work hard to earn spirit stones and the like for himself, to accumulate magic power and maintain his own cultivation.

So-called cultivation was nothing more than transforming external materials and energy into one's own strength through certain methods (cultivation techniques).

As for Ning Zhuo, he was already famous throughout the entire Myriad Medicine Valley.

His battle with Hua Guzi fully demonstrated his combat power, silencing the doubters.

After his combat power was recognized, Ning Zhuo’s life became much more stable, and there were no longer any negative opinions targeting him.

Ning Zhuo knew in his heart that in addition to him demonstrating his strength, the Senior Brother of the Myriad Medicine Sect, Linghu Jiu, must have also taken action, making his disciples restrain themselves and no longer trouble Ning Zhuo.

The only downside was…

“Young Master Ning Zhuo, we meet again!” Around the corner, Hua Guzi rushed out like a blazing flame.

Ning Zhuo and Han Zhou immediately widened their eyes.

“Accidental encounter?” Ning Zhuo’s mouth twitched. “Three accidental encounters a day… Fellow Daoist Hua, I have already made it clear to you, you don’t need to apologize, and I don’t need your dumplings.”

Ning Zhuo sighed, feeling very helpless.

Han Zhou, on the other hand, was filled with emotion. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed that this scene would actually happen!

A few days ago, Hua Guzi came to apologize and even offered spiritual dumplings, which were rejected by Ning Zhuo on the spot.

Han Zhou thought that Hua Guzi would cause a scene.

But the next day, she actually apologized again and even offered different dumplings. This truly surprised Han Zhou greatly.

And what surprised him even more was that Ning Zhuo still refused and seemed to be avoiding her.

Han Zhou privately advised Ning Zhuo to lower his stance slightly. After all, Hua Guzi had considerable combat power, and since she had already apologized, there was no need to turn a potential friend into an enemy.

As a result, Ning Zhuo only said to him, “You don’t understand.”

The subsequent development of events greatly shook Han Zhou’s perception of things and of this world.

No matter how Ning Zhuo refused, Hua Guzi did not turn hostile, but instead shamelessly and continuously apologized. It was once a day before, and now it was three times a day, getting worse!

The colder Ning Zhuo was to her, the more energetic she became, and her attitude towards Ning Zhuo was almost fawning!

“Is this necessary?!” Han Zhou had always felt that even though Hua Guzi had lost to Ning Zhuo, she was still in the same tier in terms of combat power and was a Foundation Establishment master on Little Conflict Peak.

But she no longer had any trace of a master's demeanor, almost like a dog.

Of course, Hua Guzi was still the same towards others as before. Once she faced Ning Zhuo, her attitude would abruptly change, becoming very humble and fawning.

After being extremely puzzled, Han Zhou finally cast his gaze upon Ning Zhuo’s face.

He understood.

“Is Hua Guzi at that age, her spring heart overflowing?”

Only this answer could勉强 explain Han Zhou’s confusion.

“Young Master Ning Zhuo obviously saw Hua Guzi’s intentions and didn’t want to delay her, so he kept refusing her with cold words.”

Ning Zhuo’s strange behavior before suddenly had an explanation.

“Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Speaking of which, Young Master Ning Zhuo’s reaction is quite sharp. On that very day, he sensed that something was wrong and was cold towards Hua Guzi.”

Han Zhou secretly admired Ning Zhuo. If it were him, he would definitely not have noticed Hua Guzi’s change in mentality.

“As expected of a young master carefully cultivated by this immortal cultivation family.”

“Presumably, Young Master Ning Zhuo has experienced being pursued by women many times. Therefore, Hua Guzi’s behavior like this immediately made him react.”

“Compared to others, people are really…”

Han Zhou looked at Ning Zhuo, then glanced at himself, shaking his head continuously, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

“Young Master Ning Zhuo, this is the gilded phoenix tail flower that I have carefully cultivated. I sincerely beg you to accept it, please!” Hua Guzi’s eyes widened, staring intently at Ning Zhuo, her face full of longing and anticipation.

Her pitiful appearance, as if she would burst into tears the next moment, made even a Buddhist cultivator like Han Zhou unable to refuse.

But Ning Zhuo still ruthlessly refused.

“How many times have I said it? I don’t need your apology. Farewell, Fellow Daoist Hua.”

Ning Zhuo walked around Hua Guzi and continued on his way.

“Young Master Ning Zhuo!” Behind him, Hua Guzi turned around, crying out mournfully, tears streaming down her face, making one feel a sense of sorrow.

Ning Zhuo walked faster, because he sensed the strong excitement and joy in Hua Guzi’s heart through the Human Life Suspended Silk.

Original Mountain.

Lin Shanshan stared at the intelligence in her hand, her face very ugly. “What’s wrong with this Hua Guzi?”

“Since she lost to Young Master Ning Zhuo, she has been pestering Ning Zhuo, completely disregarding her dignity!”

Lin Shanshan gnashed her teeth.

The good news of Ning Zhuo defeating Hua Guzi had made her happy for only a few days before she received this intelligence.

“Young Master Ning Zhuo refused again?”

“That’s great that he refused!”

“Young Master Ning Zhuo, with his comprehension, naturally knows your sinister intentions. How could he be easily deceived by you?”

Lin Shanshan’s eyes were cold.

Her personal maid Xiaoju reached out in fear and waved it in front of Lin Shanshan. “Miss, wake up, don’t look at me like that. I’m Xiaoju, I’m Xiaoju, not Hua Guzi.”

Lin Shanshan was startled, then realized and quickly apologized to Xiaoju.

Little Conflict Peak.

Ning Zhuo’s cave dwelling.

“What’s wrong with this Hua Guzi?” Ning Zhuo sat cross-legged on the futon, also quite troubled.

He didn’t expect that directly refusing with cold words not only didn’t deter Hua Guzi but also made her more excited and more persistent.

“Boss, what should we do in this situation?” Ning Zhuo encountered this kind of person for the first time, and it was not good to casually hurt her, so he first asked for Sun Lingtong’s opinion.

Sun Lingtong was in the mechanical dragon, laughing uncontrollably.

It was too amusing.

As Ning Zhuo grew older, Sun Lingtong saw him being frustrated less and less often.

Sun Lingtong really wanted to keep watching, so he immediately suppressed his laughter and pretended to be serious. “Little Zhuo, actually Hua Guzi is a pitiful person.”

Ning Zhuo: "?"

Sun Lingtong continued, “Think about it, is this kind of temperament normal?”

“The more distorted the temperament, the more trauma she suffered in her childhood, and the more terrible it was.”

Ning Zhuo was silent for a while. “Hearing you say that, it makes me feel differently about Hua Guzi.”

Sun Lingtong struck his fist into his palm. “So, you should take action and save her.”

Ning Zhuo: “Huh?”

Sun Lingtong said again, “People with this kind of temperament are extremely prone to going to extremes. If you keep refusing her like this, what if she can’t bear it one day and commits suicide?”

Ning Zhuo still had his own ideas. “That’s not very likely, is it? I see that every time she is refused, she is secretly delighted in her heart.”

Sun Lingtong shook his head. “You can never be sure about such people.”

“I’m afraid that she will turn love into hate. If she can’t have you, she will destroy you!”

Ning Zhuo frowned and sneered, “The reason why I don’t take action against her is only because I am concerned about the rules here and cherish my reputation. Once she does this in the future…”

“No, no, no.” Sun Lingtong interrupted, “Little Zhuo, you misunderstood my meaning.”

“What I mean is, instead of letting her turn love into hate in the future, it’s better for you to take action beforehand and recruit her.”

“People with her kind of temperament are generally trained to be suicide attackers.”

“This is a crazy sharp blade that needs to be used carefully. If not used properly, it will hurt yourself instead.”

Ning Zhuo repeatedly shook his head. “She’s too crazy. There are actually people like this in the world! Alas, I actually don’t want to have any interaction with her.”

Sun Lingtong: “It’s very dangerous to just leave her alone. Even if she doesn’t deal with you, what if she deals with the branch family you established?”

“Based on her current attitude towards you, tell me, after we leave this place, if she can’t find you, will she go to the Fiery Persimmon Immortal City?”

Ning Zhuo’s brows furrowed even tighter.

“Boss, you’re right. But I have a premonition that if I agree to it and partially accept Hua Guzi, I’m afraid I won’t get anything good in the future.”

Just then, a flying message arrived.

Upon opening it, it was a letter from Hua Guzi.

Ning Zhuo’s face paled slightly, and his tone was a little frightened. “Boss, what should I do? She’s chasing me all the way to my cave dwelling now!”

Sun Lingtong scanned the letter with his spiritual sense. “Little Zhuo, don’t panic. Look closely at the content of the letter. Hua Guzi actually wants to compensate with the cultivation methods of seven strange and rare flowers.”

“This is a good thing. You can give it to the family to use. If it can be scaled up in the future and become a business, won’t our cultivation resources be guaranteed?”

“These are all rare items on the market that will definitely be snapped up as soon as they appear.”

Ning Zhuo took a closer look, and indeed it was so.

He fell into a brief silence.

After a moment, he invited Hua Guzi into the cave dwelling.

(End of this chapter)