Proud Sword Soaring Clouds-Chapter 37 - 36: State of Mind

"Whew!" Ling Xiao breathed out a puff of white air and stopped. He turned to look at the vast sea of trees below, the distant scenery laid out before him. The whistling, cold wind separated the scorching heat below from the chill of this place, as if they were two different worlds. "Let’s sit down and rest for a while."

Already exhausted, Ye Wen Ni was panting heavily. She plopped down unceremoniously on the Lightning Mad Leopard pelt, which felt wonderfully soft and warm. "This really is a treasure," Ye Wen Ni exclaimed. "The best I’d ever seen before was the hide of a Tier Two Magical Beast. This Tier Four one must be worth a fortune!"

Ling Xiao, accustomed to Ye Wen Ni’s obsession with money, smiled and said, "In that case, you can have it when we get back."

"Really?" Ye Wen Ni’s charming eyes twinkled as she gave Ling Xiao a sly smile. "Just the hide of a single Tier Four Magical Beast? Isn’t that a little stingy?"

Ling Xiao gazed at the distant scenery. "You’ve come all this way with me, so how could I treat you poorly? That Earth-level Sword Skill... I gave it away on a whim." Before Ye Wen Ni could get angry, Ling Xiao added with a smile, "But the reason I gave it away is because I don’t think much of it at all. Do you understand what I mean?"

Ye Wen Ni’s budding anger instantly vanished. She looked at Ling Xiao, pleasantly surprised. "I get it! I get it! You’re saying you have an even better sword skill, right?"

Ling Xiao smiled and nodded. "Don’t worry. I said I would give you a Celestial-level Sword Skill, and I will."

Ye Wen Ni froze, asking dazedly, "Why... are you being so good to me?"

"Er, perhaps... I consider you a friend," Ling Xiao said uncertainly, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

"Just a friend?" Ye Wen Ni was suddenly indignant. "And you say ’perhaps’?"

"Yeah. What else would there be?" Ling Xiao looked at her, genuinely surprised.

His innocent expression only made Ye Wen Ni grind her teeth in frustration, wishing she could just kick him right off the mountain.

’In my past life on Shushan, I had spent my days cultivating. Ever since I was a child, my life had been an endless cycle of meditation, cultivation, cultivation, and meditation. I had a few fellow disciples I could talk to, but they were all busy improving their own strength. On the path of Cultivation, who had time to waste?’

’As a result, I only began to understand the ways of the world and human relationships later in life, when I ventured out to find Foundation Establishment Materials and gain experience. But what I learned most was the extreme coldness between people. They would fight to the death at the sight of a treasure in a naked grab for power, where only the strong were respected. These experiences made the already aloof me even colder and unwilling to trust anyone easily.’

’But at the same time, deep in my heart, I also yearned for emotional connection and trust!’

’Even a young beast knows to cry mournfully for its mother, to say nothing of humans, the most sentient of all beings.’

’Yet, the original owner of this body, the third young master of the General’s Mansion, had been a truly pure-hearted person. Although he had the reputation of a spoiled fop, his "transgressions" were nothing more than pranks played with other noble children. He had never done anything truly cruel or unjust.’

Thus, after merging with the young master’s memories, the habitually aloof Ling Xiao began to change.

The deep affection of his parents, his sister’s trust, Teacher Shangguan’s care, and Yisha’s innocence were all gradually changing Ling Xiao’s original outlook on life. It was why he had healed the demoralized Wang Chao. It was the "never abandon, never give up" loyalty of a friend, which Tang Ming displayed when he drew his sword to shield him, that moved Ling Xiao to give him the Earth-level Sword Skill without a second thought.

’A drop of kindness must be repaid with a gushing spring!’

What Ling Xiao enjoyed even more was the happiness this trust brought him. That’s right—happiness!

It was a feeling he had never experienced in his past life. Take the black-clad thief Ye Wen Ni beside him. Initially, Ling Xiao had only wanted to play a few tricks on her. Anyone who dared to impersonate his wife deserved to be taught a small lesson.

But soon after, Ling Xiao sensed that while this little thief seemed cunning and unpredictable, her heart was actually quite pure.

’Cultivators focus on their true nature. A person might conceal or disguise themselves for all sorts of reasons, but no matter what, their fundamental nature never changes.’

’Good is good, and evil is evil!’

A smile suddenly touched Ling Xiao’s lips, causing Ye Wen Ni to stare blankly at him for a moment. ’This man is so intriguing!’ she thought.

Ye Wen Ni thought back to what Ling Xiao had said, still feeling indignant. ’A friend is a friend, but he had to add ’perhaps’... How infuriating! Am I so awful that he can’t even be sure about being friends with me?’

Pressing her lips together, Ye Wen Ni reached out to smooth her wind-tousled hair. "A place like this isn’t so bad, actually," she said wistfully. "At least there aren’t any annoying people around. They say it’s dangerous, but as long as you avoid the Magical Beasts’ territory, you’ll be fine. That’s why I think people are far more terrifying than Magical Beasts!" She gently stroked the Lightning Mad Leopard hide she sat on. "This Magical Beast was so powerful, but didn’t it still die to human cunning...?"

"It’s wisdom. No matter how clever a Magical Beast is, its intelligence can’t compare to a human’s," Ling Xiao corrected her earnestly. "Besides, if you weren’t with me, you would’ve been eaten by a Magical Beast long ago. So, for you, Magical Beasts are far more terrifying. A man might spare you because of your beauty, but a Magical Beast definitely won’t."

"You... are impossible!" Ye Wen Ni shot Ling Xiao an irritated glare and turned her head away, though a faint blush crept up her cheeks. ’So this blockhead does know I’m beautiful.’

Ling Xiao shrugged. "When we go down the mountain, we’ll likely be met with the Madman Mercenary Corps’ furious retaliation."

The thought troubled Ye Wen Ni as well. She asked, "If you knew this would happen, why didn’t you hand me over? Didn’t I tell you I could have escaped even if you did?"

Ling Xiao answered with perfect frankness, "I was afraid you would sell me out."

"You... I’m so mad at you!" Ye Wen Ni jumped to her feet, fuming, and pointed at Ling Xiao. "Ling Xiao, don’t you think you’re being completely unreasonable? Can’t you go easy on me for once? You’re supposed to have the dignified air of a nobleman, so why are your words always so mean?"

"Haha!" Ling Xiao burst out laughing. Teasing Ye Wen Ni had become his greatest source of amusement.

It was how he managed to stay in good spirits in this otherwise dull environment.

’Ever since arriving in this world, I’ve often felt lost and confused, wondering what I was supposed to do with this new life.’

’Should I just focus on Cultivation? Even if I cultivated until I became an immortal, so what? I’d still be all alone. But if I didn’t cultivate, what else could I do? It wasn’t until I experienced the sincere care from those close to me and the cold glares, ridicule, and hatred from my enemies that I finally had an epiphany: I just need to live my life to the fullest! I’ll make everyone who cares about me proud! Protecting what is worth protecting—that is how to live a life without regrets!’

To Ling Xiao’s utter delight and surprise, ever since he’d adopted this mindset, his Daoxin had grown more stable and profound with each passing day.

Although his meridians were still blocked, Ling Xiao was confident that as long as he succeeded in his Foundation Establishment, it wouldn’t take many years to return to his former Golden Core Stage! This was because Ling Xiao... no longer needed to deliberately work on Cultivating the Mental Realm. In his past life, he had meditated endlessly, yet his progress in the mental realm had been extremely limited—even slower than the growth of his physical power.

So it was, with all things in the world. A blessing or a curse? There was truly no way to know for sure.

"So, what are we going to do when we go down the mountain and run into those mercenaries?" Ye Wen Ni was, after all, still worried and asked in a low voice.

"If we can win, we fight. If we can’t, we run. It just occurred to me that you’re kind of an idiot!" With that, Ling Xiao leaped to his feet and started running up the mountain.

"Ling Xiao, I’m going to kill you!" Ye Wen Ni shouted furiously from behind him. After running a few steps, she couldn’t resist turning back to snatch up the Lightning Mad Leopard pelt, thinking, ’He already hogged the Crystal Core, so this pelt is mine!’

"Ling Xiao, wait for me!"