Finest Servant

Chapter 440 The Tender Summit

Inside the cave, silence prevailed. Sporadic gusts of icy wind whistled through, cutting the stillness. Lin San, who had been animated just moments ago, now lay motionless on the ground. Ning Yuxi's heart was a blur, her body trembling. She took tentative steps towards him. Though the distance spanned only a few steps, it felt like an eternity.

Lin San lay there, his face deathly pale. There was no sound of breathing, and his hand still clutched the treasured sword that Ning Yuxi had given him.

"So, you're dead then?" Ning Yuxi gently crouched down, tears slowly falling. "I risked my life to save yours on Hundred-Foot Chain, only for you to humiliate me later. Good riddance; you deserved to die. I've always despised you—utterly despised you."

Her small hand trembled as her face displayed a mixture of tears and laughter. Slowly reaching toward his cheek, a trace of tenderness filled her eyes. "High above on the celestial mountain, separated from the mundane world, who you are and who I am no longer matter. I wanted to find someone to spend my waning years with. Yet you humiliated me like this—"

"All my life, I've been devoted to the Way, indifferent in my dealings, never competing with anyone. But for you, I've felt both anger and resentment. Even if I became an immortal, I'd be one who had violated precepts. You enjoy the bustling world, so I'll trap you here for a lifetime. You may loathe and hate me, but you can do nothing about it—good that you're dead. No one will ever humiliate me again. I'll remain peacefully beside you, reminiscing the days when you tormented me, cultivating my karmic path for reincarnation, letting you humiliate me once more in the next life."

As she spoke, her tears continued to flow. Her hand touched Lin San's face, only to find it warm and moist, his breath present. He was no corpse but a living being.

"You, you—" Ning Yuxi was alarmed. She leapt to her feet, wiping the tears from her eyes and fiercely kicking him in the leg. "You faking little thief, I'll kill you!"

Lin Wanrong could no longer hold his breath. Taking a deep sigh, he opened his eyes and grinned, "Sister, I never said I was dead. You simply assumed. Ouch, stop kicking!"

Mocked by him, Ning Yuxi felt mentally devastated, devoid of any compassion. She kicked him brutally again. Lin Wanrong yelped in pain but then stared at her, his eyes glowing as he forgot his pain.

Ning Yuxi, seeing that her blows didn't elicit cries of pain, found it puzzling. Glancing at him, she noticed his gaze focused on her chest, drool extending from the corner of his mouth.

Taking a quick look at herself, she gasped, her face turning crimson. She had just bathed and, thinking Lin San was dead, had rushed over without properly dressing. Her clothes were disheveled, her long skirt had come undone, revealing her slender, elegant legs. Her ample bosom was barely contained by a thin inner garment, the contours clearly visible.

"You little thief!" Ning Yuxi, usually as composed as a fairy, had never felt so wretched. Both her body and spirit had been toyed with. Overwhelmed by shame and anger, tears flooded her eyes. With a powerful kick to Lin San's behind, she leapt further into the cave like a flying arrow.

Lin Wanrong let out a groan as he tumbled several times on the ground, feeling pain surge throughout his body. He had already been dealt a heavy blow to the chest while crossing the chain bridge, and now another thump on his backside. Even an iron man would have found it unbearable.

Lying on the ground, he gasped for air, but his heart swelled with smug satisfaction. ‘Lucky that I made it out in time,’ he thought, ‘I've certainly gotten an eyeful today. Fairy Ning’s figure is truly remarkable—curvaceous and slender. She and Sister An can surely hold their own in a beauty contest. To think that I managed to take advantage of her makes me probably the luckiest man in the world.’

After basking in his own glory for a moment, he felt rejuvenated, and even the pain in his body seemed to diminish. His clothes were torn and tattered, and his trousers below the knee were shredded into strips. His shins were covered in scrapes, all thanks to the stone traps laid by Fairy Ning. Yet, compared to the advantages he had gained tonight, these trifles were insignificant.

He rested at the entrance of the cave for a brief moment, listening intently but hearing no sound from within. He wondered about Fairy Ning's condition. Pushing himself off the ground, he stifled the pain in his legs and tiptoed inside.

He had barely reached the entrance of the stone chamber when a gust of wind hit him. Various objects flew toward him as Fairy Ning's voice, filled with loathing, rang out, "You shameless thief! Get out! I never want to see you again!"

Lin Wanrong quickly dodged, and the objects fell to the ground with a clatter. It turned out they were bamboo tubes he had been fixing earlier.

He hid beside the entrance to the stone chamber and cautiously spoke, "Fairy Sister, do you intend to separate from me? If so, please return my belongings."

"What connection do I have with a shameless thief like you? What is there to return?" Ning Yuxi scoffed, clenching her fists tightly. Just thinking about Lin San’s misdeeds made her so furious she wished she could cut him in half.

Lin Wanrong sighed, saying resignedly, "It's not a big deal. I simply ask you to return my heart."

"Shameless!" Ning Yuxi's heart raced as she picked up another object and hurled it at him. "Leave! I never want to see you again!"

With a clang, an ancient medicinal hoe struck the wall and broke in two. Lin Wanrong leapt up in alarm. "Why are you so heartless? Why should I 'leave'? Can't I just 'walk away'?"

Outside, the sound of footsteps faded away, suggesting the shameless thief had retreated. Fairy Ning let out a long sigh and looked at the scattered items in the room, astonished. ‘Did I do all this? How did it come to this?’

She was naturally calm and peaceful, and had never had a heated argument with anyone. But today, Lin San had enraged her to the point of madness. Her usual composure had vanished, leaving her feeling lost and afraid.

Lin Wanrong took a few steps and sat down in a corner, leaning against the cold rock wall. There was no fire, and the temperature was far different from the warmth inside the stone chamber. ‘Fortunately, I still have Fairy Sister's precious sword,’ he thought, picking up the discarded bamboo tubes. With great care, he began to carve.

In the dead of night, the stone cave was chillingly cold. Ning Yuxi sat cross-legged for a while, her gaze falling upon the dim oil lamp and the blazing bonfire, but her thoughts refused to settle. It was cold outside, but how was that scoundrel faring? She suddenly shook her head and spat softly, “Who cares what he's doing. It would be best if he froze to death.”

Just as she was about to fall asleep, there was a soft rustling noise. Something rolled into the cave from the entrance. She focused her eyes and saw that what had rolled in was a short, thick bamboo tube. It stopped right in front of her, and a brass wire was threaded through the bottom of the tube, extending all the way to the bend of the cave's entrance outside.

"What is this?" Ning Yuxi was puzzled as she picked up the bamboo tube and examined it closely. A small hole was drilled at the bottom, and the brass wire was inserted through it. Tied to the other end of the wire was a piece of porous charcoal. It looked very strange.

On this isolated peak, there were only two living beings, and it was obvious that this was Lin San's mischief. She wasn't surprised that he had found some brass wire among the tools left by previous inhabitants of the cave, but what exactly was he up to?

After fiddling with the tube for some time without figuring anything out, she was about to lose patience when a voice suddenly came from the tube, "Sister—"

"Ah!" Ning Yuxi jumped, inadvertently dropping the tube. ‘How did I hear Lin San speak?’

She waited for a moment, and the cave remained eerily quiet. Was it possible she had misheard? Carefully, she put the tube to her ear again, but heard nothing.

Feeling a tinge of disappointment, she was about to put the tube down when an annoying voice came from it, "Sister, have you gone to bed yet?"

There was no mistake this time; the voice indeed came from the bamboo tube. Astonished, Ning Yuxi wondered, how did Lin San manage to get inside the tube?

"Where are you? How are you speaking to me?" She asked, her voice tinged with a tremor.

"Sister, please speak into the tube. Ah, actually, I don’t even know where I am," Lin San’s voice carried a mixture of deep longing and subtle agony. "In my dreams, I met the Goddess of Xiang River. She said this bamboo was a manifestation of her spirit and asked me what my unfulfilled wish was. I initially wanted her to take me off the mountain, but I couldn't bear leaving you here all alone. So, I told the bamboo that I wanted to talk to you. When I woke up, I found myself inside this bamboo. Yes, you're touching me right now."

‘What a genius I am,’ Lin San chuckled silently, hiding in a corner of the cave. He was extremely pleased with the "telephone" he had crafted.

"So, you can't come back now?" Ning Yuxi's voice was tinged with doubt and a certain cold detachment.

"Theoretically, no, I can't return. However—" Lin San drew out his words with a mysterious tone, "the Goddess said that if you would be willing to kiss the bamboo tube, she would allow me to transform back into human form."

"Really?" Ning Yuxi laughed coldly. "At least you’re aware that you’re not in human form now. Then just stay like that! Wait for someone to kiss you so that you can become human again."

"Sister, how could you be so heartless? Huh, the voice sounds so close. Could the phone be broken? Why are there a pair of embroidered shoes here?" He looked up to find Ning Yuxi standing before him, holding a bamboo tube, a cold smile on her face.

"Ah, I have feet and hands again, I've returned to human form. Fairy Sister, thank you so much!" Lin San sprang up in joyful surprise, cold sweat covering his forehead.

The man had no shame! Seeing his antics, Ning Yuxi wanted to laugh but suppressed it. Noticing that he was thinly clad, his lips black from the cold, and his body shivering, she hurriedly lowered her head, hummed, and turned away.

‘Damn it, I've been exposed so quickly,’ Lin Wanrong wiped the sweat from his forehead and sat down dejectedly on the ground.

"Come in and talk!" A faint voice suddenly came from the bamboo tube. Thanks to the activated charcoal tied inside the tube, he was able to hear it.

"Fairy, are you talking to me?" Lin Wanrong was overjoyed and shouted into the tube. Silence fell on the other end, no further messages came.

Quickly gathering the items at his feet into his arms, he reached the entrance of the stone chamber and cautiously peered in. He saw Ning Yuxi casually sitting on the bed, fiddling with the magical bamboo tube, seemingly unaware of his arrival.

"Sister, I'm coming in." Having learned from his previous mistake, Lin San announced his entry beforehand.

Ning Yuxi did not respond, neither lifting her head nor acknowledging whether he was allowed in or not.

Not one to fear easily, Lin Wanrong carefully took a step in. Seeing that Fairy Ning had no unusual reactions, he finally relaxed and strode in.

The bonfire blazed, and warm air greeted him. Lin Wanrong sat down on the ground, tears of gratitude in his eyes. "Thank God, thank the goddess of Xiang river, I've finally returned to the world of the living."

Seeing his emotional state, a smile crossed Ning Yuxi's face. She softly asked, "Did you make this talking bamboo tube? What's it called?"

"As long as the Fairy doesn't resort to violence, everything's negotiable," Lin Wanrong relaxed seeing Ning Yuxi play with the tube. He smiled and said, "This? It's called a 'communicator,' my latest invention. Two people can talk from a great distance. Quite magical."

Ning Yuxi smiled faintly, "Talk from a great distance? Can we communicate from the top and bottom of this mountain?"

"Not at this stage, but definitely in a hundred years," Lin Wanrong answered with a smile.

"That's good," said Fairy Ning indifferently, "In a hundred years, we'll no longer be in this world. Who communicates with whom won't concern us. What matters is now."

Lin Wanrong chuckled awkwardly. He understood her intentions—Fairy Ning planned to keep him trapped on this peak indefinitely. Lin Wanrong didn't argue; warmth was the priority, other matters could wait.

The chamber fell silent. Lin Wanrong picked up the remaining bamboo segments and continued carving. Ning Yuxi's mood seemed to gradually improve; she looked thoughtful at times, and at others, she smiled as she played with the communicator. She glanced at Lin San to find him holding her treasured sword, carving small notches into the bamboo edges, tightly fitting several long bamboo segments together. It appeared that he had successfully connected three or four of them.

"What is this?" Ning Yuxi inquired curiously.

"It's a rudimentary telescope! Take a look," Lin Wanrong said, handing her the bamboo tube with a smile.

Ning Yuxi lifted the tube to her eye and peered through it. To her surprise, she saw another eye blinking back at her. Startled, her heart pounding, she quickly set the telescope down and stammered, "What in the world is this? Stop playing tricks."

"The telescope still lacks some lenses. I don't have the materials, so this is as good as it gets. But it does focus and extend your vision," he chuckled awkwardly.

Between talk tubes and telescopes, his resourcefulness seemed to know no bounds. No wonder the Fairy Hall was defeated by him; they stood no chance. A flood of mixed emotions welled up in Ning Yuxi as she recalled the origin of their enmity.

"This talk tube is for you," Lin Wanrong said, stuffing both bamboo tubes into her hands. "Keep it well; it will be an artifact in the future."

Ning Yuxi shook her head lightly, "What do I need this talk tube for? To talk to myself?" She handed it back to him, but then hesitated, took one tube back, and blushed slightly.

Lin Wanrong burst into hearty laughter, only to wince in pain from his leg wound.

"Serves you right," Ning Yuxi snapped, irritated by the sight of his leg marred with bruises and scrapes. "I told you to stay in the stone chamber, yet you deliberately went out to cause trouble. Next time, I'll set a trap to snap both your legs, then see how you misbehave."

Though she spoke harshly, she mysteriously produced a jar of ointment. As she opened it, a pleasant fragrance filled the air, indicating its potent qualities.

Such a task of caring was hardly suited for a celestial being like her, Lin Wanrong thought. Nonetheless, he accepted the ointment, tore a strip of cloth to use as a pad, and began applying it to his leg.

Watching him clumsily try to apply the ointment to the back of his leg, Ning Yuxi frowned, took the pad from him, and snorted, "You're just wasting my ointment. Sit still."

A soothing sensation washed over him as Ning Yuxi knelt down to carefully apply the medicine. He had never seen such tenderness from her.

Moved beyond words, Lin Wanrong suddenly grabbed Ning Yuxi's small hand and softly said, "Sister, can we stop this endless fighting? We're the only two people on this peak. If you die, I'll be heartbroken; if I die, you'll be lonely. I can endure hardship and poverty in my lifetime, but loneliness is unbearable."

Ning Yuxi's heart trembled. She hastily withdrew her hand and huffed, "I'm not afraid of loneliness. And who wanted to fight you? If you hadn't provoked me, why would I have acted like that toward you?"

"I've been wronged too; I didn't actually see anything," Lin Wanrong replied, staring into her eyes and wearing an expression of utter sincerity.

"You still say that?!" Ning Yuxi's expression turned furious, her face flushing as she remembered the embarrassing moments. It was only because they were on this isolated peak that she was so restrained. Had they been anywhere else, she would have already killed him.

Above the lonely peak, within a humble chamber, under the dim yellow oil lamp, Ning Yuxi spoke softly, expressing fleeting moments of mild irritation and embarrassment. Her cheeks were flushed, her beauty surpassing that of both heaven and earth. Lin Wanrong's lips were dry as he murmured, "Yuxi, I—"

Ning Yuxi's small hand paused, and her breathing became involuntarily erratic. It wasn't the first time he had called her by name, but this time the impact seemed a hundredfold, as if the pounding of spring thunder were resonating in her soul.

"What, what do you want to say?" Ning Yuxi was visibly flustered, her chest rising and falling rapidly, unsure of what to do.

"Yuxi, I like—"

"Boom—""Boom—"

The distant sound of cannon fire cut him off. Lin Wanrong's expression changed instantly, and he shot up, "Qingxuan has arrived!"

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