Chapter 929: Records of Xu Ziyang’s Romance (Side Story 3)

Heaven-Reaching Peak, Mount Shu.

As Xu Ziyang and Princess Liange walked along a little forest trail, faint moonlight shone through the trees, illuminating their way.

Xu Ziyang stopped walking and softly opened his mouth to speak. "I..."

It was a rare scene of him hanging his head low and furrowing his brows, looking as though he was facing an immense challenge.

Princess Liange turned around and looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. "What is it...?"

"I..." Xu Ziyang uttered the same word again. He fell silent for a moment before blurting out, "I think you need a weapon for self-defense. Tomorrow, let's go to the Hall of Weapons and pick one out. It's very safe here on Mount Shu, but the route you take to get here and return to the South Sea might not always be smooth."

"I see." Princess Liange nodded. "Sure."

The young man and woman continued walking side by side along the trail until they reached Princess Liange's accommodation on Heaven-Reaching Peak.

Standing at the foot of the pavilion, Princess Liange said softly, "Guess I'll head up now?"

"Mm." Xu Ziyang nodded. "I'll head back too."

Though they spoke of parting, neither of them moved.

Princess Liange reminded Xu Ziyang, "Try to rest early. You spent the whole day showing me around, after all. You must be tired."

"I'm not tired." Xu Ziyang shook his head. "You're the one who traveled such a long way. You should have a good rest."

"It wasn't that far. I actually enjoy leaving the South Sea and going to explore new places. I used to be too afraid to do that, but I can do that now, thanks to you... and your friends here," Princess Liange replied with a smile.

"Since you enjoy it here, stay a while longer."

"Mm."

"I..."

"Mm?"

"I..." Xu Ziyang uttered, hesitating again. Ultimately, he said, "I'll be going now. I still need to cultivate when I get back."

"Oh." Princess Liange nodded again. "Goodbye."

The two of them finally parted, each taking a step and then looking back at the other person three times. They did that until they finally disappeared from each other's view.

Without Princess Liange's presence holding him there, Xu Ziyang finally shot off as a beam of swordlight and returned to Jade Sword Peak. He sat on the stone platform outside his cabin door and fell into deep thought for a long while.

At this time, Lin Bei and Lu Ren[1] happened to be walking by together. Xu Ziyang was so still and quiet like a statue that they almost walked past without even realizing he was there.

"Eldest Senior Brother?" Lin Bei called out.

Xu Ziyang nodded in acknowledgement. "Mm."

There was a vacant look in his eyes. Lin Bei and Lu Ren couldn't tell if he had actually seen them.

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"Hm?" Lin Bei murmured, stepping closer. He remarked, "Eldest Senior Brother, you seem troubled."

Xu Ziyang didn't hide it. He admitted openly, "I am. There's something I'm having difficulty with."

Lin Bei and Lu Ren immediately became quite curious as to what could be troubling their eldest senior brother. They leaped onto the stone platform and sat down beside him, one on each side.

"Eldest Senior Brother, you have things you find difficult too?"

Xu Ziyang asked quietly, "If... you meet a girl that you like, how would you tell her that?"

Lin Bei answered without hesitation, "You stay. Everyone else, get out."

Xu Ziyang looked at him in confusion. "What does that even mean?"

Lu Ren quickly shoved Lin Bei and said, "Eldest Senior Brother is obviously talking about a proper young lady!"[2]

"Ohhh..." Lin Bei waved off his answer from before. "Then I'd just tell her... 'I like you.'"

Lu Ren leaned in again and asked, "But Eldest Senior Brother, don't you already have Princess Liange? Are you saying you want to confess to another young lady?"

Xu Ziyang gave him a strange look, held still for a moment, and then said, "Princess Liange is the young lady I want to confess to."

Lin Bei and Lu Ren uttered in unison, "Huh??"

...

All the disciples and members of the Mount Shu Sect had long since assumed Xu Ziyang and Princess Liange were a couple.

You travel to the South Sea to see the young lady all the time. And the young lady traverses thousands of li and climbs ashore to visit you all the time. If you two aren't lovers, were you really doing all that just for a cultural exchange?

It was a total surprise that Xu Ziyang still hadn't confessed to Princess Liange after all this time.

Faced with Lin Bei and Lu Ren's shock, Xu Ziyang appeared slightly embarrassed and hung his head low. After a brief silence, he looked up and told them not to breathe a word of this to anyone.

Lin Bei and Lu Ren agreed in unison, solemnly declaring that only the heavens, the earth, the two of them, and Xu Ziyang would know.

After that, in no time at all, practically everyone on Jade Sword Peak knew.

When Xu Ziqing caught wind of the news, she immediately convened an emergency assembly of all Jade Sword Peak disciples.

Standing at the front of the assembly, Xu Ziqing clasped her hands behind her back and looked at her fellow peak members with a face full of grief.

She spoke somberly, "The situation is dire. I thought my brother had already confessed to Princess Liange long ago, but who would've thought he still hasn't said a word? If this goes on, which young lady would keep waiting around for him? We're about to lose our perfectly matched sister-in-law!"

"Then what should we do?" Fang Ting asked gloomily. "Eldest Senior Brother is obviously too shy to speak up, and we can't just force him to confess. How can we get this to work?"

"Eldest Senior Brother has plenty of admirers, but he is clearly inexperienced in matters of the heart." Lin Bei sighed and shook his head. "And the only one on the mountain with the guts to lecture him is our teacher... which would be like having the blind lead the blind. It would just make things worse."

"I gathered all of you here today precisely because

I

have a plan," Xu Ziqing said with a sly smile. "It's hard to confess out of nowhere, but if the mood is right, the words will come naturally. That's why I think we should help create the chance for that today."

"How?" everyone asked.

Xu Ziqing explained, "We'll give them the classic setup... a hero saving a damsel in distress!

"We'll dress up as villains and pretend to kidnap Princess Liange. Then my brother shows up to save her. After the rescue, they fall into each other's arms with heightened emotions. We'll set off some fireworks, scatter flower petals all around them..."

Xu Ziqing shut her eyes and clasped her hands in front of her chest, utterly lost in the vision. "Just thinking about that scene makes my heart bloom."

She opened her eyes and asked, "So, what do you think about that?"

There was a moment of silence.

Lin Bei rubbed his chin and said, "Honestly, I think throwing money would make things go a little faster."

"Scram! You shallow man!" Xu Ziqing yelled. The little lady smacked Lin Bei flat onto the floor with a thunderous clap. Then she glared around and asked sternly, "Everyone else agree with my plan?"

The roomful of her senior brothers nodded like chickens pecking at grains. They did not dare to voice even the slightest objection.

...

At dusk the next day, Princess Liange prepared to leave Mount Shu.

Standing on the edge of Jade Sword Peak, Xu Ziyang gazed at her with an apologetic expression. "I'm really sorry. I should be escorting you back to the South Sea, but my teacher just summoned me. It seems there's an urgent mission he wants me to take on, so I'll have to ask you to return home alone."

"It's fine," Princess Liange said gently. "You are, after all, one of the Mount Shu Sect's newly advanced Eminent Ones. This is the time you should be making a name for yourself. How could you always spend it with me? The world is at peace now, and evil has been driven away. It's not a big deal if I travel home alone once in a while."

Xu Ziyang slowly replied, "Being with you... is not a waste of time."

"All right, I'll head off then. You should hurry off. Don't keep your teacher waiting."

Princess Liange wanted to stay a bit longer with Xu Ziyang, but she knew he wouldn't leave as long as she stayed. So she turned away at once.

Xu Ziyang gave a quiet reply, "Mm."

Only after watching Princess Liange soar into the distance did he finally turn to leave.

Princess Liange had only flown a short distance beyond Mount Shu when a mass of black clouds rolled in overhead. Four black-clad figures emerged from the clouds.

"

Heheheh!

" the leader of the group laughed loudly. He called out, "Pretty little lady, traveling alone, are you? Why not come have some fun with us, the Four Lustful Worms of the Southern Regions!"

"What?" Princess Liange furrowed her brows at the dark cloud of enemies suddenly looming toward her.

She pulled out a jade bottle, uncorked it, and tipped it downward. "Go!"

A cascading waterfall burst from the bottle, along with a giant octopus demon. Each of its tentacles wrapped around one of the black-clad men and yanked him down with immense force.

Boom!

"

Hmph,

" Princess Liange snorted coldly. "After nearly being captured last time, my mother gave me a bottled sea demon for self-defense. You petty vermin still dare to provoke me?"

"Ugh..."

The four black-clad men were now being crushed beneath the giant sea demon. With no way to escape and barely able to breathe, they were just about to cry out for mercy.

Suddenly, a beam of swordlight streaked across the sky, and Xu Ziyang swiftly appeared before them.

"Princess Liange!" Xu Ziyang called out anxiously.

Earlier, he returned to Jade Sword Peak, but he discovered that his teacher hadn't summoned him. Instead, he heard from his younger sister that Princess Liange seemed to be in danger. Without hesitation, he flew straight over to her like a meteor.

Just a moment ago, Princess Liange had been poised and mighty. But upon seeing him, she let out a frail cry, "Young Hero Xu! They nearly scared me to death!

Waaaahhh...

"

Tears streamed down her face as she dove into Xu Ziyang's arms, clearly shaken.

"Princess Liange..." Xu Ziyang stiffened at first, then he gently patted her back to comfort her.

Just as he was about to say something, there were two sharp pops in the sky. A burst of fireworks lit up above them, transforming into a shower of fiery rain, mixed with falling petals.

Startled, both of them looked up and watched the sky change before their eyes. "What is this..."

After a moment, Princess Liange turned back and said, "Young Hero Xu."

Xu Ziyang lowered his head in a daze and found her suddenly springing upward, brushing her lips against his.

"I like you."

Whoosh.

The two of them plummeted through the air, falling from high above. Just as they were about to hit the ground, their descent slowed, and they landed on top of the giant octopus.

"Princess Liange..." Xu Ziyang paused before saying, "That's not a line that the lady should say first. I should have been the one to say it."

"Does it really matter?" Princess Liange's eyes sparkled. "While I was waiting for you to say it these past few days, I realized something. Since I was the one to fall for you first, I should be the one to confess first. There's nothing wrong with that—"

"I like you," Xu Ziyang said suddenly.

The words flowed out smoothly, like he had rehearsed them a thousand times. Then he leaned forward and kissed Princess Liange again.

Princess Liange let out a soft murmur, "Mmm..."

Far away in the sky, Fang Ting had finished setting off the fireworks.

He grinned foolishly and remarked, "How nice."

Beside him, Xu Ziqing had finished scattering the flower petals.

Holding her hands over her heart, she smiled and commented, "How nice."

Beneath the sea demon, Lin Bei and the others were about to suffocate.

They silently cried out, "Help..."

1. A disciple of Jade Sword Peak. He was part of the group from Jade Sword Peak that Chu Liang joined for his first mission outside the mountain. ☜

2. GT: If he wants everyone else to get out and be just alone with the girl... and there's mentions that Liange is proper...... | LD: Hint - think of Lin Bei's favourite place. ☜