Chapter 1137: Ascending the Mountain Again

Chapter 1137: Ascending the Mountain Again

Upon seeing the ancestral home, Su Kexin suddenly remembered her other personality, the one she absolutely loathed.

Rounding up, she basically killed Lin Nuo.

Of course, she couldn’t tell what was real or not; after all, there was no evidence proving it was true.

Yet her instincts suggested it might genuinely be the case.

“Does it even matter?”

Lin Nuo casually remarked as he probably estimated that he would take a drag on a cigarette.

He sensed that Su Kexin was getting closer to the truth. What would happen when she knew everything?

Would she chop him down on the spot, thus finishing her task early?

Or would she be severely shocked by the profound contrast?

Naturally, he hoped for neither.

However, the developments of this life were becoming increasingly absurd; it was only natural she’d realize that he could no longer predict where things would go from here.

It was downright tough.

“Is it… important… Senior Martial Brother…”

Su Kexin lowered her head, her voice gradually growing softer, lacking conviction.

She wanted to know the truth but feared it at the same time—that was her complicated mental state right now.

“What if it really is? Then what?”

Lin Nuo chuckled lightly, his tone probing, mixed with a hint of disdain.

“If… if it really is, I’d have no face to meet Senior Martial Brother… or would Senior Martial Brother hate me?”

Su Kexin couldn’t even look up, reflecting on her own foolishness—why bring this up at all? Can’t we just get along nicely?!

“I’m standing right here; did you think I was dead or something? Shouldn’t you clarify your logic before speaking?”

Lin Nuo shot back, lightly mocking her while dodging the question.

If she had killed him, it shouldn’t be his place to reveal that.

If she had to know, it should be a gradual journey to the truth.

“Y-yeah… right, why am I so stupid? Senior Martial Brother is here perfectly fine, how could I say something so ominous like ‘killed’? Haha, Senior Martial Brother, I must be completely daft!”

Su Kexin scratched the back of her head, trying to ease the awkwardness with self-mockery. Although she often acted a bit foolishly, she wasn’t entirely clueless anymore; having spent so much time with Lin Nuo, she’d become somewhat cleverer, faintly sensing he was trying to help her save face without bursting that bubble of truth.

He knew something but chose to keep it hidden, presumably for a reason.

Probably.

If that were the case, then Senior Martial Brother wouldn’t say a word to me.

“Senior Martial Brother, just pretend I said nothing. Don’t mind me. I’m not feeling well, and I’m rambling. Ha, haha…”

Su Kexin laughed stupidly, her eyes darting around, not daring to meet Lin Nuo’s gaze.

“I’m not minding it.”

Lin Nuo replied coldly and then pushed open the door to his ancestral home.

It had been a while since he visited; although the items inside were neatly arranged, a layer of dust had built up.

He looked at the dining table, where he, Xia Hanmo, and Ruo’er used to enjoy meals together. Remembering it would now only be the two of them, he felt a wave of melancholy wash over him.

“Senior Martial Brother, is something wrong over there…?”

Noticing Lin Nuo staring at the table, Su Kexin asked softly.

“Nothing’s wrong. Let’s go.”

Lin Nuo turned and stepped out of the ancestral home, followed quickly by Su Kexin and the fox girl.

Lin Nuo tossed the keys to the fox girl, who cleverly hurried to close the door behind them.

“Is that you, Lin Nuo? You’ve returned!”

An elderly lady with a cane approached; she was an old villager from Ru Yu Village, Aunt Zhang. Despite her age, she was still delighted to see a younger person return.

“Is that Ruo’er? No, it can’t be, my eyes are playing tricks on me. Where’s your mother? Is she doing well?”

Aunt Zhang slowly made her way towards Lin Nuo, while he stepped forward to her, wanting to spare her the effort of walking too far at her age.

“My mother is well. I just happened to pass by and wanted to check in. Aunt Zhang, has anything significant happened in Ru Yu Village lately?”

“Significant? Not really, things have been as dull as ever around here. Sigh, the village doesn’t have many people left, so there’s not much to stir up trouble. We just take it one day at a time. Lin Nuo, is something going on?”

“Aunt Zhang’s optimism is commendable. It’s nothing serious, just casual inquiries.”

“Oh, I see. This little girl is Su Kexin, right? I remember you and your family used to live in Ru Yu Village, and you’ve come back a few times.”

“Yes, that’s right, Aunt Zhang.”

Su Kexin replied quickly, worried Aunt Zhang would stumble and fall; she almost wanted to offer her a hand, but Aunt Zhang was as stubborn as ever and preferred to manage on her own.

“Sigh, good thing my mind hasn’t completely faded; this little fox girl isn’t Ruo’er. Lin Nuo, did you find a new maid?”

“Not at all. I’ve always only had Ruo’er as my maid.”

Lin Nuo refuted firmly.

“She’s a friend of Ruo’er. She’s just accompanying me on an errand.”

“Oh, that’s good to hear. Ruo’er finally made a friend of her own kind! I remember when we chatted, she was always hoping to meet a friend from her own clan, and now her wish has come true.”

“Indeed. Ruo’er has been around the Lin family and hasn’t made any friends from her clan until now. As her young master, I’m quite pleased.”

The two continued chatting, and Lin Nuo spoke with the villagers in a calm tone, showing no pretense or condescension.

“Lin Nuo, can I ask you for a favor?”

“Just say it.”

“Could you help me go up the mountain to gather some herbs? My old husband isn’t well, and I want to brew some medicine for him. My children aren’t around, and I had planned to ask that chubby kid at the village entrance, but he’s busy.”

“Sure, I’m heading up the mountain anyway. What herbs do you need?”

Lin Nuo asked, and Aunt Zhang listed out a bunch of herbs that could be picked from the mountain, some were in precarious spots, which made gathering them dangerous.

But for Lin Nuo, that was a piece of cake. Even without riding a sword, he could easily gather them using wind techniques.

“Okay, I’ll head over now and be back within an hour.”

Lin Nuo said, turning around and summoning his Spirit Sword, stepping onto it.

“Stay here with Aunt Zhang and help if you can. No need to follow.”

Lin Nuo instructed the fox girl, who nodded eagerly; she would follow him anywhere, no questions asked.

“Su Kexin, aren’t you coming?”

Seeing Su Kexin still in a daze, Lin Nuo prompted her.

“Ah! Oh, right, coming!”

She snapped back to her senses and hurried to summon her Spirit Sword, and the two quickly soared up the mountain.

“How nostalgic! Back in the day, we used to walk up the mountain to gather herbs. Now being able to ride a sword feels a bit convenient but somehow lacks that old charm.”

“You can always walk up if you want.” Lin Nuo coldly doused her enthusiasm.

“Well, if I walked… by the time I gather everything, you’d probably be back already! Senior Martial Brother, over there, it’s the cliff from my dreams!”

Su Kexin pointed toward the cliff; even after a few years, not much had changed there.