Chapter 403 - 399: Secure and Fearless

Chapter 403: Chapter 399: Secure and Fearless

Luo Hongyi shook his head helplessly. He didn’t continue on that topic, instead saying, "If I have the chance in this life, I still hope I can save his life in that battle."

’This is probably what they call karma, huh?’

Gu Nuan Nuan pointedly ignored the part where Luo Hongyi mentioned her giving him medicine, pursing her lips and nodding. "You received his Internal Cultivation Methods, so it’s only right that you save his life in this one." Then, without further hesitation, she said, "Since I’ve run into you, let me lend you a hand."

"No." Luo Hongyi’s expression changed drastically.

"You think you’ll lose face?" Gu Nuan Nuan’s expression also changed as she glared at him.

"No, it’s too dangerous." Luo Hongyi shook his head resolutely.

"I know you’ve probably had some special opportunities in this life and have your own methods, but those people are professionally trained. Even if I don’t want to admit it, I have to: they’re not any worse than we are. This is a real life-or-death struggle, with no room for the slightest mistake. I can’t, and I absolutely will not, let you take this risk and face those desperate criminals."

Luo Hongyi looked at Gu Nuan Nuan, his gaze leaving no room for refusal. "You’re leaving first thing tomorrow morning. It’s more dangerous for you to follow us." He saw her pouting at him and couldn’t help but soften his tone, but his words remained firm as he tried to coax her gently. "Be good. Just this once. I’ll listen to you on everything else after this, alright? I swear, in the future, if you tell me to get on the ground and be your horse, I’ll do it without a second thought. Don’t worry, I have experience with this. This time, I’ll definitely get them all through this safely and bring everyone back in one piece."

"Can you be serious for once?" Hearing Luo Hongyi’s words, Gu Nuan Nuan felt the urge to kick him, and she actually did. Seeing him hopping on one foot, clutching his other, and looking at her with a wronged expression, she laughed in exasperation. ’Did I even use any strength? You really can’t be nice to this guy. Give him an inch and he’ll take a mile, huh?’

She kicked him again, this time with a tiny bit of force, and huffed, "Who’d want you as a horse? Save that trick for coaxing your future son or daughter."

"Heh heh, heh heh—"

Luo Hongyi laughed foolishly. "You’re my daughter, too."

’That’s really enough.’

Gu Nuan Nuan slapped an Invisibility Talisman on herself and abruptly vanished from his sight. She hadn’t left; she’d simply leaped up into a tree.

"Nuannuan? Nuannuan?" Below, Luo Hongyi, the smile still lingering on his lips, froze. After looking around to no avail, his face instantly paled. "Nuannuan, come out! I know you’re still here."

"Then you agree?" After saying this, Gu Nuan Nuan quickly changed her position. Sure enough, Luo Hongyi, guided only by her voice, immediately appeared on the branch where she had just been, saying, "Come out first, then we’ll talk."

"Hmph. No sincerity. If you won’t agree, then forget it. I’ll just follow you tomorrow anyway, and you won’t be able to find me." Gu Nuan Nuan removed the Invisibility Talisman and revealed herself. This time, she had used a Middle-level Invisibility Talisman. This type could conceal her aura, so Luo Hongyi couldn’t track her by scent. It also had another advantage: as long as its Spiritual Power wasn’t depleted, it could be taken off and put back on repeatedly.

"You..." Luo Hongyi wanted to get angry, but facing Gu Nuan Nuan, he just couldn’t muster it up. He was anxious and helpless, and in the end, could only glare at her.

Gu Nuan Nuan, feeling she had the upper hand, glared right back and let out a nasal "Hmph."

"..."

Luo Hongyi was so exasperated he almost laughed. He gritted his teeth, wanting to be harsh but unable to bring himself to do it. He paced back and forth a few times, then tried to reason with her. "Nuannuan, I know you’ve always been understanding..."

"The ones labeled ’understanding’ are always the ones who die holding it all in. Is that what you mean? Are you planning to have me repeat that kind of death in this life?" Gu Nuan Nuan raised an eyebrow at him, the threat in her eyes self-evident.

"Pretend I never said those words." Luo Hongyi’s face went white, and he retracted his statement without a second thought. But looking at Gu Nuan Nuan’s triumphant face, why did he feel an itch in his teeth? He stared at her, gritting his teeth. It wasn’t just that he wanted to—he desperately wanted to—pounce on her and bite her. But his reason held him back. Looking at his own state, he couldn’t bear to... ’It’s so frustrating! So damn frustrating!’

Luo Hongyi slammed his palm hard against a nearby tree, sending the unlucky, innocent thing crashing to the ground.

Gu Nuan Nuan glanced at the tree with infinite sympathy, chanting inwardly: ’Amitabha!’

’So pitiful.’

’Oh well. Might as well make the most of it later. I’ll just punish a certain someone by making him drag you back to perform last rites and burn you for firewood. That would still count as putting you to good use, a meritorious deed. Maybe in your next life, you’ll have a better reincarnation and won’t have to be an immobile tree. But just in case you’re reborn as a tree again, remember not to grow next to a certain man who likes to take out his anger on others.’

Silence.

Luo Hongyi didn’t speak, and Gu Nuan Nuan stubbornly kept her mouth shut. In the end, it was Luo Hongyi who surrendered. He had already thought of countless methods, none of which would work. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he pressed a hand to his forehead, fighting a headache. "What on earth do you want? What will it take for you to agree not to follow us?"

"I don’t want anything. I just want to show you that I can protect myself. This Invisibility Talisman can conceal my aura. As long as I wear it, stay quiet, and don’t bump into anyone, even the most skilled ordinary person could walk right past me without noticing," Gu Nuan Nuan said seriously.

Luo Hongyi rubbed his brow. "How many more of these things do you have?"

"A lot. But they’re consumables; once one is used up, it’s gone. And they can’t be replicated. At least, not on Blue Water Star, given the level of Spiritual Energy here. It’s probably impossible to ever replicate them," Gu Nuan Nuan told him the truth.

"Spiritual Energy? That, and the Array, the ointments, the medicine pills, and pulling things out of thin air... I’m guessing a simple ’ancient inheritance’ doesn’t quite explain all of it, does it?" Luo Hongyi looked at her with a complicated expression. He subconsciously wanted to reach out and pull her into his arms, but he immediately realized it was inappropriate. He could only clench and unclench his fist several times before sighing to himself. This feeling—being so close he could touch her, yet still only being able to look—was too agonizing, too frustrating.

He continued, "Including everything from before, the fact that you dare to show me all these things without any hesitation—doesn’t that prove that subconsciously, you don’t guard yourself around me at all? That you trust me completely?"

Gu Nuan Nuan looked away, a little flustered. "Why are you bringing this up all of a sudden? Do you think I *should* be on guard against you? Is that what’s right?"