Chapter 373.1 Being Kept as a Consort?

Bei Xiaoman was completely at a loss for words.

She really wanted to find a reason that would allow her to threaten Ning Fan. She really wanted to take back her protector, Grandpa Stone Warrior. She wished that she could retrieve her Yuan Yao Jade too. She could not stop thinking of the time when she would finally defeat him and would no longer need to see his villainous smile again.

After she had attained the Divine Transformation Realm, she once thought that she could beat Ning Fan and teach him a lesson.

However, it was a fact that Ning Fan’s combat power had improved so much and he was now way stronger than Bei Xiaoman after twenty years.

At the first time they met, Bei Xiaoman was a cultivator who was half a step away from attaining the Divine Transformation Realm while Ning Fan was just a Harmonious Spirit Realm cultivator whom she would never even dart a glance at.

After Ning Fan attained the Nascent Soul Realm, he managed to subdue Bei Xiaoman by using his Yin Yang Transformation while she was on her period. That defeat made Bei Xiaoman feel really dissatisfied.

After Ning Fan seized her Yuan Yao Jade which was supposed to be a token of love, abducted Stone Warrior and played with her private part, Bei Xiaoman thought that she would hate Ning Fan to the core.

However, when she was in the midst of attaining the Divine Transformation Realm in the Sea of Clouds, she could not help but praise Ning Fan after hearing her sister and mother praising a genius respectively.

She thought that she deeply hated Ning Fan and eagerly wished that he would be killed by Revered Flame.

However, when Ning Fan was really in danger, she did not know why she was especially anxious and felt the urge to help him.

Why would I be like this?

Bei Xiaoman had never thought about that. Currently, when she saw the pleased smile on Ning Fan’s face, her mind went blank and she even felt her heart skip a beat…

This smile is really charming.

But why does the owner of this smile always bully me…

Why would the owner of this smile rather help an unfamiliar woman and avenge her by killing the bad guys than treating me a little better?

Her expression turned grim. She felt kind of sour and bitter. After that, she blurted out words which seemed to be the doings of ghosts and gods.

“Please give me back my Grandpa Stone Warrior… If not… I will definitely not forgive you… DEFINITELY!”

As soon as she finished speaking, Bei Xiaoman was stunned. What right did she have to not forgive Ning Fan? Who was she to Ning Fan?

Ning Fan was also slightly surprised. He originally thought that Bei Xiaoman would shout, yell and threaten him in a harsh way like saying how she would get revenge on him. It was really beyond his expectations that the way she would threaten him was by telling him that she would not forgive him.

Ning Fan heaved a sigh inwardly. The current version of Bei Xiaoman left him with no desire to bully her.

He produced a puppet made of stone from his storage pouch and blew a mouthful of breath at it. As soon as the wind touched it, it started to grow and eventually turned into Stone Warrior which she had not met for a long time.

“I gave Stone Warrior my word in the past that I will let him return to the Lost World Palace someday in the future. Today is that day and I shall now return him to you!”

*Thud*

Bei Xiaoman’s heart experienced waves of ripples like those on the surface of a lake when a cobblestone was dropped into it.

The words she said earlier about not forgiving Ning Fan were just something she blurted out subconsciously. She did not expect that her words would change Ning Fan’s mind.

She also didn’t believe that Ning Fan who mingled with both the righteous and evil paths and gained the titles of Venerated Eighth in the Internal Endless Sea as well as a revered being in the Rain Palace would care about whether she would forgive him or not.

However, after she had said those words, Ning Fan returned Stone Warrior to her without any hesitation. It… it just didn’t make any sense!

“Is this a dream?” Bei Xiaoman’s cheeks flushed red and she was at a loss for words.

“Just pinch your face and you’ll know…” Ning Fan casually lifted his hand and pinched her cheek. Then, a corner of his lips curved upwards and formed into a mischievous smile. “Does it hurt? If you feel the pain, then it means that you aren’t dreaming.”

“It’s so painful! Zhou Ming, you have gone too far in bullying me! Y-Y-You!”

Bei Xiaoman blew her top once again. The favorable impression that she just had of Ning Fan immediately vanished like drifting smoke. She fiercely stomped on the ground and ran out from the southern tower while covering the part of her cheek which turned reddish after being pinched.

At this moment, there were only Lu Qing, Stone Warrior and Ya Lan left inside the southern tower.

Everyone including Stone Warrior were at a loss for words… Well, they were dumbstruck by the fact that Ning Fan really dared to pinch Bei Xiaoman’s face who was actually the Fourth Mistress of the Northern Heaven…

Looking at Bei Xiaoman’s figure who was running away from embarrassment, Ning Fan’s eyes shone. He suddenly realized that it was fun to bully that silly little girl.

“Big Brother Zhou, thank you so much for your help. If it wasn’t for you, Ya Lan would probably have already…” Ya Lan’s words broke the silence in the hall.

“You’re welcome, it’s just a trivial matter. It has been two decades since the last time we met and Miss Ya Lan has already attained the Gold Core Realm. Your natural talent is actually quite extraordinary.”

After listening to Ning Fan’s praise, Ya Lan’s face immediately turned red. She had naturally made use of the power of the Lost World Tower to achieve the Gold Core Realm within twenty years. Even so, it was enough to prove that she had extraordinary potential.

As a matter of fact, there were many cultivators who had complimented her before. Moreover, there were also a lot of admirers pursuing her. However, none of their praises could ever put a smile on her face.

When Ning Fan just gave her a small compliment, she became so happy and she felt that her hard work in the past two decades was not in vain.

“Miss Ya Lan, your complexion doesn’t seem to be very good…”

Ning Fan took a glance at Ya Lan’s delicate face and noticed her complexion was slightly pale. It seemed like she was affected by Gu Zhen’s attack and was slightly injured. There was also a streak of blood on her cheek. It was a cut that was left by the broken pieces of the teacup that was flung towards her.

A trace of black starlight revolved around Ning Fan’s fingertip which he directed at Ya Lan’s cheek. Within a second, the wound on her charming face healed without leaving any scars.

“Here are some pills and Dao Fruits which are enough to aid you in stabilizing your Gold Core Realm cultivation base and can even help you break through the middle and late stages. With Miss Ya Lan’s natural talent, it won’t be too difficult for you to attain the Nascent Soul Realm in your lifetime. It may not necessarily be hopeless for you to break through to the Divine Transformation Realm. The elders of your family were really short-sighted. I suppose they will certainly regret giving you to Gu Zhen after you attain the Divine Transformation Realm thousands of years later.”

Ning Fan praised her in a generous manner and gave Ya Lan a small pouch.

After Ning Fan praised her again, her heart was filled with joy and shyness. When she checked the pouch using her spirit sense, her facial expression was immediately filled with shock.

“There are so many pills here and there are even Gold Core Realm Dao Fruits in it! They are too precious. I can’t take this!”

“Just keep it.”

Ning Fan casually waved his hands in response. A few bottles of Third Revolution pills and a few Gold Core Realm Dao fruits were actually nothing to him who had almost one hundred thousand Gold Core Realm Dao Fruits.

“Big Brother Zhou, I can’t repay you for these precious gifts…”

“It’s fine. For now, you should take the pills and get some rest to prevent leaving any internal injuries. I still have something to talk to Fellow Daoist Lu Qing and Stone Warrior.”

“Mm.” Ya Lan obediently nodded her head. She knew who Old Ancestor Lu Qing was as he was the Divine Transformation Realm expert who was guarding the Lost World Palace. As for Old Ancestor Stone Warrior, even though she did not know him, she occasionally heard some rumors about him.

These Divine Transformation Realm old ancestors were beings that she wouldn’t be able to usually get in touch with because of her identity. However, because of Ning Fan, she could actually stand in the same place with them.

This is really like a dream.

Ya Lan returned to her room to rest as she was told but Ning Fan’s words kept echoing in her mind. She never believed that she would have any hope of attaining the Nascent Soul Realm, much less the Divine Transformation Realm. However, after Ning Fan praised her for her extraordinary natural talent and reassured her, confidence suddenly rose within her.

Yes, I must practice hard. When I attain the Divine Transformation Realm someday in the future, I wonder whether or not he will refuse me again if I offer to be his partner once again.

“What nonsense am I thinking of!” Ya Lan awkwardly patted her reddish face.

Inside the southern tower, the atmosphere became silent again after Bei Xiaoman and Ya Lan left.

Ning Fan looked at Lu Qing and Stone Warrior with interest. Currently, Lu Qing’s face looked like he was completely bewildered while Stone Warrior looked rather surprised.

While Ning Fan was dealing with Bei Xiaoman and Ya Lan, the two of them were also having a little conversation.

Lu Qing looked extremely puzzled because he only found out now that Stone Warrior hadn’t been guarding by the mistress’s side at all in the past twenty years. It was just too horrible! He, Lu Qing, did not have the slightest idea when Stone Warrior was abducted by Ning Fan!

Stone Warrior felt surprised because he had just heard that Ning Fan killed Revered Flame and was granted the title of a revered being of the Rain Palace. Every single time he showed up, Ning Fan would definitely give him a bigger surprise than before. He suddenly realized that the current Ning Fan was already standing at the pinnacle of power in the Endless Sea!

“Fellow Daoist Stone, I have already returned you to the Lost World Palace as promised. Do you have anything that you want to tell me?” Ning Fan hinted.

“*Cough* Please excuse me.”

It was only then that Stone Warrior recovered from his surprise. After all those incidents that he had gone through together with Ning Fan, he was finally released back to his original place twenty years later.

He knew that what Ning Fan wanted to hear from him wasn’t words of appreciation, but a promise.

Stone Warrior had been by Ning Fan’s side for a very long time and the secrets he knew were, of course, a lot. If any of those secrets were to be leaked out, especially the Heaven Sealing Technique and Grievance Technique, there would be countless True Immortals from the Four Heavens of the Immortal World coming to hunt Ning Fan down.

“I’m willing to vow before Revered Ming that I will never disclose anything that has happened in the past twenty years to anyone. If I go against my vow…”

Before Stone Warrior could finish his oath, Ning Fan interrupted him.

“Enough. You don’t have to make an oath of death. After all, death doesn’t matter to you, does it? You have my trust!”

After spending twenty years with each other, Ning Fan had a deep understanding of Stone Warrior. He was a courageous being who didn’t fear death and wouldn’t utter any nonsense. If he promised not to divulge a secret, he would certainly carry the secret to the grave.

“In the future, please protect Bei Xiaoman with utmost care. Don’t ever let her create any more troubles. Now, my relationship with the Lost World Palace is not as distant as before. I should really help her take care of Bei Xiaoman.” Ning Fan’s eyes seemed to be recollecting old memories. In his mind, he recalled a woman whom he had a few trysts with.

“Her?” Stone Warrior certainly had no idea which woman Ning Fan was referring to.

Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel

Note:
“Grasping Evil” is being translated on Veratales (Click here) but Liberspark (Click here) is hosting the chapters as well. You are encouraged to read on veratales.com for project updates. 🙂
Some phrases or expressions of the original are changed for ease of reading.
If a mistake or mistakes were found in this chapter, feel free to comment below.
Some terms are subject to change when better suggestions are selected.
All the internal monologues will be in italic form.