Chapter 29: Helping Another Achieve Their Happiness

In the deep quiet of the night, their eyes met and lingered. Ten years of companionship, and especially the past five years in the Immortal Palace, with daily inquiries into fortune and misfortune, had woven a tapestry of trust. Each drop of memory, each sediment of time, had given Li Ji’an ample opportunity to see through Ning Sujin’s character and heart. Time itself had already provided the answer.

It was no exaggeration to say that, from the beginning—when her ability to foresee good and ill was merely a tool to be used—until now, Ning Sujin had become the most intimate and trustworthy person Li Ji’an had known in this world. Her unique preference for confiding only in Li Ji’an had made him stand out among his peers, the aspiring immortals of his generation. Not to mention that her beauty and figure surpassed all that Li Ji’an, with four lifetimes behind him, had ever admired.

Considering all these things, even Li Ji’an, whose accumulated mental age exceeded a hundred years, found himself genuinely appreciative of her. Were it not for his ability to rejuvenate and his pursuit of eternal life as an immortal, Ning Sujin would certainly have been his first choice.

Yet at this moment, Li Ji’an understood that Ning Sujin faced the impending fate with uncertainty, even despair. And so, she awakened within him the purest and most unadorned emotions at the deepest core of his heart. All she asked for was the chance to remember, with no regrets left behind.

Li Ji’an recognized this, understood it, and was willing to let her have her wish. In matters that did not threaten his goal of immortality, he was remarkably open-minded. As long as he acted prudently, he was destined to live for a very long time, to encounter many people and events. In such endless years, if he could not be carefree, he would inevitably become weary—then immortality might not be a blessing, but a torment.

Only by letting go can one find true freedom.

“Let’s go,” Li Ji’an said, taking Ning Sujin’s slender hand and pushing open the door.

Ning Sujin did not ask where they were headed; instead, a smile of irrepressible joy curved her lips.

A short time later, gazing up at the towering structure before them, whose peak vanished into the clouds, Ning Sujin’s smile grew wider. This was the Immortal Palace’s summit, the Tower of Reverence, which she had once confided to Li Ji’an that she wished to climb.

“How about the fortune?”

“Hmph! Can’t you be daring for once?” The warmth that had just risen in Ning Sujin’s heart dimmed a little.

In truth, even if Li Ji’an hadn’t asked, she would always be attuned to the subtle currents of fate, never letting him fall into real danger.

Li Ji’an smiled carelessly, shifted his feet, and surged his energy through his body.

In the next instant, before Ning Sujin’s astonished eyes, Li Ji’an wrapped his arm around her waist and leapt skyward.

Rising straight up to thirty feet, he drew on the tower for support, repeating the process. In less than ten attempts, Ning Sujin found herself standing atop the Tower of Reverence, just as she had dreamed.

---

“You actually…” At that moment, she was utterly stunned.

The nearly hundred-meter-high Tower of Reverence was impossible to scale with her family’s “Willow Step”—after all, it was a technique for short-range movement, not true lightness skill.

And with Li Ji’an only newly refined in the marrow, his energy might not have sufficed for ordinary lightness techniques to carry him so effortlessly.

“At least a first-class martial art of lightness, and you’ve fully mastered it, haven’t you?”

Li Ji’an replied modestly, “I’m embarrassed.”

“When did you start practicing lightness techniques?”

“Three years ago,” Li Ji’an answered truthfully.

“So you had already given up by then?”

Li Ji’an responded with an ambiguous smile.

“Hmph, even hiding it from me. No wonder your internal cultivation has slowed these past years! You deserve a beating.” Before the words had faded, Ning Sujin’s figure became ethereal.

She had practiced “Willow Step” as a child, often sparring with Ning Yutan. Five years ago, when Ning Yutan ascended to the immortal realm with her master, Ning Sujin lost her practice partner. Now, she was intrigued, eager to test Li Ji’an’s skills.

Li Ji’an laughed, his own figure becoming light as air. “Then you’ll have to try your best.”

In an instant, atop the Immortal Palace, their silhouettes tangled in a lively duel.

“You’ve also mastered ‘Willow Step,’ and you’ve surpassed me.” As soon as they exchanged moves, Ning Sujin’s astonishment grew.

A technique that once allowed her to toy with Ning Yutan was powerless against Li Ji’an; he matched her at every turn and controlled the flow of the battle. Especially since Li Ji’an not only excelled in movement but unleashed fists and palms—he clearly knew more than just body techniques.

She, on the other hand, had practiced only as a child; these years she’d focused on becoming an immortal candidate and hadn’t used her skills in five years, letting them rust.

It took only a few exchanges for Ning Sujin to be defeated, covered in fragrant sweat, gazing at Li Ji’an with even greater fervor.

---

“This little rascal, so many tricks, fighting atop the Immortal Palace…” On the top floor of the Scripture Pavilion, Old Shi watched the pair, cursing with a smile.

Especially when they went from sparring to standing side by side, then sitting together to admire the moon, eventually leaning into each other, he muttered that the sight was almost too much for him.

Similar sentiments echoed in other corners of the Immortal Palace. Yet none stepped forward to stop them.

After all, one of them was a princess, and there was no explicit prohibition against their actions.

The only disappointment was that the anticipated spectacle did not materialize.

---

In the days that followed, Li Ji’an spent all his time with Ning Sujin.

---

They wandered the lantern festival, tasted fine wine, sampled delicacies—his aim was to leave her without regrets.

On the tenth day, the rosy dawn streamed through the lattice, illuminating the embroidered bed.

Scattered across the floor were a jade-green skirt, a blue bodice, white silk stockings—all gilded by the morning light.

Still flushed, Ning Sujin struggled to sit up, her body barely holding together, and glanced at the sleeping man beside her. The memories of last night’s wildness made her cheeks burn anew.

She dressed quietly, unable to resist bending down to place a tender kiss.

“Li, no matter what fortune awaits us today, I have no regrets with you. I—mm…”

Before she could finish, a large hand encircled her waist, pulling her aching body back onto the bed.

Li Ji’an, long awake and resting with closed eyes, rolled over, and the battle resumed.

For the first time in this life, Li Ji’an marveled at the joys of youth, savoring every moment.

Desire is part of human nature.

Those things that bring pleasure to mind and body should be embraced, not resisted. In a life destined to be so long, without diversion, it would become unbearably dull and motivation would fade.

To have desires and pursuits is to fill an endless life with hope and drive.

Otherwise, what meaning would endless years hold?

---

“Today is the day of change?” As the storm settled, Li Ji’an gently stroked the snowy body nestled in his arms.

“It is today.”

“Still unable to sense the fortune?”

Ning Sujin turned, lying atop Li Ji’an, her face breaking into a radiant smile. “It will surely be auspicious!”

“Imperial decree! Princess Wenjin, come with me at once to see His Majesty, no delays!” At that moment, a harsh, quacking voice shattered their peaceful aftermath.

“The Emperor?” Li Ji’an frowned slightly.

“No! The Immortal Master!”

“Could the Immortal Master truly have come for me?”

With events unfolding, Ning Sujin no longer hesitated; a definite outcome was better than the unknown and powerless.

As Ning Sujin and her entourage departed, Li Ji’an followed close behind.