95: I promise you.

As the sword rose, Long Ninger let out a delighted cry.

By the time the han hong sword was two zhang off the ground, it had already flown past the roof.

Jiang Xun stood steadily on the blade, with Long Ninger clinging to his back, her small hands tightly clutching his neck.

The night wind rushed against their faces.

"Flying, we're flying!" Long Ninger's voice was filled with excitement.

This was the first time she had flown since she was born.

Jiang Xun formed a hand seal with one hand, and the sword continued to ascend.

The courtyard beneath their feet began to shrink.

Streets and alleys turned into thin lines, and the eaves merged into a sheet of dark gray scales. The lights of ten thousand homes flickered on one after another, like someone had overturned a box of crushed gold, scattering it across a piece of ink-colored silk.

Long Ninger's entire body tensed up.

She cautiously poked her head over Jiang Xun's shoulder and looked down.

Her eyes were wide and round, reflecting the lights below. Then, she did something Jiang Xun hadn't expected.

She scrambled upward using both hands and feet, quickly reaching the back of Jiang Xun's neck. Her small legs clamped around his shoulders, and her tiny hands grabbed his hair for leverage.

"Long Ninger," Jiang Xun's voice lowered.

"I'm just looking!" the little Dragon girl said righteously, her chin resting on the crown of his head, her warm breath puffing into his hair.

Jiang Xun said nothing more.

He released one hand from the seal and reached back to support her legs, afraid she might fall.

The tip of the sword tilted slightly, continuing the ascent.

The wind grew stronger, making their robes flap and snap loudly.

Long Ninger's hair flew backward like a golden stream of light.

"Jiang Xun!" she shouted from atop his head. "Go a little higher!"

Jiang Xun shifted his center of gravity backward.

The han hong sword let out a clear, ringing chime, its tip suddenly lifting as it transformed into a streak of light charging straight into the night sky.

They broke through the cloud layer.

Beneath them was a churning sea of clouds, with moonlight shining upon it, gilding it with a silver-white border. Above, the deep blue canopy of heaven stretched infinitely, dotted with countless stars.

Directly ahead, a massive, perfect lunar disc hung there.

It was so close it felt as if one could touch it by reaching out.

The moonlight spilled like liquid silver, soaking everything in its clarity. Long Ninger, perched atop Jiang Xun's head, was completely stunned.

The pair of small, white jade-like horns on her head took on a faint, translucent white glow under the moonlight.

"Jiang Xun," she suddenly spoke.

"Mm."

"Jiang Xun," she called again, as if confirming something, "will you fall in love with other women?"

The question came abruptly.

Jiang Xun was startled.

The sword hovered above the clouds, and the wind fell silent for a moment.

This question was very strange.

Its premise was that Jiang Xun already had someone he liked, only then could she ask if he would "fall in love with others."

And asking this sentence itself indicated that Long Ninger already considered herself Jiang Xun's woman.

But who was Long Ninger?

She was the combined entity of Ao Shuo and Yan Qingning's self corpses, an existence born from reshaping a Physical Body with blood nether essence.

She had Ao Shuo's Dragon Clan Bloodline and Yan Qingning's memory fragments, but she was neither Ao Shuo nor Yan Qingning.

She was a brand new, independent existence.

Jiang Xun didn't know how to answer.

Silence spread through the moonlight. The sea of clouds flowed slowly beneath them, like time itself.

"I don't know," he finally gave this answer.

Long Ninger didn't get angry.

She didn't even move.

She only pressed her chin more firmly against Jiang Xun's head and reached her small hands around from behind to gently hug his chin—a childish, dependent embrace.

"Then..."

She paused, her voice soft, "Can you wait until I grow up to tell me the answer again?"

Jiang Xun didn't speak.

"After I grow up," Long Ninger continued, her tone as serious as a vow, "I will be very beautiful. More beautiful than both of those girls from the Su Family."

Jiang Xun wanted to say something but swallowed it back.

Long Ninger's feelings for him were, in the end, remnants of the self corpse's lingering thoughts.

It was the residual obsession within broken memories projected onto her, the vessel.

When she truly grew up and possessed a sound cognition and a complete mind, she would naturally understand that this dependence was not love.

It was just a stray thought.

By then, this topic would naturally be laughed off.

"Okay."

Jiang Xun spoke, his voice slightly blurred by the wind, "I'll wait for you to grow up."

Long Ninger smiled.

A very soft laugh came from above, like the wind blowing through bells. She released her hands and lay back down on his back, her tail wagging happily.

"Then it's a promise."

"Mm."

Jiang Xun descended on his sword.

Passing through the clouds, the mountains and rivers below became clear again. He saw a small river winding through the moonlight, its water reflecting the moon's glow.

The sword lowered, flying close to the water's surface and startling several waterbirds roosting for the night.

They landed on the bank.

Long Ninger slid down from Jiang Xun's back, stumbling slightly as her feet hit the grass.

Jiang Xun gathered some dry branches and flicked his finger; a spark landed in the pile of wood, and the campfire ignited with a soft 'poof'.

The flames leaped, illuminating a small patch of the riverbank.

Long Ninger found a flat stone to sit on, resting her chin in her hands as she stared at the flames, orange-red light dancing in her pupils.

Jiang Xun walked to the river's edge.

The han hong sword hovered three inches above the water, its tip pointing down, motionless. Then, without warning, the blade shuddered.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Two fat river fish were pulled from the water by Sword Qi and tossed onto the grass by the bank, still flopping about.

Long Ninger let out a "Wow!"

Jiang Xun walked over and crouched down.

He picked up the fish, his movements so practiced that even he was somewhat surprised.

Scaling, gutting, cleaning.

As his fingers moved, fish scales fell like snowflakes, the innards were removed intact, and the cleaned fish bodies shimmered with a fresh silver-white hue.

He hadn't grilled fish before.

At least not in his memory.

In the game, it was just a one-click generation.

But his body seemed to remember. Muscle memory, or perhaps some deeper, forgotten instinct.

Jiang Xun whittled two long, thin branches, skewered the fish, and set them by the fire.

The flames licked the fish, making a faint sizzling sound.

Oil seeped out and dripped into the fire, triggering small clusters of leaping sparks. An aroma gradually filled the air, mixing with the scent of woodsmoke as it drifted across the nighttime riverbank.

Long Ninger's stomach gave a growl.

She sheepishly covered her stomach, but her eyes remained fixed on the two fish.

Jiang Xun took a small paper packet from his Storage Ring; inside were salt grains.

He pinched a bit and sprinkled it evenly over the fish. The salt melted upon contact with the heat, seeping into the meat and making the aroma even richer.

The fish skin slowly became golden and crispy, the edges curling slightly with an inviting oily sheen.

Jiang Xun picked up one, blew on it, and handed it to Long Ninger.

"Be careful, it's hot."

Long Ninger took it with both hands; regardless of the heat, she took a bite immediately.

"Mmm!"

The fish was tender and fresh, with the characteristic sweetness of river seafood. The saltiness was just right, the skin crispy, and the inside juicy. She squinted her eyes, her tail wagging happily behind her.

Jiang Xun picked up the other one and took a bite.

It was very similar to what White Fox Jiu grilled.

He sat back against a stone, watching Long Ninger eat the fish in small bites, her cheeks puffing out and the corners of her mouth glistening with oil.

The night breeze was gentle, and the insects chirped softly.

Long Ninger finished the last bite and licked her fingers, still wanting more, then turned to look at Jiang Xun.

"Jiang Xun."

"Mm?"

"Can we fly like this in the future too?"

"We can."

"And can we grill fish like this too?"

"We can."

The little Dragon girl smiled contentedly. She moved closer to Jiang Xun, leaning against his arm, her eyes gradually narrowing.

She now needed to sleep for over ten hours a day to recover her energy.

She fell into a deep sleep.

The campfire crackled.

Jiang Xun looked at the flames, at the little Dragon girl gradually falling asleep in his arms, and at the river under the moonlight.

Then he looked up at the night sky.

He suddenly remembered what Long Ninger had just said.

"Wait until I grow up."

Growing up... there was still a very, very long way to go.

Until then, he would watch over her.

Jiang Xun reached out and very gently touched the small white jade horn on top of Long Ninger's head.

The little Dragon girl stirred in her sleep, her tail curling around his wrist and rubbing against it...