Of course she would not tell him because she did not trust him.
“If that is the case then I can come back after some time.”
As Ning Zhishui spoke she stood up as if preparing to leave.
It was just a pity that he might have to suffer a few more days.
“Wait. How about this? Come back to the valley with me. I will send a message talisman to my master and ask him to return as soon as possible,” Yan Chen hurriedly stood.
The worry on his face did not seem fake unless his acting was exceptionally good.
But Ning Zhishui felt that if he could act to this extent even in front of her, an obvious young girl, then that possibility was unlikely.
For now this Young Master Yan Chen could be trusted.
“Send the message talisman in front of me first,” Ning Zhishui said.
Yan Chen was taken aback and then realized she was guarding against them.
He gave a bitter smile. “Fellow Cultivator Ning, I am Qianying’s second brother. Do you still not trust me?”
Although he said this his hands did not pause.
He truly sent the voice transmission talisman in front of her.
After sending it he was about to put it away when he saw Ning Zhishui staring fixedly at it.
“You want to wait for the reply?” he asked.
Ning Zhishui curved her lips into a smile. “That would be best.”
Yan Chen laughed softly and did not put it away. He waited together with her.
Fortunately they did not wait long before a voice came from the talisman.
“Return to the valley within three days.”
The voice was refined and free spirited, very pleasant to hear.
From the voice alone it clearly belonged to a man in his twenties or thirties, not an old man at all.
Yan Chen worried that Ning Zhishui might think he had contacted someone else and explained, “Although the voice sounds young, it is indeed my master himself.”
Ning Zhishui naturally knew this and simply responded with a sound of acknowledgment. “Then I will return to the valley and wait.”
“That is excellent.” Yan Chen finally felt relieved. “I will take you back at once.”
Jin Chengfu seemed as though he wanted to say something, but seeing Yan Chen’s pleased expression he held his tongue.
He had intended to remind him that this woman’s background was unknown and that she might not truly know anything about Young Master Qianying.
Bringing someone into the valley without knowing her background was inappropriate in case she harbored ill intentions.
But Yan Chen was worried about Qianying and it was nearly impossible to persuade him otherwise.
Since that was the case it was better to say less.
Under Jin Chengfu’s escort Ning Zhishui boarded Yan Chen’s carriage.
The carriage was large and occupied half the road, extremely spacious.
If not for the scenery rapidly retreating on both sides it would have been almost impossible to tell that the carriage was moving. It was astonishingly steady.
Inside there were not only the two of them but also two young attendants of Yan Chen. They looked very youthful.
They did not speak and carefully poured tea and arranged snacks for them. Their movements were cautious and nearly silent.
Incense burned inside the carriage. The fragrance drifted near and far like delicate flowers blooming by the water carried in waves by the wind.
“Lie Tan Incense. It does not quite match Young Master Yan Chen’s temperament,” Ning Zhishui remarked after taking a sniff.
Yan Chen looked surprised. “You recognize this incense. But where does it not match?”
“Its fragrance is very cold and the lingering note carries a sharp chill. Young Master Yan Chen is as gentle as a spring breeze, so it does not suit you,” Ning Zhishui said lazily with her chin resting on her hand.
“What incense do you think suits me then?” Yan Chen asked with interest.
“Warm Pavilion Mist,” she answered after some thought.
“I have heard of it but never tried it. It seems I must give it a try,” Yan Chen said with a smile.
He observed Ning Zhishui discreetly. From her clothing she seemed like an ordinary female cultivator.
Yet her temperament was too casual. It was not careless but calm and natural, at ease with everything.
That sense of leisure and indifference to worldly matters was precisely what Yan Chen could not grasp.
He had never heard of any great aristocratic family with the surname Ning.
“You need not keep studying me, Young Master Yan Chen. I am merely an ordinary female cultivator with no prominent family background and no sect,” Ning Zhishui said while eating dried fruit and glancing at him.
After boarding the carriage she had only been looking at the scenery outside, while he had been observing her for half the journey.
If she had not spoken would he have continued staring?
Yan Chen looked embarrassed. “I was rude.”
“You are only curious about me and how I came to know Qianying. It is fine, I understand,” Ning Zhishui said. “But in truth we do not know each other. By chance I learned of his recent situation and felt it necessary to inform Shenfeng Valley. So I came.”
Yan Chen’s expression turned solemn. “So that is the case. Then is Qianying well?”
“Well. If being alive counts as well.”
Yan Chen looked alarmed. He wanted to ask more but did not know whether she would answer.
“This time when you bring me back do not tell anyone about my purpose. Regarding Qianying I will only speak to the Valley Master. After that I will leave,” Ning Zhishui said as she looked at him. “I do not wish anyone other than you, Jin Chengfu, and the Valley Master to know that I am connected to this matter.”
Yan Chen’s brows moved slightly. “Why be so cautious. What are you worried about?”
“I worry that my small family business cannot withstand too much scrutiny and attention from your people,” she said with a smile.
That is clearly not what you are worried about.
“I will not tell anyone. I will also inform my master and Jin Chengfu not to investigate you.”
Ning Zhishui looked out of the carriage. “Have we arrived?”
Yan Chen glanced outside. “Yes.”
This was Ning Zhishui’s first time coming to Shenfeng Valley in both her lifetimes.
The old man inside her little aunt’s bracelet once said that outsiders could not enter Shenfeng Valley at all. Even if he told her the method she still would not be able to get in.
To enter one had to be brought by someone.
From outside the valley onward it was filled entirely with formations.
Only the horses of Shenfeng Valley could run through accurately without stepping on the wrong formation.
No wonder Yan Chen did not mind her admiring the scenery along the way. No matter how she looked she would not be able to sneak in alone.
“We have entered the valley,” Yan Chen said.
At some point the scenery on both sides of the road had changed and become even more beautiful.
After traveling a while longer the horse let out a long neigh and stopped.
Ning Zhishui followed Yan Chen out of the carriage. Looking around she immediately felt the abundant spiritual energy.
There was a Spirit Gathering Formation within the valley. The spiritual energy concentration here rivaled that of a low grade cultivation chamber.
They had not yet reached the core residences of Shenfeng Valley. If it were the Valley Master’s or the six young masters’ quarters the spiritual energy concentration would surely be even higher.
And that was the difference brought by birth.
Ning Zhishui calmly took in everything and followed Yan Chen forward.
“Huya Pavilion has the most exquisite scenery. You may stay here until my master returns. All three daily meals will be delivered to you. If you wish to walk around the valley you may instruct the maids,” Yan Chen said as he stopped and gestured ahead.