Chasing after her husband? Is it even possible to win him back?

The real main force will only gradually enter the Yeze Wetlands under the pretext of attending the ceremony in the spring.

Chapter Sixty-Six: The Ning Family's Predicament

The climate in the Nozawa Wetlands arrives and departs later than in other areas.

The cold of winter is actually at its most intense as the year draws to a close.

Today, the year draws to a close, and heavy snow falls.

On the city guard's training ground, Chu Xunfeng, dressed in a thin, light robe, exhaled a rising cloud of white mist and slowly finished his stance.

As the clouds swirling around the black gold spear gradually dissipated, the young man's gaze fell upon the dragon maiden opposite him, dressed in a palace gown. She was not disguised as a human, but rather a dragon maiden with two horns on her head and eyes as golden as gold. Even from several feet away, the intense aura emanating from her vertical pupils swept over him like a fierce wind.

"Good progress. Come back in three days."

"Alright." Chu Xunfeng lowered his eyes, twirled the black gold spear in his hand, slung it behind his back, and turned to leave.

Their conversation was as stiff as the ice and snow they were treading on.

The relationship between Chu Xunfeng and Ao Hanli is naturally not that strained, so their behavior at this moment is obviously an act. As for who they are acting for?

Chu Xunfeng found out from the system, but he didn't say anything.

Ao Hanli didn't know, but she believed what Chu Xunfeng said: "Someone will eventually watch it."

Chu Xunfeng left the training ground, passed through the west gate of the demon capital, and stepped into the city under the watchful eyes of the city guards. Only after Chu Xunfeng's figure disappeared did the city guards withdraw their gaze.

All of this was observed by Luo Ze, who was hiding in Ximen.

Since his last visit to Chu Xunfeng's courtyard and his conversation with the young man, and after reporting to the team leader, Luo Ze removed the 24-hour surveillance of Chu Xunfeng and began to keep a close watch on him personally.

Seeing that Chu Xunfeng lived a secluded life, frequently going to taverns to drink alone and leaving, and occasionally going to the training ground as if it were a job, arriving and leaving on time, and not having much interaction with the Dragon Clan... Luo Ze felt that it was time to close the net on Chu Xunfeng.

After several days of observation, Luo Ze determined the time to close the net: two days later, on the day of the Lunar New Year.

This is an important day for humanity to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new, a time for family reunions.

With the right timing, location, and people, Luo Ze felt that the advantage was in his hands, and Chu Xunfeng had no chance of refusing.

He guessed the result correctly, but unfortunately he couldn't guess the reason. However, that happened two days later, so let's leave that aside for now.

While Chu Xunfeng was experiencing the dramatic events of "Let the Bullets Fly," the Ning family in Bianzhou was facing a completely different situation as the year drew to a close.

It was utter chaos.

As the year draws to a close, large families often receive many guests. Over the years, the Ning family has amassed considerable wealth and made numerous connections thanks to Chu Xunfeng's business acumen and several inventions. Now that the year is almost over, with their wealth circulating smoothly throughout the year without any major mishaps, it's time for the exchange of favors.

But at this point, all sorts of problems, big and small, began to arise one after another after Chu Xunfeng left the Ning family.

A prominent family from another city arrived with gifts. After sitting down, watching the servants bustling about and bringing tea, he patiently took a sip and began to discuss cooperation for next year, including trade routes and how the various merchant guilds would distribute their goods and share profits...

The head and mistress of the Ning family knew nothing when asked.

They knew that Chu Xunfeng was there, and that once the relationship was sorted out, money would flow out like a mountain stream. They thought that as long as they held up a basin and caught all that money, the Ning family's wealth would last forever.

The customer then asked, "What about the young man who used to be in charge of contacting us?"

That good-for-nothing got divorced by my daughter.

Wow! Good heavens, an important figure in the United Chamber of Commerce, you just let him retire like that? Impressive, impressive. Goodbye, goodbye, I won't be coming back.

Several prominent families arrived with joyful smiles and blessings, and left with mixed feelings of regret and anger.

If one family does this, then two, then three, four, five, and so on, then it's the Ning family's turn to panic.

What will happen to the Ning family next year...?

"Looking for Chu Xunfeng?" Ning Qiu Ning looked at the maid standing at the door from her own room.

"Yes, the master and madam said they would like to invite you over, Miss, to discuss the Ning family's issues."

"The Ning family's problems?" Ning Qiu Ning frowned slightly. "What problems does the Ning family have?"

The maid lowered her head, listening to Ning Qiu Ning's increasingly icy voice, and thought to herself, "This young lady has been back in the Ning family for at least three days, doesn't she even know what the Ning family's current situation is?" "Indeed, there is a big problem. Many of the chambers of commerce that previously cooperated with our family have recently sent letters after visiting us, saying... they no longer want to cooperate with us."

Ning Qiuning stood up. "Lead the way."

A maid led the way, and Ning Qiu Ning followed the maid calmly to the main hall. She stepped into the main hall and saw her father, who looked dejected, and her mother, who looked anxious.

"Mom and Dad, you were looking for me?" Ning Qiu Ning sat down on the chair next to her parents.

"Yes, that's how it is..." The old man of the Ning family was silent for a while, "I want to ask, did Chu Xunfeng leave anything behind before he left?"

Ning Qiu Ning frowned slightly when she heard her father utter the name. "Didn't you all dispose of the things he left behind? Why are you suddenly asking me about them?"

Ning's father was speechless for a moment. Of course, they knew what Chu Xunfeng had left behind in the south wing. They kept the useful things and sold the useless ones long ago.

"What exactly happened?" Ning Qiu Ning looked at her stammering father, sighed slightly, and turned her gaze to her mother, "Mom?"

"It's about business." Ning's mother stood up and handed the letter in her hand to her daughter. "Take a look."

Ning Qiu Ning unfolded the letter, which contained mostly meaningless nonsense. There were three, five, seven, or eight reasons, but the final conclusion was that the papermaking technology was provided by a young man named Chu Xun Feng. Now the Chamber of Commerce could not find him, and the Ning family could not provide an updated pulp formula to fulfill the original contract.

In other words, the Ning family has no value in continuing to cooperate with the Chamber of Commerce.

The Ning family's source of income has been cut off.

"Did he leave you the new papermaking formula?" Ning's mother asked, looking at her daughter's cold face with a sharp gaze.

Ning Qiu Ning raised her eyes and met her mother's gaze.

A sudden surge of irritation welled up in Ning Qiuning's heart, but she quickly suppressed it. "No."

"It's over." Ning's father, slumped in his chair, let out a long sigh.

"Master, do you think... we can find him?" Ning's mother didn't press her daughter; she looked at her husband and asked cautiously.

"We can't find it," Ning's father sighed. "It's been gone for a long time."

Ning Qiu Ning took a deep breath. "If there's nothing else, I'll be going."

The woman got up and left. As she walked out of the main hall, she paused for a moment, hearing her parents sighing and groaning inside.

Back then, you kept saying that he wasn't good enough for me, and that I should divorce him.

As a result, my mother actually thought he would leave something for me?

Ning Qiuning felt inexplicably irritable. She clenched her hands tightly in front of her, but after a while, she suddenly loosened her grip.

It seems he really did leave something for me...

The woman slowly took steps and walked towards her room.

Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Wedding Dress Made with Heart and Soul

"Go wait outside. I'm not coming out, so don't let anyone disturb me," Ning Qiu Ning instructed her personal maid at the door of her room.

"Yes, Miss." The maid bowed slightly as a sign of respect, then watched as the door to the west wing was pulled shut by the surging energy, and sighed silently.

The maid grew up alongside the young lady. If, when the young lady first began her cultivation, the maid was brought into the Supreme Sword Sect to study alongside her, she might have felt a sense of smug satisfaction and superiority, like someone who had achieved enlightenment and brought prosperity to their entire family. But now...

The personal maid felt terrified.

She was also cultivating, but since she started cultivating, the young lady had become a completely different person, inside and out. She could no longer see any trace of the former young lady of the Ning family. She... was actually quite afraid.

But she never showed it.

This young lady, her master... is becoming less and less human. She is single-mindedly pursuing the Dao and concentrating her mind, completely devoid of any humanity.

If one were to pinpoint where she came to realize this, it would likely be because the Ning family had encountered numerous difficulties over the past two weeks, causing widespread unrest and even insecurity among the servants. Yet, this young lady remained completely oblivious, seemingly without any awareness whatsoever.

She was also a little flustered.

However, I am somewhat special, and I can still manage to stay by the young lady's side.

At this very moment, Ning Qiu Ning was in her room, under her wardrobe, when she found a dusty cabinet.

This year, Ning Qiuning is seventeen years old.

Her mother's question reminded her of something that might be the only thing in the entire Ning family mansion that hadn't been disposed of yet, something that came from Chu Xunfeng.

A beautiful wedding dress.

It's right here in this box.

"Why did I think of this?" Ning Qiu Ning looked at the box that was locked and asked herself quietly.

There is something in this box.

That was last year, when Ning Qiu Ning turned sixteen. It was a birthday gift from Chu Xun Feng, and also her coming-of-age ceremony. It was a wedding dress that Chu Xun Feng had someone find, and that he personally made and sewed.

It is bright red, edged with gold thread, and decorated with a flying phoenix.

After receiving the item from Chu Xunfeng, Ning Qiuning locked it in the box. Even when the two were getting married, she did not wear this outfit. She simply wore her own white clothes and even had a sword hanging at her waist.

Ning Qiu Ning pressed her hand to her chest.

She couldn't understand why, even though her cultivation had nearly reached perfection and she had begun to concentrate her intent a month ago at the Supreme Sword Sect, she still couldn't grasp even the slightest bit of the secret.

A month ago, at the Sword Debate at the Reception Platform in Baidi City, Xu Bailing, at the mid-stage of the Condensation Realm, defeated Ning Qiu, at the peak of the Condensation Realm. The two fought with absolute dominance and one-sidedness.

Ning Qiu Ning didn't take Xu Bai Ling's initial assessment to heart at all.

But facing her mother's hopeful eyes, Ning Qiu Ning could suppress her emotions, though she couldn't deceive herself.