The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun.

Linghu Chong was taken aback, wondering why Jiang Ning was asking this. But in order for Jiang Ning to give him advice, he honestly recounted the whole story, including what he had said. Jiang Ning then asked for more specific details, which Linghu Chong answered.

"..."

After listening, Jiang Ning understood why Yi Lin fell in love with Linghu Chong at first sight. Besides Linghu Chong risking his life to save her, during their escape, Linghu Chong made a few cheeky remarks to Yi Lin. He may have been unaware of it, but the power of his combination of words was enough to make the naive Yi Lin fall for him.

Jiang Ning looked at him and asked, "What does Senior Brother think of Senior Sister Yilin?"

Linghu Chong was waiting for Jiang Ning to give him advice on how to coax Yue Lingshan, but he was stunned when he suddenly heard Jiang Ning's question. He didn't know why Jiang Ning would ask this question.

"Treat her like a junior sister, so what?"

"Just a junior sister?"

"if not?"

"What kind of feelings does the eldest brother have for Senior Sister Ling Shan? Does he also see her as a junior sister?"

"Of course not!"

Linghu Chong retorted loudly without even thinking.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?"

Linghu Chong's voice was quite loud, which immediately startled the other disciples. One of the Taishan disciples even drew his sword and looked around.

"it's okay no problem."

Seeing this, Linghu Chong stood up awkwardly and apologized to everyone.

Seeing that it was a false alarm, the others all sat back down.

Ning Zhongze looked towards Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong, wondering what they were talking about that made Linghu Chong so impulsive.

Linghu Chong sat down again, his voice even softer.

"My junior sister and I are... are..."

Linghu Chong hesitated.

Although everyone in the Huashan Sect knew that he was in love with Yue Lingshan, he never said it out loud or made it public.

Jiang Ning turned to look at him, then turned back, not pressing the matter further, but changing the subject instead.

"It seems that Senior Sister Yilin doesn't simply regard Senior Brother as an older brother; she's a bit too concerned about you."

Linghu Chong was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

"Senior Sister Yilin left Hengshan at the beginning of this year specifically to find you. Although Senior Uncle Dingyi said she was worried about your injuries, my master, my senior uncle, and I don't think so. Her feelings for Senior Brother seem to go beyond those between senior and junior brothers."

Linghu Chong's eyes widened, and he shook his head like a rattle drum.

"Impossible, impossible."

Linghu Chong quickly waved his hand: "How could that be? I've only met Junior Sister Yilin once. She's so much younger than me, and she's a nun."

"Senior Sister Lingshan doesn't seem to be much older than Senior Sister Yilin."

"me……"

Linghu Chong was stumped by Jiang Ning's question.

Jiang Ning glanced at him.

"Senior Brother, do you really not understand?"

Upon hearing this, Linghu Chong paused, then fell silent.

He wasn't really stupid; he could sense Yilin's attitude towards him. The way that girl looked at him was different.

"So, does Senior Brother know why Senior Sister Ling Shan is angry?"

The three of them, being fellow disciples, grew up together and understood each other's personalities. Yue Lingshan knew that Linghu Chong, aside from not daring to overstep any boundaries with her, had no sense of propriety when it came to talking about others. He must have provoked Yilin, so Yue Lingshan was angry not because of Yilin, but because of him.

Linghu Chong's expression changed, and he looked at Jiang Ning: "You mean..."

"Since Senior Brother can understand his own feelings for Senior Sister Ling Shan, why can't he understand Senior Sister Ling Shan's feelings for you?"

Jiang Ning did not answer his question, but spoke slowly.

"Love is exclusive, love is selfish, and love is the one thing that cannot be shared with others."

Linghu Chong's heart skipped a beat.

"me……"

Linghu Chong stared blankly, muttering to himself for a long time but unable to utter a single word.

Seeing this, Jiang Ning knew that Linghu Chong had realized what was happening, so he didn't say anything more and continued to regulate his breathing.

Ultimately, Linghu Chong lacked confidence and even felt inferior in his feelings for Yue Lingshan. He was too cautious, which prevented him from seeing clearly and being certain of Yue Lingshan's feelings for him.

After Jiang Ning's words pointed out the truth, Linghu Chong seemed to wake up from a dream.

Linghu Chong glanced at Jiang Ning and, seeing that his expression remained calm, couldn't help but say, "Junior Brother knows a lot."

Jiang Ning chuckled upon hearing this.

"Onlookers have a clearer perspective."

Looking at Jiang Ning's calm smile, Linghu Chong was filled with a myriad of thoughts.

After a while.

Linghu Chong spoke again.

"Thank you."

Jiang Ning glanced at him and shook his head.

"It's alright."

Having received the answer, Linghu Chong did not disturb Jiang Ning any further, but instead sat down on the other side.

One night passed.

The sky was already showing the first light of dawn.

Jiang Ning stood up and went to the end of the Thousand-Foot Cliff to continue guarding it.

The smell of burning was still present at Qianchizhuang, but it was much fainter than it had been the night before.

There has been no further activity since the last offensive last night, and the latter half of the night passed peacefully.

call out!

An arrow shot up from below.

A new offensive has begun.

After yesterday's fierce attack, the troops below were replaced with ranged attackers.

However, because the Thousand-Foot Cliff was so tall, the arrows fell down halfway through their flight. The few arrows that did come at once were weak and powerless, and Jiang Ning easily deflected them back.

That's it?

Jiang Ning was slightly surprised, as this was not the offensive he had anticipated.

"Brothers, Island Master Sima has started a feint attack with a rain of arrows. We need to speed things up."

At the foot of the mountain, Ji Wushi spoke to the dozen or so men behind him.

These men all carried ropes on their backs, and each of them had thick, strong arms.

Just as dawn broke, Ji Wushi had already gathered his men. These men were all expert rock climbers, and Ji Wushi was leading them to test whether there was a path on the back of the North Peak.

Upon arriving at the foot of the back mountain and seeing the towering cliff, a man couldn't help but exclaim.

"How do we climb this?"

"Stop talking nonsense and get up there."

The other men had already untied their ropes and started looking for climbing spots to go up.

Looking at these men, Ji Wushi said something.

"Everyone, it's up to you whether you can find a way out from here. If you do find one, don't alert the enemy."

These men responded upon hearing this.

"Don't worry, Mr. Ji."

After saying that, they all started climbing.

……

North Peak, the back mountain.

Yue Buqun had been sitting here all night, and everything had remained calm.

"Father, will they really climb up from here?"

Yue Lingshan, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but say something.

She doubted how anyone could climb such a steep cliff.

Yue Buqun said it in a calm tone.

"Since Ning'er said they might climb up from here, we can't let our guard down."

Upon hearing this, Yue Lingshan couldn't help but purse her lips and scoff.

Yue Buqun treated Jiang Ning even more like his own son than he treated her.

Chapter 196: Attacking the Mountain Again (Part 2 Combined)

What are you muttering about?

Yue Buqun glanced over and saw Yue Lingshan muttering to herself, seemingly muttering something to herself.

"nothing."

Yue Lingshan quickly shook her head, then said with a bitter face, "Father, your Taiyue Three Green Peaks are so hard to learn."

Taiyue Three Green Peaks is a sword technique created by Yue Buqun. He did not teach it to any other disciples besides Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong, not even Yue Lingshan.