Chapter 0090: The Eagle Soaring Across the Sky

One comment after another poured in.

“Bring down Kimura Hajime! Go, Zhang Xiaofan!”
“Zhang Xiaofan, I love you! Take Kimura Hajime down!” It was clearly a girl’s message, and Zhang Xiaofan only hoped she was not too ugly.
“Let our dragon’s might prevail! Bring down Kimura Hajime!”
...

Without doubt, every single one of them was brimming with encouragement.

Before long, Zhang Xiaofan’s phone rang. He glanced at it and saw that it was Du Yuefeng calling. Zhang Xiaofan stepped aside and answered.

“Hello.”

“Kid, confident?” Du Yuefeng’s meaning could not have been clearer: did he have faith in fighting Kimura Hajime?

“I don’t know how strong he is, so I can’t say for sure, but I’ll do my best,” Zhang Xiaofan said.

“Kimura Hajime is a master-level expert of the North Star One-Sword School. If we must measure him by strength, he is roughly equivalent to the middle stage of the Spirit Awakening Realm among Chinese martial cultivators. He has profound attainments in swordsmanship,” Du Yuefeng said immediately.

“That’s not too bad. I should have a chance,” Zhang Xiaofan said. This information gave him a much firmer footing.

“No bluffing?” Du Yuefeng clearly did not quite believe him.

“I’ve entered the middle stage of the Spirit Awakening Realm,” Zhang Xiaofan said softly.

There was a long silence on the other end of the line, and then Du Yuefeng finally said, “Monster.”

Clearly, Zhang Xiaofan’s rate of improvement was enough to leave him speechless.

“Middle stage of the Spirit Awakening Realm means you already have the strength to enter the Heaven Group. Come to the capital when you have time,” Du Yuefeng said. Then, as if remembering something, he added, “With strength like yours, you should be in Dragon Soul. In the last operation, many people died. Dragon Soul needs someone like you. There are some things you ought to let go of. A man cannot for a woman...”

“I understand. I was already planning to return to Dragon Soul soon,” Zhang Xiaofan said.

“Mm.” Du Yuefeng said, “You must win tomorrow’s fight. The higher-ups are paying very close attention to this match. It has been many years since anyone dared challenge our dragon’s authority. Everyone above is taking this battle seriously.”

“I know. I’ll give it everything I have!” Zhang Xiaofan said.

“Good. Then I’ll hang up. I’ll wait for your good news tomorrow.” With that, Du Yuefeng ended the call.

Zhang Xiaofan hung up, and soon the phone rang again. This time it was Feng Qingyang, with essentially the same question. Then came Ye Zhantian, then Lin Haonan, and after that Ouyang Xue and Song Wenwen.

The last to call was Chen Yuanyuan.

“If you win tomorrow, I’ll let you do anything you want,” Chen Yuanyuan said, her tone so shy it was almost audible.

“Heh heh, all right, darling,” Zhang Xiaofan said with a laugh.

After hanging up, Zhang Xiaofan ate lunch. After parting with Han Ruofei and the others, he got into the Hummer, took a short breather, and drove toward the Shanshui Human Realm villa.

There was no traffic, and in a little over half an hour Zhang Xiaofan arrived at the villa.

After parking and getting out, the maid, Aunt Lan, hurried over and said, “Sir, our young lady has been crying for quite a while. Please go take a look. Girls can be a little temperamental sometimes—don’t take it to heart.”

“Mm, I know,” Zhang Xiaofan said with a nod, then walked into the villa and upstairs.

By the door, he could still faintly hear Lin Siyu’s muffled sobbing.

Zhang Xiaofan knocked gently.

“I already said I’m not eating. Take it away,” Lin Siyu said at once.

Clearly, she had not even eaten lunch.

“Then I’m leaving,” Zhang Xiaofan said on purpose.

“No!”

Then came the hurried slap of slippers on the floor. Not long after, Lin Siyu flung the door open. When she saw Zhang Xiaofan standing there, she threw herself into his arms at once and said, “I don’t want you to leave...”

“I’m not leaving. I’m not leaving.” Zhang Xiaofan patted her on the back. Seeing her like this, he could not help feeling the softest part of his heart stir.

“I’m sorry,” Lin Siyu said between soft sobs.

“It’s all right. It’s over now, and it wasn’t entirely your fault. I was the one who was too frivolous,” Zhang Xiaofan said. Then he gently held her shoulders and turned her to face him.

“I came to make things clear.”

“I don’t want to hear it...” Lin Siyu shook her head.

“Fool, I’m not worth this from you. I, Zhang Xiaofan, am nothing but a shameless womanizer,” Zhang Xiaofan said seriously. “I’ll be leaving soon, as I told you before. And besides, I already have a woman in Jinghai, so I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I don’t care. Only after you left did I realize I’d already fallen in love with you,” Lin Siyu said through her tears.

“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have tempted you and let you develop feelings,” Zhang Xiaofan said. “You should forget me.”

“Then tell me, do you really feel nothing for me?” Lin Siyu asked.

“To be honest, I do. I’m a man—how could I not feel anything when you’re this beautiful?” Zhang Xiaofan said.

“Then that’s enough. I don’t care when you leave, and I don’t care whether you have other women. At least you’re not married yet, are you? What man doesn’t have a few women?” Lin Siyu said.

From Lin Siyu’s point of view, she was thinking in terms of marriage. But for a martial cultivator like Zhang Xiaofan, how could he possibly live like an ordinary man and marry so easily?

“You should understand, we’re not people from the same world,” Zhang Xiaofan said solemnly.

“Then why did you sleep with that woman? Were the two of you from the same world?” Lin Siyu shot back, and Zhang Xiaofan had no idea how to answer.

As if he wanted to make her give up, Zhang Xiaofan said, “I couldn’t help myself and slept with her, understand? She won’t demand anything from me. When I need her, she’ll wait for me to conquer her. Do you understand?”

“What she can do, I, Lin Siyu, can do too. Right now, I’ll give myself to you.”

And with that, Lin Siyu suddenly began to undo her clothes.

“I don’t need any promise from you. As long as you want me, come to me, and I’ll be your woman,” Lin Siyu said.

“Calm down,” Zhang Xiaofan stopped her.

Her beauty and her bearing were enough to make him lose all restraint, but he had feelings for Lin Siyu, and he could not give her happiness. He wanted her to have a life of her own.

But Lin Siyu could not calm herself in the slightest. Her arms slipped around his neck, and her red lips met his of their own accord, hot and deeply affectionate.

“Take me. Whatever happens in the future, today I only want to give myself to you. You are the first person I’ve ever loved, and I don’t regret it,” Lin Siyu whispered in his ear. “You are a hawk soaring across the sky. Your heavens are boundless. I only hope that today I may be one place where you rest your wings, and someday, I can watch you rise into the skies again.”

Zhang Xiaofan’s heart was shaken deeply. A tender softness filled his eyes. If a person thought too much and worried too much, then what meaning was left in life?

Even if he was a martial cultivator, what if tomorrow he was killed by someone even stronger?

When fortune smiles, one should enjoy the moment to the fullest; do not let the golden cup stand empty before the moon.

A truth even Lin Siyu could understand, yet he could not. At the very least, if they loved each other, then whether it was today or tomorrow, Lin Siyu would be happy.

In that instant, Zhang Xiaofan felt the Nine Heavens True Dragon Art begin to circulate of its own accord once more, and his cultivation level strangely began to rise again.

That brief flash of insight brought a clear improvement in his strength. It only made Zhang Xiaofan feel more keenly the extraordinary nature of the Nine Heavens True Dragon Art, and also made him understand that the art was itself a path of realization.

He lifted Lin Siyu into his arms, kicked the door shut with his foot, and looked into her with eyes like silk. She knew exactly what she felt, and she knew what would happen next, but she had no regrets at all. Instead, she felt happiness.

How many women in this world were forced to marry men they did not love? She, at least, could give herself to the one she loved, and that made her immensely happy.

The two of them were wildly passionate, pouring out their emotions without restraint. Compared to the enlightenment he had found by the sea, Zhang Xiaofan now felt an indescribable smoothness and ease in his heart.

When it was late, Zhang Xiaofan fed Lin Siyu something to eat.

Like a little bird nestling close, Lin Siyu sat before him, smiling as she ate the rice porridge he spooned to her.

“What are you grinning about?” Zhang Xiaofan asked.

“I’m smiling because even a lecher like you can have such a gentle, serious side. I really can’t tell which one is the real you,” Lin Siyu said.

“Then which kind of me do you like?” Zhang Xiaofan asked.

“Both,” Lin Siyu said with a smile.

“Naughty,” Zhang Xiaofan said, smiling back. “Eat up.”

“Don’t be like that. I’ve already eaten enough. Are you trying to fatten me up like a pig?” Lin Siyu said.

“Then rest. I’m going to cultivate tonight,” Zhang Xiaofan said. “There’s still a vicious battle tomorrow.”

“Mm, I won’t disturb you. You’ll definitely do it,” Lin Siyu said. She had already learned of the life-and-death duel between Zhang Xiaofan and Kimura Hajime tomorrow.

Zhang Xiaofan nodded, then stayed in the room to cultivate, preparing for the duel the next day, and soon fell into meditative stillness.