Chapter 51
Chapter 51: Ning Chuan’s Discourse! Unyielding Even Without Bones, He Is the Supreme of Heaven!
All eyes converged on the second floor of the inn. Anticipation, curiosity, anger, and joy intertwined in the gazes fixed on it. Slowly descending the steps in a moon-white robe, hair cascading like a waterfall, eyes resembling galaxies, and features chiseled like artwork, Ning Chuan, adorned with a folding fan, made his entrance.
“This is Ning Chuan?”
The revelation of his appearance elicited widespread surprise. The image they had held of Mr. Ning, a seasoned and wise elder, was starkly contrasted by the handsome, dashing figure before them.
“Ning Chuan, you’ve improved your looks even further,” Nan Yuexi remarked with a sparkle in her eyes. The first time she saw him, she imagined an older, knowledgeable gentleman. Yet, the current Ning Chuan embodied a divine aura, captivating her senses.
…
“I didn’t expect Ning Chuan to be so handsome…”
The six-fingered Qin Demon, Wen Yuge, gazed upon him with slight astonishment. A considerable portion of her anger seemed to dissipate upon seeing his appearance.
As Ning Chuan took his place, an electric excitement permeated the Seven Blessings Inn.
“Hurry, Mr. Ning! We’ve been waiting for three days, eager to hear the continuation!”
“Yes, please, what happened to Little Shi Hao?”
“If Shi Hao really comes back to life, will the Martial King’s Mansion return the Supreme Bone?”
“Mr. Ning, you must proceed swiftly. My hair turned gray during these three days of waiting!”
Listeners from all walks of life clamored for the story’s continuation. Ning Chuan, sitting atop the elevated platform, surveyed the expectant audience, his lips curving into a smile.
Unperturbed by whether the crowd comprised princes, generals, or world-shaking experts, within the inn, all shared one identity—his audience. Opening his folding fan with a swish, he began to speak at a measured pace.
“The story resumes.”
“After Shi Ziling and his wife conveyed Shi Hao to the wilderness’s deepest ancestral ground, they departed.”
“They headed to the Primordial Divine Mountain in search of an immortal medicine capable of reversing Shi Hao’s dire fate, rekindling his vitality.”
“Meanwhile, Shi Hao awoke, though much of his memory concerning his time in the Martial King’s Mansion had faded.”
The disclosure prompted a series of reactions from the audience.
“What? Shi Hao lost his Martial King’s Mansion memories? He doesn’t remember the treachery of Shi Yi and his mother?”
“Perhaps this memory loss is a blessing. It allows Shi Hao to experience a childhood devoid of hatred.”
“‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!’ I’m confident that Shi Hao, reborn, will rise once more!”
“Do the people from the stone village bully the outsider, Shi Hao?”
“Didn’t you hear? The stone village has simple, harmonious, and honest folk, surely they wouldn’t torment young Shi Hao!”
“Exactly! I would spoil Little Shi Hao to no end if I were there!”
Amidst these discussions, Ning Chuan resumed his narration.
“Revitalized, Shi Hao thrived in the stone village.”
“Contrasted with the intrigues and deceit of the Martial King’s Mansion, the stone village’s harsh existence paradoxically bestowed unprecedented joy upon him.”
“Grandfather Shi Yunfeng, the village patriarch, recounted stories and history with fervor.”
“After returning from hunts, his rotund aunt would serve Shi Hao milk.”
“Unobtrusive yet protective, Shi Yunfeng shielded the village during countless nights, embodying the sacrificial willow deity’s presence with a branch.”
“Shi Hao reveled in his village life.”
“He’d join children in medicinal baths, grimacing at the stinging sensation.”
“Venturing beyond the village to gather bird eggs, he’d find himself pursued by green-scaled eagles, his escape humiliating.”
“Shi Hao matured within this nurturing environment.”
“Occasionally, as he witnessed other children led away by their parents, he’d experience pangs of sorrow, wondering quietly, ‘Where are my mother and father?'”
“At such times, patriarch Shi Yunfeng would embrace him, sharing tales, humming ancient melodies, lulling him into peaceful sleep.
Ning Chuan’s smile turned nostalgic as he recounted these moments. He, too, found solace in Shi Hao’s fleeting happiness.
As the storyteller, he felt gratified by Shi Hao’s respite from life’s tribulations. He had the pleasure of narrating a phase unmarred by the shadows that would soon encroach.
“The days passed, and Shi Hao flourished.”
“Guided by the stone village’s nurturing embrace, his exceptional talent gradually emerged.”
“At just two or three years old, he could lift a massive tripod weighing thousands of pounds solely with his physical strength!”
“His physical prowess even outshone the cubs of primordial beasts!”
“During a conflict over the spoils of a hunted beast, a nearby village dared challenge Stone Village’s claim. The village, more robust, left Shi Fei Jiao and other robust youths with grievous injuries at the hands of their best youth.”
“However, the three-year-old Shi Hao effortlessly defeated the rival youth, a Heavenly Pride, with just three punches!”
“In the entire Great Wilderness, Shi Hao, at his age, stood unrivaled.”
“His message was clear—he is invincible, even without the Supreme Bone, fated to be the supreme overlord of the nine heavens!”