novelraw Chapter 562: Cannon Fodder in the Three Kingdoms Era
Chapter 562: Cannon Fodder in the Three Kingdoms Era
Ah, I see. That does seem to be the case!
After finishing her grooming and dressing, An Ning raised her eyes and looked into the bronze mirror at the young girl whose frame was gradually filling out, her snow-white skin already revealing a hint of delicate beauty.
Honestly, she had indeed grown quite fast during this period.
It couldn't be helped. In this era, as a commoner, enduring hunger and cold year-round, not having enough to eat or wear was already a common occurrence. The original owner's body looked like that of a little girl of just over ten years old, but in reality, An Ning was already properly thirteen years old this year, almost fourteen.
During this time, she had been slowly undergoing marrow cleansing, supplemented continuously with Spirit Spring Water and various good things, while also spending most of her time practicing swordsmanship and cultivating her previous cultivation method.
You couldn't see much difference in just a day or two, but as time passed, the effects naturally became particularly obvious, especially in terms of her stature.
Sensing the rare and relatively active spiritual energy around her, An Ning couldn't help but feel even happier.
If there was one best thing about the current era, it was that the surrounding spiritual energy wasn't as pitifully thin and almost non-existent as in later generations. Like in her previous life, even though she cultivated for a lifetime, she ultimately failed to break through even the pathetic second layer of Qi Refining.
Although this body's innate talent was equally poor, in terms of the external environment, it was far, far better than that previous life.
Thinking of this, looking at the increasingly ethereal-looking young girl in the mirror, the smile on An Ning's face also became more pronounced.Wonderful. In chaotic times, it's absolute martial power that truly brings peace of mind!
Seeing this, Qiaoyun, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but misunderstand something. While helping arrange her clothing and accessories, she cautiously flattered, "Young Mistress is still young. Now that your injuries are healed, it shouldn't be difficult for your stature to grow even more in the future!"
An Ning gave an almost imperceptible nod.
Separated by a curtain, Zhen Yue had already been waiting for who knows how long. Even so, the moment she saw An Ning emerge, the young girl's exceptionally beautiful big eyes instantly shifted over.
"Sister Shen!" Zhen Yue said excitedly.
Children of this age were naturally curious, especially Zhen Yue herself. She had been studious since childhood, widely read, and was even teased by her elder brother when she was younger about whether she wanted to become a "female scholar" in the future.
Given this, how could she not be curious?
But right now, after brief consideration, what this young lady of the Zhen Family was most curious about wasn't that:
"Sister Shen, I heard from Mother before that the disciples in your sect have to learn a lot of things every day. Is that true?"
Zhen Yue instinctively thought: medicine, astronomy, swordsmanship, and many other things she didn't know about but sounded very impressive. These were all things her Sister Shen had to learn.
Needlework, household management, music, calligraphy and painting, poetry... these were the things she and her elder sisters had to learn since childhood.
Although she was only about five or six years old, the clearly perceptive Zhen Yue quickly noticed the difference, and her mood couldn't help but sink. In the silence, it was as if something had shattered soundlessly.
After a moment of silence, the little girl in front of her said gloomily, "Sister, you must be very happy learning those things in your daily life, right?" Astrology, it sounded so interesting.
"Hmm... not entirely."
Meeting the little girl's sparkling gaze, An Ning leaned against the couch and replied with an air of seriousness, "For example, I, being naturally gifted and clever since childhood, find these things very interesting and enjoy learning them."
"But there are also some people who, no matter how much you push them, just can't bring themselves to like these things, let alone learn them."
"Not to mention slightly more difficult divination calculations, I have a senior sister who was a complete mess even with the most basic counting!"
As she spoke, a trace of nostalgia unconsciously flashed in An Ning's eyes, but it instantly transformed into boundless hatred and grief. The jade cup in her hand was also, at some unknown time, clenched tightly in her grip.
If it weren't for the cup's decent quality and the fact that her hand strength wasn't that great yet, otherwise... ahem!
"Sister Shen?"
"Sister Shen, what's wrong with you?"
Noticing something was off with the other party, Zhen Yue, who had originally wanted to laugh, quickly stood up and tried to step forward to remind her. Earlier thoughts interrupted by other sounds, An Ning, sitting before the desk, barely managed to snap back to reality. She took a deep breath and almost imperceptibly closed her eyes.
"A-Yue, I'm sorry..."
As her voice fell, the little Zhen Yue, not far away wearing a light pink ruqun skirt with two adorable little buns in her hair, fiercely shook her head. A look of worry soon appeared on her delicate little face.
A moment later, An Ning only gently shook her head, indicating it was nothing.
In the following time, the two young ladies, one big and one small, sat properly by the couch, chatting from time to time.
As the young lady who personally brought An Ning into the mansion, compared to her elder sisters, the just-over-five-year-old Zhen Yue was undoubtedly the one who visited most frequently and was the most enthusiastic little girl towards An Ning in the entire mansion.
But from beginning to end, the other party never opened her mouth to express a desire to learn other things, even though her interest was clearly visible.
An Ning similarly never brought it up.
This, however, left the system puzzled:
"I thought you would teach the mission target some basic skills?" After all, relying on others is never as good as being strong yourself!
Who would have thought that in the following days, as the two interacted more frequently and their friendship grew deeper, aside from occasionally explaining things due to the other's curiosity, An Ning actually never had any such intention.
System: "???"
Time flew by. Seeing that the mission target was about to turn eight years old, and her own host was still peacefully recuperating every day, fiddling with medicinal herbs, occasionally practicing swordsmanship, and putting on an act as an otherworldly expert, without the slightest intention of interfering with the other's studies from start to finish.
Ah, this... The system was completely dumbfounded. On this day:
Having finished checking the baggage in her hands, An Ning responded noncommittally upon hearing this, "Haven't reclusive sects always emphasized 'methods are not to be taught outside?' What value does something that can be easily given away have?"
"In any era, for any person, there are their own rules for survival. Rashly disrupting them, or instilling other ideas, do you really think this is for her own good, and not harming her?"
Moreover, it was just superficial knowledge, which would only invite disaster.
Of course, if A-Yue could thoroughly learn and master everything she knew, she might indeed walk a unique path in the future. But An Ning understood clearly in her heart that this was absolutely impossible!
She could accurately predict weather and celestial phenomena, achieving her current level, because she had spiritual energy backing her up, plus experience. But Zhen Yue couldn't possibly do that, and she didn't have her martial prowess either.
Since that was the case, then what was before them now was no longer a life-saving medicine, but a death warrant for some future day!
Thinking of this, An Ning shook her head almost imperceptibly.
What was also important was that several years had passed, and her martial arts had recovered quite well. It was about time to go out and have some fun.
Unfortunately, just as An Ning was preparing to go bid farewell, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the small courtyard.
"Young Mistress! Something terrible has happened!"