Zhang Nannan vaguely heard someone speaking.
She hadn't died?
A moment later, Zhang Nannan remembered everything that had happened before she fainted, and a bitter feeling welled up.
Why did she have to meddle?
Why did she have to save her?
It would have been so much better if she had died.
Although Zhang Nannan was awake, she didn't want to face reality. So, she kept her eyes closed and pretended to be asleep, occasionally hearing the discussions of those people.
Noisy.
She thought.
But soon, she felt something was wrong. There was an additional female voice among them.
And this female voice sounded increasingly familiar, as if she had heard it before.
A guess that she didn't want to believe suddenly flashed in Zhang Nannan's mind, and her breathing became ragged.
"Zhang Nannan, since you're awake, why don't you open your eyes to see an old friend?"
Zhang Nannan could no longer deceive herself. She took a deep breath, her eyelashes trembling, and opened her eyes.
What greeted her eyes was the person she had been targeting and chasing for a long time.
"You lied to me."
She glared at Xiong Zhuangzhuang, her voice extremely dry.
Xiong Zhuangzhuang waved his hands innocently, "I didn't lie to you. Xu Yi was indeed in seclusion before, and she only just arrived here."
Hearing their conversation, Xu Yi realized that Zhang Nannan had inquired about her earlier and explained, "Xiong Zhuangzhuang is not lying. I only decided to come here not long ago and did not discuss it with him."
"Heh, then it seems my luck is just bad. Good things never fall upon me, but bad things are always accurate."
Zhang Nannan gave a wry smile with a hoarse voice.
Xu Yi didn't reply further. She stepped forward and helped Zhang Nannan up, then placed a soft cushion behind her, allowing her to lean comfortably against the rocks.
Zhang Nannan stared blankly at Xu Yi doing all this for her. As Xu Yi let go, she softly said, "You haven't changed."
Xu Yi was puzzled.
In her memory, Zhang Nannan was a bright and lively girl, sharp and unrestrained, leaving a deep impression on her.
Meeting again after many years, she only felt that things had changed.
The sharpness on Zhang Nannan's body had disappeared, replaced by a lingering fatigue and confusion that seemed to surround her, like a traveler who couldn't find a home.
What had she experienced all these years?
"Zhang Nannan, can you tell me about your experiences over the years?"
When Zhang Nannan saw Xu Yi ask this question with concern, it felt as if her internal organs were being fiercely kneaded by a palm, causing her unbearable pain.
But this time, she no longer had thoughts of ending her life.
She thought that since she had met Xu Yi at this moment, it must be a warning from heaven.
Since she had already made mistakes, she could only try to atone for them.
At least she hoped she could be of some use to Xu Yi and prove that she wasn't completely useless.
"Let me think about where I should start."
Zhang Nannan's eyes gradually became distant.
Zhang Nannan's story began after Xu Yi and the others left.
Xu Yi's arrival gave Zhang Nannan a new direction, and she yearned to become like Xu Yi.
After graduating from the academy, she decided to venture out.
Zhang Nannan had anticipated encountering danger outside, and she had also thought that she might never catch up to Xu Yi. But she felt that as long as she took that step, she would at least have no regrets.
However, the world outside Mo City was hundreds of times more perilous than she had imagined.
She was just a cultivator who had recently graduated from the academy, at the Foundation Establishment stage.
In less than ten years, she had experienced several life-and-death crises. The last time, she was almost abducted to be used as a cauldron.
That time, Zhang Nannan was severely injured and had to return to Mo City to recuperate.
She originally planned to go out for trials after her injuries healed, but she didn't expect that her body would develop an intractable chronic illness from the previous injury, and her parents also strongly opposed her going out again.
After much deliberation, she eventually entered Qiming Academy, becoming a teaching assistant, and never left Mo City again.
Life in Mo City was peaceful and harmonious, but also extremely monotonous.
Whenever Zhang Nannan was unwilling and wanted to leave Mo City, the hidden injuries in her body would flare up again, like an invisible rope binding her tightly to Mo City, preventing her from leaving.
"I had already resigned myself to fate."
As Zhang Nannan uttered these words, Xu Yi guessed that a turn of events was inevitable.
As expected, Zhang Nannan's next sentence invigorated Xu Yi, Xiong Zhuangzhuang, and the others.
The crucial part had arrived.
"Just when I had completely given up on the plan to go out, the Saint Attendant appeared. She showed me a clear path, telling me that as long as I joined the Saintess Sect, and when the Saintess returned to her divine position, everyone would receive the Saintess's blessings and gain supreme divine power.
So, I joined the Saintess Sect and became a follower of the Saintess Sect.
Zhang Nannan gently turned her head to look at Wang Yao beside her, "As for Wang Yao, he was implicated by me.
Every time the Saint Attendant conveyed the Saintess's decree, she required that no outsiders be present, and the matter of my joining the Saintess Sect could not be told to outsiders. Therefore, I kept it a secret from everyone and did it secretly.
But that day, Wang Yao saw me heading out of the city and became suspicious. He followed me, and was later discovered by the Saint Attendant, resulting in his current state.
I've said everything I needed to say."
Zhang Nannan's expression was exceptionally calm at this moment, neither happy nor sad. If her fingers weren't clenched so tightly, it might have been more convincing.
Fei Hua was about to speak after hearing Zhang Nannan's statement when Zuo You quickly covered his mouth.
Fei Hua glared at his senior brother, fuming.
Zuo You shook his head slightly, signaling him not to interrupt.
Even he could tell that Zhang Nannan was not quite right. Fei Hua was impulsive, and if he said something insensitive that provoked Zhang Nannan, who knew what trouble it might cause.
It was better to shut his mouth from the beginning. Anything he wanted to say, he could say to his heart's content after the questioning was over.
Admittedly, Zuo You's move was very clever.
Xu Yi, Xiong Zhuangzhuang, and Yin Li didn't rush to speak after listening. Finally, Xu Yi reviewed what was said in her mind before speaking cautiously, "Do you believe what that Saint Attendant said?"
Could anyone really believe such a crude lie as returning to a divine position?
"Of course not," Zhang Nannan said with a light laugh, her eyes clear.
"I know she was lying to me, but if I didn't join the Saintess Sect, I might only ever stay in this small place called Mo City, like a bird with clipped wings, with no hope of advancement.
Zhang Nannan looked at Xu Yi, "Xu Yi, you don't know how much I envy you. Your talent is astonishing. You joined a top sect that I wouldn't even dare to dream of at such an early age, and even your character is impeccable.
Unlike me, I have nothing. This is the only opportunity I could grasp. Anyway, I have nothing much to lose."
Zhang Nannan extended her palm and then clenched it tightly, as if trying to grasp something ethereal in the air.