Chapter 581: Zinnia’s Envy
Zinnia’s silvery Qi flared brighter, spiraling around her like mist made of light.
Even the ground beneath her feet cracked and broke into spiderwebs from the pressure. It was the unmistakable strength of soone who had reached the late stage of the Argent Body realm.
The young man didn’t move.
Instead, he looked at her with that sa calm expression—then smiled. It wasn’t the kind of smile one gave when facing danger. It was warm, almost nostalgic.
Then, without moving his lips too much, he spoke softly in a voice only she could hear. “It’s quite sad that my own maid doesn’t recognize . Zinnia dear, don’t you rember ?”
Zinnia froze.
Her eyes widened slightly. For a mont, her silvery Qi flickered. She stared at his face, scanning every feature—the eyes, the shape of his jaw.
Her breath caught in her throat as an image flashed in her mind—an image of a man she had once followed through war and ruin, a man who had saved her from certain death, a man she had thought she would never see again.
She rembered how hopeful she had felt about her future when she served him. She also rembered how helpless she had been when she was caught inside the Devil’s Den. It seed like a long ti ago, yet at the sa ti, it felt as if it had all happened only yesterday.
She had survived a catastrophe-level danger thanks to one person. And that sa person was responsible for her current status as a late-stage Argent Body realm martial artist—well-known and respected among the townsfolk.
“Lord… Lord Aksai.”
Her lips trembled as her body went weak. The silvery Qi around her slowly faded away, like mist dissolving in the morning light.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she whispered, “My… my lord, how? What… what are… are… are you really… is this not a dream?”
Her knees gave in, and she fell to the ground before him. The once-fierce expression on her face was now replaced by disbelief and emotion.
Aksai—still wearing the face of a young man—stepped forward quietly. His smile was gentle now, filled with warmth. He reached down and lifted her up by the shoulders.
“Hehe. It’s really , Zinnia,” he said softly. “You’ve done well. But let’s find a good place to talk, shall we?”
Zinnia wiped her tears, trying to regain her composure. She looked around and noticed the stunned faces of the students and instructors watching silently, unsure of what they had just witnessed.
She nodded quickly, lowering her gaze. “Y-yes, my lord.”
Then she turned, motioning toward the two-story martial arts building nearby. “This way, please.”
Aksai followed her, his steps light and unhurried.
As the two disappeared inside the building, whispers spread through the courtyard like wildfire. The students exchanged confused looks, still unable to believe what they had seen—a powerful instructor defeated with ease, and their usually cold, untouchable head instructor suddenly kneeling in tears before a mysterious young man.
Aksai didn’t pay attention to the whispers around him. He simply walked away from the crowd and let the whispers disperse into thin air.
Zinnia led Aksai through the quiet corridors of the martial arts school until they reached her private study on the second floor. The room was neat and filled with scrolls, books, and a faint scent of herbal incense. The walls were decorated with paintings of martial postures and calligraphy, most of which Zinnia had made herself over the years.
She quickly tidied her desk and motioned toward her large wooden chair. “Please, my lord… sit here,” she said softly.
Aksai smiled faintly and nodded before taking the seat. Zinnia could not help but be reminded of the old days when she used to serve him tea in a similar setting—except back then, she had been young, bright-eyed, and full of energy.
Now, as she brewed the tea, her hands trembled a little. She placed the steaming cup before him and quietly poured another for herself. But her eyes kept drifting to his face. His skin was smooth and youthful, his hair black without a trace of gray, and his eyes still sharp and calm as she rembered.
He looked almost exactly like the man from decades ago.
No—he looked even younger. How was this possible? Was it just a costic effect? What martial realm one needs to break into to be blessed with a miracle of youth?
Zinnia’s chest tightened. She felt warmth in her heart to see him again, yet sothing inside her hurt. She was painfully aware of her wrinkled hands, the lines on her face, and the slow heaviness of her steps.
She had trained hard to maintain her martial body, yet ti had still left its mark. She was way more powerful and agile than a mortal. At the sa ti, her old age also made her feel weak and exhausted from within.
She lowered her gaze, feeling a quiet sha she couldn’t quite explain.
Aksai looked at her and sighed inwardly. He could sense what she was feeling—the clash between joy, pride, and sorrow.
He could tell that she was happy to see him, yet part of her wished he looked as old as she was. Only then could she truly feel the comfort and nostalgia that co with eting soone from the past—soone whose company she had cherished in her youth.
How can one feel happy seeing an old classmate who looks decades younger at a reunion held years after graduation? One feels envious when looking at soone’s full head of hair simply because they’ve gone bald themselves. And one starts questioning their life choices when they see soone their age still carrying a slim waist while they struggle with a beer belly.
The feeling was sothing like that—multiplied a hundredfold.
Aksai could also sense Zinnia’s curiosity. She wanted to know his secret, to understand how he had defied ti itself. Perhaps she even wished to learn it for herself. But Aksai knew this was not the right ti to involve her in his experints.
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