Nan Batian nodded, sinking into his memories. “We grew up together in a small village. Back then, she wasn’t called Fat Lady, she had a lovely name, A’Cui.
She wasn’t a stunning beauty, but she was pretty and lively. We were inseparable, and the villagers all said we were made for each other.”
He paused, a trace of tenderness flickering in his eyes, as if he could see that young girl with two braids, chasing after him, calling out “Brother Batian.”
“Later, we went to the city to train under a master. My talent was perhaps a bit better, my cultivation soared, and I quickly stood out. A’Cui, though, her aptitude was only average, her progress slow.”
“As my strength grew and my reputation spread, everyone praised my boundless potential.
I could sense that A’Cui’s gaze, once filled only with affection, began to carry something else, self-doubt, unease.
She often said she feared she wasn’t good enough for me. I thought she was overthinking and kept reassuring her that I never saw it that way.”
At this, Nan Batian’s tone grew heavy. “But I never imagined she’d do something so foolish to keep up with me…”
“She secretly found an ancient forbidden technique, one that promised rapid progress, boosting strength dramatically in a short time.
But it came with severe side effects, the cultivator’s body would distort due to warped spiritual energy, becoming grotesquely bloated, never to return to its original form.”
“By the time I found out, it was too late. Her strength had indeed skyrocketed, even surpassing mine for a time, but her body had already begun to change.
I was shocked and furious, demanding to know why she’d done it. She just cried, saying she didn’t want to be left behind, that she wanted to stay by my side, that she didn’t want others to say she wasn’t worthy of me.”
“Seeing her, both excited and in pain, my heart felt like it was being torn apart.
I knew I was partly to blame, my rapid rise had put too much pressure on her.
But I couldn’t accept that she’d chosen this path to gain strength, nor could I face the immense cost and pain hidden behind her increasingly bloated body.
Unable to cope, unsure of what to do, I… I chose to run.”
“I left without a word, wandering far and wide, deliberately avoiding her.
I thought time might heal things, that she’d understand my intentions. But I never expected this avoidance would last so many years.”
“All this time, she never stopped looking for me. She changed her name to Fat Lady, built the Information Building, and grew her influence, all to track me down.
And I, like a coward, kept running, kept hiding. I was afraid to see her, afraid to face her current appearance, afraid to confront the issues between us, and afraid to face my own guilt.”
“Before coming to Sword Saint City, I knew she was here. That’s why I stayed outside, not daring to step inside, fearing she’d find me. But in the end… I couldn’t escape.”
Nan Batian’s voice was thick with exhaustion and self-reproach.
Chen Ping listened quietly, his heart a tangle of emotions.
He hadn’t expected that behind the Fat Lady’s fierce exterior and domineering ways lay such a poignant past.
He glanced at the plump figure in the distance, directing her subordinates while stealing glances their way, and suddenly felt that beneath that bloated frame was a fragile, steadfast heart.
“Nan Batian,” Chen Ping said after a moment’s thought, “I think the Fat Lady, A’Cui, her feelings for you are truly deep. Everything she’s done, though extreme, comes from caring about you so much.”
