All the Rebel Emperors of Eastern Heaven were imbued with restrictions; Lady Guihua dared not flee alone, and had to grit her teeth and remain, assisting the Wansheng Dragon King.

She bit her tongue, spat out a drop of black blood, and sprinkled it onto the Thorn Giant Flower that covered the water. As the black blood was used, Lady Guihua’s once stunning beauty instantly became old and ugly, and those Thorn Giant Flowers grew ghost energy, terrifying beyond compare.

Teaming up with the Destroying Path Thunder Infant, Ning Fan was relentlessly striking down the Wansheng Dragon King and other race powerhouses. He furrowed his brow as he sensed changes in the Thorn Giant Flowers over the water.

However, he did not consider those giant flowers a priority; the Profound Tail Daoist had escaped, and what Ning Fan most wanted at this moment was to eliminate the Wansheng Dragon King.

Seeing Lady Guihua utilizing black blood, Wansheng Dragon King let out a sigh of relief, fully exerting himself to block Ning Fan and Destroying Path Thunder Infant’s combined strike before giving Ning Fan a peculiar smile, "Yama child, you are indeed impressive, but I’m not your match, nor am I a match for Destroying Path Thunder Infant. Yet, if I wish to escape from here, you cannot stop me! Haha, now it’s time for the Parade of Hundred Ghosts, ghosts, appear!"

As the Wansheng Dragon King finished speaking, the somber wind between the water and sky turned ice-cold, tenfold!

The Thorn Giant Flowers over the water grew blood-red mouths, resembling man-eating flowers in this moment.

More chilling ghosts were being spat out by hundreds of Thorn Giant Flowers, each shrouded in repulsive slime.

"This is..." Ning Fan’s eyes subtly shifted.

The ghosts being spat out by the Thorn Giant Flowers seemed somewhat familiar...

Among them appeared those Immortal Kings and Immortal Venerables he had slain before, those low-level different race beings he had slaughtered en masse, and every Different Race Immortal Emperor he had extinguished...

More and more ghosts were flying out from the mouths of Thorn Giant Flowers, their eyes blankly focusing on Ning Fan.

But with a command from the Wansheng Dragon King, all of the ghosts revealed a murderous intent towards Ning Fan, attacking him maniacally.

"These race powerhouses should have been killed by me, why are their souls intact? When people die, their light is extinguished, when Immortals die, their thoughts dissipate... Those First Step cultivations of different races might be one thing; after death, their souls remain is not difficult. But when Second Step powerhouses fall, wanting the soul rebirth is as hard as ascending to the heavens... Fu Li Spirit Wheels possess such heaven-defying capability, even these Thorn Giant Flowers do as well..."

Boom, boom, boom!

Ning Fan wielded the Severing Fate Sword, Sun Moon Stars Stele, and Seven Treasures Marvelous Tree, blowing approaching ghosts to pieces in droves.

Nonetheless, after being shattered, those ghosts could actually be reborn again and again, impossible to slaughter completely.

Low-level ghosts might be harmless; even with unlimited rebirth, they are merely fodder, Ning Fan can annihilate them by the hundreds and thousands at a raise of hand.

But high-level ghosts proved somewhat tricky. Threatened by a single-life Immortal Venerable and Immortal King may be negligible, yet when they possess unlimited lives, they are even harder to deal with than weaker Immortal Emperors.

What troubled Ning Fan most were those immortal reborn ghosts of the Immortal Emperors...

These Immortal Emperors in their living days could not withstand Ning Fan’s few moves; turned into ghosts later, even Innate Mid-grade Treasures couldn’t truly destroy their souls, very bizarre indeed. When a group of Immortal Emperors are free from the fear of death, attacking enemies without regard for losses, their burst damage is extremely terrifying.

Luckily, Ning Fan’s Eternal True Body’s defense is incredibly strong, complemented by the Cross Halo being remarkably heaven-defying. After these ghosts of Immortal Emperors died, they lacked the Pingdong Talisman needed to counter the Heaven Sealing Art, their spirit awareness had also drastically lowered. As soon as each entered Ning Fan’s thousand-zhang range, they were fixed by the Cross Halo, then killed by Ning Fan over and over, reborn, destroyed, reborn...

Endlessly slaughtered, utterly disgusting!

Though Ning Fan did not fear these ghosts of the Immortal Emperors, ultimately, these ghosts impeded his steps, leaving him no spare effort to care about Wansheng Dragon King.

The Destroying Path Thunder Infant also got tangled with several deathless ghost Immortal Emperors, unable to launch another chase against Wansheng Dragon King. Her unbeatable thunder pillar couldn’t even slay these ghosts, leaving her to deeply feel setback. These infinitely reborn ghosts in front even troubled her.

At the same time feeling somewhat familiar.

Where had she heard of it...

Surely a very distant memory, or else she wouldn’t fail to recall.

"Hahaha! Yama child, you aren’t that remarkable, your headache shows against few half-finished Eternal Ghost Soldiers! You stay here and tangle with Eternal Ghost Soldiers, I’m leaving!"

Wansheng Dragon King chuckled gleefully, taking advantage of Ning Fan’s inability to spare concentration from stopping him, beginning to tear through the grand seal of the heavens, attempting escape from Ning Fan’s enclosing.

Ning Fan squinted, unwilling to let the Wansheng Dragon King escape. He abruptly ceased the majority of his magical treasure attacks, holding only the Severing Fate Sword, performing an odd swordsmanship, slicing through thousands of low-level ghosts approaching the halo boundary twofold.

Wansheng Dragon King’s heart was disdainful, too lazy to even turn his head, convinced Ning Fan’s slashing was futile, the shattered ghosts should still endlessly reborn.

Eternal Ghost Soldiers are not slain by slashes, unlimited rebirth isn’t mere words! Though these ghosts are half-finished Eternal Ghost Soldiers, not complete bodies, certainly not defeated by mere means!

In fact, if not for these half-finished Eternal Ghost Soldiers having the fatal flaw of time limit, Wansheng Dragon King would indeed choose to stay here, leading the ghost soldier army to besiege Ning Fan.

Only genuine Eternal Ghost Soldiers can be permanently utilized, the half-finished Eternal Ghost Soldiers can only be summoned on site, used for half an hour or so.

Unfortunately, so pity... This attack plan on Wansheng Pass seems failed, lacking chance to make Ning Fan, the heaven-reversed Immortal King, into a true Eternal Ghost Soldier...

"With this kid’s power, if made into Eternal Ghost Soldier, even the Grand Divine Minister would be interested. Pity, pity..."

Wansheng Dragon King sighed.

Ahhhh!

Suddenly, phantom sounds, hearing incessant shrill screams of ghosts behind seemed.

Impossible, must be phantom hearing! Those half-finished Eternal Ghost Soldiers should not scream; due to rebirth post death, those ghosts should never utter a sound when extinguished.

Wansheng Dragon King shakes his head, mentally chants a calming spell, attempting to suppress phantom sound beside his ear.

Yet the phantom sounds didn’t quiet; instead, grew more intense!

Ahhhh!

More ghosts screaming!

Not phantom hearing!

Those half-finished Eternal Ghost Soldiers truly were screaming!

The Wansheng Dragon King, who had just torn open half of heaven and earth’s sealing, changed his expression, suddenly turning back to witness an unbelievable scene.

After Ning Fan executed a bizarre swordsmanship, the so-called half-finished Eternal Ghost Soldier, which was purportedly indestructible within a time limit, was actually permanently destroyed and could not be reborn!

"What is happening! What kind of sword technique is this, capable of destroying immortal creatures!"

The Wansheng Dragon King felt his understanding of life had been struck by a massive shock; suddenly he recalled something, and the eight giant serpent heads collectively gasped.

He remembered, somewhere in the intelligence about Ning Fan, perhaps there was a mention of the term "inheritor of Ancient Chaos".

The inheritor of Ancient Chaos, could it be the very inheritor he was thinking of!

That fierce star from ancient times, who sliced immortal creatures like cutting vegetables, the one who had achieved the second step realm and was regarded highly by numerous Immortal Emperors from the Real Realms!

Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor!

"It’s said the Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor could easily slaughter immortal creatures; I didn’t believe it, but... it turns out to be true!"

"This child actually does not fear immortal creatures; he, he, he, possesses swordsmanship that can harm immortal beings..."

Slash, slash, slash!

Under the fierce attack of Ning Fan’s Yin-Yang Five Swords Life-Slaying Sword, a large number of half-finished Eternal Ghost Soldiers were permanently destroyed.

Thunder Infant watched in astonishment! Even the immortals she found tricky, Ning Fan was able to easily destroy; for the first time, she felt a bit of admiration for her cheap master.

So cool!

Is this her master, akin to a god of golden flames, wielding a divine sword to slay the rebellious reincarnation of immortal creatures... so, so incredibly cool!

Thunder Infant shamefully blushed; a golden giant infant with a bright red face, the scene could not be more bizarre.

"Impossible! How could the Eternal Ghost Soldiers of Netherworld Ghost Flower be easily wiped out! The achievements of the Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor in slaying immortal creatures are not fabricated by future generations, could it indeed be true!"

Lady Guihua and Maha Emperor were drenched in a cold sweat.

If Ning Fan could not be stopped by immortal creatures, once he has killed all these immortals, the next targets would be the Wansheng Dragon King, and them, the traitors!

"Guihua Daoist, this place shouldn’t be lingered in for long! I have a one-time Demonic Channel bestowed by Demon-Sealing Peak, which will take you away from here!" Maha Emperor suddenly became uncharacteristically generous, wanting to take Lady Guihua with him to flee.

The Demonic Channel is a unique skill of the Ancient Chaos. With a one-time Demonic Channel, even if Ning Fan blocked heaven and earth, he could escape from here; of course, such an escape method can only be used once, and halfway through, the Demonic Channel still requires offering a Spirit of Immortal Emperor level as a sacrifice, or else the Demonic Channel would collapse halfway...

Maha Emperor sneered internally, hence his desire to escape with Guihua; Guihua is a ready-made Immortal Emperor sacrifice!

"What! Daoist actually possesses such a heaven-defying item as a one-time Demonic Channel, but we are under the constraints of the different clan’s Grand Divine Minister. If we abandon the alien army here to escape alone, we’d be obliterated by the restraint..." Lady Guihua was initially delighted before expressing some concern.

"Fear not! I have a secret medicine that can suppress the slave restriction of Ziwei Immortal Cultivation, take it!" Maha Emperor promptly handed Lady Guihua an unknown pill.

His claim of possessing the secret medicine was true, but the medicine given to Lady Guihua was false.

Just a sacrifice, unworthy of the precious [Primordial Demonic Medicine], a little deception would suffice.

"Thank you, Daoist, for saving me from suffering; from now on, I will belong to Daoist, willing to serve Daoist day and night..." At the critical moment of life and death, Lady Guihua, unsuspecting, consumed the pill and cast a flirtatious glance at Maha Emperor.

However, she forgot that she had used the power of the Netherworld Blood Pact, making her appearance exceedingly ugly. This flirtatious glance nearly made Maha Emperor vomit on the spot.

"Let’s escape now, Demonic Channel, activate!"

Maha Emperor activated the one-time Demonic Channel, tearing open a pitch-black passage in the heavens and earth, ready to take Lady Guihua and flee.

Just at that moment, a sharp sword light spanning a thousand li slashed down, shattering the one-time Demonic Channel into pieces.

Maha Emperor and Lady Guihua both groaned, swept out by the gale from the Demonic Channel’s collapse, their expressions turning exceedingly grim in an instant.

It was Ning Fan, who had already slaughtered the vast majority of high-rank ghost soldiers and freed himself from their entanglement, pursuing the two.

"Ning Fan! How dare you hinder my escape, I will be at odds with you forever!" Maha Emperor was furious.

"What foolish talk, you are traitors of Eastern Heaven, how could I possibly let you escape right before my eyes, die!"

Shh!

Ning Fan’s Golden Flame True Body wielded the Sword of Severing Bonds, a sword approached, what skill does Maha Emperor have? It is said he once fought a battle with Lu Hou before he became emperor, astonishingly being repelled after three punches. Such meager skills, taking even one strike from the Sword of Severing Bonds would be overwhelming.

Ah!

A miserable scream was emitted, Maha Emperor was slain by Ning Fan’s sword, strangely, Maha Emperor had no Spirit or anything of the sort within him.

His physical form was his all.

"As suspected, this Maha Emperor is a Corpse demon..." Ning Fan recalled the intelligence obtained after obliterating Emperor Yuan Dan, smirking slightly.

Be it Emperor Yuan Dan or Maha Emperor, in essence, they were not native cultivators of Eastern Heaven, hence they betrayed Eastern Heaven without any psychological burden.

One is a demon, the other is a corpse, both are creatures escaped to Eastern Heaven from the Supreme Pill Sacred Domain! The living beings of Supreme Pill Sacred Domain cannot leave the domain, but strange life forms like demons and corpses oddly can leave.

It was because numerous demons and corpses fled the Supreme Pill Sacred Domain and remained in Eastern Heaven forever that Supreme Pill Sacred Domain imposed stricter controls, prohibiting any non-human beings from leaving the domain.

That’s digressing...

Ning Fan didn’t care about Maha Emperor’s origin and background. Compared to Maha Emperor, he was more intrigued by Lady Guihua.

This ugly woman before him had quite remarkable talents, capable of summoning Thorn Giant Flowers and immortal creatures, interesting.

If it were the usual, Ning Fan wouldn’t mind leaving Guihua alive, keeping her as a Cauldron Furnace or a servant.

Unfortunately, this person is a traitor, and how can a traitor be forgiven...

Due to this woman’s betrayal, countless Eastern Celestial Cultivators have been killed, all of whom are considered Ning Fan’s comrades, selflessly guarding the Eastern Heaven. Their bodies have not yet turned cold; this woman must pay the price!

"Don’t kill me! I... I... I can serve you as a pillow!" Guihua, whose appearance was ugly and twisted, immediately pleaded when Ning Fan’s cold gaze swept over her.

On the surface she was begging, but in her heart, she had made a ruthless decision. Without warning, a space behind Ning Fan suddenly tore open, and from it flew out an eerie Innate Flower Hoe, striking down at Ning Fan’s head.

It was a sneak attack! And a very difficult one to dodge, the timing was so perfect!

Unfortunately, does Ning Fan need to dodge when facing an Innate Inferior Grade Treasure attack from such a low level?

He didn’t dodge at all, allowing the Flower Hoe to hit his Heavenly Spirit without even breaking through his body’s golden flame.

"Truly a vicious woman, daring to bite back even at death’s door, not bad..."

Ning Fan sneered, striking out with a Severing Fate Sword Light, shattering Guihua’s physical body to pieces, and casually capturing Guihua’s Spirit.

He didn’t immediately throw it into the Refining God Cauldron to destroy it.

He was quite interested in Guihua’s methods of summoning Thorn Giant Flowers and Immortal Creatures. He was planning to perform Soul Search on Guihua, but Guihua’s Spirit rapidly wilted after leaving the body.

This scene was like a fresh flower pulled out from the soil, dying quickly.

Seeing such a strange scene, Ning Fan’s expression slightly changed, and he quickly performed a Soul Search on Guihua.

After only a dozen or so breaths, Guihua’s Spirit completely withered and died. In such a short time, the information Ning Fan obtained from the Soul Search was very limited...

After Guihua’s Spirit withered, a seed entwined with ghostly aura dropped out from her Spirit.

Almost at the moment Guihua perished, the Netherworld Ghost Flowers she summoned all turned into illusions and disappeared.

With the disappearance of the Netherworld Ghost Flowers, the semi-finished Immortal Creatures also lost their source of power and vanished.

This was precisely why Ning Fan did not chase the Wansheng Dragon King immediately but came to deal with the Rebel Emperor of Eastern Heaven first. Those Immortal Creatures were too troublesome, harder to deal with than the Wansheng Dragon King.

Without those Immortal Creatures, the enemy’s high-end combat power was reduced to only the Wansheng Dragon King. Ning Fan and Destroying Path Thunder Infant then had free hands to focus on dealing with the Wansheng Dragon King.

The Wansheng Dragon King despaired.

He was just a little bit away from completely tearing apart Ning Fan’s Grand Momentum Seal. It was a seal laid by Ning Fan with the mana of thirteen thousand five hundred tribulations, too difficult to break, like a First Order Quasi-Saint of moderate strength blocking his retreat!

With the seal unbroken, he couldn’t escape; unable to escape, he would have to face the wrath of Ning Fan and the Destroying Path Thunder Infant!

Ning Fan wasn’t the Profound Tail Daoist, and there was no need to fight alone at this moment. Why talk about the chivalry of the martial world with the Wansheng Dragon King when he could just choose to overwhelm him with numbers!

Therefore, the Wansheng Dragon King had no chance of victory. Even though he used all his tricks, he still ended up being slain by Ning Fan and the Destroying Path Thunder Infant’s combined forces.

Ning Fan could certainly accomplish this alone, but it would be too time-consuming. Not to mention other things about the Wansheng Dragon King, his eight-headed body was indeed praiseworthy and extremely hard to kill. According to Ning Fan’s estimate, without the help of the Destroying Path Thunder Infant, it would take several days of fierce battle to exhaust all the power of the Wansheng Dragon King’s eight heads and annihilate him.

With the assistance of the Destroying Path Thunder Infant, he took only two hours to bring down the Wansheng Dragon King.

Naturally, all the lower-order different race forces that came to attack Wansheng Pass were completely wiped out due to the foreseeing seal by Ning Fan.

Even though the Profound Tail Daoist escaped, the entire Wansheng Pass erupted in cheers. Countless passionate Eastern Celestial Cultivators nearly worshipped the mighty Ning Fan as their god after today’s events.

No one under the Eastern Heaven’s Quasi-Saint could surpass Ning Fan’s record of defeating two Half-Saints and dozens of Immortal Emperors with his own strength!

Even elder figures like Emperor Xukong and Shenkong Emperor of the Eastern Heaven began to genuinely regard Ning Fan as a Senior.

Everyone cheered.

Except for Lv Wen and Yun Lei, who held self-reproach instead.

When Ning Fan faced the different race army alone, it wasn’t that they lacked the courage to fight alongside him, but they understood deep down that even if they rushed out of Wansheng Pass’s Formation, they couldn’t provide Ning Fan with any assistance.

They were too weak.

The gap between them and Ning Fan was no longer a matter of one or two realms, but a difference in dimension...

The weak are not qualified to be friends with the strong.

The weak may want to fight alongside the strong, but can only become burdens to them...

That night, the stunning achievements at Wansheng Pass once again shook the entire Allied Forces of Boundary River.

That night, with their strength intact, Emperor Xukong and others, along with the Eastern Celestial Cultivators, launched a surprise attack on the final stronghold of the Ninth Path, Vermilion Bird Pass, taking advantage of the chaotic defeat of the different races and their leaderless state.

Lv Wen and Yun Lei did not participate; the different race forces remaining on the Ninth Path’s waters had already been slaughtered by Ning Fan alone, leaving few to guard Vermilion Bird Pass, and not a single Immortal Emperor. With people like Emperor Xukong participating, it was easy to overrun Vermilion Bird Pass, and they did not desire to claim such almost hand-given merits.

They preferred to, like Ning Fan, engage in a real battle with the different races, but they lacked the ability.

The few cultivators who remained at Wansheng Pass held a grand banquet to thank the hero of the Ninth Path, Ning Fan.

In theory, at such a banquet, Lv Wen and Yun Lei, as Ning Fan’s friends, would not possibly be absent.

But they were absent.

Due to shame.

As the wine was served and the ears warmed, Ning Fan’s gaze was calm as water, resting on the two empty seats beside him, seemingly understanding something, he smiled bitterly.

With such sharp intuition, how could he not realize that those two drinking pals were getting caught up in needless worry?

Upon Ning Fan’s suggestion, the banquet did not last long before it ended.

Everyone knew Ning Fan had just endured a fierce battle in the daytime and needed rest, so naturally, they wouldn’t celebrate all night.

After leaving the banquet, however, Ning Fan didn’t go to rest as everyone had presumed. Instead, he grabbed a few jars of wine and went straight to find Lv Wen and Yun Lei.

To Ning Fan, whether his friends are strong or weak doesn’t matter.

What matters is sincerity, that’s enough.

If Lv Wen and Yun Lei had enough strength to even slightly help Ning Fan, they would choose to fight.

If sacrificing themselves could save Ning Fan’s life, they would willingly embrace death.

Yet, the cruel reality is that even if they gave their lives and tried their best, they couldn’t even touch the hem of Ning Fan’s garment.

And Ning Fan didn’t need their help at all...

"Damn it!" Late at night, Lv Wen and Yun Lei avoided the lively banquet and sought solitude, sitting together drinking in silence.

The scenes of their past interactions with Ning Fan seemed to drift away, becoming blurry and distant.

"Previously, Lv only thought that in marriage you needed to be well-matched, but never considered that friendship also requires the same. Alas... we don’t even have the worth to live and die alongside a friend, it’s shameful to be called friends..."

"Emperors among mortals, at their pinnacle, are lonely. Masters, when they’ve reached the peak, are equally alone. It’s not that they don’t wish for friends, but there are no others who are qualified to drink with them or share life and death..."

Just as the two of them were sighing, they suddenly saw a young man in white, smiling and carrying wine, approach in the night.

They momentarily felt awkward, then the feeling of shame deepened.

Ning Fan, as if not seeing the embarrassment on their faces, sat down and, with words that shocked and silenced, said arrogantly,

"I am very strong."

Damn, this kid is so pompous today! We know you’re powerful, but don’t you feel embarrassed bragging out loud!

The self-reproaching Lv Wen and Yun Lei suddenly felt dispirited and powerless.

"Also very weak..."

Ning Fan, without context, added another phrase like that.

Originally thinking Ning Fan was just boasting, the two suddenly sensed the loneliness and silence in his words.

For some reason, their hearts felt calm almost immediately, as if infected by Ning Fan’s solitude.

"I once, because of being weak, didn’t protect my sworn brother, causing him to miss the immortal’s path and to be lost in the reincarnation of the Rain Immortal World..."

Rain Immortal World? This guy was ascended from the lower realms? How come we never heard this before!

Wait a second! This guy has made so many enemies across the Four Heavens; if this leaks, how many would seek revenge on his family in the lower realms? How can he just tell us something like this!

"Brother Ning, hold on! What you’re saying is a big secret and shouldn’t be casually told to others! It’s not that we are careless, but if we were to die at the hands of an enemy, they could use Soul Search, inevitably leading to..." Lv Wen and Yun Lei, anxious, were about to stop Ning Fan, but Ning Fan shook his head and said,

"Don’t interrupt, listen to me."

"Because I was weak, I lost a sworn brother, and because I was weak, I couldn’t restore my father’s memory, couldn’t stay beside my mother to help her break free from petrification... In my past life, because of weakness, I couldn’t change the fate of the Heavenly Court; in this life, I can’t alter the destiny of my master from Ancient Chaos, can’t prevent the fall of the Seventh Generation Slaughter Emperor; even an important woman to me became a Soul Grass and has yet to reach the day we meet again because of my weakness..."

"I have never had a fixed cultivation goal, nor any vision or expectation for the end of cultivation. I don’t seek longevity or eternity. I want to protect something, but I’m continuously losing..."

"I am very confused. Under the Boundary River’s water, I saw myself, a monster that I couldn’t defeat no matter what. I am confused, unsure if I can genuinely guard the Boundary River, guard the Eastern Heaven. Yet I cannot retreat, no matter what... it’s exhausting, but I’ve come this far from a very young age... In my youth, I bore the responsibility of an older brother; then, I bore the responsibilities as the lord of Seven Apricot City and inheritor of Black Evil Sect; later, I shouldered the responsibility for Yue Country, the Rain Immortal World, and finally, the duty of protecting the Eastern Heaven. With time, this responsibility might grow with my power... I’m exhausted..."

Lv Wen and Yun Lei suddenly felt their previous shame was laughable.

What a load of crap, that shame!

They were merely frustrated by Ning Fan’s strength, feeling inferior!

They’ve never seen this side of Ning Fan before; Ning Fan always appeared radiant, full of thorns, retaliating against any harm.

But it turns out that the thorns and brambles are just a shell, beneath it is endless loneliness and fatigue...

Responsibility?

Do Masters really need to bear such things?

Does someone like Ning Fan truly care about the rise and fall of the world?

The ones he cares about have never been the multitude, just a few figures behind him...

"So don’t worry, I won’t allow others to kill you or probe your memories. I won’t repeatedly suffer losses, the things I want to hold onto, even if Heaven opposes me, I will keep them!"

Ning Fan’s gaze suddenly turned domineering, scooping up a wine jar, he drank it in one go.

Then he said to Lv Wen and Yun Lei, "Tonight I want to rest a little, will you drink with me?"

"Nonsense!"

Lv Wen and Yun Lei figured it out.

Their cultivations might not help Ning Fan, but at least with wine, they could slightly ease the loneliness in Ning Fan’s heart...