Chapter Forty-Two: Who Is It! Saying That I'm Handsome!

Early in the morning, atop the Shuangzhu Peaks, inside the tiny grass hut whose roof had just been repaired the previous night, Jiang Lin lay sprawled on the bed in a human-shaped pose. A little dragon girl, curled up with her small tail wrapped tight, nestled sideways on Jiang Lin’s chest. Perhaps dreaming of something delicious, the little dragon girl began to drool, lifting her head and licking Jiang Lin’s chin gently with her tender pink tongue.

Feeling the tickle, Jiang Lin slowly opened his eyes, rubbed them, and glanced at the spirit-powered clock he had crafted. The hour hand pointed to eight o’clock. He proceeded to knead little Nian Nian’s head for ten minutes, finally satisfied, he carefully lifted her from his chest, placed her on the bed, and tucked her in snugly.

“Papa…”

Perhaps sensing her warm “mattress” had been replaced, the little dragon girl sat up, rubbing her eyes with her adorable tiny fists. Her two short legs were ducked on the bed, and her small tail lay limp to one side, not quite awake.

“Nian Nian, you can keep sleeping. Sister Fang will come to take care of you later. Papa will be back a bit late today.”

“No, Nian Nian wants to go with Papa.”

“Hm… be good, Nian Nian. I’m afraid that’s not possible today.”

Jiang Lin did wish to let little Nian Nian witness his heroic and impressive side, to further enhance his shining image in her heart. Yet, upon reflection, he feared it might set a bad example for the young one.

“No, Nian Nian doesn’t want to be apart from Papa.”

For a moment, Nian Nian’s big, watery eyes seemed to brim with tears; her small mouth pouted gently, and the silvery tuft of hair atop her head drooped dispiritedly. Her adorable reluctance nearly shattered Jiang Lin’s resolve.

“This is simply too unfair…”

Jiang Lin made a decision: if he ever had a Dao companion, he would make sure to have a daughter!

No—he would have a whole brood of daughters!

“Nian Nian, look, such a big candied hawthorn.”

“Eh? Where… Papa…”

Jiang Lin tenderly used his spirit power to stimulate the girl's sleep acupoint. Soon, Nian Nian’s eyelids began to droop, and within thirty seconds she toppled forward. Jiang Lin gently caught her, tucked her in, and breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped out of the little hut.

“Who would have thought little Jiang Lin could be so gentle?”

Barely a few steps outside, Fang Ruo, one of the elders of the Sun and Moon Sect’s Mission Hall, descended lightly.

Jiang Lin looked up, hoping to glimpse beneath her skirt, only to see the vast starry sky…

“Sister Fang, I’ll entrust Nian Nian to your care.”

“Don’t worry, I’m quite skilled at taking care of children.”

“…Just so long as Sister Fang doesn’t teach Nian Nian any strange things.”

“That’s not strange at all! I’m teaching her the common sense every girl should know: always keep an eye on boys.”

“Is that why Sister Fang still doesn’t have a Dao companion?”

No sooner had Jiang Lin spoken than a murderous aura began to spread from Fang Ruo. She smiled kindly at Jiang Lin: “Little Jiang Lin, what did you just say? I didn’t quite catch it, say it again…”

“I have business to attend to, I’ll be off now.”

“Wait.”

From behind Jiang Lin, a small straw doll was tossed to him: “This is a magical artifact crafted with my hair. It can withstand a fatal blow from anyone below the Nascent Soul stage. I don’t know why you’re courting death, but whatever you do, don’t die. If Yu Ni breaks out of seclusion and finds you gone, she’ll turn the world upside down.”

Jiang Lin stared at the straw doll in his hand, especially knowing it was made with her hair. For some reason, it felt rather unsettling.

“Sister Fang…”

“If you want to thank me, don’t. It’s embarrassing.”

“It’s not that…” Jiang Lin glanced left and right at the doll in his hand, “Do you shed hair every day?”

Boom—

A deafening crash echoed from the summit of Shuangzhu Peaks. A dark shadow fell from the sky and plunged straight into the soil near the mountain’s base.

…

Meanwhile, outside the Sun and Moon Sect’s protective formation, seven or eight elders from the Sun and Moon Sect hovered in the air, seated in meditation. Likewise, the elders from the eight major sects who had escorted their disciples closed their eyes, resting.

Usually, these squabbles among juniors weren’t a concern for the elders. As long as the older generation didn’t intervene, the juniors could fight and bicker as they pleased, life and death their own responsibility. The path of cultivation was far from smooth, and who hadn’t survived a few deadly encounters?

On the vast open ground below, the Sun and Moon Sect’s cultivators of the lower five realms (below Cave Mansion stage) had all brought chairs along, while those above Cave Mansion stage could fly and thus gathered in the aerial battlefield.

The disciples of the eight major sects and those of the Sun and Moon Sect stood in opposition. The young disciples of the eight sects appeared grave and solemn, while the Sun and Moon Sect’s disciples in the front row had already begun selling sunflower seeds and rice wine…

Some of the more free-spirited Sun and Moon Sect disciples even started reciting poetry, causing the female disciples of the eight sects to blush coyly.

An unknown cultivator, sword in arms, turned to his junior sister, “Junior sister, what’s so appealing about Jiang Lin? He hasn’t even shown up—he must’ve run away.”

His junior sister clasped her hands to her chest, as if praying, “No, senior brother. Young Lord Jiang isn’t that kind of person. He’s so handsome, he wouldn’t run away. Even if it’s just for me, he’ll definitely come.”

Seeing his beloved junior sister’s eyes bloom with adoration, the cultivator’s heart trembled, feeling his Dao heart waver.

…

“Senior sister! Once Jiang Lin arrives, I’ll definitely take his life!”

“All right, all right, move aside—you’re blocking my view. I see a handsome guy over there.”

…

“Senior sister, why do I feel the Devil Sect cultivators are all rather handsome? Look at that giant eagle—its feathers are so lush, so distinctive.”

“I agree. And that bald one—he looks strong.” The senior sister from the Falling Flower Sect eyed the gleaming bald head, swallowing nervously.

As time dragged on, some in mid-air nibbled on sunflower seeds while admiring the handsome Devil Sect men.

At last, when the sun was high overhead, Zhao Hao of the Grand Hao Sect could no longer restrain himself:

“Jiang, the flower-thief! Will you dare face me in battle?”

“Where is Jiang Lin? Didn’t that flower-thief promise a duel today? Where is he?!” With the voices of female cultivators rising all around, Ye Liangchen could not hold back. He floated forward in the air, tweaking the gelled fringe on his forehead.

“I wager Jiang Lin has run off. Coward!”

A man stepped forward to issue a challenge.

“Where is Jiang Lin? Come out!”

“For Fairy Lin! Jiang Lin, let us duel to the death!”

“If you had the nerve to treat me to bananas, you should have the nerve to show yourself!”

“Jiang Lin! You must take responsibility for me!”

“Jiang Lin! Why are you so handsome? Why do you disturb my Dao heart?”

For a moment, the scene descended into chaos. Just as the sun rose higher, suddenly, with a thunderous roar across the sky, a man dressed in white with flowing long hair made a graceful entrance.

Sword carried on his back, the white-robed man presented a slender, solitary silhouette:

“Who is it, saying I’m handsome?”