Chapter Sixty-One: Did I Kidnap Your Daughter?

Staring at the massive hole that had appeared on the distant mountaintop without his knowledge, Jiang Lin swallowed hard...

"Young Master Jiang..." Madam Chen took another sip of tea, her calm tone making the atmosphere all the more unsettling.

"Yes! Madam Chen!" Jiang Lin straightened his back with a jolt, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Regarding the matter of the peony-embroidered undergarment, does Young Master Jiang have anything he wishes to say?" Madam Chen intertwined her slender fingers, her delicate chin resting atop them as she smiled at Jiang Lin.

Madam Chen and her daughter looked so alike they could have been mistaken for sisters. Yet, despite being mother and daughter, their temperaments diverged so greatly. No matter how he looked at her, Madam Chen seemed cunning and calculating.

For a moment, Jiang Lin found himself missing that silly little Chen Jia—flat-chested, perhaps, but with such long legs, and a simple, sweet nature that was so easy to please...

Innocent, sweet, fair-skinned—how easy it was to coax such a simple girl...

But what was he to do now? Should he come clean? Should he simply tell Madam Chen the truth:

"That's right! Your husband is indeed interested in that wine-selling maiden from the Sun and Moon Sect! He's the one who bought the undergarment!"

How could he say that?!

He, Jiang Lin, was a merchant! A proper, upstanding businessman! And what was the most important thing for a merchant?

Integrity! Protecting the privacy of his clients!

Even if he were beaten to death! Even if Madam Chen ground him beneath her heel! Jiang Lin would not so much as furrow his brow!

Jiang Lin had professional ethics! The honor of a merchant!

"Madam Chen!"

Sitting upright, Jiang Lin braced himself against the oppressive force emanating from Madam Chen, his eyes filled with unwavering resolve.

"Oh?" Madam Chen smiled softly, her lips curving with a mature charm that made Jiang Lin curse Chen Huo in his heart:

"Your wife is so beautiful! Why would you come to me for an undergarment? Have you considered how it feels for a single man like me?!"

"I..."

"Young Master Jiang, be careful with your words," Madam Chen's presence grew heavier, her martial aura intensifying.

So this was what true martial prowess felt like? Wasn't this too much? He was, after all, a sword cultivator at the Sea-Gazing Realm.

Sword cultivators temper both spirit and body. Though their physique wasn't as domineering as pure martial artists, it was still formidable...

Jiang Lin squeezed his eyes shut, gritted his teeth, and with a look of unflinching chastity declared, "Madam Chen! Even if you beat me to death, I will not reveal his name!"

What a joke! How could he betray a client?

At worst, he'd lose a resurrection token, but if he lost his credibility, how could he do business in the future? That would cut off his livelihood! Who would trust him enough to buy undergarments then...

He still had to provide for his silly master and maintain Twin Pearl Peak—everything required money, and business had been getting harder lately... Being a villain was no longer so easy, and if his source of income was cut off...

They might as well just kill him...

Just as Jiang Lin clenched his eyes shut, waiting for a punch to land, nothing happened. Instead, a silvery laugh rang by his ear.

Opening his eyes slowly, he saw Madam Chen sitting before him, covering her mouth as she laughed, her eyes brimming with tears of merriment.

"..."

Jiang Lin was utterly bewildered.

What was wrong with Madam Chen? Had she gone mad after learning her husband bought another woman's undergarment?

"My apologies, I was being rude," Madam Chen finally composed herself, dabbing away her tears as she looked at Jiang Lin with a smile.

"Even if you don't say anything, it doesn't matter. My husband has already confessed everything. You bartered with him—an eighty-percent discount and three complimentary peony undergarments in exchange for his help teaching you martial arts, is that right?"

"Uh..." Jiang Lin was at a loss for words. He had been so determined to keep the secret, ready to deny everything, only to find that Chen Huo had sold him out in a heartbeat!

"Since Madam Chen already knows, then why..."

"Why ask you? Why not just knock you out with a punch?" Madam Chen smiled gently, her gaze carrying a hint of warmth and appreciation as she looked at Jiang Lin.

"You're not bad, you know."

"Eh?"

"I mean, you're a good man."

"Madam Chen, please have some self-respect!" Jiang Lin flinched, quickly hugging himself, looking wary of being accosted.

Madam Chen rolled her eyes. "Relax, I have no interest in you. Still, you've passed my test."

"Test?"

Jiang Lin was more confused than ever.

What was going on? Was Madam Chen not here to settle accounts?

"If you'd betrayed my good-for-nothing husband to save yourself, I would have been disappointed. But you didn't. That's admirable."

"......"

"Also, you withstood my martial pressure. Besides my daughter, few of the younger generation can remain standing under that force."

"Thank you for your praise, Madam Chen."

Madam Chen nodded at Jiang Lin. "Though you're known as a flower thief, selling women's undergarments and engaging in all sorts of shady deals, you are, at heart, a decent person."

Jiang Lin's brow twitched. Was this really a compliment? It felt more like a scolding. And what shady deals? When had he ever abducted anyone? Had he ever abducted her daughter?

"Well, that settles this matter. But Young Master Jiang, you do know that my little Jia is, in fact, a girl, don't you?"

"I know. But rest assured, Madam Chen! Miss Chen and I are merely friends. I have never entertained any improper thoughts toward her!"

Jiang Lin hurried to draw a clear line. True, he often stole glances at Chen Jia's long legs, but that hardly counted as improper intentions. At most, it just meant...

That's right—he simply had an eye for beauty!

Hearing Jiang Lin speak so righteously, Madam Chen parted her lips as if to say something, but then thought better of it. "Forget it. The affairs of young people are for them to sort out."

"Sort out?"

"Just talking to myself, Young Master Jiang. No need to worry," Madam Chen waved her hand, thinking that, though Jiang Lin seemed clever, his emotional intelligence was sorely lacking.

Perhaps she ought to give him a good beating on her daughter's behalf? After all, even the most obtuse men could be straightened out with the right persuasion...

Oh, never mind... Let the young ones handle things themselves.

"Young Master Jiang," Madam Chen sat up straight and smiled. "Even though my husband was in the wrong for buying such things from you, a deal is a deal."

"And by that, Madam Chen means...?"

"I must ask for your understanding. Yesterday, my husband fell down the stairs—broke his leg, a few ribs, and his hand as well. I'm afraid he can no longer teach you martial arts."

"......"

"So, my daughter Jia will take his place. Young Master Jiang, what do you think of this arrangement?"