Chapter Sixty-Seven: Master!

“Brother Jiang! How did it come to this!”

“Brother Jiang! What happened to you?”

“Who could have done something so vicious?”

“Is there no code of conduct anymore? Weren’t we supposed to agree that fighting isn’t shameful, but there are lines you don’t cross—like not kicking below the belt! Brother Jiang...”

“Little Nian Nian, who hurt your father?”

“That’s right! We have to get justice for Brother Jiang!”

“Exactly! Medical expenses, emotional damages, and the accidental insurance from the Sun and Moon Sect’s Insurance Hall—they ought to be extorted for every last cent!”

“Let’s carry Brother Jiang to their doorstep and block their entrance!”

“Don’t worry, Brother Jiang, just lie down and leave the rest to us!”

“We’ll split the compensation fifty-fifty later, of course—you get half for yourself!”

Looking at Jiang Lin, lying battered and bloodied on the ground—every part of him injured except for his most vital area—everyone shook their heads, but their eyes gleamed with opportunity.

“It was mama who did it...”

Little Nian Nian, seeing her father in such pain, pouted sadly, tears welling up in her eyes.

“Mama?”

Kneeling beside Jiang Lin, her small hands tightly clutching his fingers, she nodded. “I didn’t want papa and mama to fight, but mama wouldn’t stop, and papa kept shouting, ‘Don’t stop, keep going, make it even stronger!’ That’s how he ended up like this.”

“...”

For a moment, Diao Da and the others looked at Jiang Lin with a strange expression.

“Brother Jiang, I didn’t know you were into this sort of thing...”

“Brother Jiang, you really know how to have fun.”

“By the way, where’s your wife? We haven’t seen her.”

“Who among the dragonfolk is so wild?”

“But Brother Jiang, you mustn’t let your master find out about this, or else...”

“Alright, enough nonsense, I’m still alive...”

Barely clinging to consciousness, Jiang Lin slowly opened his eyes.

“Papa... papa...”

Seeing her father was still alive, little Nian Nian threw herself into his arms.

Jiang Lin felt a sharp pain in his chest—and something else, a curious pressure.

Hm? Pressure?

He noticed tears streaming down Nian Nian’s cheeks, and as they rolled down, each tear crystallized into a small, aquamarine bead.

[Could this be a Dragon’s Tear? Like in ‘The Fairy List’...?]

“What is this bead?”

Jiji Bo picked up the Dragon’s Tear, turning it over in the moonlight. It glimmered with a beautiful luster.

“Oh... I get it! This must be...”

Wu Ke clapped his hands excitedly, the sound startling Jiang Lin nearly out of his skin.

“Nian Nian’s Bloodline Limit!”

“...” Jiang Lin’s briefly lifted hopes sank again.

“Oh, so it’s a Bloodline Limit!”

“But what does this Bloodline Limit actually do?”

“No idea, there are too many kinds. Last time, in ‘Mirage Moon Mirror,’ I saw a guy whose bloodline let him fart and kill a giant tiger beast.”

“These tears seem gentle... it feels like they might have a healing effect. Why not try them on Brother Jiang first?”

“Good idea.”

“I agree!”

“Agree, my foot!” Jiang Lin felt a headache coming on.

“Nian Nian, don’t worry. Papa is fine—didn’t mama say so too? Everything’s okay.”

“But papa...”

“Enough, really, I’ll just take a bath and be all better. Don’t cry, alright? Papa loves your smile the most. If you cry, papa will get upset.”

He pinched her cheek, pretending to be angry.

“Papa, don’t be mad. I won’t cry.” Nian Nian wiped her tears. “Papa has to get better soon.”

“Good girl.”

The two of them, along with a pig and a bird, watched the heartwarming scene and couldn’t help but smile fondly.

But...

“Brother Jiang, why did you send us flying sword messages to come here?”

“Yeah, seeing you like this, I thought you wanted us to help you get compensation for your injuries.”

“But if it was your wife who beat you, this is a bit tricky...”

“Are you planning to divorce her? Or maybe you’re both putting on a show to get sympathy?”

“Screw you...” Jiang Lin gently used his spiritual energy to press Nian Nian’s sleep acupoint (perfectly safe—his master used to be far too rambunctious, so he learned this trick).

Soon, Nian Nian’s eyelids grew heavy, her head nodding like a pecking chick, and she collapsed onto Jiang Lin’s chest.

Struggling upright, Jiang Lin carried her inside, tucked her into bed, cast a soundproofing spell on the room, and then limped back out, tossing each of them a mid-grade spirit stone.

“Brother Jiang? What’s this for?”

“Hit me!”

“Huh?”

“If I’m not mistaken, you’re all in the Fourth Martial Realm. Maybe not pure martial artists, but close enough.”

Jiang Lin stripped down to just his shorts, looking quite perverse under the moonlight. “Come on! Hit me with everything you’ve got! No mercy!”

“If that’s what you want, Brother Jiang!”

“Then it would be rude to refuse!”

“Brother Jiang! Here I come!” Wu Ke’s fist swung like the wind.

“Me too, Brother Jiang!”

“Honestly, Brother Jiang, I’ve never liked how handsome you are!”

“Brother Jiang, what about my share? Give me back my wife’s undergarment!”

Under the moonlight, the two men, a bald head, a bird, and a pig became a flurry of movement atop Twin Peaks, the scene growing ever more intense...

...

“Ahh... that’s better...”

At three in the morning, Jiang Lin finally managed to climb into a large bath, sending up a splash.

He had wanted to use a body-tempering solution, but Chen Jia had warned him that it was too soon for medicine, so he gave her two bottles to try instead—to show his appreciation for her... beating... and to ask about the results later.

Chen Jia had actually wanted to stay the night and help him train, but Jiang Lin refused. After being pummeled all afternoon, any more and he’d be a dead man.

So he said no—and also refused Chen Jia’s request to take Nian Nian home.

After so many days without holding her as he slept, he couldn’t get used to it...

But after an afternoon of Chen Jia’s hammering and a night of sparring with Fang Chaoqun and the others, Jiang Lin realized his body had changed.

He felt sturdier than before.

Whereas once his body was like a pile of mud, each well-placed blow from Chen Jia had been like a sculptor’s touch, shaping him from formless clay to something with structure.

And after withstanding Fang Chaoqun and the others’ punches and kicks, his “clay body” had grown even more compact.

This was the “Mud Embryo Stage”—the first level for martial artists. Jiang Lin felt he was close to breaking through. With luck, he’d officially enter the Mud Embryo Stage within a day or two.

Soaking in the bath, scratching his hairy legs, he dreamed of the day he could ride his sword across the sky, his body as invulnerable as diamond, surpassing even Chen Jia—finally able to hang her up and give her a taste of her own medicine...

Suddenly, a familiar sword aura split the sky!

Huh?

Master!

...

...

[Because the previous single-chapter announcement quickly disappeared, many readers are still unsure about the bonus chapter rules...]

[Bonus chapter rules: The same as before—

1. To ensure your small rewards aren’t wasted and to show my gratitude:

On Qidian: For every 10,000 book coins accumulated from reader rewards, I’ll post an extra chapter (e.g. if 100 readers each donate 100 coins, that’s 10,000 coins and one bonus chapter).

On Penguin Reading: Every 20,000 book coins, I’ll post an extra chapter (since Qidian gets a higher share, thanks for your understanding).

2. On Qidian, a single reward of 10,000 coins gets a bonus chapter.

On Penguin Reading, a single reward of 20,000 coins gets a bonus chapter.

Other platforms and iOS client rewards aren’t counted—I can’t get the stats for those...]

[PS: Starting tomorrow, I’ll update two chapters daily, since the New Year’s over~

Finally... happy reading, everyone~

That’s all, see you soon! ε=ε=(ノ≧∇≦)ノ゜❅。゜。]