Chapter Seventy-Six: Little Thief, Shout One More Time!

Not a bead, but willows and pines.

A man sporting an alpaca hairstyle was enthusiastically recounting a spectacular battle to his junior disciples:

“Imagine the day your senior brother and that flower-thief Jiang Lin fought for three hundred rounds, neither yielding nor retreating. At last, we exchanged a sword for a punch, separating again as a wave of force swept through the air!

In the end, I summoned all my spiritual power to unleash ‘Ghostfire’s Resound!’ Jiang Lin, that thief, wiped his fingers along his blade and performed his strongest sword move, ‘Dragon Unbound!’

We called out each other’s names as our techniques collided, ice and fire mingling to stir countless waves of spiritual energy! If not for the elders intervening in time, those of lower cultivation would surely have been injured!”

“Brother Liangchen, you’re amazing!”

“Haha, it was nothing, really. It’s a pity I wasn’t at my best that day; otherwise, I might have edged out a victory. Jiang Lin is strong, but compared to your senior brother, he’s just a bit lacking.”

“Brother Liangchen, I heard Jiang Lin is very handsome. Is that true?”

“Nonsense! How else could he be a flower-thief? But compared to your senior brother, he falls short by just a little.”

“Ah…” Some junior disciples looked disappointed.

Their senior brother was certainly good-looking, but not exceptionally handsome. If Jiang Lin was even less attractive, he must be ordinary… Though there were portraits of Jiang Lin in the newspapers, those could hardly capture his looks. Why then did so many sisters gossip about Jiang Lin’s charm? Perhaps he was romantic?

“Brother, will Jiang Lin the flower-thief participate in next year’s Path-Seekers Tournament?”

“Xia, Young Master Jiang is part of the Demon Sect, we’re righteous…”

“But…”

Just as Xia was about to argue, a surge of martial fortune swept across the sky!

“Heavens, another peak martial realm has emerged!”

“He must be a handsome fellow!”

“Surely he has eight-pack abs!”

“He must be great at push-ups!”

“…”

Dragon Gate Sect—many cultivators looked up at the boundless martial fortune, sighing and recalling a certain someone.

“Qin Xiao, do you remember when Brother Jiang Lin declared he wanted to become a pure martial artist?”

“Of course. Back then, Brother Jiang heard that pure martial artists never suffer weakness, and he yearned for it.”

“So, do you think he succeeded?”

“I don’t know. But if Brother Jiang truly ascended the ladder to adulthood, I imagine he’d be in for a rough time.”

“Sigh…”

The two sighed, gazing toward Senior Sister Lin’s mountain peak. Even with wards placed by the grandmaster and mistress, sword energy surged skyward…

…

On a cloud-sailing vessel, a young woman wearing a veiled hat stood at the railing, twin swords strapped to her back, watching the clouds roll by as her thoughts wandered…

“I, Jiang Yida, am willing to die for you, Miss!”

“Miss Xiao, run!”

“Miss, I’m almost done for…”

“Let’s play Pai Gow together…”

“Hmm? Miss Xiao, what was it you were asking?”

Words floated through her mind, and the corners of her lips subtly curled beneath the veil, her gaze lost in the distance.

“Sigh… Of eighty thousand words in the world, only the word ‘love’ wounds most deeply.”

The memory of another woman’s words surfaced in her mind.

“Sword Spirit Sister… I’m sorry…”

Hearing Sword Spirit Sister’s voice, the girl replied inwardly, apologizing for her reckless visit to the Sun-Moon Sect then.

“You little thing, you’ve apologized more than a dozen times. I told you, it’s nothing,” Sword Spirit replied with a smile. “But our trip to Eastwood City will be dangerous. Xueli, you mustn’t be distracted anymore.”

“Yes, I understand!” Xiao Xueli nodded, her beautiful eyes hardening. No matter what, she could never forget the day the Solitary Demon Sect bloodily massacred the Free Wanderers!

“Oh, another pure martial artist’s peak realm has emerged.”

As the cloud vessel sailed smoothly, martial fortune converged toward a single direction, and the railings were soon crowded with cultivator passengers.

“When was the last time a peak realm appeared?”

“Must have been years ago, right?”

“Though I’ve seen it many times, the sight of martial fortune flooding the skies is always awe-inspiring.”

“Haha, what good is awe? Those martial fortunes are scattered anyway.”

“Yes, it seems the recent peak pure martial artists haven’t absorbed any of the fortune.”

“That’s the martial artist’s dominance—seeking the self, not heaven. No matter how tempting these external gifts, breaking them with a single punch is far more impressive, and it’s a boost to their state of mind.”

The passengers marveled at the spectacle, but none believed the new martial artist would gather the fortune. Since more than a decade ago, when a little girl shattered the martial fortune, every peak martial artist since had done the same. It was said that whoever accepted the fortune would be like a husky among wolves…

“All right, Xueli, let’s go inside. It’s too crowded here.”

“Wait, Sword Spirit Sister, I want to watch a bit longer…”

“Hm? What’s there to see? With ten martial realms, apart from the tenth, every few years a peak martial artist appears—always the same scene. Though, admittedly, this time the fortune is abundant. Perhaps a third realm peak has appeared.”

“No, Sword Spirit Sister, I think it’s the first realm.”

“The first realm?” Sword Spirit grew wary.

Xueli possessed a natural sensitivity to changes in the world, likely due to her supreme bone, so Sword Spirit trusted her judgment. But could the first realm attract all the martial fortune of Phoenix Province? No, not impossible—over a decade ago, a little girl’s breakthrough in the first realm drew the fortune of all nine provinces. Every time she ascended, she was the strongest, and the martial fortune would flood the land.

Yet each time, she shattered the fortune. Many sought this girl, but were blocked by reclusive elders hidden deep in the mountains; all that was known was she was a girl, nothing else permitted to be speculated. To prevent prying, three eminent sages from the Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist sects veiled the destiny.

“Young Master Jiang…” Suddenly, Xiao Xueli’s eyes lit up. “Sword Spirit Sister, it’s Young Master Jiang who’s entered the first martial realm!”

“Jiang Lin?!”

Sword Spirit truly doubted her disciple now—not that she underestimated Jiang Lin, but he was too unruly. Pure martial artistry required endless hardship, yet his words…

Forget it, best not to disturb this girl… Perhaps Xueli simply missed Jiang Lin too much.

…

In Phoenix Province, aside from common folk, every cultivator and martial artist lifted their gaze to the converging martial fortune.

In the province’s greatest Confucian academy, scholars shook their heads and opened their classics, chanting verses that echoed.

At a Buddhist temple, an old monk patted the head of a clear-eyed novice. The boy, knowing it was time to recite, hugged his sutra and read aloud atop a stone, as if reciting poetry.

In a Daoist shrine, a young man napping on a whisk stirred, rubbed his nose, and, half-dreaming, swept his whisk through the air like swatting a mosquito.

Within three breaths, the sounds of reading, chanting, and the breeze from the whisk all joined the martial fortune in the heavens.

The martial fortune slowly concealed itself; save for a select few, no one could sense where it ultimately went.

At Sun-Moon Sect’s Twin Pearl Peak, martial fortune gathered, and as it seeped through the sect’s protective array, it became visible.

Jiang Yunmi looked up, a hint of disappointment in her eyes…

“Oh dear, how did little Linlin succeed in the Mud Embryo realm? I was hoping he’d fail, so I could comfort him tonight—but he succeeded…”

Jiang Yunmi stamped her little foot in annoyance, blinking her beautiful eyes, not pleased.

Soon, she saw it differently.

“Little Linlin has become the strongest in the Mud Embryo realm, so he must be happy. Maybe tonight I can shower him with affection…”

Her eyes curved into crescent moons at the thought.

Once her plan was laid out, Jiang Yunmi happily withdrew her gaze from the sky, holding little Nian Nian in one arm and waving a candied hawthorn skewer before her eyes, resuming her campaign of persuasion.

Seeing the bright red, glossy skewer, little Nian Nian reached out, but each time she tried, she pulled her hand back and hugged herself, her big watery eyes full of hesitation.

“Come, Nian Nian, just call me Mama and I’ll give you the candied hawthorn. Not just one—whenever you want them, Mama will buy them for you.”

With that, Jiang Yunmi drew a large club from her storage pouch, skewered with candied hawthorns.

Little Nian Nian’s eyes sparkled at the sight, as if beholding a great treasure.

She leaned forward to touch them, but just as her little fingers brushed the sweets, she quickly withdrew her hand and shook her head.

“I really want to eat these, and there are so many! Papa never lets me eat this much… But Mama is Mama, and Sister is Sister. How can I call Sister Mama? If Mama finds out, will she be angry?”

Yet, gazing at the treats and then at the sister holding her, little Nian Nian’s plump tail swayed indecisively.

…

Within the Sun-Moon Sect, someone had started a betting game, and tea houses, taverns, and gambling halls were lively.

“Come, place your bets! Those who think Jiang Lin will shatter the martial fortune, bet here; those who think he’ll accept it, bet there. Predict how much fortune he’ll absorb: ten percent, twenty percent—place your wagers…”

All the major gambling houses opened their tables, especially the largest, where Diaoda and his crew called out.

“MMP, what’s there to bet? Jiang Lin will surely try his hardest to accept the fortune!”

“Not necessarily. He’s a pure martial artist now, and for years no first realm peak has absorbed the fortune.”

“But it’s Jiang Lin! You might make a little, but he never loses!”

“Maybe we’re seeing the first layer, and he’s playing on the fifth?”

“I’m torn. What if he deliberately avoids the fortune just to win our money? Didn’t he clean up last time?”

“Damn! Jiang Lin’s such a shameless scoundrel!”

Several people glared at the last speaker: “Brother, you must be new. When has Jiang Lin ever cared about dignity?”

“…”

Sun-Moon Sect’s cultivators argued loudly at each betting table: would Jiang Lin absorb the fortune or not?

…

Meanwhile, in a small pavilion of the Chen Estate, Jiang Lin and Chen Huo were locked in a fierce struggle around a stone table.

Even bandaged like a mummy, Chen Huo found a chance to ambush Jiang Lin, using a ‘Strong Man Locks Man’ move, and the two wrestled together.

“Uncle Chen, you’re injured, don’t overdo it…”

“Bah! You have the nerve to say that? If you hadn’t threatened and strong-armed me, would Xiao Zhuang have found out? If she hadn’t, would I have been beaten into a full-body fracture?!”

“…”

Jiang Lin was lost for words. A full-body fracture—was it really that bad?

Yet, to be so badly beaten by Madam Chen and still lock him up, Uncle Chen’s recovery was truly impressive. Jiang Lin gained new respect for his martial realm…

“Jiang Lin, I’ll fight you to the end!”

“Wait… ah…”

“Ouch, ouch, ouch…”

“No, I’m the one being twisted, Uncle, why are you yelling?”

“Nonsense, any movement hurts now!” With that, Chen Huo kept struggling, and they both cried out in pain…

“Ah! Jiang Lin! Don’t you dare touch my daughter!”

“Ah! Uncle Chen, she was the one who made the move, not me…”

“What! You really did something to my Xiao Jia! Jiang Lin, I’ll destroy you today! Ah!”

“Ouch, ouch… Father-in-law…”

“What did you call me?!”

“No, Uncle!”

“You little thief, say it again!”

“Father-in-law!”

“Jiang Lin, you must die today!”

“Whoa! Uncle Chen, you told me to say it! Wait, you must be mistaken. Xiao Jia and I are just friends!”

“Then why say she made the move?”

“Nonsense, she hit me first…”

“…”

Five minutes later, Jiang Lin and Uncle Chen sat facing each other, trembling as they raised their teacups…

“Jiang Lin, you should have explained earlier.”

Jiang Lin’s brow twitched: “Uncle, you never gave me a chance…”

“Haha, just a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding.”

Chen Huo laughed heartily, his bandaged hand gripping the teacup: “A toast to you, Young Master Jiang.”

“Forget it…” Jiang Lin rubbed his shoulder. “Uncle, you should still have two bellybands left. Give them to me quickly; if we get caught again, we’re done for.”

“Oh, what’s the rush?”

Chen Huo waved dismissively, reaching into his bandaged belly to slowly fish out a peony-patterned garment, grinning like a turtle:

“Relax, Xiao Zhuang will never find them. I keep them close…”