Chapter 81: A Smile as Radiant as Blossoms (4,000 words, Double Length)
“Brother Jiang!”
“Brother Jiang, slow down!”
“Brother Jiang, please wait!”
“Brother Jiang...”
Just as Jiang Lin galloped away from the protective array of the Sun and Moon Sect, two men, a pig, and a bird flew after him from behind.
Jiang Lin reined in his horse, which was formed from spiritual energy, and turned around slowly. “What’s the matter? Are you here to see me off?”
“Of... of course... Brother Jiang... Whenever you go on a mission, as your brothers, we naturally come to see you off,” Ji Ji Bo gasped, catching his breath.
Jiang Lin smiled at them. “Come off it. I’ve gone on countless missions before, and I’ve never seen you guys see me off.”
“Well...” Fang Chao Qun scratched Wu Ke’s head. “I heard that this time you’re heading to Donglin City, and it’s a bit dangerous. As your brothers, we thought we’d send you off.”
Wu Ke brushed Fang Chao Qun’s paw away, took out a golden lotus and smiled. “Brother Jiang, this golden lotus was cultivated with my own fertilizer. It has miraculous effects on healing wounds from blades, clubs, internal injuries, and sword qi.”
“Wu Ke, you fertilized it yourself?”
“Rest assured, Brother Jiang! I washed the lotus thoroughly!” Wu Ke said, rubbing the flower on himself. “If you don’t believe me, smell it—there’s still a floral scent.”
“Enough, enough... I’ll accept it.” Jiang Lin wrapped the lotus in a cloth and stored it in his pouch.
“Hehe, actually... Brother Jiang, I have a favor to ask.”
“I know, you’re looking for a girl, right? Her name’s Cuihua, isn’t it?”
“It’s Lianhua...”
“All right, if I find her, I’ll let you know.”
“Thank you, Brother Jiang.”
“But Wu Ke, every time we go on missions, you ask us to keep an eye out. Why don’t you go search yourself? It’d be better than lazing around the Sun and Moon Sect.”
“Eh~~~ Brother Jiang, you don’t understand. Everything happens by fate.”
“...”
“Brother Jiang, our bellyband business... Old Wang next door is copying it. What should we do?”
“No worries, Old Wang’s family keeps him on a tight leash. He just wants to stash some private money. It’s understandable. Chao Qun, go tell Old Wang I plan to expand into women’s products. See if he wants to join.”
“Okay!”
“Brother Jiang, my wife went off to find Old Niu. What should I do? I’m panicking...” Ji Ji Bo shoved a bag of pig feed at Jiang Lin. “This feed is my exclusive recipe—refreshes the mind and fills the belly. If you get hungry, eat it.”
“Get lost!” Jiang Lin raised the feed as if to toss it away.
But then, remembering Ji Ji Bo’s family’s famous feed, he thought: if I run into a pig demon, maybe I can lure it with this.
He stored the feed in his pouch. “Ji Ji Bo, I don’t think Old Niu is interested in your wife.”
“Why would you say that, Brother Jiang? What’s wrong with my wife? Big belly, big ears, over four hundred pounds! Why wouldn’t that bovine like my wife?”
“...” Jiang Lin’s brow twitched. “Ji Ji Bo, don’t get agitated. Old Niu’s a simple fellow. When he bought the neighbor’s cow’s bellyband from me, he blushed. Why would he like your wife?”
“So what are you saying, Brother Jiang?”
“Ji Ji Bo, think about whether you’ve done anything wrong lately. Maybe your wife’s angry and is trying to spite you.”
Ji Ji Bo scratched his chin with his big pig hoof, pondering.
“Brother Jiang, this is my newly grown premium feather. It can be large or small, used as a blanket if it’s cold, or as an ear scoop if your ears itch. Please don’t dislike it.” Diao Da plucked a feather from under his wing and handed it to Jiang Lin.
“Go on, what do you need this time?” Jiang Lin took the feather and tucked it away.
“Well... Tuo Ying has been getting close with a hawk called Ying Bi recently. Brother Jiang, it pains me.”
“That’s easy. Ying Bi is actually a scoundrel. He’s fooled plenty of female birds. Ask around about the females he’s been seeing lately, then intervene.”
Diao Da suddenly understood. “So that’s it!”
“All right, if there’s nothing else, I really have to leave now. When I return, let’s play another round of thrilling Flying Chess!”
“Safe travels, Brother Jiang!”
The two men, pig, and bird all bowed deeply. Jiang Lin returned the gesture, then mounted his horse and rode off into the distance...
Only when Jiang Lin disappeared from sight did the two men, pig, and bird slowly lower their heads.
Wu Ke nudged Diao Da with his elbow.
“Wu Ke, what are you doing?”
Wu Ke stroked his chin. “Do you think Brother Jiang has ever suspected our true identities?”
“Well... who knows?” Ji Ji Bo grinned, scratching the bristles atop his head.
Fang Chao Qun smiled. “Even if he has doubts, even if Brother Jiang knows, do you think he’d care?”
“That’s true...” Diao Da nodded thoughtfully.
“Perhaps to Brother Jiang, no matter who we are, right now, we’re just minor cultivators in the cave realm.”
“Hehehe, birds of a feather flock together,” Ji Ji Bo snorted and laughed foolishly.
The two men and bird turned to him and rubbed him against the air...
...
As Jiang Lin rode farther, a thought struck him. He transformed the spiritual horse into a Ferrari, then attached an automatic navigation orb—designed to his specifications by Mo School cultivator Xiao Hei—to the hood.
He adjusted the seat, lay back, and basked in comfort...
Just as Diao Da and the others said, the Sun and Moon Sect has plenty of “ordinary people” who seem unremarkable, but so what? I only know the people they are now, and that’s enough.
...
“Sigh... Let’s finish the mission and return to the sect.” Reclining, Jiang Lin suddenly remembered little Nian Nian.
He hadn’t patted her little head in over an hour... It was unbearable...
...
“Mommy, I miss Daddy.”
On Twin Pearl Peaks of the Sun and Moon Sect, little Nian Nian sat in Jiang Yu Ni’s lap, her tail drooping, her eyes gazing longingly at the sky where Daddy had departed.
“Mommy misses Daddy too. But he’ll be back soon, so don’t worry.” Jiang Yu Ni kissed Nian Nian’s head and smiled. “It’s time for your nap, and then we’ll practice swordplay together this afternoon, all right?”
“Mm-hmm. When Daddy comes back, I’ll practice hard and make him happy.”
“Such a good girl.”
Gently carrying Nian Nian back to the cottage, Jiang Yu Ni sang the Two Tigers song Jiang Lin had taught her, her sweet voice softly filling the peaceful hut.
Dragon children have a phase where they are especially sleepy. Soon, Nian Nian’s eyelids drooped. After eight tigers lost their ears, Nian Nian gently clutched her blanket and began to breathe steadily.
Watching the pink girl lying on the bed, Jiang Yu Ni’s eyes sparkled. “So adorable. I want a daughter with Xiao Lin too, so Nian Nian will have a little sister.”
She leaned down and kissed Nian Nian’s rosy cheek, tucked her tail under the blanket, laid a soundproof array, and quietly stepped outside.
No sooner had she left the cottage than Fang Ruo descended, bowing respectfully. “Fang Ruo greets the Sect Leader.”
“What brings you here?”
In an instant, Jiang Yu Ni’s long, jet-black hair fell down her back, surpassing her waist, making her taller than Fang Ruo by half a head. She was slender, her black eyes gleamed like polished onyx, and her cool aura made her seem distant and untouchable.
“Oh, that brat Jiang Lin asked me to bring a bottle of mountain spirit repellent before he left. Said Twin Pearl Peaks have flower spirits forming that absorb essence.”
Fang Ruo gave a half-smile, shaking the vial in her hand as she looked at Jiang Yu Ni.
“So, is the Sect Leader going to use it personally, or should I drive out the flower spirits for you?”
“I’ll do it myself.” The woman in black gracefully snatched the repellant from Fang Ruo.
“My, your face is a bit flushed. Are you feeling unwell?”
“Fang Ruo! Enough! Do you want a beating?”
“I’m sorry, Sect Leader... I’m sorry...”
Before the stunning woman’s slender hand could strike, Fang Ruo quickly stepped away.
Jiang Yu Ni, her cheeks tinged pink, didn’t chase after her irreverent friend. Her gaze grew serious, icy with a hint of murderous intent. “Is Jiang Lin going to Donglin City because of the Lonely Demon Sect?”
Fang Ruo’s smile faded. “Probably. But Xiao Lin didn’t say much.”
“Hmph! Lonely Demon Sect!”
Jiang Yu Ni snorted coldly, her long sleeves sweeping as a sharp sword qi sliced through the sky, cleaving the clouds as if to cut sun and moon.
...
Chen Residence.
A girl looked up at the sky, dazed, her gaze lingering for a long time.
“He’s gone, why are you still watching?”
Her mother came over, gently tapping her daughter’s forehead. Behind her, Chen Huo lay motionless on a stretcher...
“Mother, I want to go to Donglin City too!”
The girl, Chen Jia, bit her lip, clutching her mother’s sleeve.
“No.”
“But that brute, he...”
“On the path of cultivation, life and death are your own responsibility. Martial artists know this, and sword cultivators even more so.”
Chen’s mother stroked her daughter’s hair.
“Don’t worry. That boy may be unruly, but if anything really happens, I doubt it’ll be serious. Just focus on preparing for next year’s sect tournament. Jiang Lin should be there, too.”
Biting her lip, the girl lifted her head, gazing at the sky, her thoughts drifting...
“Hey! What’s your name?”
“I... I’m Xiao Jia, as in ‘married’ Jia.”
“Oh, so Jia as in ‘to wed.’ Xiao Jia, I’m Jiang Lin—Jiang of Jiang Lin, Lin of Jiang Lin.”
“Why are you in my yard? Are you a thief?”
“How could I be? Xiao Jia, have you ever seen a thief as handsome as me?”
“Then why are you here?”
“Why not? Shouldn’t I be?”
“???”
“Whoa, don’t hit me—no, don’t bite me! I just came to hide from my enemies... ah...”
...
“Hey, Jiang Lin, play a game with me.”
“What game?”
“House.”
“Uh...”
“What, you don’t want to?”
“It’s not that I don’t... Fine, let’s play.”
...
“We have a daughter now.” The girl hugged a rag doll, delighted.
“Our daughter seems a bit ugly.”
“What did you say!”
“No, no, she’s beautiful, really beautiful.”
“Let’s name her.”
The boy thought for a moment. “How about An An?”
“An An? Why?”
The boy looked at the plain rag doll, rubbing his chin. “Peace and safety—what a good name.”
“An An?”
The girl thought, then nodded happily.
“Mm, good, An An it is.”
...
Still gazing at the sky, the girl gradually came back from her reverie, her eyes fixed on the direction he had left.
Her smile blossomed like a flower.
...
Longmen Sect.
“Senior Sister, say something...”
“Senior Sister, the Patriarch admitted he was wrong. Brother Jiang Lin didn’t climb the adult steps.”
“Senior Sister, eat something... You haven’t eaten in half a month.”
“That’s right, Senior Sister. Even if you can subsist on air, Brother Jiang Lin said the body needs amino acids and protein...”
“Yeah, Senior Sister, Brother Jiang Lin is so dense, how could he lose his chastity? You must believe in his ability to stay single.”
“Exactly. When he invited me for drinks, I deliberately got drunk and waited for him to do something. But all he did was draw a turtle on my face. How could such a fool lose his virtue?”
“Senior Sister...”
Outside the mountain barrier, many disciples of Longmen Sect urged their Senior Sister.
After the Patriarch claimed Brother Jiang Lin lost his chastity, Senior Sister was distraught, gripping her sword and charging out. The Patriarch and Matriarch dragged her back and locked her in her peak.
“Enough, let me handle this...”
“Patriarch...”
“It’s all your fault!” a female disciple pouted.
“Yes, Patriarch. If you hadn’t spoken carelessly, Senior Sister wouldn’t be so heartbroken!”
“Last time you took Brother Jiang Lin to learn dialects!”
“Yes! And you dragged him to the women’s bathhouse!”
“...”
Outside the cave, many female disciples scolded their Patriarch, who scratched his head awkwardly.
Truth be told, he was troubled...
That brat Jiang Lin returned to the demon sect, and Qing Wan was lovesick. His two most prized juniors were causing headaches...
The Patriarch entered the barrier, cleared his throat, descended the peak, and knocked on the door.
“Qing Wan... Actually... I really did misjudge—Jiang Lin is still a kid, don’t worry. You know I’m just a loudmouth... Jiang Lin showed me some martial artists’ bath herbs, probably to train his fists. He threw out his back, which made me misinterpret. If you don’t believe me, I’ll swear four... I’ll...”
“Bang!”
Before he finished, a sword light shot up, piercing the hut, the clouds, and even the restricting array.
With a flash, a graceful, long-haired woman landed, sword in hand.
Lin Qing Wan shot her Patriarch a disdainful look, saying nothing.
With the barrier broken, the disciples hovering above the peak landed, cold sweat on their brows.
Qin Xiao wiped his face. “Patriarch, don’t swear four—swear five, and it still won’t matter. Did Brother Jiang Lin teach you that?”
“...” The Patriarch blushed, about to argue.
Lin Qing Wan waved her hand. “Enough, Patriarch, no need to explain. After all these days, I’ve figured it out.”
“You have?” The Patriarch was startled. Had this stubborn girl transcended mortal affairs?
“Yes, I have!”
Lin Qing Wan spoke calmly.
“I believe Brother Jiang Lin would never fail to cherish himself! Surely some vixen used dirty tricks on him!
I’m going to Donglin City! I’m going to protect Xiao Lin! No vixen will get near him again!”
...
...
[Thanks to “Miss Helpless” for the generous reward of 10,000 Starting Coins~~~ Thanks to “Sword Walks Nine Nether” for becoming the book’s helm master~~~ Two chapters owed to these benefactors, noted in the little notebook~~~ (づ︶ど)]
[The struggling author humbly begs for votes~~~ (。﹏。*)]