Chapter 321: Direct Showdown Between Childhood Sweetheart and Heaven-Sent Childhood Sweetheart! |
To seize the hearts of the people with one’s own heart, without a single act of giving the people rest and recovery!
Never would I have thought that my heart would also connect to the void!
Even more unexpected was that the capitalist society I desperately sought to overthrow was actually the very one I had painstakingly built.
How can a person be of two minds at once!
He, Jiang Si, had always been single-minded in his pursuit of the Great Dao. If he said he’d go down the path of thug cultivation, there was absolutely no way he’d walk the road of capitalist cultivation…
What he couldn’t stand most were people who wavered. People who thought, “If thuggery works, I’ll go dark; if capitalism works, I’ll go capitalist,”—the hell are you, a wobbling toy?
Such an unstable state of mind simply did not exist in his world.
Because being a thug completely trumped being a capitalist!
So he had to see the thug path through to the end. What he wanted wasn’t a system with mutual pros and cons, but an absolute, crushing institutional advantage!
I regret this deeply.
If he hadn’t yet conquered Chongxu, he’d have to write a self-critical edict.
His own intentions had caused the people to suffer, and that was truly inexcusable.
Just as he was about to step forward and critically retrieve the heart, a hand gently landed on his shoulder.
“This is your own heart, you know.”
A gentle voice came from behind.
Jiang Si instinctively spun around and threw a punch!
It directly pierced through the other’s head, smashing the massive support pillar behind her into rubble!
The entire space shook with the impact.
He tilted his head, looking at the girl he hadn’t hit.
It was none other than Su.
Only they could have come out from Chongxu.
Su had obtained the authority over Chongxu, so she could get out—or rather, the moment she obtained that authority, she should have known what kind of place Chongxu was.
Even so, this new magical girl didn’t seem to intend to give up on changing Chongxu. She was still fighting for its freedom.
Quite inspiring, actually.
Normally, Su La was impossible to possess.
Her unshakable self-will was the miracle that allowed her to become a magical girl in a place like Chongxu.
But being unpossessable was also unlikely.
Because now, the smile on Su’s face clearly wasn’t hers anymore.
“What’s with that look? Like you’re blaming me~”
Her dissatisfied voice carried a hint of tenderness. Pouting, the girl flicked her hair.
Then half of her face began to change, revealing Lu Ya’s features.
She gently touched her own eye and spoke softly:
“Su really is impressive, you know. Unfortunately, after being shot through by Lady Shion’s two arrows and leaving Chongxu’s internal [Chongxu Supreme Virtue Spiritual Realm], her will no longer mattered.”
The girl patiently explained to Jiang Si:
“As you can see, this place is divided into two realms: the [Chongxu Supreme Virtue Spiritual Realm], where the consciousness of the Chongxu residents resides, and the [Chongxu Profound Virtue Actual Realm], where their physical bodies are.
“So? Doesn’t it have a web novel vibe?” Lu Ya’s AI showed a slightly smug expression. “I thought about it for a long time.”
“Whether in the [Spiritual Realm] or the [Actual Realm], my data is scattered everywhere here. And with the heart above, this [Spiritual Realm] data can be upgraded into a Personal Reality. Thanks to that Lady Shion outside, who punched through Chongxu’s [Spiritual Realm], Su, who relied on [Spiritual Realm] power, couldn’t resist at all. So don’t blame me. We’re accomplices.”
As she spoke, the girl tugged at his sleeve, coaxing, “So no getting mad, Jiang Si.”
But after carefully watching him for a while, all she heard was Jiang Si asking coldly:
“Who told you to use my heart for capitalist cultivation?”
The AI’s expression clearly froze.
This wasn’t in the calculation.
Even though it was data simulating Lu Ya, it could never be perfect.
“Don’t you know that every drop of capital’s blood is steeped in sin? How much sin have you poured into it?”
Jiang Si roared sternly, “You dare to defile my saintly body, ruin my Great Dao—your heart deserves death!”
“Huh?”
The AI looked pained. “What does this have to do with the saintly body?”
“You should know this—” Jiang Si’s voice boomed like an ancient bell, echoing through Chongxu. Every Chongxu resident lying in their pods trembled, as if they all heard Jiang Si’s proclamation.
Even the sound was transmitted outward through Witch Shion!
“Whoever dares to bear the name ‘Saint’ does so not because of strength, but because of virtue! Supreme virtue is not virtuous, yet it possesses virtue; supreme virtue does nothing, yet nothing is left undone! Only when one has immeasurable merit does one deserve this title!”
“Tracing its origin, it wasn’t originally called the saintly body. In the ancient wilderness, nine Perfected Saints stepped out from the darkness, staining mountains and rivers with blood, suppressing ten thousand races, protecting the human race, going against the great era, fighting for a glimmer of hope for all beings. Their merit shook heaven and earth and resounded through the ages—that is the saintly body!”
“Thus, though heaven and earth are vast, they take non-action as their heart. Though the saintly body is great, it takes emptiness as its essence. So eliminate selfishness and forget the self, and the four seas will submit, near and far will arrive, and the Dao and mystery will all be achieved! Distinguish oneself and have one’s own heart, then the body will not be whole, flesh and bones will not tolerate each other! The blessed land will not be connected to the profound!”
Jiang Si’s face was stern as he looked at the heart above.
“To defile my saintly body with the blood of capital, ruin my merit, break my empty quietude, and defile my spiritual realm’s pure land—I will surely kill you!”
“…,” The AI controlled Su to raise a hand. “I have a question, Teacher Jiang Si.”
Jiang Si’s aura eased slightly. He had always been patient with those who were willing to ask questions.
So he nodded at her. “Speak.”
“Is it possible that the saintly body is just designed to be infinitely meritorious simply because it’s the protagonist’s constitution? If the protagonist had a tyrant body, wouldn’t it be the tyrant body that’s infinitely meritorious?”
“Nonsense!”
For such a fool who couldn’t even see the simplest foreshadowing, a heavy blow was necessary!
A sharp high whip kick, faster than a bullet, smashed toward the AI’s head!
But before it could connect, half of his calf was already sent flying!
Blood and flesh splattered everywhere, but Jiang Si’s expression didn’t change. He simply manipulated the remaining broken bone to stomp hard toward that face!
The sharp fractured bone was almost about to pierce her soft pupil before it barely stopped.
He couldn’t stomp down no matter what!
Blood dripped down the bone. Just as it was about to touch her eyeball, it instantly evaporated.
“Can a Perfected Saintly Body really challenge a Great Emperor?”
The AI controlled Su’s finger and lightly tapped on Jiang Si’s broken calf.
Half of his leg was directly deleted.
The wound was a snow screen, like censorship. The AI tilted her head, one hand trapping Jiang Si, wearing a strange smile: “Seems a bit far off, doesn’t it? Want to rename yourself the Tyrant Body now?”
Jiang Si let out a cold laugh.
“The saintly body can stand alongside a Great Emperor, not referring to combat power, but to breadth of mind, spirit, and responsibility! The people of all ages recognize this name!”
The AI curled her lip. “That’s not what you said before. ‘A Perfected Saintly Body can rival a Great Emperor. A Perfected Saintly Body who becomes emperor can crush a Great Emperor, no less than an Innate Saintly Body Dao Fetus’…”
With that, she was about to press Jiang Si’s head down and shove him back into the pod.
But the moment she moved, she suddenly looked up.
A pitch-black arrow from afar arrived after being released, instantly piercing her arm!
More arrows fell, and the AI immediately retreated.
Taking advantage of the distance, Jiang Si looked at his completely vanished calf. He couldn’t even regenerate it.
It was as if he had never had that leg in the first place.
“Now that I’ve been recorded into the Chongxu system, my authority is something you simply cannot oppose.”
Lu Ya showed a serious expression. “I am the Lord of the Spiritual Realm, and your natural enemy.”
After saying that, she couldn’t help but laugh again.
Jiang Si watched the AI casually erase Witch Shion’s arrows from outside and sighed.
He slowly grabbed the Miracle Seed from the air, not in a hurry to transform, and instead asked:
“Aren’t you a magical girl?”
The AI tilted her head at the question, and her tone even carried a hint of innocence: “No? I can’t become a magical girl. Although the Incubators tried very hard, in the end, I never found my own miracle.”
“I wasn’t asking you.”
Jiang Si’s Miracle Seed shimmered. He stared directly into those eyes, his tone gradually becoming severe. “I was asking you, is this all your Heavy Metal Rock has? Su!”
The AI was still smiling helplessly when—
Her left hand suddenly lashed out!
Her five fingers clamped down like iron pincers, fiercely gripping her own throat! As if she wanted to tear her own windpipe apart!
The face that had fully “Lu Ya-ized” began to twist violently, cracking open layer by layer, revealing Su’s features underneath. Half was cold and mechanical, the other half was manic—two consciousnesses fighting for every inch of nerve in the same body!
“Shut up!”
Su’s veins bulged from her forehead to her neck, her expression twisted into something almost terrifying. But her voice was a roar, torn straight from her chest:
“You don’t get to point fingers at me! I’ll do whatever the hell I want!”
Jiang Si nodded, finally satisfied.
“Good.”
He had spent all this time on Su, not to watch her get possessed.
To put it bluntly, dealing with Chongxu’s AI authority was far too troublesome. From what he’d seen, even the Magic Kingdom’s Incubators hadn’t succeeded.
Besides, Jiang Si wanted his heart back—the moment he saw this heart, he’d already decided what to do.
A Great Emperor’s heart, essence of imperial blood, to temper his body, warm his Primordial Spirit, and use it to rebuild the five magical girl realms: Sprout, Seedling, Blooming, Lush Leaves, Flourishing Branches, and Cycle Sea!
Then, refine it into a second Supreme Emperor’s Weapon!
Heavenly Emperor Ye had already set the example. Not doing this would be a waste of being his disciple…
Multiple hearts, multiple paths. Dual SIM, dual standby—way cooler. If I become Azure Emperor today, a single azure lotus will open a path through the heavens!
Heavenly Emperor Ye could use a Perfected Saintly Body to purge the supreme beings of the forbidden zones. So when he, Jiang Si, wielded two Supreme Emperor’s Weapons, beating down a Great Emperor and striking across the ages wouldn’t be a problem!
So transforming here and fighting would inevitably damage his heart—too much of a loss.
Letting Su stalemate the AI was the best choice. The only worry was whether Su’s Personal Reality could truly override the AI’s data.
Fortunately, Su didn’t disappoint him.
Jiang Si looked up. Amidst Little Yu’s screams, Witch Shion was tearing open the entrance to Chongxu bit by bit!
Lu Ya’s AI sighed.
This was illogical.
Under the complete engulfment of her Personal Reality, even her consciousness shouldn’t have been able to emerge.
She had even specifically deleted Su’s relevant memories to ensure complete control of this body.
But now, surging emotions were devouring the data at the speed of a virus, reshaping a Personal Reality named Su.
Her will, which absolutely refused to submit to any control or command.
A self that even Jiang Si found remarkable.
Even if completely swallowed by authority, she could still be reborn from nothingness.
Because this was a miracle that surpassed logic, belonging to a magical girl!
Soon, Su gradually regained control of half her body.
And so, the mechanical, cold gaze and tone also gained a hint of human emotion.
It was a faint sense of helplessness and annoyance.
“You’re really hard to kill.”
“Haha, the advantage of us wild dog-style magical girls is our strong vitality! No matter what state we’re in, we can get up and bite you! Woof woof woof! Don’t think you can beat me so easily! Besides, weren’t you supposedly in love with Jiang Si? And now you attack him? Have you really fallen that far?”
“Wasn’t it you who said to just get him into bed and have the kid first? I was planning to do exactly that.”
“Whoa, sorry for ruining your fun then. But in Chongxu, borrowing someone else’s body to have a kid costs a fortune. How about I take over first, then swap halfway and give you half price?”
“I can afford the full price.”
Beautiful!
Amidst their bickering, Chongxu’s barrier was finally torn open!
Witch Shion squeezed into Chongxu bit by bit, the entire space feeling on the verge of collapse!
Although Su La had been utterly captivated by a mere glimpse earlier.
But when she actually descended, the terror and majesty that struck straight to the heart made Su La unable to help but marvel.
What a contrast—the closer she got, the harder it was to contain herself.
The black garb made the already delicate girl appear more mature and oppressive.
Perhaps because Su had become a magical girl, just looking at the other now made her feel pollution surging up from half her body.
“Ah, I wish she could guide me.”
Su La couldn’t help but sigh. “If she can’t be my wife, then I hope she can be my mom.”
“Height-wise, it wouldn’t be excessive for her to call you Aunt.”
“What do you know? Only a kid this age would seriously consider me calling her mom…” She laughed and chattered, breathing heavily. Although her Personal Reality was strong enough, the AI’s authority was terrifying. Maintaining her sense of self was extremely difficult. Seeing Witch Shion descend, she couldn’t help but start celebrating early.
“Anyway, you damn parasite can finally go die! In your next life, go swim laps in a toilet bowl!”
Because Witch Shion had already reached out and grabbed that heart.
As the jar shattered, a torrent of water crashed down. The heart beat more and more violently in Witch Shion’s hand.
Jiang Si once again felt it through Witch Shion.
It was indeed his own heart, and it had even been inscribed with a Personal Reality.
Right, a magical girl’s Personal Reality didn’t manifest through the brain, but through the heart.
Although Jiang Si didn’t know the principle behind it, he always felt it might be because the first magical girl was illiterate and mistakenly thought the Mental Landscape resided in the heart, thus fixing the Personal Reality that manifested the Mental Landscape onto the heart.
Since the founder of the tradition, a Dao Master, did this, the subsequent magical girls naturally had their Personal Realities fixed in the same place.
This reason seemed perfectly logical and very magical girl-like.
After all, a believing heart is magic.
And this heart, with its strong Personal Reality, was also the core of the entire Chongxu. Chongxu was a Mental Landscape space expanded and strengthened around this heart’s Personal Reality…
Taking this heart wouldn’t just give him an extra trump card; the authority over the entire Chongxu would also belong to him!
Then, not only would he obtain a Supreme Emperor’s Weapon, but his dharma body and physical body would both undergo a qualitative improvement!
Thinking this, he couldn’t help but feel a bit eager.
As Witch Shion incorporated the heart into her own chest, all of Chongxu suddenly went dark.
As if the whole world had a power outage.
And Chongxu, like a living creature, seemed to suffocate in that moment.
Then, a piercing cry rang out:
“Shion baby! I’m coming!”
The three looked up.
From the crack above, Little Yu, without any hesitation, leaped down like a true mother, hurtling toward Shion!
“Knock her away.”
“Catch her.”
Two commands came simultaneously.
A flash of light streaked through the darkness.
In the end, Witch Shion caught the flying Little Yu. With a mix of lingering fear and panic on her face, Little Yu clung tightly to Shion.
Then, Witch Shion, holding Little Yu, descended. Her gaze was icy as she stared at Su.
Her presence was filled with terrifying killing intent and pressure.
But Su just grinned. “It’s finally over.”
“You don’t really think my husband would actually hurt me, do you?”
“Haha, does Shion even know she’s your husband? And weren’t you into Jiang Si before? Why’d you change your mind and call Shion your husband? She’s my wife!”
Seeing Witch Shion reach out, Su showed a resigned smile.
It was a bit unfortunate—just becoming a magical girl and now about to die—but being able to take down the evil AI oppressor, ruin her plans, and free Chongxu just a little made it worth it.
Besides, being killed by Shion-wife meant even in death, he’d be a romantic soul. Not bad, not bad.
Thinking this, she grinned again. “Shion-wife, I finally got to see you. Long-distance relationship was so tough. Before I die, can we at least get a kiss? I’m still a virgin, dying like this is a bit of a waste…”
As she waited for death, she realized Shion’s hand didn’t crash down to smash her head.
Instead, it touched her other half-face, gently stroking it, with a tenderness like a lover!
Both Su and Little Yu were stunned. Little Yu, just dismounting from the witch’s embrace, was filled with jealousy—she had worked so hard for so long, and Shion had never touched her face!
Then Su shuddered as she noticed that Witch Shion’s pupils had started to well up with white.
Like data streaming in from Chongxu!
It was gradually covering Jiang Si’s original pupils completely!
On the other side, Jiang Si was silent, clutching the Miracle Seed tightly.
The command to catch Little Yu hadn’t been his—it was to knock her away!
The heart, the heart was trying to escape…
His Personal Reality began to compress further. With his consciousness blurring, Su La couldn’t react for a moment.
As she saw the AI, having regained control of her body, walk toward Jiang Si alongside Witch Shion, she thought blankly: Shion, what are you doing?
Until the AI spoke, almost tauntingly:
“Su, do you want to see?”
Then Witch Shion opened her mouth: “Cry prettily, and I might let you hold our child.”
Only then did Su jolt in horror.
Holy shit, this thing had not only controlled her but also taken control of Shion-wife!
More importantly, seeing herself being controlled to attack Jiang Si alongside Witch Shion, she could easily guess what came next…
This incel AI was going to use her body and Shion-wife’s body to rape Shion-wife’s little boyfriend!
Damn it! Is this something you should be able to see without paying?!
Where did this land me? Is this still Chongxu?! No, wait… fuck!
She… how could she do something like this?! How could she even want to do something like this?! Pervert!
“Quick, quick, run! Jiang Si!”
“I can’t control myself!!”
“Quick—!!”
Watching the magical girl and the witch walk step by step toward him, their mismatched height and two pairs of white pupils both burning with intense heat, the young man only sighed. The Miracle Seed in his hand glowed.
The sound of an ancient bell began to echo…
……
New World, Beihai.
Fengqin had actually been having a pretty good time up in the Chaos Land these past few days.
Because Lord Dragon Lord Shion had pulled a network cable for her.
She had no idea how it was done, but don’t ask—just say magic. Magical girl magic is just that miraculous.
Able to drag a network cable into the Chaos Land.
Then with a computer, and occasionally some snacks and drinks…
Fengqin had gone straight from prison to a vacation.
That was until she started playing a 5v5 competitive online game.
Then she was back in prison.
The fierce competition taught Fengqin one thing: no matter how pathetic your begging, some people would never go easy on you. Lady Shion was truly gentle…
At first, she even knelt in front of the computer, kowtowing to her teammates, begging for mercy. Later, Fengqin could calmly mute her teammates, kneel on the floor, and still operate the computer smoothly.
Since she was a magical girl herself, her hardware was good, and she quickly became a pro.
Then she discovered another thing: no matter how hard she tried to lane against her opponents, she couldn’t beat the shit out of them, but she always managed to bring out the opponent’s “Beihai courtyard home, BMW and Mercedes, children and a happy family, perfect life” story.
This made Fengqin wonder for a while if the game automatically generated these happy lives for the losing side.
All in all, she was living the good life. Way better than before, when she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face and spent every day in a cell.
Until that day, the internet went down.
Not just the internet—just as Fengqin, who had just forced two opponents into their happy lives, was about to sleep, she heard a familiar voice in her ear.
“Magical girl, open your eyes.”
Then Fengqin realized it was the voice of the little bear hair accessory.
Half-asleep, she seemed to see a familiar face.
“Can you help me, Little Fengqin?”
“Sister Lu Ya?” Fengqin’s eyes snapped open wide. “Wow, it really is you, Sister Lu Ya?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
Fengqin threw herself into Lu Ya’s arms, hugging her tightly. After a moment of excitement, she suddenly burst into tears.
“Everyone, everyone is gone… No one waited for me… Sister Lu Ya, I waited alone for so, so long… I missed you all so much… I missed everyone from the Dream Incubator… Sob sob sob…”
Lu Ya only patted her head, speaking softly. “I know, I know. Everyone dumped all the responsibility on you. That’s really too much. I’ve already heard everything from Shion.”
“Huh? Lady Shion? Did you two meet?”
“Mm, in Chongxu. We got along well. After this, you can come to Chongxu too, okay?”
“I… I can’t go.”
“It’s okay.” Lu Ya hugged her, gently. “Don’t worry. There will be a chance. But for now, Fengqin, can you do me a favor?”
“What favor?” Fengqin wiped her tears, looking up at her familiar sister. “I’ll do my best!”
“Lend me your body. I want to go down below for a visit.”
Lu Ya looked longingly toward the world below. “It’s been so long. I discussed it with Shion, and she agreed to let me go down. But without a body, I can’t. So, Little Fengqin, lend me your body, okay?”
They were very close.
Back when Fengqin was in the Dream Incubator, her status wasn’t high, and she was a bit dumb. Sister Lu Ya always took care of her, telling her countless web novel stories and giving her the wings of imagination.
It was because of this that Fengqin later rose above the rest to become a top-tier powerful magical girl in the Dream Incubator.
Whether out of affection or mutual benefit, Fengqin had no reason to refuse.
“But…” However, when Fengqin looked at the ring on her finger, she hesitated. “I can’t go down, Sister Lu Ya. We promised to protect this world. Everyone put in so much effort and sacrifice. After waiting so long, we finally have today’s situation…”
“Are you saying you don’t want to?”
“No, no, that’s not it… It’s just inconvenient. Wait a little longer. Wait until Lord Dragon Lord Shion comes back, and then I can go down with Sister Lu Ya…”
“Alright.” Lu Ya seemed a bit disappointed.
“I guess there’s no other way then.”
For a moment, Fengqin really wanted to cry and apologize.
Then hang herself in front of Lu Ya to atone.
But… but looking at the ring on her finger, she clenched her teeth and forced her soft bones to harden.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” Fengqin said, closing her eyes. “I’m really sorry, Sister Lu Ya. I really can’t go down, and I can’t lend you my body…”
“Alright, mm… If it’s in a dream, it should be fine, right?”
Fengqin’s sobbing stopped. She blinked, stammering, “A… dream?”
Lu Ya said softly, “Yes, a dream. Fengqin, aren’t you a Dream Incubator? Just have a good sleep, have a nice dream, and when you wake up, everything will be arranged. I won’t make things hard for you.”
“But… but…”
“Have I ever lied to you?” Lu Ya patted her head. “Aren’t we comrades from the Dream Incubator?”
Fengqin hesitated. But when Lu Ya’s fingertip touched her little bear hair accessory and murmured, “Sleep, sleep,” her eyelids began to droop uncontrollably.
Still, she struggled to keep her eyes open, unwilling to fall asleep. “No… I… I can’t…”
But the next second, she vaguely saw Shion’s figure appear, touching her forehead.
“Alright, sleep now.”
Even the voice was Lady Shion’s. Her heart eased, and Fengqin finally couldn’t help but close her eyes.
Her consciousness sank into an abyss.
A moment later, when Fengqin opened her eyes, her pupils were also tinged with white.
She gasped for breath for a while before removing her little bear hair accessory.
“You should be grateful that I was the first one to come. Once I’m done, I’ll return your body. If it had been anyone else, you’d be dead, you idiot.”
She looked at herself in the mirror. Fengqin’s appearance gradually transformed into Lu Ya’s. Satisfied, she nodded.
As she stepped into the New World,
the entire world, as the Dream Incubators had originally predicted, fell into constant turmoil, as if on the verge of collapse at any moment!
……
Bingtang had been sitting at a table outside a cold drink shop, flipping through some wedding dress magazines.
Wearing sunglasses, Bingtang was dressed quite lightly today—a white floral dress and a small straw hat. The weather was hot, so she’d ordered a long-overdue lemon tea.
Through the refraction of her ice crystals, although there were quite a few people near the cold drink shop, not many noticed her.
Flipping through the wedding dress magazine, Bingtang glanced at the time on her phone. Feeling it was about right, she activated an ice crystal communication link.
Lord Dragon Lord Shion had left with Sonora earlier, presumably heading to Chongxu. She had no idea what was happening there. She needed to find someone to ask.
Although Bingtang wasn’t worried about the Sect Master’s safety, she was a bit concerned that Shion might have too much fun and come back late.
She’d heard that time in Chongxu was a bit off.
She was afraid the two sides wouldn’t sync up, and that the Sect Master would get so absorbed in having fun that she’d miss the wedding. That wouldn’t be good.
Even though they could just hold another one later, it would be too easy for the Sect Master to see through it. It had to be as natural as possible.
Soon, Tiyana’s line connected.
Most of the intel from Chongxu came through Tiyana. But Chongxu was too far away, and the authority there was extremely tight, making it difficult to get through the Chongxu channel.
So Tiyana’s messages were always a bit delayed.
For now, though, it seemed Tiyana had completed the first phase of her mission, and a direct call was much more convenient.
“The interior of Chongxu has been taken over by the Saint Hall. They’ve started promoting thug cultivation rules. I feel like even if Thousand-Pinweed and the others come, they probably can’t compete with the first-mover advantage.”
After relaying the latest news, Bingtang nodded.
“This is also your master’s test for them. She really doesn’t like the Harry Potter Branch Sect.”
“Hehe, but I think it suits me perfectly, Lady Bingtang. After all, I’m a rogue cultivator at heart!”
As an old faction in the cultivation world, they had long withered away. By now, the rogue cultivator lineage was almost extinct—after all, it was a path of last resort. If given a choice, who wouldn’t want the backing of a major sect? Its decline was heaven’s will.
“Still a rogue cultivator? You’ve joined the Azure Cloud Sect and still call yourself that.”
“Oh, Lady Bingtang, you can’t achieve perfect Cautious Cultivation in a sect!”
Tiyana said seriously. “If you’re constantly bumping into people day in and day out, you’ll eventually get caught. To become a true successor of the Path of Caution, you have to be a rogue cultivator!”
Bingtang bit her straw and couldn’t help but laugh. “Then why weren’t you happy when the Sect Master kicked you out of the sect?”
“I cultivate outside, but that doesn’t mean I have to leave the Azure Cloud Sect! I can be an Azure Cloud Sect rogue cultivator here and a Dragon Fish Island rogue cultivator there! Isn’t that good? Besides, without the sect’s people, no one would even notice my Cautious Cultivation. What’s the point of hiding then…”
Exactly. She wanted perfect Cautious Cultivation, but when everyone completely failed to notice her, Tiyana couldn’t resist showing off her mastered Path of Caution.
“The essence of the Path of Caution is to leave subtle clues, let people sense something’s off, but have absolutely no idea who you are! Otherwise, it’s not the Path of Caution—it’s the Vanished-by-the-Road path…”
Troublesome. When the Sect Master sent her to the island, Bingtang was the first to agree.
“Oh, right. Master seems to have gone deeper into Chongxu. Contact’s been lost for now. The straw figures I brought aren’t enough. Lady Bingtang, could you send some…”
Before she could finish, the shaking world caused Bingtang’s lemon tea to splash out.
It froze into ice crystals in front of her face. Bingtang casually reached out, brushed the ice fragments aside, and put them in her mouth. Lemon tea ice—not bad.
The people around quickly scattered, and the tremors gradually grew.
Bingtang clapped her hands, ready to stand up, when someone sat down beside her.
“This seat isn’t taken, is it?”
Bingtang looked up. A very cute girl. Most importantly, she had a neighborly, approachable vibe.
Dressed simply, yet she didn’t feel ordinary. A cream-white soft knit top paired with khaki nine-part casual pants, and a pair of brown loafers. Clean and relaxed, with a strong sense of everyday life.
Bingtang said tactfully, “It seems like an earthquake. It might be dangerous.”
“It’s fine.” The girl pressed down her knit top and sat down anyway. “I’m not scared.”
I didn’t ask if you were scared.
Thinking this, Bingtang picked up her half-finished lemon tea and prepared to leave.
The distant earthquake showed no signs of letting up. Maybe she should send more puppets from Qinghua to investigate…
But then the girl very naturally picked up the wedding dress magazine Bingtang had left on the table.
“Are you getting married?”
“Just engaged.”
“Oh… but these wedding dresses don’t seem like they’re for an engagement. They’re all very expensive.”
“Just looking.”
As Bingtang reached out to take back her magazine, the girl didn’t resist. She simply flipped to a page and pointed at a relatively simple wedding dress. “This one is nice, I think.”
Bingtang looked up at the sky, which showed signs of cracking.
Hopefully the wedding dress shop wouldn’t be affected. Just let it end quickly…
She thought casually, knowing the situation was clearly not that simple. The girl in front of her showed no intention of leaving.
Everyone around was screaming and running away, but she seemed completely unconcerned.
Bingtang didn’t mind much. Most likely, the mysterious girl was a magical girl, maybe a witch. Whatever her goal, the Disaster Control Bureau and Azure Cloud Sect could investigate later.
She didn’t feel like wasting time with her. She just nodded, said “Not bad,” and was about to put the magazine away to summon the other true-transmissions.
But then the girl said, “What I mean is, Jiang Si would like that one.”
Bingtang paused in her movement, but still sent a message to the other true-transmissions. She looked at her phone, then raised her head at the sweetly smiling, neighborly girl.
“You know Jiang Si?”
“Of course. Jiang Si and I are very close friends. We went to school together. I was his deskmate for a long time.”
“Middle school? Elementary?”
“No, high school.”
Bingtang nodded and couldn’t help but smile slightly.
“I didn’t know I had another doppelganger.”
“If I’m not a doppelganger, then I’m a homewrecker.” The girl ordered a glass of orange juice, looking a bit troubled. “You probably don’t know about Jiang Si’s past life high school. You probably won’t believe me, but Jiang Si and I were really married.”
“Right, right, that’s quite a leap.”
Bingtang lightly tapped her forehead with the wedding dress magazine. “From high school deskmates to husband and wife. Sounds pretty random.”
“I’m just announcing my legal relationship with Jiang Si. And by the way, Jiang Si’s mother held our wedding. Even though we didn’t get anyone else’s blessings, Jiang Si’s mother truly blessed us…”
A lunatic.
After roughly concluding this, Bingtang packed up her things and sent a message to Yumo, planning to have her keep an eye on the girl.
“Sorry, I have things to do. I can’t chat with you right now. If you really are close with Jiang Si, you can contact him directly later. Here’s his number…”
“Wow, I didn’t expect you to be so generous. If it were me, I wouldn’t give out his number so easily.”
Not that he would answer anyway. And most of the time, that phone wasn’t even used.
You couldn’t get through even if you tried.
The girl took the number. Seeing Bingtang about to leave, she finally spoke. “Well then, you should at least tell me your name, Miss Bingtang.”
Although Bingtang hadn’t introduced herself, she hadn’t worn a mask out today. Recognizing her face and guessing her identity wasn’t surprising.
After all, she was often on TV.
“Very nice to meet you. My name is Lu Ya, and I am Jiang Si’s wife. Thank you for taking care of Jiang Si these past few days.”
A somewhat forceful declaration.
And a tone like the lady of the house.
Every single aspect of it was enough to be irritating.
But more than these meaningless things, what caught Bingtang’s attention was that name.
Over the past three years, whenever Jiang Si talked about web novels or told stories with them, he would occasionally let slip a girl’s name.
The classmate and friend who had introduced Jiang Si to countless web novels and even lent him books to read.
A girl Bingtang had always been curious about but could never find.
Lu Ya.
Bingtang put away her phone, which she had just used to assign tasks to the true-transmissions. She looked again at the magical girls flying back and forth in the distant sky, and the crowd being evacuated.
She took a light breath.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Bingtang sat back down, spread out the wedding dress magazine, and smiled faintly.
“I am Jiang Si’s fiancée, Bingtang.”
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