N-A-A Chapter 95: Although it seems like we won, there's nothing to be happy about at all.
Chapter 95: Although it seems like we won, there's nothing to be happy about at all.
Ba Liang wanted to leave, but his master was gone, and he didn't know where to find someone to subdue demons and monsters. Moreover, with a senior master like Shen Yi by his side, he would have to be crazy to leave.
"Then you can take charge of selling umbrellas. Wait—first shave off that big beard, so it doesn't scare the customers."
Shen Yi stroked his chin, thinking that he was indeed lacking someone to do his bidding. He looked Ba Liang up and down, then waved his hand and told him to shave his beard and buy some ordinary clothes instead of always wearing that tight-fitting outfit.
Ba Liang was puzzled as to why he wanted to stay in the human world to run the umbrella shop. Of course, Shen Yi wouldn't tell him that he simply wanted to enjoy life.
His expression turned serious, and he said in a deep voice, "To become an immortal, one must first become a human. Only by truly understanding the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, death, love, hate, and separation in the human world can one become a true immortal."
Eight ounces: (;´・`)>
Although I don't understand it, it seems very profound.
He touched his beard, which had been with him for over a decade, and felt a real pang of reluctance to part with it. But then he thought about Shen Yi's incredible magic, gritted his teeth, and went to find the razor.
"Not bad, looks like a pig—cough, looks like a well-off person."
Shen Yi nodded in satisfaction. "Go buy two more long gowns and a pair of cloth shoes. From now on, you will be the manager of this umbrella shop."
Having received the silver, Ba Liang leisurely left the house. Since Master Quanzhen didn't seem to be in a hurry, he didn't need to be either.
Shen Yi went to the backyard, pulled up a blade of grass, made a hand gesture, and transformed it into a reclining chair. He moved it to the willow tree in front of the door and leisurely flipped through a copy of "Qiantang County Gazetteer" that he had found at a secondhand bookstore.
As a genius (with a cheat code), it's reasonable that he could deduce the Transfiguration spell by drawing inferences from the example of Transfiguration.
Just as they were enjoying the cool air and hadn't even had a chance to fully appreciate the scenery by West Lake, Ba Liang came running back in a panic, his forehead covered in sweat and his face as white as paper. "Senior Quan Zhen!"
He grabbed Shen Yi's arm, his voice trembling, "I've found my daughter!"
Shen Yi: ? ? ?
No, you really want to be my father-in-law?
According to the original plot, Ba Liang was not skilled enough, and when the bell in his arms was looking for his daughter, it could only find a little girl. But more than ten years have passed, so how could his daughter still be a little girl?
But things are different now. When the bell was activated, Ba Liang accurately grasped the magic seal and truly sensed his daughter's bloodline aura. Then he panicked.
After all, back then, he abandoned his orphaned mother and children to follow his master on his adventures in the martial world, slaying demons and monsters for more than a decade. Anyone would feel guilty about such a thing.
Before he could figure out how to start the conversation, he saw his daughter being verbally abused and his eyes welled up with tears. Without thinking, he immediately pulled Shen Yi onto the street.
Shen Yi: ……
There was no way around it; Ba Liang had sworn never to lay a hand on a woman or a child. But this woman was pregnant, possessing both traits, making it impossible for him to find a way to attack her.
The streets of Qiantang County are always bustling, and at this moment they were even more crowded with onlookers. In the center of the crowd, a girl wearing an unidentified animal skin outfit stood there with red eyes.
The pregnant woman opposite her, adorned with gold and silver, stood with her hands on her hips, spitting as she cursed: "You little slut, don't you even take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror! You've chased me all the way to Qiantang County, have you no shame? My husband is not someone you can even dream of!"
Behind the pregnant woman stood a man in a blue robe. He had a handsome face and a scholarly air about him, but his expression was full of perfunctory and impatient manner. His hands were tucked into his sleeves, and he looked like a spectator watching a play.
It turned out to be Mr. and Mrs. Li Gui.
Shen Yi suddenly realized that it was probably because Xu Xian was influenced by him and was not picked up by Lian Qiao that Lian Qiao arrived in Qiantang County earlier and found Li Gui.
Li Gui is Xu Xian's uncle, and he looks exactly like Xu Xian. In the original story, Lian Qiao initially mistook Xu Xian for Li Gui, which led to her entanglement with him.
However, unlike Xu Xian, this Li Gui is a complete Chen Shimei. Three years ago, he made a pact with Lian Qiao: one would become an apprentice at Baozhitang to learn medicine, and the other would catch snakes to earn money.
Three years later, Lian Qiao returned to Qiantang County with the money she had saved from catching snakes, only to find that Li Gui had already married. Moreover, it wasn't out of any genuine affection, but simply because the woman could save him twenty years of hard work.
So he quit his apprenticeship and became someone's live-in son-in-law. What's even more outrageous is that in the original story, when his wife was about to hit Lianqiao, this guy casually said, "Wife, don't be too rough. Your skin is so delicate, what if you hurt your hand?"
This statement alone reveals that his promise to Lian Qiao was merely a ploy to get her to support him financially. Later, when he found someone wealthier, he naturally discarded Lian Qiao like trash.
Lian Qiao clenched her fists tightly, her knuckles turning white, but she still didn't make a move. Although she had learned martial arts from Ba Liang, she was kind-hearted by nature, and since the other party was pregnant, she was in the same situation as Ba Liang. However, she was still clear about her own limitations and stared intently at Li Gui: "Li Gui, you said you would marry me three years ago."
Li Gui lazily looked up at her, a nonchalant smile playing on his lips: "Just kidding. Did I ever sign any agreement? It was just a joke, why take it seriously?"
When Ba Liang saw that Lian Qiao's eyes were red, he wished he could draw his sword and kill the man. But then he remembered that his sword seemed to have been broken by Shen Yi. He could only look at Shen Yi with longing eyes, hoping that he would make a move.
"Alright."
Helpless, Shen Yi raised his hand and made a hand seal, pointing at Li Gui in the distance. Ba Liang stood beside him, staring wide-eyed, waiting for the spell to take effect, but after waiting for a long time, nothing happened.
"senior?"
"What's the rush?"
Shen Yi crossed his arms, a smile playing on his lips.
Li Gui watched as his wife cursed for a long time without actually doing anything, and couldn't help but yawn, muttering, "This shrew, she really never stops cursing."
As soon as the words left his mouth, he froze. Madam Li, who was still preparing her next round of insults, turned around abruptly, her eyes like knives piercing his face: "What did you say?"
She was naturally strong-willed; otherwise, she wouldn't have gotten out of the sedan chair to argue with Lian Qiao herself, let alone tolerate Li Gui's words.
"Uh, it's nothing, it's nothing!"
Li Gui waved his hands repeatedly, sweat pouring down his forehead. He shook his head incessantly, but his mouth kept spitting out words uncontrollably, "You'd better hurry up, it's almost noon. Don't let us miss lunch. It's fine if you're hungry, but don't let my child go hungry."
Madam Li's face visibly darkened, and the onlookers erupted in uproar, with some unable to suppress their laughter.
"See that?"
Shen Yi walked to Lian Qiao's side and looked at Ba Liangdao behind her. Only then did Lian Qiao notice the person standing behind her, and her eyes lit up – what a handsome man.
"You can't hit a woman, but you can hit a man, right? This is called the Truth-Spitting Curse. Anyone under this curse will speak the truth—whether they want to or not."
Ba Liang turned his face away, afraid that Lian Qiao would discover that he was her father. However, what Ba Liang did not know was that because she hated him so much, Lian Qiao had already deleted Ba Liang from her memory. In the original story, she only remembered him after being hit with a stick.
Lian Qiao froze for a moment, then abruptly turned to look at Li Gui. Li Gui, having also heard this, hurriedly covered his mouth, afraid of uttering anything he shouldn't. Unexpectedly, his wife wouldn't have it. She pried his hands off, grabbed his collar, and shrieked, "Then tell this slut that you don't like her at all! Say it!"
Li Gui opened his mouth, and his voice spilled out uncontrollably: "I don't like her at all. How could I like her? What can a wild girl who catches snakes give me? I only wanted her to help me make money so I could save enough to buy a house in Qiantang County. But now that I have you, I don't lack money, so of course I have no interest in her anymore."
The more they talked, the more outrageous it became, yet the more sincere it seemed.
A tear rolled down her cheek. Lian Qiao bit her lower lip tightly, refusing to cry out. This time, she was truly heartbroken.
After saying all that, Li Gui breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness, we managed to get away with it... I think?
Madam Li's expression softened slightly—it seemed her husband really had nothing to do with this vile woman. But then, she asked the fatal question that women love to ask: "Do you love me?"
Li Gui: "..."
He couldn't answer that question.
But her mouth had already opened uncontrollably: "I don't love it."
Two words, clean and crisp, resounding with conviction. "If it weren't for your family's wealth, why would I have married a crazy woman like you? Your temper is even worse than Lian Qiao's, and you're uglier too."
Forsythia: ...
Although it seems like we won, it doesn't seem like there's anything to be happy about at all.