NOVEL WEB Chapter 61
About ten li away from the Hengduan Mountain Range lies a bustling market town known as Ligshan Town, where cultivators gather and the atmosphere is lively.
It is one of the few market towns with sect stores.
At noon, a purple spiritual boat approached from the distance.
Everyone was speculating.
Which sect could it be that they would make such a grand entrance, arriving in a spiritual boat?
As the boat drew closer, the character “江” (Jiang) on its side came into view.
“…Jiang Family!” a cultivator exclaimed.
Upon hearing this, the other cultivators no longer dared to look around and bowed their heads.
Soon, the spiritual boat stopped outside the market town, and Jiang Chen arrived while flanked by a group of underlings.
“Make way for the Eldest Senior Brother of the Ninth Peak!” they shouted.“Are you uncultured? Move away, and move fast!”
“Huh, dare to glare at me? Believe it or not, I’ll gouge out your eyes?”
“Eldest Senior Brother, he’s talking bad about you! I heard it!”
The underlings were fierce and aggressive.
Whether they were lower realm cultivators or those with higher cultivation like Core Formation cultivators, they dared to be rude with Jiang Chen backing them.
If anyone dared to retort, they would be dragged out of the crowd and beaten severely.
A so-called ‘righteous person’ who couldn’t stand the behavior of Liu Wen and the others thought he was strong enough to curse them out.
But before he could speak, his companion covered his mouth!
“That’s the young master of the Upper Domain’s Jiang Family, the Eldest Senior Brother of the Ninth Peak from the Central Domain’s Jiuyan Sect! Do you have a death wish?” His companion’s face turned pale.
This showed the deep-seated fear of the Jiang Family’s reputation.
Seeing the fear in the eyes of others, Jiang Chen smiled.
He had lived through nine cycles of reincarnation, always acting modestly to change others’ perceptions of him, but this only led to others taking advantage of him.
Indeed, this was much more comfortable.
The Jiuyan Sect did not have a store in Ligshan Town, so Jiang Chen planned to wander around the market town before resting and returning to the spiritual boat.
He had been here many times and knew the place well.
Leading his group of underlings, they quickly arrived at the central fighting stage.
Where there are cultivators, there are disputes.
To maintain the operation of the market town, the stage was set up by the town’s master to resolve conflicts between cultivators.
Looking around, the area was still crowded, and a young girl sat on the edge on the empty stage.
She was dressed in green, her delicate fingers resting on the surface of the stage and a green bell tied around her wrist, her feet swinging in the air.
Her bright eyes were observant, and her smile revealed two dimples.
Watching the girl from a distance, Jiang Chen was somewhat distracted.
Compared to other Senior Brothers and Sisters, his feelings for Qingning were extremely complex.
When he was trapped in the cycles of reincarnation and suffering immensely, the trust and smiles of the young Qingning had saved his spirit many times.
It might have only been six years for Qingning, who had joined the Jiuyan Sect and then turned against him.
But for Jiang Chen, it was decades…
For decades, he had treated Qingning like a younger sister.
He wanted her to grow up.
Because as an Eldest Senior Brother despised by the heavens and earth, he couldn’t take care of Qingning forever.
Yet, he also didn’t want her to grow up.
Because the way Qingning grew up in each life cycle had caused them both great harm.
“Eldest Senior Brother, Qingning will smile more for you from now on!”
In the ninth cycle, the words of the young Qingning echoed in his ears.
Jiang Chen closed his eyes and sighed softly.
Although the outcome was the same, it was undeniable he probably wouldn’t have been able to hold on if it weren’t for Qingning.
Perhaps that’s why, even though he had given up in this life, he still hadn’t thrown away the little wooden sword Qingning had given him.
But it didn’t matter.
After all, he clearly hadn’t thrown it away, but there were still Ninth Peak disciples who swore they saw the little wooden sword in the latrine.
As for Qingning who had completely lost trust in him, she naturally never doubted it.
Shaking his head to clear the messy thoughts, Jiang Chen slowly walked towards Qingning.
At this moment, Qingning was looking in another direction.
Jiang Chen sneered and quietly approached her from behind, then patted her shoulder.
Qingning trembled and quickly turned her head.
“Oh, isn’t this my Third Junior Sister?” he said.
After exchanging glances, Jiang Chen’s mouth curled into a wicked smile, and he lifted Qingning’s chin with his index finger, saying,
“It’s been a while, Qingning. How about a smile for your Eldest Senior Brother?”
Qingning didn’t respond, just staring blankly at Jiang Chen.
She was lost in thought, but her expressive eyes seemed to hold back indescribable emotions.
‘This isn’t the right reaction! Did I scare her stiff?’
Jiang Chen blinked in confusion.
Based on his experience from nine lifetimes, shouldn’t Qingning have immediately knocked his hand away and then run off into the distance?
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
Jiang Chen’s expression hardened, “Believe it or not, I’ll beat you?”
Qingning continued to stare at him.
Though she didn’t respond, her slender fingers clenched tightly, and her body began to tremble.
That’s more like it!
Scared you, didn’t I? Jiang Chen smiled with satisfaction.
Spreading his right hand, he spoke in an undeniable tone.
“Third Junior Sister, what nice thing do you have to give to your Eldest Senior Brother this time?”
“I…” Qingning finally spoke.
But as soon as she uttered a word, tears welled up and streamed down her cheeks.
The tears seemed endless, and as she raised her hand to wipe away the ones that had fallen, new ones rolled down.
“No, you…”
Qingning bowed her head, wiping her tears faster.
She wanted to smile because Eldest Senior Brother said he wanted to see her smile.
But why…
Why couldn’t she smile at this moment!
“What do you mean ‘you’?”
After a brief pause, Jiang Chen pressed on, “Don’t tell me you have nothing? You know Eldest Senior Brother have a bad temper. If I’m unhappy, I’ll throw you into the Hengduan Mountain Range to feed the demon king!”
“What would Eldest Senior Brother want?” Qingning finally managed to say a complete sentence.
“Uh… ” Jiang Chen was at a loss for words.
He didn’t really want anything. He was just playing the role of the villainous Eldest Senior Brother, bullying the pitiful Junior Sister.
But to his surprise, Qingning was actually willing to give him something!
After thinking for a long time, he finally replied, “I’ll take whatever you have.”
“Really?”
Qingning suddenly stopped crying and lifted her tear-stained face.
“Of course!” Jiang Chen nodded.
“Hehe,”
Qingning finally smiled, and after a pause, her voice still choked with emotion, “Then… do you want me?”
“Want… pah! Why would I want you?” Jiang Chen exclaimed while shocked.
What the heck?
He stared at Qingning, who was now smiling through tears.
This was not how the plot was supposed to go!
At this moment, he wanted to ask Qingning.
Do you see clearly? Standing before you is the villainous Eldest Senior Brother!
What do you mean by “want me”?
If I really wanted, would you actually give yourself to me?!
Huh? Wait a second!
Jiang Chen was startled again.
He crouched down and his gaze swept over Qingning’s cheeks.
He touched her forehead with his hand and pinched her face.
Then he continued to inspect her until Qingning blushed under his intense gaze, and the onlookers looked on with disdain…
“You… have you gone mad too…?”
Jiang Chen finally asked after a long while.
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