After Marrying the 'Long Aotian' in Drag to Counter Bad Luck - Chapter 6

“Brother Xingchen, how could you forget what happened between us yesterday?” Rong Nianfeng clutched Ye Xingchen’s clothing hem, trembling all over. The rims of his eyes flushed red, making it look as though he might burst into tears at any moment.

In his mind, however, he was thinking, “If this does not scare Ye Xingchen to death, nothing will. It is best to terrify him so badly that he never wants to come back. The kind of terror where just thinking about me gives him goosebumps.”

Ye Xingchen lowered his eyes, his face filled with suspicion. He then replied with absolute certainty, “I do not believe it. There is no such possibility.”

Rong Nianfeng had not expected him to respond this way. His eyes widened in disbelief. “So, Brother Xingchen, are you implying that I lied to you?”

Clinging to Ye Xingchen like a parasitic vine, Rong Nianfeng nearly ground his teeth to dust. He squeezed his eyes shut with force, managing to wring out a few teardrops. To an outsider watching from afar, it would have looked as though the two were intimately whispering in each other’s ears.

Strangled by the grip around his neck, Ye Xingchen could barely breathe, a faint flush rising on his face. “I”

He summoned all his strength to pry Rong Nianfeng off, but the hands wrapped around his neck seemed to have taken root. Just as he was fretting over what to do, it suddenly hit him that he knew spells. Although his body was currently wracked with illness, dealing with Rong Nianfeng, who was merely at the first layer of Qi Condensation, was still more than manageable.

Calming his mind, he chanted a spell under his breath. Only then did he manage to escape from Rong Nianfeng’s clutches with his life.

“Cough, cough, cough,” Ye Xingchen coughed violently. After a good while, he raised his eyes to look at Rong Nianfeng.

A sense of frank openness seemed to rise within his clear, icy eyes. “My health is truly deplorable; it is genuinely impossible for anything to happen between me and Miss Nianxue.”

Hearing this, Rong Nianfeng was completely stupefied. In his shock, he forgot to switch to his disguised female voice and blurted out in his naturally crisp, clean boyish voice, “How can a man say he is impotent?!”

Ye Xingchen was a legendary powerhouse, a chosen one! How could he not be functioning?! It was impossible. There were only a few days left before Liu Li’er would ascend the mountain. If Ye Xingchen was impotent, how was he supposed to engage in passionate, cloud-and-rain affairs with Liu Li’er?!

It wasn’t until he noticed Ye Xingchen staring blankly at him that it hit him, with delayed horror, that his cover was blown.

He was finished, completely finished!

Rong Nianfeng wanted to cry, but no tears came.

“Forget it, let us treat a dead horse as if it were alive,” he thought. Forcing his lips into a smile, he put on an expression of feigned distress. He propped one hand on the bed while lightly tapping Ye Xingchen’s chest with the other. “Oh my, you understand, right? Little old me is just a weak, defenseless lady. Could Brother Xingchen please pretend you did not hear my voice just now? After all, a girl traveling away from home still needs to preserve her dignity.”

Having said that, his face flushed with feigned embarrassment. He withdrew his hand, hid his face away from Ye Xingchen, and let out a bizarre sound, “Ying.”

Ye Xingchen remained silent.

However, just a moment ago, he had truly thought this person was a man. After all, women as tall as this were quite rare. Furthermore, the voice had an ambiguous, gender-neutral quality to it, which had indeed left him a bit muddled.

But thinking about it carefully, the Xuantian Sword Sect also had quite a few female cultivators who dressed like Rong Nianxue. For that matter, let alone female cultivators, plenty of male cultivators did so too because the love for beauty was universal.

With this thought, Ye Xingchen nodded. “Miss Nianxue need not worry, I will not speak of this to outsiders.”

Rong Nianfeng, who was crying like a pear blossom bathed in rain, bared his teeth in a hidden grimace while whimpering, “Woo woo woo, Brother Xingchen is so kind.”

For some inexplicable reason, Ye Xingchen felt a sudden chill run down his spine. This place was truly not a location where one should linger.

He coughed, then lazily lay back down on the bed. With a “wah” sound, and just before the blood could stain the bed he had newly cleaned with a Cleansing Spell, he hurriedly pulled a handkerchief from his robe and wiped his mouth haphazardly.

This series of actions left Rong Nianfeng utterly dumbfounded.

“Miss Nianxue,” Ye Xingchen seemed entirely indifferent to the gaze Rong Nianfeng was fixing on him. His entire state of being was a bit, well, unhinged. He said, “I have long had someone I love in my heart. If it were not for Master and my Senior Brothers forcing the two of us to form a soul-bond yesterday, it would have been impossible for me to comply!”

Rong Nianfeng wished he could nod his head like a rattle. “Duh, it would be a miracle if you liked me. Your main wife is still waiting in the wings down the line!”

Except, right now, he was not playing Rong Nianfeng; he was playing Rong “Gotta-Be-A-Doting-Wife” Nianfengski!

“You, do you not like me?” Rong Nianfeng said hesitatingly, sounding deeply aggrieved.

“Sigh,” Ye Xingchen cushioned his head with his hands and let out a long sigh. “It is useless even if you cry. I really do not like you.”

With a sudden, agile flip, he sat up to meet Rong Nianfeng’s gaze. His eyes shone like bright stars as he smiled and said, “I know you do not like me either. I have inquired about you; back when you were at the Shuiyun Sect, you had a fiancé! Surely your marriage to me was only because your sect found it hard to refuse. Why do we not strike a deal? In daily life, I will not speak of the nature of our relationship to outsiders. You can stay comfortably here in the Xuantian Sword Sect, and once I find a suitable residence, I will move out.”

Perhaps because he had spoken too many words in one breath, he could not help but break into a lung-splitting, heart-wrenching cough again.

His raven-black long hair spilled across the bed. Because he was coughing so violently, his cheeks flushed a deep, ruby red.

After a brief pause to catch his breath, he continued, “What do you think?”

Rong Nianfeng almost burst out laughing. It was absolutely perfect, of course!

“Even though I had a fiancé before, my heart is entirely devoted to you now. You, you are simply too much!” As he spoke, he pretended to be furious, pointing his finger toward the door with tears brimming in his eyes. “Get out! Do not let me see you!”

Ye Xingchen could only slink away awkwardly, dragging his sickly body out of the room.

Hearing the door close, Rong Nianfeng immediately rolled around on the bed in sheer delight. He thought, “Wait for him to find a suitable residence before moving out? How could that be? I am definitely kicking him out today!”

Because the new disciple recruitment period was fast approaching, the elders of the sect were all incredibly busy. As for why they were so busy, Ye Xingchen could sum it up in a single word: posturing.

Those who came to the Xuantian Sword Sect seeking the immortal path included not only talented mortals, but also rogue cultivators, and even members of established cultivation clans and sects. Beyond that, cultivators from the Northern Continent, the Demon Realm, and the Ghost Realm might also be mixed into the crowd. Therefore, the recruitment drive held once every ten years was comparable to a grand sacrificial ritual at the Heroic Spirit Monument; not only did it have to be held, but it also had to be conducted with magnificent pomp.

With all the elders occupied and no one around to supervise, the disciples’ training within the sect had become somewhat lax.

Lingyun Peak was situated on the southern side of the Xuantian Sword Sect. Because it was located halfway up the mountain, looking out during the early morning practice felt like being completely enveloped by clouds and mist. Rumor had it that the Peak Master of Lingyun Peak had achieved enlightenment while in this very environment; after much deliberation, that was the name given to the place.

Ye Xingchen found a random spot where the sun was shining nicely, pulled a rocking chair out of his spatial ring, and lay halfway across it, rocking gently back and forth. His loose, raven hair had been bound up with a jade hairpin at some point, and the sunlight slanted across his face, adding a touch of vitality to his appearance.

He had not been lying down for long when a familiar set of footsteps reached his ears. Giving up on his lazy lounge, he hastily selected the largest saber from his spatial ring and grinned fiercely at Song Xiuyuan, who was not far away.

Song Xiuyuan felt a sudden chill on his neck. His speed was remarkably fast as he hurriedly pinched a sword-riding hand seal. However, he was still a step behind the other man and could only offer a flattering smile, carefully and gently nudging away the blade hanging over his neck.

“Oh my! What is Eleventh Senior Brother doing? With a beautiful woman in your arms, how do you still have the spare time to come looking for me?”

Ye Xingchen stared fixedly at him and said coldly, “You still have the nerve to speak?”

“Junior Brother, please listen to my analysis. Just think about it: if you had walked away yesterday and left Senior Sister Nianxue all alone in the front hall, how would she have been able to establish a foothold here on our Lingyun Peak in the future?” Seeing that Ye Xingchen remained unmoved, he added, “So many people on Lingyun Peak were watching.”

Ye Xingchen sheathed his saber, though it was not because he was touched by these words. One had to know just how many people Immortal Venerable Wuji had sent to take turns persuading him in order to make this marriage happen; he had heard the exact same arguments over and over again.

It was just that he now possessed a distinct sense of resigned despair, which was why he dragged his sickly body back onto the rocking chair.

“So, how are things going between you and Senior Sister Nianxue?” Song Xiuyuan approached with a sly, gossipy grin plastered all over his face.

“Not well.”

“I saw her yesterday. Senior Sister Nianxue has those deep black, clear doe eyes, which are absolutely peerless and aloof. And that red mole beneath her brow is incredibly alluring. She exudes the aura of a pure, delicate little white flower. Are you truly not tempted even a single bit?” Pausing for a moment, he added, “Not even a sudden rush of lust upon seeing her beauty?”

Ye Xingchen lazily cast a glance toward him. “None.”

“Think about it. When you usually eat and see braised pig’s trotters, oil-braised giant prawns, or steamed and boiled fish, do you not get that feeling where your mouth craves to salivate madly?”

Ye Xingchen countered, “Are you suggesting I should treat her like a braised pig’s trotter?”

Song Xiuyuan replied, “Well, not exactly.” He let out a sigh, the look he directed at Ye Xingchen growing increasingly bizarre. Shaking his head, he said, “How pitiful. Forget it, Chenchen, why do we not just give in? In any case, you cannot find that celestial fairy you are constantly yearning for anyway. Aside from her voice being a bit too melodious and winding, what part of Senior Sister Nianxue is not absolutely top-tier? Furthermore, did not the Astrologer say that she could help cure you of this wretched illness?”

“The Astrologer,” Ye Xingchen abruptly sat up straight, tightly clenching his fists. “Cough, cough, cough.” When he caught that damned old man, the first thing he would do was slaughter him!

“Tsk,” Song Xiuyuan crossed his arms, shaking his head helplessly.

“Since you were the one who pushed me into this fiery pit, you have to help me think of a way out.” Ye Xingchen gestured for Song Xiuyuan to come closer.

“Arson, murder, robbing wealth, or forcing myself on beauties; I am not doing any of that,” Song Xiuyuan said, stepping back in terror.

Ye Xingchen snapped irritably, “Get lost.” After a short while, he spoke again, “Help me look into how a soul-bond can be broken, aside from the death of one of the parties.” He scratched his hair. “That Rong Nianxue, she is truly appalling!”

Finally reaching the main topic, Song Xiuyuan quickly perked up his ears.

“Cough, cough, cough,” Ye Xingchen cleared his throat slightly. After pondering for a long time, he finally said, “I initially thought she only married me because of her sect, but to my surprise, she seems to genuinely like me.”

Unbeknownst to him, a deep crimson flush had crept all over Ye Xingchen’s ears.

Song Xiuyuan looked exactly like a melon-eating spectator catching some juicy gossip. “How so?”

“She confessed her deep affection to me yesterday, and this morning she even said she could not bear to part from me.”

Song Xiuyuan exclaimed, “Wow, how thrilling.”

“She absolutely likes me,” Ye Xingchen declared with total certainty. He curled his legs up, a look of utter despair on his face. “But when she calls out to me, it goes like this.” Ye Xingchen pinched his throat to mimic her for Song Xiuyuan, “Brother Xingchen, you are so annoying, la.”

“Yuck,” Song Xiuyuan rubbed his arms, shivering all over.

“I cannot take it anymore. Back then, you said something about her voice being soft and sweet like glutinous rice. I think it is your brain that is made of glutinous rice.” Ye Xingchen expertly pulled a handkerchief from his robe to wipe away the blood at the corner of his mouth. “Therefore, this soul-bond must be severed.”

Just as the words left his mouth, a familiar voice drifted into their ears like a ghost calling for their souls, “Brother Xingchen, where are you?”

Ye Xingchen and Song Xiuyuan stared at each other. Ye Xingchen wore a solemn expression and slowly shook his head.

Song Xiuyuan hurriedly bellowed at the top of his lungs, “Brother Xingchen is over here! Right here!”

Ye Xingchen remained silent. The Astrologer and Song Xiuyuan both deserved to die!

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