I Marry a Wife for my Big Brother, Starting Out With Exile - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Submachine Gun in Hand, Invincible!

The young girl had a slender figure. Under the illumination of the moonlight, only her pale and delicate features could be discerned, while her expression remained unclear.

A gust of wind rose, seemingly causing even the people to move along with it. With her back to the wind and facing the young girl, Jiang Jinyue slowly leaned forward until she could clearly see what kind of emotions were hidden within the young girl’s eyes.

There was bewilderment, perhaps some trepidation, but no deep calculation or plotting.

Li Chenghuan opened her eyes wide in nervous tension, not understanding why the cold beauty was leaning in so close, as if she only needed to lift her chin slightly to kiss those alluring lips…

She truly lived up to her reputation as the number-one beauty renowned throughout the capital. Even in such a wretched environment, her beauty did not wane by a single fraction—cold, gorgeous, and vulgar-defying. In the intermingling of their breaths, it left one intoxicated and enchanted.

Ah bah! Intoxicated my foot! Appreciation of beauty was a universal human trait; she was merely admiring—purely appreciating a beautiful thing—and definitely not losing her mind in delusion.

Struggling to snap back to her senses, Li Chenghuan propped her hands on the ground and leaned her upper body slightly backward, widening the distance between herself and Jiang Jinyue.

“Sister-in-law, what’s wrong?”

Beauty could indeed lead one astray; she had almost lost her wits and kissed her.

Jiang Jinyue remained silent. This marriage had been requested by Li Chengsi, and it was also her father’s act of pledging allegiance to Wang Yue. Born into a prestigious family, she had enjoyed the convenience and opulent lifestyle provided by her lineage, but she had also lost much of her freedom and self-will. She had long since understood what it meant to have no control over one’s own fate, especially regarding marriage.

However, she had no desire to live out her life as a puppet like her mother—exquisite yet devoid of a soul. Therefore, right after her engagement, she had thoroughly investigated the background of the Li family. She could obey her father’s command to marry someone she did not love; that was the bargaining chip a noble daughter owed back to her clan.

Yet, how she lived her days after marriage, whether she could wield a voice within the Li family, and how she could carve out her own status and confidence relied entirely on her own methods and scheming.

The four members of the Li family—leaving aside the deceased Li Chengsi—consisted of Grandma Li, who was shrewish, mercenary, and short-sighted. Li Chenghuan possessed slightly above-average cleverness but lacked profound wisdom, acting in a very standard and conventional manner. Li Chenglale was strong-limbed, simple-minded, obedient, and filial.

Up until now, Grandma Li and Li Chenglale were entirely consistent with the information she had gathered; only the young girl before her—only Li Chenghuan was different.

Looking at the young girl in front of her, Jiang Jinyue’s eyes were filled with scrutiny. From proactively offering the water skin to Wang Yue, to the Li family producing healing medicine and food, and right up to mentioning Lord Xu just now—all these differences stemmed entirely from Li Chenghuan.

In that case, the person secretly following and protecting the Li family was, nine times out of ten, also doing so because of Li Chenghuan.

Pondering these things, Jiang Jinyue pressed in closer once more: “Why do you want to help Lord Xu?”

Why was she able to see through her unspoken intentions? And what kind of hidden forces were backing them in secret? This wasn’t the Li Chenghuan she had understood.

Could it be that Li Chenghuan had foreseen this long ago and was simply playing dumb to conceal her capabilities? Or was someone pulling strings from behind the scenes, making her merely a vanguard scouting out the path?

Li Chenghuan leaned her upper body backward once more, almost lying flat on the ground before she managed to put some distance between them.

“I…” Just as she uttered a single syllable, she changed her mind. Playing the fool in front of a clever person was not easy, and it could easily trigger a crisis of trust down the road. Since she had already decided to follow the heroine’s footsteps, she needed to let the heroine see her value.

Glancing sideways at Grandma Li and Li Chenglale, who seemed to have already fallen asleep nearby, Li Chenghuan simply tipped backward, wrapping both arms around Jiang Jinyue to pull her down into a lying position.

“Sister-in-law, I bear absolutely no ill intent toward you. Are you willing to trust me just this once?”

Suddenly swept up into an embrace, Jiang Jinyue instinctively wanted to push her away when this whispered sentence brushed past her ear. Her movements paused slightly, and she obediently snuggled into Li Chenghuan’s arms, leaning close to the other’s ear as well: “Speak your piece and let me hear it. How am I supposed to trust you?”

Her voice was low and hoarse, her breathing light and shallow, as if wrapped in the night breeze, brushing gently against the ear.

Li Chenghuan’s breath hitched, her brain spinning faster than ever before: “The reason I want to help Lord Xu is because sister-in-law wants to help him.”

“Then why do you want what I want?”

“Last night, I had a dream. I dreamed that sister-in-law is our hope for returning to the capital—our only hope.”

The atmosphere fell still, leaving only their intermingling breaths.

Staring at the young girl before her, Jiang Jinyue spoke in a voice lighter than light: “Just a dream—what makes you so certain it’s real?”

Without speaking, Li Chenghuan raised a hand between the two of them, conjuring a glass cup out of thin air before making it vanish again. Speaking a thousand words could never compare to demonstrating it directly before someone’s eyes.

A trace of astonishment flashed across Jiang Jinyue’s eyes. Stunned for a mere second, she calmly asked, “What does this mean? Was that a magic trick just now?”

The corners of Li Chenghuan’s lips lifted slightly, her tone brimming with playfulness: “As long as I want what you want and help you with all my might, I can pull things out of thin air and use them at will, just like I did just now.”

Jiang Jinyue froze, unable to mask the shock on her face, though hesitation still lingered in the depths of her eyes—she found it hard to believe that such bizarre wonders could exist in this world.

Without a word, Li Chenghuan produced the cup once more, this time filled with half a cup of coconut water.

Staring in utter disbelief at the water inside the cup, Jiang Jinyue felt her heartbeat race as if struck by a drum mallet, echoing loudly in her ears. Was this a sleight of hand, or some kind of immortal sorcery?

How could this be…

The next instant, the rim of the cup pressed against her lips. Jiang Jinyue instinctively parted them, tasting something sweet and refreshing with a subtle hint of milky and nutty fragrance—a flavor she had never tasted before.

Supporting her cheek with one hand and carefully tilting the cup with the other, Li Chenghuan considerately fed her a mouthful of coconut water.

“Drink it first before we talk.”

Jiang Jinyue’s gaze flickered slightly. Over the past two days of exile, she had only drunk that half cup of water given by Li Chenghuan, and she was indeed parched right now.

Taking the cup, she sipped it in small mouthfuls while her mind spun into a chaotic knot. As long as she aided her, she could conjure things from thin air and use them at will—what kind of unfathomable absurdity was this?

Handing the cup back and watching with her own eyes as it vanished right inside Li Chenghuan’s hands, Jiang Jinyue felt a surge of dread. The unknown always brought a sense of unease, especially when faced with such unheard-of bizarre occurrences.

Lowering her eyelids to conceal the panic deep within her eyes, she parted her rosy lips: “Were the water and soup during the day obtained the same way?”

Li Chenghuan nodded: “Grandmother and third sister didn’t know; I lied to them and said sister-in-law gave it to them.”

Understanding dawned in Jiang Jinyue’s heart. Everything finally made sense; that was why the attitudes of that grandmother and granddaughter duo had shifted so abruptly.

Right at that moment, Li Chenghuan tightened her embrace around her and whispered, “Sister-in-law, try trusting me just once. Think about what you want most right now—how about it?”

The golden finger remained completely unresponsive, indicating that the heroine hadn’t been moved at all. In other words, she still didn’t trust her.

However, her sincerity didn’t stop there. She believed that as long as she demonstrated enough capability and value, the heroine would inevitably be moved.

A subtle stir arose within Jiang Jinyue’s heart; trying to trust her for once certainly wouldn’t hurt. As for what she wanted most right now…

“Self-preservation.” But she lacked the capability to protect herself. On the road of exile, self-preservation was simply too difficult.

The moment those words fell, she was pulled tightly into an embrace once again as a soft touch brushed against her forehead, firmly kissing her.

“Sister-in-law, you’re practically my goddess.” The young girl looked utterly thrilled, barely managing to keep her voice down.

Jiang Jinyue was struck dumb with astonishment. What had just happened? Had she just been… taken advantage of?

As for what had actually happened—at the exact instant Jiang Jinyue uttered the two words “self-preservation,” Li Chenghuan finally waited for the sound of the golden finger.

[Heroine’s corruption value reduced by ten, rewarded with one wildfire submachine gun.]

This was a gun! Having modern firearms in ancient times made one instantly invincible!

Filled with intense excitement, Li Chenghuan felt an urge to jump up and down on the spot. Although it only came with a single magazine, that still meant sixty-four rounds of ammunition. With this weapon in their hands within this procession, who else was there to fear!

She truly lived up to being the heroine; the gold-standard weight of self-preservation was simply off the charts. With this submachine gun in hand, never mind protecting the heroine—she felt like she could flip the entire procession upside down at any given moment. She was invincible.

Overwhelmed with excitement, Li Chenghuan couldn’t help tightening her arms around the person in her embrace again. Uh… didn’t manage to kiss her this time.

Covering her mouth with a hand, Jiang Jinyue’s eyes were filled with a mix of shame and annoyance. Even though they were both women, this person was being entirely too brazen. Ever since she was old enough to understand things, she had never had such intimate physical contact with anyone else.

“Li—Cheng—huan.” Spelled out word by word, her tone laced with bashful indignation.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Coming to her senses belatedly regarding what she had just done, Li Chenghuan was instantly overwhelmed by awkwardness and hurriedly pried the hand away: “Sister-in-law, don’t misunderstand, let me explain!”

“Then explain!”

“I was just too happy and lost my head for a moment; I definitely didn’t mean to take advantage of you.”

Staring coldly into her eyes, Jiang Jinyue noted that this explanation was virtually equivalent to no explanation at all.

“Make it clear.”

Twitching her brows and pondering for a moment, Li Chenghuan said, “I can’t explain it clearly in a short moment, but in short, we now have the ability to protect ourselves. As long as I’m around on this journey, absolutely no one will ever be able to harm you.”

Although the submachine gun was a reward obtained entirely because of the heroine, she wasn’t foolish enough to clear herself out of the equation, nor would she ever hand the gun over.

Truth had to be held firmly in one’s own hands, even if the other person was the heroine.

Gazing fixedly at her, Jiang Jinyue said, “You’d better be telling the truth.”

“Of course. Trust me, just like I believe in you.” Li Chenghuan’s words carried a double meaning. Displaying her abilities to Jiang Jinyue was meant to win trust, but wasn’t it also another form of trust in its own right?

To win the trust of this world’s heroine and bind her fate inextricably to her own, she was practically laying everything on the line.

Jiang Jinyue fell silent. Extending from herself to others, if she were the one possessing this kind of ability, she would absolute never let outsiders know about it.

In that case, as long as Li Chenghuan did not turn against her as an enemy, she would not betray this trust either.

After a long silence, Jiang Jinyue let out a soft breath: “Explain it to me in detail—how do you help me to conjure things from thin air, and what kinds of items have been produced?”

Operating on the premise of trusting Li Chenghuan, she keenly seized the critical point. Only by figuring out how the mechanism worked could she carefully plot her future moves and reap greater gains.

This question completely stumped Li Chenghuan. Saying “help” wasn’t entirely accurate; lowering the heroine’s corruption value didn’t rely solely on her alone—it also involved things like third sister Li Chenglale putting her life on the line to protect her, or a few words of genuine concern.

Pondering every angle, she explained as best as she could: “I don’t know the specific details myself either. Roughly speaking, as long as I can move you or touch your heart, we get whatever we need most at that moment.”

As for the heroine and corruption values, she had no intention of bringing them up; and as for her identity as a time-traveler, that was even less mentionable.

Reaching this point in the conversation was the absolute limit of her frankness.

Jiang Jinyue furrowed her brows. Move her heart?

“Then move my heart right now. What I want most at this very moment is to return to the capital immediately.”

Li Chenghuan: “…” Are you even human?