Read Novel Full Chapter 29 –
Chapter 29 – Poisonous woman
“Venerable.” Shu Yanyan presented Zhongli Kuang’s Nascent Soul to Wenren È with both hands.
“It’s yours,” Wenren È said, not sparing her a glance. “Put your clothes on.”
He had underestimated Shu Yanyan’s ruthlessness. He’d thought that Shu Yanyan would at least put on her clothes and fight Zhongli Kuang head-on, but instead she had taken action immediately with only a thin blanket wrapped around her. Forget Zhongli Kuang, Wenren È had been taken by surprise after giving the order himself.
Zhongli Kuang was also a decisive person, and seeing that Shu Yanyan had wasted no time in turning on him, also immediately abandoned his body and Nascent Soul, trying to escape as a spirit. However, the black-robed youth standing near him was prepared for anything, and drew his sword to cut off the fleeing soul’s path.
“Who are you people? If you kill me, the Zhongli clan won’t forgive you!” Zhongli Kuang’s soul stammered out.
“Really?” said Wenren È. “Didn’t you always believe that the Zhongli clan didn’t recognize you, and was willing to dispose of you at any time to further Zhongli Qian’s interests?”
Zhongli Kuang’s soul wavered at having his deepest thoughts be guessed. People might be able to lie, but it was difficult for a soul to do so, and Wenren È noticed immediately that his words had struck home.
As they spoke, Shu Yanyan had already put on her clothes. She climbed off the bed with perfect grace, and, if she wasn’t still holding Zhongli Kuang’s corpse-like body, she would’ve looked like a painting.
Her fingers were like claws, digging into Zhongli Kuang’s head as she dragged his body onto the floor. Yet a warm smile graced her face—poisonous woman was certainly a fitting descriptor for her.
“Venerable, Zhongli Kuang leaked a lot of intel in these last few days,” Shu Yanyan said. “Any time I said something good about Zhongli Qian, he would call him a self-righteous fake, power-hungry and always mistreating branch family members and bastard children like him. Seeing how deep his resentment for Zhongli Qian is, if you ask this subordinate, the Venerable got it in one.”
“You seductress!” Resentment suffused Zhongli Kuang’s soul, pouring out as black smoke.
Shu Yanyan smiled. “What if I’m a seductress? You really think seductresses have no standards? I originally had eyes for Zhongli Qian, not you, and I can’t believe how much of a self-important loser you are either. I don’t even want to absorb your Nascent Soul. If I refined it into elixir and rewarded my subordinates with it, they would at least have some sweet words for me in exchange.”
“This Venerable seems to recall that Protector Shu no longer has subordinates,” Wenren È said, giving Shu Yanyan a sideways glance.
Shu Yanyan’s face fell and her carefree posture slumped. She said obediently, “The entire Xuanyuan Sect belongs to the Venerable. This subordinate is your vanguard and will— ow! Why’re you kicking me?”
Yin Hanjiang, upon hearing “vanguard”, couldn’t help but give her a kick in the kneecap.
“Alkaid is not this Venerable’s vanguard,” Wenren È said. “You are my right arm.”
Yin Hanjiang pulled back his foot and gave Shu Yanyan a nod. “Vanguard.”
Shu Yanyan: …
If she’d known earlier that Wenren È had actually survived battling twenty-one righteous sect experts, she would’ve let go of her concern for Qiu Congxue and went after him while he was down!
There was nothing she could do about it now. She made a misplay, and now she was a fish for Wenren È to gut in any way he liked.
The ever-flexible Right Protector said, “Venerable, I’ll refine Zhongli Kuang’s body into a puppet right now.”
“No!” Zhongli Kuang’s soul cried. “A—aren’t you after Zhongli Qian? I hate him! I want him dead! If you give me my body back, I’ll trick him for you! I don’t care what you want to do to him!”
Even if his Nascent Soul was taken, he could use some sort of elixir to restore it, but if his body was refined, he could only become a ghost cultivator.
“You sure say what you think,” Wenren È said.
Zhongli Kuang had been this kind of person in God of Annihilation too, openly proclaiming his hate for Zhongli Qian in front of Hè Wenzhao, swearing that he would kill him and take over the Zhongli clan. Hè Wenzhao resented Zhongli Qian at the time for taking his beloved shimei away, and bonded with Zhongli Kuang over their shared nemesis. He also transferred the resentment he held from being bullied by rich children to Zhongli Qian, believing that rich heirs who grew up pampered like him were all just scumbags and womanizers.
Thus Hè Wenzhao and his secret master helped Zhongli Kuang plot against Zhongli Qian, destroying his reputation and power along with it. Zhongli Kuang, who had stolen his good name, eventually killed him.
These events were never mentioned in Abusive Romance, where Zhongli Qian never showed up again after Baili Qingmiao rejected his offer, still insisting on staying with her shixiong. Zhongli Qian was a true gentleman, and he left quietly after telling Baili Qingmiao that she could come to Five Willow Manor any time she was in trouble. Who knew that after he let Baili Qingmiao go, he was killed by Hè Wenzhao and Zhongli Kuang?
The most interesting part was that, in the reviews of Abusive Romance, the ones regarding Zhongli Qian were mostly:
[Sob, Zhongli Qian is too good, really a true gentleman, respecting and protecting the MC and wanting to spend his life with her. And yet when Baili Qingmiao chose Hè Wenzhao again, he let her go, and told her ‘I can forever be your second option.’ I love him so much!]
[If Baili Qingmiao doesn’t plan on using her eyeballs, she can donate them to someone in need. Don’t let that pair of ‘big sparkling eyes’ go to waste. Every time she looks at Wenren È, Zhongli Qian, Yin Hanjiang, her eyes are always ‘sparkling’. The word ‘sparkling’ is triggering me by now!]
[Cross out Yin Hanjiang up there, we don’t want him.]
[No one wants Yin Hanjiang? I think the murderous psycho type is kind of hot.]
[With two hotties like Zhongli Qian and Wenren È right in front of her, each with their own qualifications, Baili Qingmiao has to go choose someone like Hè Wenzhao… this bitch is seriously blind. She needs to donate her body to science. At least when she gets tortured to death by Hè Wenzhao, her organs can go to someone in need.]
But the reviews regarding Zhongli Qian in God of Annihilation were completely different.
[He should die for stealing the MC’s girl!]
[Zhongli Qian disgusts me. What do you mean ‘If I can’t give you happiness then better I let go’? Where do you get off sounding so self-righteous after stealing someone’s girl? Don’t you know every woman in the world belongs to my Zhao-ge[1]?]
[Yes! Zhao-ge finally killed off Zhongli Qian!]
[Shimei is way too rebellious. Just think, among all his wives, Zhao-ge loves little shimei the most. Every time he gets into danger, it’s for shimei. Yet she’s not faithful at all and runs off with other men every chance she gets. She even attacked Liu Xinye! Liu Xinye is so cute, always dedicated to Zhao-ge, offering her own body and golden core to save Zhao-ge—that’s my kind of girl! Yet Zhao-ge tosses Liu Xinye aside to save little shimei who’s always going after some other guy? I can’t stand women like that!]
[How does Baili Qingmiao have the nerve to say to Zhao-ge ‘Zhongli Qian has also been good to me’, ‘Wenren È may be the Lord of Demons, but he is honest in his words and actions and worthy of respect’? Don’t make me barf!]
[Is the author reading this? Don’t give such a fickle woman to our Zhao-ge. She can’t hold a candle to the Violet Spirit Master.]
Wenren È decided to do everything he could to hide God of Annihilation. If Yin Hanjiang read it, he would have a qi deviation out of anger.
Zhongli Kuang’s soul knelt in midair, begging Wenren È to spare his life.
Wenren È smiled, then ordered Shu Yanyan, “Refine it!”
“I’ve already started,” Shu Yanyan said with a glance at the soul, as she started reciting an incantation and refining his body into a puppet. “What should we do with his soul? Ah, if Qiu Congxue was here, we could just give it to her for her Heart Devouring Ghost Mother technique.”
Wenren È hadn’t revealed the fact that Qiu Congxue was undercover at Shangqing Sect yet, so Shu Yanyan still thought her soul had been sublimated by the Great Peacock Wisdom King, and looked a bit gloomy as she mentioned her name.
“Take one of his earthly souls and turn it into a talisman to send to Zhongli Qian,” Wenren È said. “Tell him to leave the mountain by himself and not let anyone accompany him, or Zhongli Kuang’s soul will be thrown to hungry ghosts, never to enter reincarnation.”
“N—no, please!” Zhongli Kuang said, crying and wailing. “I can use a secret password of the Zhongli clan to get Zhongli Qian down the mountain! Don’t take any of my souls, I’m begging you!”
Humans had three divine souls and seven earthly souls[2]. If they lost any earthly souls, they would be mentally disabled in their next life. If they lost any divine souls, they could only reincarnate as an animal, and could never become a human again. Zhongli Kuang would rather enter reincarnation right now than lose one of his souls.
Unfortunately, the three heartless demonic cultivators paid no heed to his pitiful cries. Shu Yanyan yanked out one of his earthly souls and made it into a talisman, and Zhongli Kuang immediately became listless, his weeping turning faint.
The earthly souls governed emotions—love, hate, desire, sadness, anguish, rage, and joy. Shu Yanyan had removed the soul governing hate, which had the most clear target and would be able to find Zhongli Qian easily, ignoring everyone else in his family to deliver itself right into his hands.
“What’re you crying for?” Shu Yanyan said after sending out the talisman, flicking Zhongli Kuang’s spirit. “The Venerable is letting you see with your own eyes whether or not Zhongli Qian is a real gentleman.”
She had used a very gentle method to take his earthly soul, and even though it had been turned into a talisman, it could be rejoined to his spirit later. Zhongli Qian would realize that Zhongli Kuang could still be saved upon seeing the talisman, and if he was really willing to risk his life to save him, that would prove he was a good elder brother who protected his juniors.
Wenren È and his companions set up a trap over a mountain for Zhongli Qian, as Zhongli Kuang’s spirit sobbed all the while. “He won’t come for me, he’d be happy to see a bastard like me die, he’s a hypocrite who’d take any chance to get rid of me.”
They waited until midnight, whereupon a white-robed figure came to the designated location under the bright moonlight. Standing before Wenren È’s array, Zhongli Qian said, “Qian has arrived as promised. If I am your target, I hope you honorable individuals can release my little brother’s soul to be reincarnated.”
Shu Yanyan appeared before him, holding Zhongli Kuang’s soul. “Zhongli Qian, it should be clear to you that our target is you. As the heir to the Zhongli clan, your importance far outweighs a bastard son like Zhongli Kuang. Why would you risk your life for him?”
“It’s not Qian that’s important, but the Zhongli clan,” Zhongli Qian said calmly. “The reason I am placed above others is not because my cultivation is strong, but because the reputation of the Zhongli clan that had been built up over many years rests on my shoulders. Without the Zhongli clan, I am just an ordinary cultivator. It doesn’t matter if Zhongli Qian dies, but the Zhongli clan cannot abandon a single one of its members. Each of them make up the foundation of the Zhongli clan.”
Shu Yanyan secretly approved of Zhongli Qian, but her expression didn’t show it. “I removed Zhongli Kuang’s hatred soul. You should’ve been able to read from it his resentment of you. He wants you to fall from grace, wants to kill you and dismember your corpse. Knowing that, why did you come save him? Even saints ought to have their limits! This Protector has taken a liking to you, but I like saints with true intentions, not idiots!”
“I know,” Zhongli Qian said, cupping his hands. “To tell the truth, I also dislike this little brother of mine. He is arrogant, thoughtless, and unreliable.”
“Yet you still want to save him?” Wenren È revealed himself. He looked over Zhongli Qian, mystified as to his thought process.
Wenren È had unleashed the pressure of a Mahayana-level expert, and Zhongli Qian paled, realizing that he had met with real trouble. He let out a long sigh. “I still want to save him. I, Zhongli Qian, can die, but the Dao of the Zhongli clan cannot crumble!”
The Zhongli clan’s heritage was the path of gentlemen. Zhongli Qian upheld the clan’s entire path, and if he failed to abide by it, the Zhongli clan would fall. Coming out tonight to save Zhongli Kuang, the worst outcome could be that he died without accomplishing anything, but the Zhongli clan’s Dao would stand regardless. The clan had many branches, from which they could simply pick the most outstanding candidate to inherit their Dao.
But if at this point, Zhongli Qian didn’t come to save Zhongli Kuang, the entire Zhongli clan and their Dao would all crumble.
Even if one was cheating the heavens, one still had to do it properly. You could only accomplish it if you bluffed until you yourself believed it and actually became what you said you were.
In Abusive Romance, Baili Qingmiao often said that Zhongli Qian always looked tired, and that she wished he would relax a bit, smile a little easier. Zhongli Qian always answered that he had a responsibility, and though it was tiring, it was worthwhile.
In his life, the only time he had let go of his responsibilities and path was when he asked Baili Qingmiao if she would leave with him and wander the world. He could select someone else in the clan to take up his position, and they could accompany each other to the ends of the earth, as true cultivation partners.
Sadly, Baili Qingmiao refused him.
Looking at Zhongli Qian, Shu Yanyan sighed inwardly and transmitted to Wenren È, “Venerable, your subordinate is powerless against this man.”
Wenren È didn’t speak, and Shu Yanyan continued. “If I wanted to get this man, I would have to give up the whole forest. Too bad I’m greedy by nature, and will never dedicate myself to one person.”
She ordered the puppet made from Zhongli Kuang’s corpse to take his soul and step before Zhongli Qian. “Be quiet, close your eyes, and don’t move,” she said gently. “I’ll return this trash to you.”
Zhongli Qian obeyed and closed his eyes. Shu Yanyan stroked his face, then gave him a quick peck on the cheek.
She drew back and turned to Wenren È, saying coldly, “Venerable, should I cripple him too?”
Even Wenren È and Yin Hanjiang were surprised by how two-faced Shu Yanyan could be.
Refocusing, Wenren È said, “No need. Bring him back to Xuanyuan Sect. As for Zhongli Kuang… let his soul and body return to the Zhongli clan, and force him to reveal all his thoughts when he gets there. Let his own clan clean up the mess.”