Chapter 196 : I Am His Unwed Wife
Chapter 196: I Am His Unwed Wife
North of Qingfeng City lay a mountainous region. Traveling two days and a night into the mountains, there was a place called Chenjia Ditch. Situated in a mountain ravine, everyone in the village bore the surname Chen, hence the name.
In recent days, Chenjia Ditch had been especially lively.
Chen Lao Jiu, who had three mulberry trees planted at his doorstep, had a younger brother who had struck it rich. He opened a medicine shop in Qingfeng City, bought a house and land, and over twenty years ago had already become the wealthiest household in the village.
Now, Chen Lao Jiu’s nephew had returned with over a dozen carts full of goods. His extravagance was astounding, leaving the villagers wide-eyed.
It was said that the Chen family had produced a remarkable figure who had made it onto some kind of Azure Sky List—whatever it was, it was something impressive. The well-dressed Young Master Chen claimed that this time, he had returned to repair the ancestral tombs.
The commotion even drew the attention of the prominent figures from the nearby town, who all came in turn to visit this Young Master Chen.
His generosity was unmatched—upon his return, he hosted three days straight of open banquets, with unlimited rice and as much meat as one could eat.
The villagers had never seen such a grand display. They all said that Chen Lao Jiu’s ancestral tombs must have been blessed, producing such a prosperous descendant.
Before repairing the ancestral tombs, Young Master Chen had the ancestral hall rebuilt first, making it even grander and more imposing than the Li family’s in town.
When the ancestral hall was completed, the entire village attended.
For everyone in Chenjia Ditch, it was a great day.
On such a day, a group of strangers suddenly arrived, all on horseback. Then, a woman strode into the ancestral hall.
By tradition, women were not allowed inside. But strangely, no one stopped her—everyone just stared blankly, as if frozen in place.
“Mother, look! A fairy!”
Only when a child cried out did the silence break.
Indeed, the woman looked like a celestial fairy descended from the heavens. These mountain folk had never seen anyone like her before. Each felt ashamed of their own appearance and dared not speak, afraid of offending this fairy.
It was the city-born Young Master Chen who had the courage to step forward and ask, “May I ask what brings the young lady here?”
The fairy-like woman gave a graceful bow. “My surname is Yu. I am Chen Ming’s unwed wife. Greetings, elder brother.”
Chen Rui stared at this peerlessly beautiful woman who claimed to be his younger brother’s fiancée, completely dumbfounded, unsure how to respond.
…
What should have been a grand event recorded in the clan genealogy ended up ending hastily. Everyone was abuzz, talking about that fairy-like woman.
At the Chen household, Madam Wei was stunned when she saw her little brother-in-law’s unwed wife and could not help feeling inferior.
Even the four maids standing behind her were all more beautiful than herself.
Chen Lide tried to put on a composed demeanor, but his eyes kept stealing glances at this “little aunt.”
Chen Lirong hid behind her elder brother, sneaking peeks at her “little aunt” without blinking.
Chen Rui asked, “Where’s Erlang? Why didn’t he come back with you?”
This self-proclaimed unwed wife of Chen Ming was none other than Yu Haitang, who had returned from that “cave dwelling.” She replied softly, “He is in seclusion and cannot leave, so he asked me to come.”
“I see.” Chen Rui took a tactical sip of tea and complained, “That Erlang… to have decided a lifelong commitment with you, yet not even tell me.”
Neither he nor Madam Wei doubted her words in the slightest.
With her peerless beauty, if she favored Erlang, it truly was as though their ancestors’ tombs were emitting blue smoke. A woman’s reputation was of utmost importance—how could she lie about such a thing?
The Chen family was no lofty aristocratic clan. If she said it was so, then it was so.
Besides, they naturally assumed that if Erlang were to marry, it would surely be a once-in-a-lifetime beauty such as her.
Yu Haitang said, “It is presumptuous of me, but I heard many women fancy him. I came here to make my status clear, so those fluttering orioles and swallows will stop pestering him.”
Chen Rui quickly replied, “The young lady overthinks it. Erlang has always kept himself pure and never showed the slightest favor to other women.”
Though, in truth, he was being a bit disingenuous.
From what he knew, there was a Xiaoshui Sect girl, the daughter of Inspector Zhao Shouchang, and even a Miss Zhong he kept at home with an ambiguous relationship.
Still, in front of Yu Haitang, he would certainly speak well of his younger brother.
At that moment, the main hall door swung open.
Chen Rui, about to scold someone, looked up and froze.
A young woman in snow-white clothes, ethereal and otherworldly, entered. Her beauty was not of this world, her demeanor as cold as a moon goddess from the heavens.
Unbelievable—today he had encountered two women whose beauty defied mortal comparison.
Madam Wei also froze.
Chen Lide looked back and forth between the two, mouth slightly agape in shock.
Chen Lirong covered her mouth, feeling her eyes could hardly take in so much beauty.
The white-clad woman entered and asked, “Where is he?”
From her demeanor, she clearly knew Yu Haitang.
For some reason, Chen Rui had an intuition that the “he” she referred to was his younger brother Erlang.
Yu Haitang said coolly, “What does it have to do with you?”
The white-clad woman’s long sleeves fluttered slightly as she repeated, “Where is he?”
Yu Haitang replied faintly, “Everyone present is Ming Lang’s family. Do you intend to make a move here?”
The white-clad woman’s gaze swept over Chen Rui and the others—and then she was simply gone, as if she had vanished into thin air.
Such a feat left the Chen family startled and uncertain, convinced it was an immortal’s power.
Yu Haitang said, “Don’t worry. She’s just one of those orioles and swallows who cling to Ming Lang. She’s here for me, not to harm you.”
Uh?
Hearing this, Chen Rui first breathed a sigh of relief, then felt awkward.
Yu Haitang then said, “I’m tired.”
“Chunxiang, Xiaxiang, take the young lady to rest.”
After she left, Chen Rui and his wife exchanged glances.
“How did Erlang meet this Miss Yu? And that other one just now…”
“I’d like to know as well.”
Chen Rui was now extremely curious—what on earth had Erlang experienced in Jiangzhou City to attract two such peerless women?
Only when Erlang returned would they get their answers.
…
The old Chen residence had been expanded several times and was now quite large.
Chen Rui arranged for Yu Haitang to stay in the courtyard meant for Chen Ming, though he had never actually lived there before.
Two years ago, Chen Rui had instructed Chen Lao Jiu, who stayed in the old residence, to rebuild the courtyard. It was now spacious, with many new furnishings.
Once inside, Yu Haitang dismissed her maids.
A while later, Su Zhi Ning appeared, asking the same question, “Where is he?”
Yu Haitang said faintly, “He’s dead.”
The longsword on Su Zhi Ning’s back quivered, and her clear, deep eyes grew cold. “How did he die?”
“He died saving me—”
Yu Haitang’s mind went back to that day.
In the depths underground, before Chen Ming was swallowed by molten lava, he had struck out with one palm. That strike had saved her life, pushing her back onto the shore.
“I should have gone with him… He told me to live well… I still have things unfinished…”
Her voice grew quieter, tears dripping down one by one. She didn’t even notice that Su Zhi Ning was gone.
…
……
Su Zhi Ning didn’t know how she had left Chenjia Ditch. She walked from daylight into nightfall.
Unknowingly, she returned to the Sea-Calming King’s Mansion.
Now, only Shang Jianfei remained there, tending the flowers like an old farmer.
She stood in the garden, gazing at the bright moon above. The sword on her back seemed to hum faintly, resonating with her emotions.
She didn’t know how long she stood there before softly asking, “Did he really die in there?”
She wasn’t asking Shang Jianfei.
At some point, another person had appeared behind her—a man in white robes. It was her master, Yuan Zhixing.
Seeing his disciple’s sorrow, Yuan Zhixing sighed inwardly. This disciple still could not overcome the trial of love.
“It’s true.”
“Why?”
“It’s complicated—”
“Why?”
Yuan Zhixing explained softly, “It began a hundred years ago. Due to an accident, the Immortal-Destroying Demon Lord who had been suppressed atop Heavenly Extremity Mountain escaped. Several of our sect’s elders pursued it to Qingfeng City, where they vanished.
“Since then, our sect sent people many times to search, but could not find the Immortal-Destroying Demon Soul’s trace. It now appears that, to escape pursuit, it fled into that cave dwelling. To conceal itself, it wiped out the family guarding the place.
“But it underestimated the Eternal Life Emperor. That cave dwelling was easy to enter but hard to leave, trapping it for a century. It had no choice but to possess the body of a fire flood dragon.
“After a hundred years, this puppet of the Immortal-Destroying Demon Soul finally found an opportunity—spreading rumors and leading a group into the cave to find a key. Its plan was to possess one of them and then kill the rest, leaving undetected.
“This time, not only did Chen Ming die, but seven First Grade experts and several Second Grade ones perished as well. In the end, the Immortal-Destroying Demon Soul possessed Chen Ming. With his unyielding nature, he refused to become the Demon Lord’s puppet and decisively leapt into a lava vein. His body is likely gone without a trace.”
Su Zhi Ning listened in silence, gazing blankly at the bright moon.
After a long while, she asked, “Did the demon soul die?”
Yuan Zhixing shook his head. “It’s difficult. Back then, even several Heaven and Man Realm experts could not destroy it, only suppress it and wear down its undying nature. Nearly a thousand years have passed, and still it has not been eradicated. A mere lava flow is unlikely to end it.”
“Master.”
“Hm?”
“I want to avenge him.”
Yuan Zhixing suddenly asked, “What if he’s not dead, but has been taken over by that Immortal-Destroying Demon Soul—what would you do?”
“…”
After a long silence, Su Zhi Ning turned, her expression solemn as she looked at her master. “I would kill it!”