Chapter 78: Nothing but a Ghost!
Su Chen stood in the shadows of the awning, his brows tightening visibly.
In three centuries as a Soul Lord, he had witnessed ancient sects collapse, bloodlines eradicated, and peerless geniuses butchered over minor slights.
He had prepared himself for every foul scheme—a rival faction using his servant to lure him into an array, a poisoner using her as a carrier, or maybe even a fight to the death.
He had not prepared to find her sitting at a cheap wooden table, happily swallowing noodles while a stranger patted her head
The air around the stall carried the scent of roasted scallions and boiling bone marrow.
Who was the young man with her?
The young man didn’t look like an assassin or an elder’s covert operative; he carried himself with the casual, relaxed posture of a man enjoying an evening stroll after a heavy meal.
Su Chen took a slow, measured breath, forcing his spiritual perception to expand over the young man.
The result made his brow furrow in genuine disorientation. The stranger’s cultivation base registered as a weak, unrefined Qi Builder.
Su Chen dismissed the stranger’s presence.
A mortal servant lured away by a low-level disciple meant nothing to a former Soul Lord, he told himself.
With a scoff, he stepped out from the shadows, his heavy footsteps sounding against the cobblestones as he approached the stall.
Infront of her now, he saidL "Xiao Cui. People at home have been worried about you. Come, let’s go."
Before the girl could swallow her noodles, Su Chen reached past the bowl, his fingers aiming to clamp around her wrist and take her away.
A hand shot across the table like a striking viper, iron fingers wrapping around Su Chen’s wrist and stopping his movement dead in mid-air.
"Can’t you see she is not done eating?" Kian asked mildly.
They looked at each other.
"I am not her enemy," Su Chen sighed. Taking his hand away. "Then I might as well wait till she finishes eating. Waiter, bring me a bowl of noodles!"
"Coming right up!"
Kian observed the man as he sat there calmly.
"Once you are done eating," Su Chen said. "Let’s go home."
"She is not coming," Kian said softly. "She is coming home with me, to my home."
Su Chen frowned. "Who are you, even?"
Kian said shamelessly: "The one who she wants to have babies with, I’d say?"
Su Chen’s face warped in disgust. "Xiao Cui. Finish your food fast."
"No, little Cui, eat slow. Enjoy your food."
She, like a spooked rabbit, just let the bowl sit on the desk.
"Look, Su Chen, you terrified my darling."
Kian took a handful of noodles with his chopsticks and held it upto her face.
She looked scared for a moment, but then opened her mouth a bit.
Kian slid the noodles into her mouth, and Xiao Cui chewed timidly, her cheeks bulging as she stole a nervous glance at Kian.
Su Chen’s jaw tightened, the veins on the back of his hand bulging as he forced his expression to remain cold and indifferent.
"Xiao Cui, stand up. We are leaving."
Kian set his chopsticks down with a quiet clatter and leaned back against the wooden bench. "Why should she come with you, and not with me?"
"Because she is part of my sect," Su Chen said, his voice dropping into a razor-sharp whisper. "Because she is my servant, not yours."
"Not from now on," Kian replied, meeting the former Soul Lord’s gaze without a trace of fear. "From now on, she is my woman. And do not come to me touting about your right over her."
Kian tapped his index finger against the wooden table, the light thud echoing over the quiet night.
Su Chen stared at him.
"If I were a malicious person, she would have been dead today," Kian said, his voice terrifyingly calm. "She was out in the deep forest alone, without a single spell or guard protecting her. I basically took her away without any effort."
Su Chen’s eyes narrowed, a sharp glint of cold anger rising in his gaze.
"You left a helpless mortal girl to wander off while you are surrounded by enemies, and now you show up with your sword out acting like a protective master," Kian sneered, leaning forward.
"What were you planning to do if a real villain took her? Track down her corpse, kill the bad guys like the badass you are, and feel satisfied with your righteous revenge?"
Kian chuckled coldly.
"Some badass you are!"
The words struck Su Chen like an invisible palm, freezing the retort in his throat.
It was, at the end of the day, the truth.
If Kian weren’t the one who took Xiao Cui away, it could very well have been the Zhang Fatty. What if that happened?
Would it have been a fun forest date, or would it have been a brutal kidnapping story?
Kian reached across the small wooden table, pulled Xiao Cui by the waist, and tucked her head neatly against his chest.
He rested his chin atop her pale blonde hair, wrapping his arms around her like an unbreakable shield.
"That’s why, go back to whence you came from," Kian said, staring at the ancient Soul Lord. "Xiao Cui has never cared about you, and never will. So, get lost. She is not born to be a servant, and will not remain one."
Su Chen’s face went dead pale, a terrifying surge of killing intent crackling through the air as his hand twitched toward his waist. But then, he took a deep breath and smiled.
He looked at Kian for a long moment, then at how Xiao Cui didn’t seem to argue against him.
Then, without a word, he turned around.
"What is your name?" he asked.
"None of your concern," Kian replied.
Su Chen nodded.
Then, vanished.
Xiao Cui sat frozen against Kian’s chest for a long, silent breath after Su Chen vanished into the darkness.
Then her shoulders began to tremble, her small fists clenching tight in the front of his robe, and a quiet, broken sob spilled from her lips.
Big, fat tears welled up in her round eyes and trickled down her cheeks, dripping onto the wooden table.
"W-Why did you say those things?" she sniffled, her voice cracking as she began weakly swatting at his chest with her fists. "Master Su and their family... he was always nice to me! His family fed me when I had nothing! You... you mean jerk!"
Kian didn’t flinch or move away as her harmless blows landed against his iron-hard body, merely letting out a long, quiet sigh.
"Young Master Su’s family took care of me all these years, yet you are hurting them. Kian! I don’t think we can carry on with our relationship. I am going to go back and apologize."
He wrapped his arms firmly around her waist to keep her from tumbling off the bench, letting her vent the sudden rush of guilt and grief that had overtaken her.
She had been trying to talk earlier, but all this time, she was just too stunned to speak.
"I know, little Cui," he murmured softly, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of her head as her sobbing gradually slowed to hiccupping breaths. "I know."
He reached into his sleeve, tossed three copper coins onto the grease-stained counter for the untouched noodles, and effortlessly scooped the crying girl up into a secure princess carry.
Turning away from the night stall, Kian leaped onto the nearest rooftop with Wind Step, carrying his tear-stained lady home through the quiet, moonlit streets of the city.
"If you knew, why did you do that?!"
"Because the person we talked to is no longer Su Chen. He is but a ghost. "