Xiao Chen: Xie Yuanjia is currently Xiao Chen’s nominal husband, so beating Xie Yuanjia is tantamount to slapping Xiao Chen across the face. For the sake of my own reputation, me stepping in does not violate my persona.
The system remained silent.
Xiao Chen found a chair and lazily seated himself, propping his head with one hand as he looked at the group of people, a hint of playful amusement in his tone: “You all were having quite a lively time fighting, weren’t you? But my Xiao Chen’s prospective husband is probably not someone you can afford to bully.”
Hearing this, the group looked at Xiao Chen and stammered, “Xiao… Xiao Chen! Let’s go, hurry up and leave.”
The group fled in a flurry; after all, in the Taixuan Sect, Xiao Chen was notoriously ruthless. Anyone who provoked him would either end up crippled or dead, no matter who they were.
“Too late,” Xiao Chen said lazily. Right after, before any of them could even see how Xiao Chen made his move, they were blasted out of the inn by a chilling and stern wave of spiritual energy.
After ‘sending off’ those people, Xiao Chen frowned slightly and looked at Xie Yuanjia impatiently: “Can you walk?”
Xie Yuanjia nodded and tried to get up, but ultimately failed to rise.
Xiao Chen sighed, stood up with extreme reluctance, walked to Xie Yuanjia’s side, and squatted down: “Get on, I’ll carry you back.”
“This…”
Xiao Chen said coldly: “Don’t tell me you want to crawl back. You might be able to throw away your pride like that, but I certainly can’t afford to lose mine.”
Seeing that Xie Yuanjia was still standing there in a daze, Xiao Chen had already grabbed his arm, and Xie Yuanjia naturally climbed onto Xiao Chen’s back.
Xie Yuanjia was covered in injuries, and Xiao Chen couldn’t tell whether the spots he touched were wounded or not, so he could only try his best to be as gentle as possible.
During the night, a cultivator dressed in black suddenly materialized in the woodshed, kneeling on one knee and cupping his fists toward Xie Yuanjia: “Young Master, those five individuals have all been completely eliminated, and their corpses have also been tossed into the deep mountains to feed the wolves. Does Xiao Chen’s side need to be dealt with as well?”
“No need, you may withdraw.”
After the cultivator departed, Xie Yuanjia recalled how Xiao Chen had carried him on his back earlier, how he tried not to exert too much force for fear of pressing against his injuries, and how careful he was not to let him fall. The corners of his lips curved upward slightly. Xiao Chen was truly a warm person.
While he was lost in thought, a black-clad cultivator wearing a ferocious mask suddenly appeared before him.
Xie Yuanjia’s gaze darkened slightly, his hand quietly moving behind his back. Even though he had been framed and driven into Taixuan because his natural talent was too overwhelming, the assassins targeting him over the years were still numerous.
The next moment, the black-clad cultivator produced a delicate thumb-sized jade bottle and placed it beside him.
[Warning, Host, the act of gifting medicine violates your persona, quickly…]
Xiao Chen: Xiao Chen gifting medicine violates the persona, but I wore a mask and did not gift it under Xiao Chen’s identity, so how does that count as violating the persona?
[…]
Xie Yuanjia, who had still been extremely vigilant, completely put his guard down the moment he spotted the little squirrel resting on Xiao Chen’s shoulder. Just as he wanted to express his gratitude, Xiao Chen’s figure was already gone from before his eyes.
Warmth flickered across Xie Yuanjia’s eyes as he carefully picked up the jade bottle. Opening it to take a sniff, he realized it was a grade-seven healing pill, which could be used to reconnect spiritual meridians, reshape broken bones, and treat his flesh wounds using it here was truly far too wasteful.
Xie Yuanjia rubbed the jade bottle with his fingertips. That little squirrel shouldn’t be an ordinary spiritual pet, and coupled with the [Warning, Host] he heard earlier, it seemed the original Xiao Chen had probably been possessed by a transmigrator.
Back in his room, Xiao Chen removed his mask, donned his persona once more, and appropriately extended some help to Xie Yuanjia. This could also be considered leaving himself a way out; just in case the two of them eventually ended up at that same conclusion in the future, this small favor might at least buy him a few strands of survival.
Three days later, Zhang Liusi had someone deliver two invitations to Xiao Chen for the wedding banquet of Qian Yangxu, the young master of the Qian family, instructing him and Xie Yuanjia to attend together.
Although the Qian family wasn’t an immortal family in the true sense, they maintained friendly ties with the Xiao family, so he definitely had to make this trip. Looking at the invitation, Xiao Chen’s gaze grew exceptionally solemn, knowing that this wedding banquet in the book was unexpectedly ‘lively’.
Inside and outside the Qian estate, festive red silk banners hung everywhere as decoration, welcoming a steady stream of guests in a bustling atmosphere. Looking at the large red lanterns adorning the gates of the Qian estate, Xiao Chen let out a silent sigh.
“Oh! Isn’t this our proud son of heaven, Young Master Xiao? Why didn’t you bring your prospective husband along with you today?” Zhao Yongyuan, the only son of the Zhao family who enjoyed equal regard from the Taixuan Sect Master, asked with a hint of mockery.
Xiao Chen frowned slightly. In the book, if judged purely by notoriety, this person was practically on par with Xiao Chen. Because neither of them dared to be provoked by anyone in the Taixuan Sect, they were frequently discussed together except whenever Xiao Chen’s name was mentioned, everyone looked on with envy and praise, whereas Zhao Yongyuan was a good-for-nothing bully at whose mention people simply shook their heads.
Since Xiao Chen had now been forced to marry another as a wife, this fellow naturally came to gloat and mock him with schadenfreude. In the book, Xiao Chen directly beat the man until he couldn’t get out of bed for half a year, but that also brought quite a few unnecessary troubles upon himself.
Replacing the original owner, he couldn’t be bothered to pay him any mind at all. He simply bypassed Zhao Yongyuan and walked straight into the Qian estate, but this sort of indifference directly enraged the fellow. Zhao Yongyuan quickly stepped forward to block Xiao Chen’s path, the corners of his lips curling up as he said, “If I had known our proud son of heaven actually liked being on the bottom, then I…”
Xiao Chen cast a nonchalant glance toward Zhao Yongyuan’s lower region and coldly interrupted, “That thing of yours is probably broken from overuse and can barely even function anymore.”
The onlookers who had been quietly watching the drama originally expected Xiao Chen to directly beat Zhao Yongyuan into a cripple, but they never anticipated he would drop such a remark, especially given the expression and tone Xiao Chen used, which inexplicably made people feel as though this was the absolute truth. Unconsciously, everyone began glancing toward that specific area of Zhao Yongyuan’s body.
Noticing the gazes of the crowd, Zhao Yongyuan turned dark with anger and shouted furiously, “What are you looking at? This young master is perfectly fine!”
Yet the more Zhao Yongyuan tried to explain, the more the crowd felt the reality matched precisely what Xiao Chen had claimed.
Leaving behind those words, Xiao Chen stepped forward into the Qian estate, guided by a domestic servant to his assigned seat. Xie Yuanjia had arrived a step ahead of him.
Xiao Chen glanced at Xie Yuanjia, edged his chair a bit further away, and only then took his seat. Up to this point, he still hadn’t figured out how to get along with Xie Yuanjia. In his view, Xie Yuanjia probably didn’t want to look at him either, so keeping a respectful distance for now was the most appropriate course of action.
The surrounding guests all covertly cast curious glances their way. Coming from prominent aristocratic clans, they understood inner-courtyard schemes inside out; how could the proud prodigy Xiao Chen ever genuinely fall in love with a man and ruin a brilliant future? He was undoubtedly framed.
Right now, they were all curious about how this pair of ill-matched spouses no, enemies would get along. With Xiao Chen’s temper, he would definitely not tolerate Xie Yuanjia and would surely subject him to harassment at every turn.
True to expectations, the original Xiao Chen in the book hadn’t disappointed them: the moment they sat down, Xie Yuanjia’s chair splintered into pieces, followed immediately by an accidental spill of a teacup that poured boiling hot tea directly over Xie Yuanjia’s head, not to mention the treatment during the meal later on. But he was not the Xiao Chen from the book.
Thus, the expectant guests stared intently for a long time, only to discover that after arriving, Xiao Chen simply sat there quietly. Finding it dull after a while, they lost interest, stopped looking, and began chatting amongst themselves instead.
[New task for the Host: Humiliate Xie Yuanjia, otherwise, you will drop dead on the spot.]
Xiao Chen looked at Xie Yuanjia with cold eyes: “Get lost and sit at another table.”
“It’s finally starting.”
“I told you this Xiao Chen couldn’t possibly have such a good temper.”
People nearby turned their heads to look over. Xie Yuanjia didn’t move, and just as everyone prepared to enjoy the big drama nothing else happened. After dropping that single sentence, Xiao Chen simply turned his head away again.
“Is that it?”
“Since when did Xiao Chen have such a good temper?”
“This matter really can’t be blamed on Xie Yuanjia either. In a sense, Xie Yuanjia is also a victim. Xiao Chen is domineering, but he isn’t a scumbag like Zhao Yongyuan; he’s reasonable.”
The crowd understood and completely retracted their gazes.
Meanwhile, Xiao Chen was currently arguing with the system.
[Host, this does not count as completing the task. Please continue the task.]
Xiao Chen: If someone tells you to get lost in front of a crowd, would you get angry?
[Yes.]
Xiao Chen: Then wouldn’t you feel that this person has humiliated you?
[Yes.]
Xiao Chen: Isn’t the task to humiliate Xie Yuanjia?
[Yes.]
Xiao Chen: By the same logic, if I tell Xie Yuanjia to get lost in front of all the guests, does that count as humiliating Xie Yuanjia?
The system fell silent and finally compromised:
[Task completed, points plus 1.]
He didn’t care how many points were added. Right now, he needed to minimize accumulating hatred points from Xie Yuanjia to ensure his own smooth survival in the future. After all, once a person is dead, everything is gone.
Listening to the conversation between Xiao Chen and the little squirrel, Xie Yuanjia couldn’t help the slight upward curve of his lips.
As dusk approached, the master of ceremonies for the Qian estate cupped his fists: “We are deeply grateful to everyone for gracing my son’s wedding with your presence today. The auspicious hour is drawing near, so we kindly ask all of you to move to the main hall for the ceremony.”
The guests stood up and squeezed toward the main hall. In the blink of an eye, only Xiao Chen and Xie Yuanjia were left behind among the two dozen wine tables.
Xiao Chen frowned slightly. In the original book, Xie Yuanjia did go to watch the ceremony, inadvertently supporting Fairy Lin Xi, the top beauty of the Taixuan Sect, thereby sparking the encounter that won him his first harem member.
Yet judging by how things looked right now, Xie Yuanjia had no intention of heading over. Since Xie Yuanjia wasn’t going, he definitely had to go; after all, although he disliked crowds and noise, watching the ceremony was still far more comfortable than staying here in awkwardness with himself and Xie Yuanjia.
With that thought, Xiao Chen stood up and headed toward the main hall. But just as he took two steps, Xie Yuanjia unexpectedly made a move as well. Xiao Chen inwardly cursed himself in regret, had he known Xie Yuanjia was going, he would have just stayed seated a little longer.
Arriving in front of the main hall, the interior was already packed to the brim, and the exterior was surrounded three layers deep as well. At this point, Xie Yuanjia had also arrived.
Xiao Chen figured that since Xie Yuanjia was here, he certainly wouldn’t be turning back, and standing out here wouldn’t allow him to see anything anyway, so why was he still lingering here?
Thinking this, he turned back to walk away, only to take two or three steps and discover that Xie Yuanjia was walking back as well.
Xiao Chen frowned. Was this a coincidence? If he didn’t know full well that Xie Yuanjia wanted nothing to do with him, he would have suspected this guy was tailing him.
Returning to the banquet area, Xiao Chen sat down and idly fiddled with his teacup, though deep down he felt the atmosphere was extraordinarily awkward. If only he had a smartphone right now.
Xie Yuanjia occasionally cast casual glances toward Xiao Chen, feeling a slight urge to smile. Although Xiao Chen’s expression remained as cold and aloof as ever, he could clearly tell that Xiao Chen felt somewhat cornered, inexplicably giving rise to a trace of mischievous amusement.
Even though Xiao Chen had pulled his chair quite far away from him, the space was only so large, how far could it possibly go?
Xie Yuanjia suddenly stood up, pretending to stumble against the table, and brushed his hand against Xiao Chen’s shoulder. Xiao Chen shot up like a spring, jumping far away, and instinctively blurted out: “What are you doing?”
[Host, your persona, your persona!]
Reminded thus by the system, Xiao Chen snapped back to reality. His reaction had been too exaggerated. He gave a couple of dry coughs to cover it up, then issued a chilly warning: “If there’s a next time, you won’t be needing that hand of yours.”
With that, Xiao Chen feigned composure as he returned to his seat, dragging his chair even further away before sitting back down and looking elsewhere.
Xie Yuanjia hadn’t expected Xiao Chen to react so intensely either, but somehow he found it quite entertaining especially when Xiao Chen had leaped far away like a startled cat to interrogate him; it felt as though his heart had been gently scratched by a kitten.
“Apologies,” Xie Yuanjia said in a warm tone.
Xiao Chen remained silent.
Xie Yuanjia sat back down, a faint smile flashing across his eyes.
A moment later, the guests returned to their seats. Xiao Chen silently breathed a sigh of relief, while Xie Yuanjia felt inexplicably displeased.
At the banquet, the groom began making rounds to toast the guests. Upon returning to his seat, Zhao Yongyuan purposefully swapped seats with someone else and was now sitting directly opposite Xiao Chen, smiling as he said: “Proud son of heaven, your wedding banquet is coming up soon. When the time comes, this young master will definitely have to share a few cups of wine with you. Oh, I forgot, you’re married into another family as a wife and can only wait inside the bridal chamber; you won’t have such an opportunity.”
People nearby once again turned their collective gazes toward them wasn’t a fight about to break out yet?
Xiao Chen propped his head with one hand, poured himself a cup of wine, and replied very perfunctorily: “Right, right, right, everything you say is right.”
The crowd: ……
“How boring. Xiao Chen can’t even be bothered to acknowledge this playboy.”
“Exactly, he’s simply beneath contempt.”
Zhao Yongyuan clenched his fists: “Xiao Chen!”
“What?”
“You…” For a long time, Zhao Yongyuan couldn’t squeeze out another word.
“Tch! No fun!” the guests couldn’t help muttering.
“Before he couldn’t beat him, and now he can neither beat him nor out-argue him.”
“Haha, only Xiao Chen knows how to keep him in check.”
Hearing the mockery of the surrounding crowd, Zhao Yongyuan grew furious. He casually grabbed a wine cup and hurled it at Xiao Chen. Xiao Chen’s gaze darkened and he was just about to move when the wine cup froze suspended in mid-air, then dropped directly into the hands of the groom, Qian Yangxu: “Apologies, both of you. Today has been a failure of hospitality on my part, so I shall punish myself with three cups of wine to apologize to you both. I hope you two can let go of the earlier unpleasantness, considering today is my day of great joy.”
After draining three cups, Qian Yangxu sternly reprimanded the housekeeper: “How were these seats arranged? Hurry up and find a different seat for Young Master Zhao.”
Zhao Yongyuan frowned: “Why should I move? If anyone’s moving, it should be Xiao Chen.”
Xiao Chen had no desire whatsoever to sit anywhere near Xie Yuanjia, so he said coldly in a crisp voice: “I’ll move.”
Qian Yangxu bowed gratefully toward Xiao Chen.
After switching seats, Xiao Chen immediately felt a lot more relaxed, whereas Xie Yuanjia flashed a trace of displeasure in his eyes, sweeping an icy glare over Zhao Yongyuan with killing intent flickering momentarily in his gaze.
Zhao Yongyuan shuddered inexplicably.
After finishing the rounds of toasts, Qian Yangxu cupped his fists: “Everyone, please enjoy the food and drinks. If you need anything, call for the housekeeper. I won’t…”
“A moment of a flash of gold in the bridal night is worth a thousand pieces of gold. Qian Young master, hurry along, don’t keep the bride waiting too long.”
“Exactly, exactly. If you keep her waiting too long, watch out for the bride’s resentment.”
Qian Yangxu chuckled and turned to leave.
“Joyful events put a spring in a person’s step. I must say this Qian Young Master looks much more handsome than before.”
“I think so too.”
A smile flashed in Zhao Yongyuan’s eyes as he looked at Xie Yuanjia: “Don’t we still have another prospective bridegroom right here? How is Young Master Xie feeling? Since a moment of a flash of gold in the bridal night is worth a thousand pieces of gold, I wonder if Young Master Xie will be in a rush to enter the bridal chamber when the time comes, or if he’ll chug a bunch of wine trying to run away? Haha…”
The crowd turned to look at Xie Yuanjia, unexpected of him to speak with profound solemnity: “Since I have taken him as my spouse, as long as he does not fail me, I shall certainly treat him with all my heart and never let him down.”
The crowd: ……
Zhao Yongyuan was stunned for a moment before realizing what was happening, and laughed: “Who would have thought Young Master Xie is also such a devoted lover? Proud son of heaven, did you hear that? You’ve struck gold. Ha…”
Xiao Chen, who was wholeheartedly focused on devouring his meal, only realized what was happening over here when Zhao Yongyuan shouted out. He didn’t pay it much mind; after all, if an overpowered protagonist didn’t put up a devoted persona, how could he ever build a harem?
Seeing that Xiao Chen ignored him, Zhao Yongyuan provoked him once more: “Xiao Chen, you…”
“Ah!”
Zhao Yongyuan’s words were cut short by a sudden, ear-piercing, and miserably shrill scream.
The guests all stood up and looked toward that direction:
“It seems to be coming from the direction of the bridal chamber!”
Immediately afterward, maidservants and attendants were seen scattering in all directions as they fled.
“What on earth is going on here?”
A guest intercepted a maidservant who was running past: “What happened?”
The maidservant was so frightened she could no longer speak coherently: “Run, hurry… run!” Following that, she forcefully shook off the guest’s grip and continued fleeing.
“Run from what! Make it clear!”