Xiao Chen looked at the man, a flash of joy rising in his heart. This was Han Wenxuan, the only pride of heaven within the sphere of influence of the Taixuan Sect whose reputation surpassed his own. As early as five years ago, he was already at the late stage of the Golden Core realm, and by now, he was likely about to break through to the Nascent Soul realm, or perhaps had already reached the early Nascent Soul stage. With this person here, today should be safe and sound.
Thinking of this, Xiao Chen cupped his hands in a salute, “Brother Han.”
Han Wenxuan was somewhat surprised. Ever since entering the late Golden Core stage, he had been in seclusion and rarely appeared in public, already for five years. He had not expected anyone to recognize him, “The demonic cultivator causing trouble this time is at the early Nascent Soul stage, and the demonic energy infected by everyone in the Gan Mansion is a technique of borrowing vitality to heal wounds. From this, it can be concluded that this person should be seriously injured.”
Xiao Chen listened carefully; after all, the description of this event in the book stopped at Xie Yuanjia acting as a hero to save the beauty, and the later plots were never filled in.
Hearing that the person possessed Nascent Soul cultivation yet did not flee, this fellow was rather interesting. Han Wenxuan slightly curved the corners of his lips and shifted to Xiao Chen’s side, “Are you not afraid?”
Xiao Chen honestly replied, “Even though he is injured, that is still Nascent Soul cultivation after all. If it were just myself, I would naturally be afraid, but now that Brother Han is here, I have gained a lot of confidence.”
Han Wenxuan looked at Xiao Chen and nodded slightly. As fellow prides of heaven, although he and Xiao Chen had not met more than a few times, he had heard quite a few rumors about Xiao Chen. Now that he saw him, however, he felt the rumors were not entirely true, “With the cultivation of the early Nascent Soul stage, I also dare not rush in blindly. Moreover, our purpose is to rescue the bride back, not to really fight that Nascent Soul cultivator to the death. Therefore, as long as we can lure the bride out and remove the demonic energy on her body, that will be enough.”
Xiao Chen nodded in agreement.
Han Wenxuan continued, “After rescuing the bride, with the two of us here, that Nascent Soul cultivator will definitely not easily strike while heavily injured. After all, he originally did it to heal his wounds, and there is no need to aggravate his injuries just to win a momentary breath of pride.”
Xiao Chen nodded once more, “But how are we to lure the bride out?”
A smile flashed in Han Wenxuan’s eyes, “I have a method, but I’m afraid I will have to wrong Brother Xiao a bit.”
“Hm?”
“It requires Brother Xiao to disguise himself as the appearance of the bride…”
Xiao Chen frowned and interrupted with a cold, detached tone, “To lure the bride out, shouldn’t one disguise as the groom? Furthermore, why must it be me, why doesn’t Brother Han go?”
Han Wenxuan explained, “If that bride had her own consciousness, it would indeed be appropriate to disguise as the groom, but clearly the bride does not. Disguising as the bride is meant to provoke that Nascent Soul cultivator into action, because this method of borrowing vitality yields the best results when applied to the bride, and the Nascent Soul cultivator will definitely send the bride out.”
“As for why it is Brother Xiao, the reason is very simple. Firstly, Brother Xiao is already about to marry another as a wife, so you already possess the aura of a newlywed, which can better deceive the opponent. Secondly, Brother Xiao’s cultivation is not as high as mine, so naturally you must listen to my arrangements.”
Xiao Chen imperceptibly frowned; this second reason was probably the real one. So be it, disguising was better than rushing in blindly to court death.
With that thought, Xiao Chen recalled the adornments of the bride he saw today and conjured an identical set using illusion arts.
In truth, wanting to lure the bride out was not limited to this single method alone. Han Wenxuan spoke this way simply because he disliked Xiao Chen using his stepmother Zhang Liusi as bait to lure all the people tainted by demonic energy, and he wanted to discipline Xiao Chen a little.
Yet now, looking at Xiao Chen, he became dazed. He had not expected that Xiao Chen in women’s clothing would be so stunningly beautiful, simply breathtaking. Thinking about it now, Xiao Chen’s facial features were already exceptionally fine, only that when interacting with him, one first noticed his cold, aloof, and unapproachable temperament.
Xiao Chen did not notice, “Brother Han, what should we do next?”
Han Wenxuan came back to his senses and dry-coached twice to cover up his momentary lapse of composure, “Stand in front of the Matchmaker Temple, and pretend to sincerely kowtow and pray.”
Which madman would come to worship such a dilapidated Matchmaker Temple in the middle of the night? Although Xiao Chen had doubts, he still did as told, seeing as his cultivation was low and having arrived not long ago, his understanding of cultivation matters was limited.
After kneeling and kowtowing twice toward the Matchmaker Temple, the figure inside the temple indeed moved. Xiao Chen tightly clenched his fists in tension, but the figure only moved once and then stopped.
Xiao Chen slightly furrowed his brows, what was the situation, was this effective or not? Should he continue kowtowing or not?
Seeing that the bride made no further movement, Han Wenxuan sighed inwardly, thinking she had been seen through. Just as he was about to tell Xiao Chen to get up, he saw Xie Yuanjia walk to Xiao Chen’s side dressed in red wedding robes, kneeling down right beside him, gently grasping Xiao Chen’s hand, and soothing him in a soft voice, “Wife, it is my fault, I should not have lost my temper with you. Won’t you come back with me?”
Xiao Chen was startled for a moment, knowing that Xie Yuanjia was trying to help him, so he suppressed his discomfort and feigned annoyance, “No, the affinity between you and me ends here in this lifetime, and I came here to seek another good match.”
Xie Yuanjia hurriedly said, “Wife, I truly know my mistake. Come back with me, and I promise never to look at anyone else for the rest of my days. In this life and this world, there will only be you alone. Please forgive me.”
Before Xiao Chen could speak further, the bride inside the Matchmaker Temple suddenly flew out, striking straight at him.
Taking advantage of the moment, Han Wenxuan used a formation to trap the bride, and then removed the demonic energy from her body, whereupon the bride lapsed into unconsciousness.
Neither Xiao Chen nor Xie Yuanjia were willing to catch her, and Han Wenxuan instinctively was unwilling to catch her either, causing the person to fall heavily straight onto the ground.
The three of them looked at each other: …
The system’s voice sounded in Xiao Chen’s ear: [Side quest completed, points plus 50.]
Only then did Xie Yuanjia understand the reason why Xiao Chen insisted on coming here—it was not because he didn’t trust him, but because he had no choice.
Thinking this, he looked toward Xiao Chen. By the time he arrived, Xiao Chen was already kneeling before the Matchmaker Temple, and he hadn’t seen Xiao Chen’s face. Now that he saw it, he felt his heartbeat skip a beat. He was truly beautiful, an appearance that could perhaps only be described as peerless, and he unnaturally averted his gaze.
Xiao Chen did not notice Xie Yuanjia’s abnormality, “How should this bride be sent back to the Gan Mansion? A woman’s reputation is extremely important; whichever one of us carries her back, I’m afraid…”
“Then let the people from the Gan Mansion come and fetch her.” Han Wenxuan looked at Xie Yuanjia, “The Nascent Soul cultivator has not yet left, so I must trouble Young Master Xie to go to the Gan Mansion and report the news, while Brother Han and I wait here.”
Xie Yuanjia was displeased, “Why must I go?”
Han Wenxuan explained, “I am already at the early Nascent Soul stage of cultivation, and Brother Xiao is at the Golden Core stage. If that Nascent Soul cultivator comes out, I can battle him, while Brother Xiao can protect the bride.”
Xie Yuanjia frowned, wanting to refute but having nothing to say. Who told him to still be merely at the mid-foundation establishment stage? In the end, he could only obediently return to the Gan Mansion to report the news.
After Xie Yuanjia left, only Xiao Chen and Han Wenxuan remained. Because Xiao Chen’s bridal disguise was truly too gorgeous, every time Han Wenxuan looked, a strange feeling arose in his heart. Feeling somewhat awkward, he said, “Would Brother Xiao like to put away the illusion first?”
Reminded by Han Wenxuan, Xiao Chen finally reacted, raising his hand to withdraw the spell and resume his original appearance.
Han Wenxuan looked at Xiao Chen, “Brother Xiao’s character is vastly different from the rumors. Being able to be friends with Brother Xiao, I feel it is a fortunate matter, but there are some words I still wish to counsel Brother Xiao on.”
Xiao Chen raised his eyes.
Han Wenxuan continued, “Regardless of how things are, Madam Zhang is still your mother. Making an elder kneel and beg you is far too rebellious, and using an elder as bait to lure demonic people is far too unfilial. You will still need to correct this in the future.”
Xiao Chen’s expression darkened slightly. In any novel, there would always be such people standing on high moral ground to judge others. Originally, through their interactions, he had felt that Han Wenxuan was decent and could be deeply befriended, but now it seemed he was worth nothing at all. He had stayed behind purely for the sake of Han Wenxuan’s face, but now that the task was finished and Han Wenxuan turned out to be such a person, he truly had no need to continue listening to this person’s lectures. He dismissively replied, “Yes, yes, yes, everything you say is right.”
Han Wenxuan instantly pulled a long face, “Xiao Chen, I am doing this for your own good, I wouldn’t bother with others…”
Before Han Wenxuan could finish speaking, Xiao Chen had already left on his flying sword.
Han Wenxuan’s face turned as dark as ink in an instant.
Not long after Xiao Chen left, Xie Yuanjia brought the young master of the Gan Mansion over. After the Gan Mansion people rescued the bride, Xie Yuanjia looked at Han Wenxuan, “Where is Xiao Chen?”
Han Wenxuan said with a cold face, “He left.”
“He left?”
Unwilling to speak any further, Han Wenxuan left on his flying sword.
Xie Yuanjia: …
“I didn’t provoke him, what is with that cold face he’s putting on toward me?”
After Zhang Liusi returned to the Xiao Mansion, she fell severely ill for a month, and no one came to look for trouble with her. During this month, Xiao Chen stayed almost entirely within the mansion, beginning to earnestly study the matters of cultivation. With the original host’s memories supplementing him, coupled with Xiao Chen’s already high intelligence, he quickly grasped the inner workings of it and began closed-door cultivation. In this cultivation world where the strong preyed on the weak, strength was the foundation of survival.
Compared to Xiao Chen, Xie Yuanjia was much busier this month. With only a month and a half left until their wedding date, entering the Xiao Mansion as a resident son-in-law was an unalterable fact given his current situation, but he wanted to enter with dignity. The betrothal gifts given by other families, he would not lack a single one, and he would even have more.
Once Zhang Liusi recovered from her illness, she started stirring up trouble again. She had people make wedding robes separately for Xiao Chen and Xie Yuanjia. In the cultivation world, a male wife marrying usually only wore one more red ribbon than the husband, but Zhang Liusi sent Xiao Chen a set of women’s wedding attire.
Looking at the wedding attire, a cold light flashed in Xiao Chen’s eyes. It seemed the lesson from that day was still too light.
The steward urged, “Time is tight, will Young Master please try it on to see if any alterations are needed?”
Looking coldly at the steward, Xiao Chen said, “The wedding attire is unsuitable, take it back. Also, tell Madam Zhang that if she wants this wedding to become a laughingstock, she is welcome to continue.”
The steward packed up the wedding attire and respectfully retreated.
However, before new wedding robes were sent over, an invitation from the Gan Mansion arrived instead, stating it was to express gratitude for the help Xiao Chen and Xie Yuanjia provided that day.
Xie Yuanjia originally wanted to decline, but upon hearing that Xiao Chen had accepted the invitation, he didn’t decline after all. Ever since the last wedding banquet, he had barely seen Xiao Chen at all.
By the time Xie Yuanjia arrived, Xiao Chen had already arrived a step ahead, idly fiddling with the teacup on the table. This time it was a private banquet for the Gan Mansion, and the seating arrangements were relatively casual. The seats next to Xiao Chen were all already occupied, so Xie Yuanjia could only find an empty spot and take a seat.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Gan Yangxu ordered the steward to serve the dishes. Three rounds of wine later, Gan Yangxu toasted and thanked Xiao Chen, Xie Yuanjia, and Han Wenxuan one by one.
After three rounds of drinks, Xiao Chen excused himself for being unable to hold his liquor and left the banquet early to get some fresh air.
Xiao Chen had never liked such occasions. Attending the banquet was only because he felt that maintaining good relations with the Gan Mansion would be beneficial for the future. After leaving the table, he came to the lake pavilion of the Gan Mansion, looking at the sparkling lake water, and his mood improved quite a bit.
“What I said last time was too harsh.”