But, it was not impossible.
The Nine-Tailed clan excelled at illusion techniques. Altering one’s appearance was as easy as turning a hand. If he wished, using the identity of an inner disciple of Xuantian Sect to recommend Xue Zhuang’er would not be difficult at all.
He could even kindly help this little stone demon conceal his demonic aura, let him successfully infiltrate the immortal sect, and then reveal the truth in front of everyone.
The Xuantian Sect, which claimed to eradicate all demons under heaven, had accepted a stone demon as a disciple. How ironic, how amusing.
As for what kind of fate would await Xue Zhuang’er at that time, Chu Nanci did not care in the slightest.
He gazed at Jiang Yin’s clear eyes, brimming with pure anticipation, and smiled like a spring breeze. “Of course.”
Demons possessed extremely strong mimicry abilities. When Chu Nanci spoke, he leaned close to Jiang Yin’s ear, his breath warm and lingering. With just those few words, the tip of the young girl’s fair ear quietly flushed red, blooming into a vivid, captivating hue.
Almost following instinct, Chu Nanci raised his hand and lightly touched that overly vivid color.
“Ah!” Jiang Yin’s ear tingled as if struck by electricity. This time, even her neck was dyed crimson, her entire face like a fully ripened peach. “You… what are you doing?!”
Chu Nanci did not conceal his curiosity at all. “Why do your ears turn red?”
Jiang Yin’s voice stumbled. “Of, of course it’s because it’s hot!”
She could not possibly say it was because he had leaned close to speak. That would be far too embarrassing.
“Just hot?”
Chu Nanci clearly did not believe her. He stepped half a step closer again, drawing her back into the range of his presence. Watching the blush on her face deepen further, he finally found the reason.
He smiled, amusement flickering in his eyes, and deliberately leaned in even closer. The breath he exhaled brushed past her ear once more.
Then, with deliberate mischief, he asked despite knowing the answer, “Why is it even redder now?”
Jiang Yin: “……”
If she still could not tell he was doing it on purpose, then all those romance novels she had read would have been for nothing.
Wait, where was the aloof and cold supporting male lead she was promised?
With this level of flirting, forget the female lead not being able to withstand it, even she could not hold out!
Fortunately, at that moment, Xue Zhuang’er by the stove suddenly appeared like a savior descending from the heavens. He shouted loudly toward the courtyard entrance, “Mom! You’re back!”
Jiang Yin followed the sound and looked over, letting out a huge sigh of relief in her heart.
The gap in their levels was far too great. She really could not handle it and needed a moment to recover.
When she saw the woman entering the courtyard with two baskets of soil strapped to her back, Jiang Yin was a little surprised.
At first, upon hearing the name Liu Niang, she had imagined a gentle and delicate woman. But although Liu Niang was thin, she did not have the bearing of a fragile willow.
Her brow bones were somewhat high, the ends of her eyebrows sharply lifted upward. Her lips were thin, and the corners of her mouth drooped deeply from being pressed tight over a long period, forming two stern lines. Her entire face carried an unshakable sense of coldness and wariness.
The moment Xue Zhuang’er saw his mother, he immediately ran forward happily to help unload the baskets of soil.
As soon as the baskets touched the ground, Liu Niang pulled out the rough wooden stick she had been using as a carrying pole from her shoulder and, without the slightest mercy, struck it against his arm.
“You fought with Sun Zhuzi and the others again? All the things I told you over and over, did you treat them as nothing?!” Liu Niang’s voice was sharp and urgent, her anger impossible to suppress.
Although the blow hurt badly, Xue Zhuang’er still stubbornly lifted his chin. “They were the ones who tried to snatch Sister Jiang’s chick first. Sun Zhuzi even threw a stone at Sister Jiang Yin. I didn’t hit them, I just drove them away.”
“You even drove them away? Do you know that right now, they are the ones trying to drive us away?!” Liu Niang said angrily. “Come with me to the Sun family right now to admit your fault and make amends!”
Xue Zhuang’er clenched his teeth. “I’m not going!”
“You still think you’re in the right!” Liu Niang brought the stick down again. A glaring bruise immediately appeared on Xue Zhuang’er’s exposed arm.
But he bit down hard on his lower lip and refused to move even half a step.
Jiang Yin felt a pang of heartache as she watched. She hurried forward and stood in front of Xue Zhuang’er. “Wait a moment, I can testify. Those children were the ones who provoked and started it first. Xiao Zhuang only fought back to defend himself.”
Liu Niang glanced at the delicate young girl shielding Xue Zhuang’er. Her movements paused for a moment. She tossed aside the wooden stick and instead reached out to grab Xue Zhuang’er’s arm. “Enough nonsense. Hurry up and come with me to apologize!”
Xue Zhuang’er stood rooted to the spot, refusing to yield.
Sister Jiang had said that what he did was right. He was not wrong!
Seeing this, Jiang Yin also said, “Xiao Zhuang is not at fault in this matter. Why should he go and admit guilt?”
Seeing her son being so stubborn while Jiang Yin continued to shield him, Liu Niang’s upturned eyes sharpened as she looked at Jiang Yin, her tone openly dripping with sarcasm. “Judging by the way you’re dressed, you must be some young lady from a wealthy family who has never known the hardships of life. How could you possibly understand how difficult it is for poor people like us to survive? Whether he is right or wrong today is not important. What matters is that if he admits fault, we will have to pay less compensation, and my son and I can continue to have a roof over our heads in this village. Today, he will go whether he wants to or not. This is our family matter, so please step aside!”
It was just short of directly calling Jiang Yin meddlesome.
In her previous life, although Jiang Yin was not some rich young lady, because of her special illness, the people around her always spoke gently to her. She had never been scolded so bluntly like this before.
For a moment, she felt both embarrassed and awkward.
But when she thought of the half of the flatbread Xue Zhuang’er had given her extra last night, she still forced a smile. “Please don’t be upset. I was just about to ask, how much debt do you owe? I might be able to help repay it, as a way to repay the kindness of saving my life.”
Liu Niang, upon hearing this, looked Jiang Yin up and down as if scraping her with a blade. At last, she raised one hand. “Fifty taels.”
“Mom!” Xue Zhuang’er suddenly lifted his head. How could she ask for Sister Jiang’s money!
“What are you shouting for?! If you shout, will silver just appear out of thin air for me?!” Liu Niang looked at Jiang Yin, her tone full of shrewd calculation. “Well? Two people, two lives, only fifty taels. That’s quite a bargain, isn’t it?”
Jiang Yin fell silent for a moment, then nodded. “That’s fine.”
She turned and went back into the house to retrieve her bundle, pulling out a banknote worth one hundred taels from inside.
When Liu Niang saw it, she froze briefly and did not immediately take it. “I don’t have any way to break that and give you change.”
“No need. You can keep it.”
Jiang Yin handed over the banknote. She turned her head to glance at the young man who had been silently watching everything beneath the locust tree. Only after seeing him nod did she continue, “There is one more thing. I believe it could improve your and Xiao Zhuang’s situation in the long run.”
Liu Niang took the banknote, her attitude softening slightly. “What is it?”
Jiang Yin pointed at Chu Nanci and introduced him. “To be honest, this person is an inner disciple of Xuantian Sect. Seeing that Xiao Zhuang is born with great strength, we intend to recommend him to cultivate at Xuantian Sect. Once he becomes a cultivator, naturally no one will dare to bully you and your son again, and your lives will also…”
“A cultivator?!” Before she could finish, Liu Niang suddenly shrieked and cut her off. “You are cultivators?!”
Jiang Yin noticed her expression change drastically and realized something was wrong. She chose her words carefully. “…We could also not be.”
“Get out!” Liu Niang threw the banknote she had just taken straight at Jiang Yin’s face and said bitterly, “Take your things and get out!”
Jiang Yin felt somewhat baffled. “Liu Niang, is there some misunderstanding? Xuantian Sect is a righteous sect…”
“Righteous? Bah!” Liu Niang clearly did not want to say more. Seeing that Jiang Yin still had not left, she directly reached out and shoved her forcefully. “Leave now, or don’t blame me for being rude!”
Xue Zhuang’er tried to persuade her from the side. “Mom, don’t drive Sister Jiang away. She’s a good person.”
Liu Niang was furious beyond restraint. She swung her hand back and slapped Xue Zhuang’er hard across the face.
“Pa!”
The crisp sound of the slap rang out like thunder, exploding within the small courtyard.
Xue Zhuang’er’s head tilted to the side. His eyes were filled with confusion and helplessness as he stared blankly at his mother. “…Mom?”
Liu Niang suppressed the trembling in her hand. Looking at Xue Zhuang’er, her voice squeezed out from between clenched teeth. “Xue Zhuang’er, if you say one more word in defense of those Xuantian Sect cultivators today, then from this moment on, do not call me your mother!”
“Mom… I didn’t…” Xue Zhuang’er’s voice already carried a sob.
“Liu Niang, please calm down first.” Jiang Yin still tried to reason with her.
“Get out!!!” Liu Niang suddenly turned her head and let out a hysterical roar at Jiang Yin. The moisture at the corner of her eyes glistened painfully under the sunlight.
Jiang Yin looked into the woman’s eyes. All the words she had meant to say were blocked in her throat. She bent down, picked up the banknote and her bundle from the ground, and silently turned away.
“Brother Huaian, let’s go.”
After leaving the Xue residence, Jiang Yin walked aimlessly ahead. Chu Nanci followed behind her at an unhurried pace, stepping on the shadow on the ground that drooped just like its owner, finding a strange sort of amusement in it.
Only, the girl who was usually chirping nonstop had suddenly fallen silent for a long time. His ears grew a little bored, so he spoke up. “Do you feel wronged?”
Since she was rather interesting, if she nodded, he could help her kill Liu Niang.
Jiang Yin stopped walking and turned around. There were no tears or resentment on her face as he had expected. Instead, she simply looked puzzled as she asked him in return, “Why should I feel wronged?”
Chu Nanci looked at her clear eyes, surprised. “You kindly tried to resolve the Xue family’s predicament, offering both money and effort, yet you were met with harsh words and driven out. Don’t you feel wronged?”
He, like Liu Niang, had assumed that Jiang Yin was a delicate young lady who had never endured hardship. After all, when Liu Niang had harshly questioned her earlier, her eyes had reddened before she even spoke.
Yet now, faced with even harsher insults and being driven out, this seemingly fragile young lady seriously claimed that she did not feel wronged.
“We did all this to repay them for saving our lives. It wasn’t as if Liu Niang forced us to spend money and effort.”
Chu Nanci’s gaze lightly fell on the wrinkled banknote in her hand. “But she asked you for fifty taels.”
“But I was the one who brought it up.” Jiang Yin felt that the young man seemed to hold quite a bit of prejudice against the Xue family. She could understand. He came from a wealthy background and was a favored disciple of an immortal sect. In twenty years, he had probably never been treated so rudely.
Even with his memory loss, such instinctive aversion was only natural.
She would inevitably need his help for what she planned to do next, and she did not want him to form too poor an impression of the Xue family. Weighing the bundle in her hand, she asked, “Do you know how much money is in this bundle of mine?”
“Six hundred and thirty taels,” Chu Nanci said. “Yesterday, Liu Niang went through your bundle.”
“…I know.” Jiang Yin had already noticed that her bundle had been touched when she took out the fire starter last night. But that was precisely why she did not feel wronged.
“She went through my bundle and clearly knew how much money I had, yet she only asked for fifty taels. I said I wanted to repay the kindness of saving my life, but she deliberately framed it as a transaction. In truth, she was trying to put my mind at ease. Once this exchange of money is settled, she will never use that favor to demand anything from me or come back to trouble me in the future.”
Chu Nanci looked at her thoughtfully.
Afraid that he still did not understand, Jiang Yin decided to make it even clearer. “Liu Niang is a good person with a cold exterior but a kind heart. Her reaction today must have hidden reasons behind it. We cannot just leave like this.”
Chu Nanci’s gaze remained fixed on Jiang Yin’s face, as though he were looking at some exceptionally rare treasure. His peach blossom eyes were overly affectionate, stirring the flutter in Jiang Yin’s heart once again.
She turned her face slightly and asked softly, “Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?”
“There’s nothing wrong. What you said is very correct.”
It was precisely because she was correct that Chu Nanci found it surprising.
“Humans… really are complicated.”
She clearly looked like someone innocent and naive, untouched by the ways of the world, yet beneath Liu Niang’s outward harshness and shrewdness, she was able to accurately grasp that trace of hidden kindness.
He found himself increasingly curious about what other novel experiences Jiang Yin would bring him.