A Fated Encounter and Unforeseen Complications

A moment later, after Jiang Ningwan instructed the house servants to tidy up the scattered furniture and goods, she gracefully walked towards Zhuang Xun and the others, who were playing with her young daughter.

“Brother Zhuang Xun, why isn’t it moving anymore?”

Jiang Lishuang asked, cradling the pink-furred fox in her arms and gently stroking its drooping, fluffy head.

“It’s probably tired,”

the fox replied, its eyes slightly narrowed. Upon seeing Zhuang Xun’s smile, it promptly closed them obediently.

“Oh.”

“Jiang Ningwan thanks the three Immortal Masters for your assistance.”

“It’s no trouble. Is Madam Jiang also heading to Yuelong County?”

Zhuang Xun intended to directly introduce some background plot points concerning Jiang Lishuang.

For, according to his background setting for this female lead, in a certain year during her childhood, Jiang Lishuang would receive news of her mother’s death at the Liu family in the mortal realm.

From then on, she would have no living relatives in the world. This would cause a drastic change in her personality, making her taciturn and devoid of any smiles.

She had attempted suicide multiple times before being chosen by an elder of the Xuan Nü Palace, who wandered the four seas. The elder recognized her mutated spiritual root and extreme Yin constitution and took her as their personal disciple. Thus, she embarked on the path of cultivation.

Later, after reaching a certain cultivation realm, her master noticed karmic obstructions in her heart and inquired about their origin, specifically permitting her to descend to the mortal realm to sever these karmic ties.

The protagonist he had devised was meant to meet her during this period in the mortal realm. As for what happened afterward, that would be a series of ‘fated’ arrangements.

However, the author himself was now interfering. How things would unfold from this point was difficult to say.

After all, under the manipulation of a certain troublemaker, he had already become entangled in this female lead’s karma. To still pursue the same plot as the original novel was essentially impossible.

Yet, Zhuang Xun had no idea why ‘It’ was doing this. Even now, ‘It’ had not provided him with a reasonable explanation.

He could only take things one step at a time, to see what kind of mischief this ‘dear daughter’ truly intended to stir up.

Hearing Zhuang Xun’s question, Jiang Ningwan nodded slightly.

She explained, “Yes. Our Jiang family encountered some unforeseen circumstances in the Jade Spirit Kingdom this time, and we wish to relocate to the Divine Swallow Kingdom. We hope to rely on the ancestral properties left there to sustain our family’s livelihood.”

“So, those who just threatened Madam Jiang must be your enemies, then?”

At this, a flicker of resentment crossed Jiang Ningwan’s eyes, but she quickly concealed it.

“Yes, and no.”

“Fellow Daoist, everything has been handled. We should also—”

Shangwu was about to utter the words ‘be on our way,’ but Shangwen swiftly clapped a hand over his mouth. He quickly interjected, “Please, continue, both of you. My elder brother was merely rambling.”

With that, Shangwen transmitted a message to Shangwu via divine sense, then ‘dragged’ him away.

****

“If the three Immortal Masters are in a hurry to travel, there’s no need to concern yourselves with us.”

Jiang Ningwan could discern that the three of them actually had no desire to meddle. If not for that bolt of lightning, she surmised that this Immortal Master before her would likely not have intervened.

Moreover, the two enshrined cultivators of the Liu family were the primary cause of her Jiang family’s downfall. Yet, they had been dealt with so effortlessly and elegantly.

This was sufficient proof that this handsome Immortal Master’s cultivation strength far surpassed that of those two brothers.

This sparked a thought in Jiang Ningwan: she wanted to retain this powerful cultivator as a protective umbrella for her Jiang family. However, she had also made inquiries.

To retain those two brothers, the Liu family had spent an enormous sum of money and even included a mining vein they were currently exploiting. Only then had the two brothers agreed to serve as the Liu family’s enshrined cultivators for twenty years.

Furthermore, this was contingent upon the ancestral ties between the Liu family and the parents of those two brothers. Otherwise, the benefits offered would likely have been even more astonishing.

Now, even if she sold off all her remaining family assets, it would still fall far short of the vast sum those two brothers had demanded.

‘I cannot keep them… Nor can I afford them…’

Zhuang Xun, however, was not thinking as complexly as Jiang Ningwan. For him, such matters were merely trivial, not something he would dwell on.

What he cared about were the subsequent repercussions on the female lead, Jiang Lishuang, after he had intervened.

“But if we were to leave, I believe it wouldn’t be long before they sent even stronger individuals to demand an explanation and retribution. At that point, it would be a catastrophic disaster for both your daughter and the Jiang family.”

“For an Immortal Master to have intervened and rescued us is already an immense help to the Jiang family. I cannot trouble you further, Immortal Master, and cause you to become entangled in difficulties you shouldn’t have to face.”

“A person with many lice doesn’t fear itching. Besides,” Zhuang Xun said, reaching out to gently pat Jiang Lishuang’s small head, “I’ve grown quite fond of this little girl.”

Jiang Lishuang seemed to have a natural sense of closeness towards this handsome older brother. She didn’t resist Zhuang Xun’s gesture; instead, she tilted her small head up and asked with an innocent tone, “Does Brother Zhuang Xun like Lishuang?”

Zhuang Xun half-knelt, smiling, and replied in an elder brother’s tone, “Of course. Little Lishuang is so adorable; naturally, I like you.”

“Hehe… Mother, please let Brother Zhuang Xun stay, okay?”

“This…”

For a moment, Jiang Ningwan didn’t know what reason she could use to refuse her daughter’s plea. She had originally wished to retain them but, knowing she couldn’t afford to, had suggested they depart.

But now…

“It’s quite alright. The three of us happen to be heading in the same direction as Madam Jiang; consider us traveling companions.”

****

“Then I shall trouble the three Immortal Masters. Once we reach Yuelong County, I shall certainly host a banquet to thank you all.”

Since he had made such an offer, she found it difficult to voice any further refusals. That would be far too impolite.

****

The next day.

Zhuang Xun sat sideways beneath a green tree, his divine sense observing the resting group while his eyes were gently closed in repose.

At that moment, Shangwen stealthily approached him, settling down on the other side of the tree trunk.

“What do you want?”

“Fellow Daoist, are you truly uninterested in Madam Jiang? Or are you simply playing hard to get?”

“Firstly, I do not covet another man’s wife… Secondly, aren’t you uninterested in mundane mortal women? Why bring this up now?”

“Not so, not so. If you think that way, Fellow Daoist, then you are mistaken.”

Shangwen, feigning a profound and mysterious air, spoke leisurely.

“Ah, this Madam Jiang is quite renowned in the Jade Spirit Kingdom. Last night, while we were traveling, I made some inquiries among the house servants…”

“Although she holds a nominal position in her husband’s family, there was never any marital consummation. Furthermore, both families were originally united by a marriage of convenience, with little affection involved…”

“Her husband was also entirely slaughtered by an evil cultivator during the wedding procession on their wedding day. Not a single member of that procession was left alive… So, you see…”

Zhuang Xun interrupted Shangwen, “So, you want me to take advantage of her misfortune and the decline of her family’s fortunes, right?”

“…”

“Something like that, yes.”

“Alright, listen. My help at the time was merely a spur-of-the-moment decision; there was no deeper meaning behind it…”

Zhuang Xun felt somewhat speechless. Did he really resemble someone with the heart of Chancellor Cao? While he used to enjoy stories featuring married women, mature ladies, and older sisters, that didn’t mean he would actually pursue such women in reality.

****