Chen Chen did not say a word at the sight before him. Instead, he sent Wu Wei flying with a light kick, sending him straight into the parlor.
The people from the Zhang family had clearly seen what had happened outside, still dumbfounded at the moment.
They only came back to their senses when Wu Wei came flying in and collapsed right before their eyes.
“Uncle! I really was being forced by them! You have to believe me!”
Wu Wei fell hard, but his strong survival instincts made him quickly scramble to his feet and hold onto Zhang De’s legs.
Zhang De scowled as he saw this, but he did not speak.
So, Wu Wei had no choice but to embrace Zhang Ji’s legs instead.
“Cousin, do you remember how we used to play together when we were kids? Please forgive me this time! When the next recruitment begins, I will go and join the army and be a good man.”
Although Zhang Ji wasn’t a smart person, he had a clear sense of what was right and what wasn’t. When he finished listening to Wu Wei, his eyes were filled not with sympathy, but disgust.
Moments later, Chen Chen stepped into the parlor, with a person held in his hands. It was the steward of the Zhaos’, who had previously been captured.
“Old Zhao, did you people force Wu Wei to betray the Zhangs?” Chen Chen asked casually, finding a spot to seat himself.
Steward Zhao was scared witless by then. Shaking his head, he replied, “No, definitely no. Our chief didn’t believe this brat from the start; it was the brat who revealed Young Lord Zhang’s whereabouts first. We sent our people to check it out, and they really happened to run into Young Lord Zhang, who was all by himself. Only after that did our chief believe him.”
Upon hearing this, Wu Wei was frightened out of his wits. He never expected Steward Zhao, who had directly arranged the matters with him, to be caught and brought to House Zhang.
“You… You’re slinging mud at me!”
Steward Zhao did not bother with Wu Wei’s accusation, continuing, “This morning, he informed us again that Young Lord Zhao would head for a nearby village to ask for help… And asked us to stop him on his way and kill him. He even asked us for drugs.”
Zhang Ji could no longer stand what he heard. He closed his eyes, misery written all over his face.
One could imagine just how it would feel to be betrayed by a close relative.
“Do you need me to do it for you?” Chen Chen asked.
“No need!” Zhang Ji stated firmly.
He opened his eyes abruptly, filled with firm resolution.
While holding him up just now, Chen Chen had resolved most of the drugs in his body with his ethereality, so he was almost fully recovered at this point.
Looking at Wu Wei, Zhang Ji unsheathed his own sword.
“Cousin, I beg your mercy!”
…
Chen Chen absented himself from the familial affairs of the Zhangs’ and carried Steward Zhao outside. As he went, he demanded, “Give me a reason not to kill you.”
“Immortal! I know where Zhao Biao’s little treasury is! I can bring you there!” Steward Zhao replied in a trembling voice.
He had come up with this life-saving pretext while he was imprisoned by the Zhangs, so he spoke with great eloquence.
“Aside from bullion and money, there are also some fabulous treasures in Zhao Biao’s little treasury, which we robbed from a wealthy family of the state when we held them hostages! For that, we even lost about a hundred of our men!
“Later, Zhao Biao came and hid it Shichuan County, presenting several items from those treasures to the county magistrate. That was how he managed to get away with it.”
As he listened to the story, Chen Chen put on an interested look. However, he was in no hurry.
If he were to raid the treasury, he had to bring along the man of luck, Zhang Ji. With him around, surprises emerged from everywhere, even if there weren’t any in the first place.
…
An hour later, the Zhangs’ affairs finally came to an end. Wu Wei was killed with a strike of sword and all the guards were summoned back.
After this encounter, their guards became even more loyal than before.
Zhang De was extremely grateful toward Chen Chen. At first, he did not take it to heart when Zhang Ji mentioned marrying Zhang Xiaoya to Chen Chen, but he was serious about it now.
This was an immortal that they were talking about, after all!
If his daughter could marry him and benefit from his ethereality, it would seem like a good idea.
As the thought occurred to him, he became a little embarrassed and said, “Erm, my daughter Xiaoya has reached a suitable age for marriage…”
Before he could even finish his words, a loud shout reverberated through the parlor out of nowhere.
“Absolutely not!”
It was the same words as before, but this time around, Zhang Ji was the one who had spoken them. He had a solemn look on his face, appearing extremely serious.
Zhang De was rather unhappy about it. It was him who had brought up marrying his younger sister to Chen Chen, but it was also him who said no to it now. What did he really want? Was he fooling around?
With Zhang De’s stare pinned on him, Zhang Ji stood up, his eyes filled with reverence and admiration as he looked at Chen Chen.
“At first, I really wanted to marry my sister to Brother Chen, but I’ve changed my mind now.
“It is pointless to say how incredible Brother Chen’s personality is, and more importantly, how extraordinarily talented he is. In the future, I am sure he will live for a very long time in this world. In comparison, my sister is only an ordinary woman; how could a short-living mortal stay by Brother Chen’s side forever?
“Therefore, after pondering on it for a long time, I think it will be a grievance to Brother Chen if we let my sister marry him.
“For a man like Brother Chen, I won’t be surprised if he marries a fairy from the heavens!”
Chen Chen’s eyes couldn’t help but twitch as Zhang Ji waxed poetry about him. If it was someone else who was flattering him, he would not take it seriously, as he knew it was just pretense. However, Zhang Ji was speaking from the bottom of his heart, which made him rather different.
Looking at Zhang Xiaoya, who seemed disappointed and aggrieved, Chen Chen thought of Erya, from the neighbor’s house. Chen Chen thought that it wouldn’t be a grievance if he married Zhang Xiaoya.
At least, his parents would certainly be pleased.
“In fact…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Zhang Ji cut him off again.
“Brother Chen, you don’t have to bother about my sister’s feelings. It is better for her to recognize this reality sooner rather than later.”
“Brother, you are such a pain in the neck!” Zhang Xiaoya, who had been sitting quietly, could not stand it anymore. She stomped her feet angrily and ran outside, vanishing into the bedroom beside the parlor.
“Ji’er, how could you speak of your own sister that way? How dare you!” Lady Zhang grumbled, her eyes glistening with tears as she saw her daughter running away.
As Chen Chen looked at the beautiful figure running out, he felt rather sorry. Thus, he muttered in a barely audible voice, “Brother, it is alright for me to take some grievances… It’s not a big deal!”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Ji heaved a soft sigh, and said with an upset look on his face, “Brother Chen, you haven’t realized how outstanding you are yet. Every marriage has to be compatible. It is not an empty saying. In fact, it is very reasonable.”
Chen Chen was speechless when he heard that.
This Zhang Ji seemed overly bewitched by him, turning into a diehard fan of his…
However, Zhang Ji did not notice the shift in his mentality. Looking at the bedroom where his sister had escaped, he went on, “Brother Chen, have you ever heard that beauty is a danger?”
Chen Chen nodded subconsciously but did not understand why that had anything to do with him. Could Zhang Ji be fearing that his sister would bring him harm?
It wasn’t that serious, was it?
Unexpectedly, Zhang Ji turned around and patted him hard on his shoulder. With a somber look, he said, “Brother Chen, with your talents, once you step into the world of cultivation, countless extraordinary young girls will be awaiting you there, all of them falling for you.
“There might be some devils and demons with malicious intentions among them as well.
“Would they allow an ordinary woman like my sister to own you, Brother Chen?
“Once they begin to have evil thoughts, my sister’s life will be on the line! Thus, Brother Chen, I beg for your understanding!”
Chen Chen rubbed his ear, thinking he must have misheard something.
So Zhang Ji was actually talking about him when he called beauty a danger? That was an overstatement, wasn’t it?
However, Zhang Ji wasn’t looking at him, but at the sky in the distance. He mumbled under his breath, “I already have the feeling that there is about to be a major calamity in the world of cultivation…”
Upon hearing that, Chen Chen’s breath caught in his throat, and he nearly passed out.
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