Cohabitation with Sword Spirit

Chapter 487 - 72: Reinforcements

May 4, 2018

The appearance of Zhao Chenlu instantly disrupted Shen Qingming’s entire plan.

"Darling, the little fellow from the Shen Family is just putting on an act, you don’t need to bother with her unreasonable demands, she’s not going to die."

Saying this, Zhao Chenlu waved her hand dismissively, as if shooing away a mosquito, signaling Shen Qingming to get lost.

Faced with such humiliation, Shen Qingming certainly wouldn’t back down. She removed the stopper from the porcelain bottle and poured the potion inside into her mouth. In a fleeting moment, she felt the True Essence within her body as sharp as thousands of knives, cutting through her flesh and bones...

However, before the shadow of death could descend, a burst of clear spiritual intent surged from the Celestial Spirit into her body, instantly dissipating the potion’s power. The deadly sting was replaced by a refreshing and gentle touch, making one feel like an immortal.

Shen Qingming was momentarily stunned, realizing that she was saved by an extremely advanced Immortal Technique. The poison, theoretically deadly and capable of suppressing the Immovable Tyrant Body, was nothing in the face of this Immortal Technique.

"Taking poison right in front of me? Just how much do you underestimate a Cultivator of Immortal Venerable Level? Not to mention such a trivial poison, even if you ate the innards of the Demon Race as sashimi, I’d have a way to keep you alive."

Just as these words fell, Wang Jiu let out a sound of surprise and asked, "You have a way now? Last time, after losing the bet with Shang Lanfei and getting poisoned by those Demon Race innards, didn’t you try over ninety antidotes with no effect, and eventually begged me in tears for help?"

Zhao Chenlu immediately jumped up: "Didn’t I tell you to forget about that!"

Wang Jiu paused for a moment: "I thought you wanted me to forget how you were throwing up and having diarrhea from the poison. I remember you even told me to never forget your heroic stance fighting for love, and I even confirmed with you at the time if that so-called heroism involved your sphincter..."

"Enough, enough! You don’t need to say anymore!" Zhao Chenlu frantically interrupted Wang Jiu’s reminiscence, then turned away as if nothing had happened, looking down at Shen Qingming.

"In short, if you think you can rely on this ill-fated relationship with him to act recklessly, you’re daydreaming. If you want a position in this team, you’d better think of another way."

——

Not long after, at the lakeside camp.

"So, you just came back with your tail between your legs?"

Li Chaolu looked at this sister who shared her last name a year ago, feeling deeply ashamed of their close blood ties.

How could she lose so disgracefully!?

On the other side, Shen Qingming, looking disheveled, clutched her stomach and said tremblingly, "What else? That vicious woman only half-cured my poison. It felt like floating on air at first, but I almost... If I didn’t come back, was I supposed to stay there and build muscle?"

Hearing this, Li Chaolu was taken aback, then burst into laughter.

"You’re so pitiful! That’s why I said not to get involved in that brutal battlefield. At your level, going there is just asking to be slaughtered! On the other hand, if you’d stayed on the sidelines like us, you might have seen Miss Qian building muscle by now."

"Stop talking about muscles!" Shen Qingming couldn’t hold back any longer. "Anyway, what should we do now? The strategy you planned earlier has completely collapsed!"

The strategy to coerce Qian Yue by leveraging relationships turned into a joke when faced with Zhao Chenlu, who had an even closer connection with Wang Jiu.

Li Wanqing said, "There’s no good solution. Zhao Chenlu is an opponent we can’t possibly contend with. Whether it’s her relationship with Wang Jiu or her own strength, she has overwhelming advantages. The plan was originally devised with avoiding conflict with her in mind, focusing only on Qian Yue. But now that she’s actively stepped in to support Qian Yue, it’s hard to understand her intentions... However, since she’s involved, it’s best for us to withdraw early."

Of course, Shen Qingming was unwilling: "Withdraw now? Then all our previous efforts would be in vain!"

"A loss that’s destined isn’t worth additional costs to salvage," Li Wanqing said. "If those men in QingCyan Cloud yun City knew this, they wouldn’t have faced later pain."

"Your example is so vivid!" Shen Qingming gritted her teeth, "But I won’t give up just like that. I didn’t give up in Shen Garden, and I certainly won’t now!"

This is no longer about her feelings for Wang Jiu. Although the girl still harbors affection for that emotionally insensitive, incomprehensible Celestial Divine Sword, what’s driving her determination now is her unwillingness to concede.

She doesn’t want to lose to others; she doesn’t want her enemy’s schemes to succeed.

The girl’s strong sense of resistance sustains her motivation.

Although her resistance isn’t acknowledged by others.

"In Shen Garden, you had no opponents to begin with, and it was only because Wang Jiu appeared unexpectedly that you could turn things around. Otherwise, you’d likely be mining at Feiyan Mountain now to hone your mental state."

"..." Shen Qingming recalled the mindless pressure strategy Lu Xin employed back then and had to admit that this deduction made sense.

If, by fifteen, she couldn’t break the Wind Barrier and formally step into the Immortal Dao, with Lu Xin’s mentality at the time, she might have thought the pressure wasn’t heavy enough and either sold her off as a mining slave or arranged a marriage and then had someone demand a divorce.

If it came to that, genuine feelings wouldn’t matter, and it would surely become a relentless hostile relationship. Harboring such hatred, whether she’d still make progress on the Immortal Dao would be questionable.

So, Wang Jiu is indeed her savior, the great benefactor who rescued her from the abyss.

Though Wang Jiu always claimed Shen Qingming awakened him, in truth, he would have awakened regardless, given time and location. But without Wang Jiu, the development for both Shen Qingming and the Li Family Mansion would be unimaginable.

Never giving up and persevering to the end cannot be considered a magical treasure for victory. Shen Qingming’s ability to turn around before falling into the abyss relied on luck, waiting for reinforcements when needed, that’s all.

Without reinforcements, there is no future.

——

However, in such a desperate situation, unexpected reinforcements arrived.

"Hey, you’re here. Why don’t you go into the city? Didn’t you say the coup was over? Or do you prefer camping?"

With a string of questions, a petite yet elegant figure appeared by the lakeside.

"If camping, it’s best to choose a tent made of composite material. For cultivators, wind and rain protection and insulation shouldn’t be considered as important as the gathering effect of the Heaven and Earth Spirit Wind and the filtering function of the external environment. Besides... hey, aren’t you camping?"

Lu Xin, who had just been sparked with interest, lowered her shoulders despondently and then picked up a beautifully decorated wooden box.

"Some pastries from QingCyan Cloud yun City, made by Zhao Yan and me, consider it a small reward."

"Wow, handmade pastries!? Sister Xin, I love you!"

Li Wanqing was the first to rush over, taking the box of pastries with one hand and hugging Lu Xin’s dignified yet petite body with the other.

"Don’t get too familiar with me!"

However, Li Wanqing’s crafty plan only succeeded for a moment before she was sent flying by a burst of powerful True Essence.

After all, Lu Xin is the head of the Cyan Cloud Li Family. With the help of various external forces, she possesses a True Essence Realm far superior to those little ones, making it easy to suppress an impolite Li Wanqing.

"Oh, I was just expressing my true feelings. Sister Xin, I really like you."

"Stop the sweet talk. I already have someone I love."

Li Wanqing persisted, "So it doesn’t matter if you add another, right?" As she spoke, she had already opened the food box, seeing the exquisite pastries made by Sister Yan.

Since leaving QingCyan Cloud yun City in January, over a few months, Li Wanqing hadn’t really missed home. Compared to QingCyan Cloud yun City, she actually missed Yuqing Mountain more.

But Zhao Yan’s handmade pastries were truly irresistible. In the silent, lonely nights, Li Wanqing would wake from her dreams to find her pillowcase wet...

All because during the big competition at QingCyan Cloud yun City, Li Wanqing had indulged in countless taste feasts, leaving a deep imprint.

"Ah, it’s indeed Sister Yan’s flavor." Li Wanqing unabashedly picked a piece of Immortal Cake and stuffed it into her mouth, making a sound that would undoubtedly make one blush.

Slap!

Lu Xin unhesitatingly jumped up and hammered her on the back of the head.

"This piece is made by me!"

Li Wanqing giggled, "I don’t believe it. Sister Xin, you don’t have such great skills."

Lu Xin gritted her teeth for a while and said, "At least I made some of these!"

"Is this the Immortal Cake that pretends to be squeezed and broken, but actually had flaws when kneaded?"

Lu Xin then hammered her even harder, "You think you know so much! If you don’t want to eat, get lost!"

"Haha, I want to eat, Sister Xin’s flavor is also great. By the way, why do you have the time to come to Golden Jade City, Sister Xin?"

"Recently there have been new official documents... oh no, it’s because I was worried about you guys." Lu Xin said with a straight face, "You little ones have stayed in Golden Jade City for too long. Considering the recent correspondence, your current situation was unclear, so of course, I had to come to see for myself. So, with the coup over, what else is holding you back?"

Facing Lu Xin’s question, Li Wanqing gradually restrained her smile.

"There’s a bit of trouble."

Next, Li Wanqing explained the current problems in detail.

After listening, Lu Xin’s face clouded over as if a blizzard were raging.

"So, Zhao Chenlu teamed up with the Qian Family to bully Qingming?"

"Yes, to put it simply, that’s the situation."

"...What shamelessness, I originally thought if it was just that daughter of the Qian Family, I wouldn’t intervene, as it’s a matter between youngsters. But since Zhao Chenlu shamelessly stepped in personally, I won’t be polite! Let her know what it means to be at the bottom of the food chain!"