Chapter 104 Coaxing (Bonus Chapter for 2300 Nutrient Solution) You are my...

Realizing he still had a flower in his hand, he quickly let go, carefully touching it with his head down. Then he turned around, his back to Li Chenjin, and said, "You've always been like this. If I don't ask, you'll brush it off; if I do ask, you'll get angry afterwards..."

Li Chen sighed and said, "Alright, since Sect Leader Shen is so sincere in asking, then I will answer. Rather than saying I'm being tolerant, it's more accurate to say I don't care. I don't care about those past loves and hates, nor do I want to be entangled or troubled by them, ultimately drowning in them, losing my true self, and becoming unrecognizable."

"There is too much turmoil in this world, and countless people have lost their way. Many people no longer know what their mission in life is, nor what their true mission is. If you think about it carefully, whether you are a mortal or a cultivator, there is actually no difference in essence. Most people have spent their lives struggling in the mortal world, but they do not know what they have sought, what they have gained, or what they can take away in the end."

“Even Li Xianghuan, who is revered as the ‘Sword God’ by the sword cultivator world and is considered a genius by other cultivators, is no exception. Look at her standing on the towering platform built for her by the world, seemingly upright and honest, but in fact she has long lost her true self and become just an ordinary person.”

Shen Zhengyuan: "..."

Shen Zhengyuan: "She didn't."

Li Chen raised her eyes and looked at Shen Zhengyuan, who slowly turned around and was looking at her very seriously, as he repeated, "She didn't."

Li Chen looked at him and smiled slightly, seemingly very satisfied that he would speak up for Li Xianghuan, but then she said, "She does."

"She said she didn't care about worldly things or fame, but in her short life, she was always busy maintaining the various titles and glory that the world bestowed upon her, because she was the Sword God, so she had to make herself into the Sword God, into the qualified Sword God in the eyes of the world."

"As a result, after she was finally able to leave the world of sword cultivators, she never properly appreciated the magnificent rivers and mountains and the endless beautiful scenery of the world. She also never carefully looked at the people around her, which made her unable to distinguish who was truly worthy of entrusting her with anything, and who was truly on the same path as her."

As she spoke, she slowly looked at Shen Zhengyuan and smiled slightly, "Although I am happy to hear that you are willing to protect her, a mistake is a mistake. Fortunately, her mistakes are not too many. Although she has harmed people, it is fortunate that they are not too many. After she dies, there will be time to apologize to her one by one."

Shen Zhengyuan replied, "I noticed from the beginning that you were very resistant to my attempt to save you. So, do you not want me to be the one to save you, or do you not want to live?"

Li Chen smiled slightly and said, "I don't want to be alive."

Shen Zhengyuan: "..."

"Can't you do it for me too?" Shen Zhengyuan asked.

Li Chenjin: "..."

She lowered her eyes, took a deep breath, and smiled, saying, "Actually, I was just lying to you. How could I not want to live? No one wants to die. Even ants try to survive, so why would I seek death?"

Shen Zhengyuan stared at her for a long time, then suddenly raised his hand, pointed behind her, and whispered, "If I kill him, can you live on because you want to kill me?"

Li Chenjin: "..."

Li Chenjin: "...?"

What kind of logic is that?

Why can't she understand or comprehend it?

Although she couldn't understand it, she subconsciously turned around and looked behind her.

The moment she turned around, the wind suddenly picked up, causing her clothes to flutter and even the white veil on her hat to billow.

Her gaze finally broke free from the hazy white veil, meeting the unobstructed eyes of the person standing quietly beside the artificial hill in the distance.

Li Chenjin: "..."

She sighed, withdrew her gaze, and looked back at Shen Zhengyuan, saying, "A-Yuan, don't you always bring up the past? Then let's go back to the past. But you should know that back then, you and I were more like friends than lovers. And friends should support each other."

"So stop threatening me with anyone, including yourself. It only makes me feel exhausted, so exhausted that I just want to get rid of it as soon as possible. Also, I don't seek death, much less try to kill myself. I just imagine living the future I set for myself in the past: reading novels, traveling, seeing doctors, eating sweet rice balls in fermented rice wine, and waiting to die..."

"You've disrupted many of my plans, but I don't blame you. Besides, what the old monk Mingcun said is right; he said that before a person dies, they should leave some beautiful memories for those around them. Although I shouldn't be telling you these things, I think you wouldn't want me to lie to you. And most importantly..."

She turned to Shen Zhengyuan and suddenly smiled brightly, saying, "I'm trying to appease you now, hoping to calm you down. So, to show my sincerity, I naturally can't lie to you. How about it? Are you calm now, Sect Leader Shen?"

Shen Zhengyuan: "..."

Shen Zhengyuan lowered his eyes and remained silent.

But Li Chenjin didn't seem to care. Instead, he reached out his hand to him and said, "If Master Shen has calmed down, why don't you invite me to sit in your room? I've worked hard to make a treasure to appease Master Shen and I'm just about to give it to him."

"However, if Sect Leader Shen doesn't care, then so be it..."

Before she could finish speaking, Shen Zhengyuan grasped her hand.

Shen Zhengyuan had clearly done a lot of scoundrel things before, but for some reason, he looked a little unnatural now, and his ears were flushed.

Could it be that all these years, Shen Zhengyuan has only thought about how to force himself on women, and that he is only shameless in this one thing, but when it comes to other things, he is just like a young boy who can't handle anything?

Tsk...

He looks cuter now than that kid Han Shannan, though he's a little less cute than he was hundreds of years ago, but still cuter than when he was going crazy all the time.

Li Chen hummed a tune as he followed behind Shen Zhengyuan, leisurely accompanying him as they strolled towards his room, enjoying the scenery along the way.

After entering the room, Li Chen poured Shen Zhengyuan a cup of tea, then took out a small plate of grilled fish from his storage bag and placed it in front of Shen Zhengyuan, saying, "Try it. I secretly caught this fish in the Wanshan Sect. This fish grows year-round in the spiritually rich world of sword cultivators, so it should taste better than ordinary fish."

Shen Zhengyuan: "..."

He glanced at the grilled fish in front of him and pursed his lips slightly.

He looked up at Li Chenjin, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything. He just looked down at the peony he had been holding all the way and gently touched the petals, looking like he wasn't in a good mood.

After a long pause, he asked casually, "...Isn't there anything else?"

"Others?"

Li Chen glanced at Shen Zhengyuan, then at the grilled fish in front of him, and suddenly let out a long "Oh" as if he had just realized something. Under Shen Zhengyuan's gaze, he rummaged through his storage bag.

She took things slowly, as if searching for some treasure, which kept Shen Zhengyuan's gaze fixed on her hands. He pursed his lips, his expression becoming somewhat serious, but his eyes held a hint of anticipation that he himself was unaware of.

Then...

Under his unwavering gaze, Li Chen finally took out... from his Qiankun bag.

A bottle of salt.

Shen Zhengyuan: "..."

The light in Shen Zhengyuan's eyes dimmed, but Li Chenjin seemed not to notice at all. After placing the bottle of salt in front of Shen Zhengyuan, he said seriously, "I forgot to add salt. You can add some yourself."

Shen Zhengyuan: "..."

After saying that, she ignored Shen Zhengyuan and took out a storybook from her storage bag. After opening it, she lowered her head and began to read it. She seemed to really not care about the person in front of her at all, and did not act like she was trying to coax anyone.

Shen Zhengyuan tried to speak several times, but in the end he didn't know what to say, so he lowered his head and began to eat the plate of grilled fish in front of him.

Whether he added too much salt or the fish in this sword cultivator world had too many bones, his eyes turned red after only a few bites.

Li Chen subtly raised his eyes slightly between reading the storybook, glanced at the person opposite him, and then lowered his eyes again, a smile appearing on his lips.

She slowly turned the page of the storybook, her smile deepening.

For a moment, she couldn't tell whether she found the person or the storybook funny.

After Shen Zhengyuan finished the small plate of grilled fish and the redness in the corners of his eyes finally faded, Li Chenjin closed the storybook, coughed lightly, then pressed his shoulder and frowned, saying, "Ouch... why does this place hurt so much? Can this puppet's body feel pain?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Zhengyuan's expression changed immediately. He stood up and walked to Li Chenjin.

Just as he was about to pull her hand down to check what was wrong with her shoulder, she grabbed his hand instead.

Then, Li Chen grabbed his hand and flipped it over, making his palm face up. She then placed her other hand on his palm, and something warm from her body quietly fell into his palm.

When she moved her hand away, Shen Zhengyuan saw a string of red beans lying quietly in his palm.

Shen Zhengyuan: "..."

He looked at the thing in his palm. It was just an ordinary red bean bracelet, as light as a feather, but at this moment it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, making his hand tremble as if he might drop it at any moment.

Li Chen looked at his stunned expression and said with a smile, "What's wrong, Sect Leader Shen? Didn't you want this? Or has Sect Leader Shen changed his mind, and I guessed wrong?"

"Why...why did you give me this?" Shen Zhengyuan's Adam's apple bobbed as he asked in a low, husky voice, "Why do you always give me the feeling that you like me when I think you don't like me..."

Li Chen stared at him silently for a long while before finally saying, "That's naturally because..."

I do like you.

Shen Zhengyuan: "..."

He lowered his eyes to look at the red bean bracelet in his hand, as if he hadn't heard Li Chenjin's words. He remained silent for a long time without saying a word.

It wasn't until she reached out and picked up the red bean bracelet that Shen Zhengyuan seemed to suddenly come to his senses, instinctively grabbing the bracelet as if afraid that Li Chenjin would snatch it away.

Li Chen smiled slightly, then patted the hand holding the bracelet with his other hand and said, "Let go."

Shen Zhengyuan: "..."

His fingers tightened and loosened several times, but he still didn't completely let go. He said in a slightly hoarse voice, "What you give me is mine."

“Of course I know.” Li Chen sighed. “No way, Sect Leader Shen. I gave you this bracelet myself. When have I ever taken back something I gave away? Listen to me, let go.”

Shen Zhengyuan still seemed reluctant, but he still went along with her and slowly let go of her hand.

After he let go, Li Chen took the red bean bracelet back, turned it around in his hand, found the connector, opened it, then grabbed Shen Zhengyuan's hand, and under his gaze, wrapped the bracelet around his wrist, fastened it, and put it on.

After confirming that he wouldn't let go of the bracelet, Li Chen let go of it. Just as he was feeling a little proud that all those stories he had read hadn't been for nothing, he didn't expect that when he looked up, he would see Shen Zhengyuan staring at the bracelet on his wrist.

However, there was no smile on his face; instead, his eyes were heavy and somber, with a hint of tears in them.

But based on Li Chen's understanding of Shen Zhengyuan, those tears didn't seem to be the result of him being moved.

It seemed more like a warning before he went mad, which made Li Chenjin quite puzzled.

Could it be that the methods of coaxing people written in those romance novels she had read before were not applicable to Shen Zhengyuan?

But that shouldn't be the case. If it weren't applicable, he wouldn't have looked so moved that he almost cried.

People who have grown up struggling in all sorts of quagmires, endured much hardship and hunger, should be easy to coax.

Just like Shen Zhengyuan, no matter how crazy he is usually, as long as you give him a plate of grilled fish that is not worth much money and a string of red beans that might not even sell for a penny outside, he will be moved to tears.

"What's wrong?" Li Chen asked. "You don't think my bracelet is ugly, do you? But I tried my best. If you want a nicer one, I'll go to the outside of the Sword Cultivation Realm and buy you one. The girls there are very skillful; their bracelets are much prettier than mine."

Shen Zhengyuan lowered his eyes, still gazing at the red bean bracelet on his hand, and said in a calm tone, "Did you used to coax Zeng Shujin like this?"

Li Chenjin: "...?"

Li Chen smiled helplessly and said, "Are you kidding me, Sect Leader Shen? I've been trying so hard to coax you, and I haven't even mentioned anyone else's name. How can you still be jealous?"

"Just tell me if it's true or not," Shen Zhengyuan said.

Li Chen looked at the person in front of him and sighed helplessly.

She actually knew what Shen Zhengyuan meant. He simply felt that everything he had now was something Zeng Shujin had experienced in the past, something she had given him as charity, and something Zeng Shujin had given him as charity.

He had been fed up with begging for alms from others in order to make a living, so now he neither needs nor wants any alms.

“Those people are right, I did give Shujin the red bean bracelet.” Li Chenjin sighed again, “However, it’s not what you think, and it’s not what those outsiders guessed. Ayuan, you should know what kind of person Li Xianghuan is. Even if she’s gentle to the people around her, how gentle can she be?”

"She has a bad temper. After all, she is a sword god who is revered by thousands. She has to maintain an air of self-importance in order to make people fear and believe in her. Even if someone can catch her eye, they can't catch her heart. Her heart is already filled with the empty title of sword god and she can't let go of anything else. So if Li Xianghuan has any dispute with Zeng Shujin, she will never take the initiative to back down."

"So, back when Li Xianghuan was still alive, Zeng Shujin was the one who had to coax her. How could she possibly lower herself to coax Zeng Shujin? Let alone do anything for him herself. The red bean bracelet she gave Zeng Shujin was bought from outside, and it wasn't just Zeng Shujin who had one; she brought one for everyone in the Wanshan Sect."

Shen Zhengyuan was slightly taken aback. Seeing him lower his head and touch the red bean bracelet on his wrist, Li Chenjin smiled and said, "I really made this myself. Such an ugly bracelet can't be sold anywhere else."

Upon hearing this, a glint of light flashed in Shen Zhengyuan's eyes, and then he said, "Not ugly."

He gently stroked the bracelet, and after a moment, said, "It's very beautiful..."

Li Chen smiled and told Shen Zhengyuan to go back and sit down. He then refilled Shen Zhengyuan's teacup and said, "Don't be jealous of Shu Jin. If you knew how he and Li Xianghuan used to get along, you would only be glad that you didn't end up with Li Xianghuan. Otherwise, you would have made a huge fuss."

"Don't even mention trying to coax you. If she doesn't kill you, and instead dries your head and hangs it as a decoration by your bedside, you're lucky. Li Xianghuan actually has a hobby that most people don't know about: after killing something she finds interesting, she'll cut off its head and take it back to the sword cultivator world to use as a decoration or give it away."

Shen Zhengyuan asked, "Does she like Zeng Shujin?"

Li Chenjin calmly retorted, "Does it really matter whether she likes Zeng Shujin or not? What you see now is not Li Xianghuan, and you wouldn't like Li Xianghuan anyway. You can't stand her personality, and she won't stay for you. She's the kind of person who can't sit still."

"The two things you care about most are peonies and red bean bracelets. Now that I've explained the bracelet to you, I'll also talk to you about the peonies, so you won't hold it against me and then find another opportunity to have a big fight with me."

"But to be honest, it's a bit embarrassing to talk about this." Li Chenjin's lips curled into a helpless smile, and his voice lowered. "Everyone says that those peonies were a gift from Li Xianghuan to Zeng Shujin. Even Zeng Shujin herself probably thinks so."

"But actually, those peonies were a gift from her to the entire sword cultivation world, not just for anyone in particular. It's just that she hadn't been able to find an opportunity before, so she took advantage of Zeng Shujin's birthday to do what she wanted to do." "Otherwise, how do you think she managed to collect so many flower seeds in such a short time? It was something she had planned for years, and Zeng Shujin was just a side effect. So now that I think about it carefully, more than love or hate, I feel guilty towards him, and I don't know how to face him."

Shen Zhengyuan remained silent, gazing at her quietly, as if trying to discern whether what she said was true or false.

After a long pause, he finally asked, "So, do you still like him now?"

Li Chen said, "Isn't it a bit childish to talk about liking or disliking someone now? I'm not telling you these things to make you suspicious. I know you tend to overthink, so I'm telling you these things in the hope that you won't overthink it."

Seeing that Shen Zhengyuan still didn't respond and was still staring at her silently, she sighed again and said, "I came back because I think the old monk was right. Some things from the past should be put to rest. Otherwise, dragging it out here will only hurt both of us, which is not a good thing."

“But since you don’t believe me, let me tell you something else.” Li Chenjin sighed again and said slowly, “Li Xianghuan is not a person who knows how to coax people, nor is she a person who likes to chase after people to explain. Not to mention Zeng Shujin, even when Li Xianghuan’s master was angry, she never explained to her master more than a few times.”

"As for caring about someone, needless to say. She doesn't even care about herself. Even with broken arms and legs, she still charges forward with her sword. How could she care about others? Let's not talk about you. Take that fool Han Shannan for example. He should be glad he didn't actually become Li Xianghuan's disciple. Otherwise, he would be teetering on the brink of death every day. How could he be so comfortable now?"

"If Li Xianghuan were to take on a disciple, that disciple would be in deep trouble. Broken arms and legs would be commonplace. She would make her disciple train for nine hours a day out of twelve. As long as they could still breathe, they were not allowed to slack off. If they were about to die, she would give them a pill. In short, as long as they were alive, they would never be idle."

"I'm not making this up. There was a time when someone asked Li Xianghuan to be his disciple. Li Xianghuan said that if that person could persevere for a month, he would accept him as his disciple. And that person was indeed remarkable. He persevered for eleven days. Although his cultivation and swordsmanship improved rapidly, in the end, he couldn't withstand such torment and went to another elder's tutelage."

As she spoke, she glanced at Shen Zhengyuan and said in a very gentle tone, "These are things that people in the sword cultivation world dare not discuss. But if you ask the older elders of the Wanshan Sect, you can still find out. So, Sect Leader Shen, are you in a better mood now? Do I need to coax you?"

He slowly raised his eyes, gazing in Li Chenjin's direction, and said slowly, "So... I..."

Li Chenjin slowly replied, "You are the first person I've ever coaxed in all these years."

Shen Zhengyuan: "..."

Shen Zhengyuan didn't reply, but a smile appeared on his face, the kind that only female protagonists in novels would have, and his face and ears were slightly flushed.

Seeing his expression, Li Chen knew that the man had finally been appeased. He smiled, grabbed the bamboo hat beside him, and said, "Alright, since Sect Leader Shen is in a better mood, I'll head back now. You've appeased him here, but Han Shannan is waiting for me over there."

Upon hearing this, the blush on Sect Leader Shen's face gradually faded, and his gaze darkened as he slowly murmured, "Han Shannan..."

Author's Note: Xiao Shen asked that question because Zen Master Mingcun was busy with two things at once [doge emoji]

And Xiao Li's personality is definitely what it is; as long as I'm back in my territory, I can spout off a whole bunch of nonsense, and all those romance novel plots I've read can come in handy! [doge head with rose in hand]