Chapter 110 Tribulations (Bonus Chapter for 2600 Nutrient Solution) Sometimes...

Zeng Shujin pursed her lips, swallowed back the words she was about to say, and after a long while said, "I also sensed something was wrong, but I can't be sure yet. Could you give me a little more time?"

“Of course.” Li Chen smiled slightly. “This matter is of utmost importance and requires caution. Rest assured, the Zen cultivation community will not stand idly by. You don’t need to worry about those cultivators from the Dharma cultivation community either. I will keep an eye on them and prevent them from causing trouble within the Wanshan Sect again.”

Zeng Shujin's lips moved a few times before she seemed to murmur, "Xianghuan, don't you blame me? Don't you hate me, don't resent me, don't you want to kill me?"

Li Chenjin: "..."

She slowly exhaled and smiled silently.

Isn't that strange?

That's certainly not the case; at least until today, it must have been rather strange.

As for hatred and resentment, that's Li Xianghuan's business. Li Xianghuan would wish to tear him to pieces, and she would also wish to cut down all the ungrateful people in Wanshan Sect that she considers to be ungrateful.

But what does Li Xianghuan's matter have to do with Li Chenjin?

Li Chen looked at the person with tears in their eyes and smiled slightly, saying, "There were other things involved in this matter, and I believe it was not your intention."

"Besides, I am not Li Xianghuan now, so Li Xianghuan's hatred and resentment have nothing to do with me. I am Li Chenjin. Li Chenjin will not resent or hate anyone, because resentment and hatred are very tiring things, and I do not want to be entangled by such things."

Zeng Shujin: "..."

Hearing Li Chenjin's words, he felt a dull pain in his heart and his throat tightened, leaving him speechless for a moment.

After a long pause, he finally asked, "Shen Zhengyuan, did he... force you?"

“You used to… dislike him, even loathe him. He… he wasn’t a good person either…”

Li Chen smiled and said, "I think there are very few people in this world who can force me. Although he is not exactly virtuous, he is not a completely evil person either. It's just that everyone has their own way of doing things."

Hearing Li Chenjin's words, Zeng Shujin's hand, which was resting on the table, tightened involuntarily, leaving some fingerprints on the wooden table.

They had already said everything they could say.

Even if he deliberately speaks slowly, just like a banquet eventually comes to an end, a topic will eventually be finished.

Therefore, he should leave now. He could tell she was favoring Shen Zhengyuan, so...

So if he still has any dignity left, he should leave now.

But he didn't.

After all, he lost all dignity the moment he made those wrong things, and he is no longer worthy to mention the word "dignity".

That thing is for humans; those who are not human are naturally not worthy of possessing it...

For a moment, he remained silent, and Li Chen couldn't find any topics to discuss. The atmosphere in the room instantly dropped to freezing point, making it somewhat suffocating.

Just as Li Chen was racking his brains, trying to find an excuse to ask the person to leave, he suddenly heard Zeng Shujin say, "Xiang Huan...you..."

"Do you still...like me?"

Li Chenjin's expression froze for a moment. "What?"

"Even if...even if Shen Zhengyuan is there...it doesn't matter...I..."

Zeng Shujin lowered her head, speaking slowly and with great difficulty, "I... I can go to find you when he's not here, I... like... like some people in the mortal world, have three wives and four concubines, you... can you..."

Hearing Zeng Shujin's words, Li Chenjin, who had seen a lot, surprisingly showed a hint of fear on her face. Even the way she looked at Zeng Shujin was filled with panic, an expression she had never shown when facing life and death.

She coughed, trying to steady her voice, and said, "This...this cultivation world is not the mortal world after all. There isn't a single cultivator who doesn't pursue immortality and enlightenment; instead, they follow the mortals' pursuit of having many offspring..."

Zeng Shujin: "..."

Zeng Shujin: "...I, I naturally know that cultivators in the cultivation world can only have one Daoist partner in their lifetime. I...I don't need a title...I..."

As he spoke, he lowered his head, as if he could no longer bring himself to say those shameless words, and said in a hoarse voice, "As long as... as long as you can still like me, I..."

Li Chen closed his eyes, and after a long while, he slowly opened them and smiled, "Shujin, the past is the past. Whether it was love or hate, the past is no longer important, and there is no need to look back. Just live in the present."

Zeng Shujin: "..."

He could naturally understand the unspoken meaning in Li Chenjin's words.

She no longer hates him, so naturally she no longer loves him, and she will never love him again.

She has truly let go.

Looking at Li Chenjin, who still had a smile on his face, Zeng Shujin suddenly felt as if his heart was being tightly gripped by a hand, causing his chest to ache, his throat to tighten, and even his breathing to become heavy and rapid, as if he would vomit a mouthful of blood at any moment.

He remained silent for a while, then slowly stood up under Li Chenjin's gaze and walked slowly to the door.

After he reached the door, he did not go out immediately. He stood by the door for a moment, as if waiting for someone behind him to call him back.

But that's obviously not possible.

Finally, he opened the door and looked back one last time before walking out completely.

Li Chenjin remained seated at the table, not even glancing at him, and simply continued drinking his tea.

Even when he turned around to look, she still wouldn't give him a single glance...

He didn't know how to describe his feelings at that moment. He felt as if he had swallowed ten bitter herbs in one go, so bitter that he couldn't utter a single word. He could only turn around, quickly step out the door, and disappear into the night.

The moment he stepped out the door, the person who had been looking down, preoccupied with something, suddenly raised his head and looked in the direction he had left, just in time to see his figure gradually disappearing into the night.

Four years have passed, and his back view is no different from before. In a daze, those memories that had long been blurred also surged into her heart in that instant.

Actually, Zeng Shujin used to treat her very well.

He remembered that the first time he was ordered to leave the world of sword cultivators to carry out a mission for his sect, he saw a very famous pastry shop on the way. He thought that after completing the mission, he would bring some pastries back to Li Xianghuan.

However, he later heard that the pastries were only sold for four months of the year. Just then, the season was about to end, and there were very few pastries left in the shop. He was afraid of missing out, so when the task was almost completed, he stayed up all night and guarded the tightly closed shop door until dawn broke and the shop door opened.

After he bought the pastries, he used his spiritual power to protect them and flew for a day and a night, rushing back to the sword cultivation world.

When she went to practice her sword in the morning, she saw him standing outside the door as soon as she opened it. His hair was messy and he looked travel-worn, but in his arms he was holding a package of pastries that were still well-packaged and warm.

After handing her the pastries, he didn't linger or say a word before rushing back without stopping.

At first, she didn't know that the pastry was so hard to come by. It was only later, when the other disciples who had accompanied him mentioned it casually, that she learned the whole story.

Of course, there were many other things besides that. In short, before Li Xianghuan became the sect leader and Zeng Shujin became the deputy sect leader, it seemed that there wasn't a single day that the two of them were unhappy.

Everything changed after Li Xianghuan secured his position as the leader of the Wanshan Sect. The relationship between the two gradually soured, and they would even quarrel over things from time to time.

Sometimes it was because Zeng Shujin felt that she was too ruthless, sometimes it was because he felt that she no longer cared about him, sometimes it was because he felt that she was too stubborn and domineering, and sometimes it was because he felt that she was not the same as before and had gone against her original intentions.

Li Xianghuan was the same. Sometimes she would argue with Zeng Shujin because he no longer understood her, sometimes she would argue with him because he was unwilling to listen to her ideas, sometimes she would argue with him because he did the opposite of what she did, and sometimes she would argue with him because she felt that he was not the same as before and had gone against his original intentions.

But most of those were just minor squabbles. After they were over, they would make up again in no time, because Zeng Shujin was always the first to back down, and she would naturally follow suit.

The real argument stemmed from a time when she left the world of sword cultivators to exorcise evil spirits and accidentally lost the sword tassel that Zeng Shujin had woven for her by hand. It was the same sword tassel that she later saw in Xicheng Town.

At the time, she really didn't know where the sword tassel had gone.

After all, she had been to quite a few places during those few days, flying around everywhere.

In the end, she herself couldn't quite remember which roads she had traveled. Even if she could remember them clearly, how would she find such a small sword tassel?

Are we supposed to search inch by inch?

She realized she couldn't find it, but instead of hiding it, she prepared a gift and went to Zeng Shujin to confess the matter, hoping to gain her forgiveness.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she mentioned it, Zeng Shujin threw the gift she had given her on the ground and had a big argument with her about it, insisting that Li Xianghuan lost the sword tassel because she didn't care about him.

Li Xianghuan was also in a bad temper at that time. He had taken the initiative to lower his head and even prepared an apology gift at the beginning. But when he saw Zeng Shujin's behavior, he naturally lost his temper. They immediately started to argue and said all sorts of hurtful things.

In the end, Zeng Shujin naturally couldn't win the argument. Frustrated, she wiped away her tears, turned around, and walked out, leaving her with only her back view.

Li Xianghuan was also full of anger and left Wanshanmen directly. After that, Zeng Shujin did not look for her, and she did not take the initiative to look for Zeng Shujin either.

After that, although the two met from time to time, they were unwilling to say a word to each other. Even when they were under the same roof, they would not exchange a single word. All the happiness they had before vanished in an instant, leaving only resentment and dissatisfaction.

When a person's heart is surrounded by resentment and dissatisfaction all day long, even the deepest feelings will gradually be worn away. It's a pity that Li Xianghuan didn't understand this principle at that time, nor did he care to understand it.

So ultimately, Zeng Shujin and Li Xianghuan were simply not a good match. Their personalities were completely different, and it was only a matter of time before they had conflicts and disagreements.

But the two of them were too young back then, unable to think about the distant future. They only thought that liking someone could overcome all difficulties, not knowing that sometimes, hardship is brought by the people closest to them.

She sighed softly, straightened her clothes, and was about to go to sleep when she suddenly heard several knocks on the door.

She subconsciously turned her head and met the gaze of a woman standing by the door, dressed in a light-colored dress, with tears in her eyes, looking at her with a pitiful expression.

The moment Zeng Shuqing met her gaze, crystal-clear tears welled up in her eyes, slid down her cheeks, and slowly slid down her fair and flawless skin, finally landing on her clothes.

She leaned against the door frame, her lips moved a few times, but she could only let out a few sobs and couldn't utter a complete sentence.

She bit her lip, took a few deep breaths, and her nose began to turn slightly red. Accompanied by soft sobs, she slowly said, "Xianghuan... Xianghuan, is that you? Have you finally come back?"

Although Zeng Shuqing and Li Xianghuan hadn't known each other for as long as Zeng Shujin, they used to be inseparable and even made a pact to be lifelong friends and confidants. Whenever Li Xianghuan brought a gift for Zeng Shujin, he would always remember to bring one for Zeng Shuqing as well.

Seeing his old friends again filled Li Chenjin with even more emotion.

Amidst her感慨 (feelings of mixed emotions), she also felt a pang of regret, lamenting that she probably wouldn't be able to sleep tonight; it was almost dawn, sigh…

She hasn't returned to the sword cultivation world for a long time. Have all the people in the sword cultivation world become night owls now?

She felt helpless inside, but smiled and said, "Shuqing, it's been a long time."

Zeng Shuqing stared intently at her, but his expression suddenly became dazed for a moment.

Immediately afterwards, her gaze towards Li Chenjin became long and deep, as if she were looking at her, or as if she were looking through her at someone else.

Finally, her lips trembled slightly, and a series of dreamlike murmurs escaped her lips: "You're really back...you're really back...you're finally back..."

Li Chenjin: "..."

Li Chen listened intently to Zeng Shuqing's words, unable to respond to her.

It wasn't until Zeng Shuqing walked up to her and took her hand that she reacted. She smiled slightly at Zeng Shuqing, then withdrew her hand and said, "Shuqing, I didn't expect you to come today."

Zeng Shuqing was taken aback by her actions. After a moment, she sobbed, "Xianghuan, are you blaming me? Blaming me for not being able to save you? Blaming me for not realizing in time that my senior brother was going to harm you?"

“I don’t blame you.” Li Chenjin smiled slightly. “It’s just that I am now a disciple of Zen Master Mingcun, and I have no chance to sit on the position of Sword God anymore. I’m only here to attend the peace talks on behalf of the Zen community, and I have no other intentions.”

Zeng Shuqing frowned slightly, looking at Li Chenjin with a tearful expression.

Zeng Shuqing was stunningly beautiful; when she smiled, even the most beautiful flowers around her paled in comparison. Thus, she was known as the "Sword-wielding Fairy." If any outsider were to see her in her current state, they would surely weep for her beauty and feel heartbroken.

She opened her mouth, her eyes filled with sorrow, and said, "Xianghuan, you still blame me, don't you?"

Li Chen sighed and said, "Shuqing, I really don't blame you. I just realized that the world of sword cultivators is not suitable for me, the Wanshan Sect is not suitable for me, and the so-called sect leader and the title of sword god are even less suitable for me. I just want to let go of all the things that were not suitable for me in the past."

“Back when I was in the world of sword cultivators, I often wondered when I would be able to relax and be more at ease. But in the end, I realized that daydreaming was useless.”

"If you want to live the kind of life you want, you have to find a way to get it, instead of waiting for that kind of life to appear in front of you. Even if you have to give up a lot of things you used to have on the way to get them, it's not worth regretting, because those were things that should never have belonged to me."

Zeng Shuqing was stunned, as if she hadn't understood what she said. "...What?"

Li Chen smiled slightly and patiently explained, "It's just that I don't want to go back to my old life, nor do I want the title of Sword God."

"You know, Shuqing. The bigger the reputation, the heavier the responsibility on your shoulders. I can no longer bear such a heavy responsibility, nor do I want to. My life is very good now. I can do whatever I want, eat whatever I want, and I am free and unrestrained. I think this kind of life is very good, and I like it very much."

Hearing Li Chenjin's words, Zeng Shuqing's expression gradually changed from doubt to astonishment.

She looked at Li Chenjin in disbelief, as if she had never expected her to say such a thing.

That feeling of shock and disappointment almost overflowed from her eyes, but Li Chenjin couldn't understand why she was so disappointed.

She seemed even more disappointed than when she had waited for ten days for someone from Wanshan Sect but hadn't seen a single person.

Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her lips trembled slightly as she said in a trembling voice, "So, you can let me go now? We clearly said before that we would be lifelong friends, that we would always be together. But after you got your senior brother, you forgot about me. Whenever you had free time, you would go to see your senior brother, and you would never come to see me again. But now..."

"Now that you and your senior brother have broken up, even if you and your senior brother have broken up... can't I be your choice anymore? Xianghuan, why? Can you tell me why? Why have you changed? Why do you no longer value me? Why can't I be the most important person to you anymore? Why?"

Li Chenjin: "..."

Li Chen remained silent for a long time before asking Zeng Shuqing in a low voice, "Have I really changed? Shuqing, the one who has truly changed is you. If you truly wanted to be my lifelong confidante and accompany me forever, then why didn't you even bother to go and see the place where I perished when Shujin brought the news of my demise?"

Zeng Shuqing: "..."

Zeng Shuqing's gaze as she looked at Li Chenjin revealed a deep sense of despair.

The extreme pain and despair were so intense that even Li Chen found it somewhat inexplicable, and she felt that Zeng Shuqing's gaze towards her was very strange.

"You're still the same...you're still the same...you haven't changed at all..."

After muttering to herself, she lowered her eyes, tears streaming down her face, but she didn't say another word.

After a long while, she slowly stood up, glanced at Li Chenjin with a sorrowful and profound look, and then turned and left.

Li Chen stared in the direction she left, but at that moment she had no energy to think about why Zeng Shujin and Zeng Shuqing both seemed so strange. All she wanted to do now was sleep.

But just as she was about to close the door, she didn't expect that a hand would block it before it was closed.

After she opened the door again, she saw that another person had come in.

Well, I guess I won't be able to sleep tonight.

However, it must be said that today was truly strange. People came one after another, like a string of candied hawthorns, leaving no time for rest.

She went back into the house, sat down, pinched her brow, and asked, "Master Shen, aren't you going to sleep either? Disturbing people's peace and quiet in the middle of the night is not a good habit."

Shen Zhengyuan looked at her and said, "I thought you would want to see me at this time..."

Seeing the visitor lower his head, Li Chen coughed and said, "Actually, I'm quite happy to see Sect Leader Shen at this time. But Sect Leader Shen, is your visit here to sleep with me, or is there something else you want to discuss?"

"But let me tell you, I've been asked questions all day, and I don't want to hear any more from you. If you're here to sleep with me, let's lie in bed together."

Shen Zhengyuan hesitated several times before finally saying, "I am not that kind of person!" when he saw Li Chen actually starting to undress.

Li Chen raised his eyes and gave him a strange look. "What is Sect Leader Shen thinking? I'm just trying to sleep. It's almost dawn, and I'm still not asleep. Besides, this puppet body of mine is empty. Even if you wanted to do something, Sect Leader Shen, you couldn't do anything, could you?"

"I...I..." Shen Zhengyuan's expression changed slightly, and he stammered, "I didn't think of anything!"

Li Chen nodded repeatedly, saying very seriously, "I understand, I understand. Sect Leader Shen is a gentleman, so naturally he wouldn't think about anything ungentlemanly. So, you're going to sleep?"

Shen Zhengyuan: "..."

Shen Zhengyuan: "Go to sleep."

Fortunately, the bed at Wanshanmen was quite large, and the two of them could barely lie side by side on the bed. However, because of the person next to him, Shen Zhengyuan was not sleepy at all.

He silently gripped his sleeves, gazed at the bed curtains above his head, and took several slow, deep breaths.

After his chaotic thoughts gradually calmed down, he turned his head to look at the person beside him, and just as he was about to say something, he realized...

Li Chen gave her all...

She's already asleep.

Clearly, when she said "I'm going to sleep" earlier, she wasn't just making excuses; she was genuinely tired.

He gazed at her sleeping face quietly for a long time, hesitated for a while, and then slowly sat up, approaching her lips. As if afraid of waking her, he placed a light kiss on her lips.

Then, he retreated to his original spot, seemingly murmuring, "Li Chenjin...can you...continue to live for me?"

His voice was as soft as a dream, "Mingcun said you liked the old me, and that's definitely true..."

After that, he muttered to himself for a long time until it was already dawn outside before he closed his eyes.

After he fell asleep, Li Chenjin slowly opened his eyes. His eyes were clear and bright, unlike when he had been asleep. However, there was a hint of helplessness mixed in with the clarity.

Author's Note: Li, who's been busy all day and night: Who understands? I just want to get a good night's sleep...