Chapter 40 Do you prefer younger women, or those who are easier to fool? ...

"So, I almost exhausted my spiritual power to turn over all the snow. After that, I also turned over all the nearby mountains. I cut open the bellies of every snow demon and snow wolf I encountered on the way to check them. I want to believe that you are not dead."

"But after I searched the entire Snow Mountain, I wish... you were already dead."

"At least you'll have a body left behind, even if it's just some severed limbs."

Li Chen frowned deeply. "You want severed limbs? That's really unnecessary! It's too creepy!"

"I think it would be better if I could have a complete corpse when my time comes."

Shen Zhengyuan ignored what Li Chenjin said and instead said, "If I had known she was you, I would definitely have gone to save her."

Li Chen sighed and said, "Don't think too highly of my past personality. She hates you so much, she'd love to kill you. If you save her, be careful she repays kindness with enmity and kills you with a single sword."

Shen Zhengyuan chuckled and said, "Even though I don't know her well, I know she's the kind of person who always repays kindness. If I save her, even if she hates me, she definitely won't kill me."

Li Chen smiled but didn't reply. He simply looked down at the chains on his hands and feet, as if he was thinking about how to unlock them.

Shen Zhengyuan stood quietly to the side, watching her fiddle with the silver chain.

After an unknown amount of time, just as Li Chen picked up the hairpin in front of him, preparing to try picking the lock again, he suddenly asked, "Why did you abandon me back then?"

Why...did you abandon me after I chose to believe you?

Li Chenjin's hand paused, and his heart trembled as well.

She lowered her head and paused for a long time, as if she was thinking about a lot of things, or as if she wasn't thinking about anything at all, just letting herself let her eyes wander.

After a long while, she slowly raised her head, looked in Shen Zhengyuan's direction, and said very seriously, "I have no intention of abandoning you."

Li Chen rarely acted so seriously. Her unsmiling demeanor seemed to reveal a different side of her, inspiring fear in those who saw her. Yet, miraculously, it calmed Shen Zhengyuan's resentment somewhat.

"Then why did you leave?"

Li Chen sighed and slowly said, "I don't know either. To tell you the truth, it wasn't my choice to leave back then, just as it wasn't my choice to go there. It's just that I still can't explain why this strange encounter happened, even to this day."

"But thinking about it, given that old monk's vast knowledge and ability to see past and present lives, he must know something. Didn't you notice? He clearly wanted us to meet on purpose."

As she spoke, she suddenly chuckled and said half-jokingly, "Tell me, could it be that you're about to do something heinous, or that you're planning to sacrifice someone in a ritual formation, and that old monk found out? To stop you, he arranged for us to meet so I could find an opportunity to kill you?"

Shen Zhengyuan said, "Even so, you won't kill me. The Dharma Cultivation Realm currently occupies the best location in the cultivation world. The spiritual veins here are abundant, and with the blessing of the magic array, the Dharma Cultivation Realm is rich in spiritual energy, and there are inexhaustible spiritual mines underground."

"If I die, people from other cultivation worlds will sooner or later scramble for it out of envy. At that time, the peace treaty of the cultivation world will be completely invalidated, and there will only be bloodshed and people suffering. You didn't kill me before, probably so that the cultivation world wouldn't lose its lineage. You're not killing me now because you need one side to suppress the other worlds."

"But the sword cultivator world is currently in disarray and unable to shoulder great responsibilities. Therefore, only the magic cultivator world is qualified to take this position. Am I right?"

Li Chen smiled and nodded, replying, "You're quite clever. Even without me saying a word, you can guess pretty much everything. In that case, let's be frank. What will it take for you to release me? The cultivation world probably won't be of much use to me, will they?"

“If you want to demand something from the Zen meditation community, you should arrest that old monk Mingcun. He is the backbone of the entire Zen meditation community. If you arrest him, how can the people in the Zen meditation community listen to you in everything? You don’t need to worry about me turning against you. That old monk Mingcun is making things difficult for me now. If you want to arrest him, I will definitely help you with all my might and guarantee that the Zen meditation community can invite that old monk to be a guest.”

He listened quietly to Li Chenjin's words without interrupting.

Only after she finished speaking did she slowly reveal a smile.

Although he appeared to be smiling, the smile didn't reach his eyes, making it seem somewhat forced and unsettling in the dimly lit room.

That smile came suddenly and went just as quickly, flashing by like a fleeting moment. In the blink of an eye, his face returned to its expressionless state, and he asked in a flat tone, "Have you forgotten?"

"You once said that you liked me, that you wanted to be with me, that you wouldn't leave me, that you would stay with me in the Dharma cultivation world. Have you forgotten?"

"Li Chenjin, have you forgotten?"

Li Chenjin: "..."

As she watched the man who drew closer to her as he spoke, she felt a chill run down her spine and her hair stand on end when she looked into his eyes, which were completely dark and devoid of any light.

If she hadn't been certain that the person in front of her was a living, breathing human, she would have thought that some evil spirit had possessed her!

Li Chen couldn't help but lean back and said, "Stay away from me first, and I'll talk to you slowly."

Shen Zhengyuan seemed not to hear her words and did not retreat even slightly. Instead, he placed his hand on her clenched fist and said, "This is the best place in the world of magic cultivators. When I was rebuilding the world of magic cultivators, I always thought I would find you soon, so I deliberately left this place here, just to make it our place of refuge in the future."

“I’ve been waiting for you to name it, but you haven’t shown up for so long, so I can only name it for now: Pure Realm. Doesn’t it sound like a place you might find in a Zen meditation community? I named it especially for you, do you like it?”

Li Chenjin: "..."

Li Chen remained silent, but Shen Zhengyuan didn't find it boring. Instead, he continued to mutter to himself, "It's okay if you don't like it. From now on, you'll live here all the time. You'll have plenty of time to think of a name for this place that you like, and you'll also have plenty of time to build it into the way you like."

“Even if you kill me, you can only stay here. The magic array here is connected to the underground spirit mine. Even if I die, this magic array can absorb spiritual energy on its own for thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of millions of years... We can stay here together, die here together, without reincarnation, without being reborn, just stay here…”

"Thousands of years, tens of thousands of years, hundreds of millions of years... Heh, what once seemed like a long time now seems rather short. This body may have a time limit, but even if our corpses turn to ashes in the future, our souls can still face each other every day. You have a long time to fulfill the promises you made before. Are you happy? Do you like it? Do you want to kill me? Hehehe... Do you want to kill me?"

Li Chen listened intently to his low laughter and carefully observed his expression.

She initially thought he was just saying it to scare her, but when she noticed that the more Shen Zhengyuan spoke, the brighter his eyes became, and that a genuine smile appeared on the face of this previously lifeless man, she suddenly realized...

He was telling the truth!

Not only was it the truth, but he also seemed very happy and satisfied!

They were laughing so hard they couldn't stop, as if it were some wonderful future.

That's really strange!

She clearly remembered that in her past memories, Shen Zhengyuan wasn't like this hundreds of years later!

Originally, he was just a ruthless killer, but now he seems to be even more evil than the evil spirits in Xicheng Town!

This is insane!

This is absolutely insane!

Their brains must have been damaged by that snow demon heart they ate back then!!

Li Chen said, "Calm down first, how about we have a proper talk?"

"I think I did say those things before, but... well... I've realized... I've realized we're more suited to be enemies, no... we're more suited to be friends. That whole 'one life, one love' thing doesn't really suit our personalities..."

In this state, Shen Zhengyuan might as well continue being his world-destroying demon...

Even if she were allowed to kill him now, she was worried that Shen Zhengyuan might get a heart attack from her sword...

Just as Li Chen's mind was racing, Shen Zhengyuan suddenly spoke up: "Do you prefer someone younger, or someone easier to fool? Is it the person you live with?"

Li Chen said, "Don't make wild guesses! I don't have the habit of dating older men. Besides, in the demon race, she's at most a toddler who can barely walk. It'll be another hundred years or so before we can even talk about marriage. I'm not a pervert, and I have no interest in children. Don't slander me!"

Shen Zhengyuan said calmly, "Since that's the case, then you can stay here. In the hundreds of years since you abandoned me, I've learned some medical skills, and I'll find a way to heal your injuries."

After a long silence between them, Li Chenjin finally spoke: "First of all, I didn't abandon you. Secondly, I don't need you to heal me. I know my current situation; even the old monk Mingcun was helpless. Could your medical skills already be comparable to that old monk Mingcun's?"

“I know you harbor resentment and feel that I have been lying to you all along. Actually, I have always felt very sorry for you. I met you suddenly back then, and I knew nothing about you at that time, nor about the cultivation world and the mortal world. I really didn’t know what excuse to use to stay, so I said those things to you.”

"If you think about it carefully, you'll realize that you don't really like me. It's just that you've lost too much in the past, so you don't want to lose what you believe is what truly belongs to you. But ultimately, I'm not an object; I won't live according to your whims. I'm just a passerby in your life. In the future, you will definitely meet someone who truly loves you and truly wants to spend their life with you. As for me..."

Li Chen paused, remained silent for a long while, and then suddenly laughed and said, "I'm about to die."

Author's Note: Since there's a summer heat relief event going on, I'm going to be shameless and ask for some nutrient solution (shy emoji). [blushing emoji]

Actually, I don't think my writing is very good, but it gets so few favorites, sob sob (broken heart.jpg)