Chapter 41 Grandmother—He had no regrets about any of these things. ...
(41)
It was late at night when they arrived at the shop. The little boy was curled up in the car seat and fast asleep. Shang Xinglan carefully picked him up and helped Chu Li out of the car.
The autumn nights in the North were twice as cold as those in the South. The withered leaves of the silver fir trees were blown by the cool wind and gathered at the street corner. Chu Li couldn't help but wrap his coat tighter around himself.
Shang Jinyue condescended to personally help them carry their luggage into the house, though she immediately handed it to a servant, saying, "Please come in quickly, I'll have someone prepare some late-night snacks. It's too late today, we'll visit Grandmother early tomorrow morning."
After saying this, he left. Shang Xinglan, holding the baby, used one hand to lead Chu Li back to their room.
Everything seemed exactly the same as when they left. The shops were still as grand as ever, and even late at night, many servants walked and kept watch in the corridors.
Their original room was in the east courtyard, and all the furnishings were spotless, as if someone regularly came to clean it, even though the owner had left many years ago.
Chu Li stared blankly at the room she shared with Shang Xinglan. Once upon a time, she had lived in this very place, carefully interacting with her husband.
Time has indeed passed, and she now feels a long-lost sense of nostalgia.
If her time in Xiaofushan was the happiest time of her life, then Shangjia was the place where she first tasted the flavor of wealth.
I never knew houses could be so big, clothes could be so clean, and maids would help me dress and comb my hair before I went to bed and when I woke up. Even the water for washing my feet was prepared in advance.
It was a feeling that I couldn't quite describe as unpleasant, nor could I say I liked it.
She still felt that she wasn't being treated as a person, but rather as an object to be held in someone's arms.
Especially when she heard the servants' insincere compliance, she felt even more like a bottle placed on a table, with anyone able to point out her flaws, which is why she was angry.
But the rebellion born of anger will trigger the strict rules hidden beneath the luxurious and stable exterior of the business.
One must not hurt others, speak ill of others, disrespect elders, mistreat servants, run, jump, or do anything that is impolite...
Shang Jinyue told her to take her time to get to know this place, but Chu Li felt that she already knew enough.
A business is a grave.
Everyone who moves in will slowly die, their soul and body perishing together, gradually killed by those rules and regulations.
Shang Xinglan placed the baby on the soft couch and wrapped him tightly in a silk quilt. "Let him eat tomorrow morning."
She was sleeping so soundly, I really couldn't bear to wake her.
Hearing his voice, Chu Li snapped out of her daze, her gaze falling on him, her pupils suddenly contracting for a moment.
She slowly walked towards Shang Xinglan. He noticed her approach and was about to turn around when Chu Li stopped him.
"Don't move."
Cool fingertips touched the back of his neck. Under the pale blue moonlight, the golden lightning marks were particularly striking, like the branches and leaves of a tree, with clear textures and a faint glow.
Chu Li held her breath and trembled as she pulled his collar down. Sure enough, the lightning marks had spread to his neck. She hurriedly pulled Shang Xinglan over and unbuttoned his shirt.
In an instant, Chu Li's head buzzed.
The dense lightning marks had long since covered his entire body.
No wonder he never takes off his clothes during sex!
Shang Xinglan grabbed her wrist, preventing her from pulling the clothes down any further, and whispered to comfort her, "It's okay, don't worry, it's been like this for a long time..."
"How early?" Chu Li suddenly interrupted him, her voice deep. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Shang Xinglan choked, cupped her face and wanted to kiss her, but Chu Li turned her head away.
"I have a question for you."
Helpless, Shang Xinglan could only say softly, "It was already like this when we came out of the Soul Cleansing Spring."
He wouldn't have drowned at that time, but the lightning marks on his body suddenly flared up. Perhaps because the demonic energy disappeared and the spiritual energy revived, the lightning marks began to greedily devour his life.
Shang Xinglan ultimately couldn't withstand the torment of Leihen and sank into the water. In comparison, the flames of the Soul Cleansing Spring were not so terrifying.
If Chu Li hadn't come to his rescue in time, he probably wouldn't have made it through.
Chu Li's face stiffened, and she slapped him hard on the shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
The words had barely left her mouth when Chu Li realized what good it would do to tell her; she couldn't help Shang Xinglan at all.
Chu Li reached out and touched the large, shocking lightning marks, resting her forehead lightly on his shoulder and taking a breath.
"Does it hurt?"
Shang Xinglan's heart softened, and he pulled her into his arms. "It doesn't hurt."
You're lying, how could it not hurt?
Chu Li silently withdrew her hand and quietly asked, "Did you cultivate today?"
Shang Xinglan was taken aback by her question and before she could react, Chu Li pushed her away without any mercy.
"Go and cultivate quickly."
He said he would bear the tribulation of lightning alone, but how could he bear it in his current state?
He must cultivate and ascend to immortality as soon as possible, otherwise Shang Xinglan will be tormented to death by these lightning marks before the tribulation even arrives!
Chu Li grew increasingly anxious, pushing Shang Xinglan to the silver fir tree outside the room and throwing him the sword Xie Yunge had given her.
"I'll stay here with you. How long will it take to reach the Tribulation Transcending stage? Will two hours be enough?"
Hearing her words, Shang Xinglan chuckled and said, "Even a reincarnated god couldn't reach the Tribulation Transcending stage in two hours."
He is currently only at the Nascent Soul stage. After Nascent Soul comes the Void Refining stage, after Void Refining comes the Mahayana stage, and after Mahayana comes the Tribulation Transcending stage. He is still two whole major realms away from the Tribulation Transcending stage.
Chu Li sat on the snow-white steps with her arms crossed, stubbornly saying, "It's okay, I'll wait for you. You should start cultivating now."
Unable to persuade her otherwise, Shang Xinglan slowly sat down to meditate under the tree, then looked up at Chu Li and said, "I need to be free from distractions. You should go inside and go to sleep, otherwise I can't concentrate with you around."
Why does he make so much trouble?
Chu Li stared at him and said, "You need to work harder, and don't let me find out you're slacking off."
Shang Xinglan wanted to laugh even more.
This was the first time Chu Li had urged him to cultivate so earnestly; she must have been genuinely afraid he would die.
After Chu Li reluctantly walked back into the room, Shang Xinglan quietly closed her eyes, her brows furrowed.
Of course it hurts. Those lightning marks are a curse, and how can a curse make people feel comfortable?
He was in excruciating pain every moment, but he had simply gotten used to it.
After circulating his spiritual energy within his body for a moment, he suddenly stopped, looked out the window, and called out, "Go to sleep, you're disturbing me."
The shadow by the window vanished instantly.
Shang Xinglan chuckled softly.
You have to believe him.
He can definitely do it, even without the Heavenly Yin Maiden.
*
The next morning.
Shang Jinyue sent someone to invite them to her grandmother's courtyard. It seemed that the servants in the house had changed, and there were many unfamiliar faces.
Chu Li followed Shang Xinglan to the West Courtyard, which used to be the residence of the family head. She remembered that when she went to pay her respects to the family head, he would always stare at her coldly and tell her to help Shang Xinglan ascend to immortality as soon as possible.
Chu Li can still recite those words now.
What do you mean, "I'm troubling you"? I'm begging you, you need to speed up your cultivation, don't delay any longer...
She kept repeating the same old lines, which annoyed her greatly.
At the time, she thought to herself, "Shang Xinglan is alive and well, what's the rush? She just suspects I'm an imposter."
Now that the head of the family has passed away, no one should be pressuring her with those words anymore.
The two of them, holding the little one's hand, walked side by side on the pebbly path, as if they had returned to the days when they had just gotten married, except that there was no little one between them back then.
"How did your cultivation go last night?" Chu Li asked softly.
Shang Xinglan had guessed that she would ask this question, and said softly, "Don't worry, I won't slack off for a moment."
Chu Li was far from at ease. Her gaze fell on the scars on his neck. She frowned and took out a light brown silk handkerchief from her bosom.
"Lower your head."
Shang Xinglan lowered his head, puzzled, and saw Chu Li tiptoe and wrap the silk handkerchief around his neck.
After doing all this, Chu Li withdrew her hand. "Wouldn't your grandmother be heartbroken if she saw this? It's better to keep it hidden."
Shang Xinglan stared at her blankly for a long time, then straightened the silk handkerchief around her neck and smiled, "You're right, it was my oversight."
Ah Chu is now more considerate of other people's feelings, even those she has never met before.
He was very happy.
Chu Li didn't know what he was laughing at, so she glared at him and whispered, "Hurry up and go see your grandmother, then go back to cultivate."
"Okay, okay." Shang Xinglan agreed repeatedly. Chu Li really couldn't stand him being idle for even a moment.
The little boy rubbed his sleepy eyes and said lazily, "Mother, where are we going? This doesn't seem to be Little Fortune Mountain?"
He fell asleep in the carriage last night and woke up to find himself in this place he had never been before. The people here are so strange; no one speaks loudly, and the older brothers and sisters who pass by all have their heads down.
Chu Li said in a low voice, "After we see our great-grandmother, we'll go back."
"Great-grandmother?"
"Yes, she is your father's grandmother."
Shang Xinglan raised an eyebrow, waiting for the little one's reaction.
The little boy looked up at Chu Li in surprise, "So we're... at Daddy's house?"
As expected of his son, he's smart.
Shang Xinglan smiled deeply and said, "This is indeed my home."
Upon hearing this, the little boy suddenly opened his eyes, belatedly breaking free from his hand, "You're not my daddy."
Hearing his words, Chu Li leaned down, turned the little boy's face, and said softly, "He's just teasing you. She's my grandmother. She's very ill. When you see her, you can't say that your father is dead, or she'll be sad."
The little one opened her mouth, and it took her a while to understand what she was saying.
"But……"
His intuition told him that what his mother said wasn't true; he had sensed something was wrong long ago, but he didn't want to believe that his mother was deceiving him.
After a long while, Shang Xinglan placed a hand on the little boy's head and said slowly, "Achu, you should tell him the truth. He'll have to face reality sooner or later."
He leaned down, whispered in the little boy's ear, and said with a slight smile, "It's a pity that Xie Liyi can't be your father, because I am your mother's husband and your biological father."
The little brat was so angry that he pursed his lips and said, "You, you're lying! Don't talk to me!"
Yes, it must be that evil devil lying; it wasn't Mother deceiving him.
But looking at that face that resembled his, the little boy felt nervous again.
Why do they look so alike?
He dared not think any further, and simply held Chu Li's hand tightly.
Chu Li glared at Shang Xinglan. She had promised to let Yinyin gradually accept her background, so why did she just blurt it out so casually?
See? Yinyin really didn't believe it.
Shang Xinglan patted the little boy's head again without caring, and said in a low voice, "You spoil him too much."
Tell the little one the truth, and he'll gradually process it on his own.
When he was Yinyin's age, no one spoiled him like this.
Of course, grandmothers are an exception.
Having not seen my grandmother for a long time, I felt a sense of trepidation, as if I were returning home.
The last time we met, he seemed to be about the same age as Yinyin. In the blink of an eye, his immortal bones are gone, his cultivation has plummeted, he ran away from home, and fell into the demonic path...
Shang Xinglan knew that she had done many "wrong" things over the years.
But he has no regrets about any of these things.
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Author's note: There will be a second update.
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