Chapter 43 It's shameful. I am your wife, your future wife.
(43)
The warm sunlight streamed in through the stained-glass window, and the sun had somehow already hung on the treetops, casting dappled shadows.
The ground was piled with all sorts of rare and precious treasures, any one of which would be priceless if auctioned in the cultivation world, but now it was being carelessly thrown on the ground like junk.
With her back pressed against the bookshelf, Chu Li stared at the sharp blade so close to her, not daring to even breathe.
If you didn't look closely at the face in front of you and only stared at those eyes, you might mistake it for her little lucky star, Yin Yin.
However, he is definitely Shang Xinglan, because he looks almost exactly the same as when he grew up; he is a completely shrunk version of Shang Xinglan.
But how could Shang Xinglan possibly point a knife at her?
Has he lost his memory again?
The knife tip advanced another inch, and Chu Li's heart leaped into her throat. She desperately tried to retreat, but she was already pressed against the bookshelf, with nowhere left to go.
Shang Xinglan glanced at her face, then looked down at the things on the ground, and said in a calm voice, "I'm asking you a question, you little thief."
petty thief?
It must be bigger than him, no matter what.
Chu Li swallowed hard, recovering from her shock, and said softly, "I'm not a thief."
"lie."
With a cold voice, Shang Xinglan interrupted her without any politeness. Although she was small in stature, her eyes seemed to be looking down on her.
Chu Li pursed her lips and had no choice but to whisper, "I am a guest brought by your grandmother. I am really not a thief. If you don't believe me, look, don't I have the jade pendant of the direct lineage hanging on my waist?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the child's gaze fell on her waist, and he reached out a hand to pull off the jade pendant from her waist.
He examined it for a moment, then frowned and looked at her. "This is my jade."
Nonsense, whose else could it be?
Chu Li secretly grumbled to herself.
"There's a tiny crack on it, you can't even see it unless you look closely. I just dropped it a few days ago and it got there. You stole my jade?" Shang Xinglan's voice deepened. He took out a piece of jade from his pocket and placed it next to Chu Li's. His expression suddenly froze.
The two pieces of jade have cracks in the same location and with the same direction!
Shang Xinglan opened her eyes, suddenly looked up at Chu Li, and pressed the tip of the knife against her heart. "Who exactly are you?"
Chu Li was startled and didn't even have time to grab his wrist. She could only explain, sweat beading on her forehead, "I am your wife, your future wife!"
So this is what it feels like to have a knife pointed at you. Is he this scared now when she threatens Shang Xinglan with a knife?
Shang Xinglan frowned slightly, looked her up and down, and said calmly, "Continue."
Chu Li was surprised that he didn't question her. She took a deep breath, carefully pinched the tip of his knife, and said softly, "We really are husband and wife. I came here to get something for you. Just now, I accidentally touched a stone in the box, and then there was a cloud of mist. When I opened my eyes again, you suddenly shrank."
"Don't move."
"……good."
Chu Li quickly withdrew her hand, put it behind her back, and stood carefully.
Shang Xinglan stared intently at her, seemingly trying to discern the truth in her words. After a long while, he asked coolly, "Which box?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Li quickly rummaged through the bookshelf and finally found the small box on the ground. She immediately pointed it out to Shang Xinglan, "This is it."
—A box containing a towering stone.
The Linshui Pavilion contains relics left by each generation of ascended beings in the Shang family, including the towering stone, though Shang Xinglan is unaware of its uses.
He pointed the knife at Chu Li with one hand, and picked up the box from the ground with the other. He opened it and found that there was nothing inside.
Shang Xinglan turned to look at her and said meaningfully, "Take it out."
Chu Li said in astonishment, "I didn't take it, it disappeared by itself, really."
Like a mute eating bitter melon, unable to express their suffering.
She was now completely speechless. Although she had indeed come to steal something, she really hadn't stolen that broken stone!
Seeing her looking like she was about to cry, Shang Xinglan looked away from Chu Li's face and said coldly, "Since you say you're not a thief, pick up everything on the ground and put it back where it was."
Hearing his words, Chu Li suppressed non-existent tears, nodded, and bent down to clean up the mess on the ground.
Shang Xinglan put the knife away, sat down at the table, and took out a notebook.
As Chu Li tidied up, she kept glancing up at him.
She looks just like Yin Yin; they're both so small.
Even before she had fully matured as a child, she already possessed the features of a beauty. Her porcelain-white skin and phoenix eyes with upturned corners gave her a noble and composed air, displaying a maturity beyond her years.
It's kind of cute, like someone pretending to be an adult.
“If you keep staring at me, I’ll gouge your eyes out.”
Chu Li: ?
She had never heard Shang Xinglan say such a thing in her life.
What's wrong with this child?
Shang Xinglan sat at the desk, slowly flipping through the notebook, and said in a calm voice, "Don't think I'm joking with you. I have cultivation, and you can't beat me."
Chu Li remained silent for a moment, then continued tidying up with some dissatisfaction.
She realized that Shang Xinglan had been lying to her; he wasn't as self-disciplined and proper as she thought, and he even gouged out people's eyes when they were young.
Although Shang Xinglan might have said something similar when he fell into demonic possession, he was still a demon after all. He couldn't have been a demonic cultivator since childhood, could he?
He acted so well; he even fooled her.
Shang Xinglan sat in the chair, slowly turning the pages under the sunlight, glancing at Chu Li out of the corner of her eye.
He was around twenty years old, an ordinary person, thin, with a very pointed face. His appearance was nothing special, but if I had to say, his fake crying was quite amusing.
The things he wore were neither expensive nor cheap, suggesting he came from an ordinary family.
This is the woman of the Yin Heaven.
It was a real surprise; it was very different from what he had imagined.
He thought she was a mysterious woman who talked about the cycle of heaven and reincarnation and was proficient in witchcraft and sorcery—otherwise, how could she weaken the curse on him?
Most of the things she had rummaged through on the ground were made of sandalwood and pear wood, and there were also some treasures wrapped in fine silk. She knew very well which boxes were valuable, and her methods were very efficient. She had definitely stolen things before, and she was a repeat offender.
His future wife is a petty thief.
Even more unexpected.
Seeing that Chu Li was about to look up, Shang Xinglan immediately looked away and focused her gaze on the notebook in front of her.
"Don't you want to know why you married me?" Chu Li tried to talk to him and build some rapport. "Shang Xinglan, you like me a lot. You fell in love with me at first sight. On our wedding day, I fell down, and you helped me up from the ground..."
Hearing her arrogant words, Shang Xinglan let out a slight sneer, "I didn't say I wanted to hear it."
Chu Li was speechless, and became even more annoyed as she picked up the things on the ground.
If it weren't for the fact that he's about the same age as Yinyin, I would have beaten him up long ago.
"Found it."
Shang Xinglan suddenly spoke up, glancing at the notebook, "The Sky-Reaching Stone is a relic of Shang Liuyu, the fourth-generation ascendant of the Shang family."
Shang Liuyu?
Chu Li raised her head. "I know, it's your drunken ancestor."
As soon as she finished speaking, Shang Xinglan gave her a cold glance and said, "You are not allowed to insult our ancestors."
Chu Li: "..."
I wonder who said they had no ancestors before.
"The towering stone can seal away short-term memories; anyone who touches the towering stone will be taken into those memories."
He casually turned a page and said calmly, "I understand. When I was five years old, I stored my memories inside the Towering Stone. When you were stealing something, you accidentally bumped into the stone, and that's how you ended up in my memories."
"I didn't steal it," Chu Li whispered in defense. "You're the one who told me to come here to get something."
Shang Xinglan tossed the notebook onto the table and said with a smile, "Then tell me, what did I ask you to fetch from Linshui Pavilion?"
Chu Li opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but then she held it back.
She couldn't say.
If she revealed that she came to retrieve Shang Xinglan's immortal bones, Shang Xinglan would definitely ask her why the immortal bones weren't on him and who dug them out, forcing her to make up other lies to cover it up.
So Chu Li simply resigned herself to her fate and said, "Just treat me like a thief. Is there any instructions on how to get back in that notebook?"
Upon hearing that she was leaving, Shang Xinglan paused slightly, and after a moment, he slowly curled his lips into a smile.
"It wasn't written."
Chu Li looked at him suspiciously, "Really not?"
Shang Xinglan said calmly, "Do you think I like to lie as much as you do?"
...What an annoying personality!
Completely different from when I grew up!
Chu Li became somewhat annoyed. She didn't like Shang Xinglan talking to her like that, as if she were no different from anyone else in Shang Xinglan's eyes.
Although she knew that this was the first time she had met Shang Xinglan, it wasn't like this before. Even if Shang Xinglan had fallen into demonic possession, he would have fallen in love with her at first sight.
She just wanted Shang Xinglan to like her.
Whether he has amnesia or not, whether he has fallen into demonhood or become an immortal, whether he is twenty-five or five years old, he must love her.
"Say what you will, I'll find a way myself." Chu Li's tone was no longer polite as he walked to the table and picked up the notebook he had just been flipping through.
Before it even touched him, the notebook flew away with a whoosh and landed precisely in Shang Xinglan's palm.
With such tiny hands, it's strangely funny to see them making such cool poses.
Chu Li sneered, "A child is a child. You weren't that smart when you were little either. The fact that you took the notebook proves that there's a way for me to go back inside. You're deliberately trying to prevent me from leaving?"
Shang Xinglan unmoved, stuffing the notebook into her clothes and smiling, revealing two sharp, white canine teeth. "Yes, I did it on purpose, so what?"
Chu Li's eyes darkened, and she sneered inwardly.
What can she do? She's never hit a child in her life!
Seeing that she was about to pounce on him, Shang Xinglan quickly jumped away, using the table as leverage to push Chu Li under the table.
Chu Li accidentally bumped her head on the table leg, wincing in pain. She was so angry that she got up to hit him, but then she heard him say in a serious voice, "Shh, someone's here."
As soon as she finished speaking, Chu Li heard footsteps approaching. She endured the pain in her forehead and curled up under the table.
If someone discovers her sudden appearance here, it will be difficult to explain. If they insist she's a thief, she might actually be beaten to death as one.
A moment later, she saw Shang Xinglan sitting in a chair, pretending to flip through a book.
Are you covering for her?
The footsteps stopped at the door, and then the door was opened.
What are you doing here?
Upon hearing that voice, Chu Li's heart leaped into her throat, and she froze, too stiff to move.
He is the head of the household.
That's right, at this time, the head of the family was still in good health.
After a brief silence in the room, Shang Xinglan said in a low voice, "I've finished memorizing the book, and I've cultivated the technique to the seventh level."
"Seven floors?"
The voice was deep and carried an undeniable sense of pressure.
"You've disappointed me greatly. Come out."
Chu Li stared blankly as Xiao Shang Xinglan jumped off the chair, and the two seemed to walk into the courtyard.
A short while later, a strange, muffled sound came from the courtyard, like something being smashed.
She carefully got up and peeked out the window.
With just one glance, Chu Li froze on the spot.
Two servants, wielding long sticks, mercilessly pounded Shang Xinglan's back. His thin body was gradually soaked in blood, covered in wounds.
He remained silent, enduring it all, and slightly raised his head, his gaze meeting hers from afar.
After a moment, Shang Xinglan lowered her eyelashes and pursed her lips.
How embarrassing.
He thought.
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