Chapter 40 Legend has it that you could be so stupid...
(forty)
"Go to the tatami mat."
Chu Li pressed down on his hand, which was trying to reach under his skirt, and said softly, "The table is too cold."
Shang Xinglan paused slightly, then pulled her hand away and continued.
Why should he listen to her? He's the one who's angry now.
Seeing his stubbornness, Chu Li had no choice but to adjust her posture to make herself a little more comfortable.
She felt that she had always been very good to Shang Xinglan. For example, she was willing to go along with him in this kind of situation. How could that not be considered being good to him?
"Be gentle."
The next moment, Chu Li slapped him on the shoulder, frowned and whispered, "You hurt me."
It was clearly a complaint, but it sounded more like she was being coquettish.
Shang Xinglan's eyes darkened further as her fingertips traced the pale face.
I wanted to hear more, but this look was only for him to see.
She should have known that she wouldn't be able to smile anymore when she was smiling so happily at Xie Liyi.
He didn't want Chu Li to think he was jealous, because that would only embolden Chu Li, making her more and more demanding and using such things to provoke him more frequently.
She is absolutely capable of doing it.
They need to set rules for each other; Chu Li must be taught a lesson.
Chu Li suddenly winced in pain and looked at the person in front of her in surprise. She quickly said, "You hurt me, Shang Xinglan."
Shang Xinglan didn't even look up, quietly holding her slender leg, "I know."
Seeing his indifferent expression, Chu Li bit her lower lip, held back her anger, and said aggrievedly, "Don't you care about me anymore, or are you angry with me?"
"I told you, I'm not angry."
Shang Xinglan's voice was calm, but his actions became even more violent.
Her fingertips gripped the edge of the table tightly, the creaking sound making Chu Li's face turn even redder. She raised her hand to cover her face, not wanting to look, but her wrist was ruthlessly pulled away and pressed onto the table.
"Don't close your eyes."
Unable to maintain her balance, her back was tense and her toes curled up. She felt like she was on a small boat swaying precariously in the wind, and Chu Li had to take in everything, her ears burning hot.
pain……
But for some reason, I really like it.
Her breathing became increasingly trembling, and all Chu Li could see was Shang Xinglan's face; her gaze gradually became hazy and unfocused.
Suddenly, without warning, the other party stopped moving.
Chu Li was stunned. He let go of her and put on his clothes on his own. He even helped Chu Li straighten her dress, fasten the buttons, and smooth out the wrinkles, making everything neat and tidy as if nothing had happened.
"Husband?"
Chu Li called out in a daze.
The other person ignored her, simply sitting back down by the window to enjoy their tea, completely disregarding her from head to toe.
Chu Li sat on the table, looking at him incredulously, "Why..."
"There's no reason why," Shang Xinglan replied calmly.
Still feeling unwell, Chu Li clenched her fingers tightly and forced her weak legs to get off the table, walk to him, and snuggle into his arms.
“You did this on purpose,” she said through gritted teeth. “You’re just angry and you’re deliberately getting back at me.”
Shang Xinglan gazed calmly at the scenery outside the window, seemingly unaffected by her at all. "Repeat it one last time. I'm not angry."
Chu Li didn't believe him. She glared at him angrily, ripped open her clothes to reveal the neck where Shang Jinyue had choked her, with red finger marks still visible. "What's there to be angry about? I was almost strangled to death by your brother today. I'm the one who should be angry."
Shang Xinglan remained silent.
This tactic used to work on him a lot, so what's wrong with him today?
Chu Li let out a sob and climbed onto him, sobbing on Shang Xinglan's shoulder, "I'm so upset, you can't do this to me, it makes me sad."
Shang Xinglan glanced at her sideways; not a single tear could be seen on her face. She was faking tears but couldn't squeeze out a single one, and she was becoming more and more perfunctory with him.
After crying for a long time, Chu Li looked up at him and saw that he was still calm and collected. She couldn't help but lean forward and kiss him. "Don't be angry. I was wrong."
She admitted that she was deliberately chatting and laughing with Xie Liyi just to tease Shang Xinglan and make him angry, so that she would feel that she was important to him.
"Don't you understand me?" Shang Xinglan's tone grew even colder. "I've told you so many times..."
"Okay, okay," Chu Li quickly cupped his face and whispered, "I know you're not angry anymore. It's all my fault. Hit me if you want."
Shang Xinglan looked at her silently for a long time before saying helplessly, "Chu Li, how could you be so stupid?"
Chu Li withdrew her hand in confusion and whispered, "Why did you scold me?"
Shang Xinglan sighed and said softly, "If you want me to do something, just say so. Why beat around the bush?"
The reason why people can't speak properly and are used to beating around the bush is because they are afraid that their direct requests will be rejected, so they cover up their true intentions with various disguises.
But these tactics don't need to be used on him.
She was stunned for a moment before Shang Xinglan picked her up.
"This is your last chance. Say it again."
Chu Li pursed her lips, leaned down, and whispered in his ear, "I deliberately talked to Xie Liyi to make you angry. I promise I won't do it again next time."
Shang Xinglan raised an eyebrow slightly, but her expression remained unchanged. "Anything else?"
"besides……"
Chu Li's face turned even redder, and her voice became as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
"Let's continue."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shang Xinglan finally got a satisfactory answer. He gently kissed her lips and, having also been holding back for a long time, grasped her slender waist.
"Welcome to serve."
*
His cultivation recovered quickly. In less than seven days, Shang Xinglan was able to use spiritual energy freely. The Soul Cleansing Spring had completely washed away the demonic energy, but it had also damaged most of his cultivation.
If you want to ascend, you still need to cultivate diligently.
Before leaving the Cangshan Sect, Xie Yunge gave Chu Li a sword for self-defense. According to her, someone like Chu Li who poisons others when she sees injustice will be caught sooner or later, and at least she can draw her sword to fight back.
Chu Li's lips twitched slightly as she listened. She was still so bad at conversation, saying the most unpleasant things.
But Chu Li knew she meant well, so he readily accepted the sword and gave her some advice in return, "Don't stand there arguing with people like an idiot next time. No one will be able to poison you in the future. If you don't like someone, you have to find a way to make them like you."
Dead people are pleasing to the eye.
Before Xie Yunge could even speak after hearing her words, Xie Liyi couldn't help but say, "Stop teaching Ge'er these shameless tricks. I think it would be better if you left Yinyin in the Cangshan Sect. I'm more suitable to teach her than you."
Dream on.
Yinyin is her lucky star.
Chu Li pulled the little boy, who was reluctant to part and was wiping away tears, back to her side and patted his little head. "Don't cry, Yin Yin. Mother will find you a few more masters another day."
"How many?" Xie Liyi was furious with her. "What do you take Master for? A teacher for a day is a father for life."
Chu Li glanced at him but ignored him.
How dare she dream of being the father of her son! If Shang Xinglan were here, she would be jealous again.
This morning, Shang Xinglan went to Shang Jinyue to discuss returning home. Shang Jinyue seemed to have found a good medicine to cure her grandmother's illness, so she planned to go back to the Shang family with them.
As for Chu Shuyi, Chu Li had not seen her since their last parting.
The Cangshan Sect wasn't very large, and they hadn't seen each other even once in recent days. She seemed to be intentionally or unintentionally keeping her distance from them.
Chu Li once asked Xie Yunge, who said that Chu Shuyi would stay in Cangshan Sect for the time being and could come back anytime they wanted to meet.
Before long, Shang Xinglan and Shang Jinyue arrived at the mountain gate. The two stood together and looked remarkably alike, exuding an air of refined elegance that drew attention.
Will Yinyin be like this when she grows up?
Chu Li couldn't help but start to look forward to it.
Led by Shang Jinyue, they boarded the merchant's carriage.
Compared to the previous carriage, the merchant's carriage was extremely luxurious, so spacious that one could roll around in it, and the little one no longer needed to curl up on her lap to sleep.
Yan Xinbai wore the same demon mask he had worn when they first met, concealing his demonic aura, and rode alone on horseback, following in front of the carriage.
Shang Jinyue climbed into the carriage and smiled at Chu Li, "Sister-in-law, is this place comfortable?"
Chu Li nodded. She still felt that this person's smile was sinister. Perhaps it was because he looked too smart, which always made people feel that he had ulterior motives.
"That's good. This carriage is propelled by talismans, so the journey is bound to be bumpy. Take a medicine first." He handed over the medicine bottle and thoughtfully added, "It's not poisonous. If you're worried, your brother can take it first."
Shang Xinglan: "..."
He reached for the medicine bottle from Shang Jinyue, poured out three pills, and distributed them to Chu Li and the little boy.
Suddenly, a commotion arose outside the car.
"Where is the new head of the family? Bring him out."
"Why should the Tianhe branch be expelled from the Shang family? We refuse to accept this!"
"This is outrageous! The old patriarch never treated the branch families like this before!"
The voice was familiar; it was Shang Dingchun, the old man, who had come with his men.
Shang Jinyue's face darkened, and she said, "Brother, please rest well. I'll be back soon."
He turned and stepped out of the carriage. Less than a quarter of an hour later, to Chu Li's astonishment, he lifted the curtain and walked in.
Shang Jinyue said with a smile, "Alright, let's go."
No one knew what he had done, but there was no sound outside the carriage at all; it was extremely quiet. Chu Li curiously lifted a corner of the curtain to look outside, and the green steps outside the mountain gate were completely deserted.
Chu Li swallowed hard, lowered the curtain, and carried the cub closer to Shang Xinglan.
"What's wrong?" Shang Xinglan noticed her nervousness and asked softly.
Upon hearing this, Chu Li whispered in his ear, "Your third brother must have killed all those people. How terrifying, just like in the legends."
Shang Xinglan was somewhat surprised, "What?"
“A legend, you don’t know it?” Chu Li said softly, “There was a merchant who was killed. Later, the patriarch was furious and ordered the entire city to be slaughtered in retaliation. It was terrifying. Your third brother must have been killing people just now.”
Hearing her words, Shang Xinglan was stunned for a long time, then forced a smile and asked, "Who told you that?"
"That's what everyone says."
Shang Jinyue lowered her gaze and said calmly, "Sister-in-law, you've misunderstood."
Long ago, there was a woman from the Shang Dynasty who went out to exorcise a demon. She fought the demon to the death for three days. In the end, before the demon died, he spread a plague into the city in order to take revenge.
The plague quickly swept through the entire city, and other cities sealed it off. Her child was captured by the city's inhabitants, who threatened to kill her and the people if they could not obtain the medicine to cure the disease.
They blamed her, saying that if it weren't for her exorcising the demon, the plague wouldn't have happened, and only a few people would have died.
Those people cruelly passed the plague on to their infant children, just to force her to find the antidote to save their lives, probably thinking that the merchant was so powerful that she couldn't possibly not find it.
In the end, the merchants finally found the antidote, but they did not deliver it to the people because the young child could not withstand the serious illness and died in the city.
The entire population of the city gradually died from the plague.
They did not massacre the city from beginning to end; they simply watched the people die without offering any assistance.
Are they not even allowed to stand by and watch someone die?
The story spread like wildfire, becoming increasingly distorted. Those who knew the truth gradually grew old, and only the business owners themselves knew that they had never done those things.
Even if I tried to explain, no one would truly empathize and believe me. The tallest tree in the forest catches the most wind; there are just too many people who are envious of businesses.
"Let's go home." Shang Jinyue didn't blame Chu Li for believing the rumors. She just said gently, "Your sister-in-law will gradually understand what Shangjia is really like. You haven't stayed at home for long enough. Once you've spent more time there, you'll like it."
However, he did kill a few people just now.
That has nothing to do with the merchant; it's just that he's unhappy.
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