Chapter 118 The Only One: Why did I give you my only one, but you...?
Although Shen Zhengyuan's final advice was unpleasant to hear, the sect leaders from all walks of life took it to heart. Some sent a few of their entourage back first, while others sent messages back to their sects, urging those remaining to be extra careful.
Han Shannan followed Li Chenjin, watching her scrutinize the people who were discussing how to ensure that the situation Shen Zhengyuan had described wouldn't happen. Then, she smiled silently, a rather strange smile.
"Li Chenjin, what are you laughing at all of a sudden?" Han Shannan rubbed his arms and asked, "You suddenly started laughing for no reason, and it was a creepy laugh, kind of scary. You don't actually have anything to do with the demon statue, do you?"
Li Chen glanced at him helplessly and said, "I'm telling you, Cultivator Han, don't join those people in making wild guesses, okay? Don't you know whether I have anything to do with the Demon God Statue?"
"Then what were you laughing at just now?" Han Shannan asked.
Li Chen said seriously, "I'm laughing because all of this happened so suddenly. If some people's plans are disrupted, everything will fall apart."
"As long as it's chaotic enough, you can fish in troubled waters. Even if you don't catch any big fish, you might still catch some fish tails."
Han Shannan was very interested in what Li Chenjin was saying, but no matter how he asked, Li Chenjin refused to say another word or explain what she meant. She just hummed a tune and leisurely made her way to her room, telling Han Shannan not to sleep too soundly that night, to be more diligent in his cultivation, and to go out for a walk in the middle of the night to absorb the essence of the moonlight.
Han Shannan followed Li Chenjin, wanting to enter the house, but Li Chenjin refused to let him in. Enraged, Han Shannan shouted, "Why won't you let this cultivator in?! I just thought that old...master's wife was right, who knows what that demon statue might do, that's why I came to protect you. How can you be so ungrateful?!"
Li Chen said, "There's no need for protection. How could things be as coincidental as he says? If he says that the demon statue will cause trouble, then the demon statue will become his servant. Don't worry, go back to your room and play."
"Furthermore, men and women shouldn't touch each other. Even if we are master and disciple, we are still different men and women. How can we sleep in the same room? Go away, go play by yourself!"
Hearing Li Chen's words, Han Shannan became even more unwilling. "Anyway, this cultivator is not leaving! Since you won't let me into the house, then I'll stand guard outside your door, okay?"
"Li Chenjin, don't you love reading storybooks? Don't you know that in storybooks, the more a stubborn and skeptical supporting character like you says there's no danger, the more likely they are to be the first to die?! I can't let you live like that!!"
Li Chen sighed and said, "Actually, I think I should be able to play the lead role."
Han Shannan chuckled, "You think you can be the main character? All you're good at is scaring kids. Do you think you can become the main character by scaring kids?"
Li Chen clicked his tongue, and seeing that Han Shannan really didn't want to leave, he sighed again. Then he took out a new sword manual from the storage bag at his waist, handed it to Han Shannan, and said, "Alright, alright, I have an appointment with Sect Leader Zeng tonight to discuss important matters. It's not appropriate for you to be here."
"Here, this is the sword manual left by the Sword God. Take it to your room and learn it yourself. Don't disturb me and Sect Leader Zeng when we are discussing important matters. Got it?"
Han Shannan's eyes lit up instantly. After taking the sword manual, he touched the cover with great care, but did not leave immediately. Instead, he looked up at Li Chenjin and asked, "Li Chenjin, can't you really be with Sect Leader Zeng? He is much kinder than my master's wife, and he treats me much better than she does."
Li Chenjin: "..."
Li Chenjin: "If you don't leave and say another word, I'll take back the sword manual."
Upon hearing this, Han Shannan immediately fell silent, stuffed the sword manual into his robes, and turned to run away. He was truly ungrateful for a sword manual; he had previously promised to protect her safety, but after receiving a sword manual, he no longer cared about protecting her.
Han Shannan looks so old, but at heart, he still has the heart of a child...
Li Chen shook his head helplessly, pushed open the door, and went inside.
But as soon as she sat down at the table, someone suddenly appeared on the chair opposite her.
She didn't react at all, but silently poured a glass of water for the person opposite her, placed the glass in front of him, and looked at him with a somewhat ingratiating smile, saying, "Master Shen, now that you are willing to see me, you must not be angry anymore, right?"
"To be honest, you should know what I said to Shujin before. So you must know that I don't have any romantic feelings for him. Besides, when Xiaoshan spoke up for Shujin in front of me, didn't I always side with you? Can't you see my feelings from these things?"
Shen Zhengyuan gave a cold laugh, quietly looking at her, and said, "You only say these nice things at times like this. These are probably not what you wanted to say, but rather what you saw in those storybooks, thought it would be useful, and then used it directly on me."
Li Chen said solemnly, "How could that be? What I say is definitely from the bottom of my heart. I can't say anything against my conscience."
"You just need to say, is that right?" Shen Zhengyuan said.
Li Chenjin: "..."
They're getting harder and harder to coax and fool...
"Yes, that's right, I read it all in storybooks. Is that enough?" Li Chen sighed and said, "But if you don't want to hear me say all this, then what do you want to hear? That you can stop being unreasonable? Or that Shu Jin and I were just saying goodbye for the last time, and you're making a mountain out of a molehill?"
"If I say these things, wouldn't I be asking you to start a fight? Or do you just want to hear me say these things so you can use this as an excuse to have another big argument with me? Does arguing with me make you happy?"
Shen Zhengyuan looked at her quietly and said, "So these are your true feelings."
Li Chenjin: "..."
Li Chenjin: "Ayuan, I know that because of your past experiences, you are prone to anxiety and want to control the people around you, so that everything is under your control. I was like that for a while too. But could you change that a little and stop testing me like this?"
"Think about it carefully. In the end, the only possible outcome of testing is either 'like' or 'dislike,' with no other possibility. So if I tell you now that I 'like' you and that I have absolutely no other feelings for Shujin, why can't you just believe me?"
Shen Zhengyuan stared at her for a long time before finally stopping his debate about truth and honesty and asking, "Then tell me, are you pitying him? And why are you pitying him?"
Li Chen sighed softly, looked up at him, smiled slightly, and replied gently, "A Yuan, I don't pity him, and Shu Jin doesn't need anyone's pity either."
“You did,” Shen Zhengyuan said decisively. “If you didn’t pity him, then why did you agree to his request in the end? Why did you hug him? And those flowers, you gave them not only to me, but to many other people, even Wen Riwan received some. But why?”
"Why should they have what I have? Why should I be good to you, but you can't be good to me? There are so many people in the world, and I'm different only for you, but what about you? How do you treat me and everyone else? In your eyes, I'm just one of the many beings in the world."
"Your liking for me is no different from your liking for all living beings. So why? Why did I give you my one and only, but you can't give me your one and only? Why do you have to share your affection with so many people? Have you always been like this?"
“Yes.” Li Chenjin answered without hesitation. “I’ve always been like this. I’ve told you before, it’s because I’m like this that Shujin often argues with me, just like you and I are now. But that’s just a flower, Ayuan. That bracelet, only you have it, so why are you still bothered by the flower?”
“I’ve given you my one and only. That bracelet is only for you, and I will only be with you. Isn’t that enough to make me unique? Does it have to be that I can only see you in my eyes, that I can only have you by my side, and that I only talk to you every day to be unique? Then am I a person, or a bird you’ve raised?”
Shen Zhengyuan suddenly smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.
He looked at Li Chenjin, shook his head, and for the first time, his eyes revealed such obvious disappointment and pain. "Li Chenjin, sometimes I really think, would it be better if you really died on Snowy Mountain? That way, I could spend my life imagining your existence."
"Or perhaps... if you were just a tool I used to deceive me now, that would be so much better. Then I could understand why you seem to have changed, yet also why you seem unchanged. The you of the past... clearly gave me your one and only, which made me feel that you truly loved me. But you don't do that now..."
"Is it still me you care about most right now? Or is it that you've never cared about any one person, but rather everything weaker than you, needing to depend on you so that you can feel superior? Like Han Shannan and Wen Riwan, they can be completely manipulated by you, but I can't, so you've changed."
Hearing Shen Zhengyuan's words, Li Chenjin couldn't help but shed a tear, causing Shen Zhengyuan, who was about to continue speaking, to stop abruptly.
Li Chen said, "A Yuan, when we get angry, we're really alike. We know how to say things that will make the other person sad, and we know what words will pierce the other person's heart like a knife."
"But what good will doing this do, besides wearing down our relationship?"
As she spoke, she lowered her head and sighed softly, "I hope what you said just now was just to spite me, and not because you really think that way. I hope you won't tell me that you don't want me to live either."
"Of course, if what you say is true, it's not a big deal. It's just a matter of parting ways, or if you want to do something and send me to my death again, it doesn't matter. Anyway, I've had experience with this kind of thing before."
"But I still want to tell you that I like you. If you don't believe me, then I have nothing more to say. In the end, once everything is over, I can just leave without any more worries."
Author's note: Keep arguing, you guys can argue all you want. Once you get along, things will be sweet. [shy]
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