The first thing Jiang Chuting will do upon returning, without a doubt, is to go back to the Nine Heavens.
He used to wander the martial arts world often, but this was the first time he had been away for so long.
He's taking two more people with him this time, so Xing'er doesn't need to worry. It's just that the other one, based on his understanding of his senior brother, the sect leader, probably won't be so easy to get through.
Lin Zhi had dealt with Chonghua before and understood this point even better, which made him feel distressed.
"Chu Ting, what if they kick me out and won't let me stay with you?"
Jiang Chuting reassured him, "No, they would never interfere in my relationship. At most... they'll give you a hard time."
Jiang Chuting only learned now that after he left, Lin Zhi went to the Nine Heavens to guard for a period of time and was even injured by Senior Brother Chonghua.
However, it is obvious that his senior brother must have been very lenient back then, otherwise how could Lin Zhi have survived to this day?
Lin Zhi chuckled dryly and humbly accepted the criticism: "It's only right that you give me attitude. As long as I can stay with you, that's enough."
On their way back, they noticed that several months had passed and the Lin family's affairs had faded considerably, but they still often heard people discussing them.
I heard that the Lin family mansion has been raided, and the young master of the Lin family, along with a group of accomplices, have been executed. A portion of the confiscated property was used to appease the victims. However, it is said that this was done after a secret investigation to avoid public criticism.
Lin Zhi's reaction was completely numb. Jiang Chuting couldn't bear it and asked him if he wanted to go to Anyang for a visit, since it was where he grew up.
Lin Zhi decisively said, "There's nothing to see here, no need to go."
He has no connection with the Lin family anymore, and in the eyes of the whole world, "Lin Zhi" has already been executed.
He will no longer be able to use this name.
That night, after their intimate moments in bed, the two embraced tenderly. Lin Zhi finally couldn't help but ask, "Chu Ting, I still don't understand why he let me go like that. You really didn't...?"
Jiang Chuting gently interrupted him, saying, "I didn't do anything. You were unaware of the situation and are innocent. He is a wise ruler, so naturally he will let you go."
“A wise ruler… humph.” Lin Zhicai didn’t believe him and gave him a hard kiss.
Pei Jing had a reputation for ruthlessness since his youth, so how could he be so easy to talk to? However, Chu Ting refused to tell him the truth, so he could only keep this unknown tenderness deep in his heart.
When they passed through Jian'an, they happened to run into Master Huang of the Huang family. Master Huang was overjoyed and insisted on treating them to a meal.
Unable to refuse their hospitality, they went to the restaurant together.
During the meal, I chatted with Master Huang and learned that Huang Yu was no longer as dissolute as before and had begun to help him manage affairs. However, he still refused to get married, which made Master Huang very distressed about the issue of having offspring.
Jiang Chuting listened quietly as he poured out his grievances.
Shaojun's case has been overturned, and he should be living well with Shaoshu and their child now. Shaojun has no intention of letting the Huang family know about this, and naturally, he won't say anything more. Let's leave everything to their own fate.
Jiang Chuting inquired about the current situation in Jian'an City from Master Huang. Master Huang told him that because Yin Ziqiu's killing and hanging of people on the city wall was still a deterrent, most people were relatively restrained, and the number of cases of abandoning wives and children had decreased significantly in the past two years. However, it was still unlikely to completely stop it.
When they parted, Master Huang insisted on giving Xing'er a heavy little money bag as a gift. He looked at Xing'er's well-behaved and cute appearance with envy and longing.
"This child is so handsome, so spirited and clever. His eyebrows and eyes are like those of the great hero Jiang. I suppose the lady must also be a person of exceptional talent and beauty."
Jiang Chuting smiled, glanced at Lin Zhi, and said, "Indeed."
Lin Zhi picked up Xing'er and gave a wry smile.
Finally, the group of four returned to the Ninth Heaven. Before going up the mountain, Xing'er saw many butterflies and, led by Wei Jia, excitedly chased after them.
Jiang Chuting and Lin Zhi watched from the side. He turned his eyes and suddenly smiled with his eyes lowered.
Xing'er chose a good place; it was the very spot where he had been ambushed and injured by the masked Lin Zhi when he returned to the mountain.
Lin Zhiye noticed it too, and her ears burned. She grabbed his waist, overwhelmed with shame. Back then, her thoughts were deeply ingrained; she felt nothing but resentment towards Chu Ting, not only cursing him but also hurting him. Who would have thought things would turn out this way?
He had too many regrets, but he couldn't go back in time to make amends.
Jiang Chuting kissed his cheek and said, "It's alright, I'm not blaming you."
He simply felt that the only words to describe the world were "wonderful" and "unpredictable."
...However, Lin Zhi's treatment after arriving on the mountain was as expected. He was met with cold faces, cold looks, and cold snorts from several senior brothers. Chonghua refused to see him at all, and only Ji Chun's attitude was slightly more moderate, and he exchanged a few words with him.
Lin Zhi was already mentally prepared, but the dislike from Chu Ting's family still left him feeling incredibly frustrated.
Xing'er received much better treatment than him and was loved by everyone in the sect. At first, Chonghua was not very enthusiastic about Xing'er because of Lin Zhi, but after a few days, Jiang Chuting saw that his usually tough and stern senior brother Chonghua showed a loving smile and played football with Xing'er. Afterwards, he even made him a small wooden sword and taught him swordsmanship by hand.
His display of tenderness amidst his tough exterior truly stunned his disciples.
These days, Xing'er keeps mentioning his senior uncles. While Lin Zhi is happy that he is well-liked, he also feels a bit uneasy.
Early that morning, Xing'er rushed off to find her beloved and lovable senior uncle, while Jiang Chuting and Lin Zhi went down the mountain together.
Xie Zhen brought his two children to the Nine Heavens to avoid trouble. After Qiao Xun was executed, he went down the mountain and opened a pharmacy. Jiang Chuting and Lin Zhi planned to go and take a look.
The pharmacy was doing quite well, and Xie Zhen had hired a clerk to help. When they went in, Xie Zhen quickly spotted them, immediately smiled, and came over to invite them to sit in the inner room.
"Wait a moment, I'm going to get something."
After chatting for a few minutes, Xie Zhen got up, took an envelope from the cabinet next to him, and handed it to Lin Zhi.
Lin Zhi was taken aback: "For me?"
Xie Zhen nodded. Lin Zhi didn't understand who would write him a letter. He took it and opened it, and found that it was a map, with a red dot marked on the outskirts of Anyang City.
Xie Zhen explained to them, "About two months ago, that woman gave it to me." The woman he was referring to was Hong Yufei. That night, he had just been about to close the door when Hong Yufei suddenly barged in.
Xie Zhen was terrified when she saw him, thinking he was there for revenge. Unexpectedly, she gave him this letter and asked him to pass it on to Lin Zhi later.
Then it disappeared.
To be on the safe side, Xie Zhen took out the letter and read it. Finding nothing particularly suspicious, he put it away. Then he reported it to the authorities, and not long after, Hong Yufei, who had been on the run for a long time, was finally arrested and brought to justice.
That day, Jiang Chuting accompanied Lin Zhi on a trip back to Anyang. At the place Hong Yufei had drawn, they found a bare, solitary grave and erected a blank tombstone.
Needless to say, this is Lin Xi's grave.
It might just contain a few surviving ashes, or perhaps just one or two pieces of clothing.
After clearing away the surrounding weeds, Lin Zhi offered incense and kowtowed, stayed quietly for a while, and then got up and left with Jiang Chuting, who had been waiting for him.
Before leaving Anyang, Ling Guang, whom they hadn't seen for a long time, suddenly approached them.
Because of his meritorious testimony at the time, he was not only spared from being implicated, but was also rewarded. Now he has found a beautiful wife and is living a peaceful life.
He came specifically to see Jiang Chuting, carrying a small package that contained several books.
"Young Master, these are Young Master Yun's belongings." He only obtained them by chance.
It wasn't appropriate for him to keep it himself, so after thinking it over, he decided to hand it over to Jiang Chuting to deal with.
After giving him the items, Ling Guang left. Jiang Chuting picked up the book and flipped through it; it was full of mysterious tales of gods and ghosts—just as Zi Que liked to read.
When I turned to the last book, I found a bookmark on one of the pages, so I opened it to take a look.
This page describes the obsession with life and death. It roughly says that if one cannot let go of someone in their heart, they will surely die at their hands. This will intensify their obsession, causing their soul to linger by their side. If they are lucky, those with an excessively strong obsession may be hidden in the person's personal belongings, sensing everything about them and accompanying them for life. They may even encounter a divine opportunity to reappear in the world, but this is a once-in-a-millennium occurrence, and the possibility is extremely small.
So... is this why Zi Que insisted that he take action back then?
Jiang Chuting stared blankly for a long time before slowly closing the book.
Lin Zhi roughly knew what Ling Guang had brought, but didn't ask any further questions. He had already gotten the answer he wanted and truly possessed Chu Ting, so he wouldn't bother with any more nonsense or fuss.
After returning home, Jiang Chuting sealed away the books, along with the two charred hairpins, and never touched them again.
Jiang Chuting and Lin Zhi didn't live on the mountain forever. They bought a house at the foot of the mountain, and their whole family moved in. It was close by, so it was very convenient for them to often return to the Nine Heavens to get together with their senior brothers.
Since it was inconvenient for Lin Zhi to use his real name publicly, he directly adopted Jiang Chuting's alias, calling himself Chu Ran, and started running his own business independently.
He did indeed have the blood of the Lin family flowing through his veins, and he possessed an extraordinary talent for this kind of thing. Within a year, he quickly gained a small reputation in the business world.
Wei Jia became Lin Zhi's follower. He was a simpleton, but his simplicity brought him wisdom and luck. Sometimes, a casual remark could help Lin Zhi solve a problem, and Lin Zhi felt that he had underestimated him before.
After they settled there, their friends often visited. Jiang Xian would come to escape his family's pressure to get married, Zhao Chengyang would come over to chat about everyday matters, Xie Zhen would bring his children to visit in his spare time, and his fellow disciples would also come down the mountain to visit and stay for two or three days. The mansion was always lively and full of laughter, never quiet.
With family, friends, loved ones, and children by their side, Jiang Chuting and Lin Zhi both felt that this kind of life was pretty good.
(End of article)
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Alright, I've finally managed to finish this story through sheer willpower. Thank you all for your support up to this point! If you have a full review, please rate it later. That's all I'll say, because I'm truly exhausted by this story =口=
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Then let's talk about the new article.
Because I really like the tropes of "The Carefree Mortal World" and "He Was Deceived and Broken," I'm planning to write two modern versions with similar tropes (yes, I'm really uncreative; it's kind of like self-creating content because I love this kind of thing... qaq)
I mentioned before that her ex-boyfriend became a superstar, which corresponds to his being scammed and falling apart.
Then the next chapter will describe the forced marriage as a metaphor for a carefree life in the mortal world, with the male lead initially being foolish and then turning evil.
Tentative synopsis: Cheng Wuzhou was forced to break up with his first love and marry Fu Yinqiu, the mentally challenged young master of the Fu family. Harboring resentment, he bullied the young master every day until he was in tears. Until later… he realized he had fallen in love with the young master, but the young master had already returned to normal and turned to the dark side.
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I'm starting another story, "[Non-Childhood] [Third-Tier and Top-Tier Celebrities]", tentatively titled. If you're interested, please bookmark it in my author page!
#My former colleague overtook me on a curve#
When Lin Nan was a third-tier actor, Fang Xi was a nobody, an extremely unknown actor, who played his personal bodyguard.
Four years later, Lin Nan still gloriously remained a third-tier celebrity, while Fang Xi had become an undisputed top star, and the fan community was in turmoil over him.
At a party, they bumped into each other by chance. Lin Nan thought that they used to have a pretty good relationship, so he took the initiative to go up and say hello, but he was met with an awkward and cold response.
As he turned to leave, he heard Fang Xi's friend ask, "Isn't this someone you used to know?"
Fang Xi said in a cool voice, "Not familiar with each other."
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