Chapter 30: Convincing Chen Xiao

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Chapter 30: Persuading Chen Xiao

The following day.

The underground prison of the Prince’s residence.

The place never saw sunlight. It was cold and damp year-round, and a foul stench of decay hung in the air. The only light came from a few oil lamps mounted along the passageways on either side.

Clang, clang!

Dressed in ordinary clothes and carrying two jars of wine, Yu Xian knocked on the iron bars, rousing Chen Xiao, whose face looked nearly ten years older than it had before.

“Hey!”

When Chen Xiao opened his eyes and saw Yu Xian, he impatiently turned over, pretending not to hear him.

“Brother-in-law?”

Yu Xian was undeterred and tried another form of address.

That woke Chen Xiao up completely. He turned toward Yu Xian and began cursing him loudly.

“You bastard! You promised to take care of my sister, and this is how you’ve taken care of her? You took care of her right into your bed!”

“She’s still so young!”

Yu Xian thought for a moment, then answered with complete seriousness, “Not that young. She’s more than capable of feeding two children, one large and one small.”

“I’m not joking around with you!”

With a whoosh, Chen Xiao flashed in front of Yu Xian and reached out to grab him.

As though he had foreseen it, Yu Xian calmly took one step back. Chen Xiao’s hand could no longer reach him, no matter how he tried.

“Brother-in-law, don’t be angry. If your sister hadn’t come with me, she’d be locked up in the cell next to yours right now, keeping you company. She certainly wouldn’t be enjoying the leisurely life she has now.

“Do you really think Prince Fu is some gentleman who cherishes women and would never lay a hand on them?”

“She’s so obedient. She must have sacrificed herself for my sake, giving herself to a beast in human clothing like you. Little Yi, your brother has failed you!”

Chen Xiao’s face was filled with guilt and anguish.

He seemed to picture a helpless young woman treading carefully on thin ice inside the prince’s residence—especially since she was the sister of a major criminal who had attempted to assassinate the prince.

Hearing this, Yu Xian recalled Chen Yi’s coy, yielding manner these past few days, forever seeming both reluctant and willing. He simply could not bring himself to reveal the truth to Chen Xiao.

“All right, all right. I’m a beast in human clothing, and I’m the one who bullied your sister.”

“I’m raising a toast to apologize. Are you going to drink or not?”

Yu Xian extended one hand and offered him a jar of wine.

“I’ll drink!”

Chen Xiao snatched the jar from him and said through clenched teeth, “If you ever wrong my sister, I’ll come after you even from beyond the grave!”

Although he had spent less than a month with Chen Yi, his feelings for her were far deeper than anyone could imagine.

When he learned that he had a younger sister, Chen Xiao had even considered abandoning his revenge and taking her far away.

Confronted with Yu Xian, who held his sister in his grasp, he had no choice but to soften his stance.

Yu Xian tapped his wine jar against Chen Xiao’s and struck him where it hurt.

“The spiritual energy in the mortal world is too thin. There aren’t even the conditions necessary for you to become a ghost. No matter how intense your resentment is after death, you still won’t turn into one.”

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“You came here first thing in the morning to drink with me just so you could provoke me?”

Chen Xiao took a fierce gulp, as though he were drinking Yu Xian’s blood.

“No, no. I came to tell you some good news.”

Yu Xian spoke casually. “After all my tireless efforts, the prince has finally decided to spare you and your sister.”

Chen Xiao was silent for a moment before asking, “What’s the condition? I don’t believe Prince Fu would suddenly become so merciful.”

“It’s always easy talking to clever people.”

Yu Xian grinned. “The condition is simple enough. You remove the poison from the prince’s body, then leave and travel far away. You must not appear before him for ten years.”

Chen Xiao let out a cold laugh. “What a wonderful condition. He must have realized that I don’t have much time left—that I won’t live for many more years.”

“If I die, there’ll be no one left to suppress the poison in his body. Before long, he’ll be joining me!”

In order to strengthen himself for revenge, Chen Xiao had voluntarily refined various poisons into his body. That was what had made his innate true qi so overwhelmingly powerful. Ordinary grandmasters of innate martial arts were no match for him.

But for that very reason, his body had long since begun to suffer the backlash.

After being locked away in the prince’s prison, his injuries had never received proper treatment. Hidden wounds had accumulated throughout his body.

He was clearly a martial grandmaster in the prime of life, with abundant blood and qi, yet he now looked as old as a little man in his forties or fifties.

Yu Xian answered with a cold smile. “Do you truly believe that no one can cure your Five Poisons Palm? Just because mortal martial arts cannot accomplish something doesn’t mean cultivators cannot.

“You want to fight Prince Fu to the point where both of you are ruined. In the end, I’m afraid you’ll be the only one who suffers.”

Chen Xiao’s smile stiffened, but he stubbornly refused to yield.

“Let’s talk after he finds a cultivator who can cure his poison!”

Seeing this, Yu Xian knew that Chen Xiao had become trapped in his obsession.

If not for the lingering ties in his heart, Chen Xiao would probably have already sought death. It had to be said that Prince Fu’s move had saved his own life.

Suddenly, Yu Xian sighed.

“You know, Chen Yi has already refined magical power and become a cultivator.”

“What?!”

Chen Xiao was both shocked and delighted. For a moment, he could not utter a word. Only his trembling hands expressed the emotions surging through him.

Yu Xian repeated himself. “You didn’t hear me wrong. She’s a genius. Relying on the Everlasting Spring Method you left for her…

“Well, with a little help from me, she has already become a cultivator.”

Chen Xiao drew a deep breath and suppressed his astonishment before asking warily, “Does Prince Fu know?”

If Prince Fu learned that his sister had become a cultivator, he would certainly eliminate such a threat at any cost.

“He probably doesn’t know. For the moment, you’re the third person to learn of it,” Yu Xian said blandly.

Chen Xiao instinctively lowered his voice. “Why are you telling me this?”

“The spiritual environment in the mortal world is far too poor. The cultivation world is the best destination for Little Yi.

“But her strength is still too weak, and she has little ability to protect herself. If you accompanied her, perhaps you could escort her there safely.

“That is also why I agreed to come and persuade you on the prince’s behalf.”

Chen Xiao did not allow himself to be led by the nose. Instead, he asked, “Why don’t you accompany Little Yi? With your strength, don’t you want to go to the cultivation world? Perhaps you might even have the chance to cultivate in the future.”

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Yu Xian spread his hands. “Naturally, because I can’t bear to leave this world behind. The cultivation world sounds like a place crowded with geniuses and swarming with powerful figures. What would I do there?

“Here, I’m a big shot. Even the prince has to show me some respect. But once I go to the cultivation world, who knows? Perhaps my status would be lower than a dog’s.”

Chen Xiao frowned. “But Little Yi is already with you. You’re her husband!”

Yu Xian replied as though it were only natural, “Little Yi isn’t my only woman. In my heart, every one of them is equally important.

“I already gave Little Yi a choice. She chose to leave rather than stay, which means that, in her heart, going to the cultivation world matters more than remaining at my side.

“If that’s the case, what right do you have to demand that I accompany her?

“Brother-in-law, you can’t hold me to a double standard.”

“I… well…”

Chen Xiao was rendered speechless. Instead, he felt as though his own sister had tried to climb a higher branch and abandoned the man she had been with.

“All right, Brother-in-law. Don’t dwell on it.”

Yu Xian patted Chen Xiao on the shoulder, wearing the knowing expression of a man who had been through it all.

“If love lasts for years and years, what matter is there in being together day after day? I support Little Yi’s decision.

“However, if she ever changes her heart and falls for someone else, please have someone send me word, so I won’t go on worrying about her.

“Well, if you could arrange a little breakup payment at the same time, that would be even better.”

Chen Xiao hurriedly shook his head. “Impossible! Little Yi isn’t that kind of person!”

“Time is a very mysterious force,” Yu Xian said meaningfully.

Vows of eternal love were always fragile before the realities of life.

Besides, he and Chen Yi had merely been brought together by shared desire before gradually developing genuine feelings.

He only hoped that, by the time Chen Yi became prosperous, she would at least give her former lover ten or twenty thousand spirit stones as hush money.

Of course, if the two siblings met with misfortune in the cultivation world, he would offer his condolences.

While Chen Xiao was still insisting that his sister was pure and faithful, and absolutely not the sort of woman who would abandon one love for another, Yu Xian had already taken out a key and unlocked the cell door.

“All right, all right. Come with me. First, we’ll find a physician to examine your injuries. Then you’ll remove the poison from Prince Fu’s body. Finally, we’ll choose an auspicious day for the two of you to set out.”

Chen Xiao stared at the unguarded cell door and gradually fell silent.

He knew that once he walked out, he might never have another chance in this lifetime to avenge the Chen family.

But after hesitating for a moment, he still stepped outside.

The Chen family now consisted of only him and his sister. They should not spend their entire lives trapped in hatred. It was enough for him alone to bear the consequences of their sins.

When he entered the underworld in the future, he would apologize to their parents.

“I want to take a bath.”

After leaving the dungeon, Chen Xiao raised his head and narrowed his eyes at the dim sky as he spoke.

End of Chapter