Chapter 33: Do You Want a Wife or Not?

Chen Pingan has been profoundly affected by this recent battle. While it is difficult to quantify the full extent of the fortuitous opportunities he has gained, they are certainly not to be underestimated. It is certain that his path in martial arts will now be unobstructed, at least up to the third realm of Spirit Refining.

Following their late-night conversation yesterday, Su Ling had already concluded that Chen Pingan’s provocation of Cai Jinjian, a narrow-minded cultivator of the lower five realms, was merely a result of accidental carelessness. He had unintentionally bumped into her, causing her to step in dung, and a series of subsequent trivial matters had ignited her inner dissatisfaction, causing her killing intent to surge. This led to Cai Jinjian disregarding the Saint’s rules, and just as she was about to shatter the Longevity Bridge of the town resident Chen Pingan, she was instantly stopped by the sudden appearance of Su Ling, whose overbearing and tyrannical power left Fu Nanhua standing by in stunned silence.

Cai Jinjian, unable to match Su Ling’s supreme power and fearful of the eleventh-realm military strategist Ruan Qiong standing behind him, had retreated from the Li-Zhu Cave Heaven so decisively. As for whether Cai Jinjian remained haunted by this or had even developed a heart demon, Su Ling naturally did not care. After all, even if Cai Jinjian were to ascend to the status of a great cultivator in the upper five realms, she would remain nothing more than an ant in his eyes. Beyond her beautiful skin and natural inner charm, which were somewhat eye-catching, Su Ling paid her no mind.

"It seems that old fox Liu Zhimao knows his place after all, and hasn't touched my people..."

Thinking of this, Su Ling stroked his cheek with one hand, his gaze meaningful as he looked at Chen Pingan, who had turned to walk into the house to handle chores. "Rest assured, Chen Pingan, as your brother, I will certainly protect you."

"What? What did you say, Brother Su?" Chen Pingan heard a slight movement behind him and, thinking Su Ling had more instructions, turned his head in confusion.

"It’s nothing. How about we go out to eat?" Su Ling shook his head to dismiss the matter and invited Chen Pingan to go out for a better breakfast together.

"No, that’s not necessary, I..." Seeing Chen Pingan’s eyes flicker and his subconscious hand move to his slightly flat coin pouch, Su Ling understood immediately that Chen Pingan was strapped for cash and likely had only a few copper coins left.

Seeing Chen Pingan’s awkward smile, Su Ling chuckled and shook his head. He stepped forward, casually hooked his left arm around Chen Pingan’s shoulder, and used brute force to drag him along. "Don't worry, Brother Su is treating today. You don't need to pay."

"How can I let you do that..."

"Enough, no more nonsense. Let's go, don't you want a decent breakfast?"

"Oh, alright then..."

As for the intelligence brought by Liu Xianyang regarding the three people heading to the blacksmith shop, although Su Ling was slightly curious about Master Ruan’s intentions, he had no immediate desire to go there.

Not long after, Su Ling and Chen Pingan had a decent breakfast in town. Back at home, finding himself with nothing to do, Su Ling did not know what had gotten into him, but he felt compelled to continue where he left off yesterday with the martial arts instruction for Chen Pingan. This experience, which could be described as a hellish teaching ordeal, gave Su Ling a headache, but he could only bite the bullet and carry on—after all, a man must keep his word.

The joy of being a teacher is something a student can never truly grasp, especially when the student possesses the ultimate "academic failure" aptitude, seen only once in a century. However, just as Su Ling was summoning his courage, internally resigning himself to the fact that this "A-Dou" might be beyond saving, a clear, somewhat familiar voice suddenly rang out from outside Chen Pingan's door.

What was going on? Was someone else coming to visit Chen Pingan? Su Ling was puzzled; before he could even finish with Chen Pingan, someone else had intercepted him. While he felt a secret, uncharitable sense of relief, he was also deeply curious.

"Chen Pingan, this Daoist has come to bring you a great opportunity!"
"Chen Pingan, this heaven-sent wealth is yours to grasp!"
"Chen Pingan, this humble Daoist..."

Hearing this, Su Ling found it inexplicably amusing. This familiar voice belonged to none other than the fortune-telling Daoist he had met not long ago, Daoist Lu Ya. Had the sun risen in the west today? How had this fellow suddenly appeared at Chen Pingan’s door? That didn't seem right; he recalled that the original story did indeed contain descriptions of such events. Was this really meant to be a grand opportunity for Chen Pingan?

With this thought, Su Ling lost all desire to continue the martial arts lesson. He stood up, pushed the door open, and walked straight toward Chen Pingan’s house. "Daoist Lu, we meet again."

"Ah? Oh, oh! This young man with the bearing of a Martial God, we truly have a fated connection!" Daoist Lu Chen looked surprised to see Su Ling emerge from the dilapidated house next to Chen Pingan’s.

However, Lu Chen was not truly surprised, as he had long ago divined that Su Ling lived next door to Chen Pingan. Su Ling smiled and tilted his head to look at the wooden handcart parked in front of Chen Pingan’s door behind Daoist Lu Chen. The cart was antique in style, loaded with porcelain bottles, fortune-telling tools, and other related items. What drew his attention most was the ink-clad swordswoman lying quietly on the cart, as if she were a sleeping beauty.

The swordswoman was dressed in a suit of dark, tight-fitting martial attire, her features obscured by a wide, circular veil hat. Yet, just by looking at her delicate, fair chin and the slender, taut figure defined by her attire, it was clear she was a peerless beauty. However, her vitality was fading; she was extremely weak, and her exposed, pale arms were covered in scars. She had likely suffered a life-or-death battle not long ago, resulting in severe injuries that left her unconscious.

Seeing this, Su Ling suddenly remembered the description of this plot in the original story—this was none other than the scene where a wife is delivered to Chen Pingan. A moment later, Su Ling cast an intriguing gaze at Daoist Lu Chen, who was still contemplating his next words.

"...What is it?" Lu Chen couldn't help but shiver, a chill running down his spine. He instinctively looked at Su Ling and, noticing the unusually strange look in his eyes, felt an inexplicable palpitation.

Su Ling shook his head to indicate it was nothing, leaving Daoist Lu Chen confused as to his intentions. But Lu Chen knew better than to lose focus now; he understood what was truly important. After all, he had been honestly and dutifully setting up his fortune-telling stall all over town, bothering no one. Suddenly, a massive cause-and-effect that threatened to crush him had landed squarely on his head. It was as if someone had carved the words "seeking death" on his forehead. Where could he even go to reason with this?

Lu Chen felt like crying without tears. Helpless, he had no choice but to use his own arts to divine a way to preserve his life and shake off this massive karmic burden, so as not to leave himself with endless future troubles. Yet, no matter how he calculated, the only path that could save this young woman seemed to be through Chen Pingan—that young boy from the humble alley whose parents had died when he was young.