After the Hu father and son left, Jiang Chen walked a few steps with a calm and composed air.
He sensed Hu Shaomeng's urgency and restraint, which satisfied him greatly.
He had done so many things, fearing that there would be no ripples on that side, which would undoubtedly prove his ideas wrong.
In contrast to Jiang Chen's relaxed mood, Zhu Biqiong's tears were falling in streams, completely unstoppable.
Though she was inexperienced in the world, she knew there were bad people and bad things in it.
She also understood how terrifying it was for someone who couldn't move to fall into the hands of a person with ulterior motives.
But she knew that no one could protect her anymore. The sister who had always stood before her, shielding her from the wind and rain... had left forever.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Jiang Chen deliberately walked in front of her, gazing into her watery eyes, making clicking sounds with his tongue.
The girl had almond-shaped eyes, which looked especially vivid and pitiful when she cried.
Jiang Chen looked at her with a smile and said, "So, now you know who the bad person is, right?"
With this smile and question, Zhu Biqiong almost cried to the point of fainting.
He was still smiling obscenely, asking who the bad person was!
What kind of world-class ** was this?
All the secret stories of the martial world and late-night tales her senior sisters had told her surged into her mind in that instant.
"What, you're this upset after seeing through your Brother Hu's true colors?" Seeing the girl crying like a pear blossom bathed in rain, Jiang Chen was completely bewildered.
Zhu Biqiong was just innocent, not stupid.
At this moment, she naturally saw clearly that Hu Shaomeng was no good. Although his words were flowery, the moment Jiang Chen applied a little pressure, he unhesitatingly abandoned her.
How much sincerity could such a person have toward her sister?
No wonder her sister cried every day—this beast in human skin!
But...
Compared to settling accounts with that scum, the most terrifying one was the ** in front of her.
What should she do? What would he do to her?
He was still pretending to be innocent and confused!
Zhu Biqiong was both fearful and terrified, her thoughts racing. She didn't notice that Jiang Chen had casually formed a hand seal to release her from the restraint.
She struggled desperately, suddenly feeling her body loosen. Without time to think, she subconsciously threw out a crotch-kicking leg.
Though her legs weren't particularly long, they were well-proportioned and strong, quite pleasing to the eye.
Of course, the prerequisite for being pleasing to the eye was that the leg wasn't stopping in such an awkward position.
Jiang Chen calmly moved backward, letting his vital parts move away from the sharply approaching toes.
His face was calm, but his back was actually breaking into a cold sweat. If his reaction hadn't been quick...
"I let you go, and you attack me?" Jiang Chen's voice was somewhat cold.
All the cold sweat had come out. It was hard for him not to be cold.
Zhu Biqiong was restrained by Tiger Bind again, her whole body arranged in a golden rooster standing on one leg pose. No, to be precise, the pose was a golden rooster kicking its leg.
At this moment, she realized she might have caused a misunderstanding, but she couldn't speak, so she could only blink her big eyes, trying her best to show that she was kowtowing in begging for mercy.
Strangely, Jiang Chen actually understood her meaning.
"Can we stop using hands and feet and just talk properly?" Jiang Chen asked.
Zhu Biqiong blinked her eyes again, indicating she could.
That a person's eyes could convey such rich meanings was something Jiang Chen was witnessing for the first time.
With a thought from his mind, the rebellious wood energy in Zhu Biqiong's body returned to its place again, the five elements harmonized, and she was instantly freed from the restraint.
She didn't try to attack again, but she still remained vigilant toward Jiang Chen. The tear stains hadn't dried, but she tried her best to appear mature and brave: "You forcibly kept me here. What do you want to do?"
"I don't want to do anything. I only kept you here because I didn't want to see you being deceived right before my eyes. I wanted you to understand Hu Shaomeng's true colors. Of course, to give me more opportunities to observe Hu Shaomeng, you'll have to stay here for a few days. Don't ask me why I want to observe Hu Shaomeng. That has nothing to do with you."
Zhu Biqiong thought for a moment: "How many days?"
"Not too long." Jiang Chen smiled. "Of course, during this time you'll sleep with my maidservant."
Seeing Zhu Biqiong's eyes become somewhat flustered, Jiang Chen added: "Don't worry, my maidservant doesn't sleep with me."
... The more he explained, the weirder it felt.
Zhu Biqiong eventually understood that Jiang Chen had no ill intentions.
After thinking for a while, she suddenly said: "Can I ask you a question?"
"Go ahead."
"That secret technique you used to restrain me just now—what is it?"
Jiang Chen: ...
Miss, aren't you being a bit too familiar? You know it's a secret technique and still ask?
This was a secret transmitted Dao technique!
If encountered in the wilderness, such a question usually marked the beginning of a fight.
Seeing Jiang Chen remain silent, Zhu Biqiong directly pulled a cloud-mist-shrouded pearl from her sleeve: "If you can teach me, I'll trade this with you!"
The pearl was exceptionally round, its luster subtly contained. But upon closer inspection, one could see the cloud energy within the pearl shifting—sometimes showing crowded pedestrians, sometimes mountains and rivers flowing. It was truly a rare treasure.
Fearing Jiang Chen might not recognize its value, she specifically explained: "This is a Mirage Pearl, a treasure that only my Sea Fishing Tower possesses. It's extremely precious. Even within the Sea Fishing Tower, it's very rare—Hu Shaomeng doesn't even have one. I was able to conceal my tracks earlier thanks to this treasure. If I hadn't revealed myself, you never would have discovered me!"
This child...
She was truly too innocent.
Whatever she thought, she just said—straight as an arrow.
She seemed to have completely forgotten that her life was in someone else's hands, still thinking about fair trade. She boldly took out the Mirage Pearl, without any thought that Jiang Chen might kill her and seize the treasure.
But Jiang Chen thought about it and realized how well the woman named Zhu Suyao must have protected this sister when she was alive.
To make her so innocent, so unaware of the world's dangers.
Jiang Chen didn't respond immediately. Instead, he called out: "Xiao Xiao! This Miss Zhu will be staying in your room for the next few days. Help her get settled."
After Hu You brought the Chongxuan clan members, Xiao Xiao had been hiding in her room, listening to what was happening.
Hearing the instruction, she hurriedly ran out to the main hall and said respectfully: "Miss Zhu, this way please."
"Hey! You really won't trade?" Zhu Biqiong said to Jiang Chen as she walked.
The Mirage Pearl itself could conceal one's presence and allow stealth, which Jiang Chen needed at the moment. Of course, he was tempted. Moreover, the Mirage Pearl could greatly enhance illusion techniques, perfectly complementing the Sea of Blossoms Dao technique he had mastered.
But the Tiger Bind technique was given to him by Chongxuan Sheng. The fact that Chongxuan Sheng had worked hard to gather secret transmitted techniques for Jiang Chen didn't mean he was willing for these secrets to spread everywhere.
Jiang Chen couldn't make the decision on his own without his consent.
"Last question!" By now, Zhu Biqiong had reached the courtyard. She suddenly turned back and asked: "Why did you help me?"
She was referring to helping her see through Hu Shaomeng's true colors.
It was just a momentary kind thought.
Jiang Chen didn't want to proclaim himself a good person, nor did he want this excessively innocent girl to believe there were many good people in the world.
"If I have to find a reason... perhaps because I also have a sister."
That feeling of wanting to protect one's sister, not letting her be touched by even a speck of dust—Jiang Chen understood it deeply.
Back in Maple Forest City, after his exhausting training every day, he would escort her back and forth, fearing his sister might suffer even the slightest grievance.
At this moment, he even regretted not getting to know that female cultivator from the Sea Fishing Tower properly outside the Heavenly Secret Realm. He didn't know what she had encountered in the Heavenly Secret Realm or who had killed her.
Zhu Biqiong pressed her lips together and said no more.
...
At this moment, Jiang Chen suddenly wanted to write a letter to An'an. There was so much he wanted to tell her, so much care and advice. But the cloud crane was still on its way to the Cloud Kingdom and hadn't returned.
He could only let out a soft sigh in the end.
Returning to his room, he continued cultivating the White Tiger Chapter. This was a gradual process, and body refinement wasn't his strong suit. He could only slowly wait for the final step of the Four Spirits Convergence.
Then came the meridian-nourishing cultivation, a daily morning and evening practice.
Next, he continued to master his Dao techniques—Crown of Thorns, Sea of Blossoms, Tiger Bind...
Then it was flushing the Gate of Heaven and Earth again.
Over and over, day after day.
He wanted to become stronger, stronger.
He didn't want to end up like Zhu Suyao, dying suddenly one day, leaving Jiang An'an to crash unprepared into this world's sea of suffering.
Yue Wen