Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 165 - 135: You’re Number 155!

October 19, 2017

After quite a while, this group of uninvited guests finally left the Sword Cave with a reluctant heart.

After Yingying was the last to leave, Li Wanqing fell back to the ground like a puppet losing its strings, her face carrying a numb indifference.

"Wang Jiu, you've really gotten me into a mess this time."

Before finishing her words, Li Wanqing shook her head with a bitter smile: "Forget it, blaming others for this kind of thing is pointless, at the end of the day it's my fault for making that bet with you, it's just... a little skirt has caused such a big uproar."

Li Chaolu curiously asked, "What exactly happened?"

Li Wanqing said, "Want to hear?"

Li Chaolu immediately nodded vigorously; as a cultivator of the new era, the young girl had as much enthusiasm for gossip and rumors as she did for pursuing the Immortal Dao, otherwise, she wouldn't have been the first to notice a stunningly handsome young man suddenly appearing in Cyan Cloud City back in June and became his number one fan.

Li Wanqing pondered for a while and said, "But I'm in a really bad mood now, I really don't want to talk."

"Hey!"

"Unless a beautiful girl is willing to kiss my cheek to cheer me up, then I might want to talk."

Li Chaolu hesitated for a moment, but still put on a cold demeanor and huffed: "Then you just lie there obediently."

Li Wanqing said, "But actually, Mr. Wang Jiu also wants to hear, right Wang Jiu?"

Wang Jiu said, "Indeed, gaining further understanding of you would help me fulfill my promise to Lu Xin."

Li Wanqing looked at Li Chaolu: "So, you can think of it as helping Mr. Wang Jiu."

Li Chaolu gritted her teeth, her face slightly red: "Alright, but only for Mr. Wang Jiu, don't you dare think I'm like those other women! I would never be interested in you!"

——

A moment later, Li Wanqing indeed felt a bit better and began to speak: "Actually, the matter is quite simple. Those women just now were all pitiful people deceived and hurt by men, and I happened to save them."

Li Chaolu, with her face still flushed, boldly questioned: "But the rumors before all said you were the one who meddled in love affairs."

Li Wanqing said: "From those men's perspectives, it indeed seemed I was meddling in affairs. Just like if a robber is driven away by an official while committing a crime, wouldn't the official be meddling in their affairs from the robber's point of view?"

Li Chaolu was taken aback and retorted: "How is that the same? When an official drives away robbers, they don't get involved with the victim!"

Li Wanqing smiled: "How do you know they don't? Besides, we get along well, in love and harmony, who does that harm? Have you ever heard of me interfering with genuinely loving couples?"

Li Chaolu thought for a moment: "What about Wuqing Daoist and his wife?"

Li Wanqing said: "Wuqing Daoist? Haha, he's of mediocre talent and not very bright. If not for knowing my father early on, he'd be just another underachiever. Knowing he could never make something of himself with his own abilities, he somehow got the idea to become a famous teacher. Yet he has no clue about being a role model and only believes in strict teachers producing outstanding students, torturing his disciples with harsh punishments all day long…"

"Wait, what does all this have to do with marital feelings?"

Li Wanqing asked: "For a self-righteous stubborn fool like him, how good do you think he is to his wife?"

"I heard he pampers his wife, often buying her expensive gifts..."

"Expensive gifts? Did he ever ask her if she likes them or needs them? Bestowing favors arrogantly and then demanding returns with justification, feeling wronged and furious if she doesn't comply and fiercely rebuking her, is that treating a wife like some paid companion? This straight-man syndrome is a natural disaster, isn't it!"

Li Chaolu was at a loss for words. It was well known that Wuqing Daoist was rigid and inflexible; moreover, some internal information from the Li Family Mansion had also somewhat hinted at his male chauvinism. So Li Wanqing's explanation seemed quite plausible.

"Okay, even if Wuqing Daoist got what he deserved, what about the Immortal Phoenix Tower's shopkeeper Hong Renfeng? His wife was incited by you and fights with him daily..."

"That fat fool appears honest and straightforward on the outside, but has mistresses and illegitimate children beyond his wife's knowledge. If he's not taught a lesson, he'll inevitably kick the wife of his youth out eventually. Inciting internal conflicts in that case, what's wrong with that?"

"..."

"In fact, these household disputes are just minor fuss, temporary surface phenomena. Before leaving, I already instructed her that once she's collected enough evidence, she can apply for divorce at the Government Office, by then she should at least get half the property."

"Alright, alright, I'll admit you're impressive. But what about Sister Qingming!? You just got back to the city and made such a big fuss about chasing her to be your girlfriend. Was she also bullied by some jerk?"

Li Wanqing shrugged, "How would I know she had already met someone important? I just thought she'd still be stuck in the same silly predicament with Sister Xin as before. When I left, I knew that mother and daughter would eventually make their relationship so tense, so I thought this time, I'd just win her over and use my reputation to protect her. Of course, part of it was also that I was really captivated by that Spirit Cat Plan poster. She's just too adorable."

"Hmph, what's so cute about that little thing."

"Jealous?"

"Who's jealous of you! Hmph, even if you brush off the thing with Qingming, there are rumors that before you left Qingyun City, you'd already made friends with over a hundred girlfriends in the city..."

"To be precise, 90 with confirmed relationships and 64 with ambiguous ones..."

"That many!? How could you even admit that! Were they all in unhappy marriages? Is it really that exaggerated!"

Li Wanqing laughed, "Of course there are. How many people live in Qingyun City, and among them, how many are couples or have boyfriends and girlfriends? If a third of them have harmonious relationships, that's already not bad. Even if you lower the bar, discount the usual tiffs and childish tantrums, there are still thousands of couples with troubled relationships. In comparison, what I can do is really very limited. Besides, not every woman would choose to abandon their original partner to follow me. For example, that idiot from the Qian Family still has Zhou Yu's sister tightly bound. But after I defeated that idiot, he somewhat shaped up and can be removed from the scum list."

Li Chaolu was dumbfounded, "…I've never heard you say any of this."

"Why would I? Do I need to explain it to anyone?" Li Wanqing shook her head dismissively, the smile growing more sardonic, "Besides, even if I said it, who would listen? Ultimately, this world still privileges men. So-called societal morals are all catered to men. Even women think I'm crazy, so why bother talking? As long as those I've helped, those girls I truly like, understand me, that's enough."

Li Chaolu asked, "What about the farewell ceremony just now…"

Li Wanqing's face immediately became somber.

"I messed up… I already knew most of those women felt guilty, thinking they'd burdened me, making me a 'madwoman' in the eyes of the world. But I didn't expect changing a dress would cause such a big issue. Truly a blunder, but I can't blame anyone else."

Li Chaolu curiously asked, "What's so bad about it? I thought what they said was sincere. If most of them were hurt before and needed your comfort to live on, then taking this chance to be independent and strong seems like a good thing."

"But it means I won't have any more pretty girls kissing my cheeks anymore!" Li Wanqing threw herself to the ground in a melodramatic fit, "Those women will definitely avoid me like the plague now, afraid of rekindling old flames. Sister Yingying even drinks herself into a stupor and sleeps for half a month each time. Heavens, without pretty girl energy to recharge me, I'm going to die..."

"Hey, I just kissed you!" Li Chaolu was very dissatisfied with Li Wanqing's expression.

"It's not enough, one more time."

"In your dreams!"

"Or I could kiss you instead."

"You're such a pervert!"

Li Wanqing's expression was amused, "That's not fair. Be honest, if Mr. Wang Jiu said the same thing to you, you'd probably be too busy laughing to call him a pervert. So this is a case of attacking the person, not the issue."

"You..." Li Chaolu was at a loss for words.

"Alright, I'm done teasing you." Li Wanqing said, jumping to her feet, the dress of Shui Lingyun on her flowing with sparkling light, "One must look forward, right? Since there's no pretty girl energy to absorb for now, I'll just seclude myself and seriously cultivate. There's another tough battle in a month."

Li Chaolu curiously asked, "But the Cyan Cloud Competition is in two months."

"Cyan Cloud Competition? That's not a tough fight. Just a bunch of kids playing house. At most, it's the three big families hosting a talent show for the Saint Sect Envoy. It's utterly vulgar."

"I don't even know what to say about that analogy."

Li Wanqing shrugged, "It's ridiculous by nature, happening only once every ten years, and for those under 20. What's being compared? It's just a talent show! If it weren't for my exceptional talent, the Qian Family would probably take the championship of this Cyan Cloud Competition. Haha, the Qian Family, isn't it laughable?"

"...Then what's the tough battle you're talking about?"

Li Wanqing explained, "In a month, I'm going to have another match with Wang Jiu. The loser has to wear a miniskirt for a month."

"What!?"

"You're looking forward to it too, right?" Li Wanqing asked excitedly.

"I, I'm not…" Li Chaolu said while involuntarily glancing at Wang Jiu, playing out mental scenes of Wang Jiu in a mini skirt.

"Haha, wait for good news from me in a month!"