Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 307 - 44: Rebirth—I’m Craving Barbecue
Regarding the gender issue of Shen Jinghai. Shen Ying showed an unusually firm stance.
"First of all, although this doesn’t conform to basic logic, I must say that if Shen Jinghai is set as a woman, then many currently unreasonable phenomena can be explained. For example, why is he so loyal to Lord City Lord? A mere promotion isn’t sufficient, right? Who would be eternally loyal to someone because of an exceptional promotion from decades ago? Especially Shen Jinghai, who truly has no personal ambition, wholeheartedly serving as Lord City Lord’s right-hand man. Such loyal devotion is extremely rare, even grandfather’s biological children could never compare. The only explanation I find plausible is that Shen Jinghai is a woman who wholeheartedly loves grandfather. It’s the power of love that drives her not to weigh personal gains and losses, and to wholeheartedly devote herself to her career!"
While speaking, Shen Ying’s eyes were glowing, and this gleam was eerily familiar to Li Wanqing, feeling just like returning home...
This girl living alone in the courtyard, her aesthetic is so easily warped!
Facing Shen Ying’s rational and well-founded analysis, Shen Qingming rationally and soundly rebutted: "Your argument is no reason at all! Can’t a man be driven by love? The War Elephant Legion of the Outer City Patrol Team in Shen City is so renowned, the brotherly bonds are sturdier than those between spouses or lovers. If you say Shen Jinghai is driven by love, then I find him being a man fits better! Because the passion between men and women is often a temporary lust that fades into the seven-year itch. But male bonds often last a lifetime, the so-called Guan Bao friendship and Boya-Ziqi are examples of such genuine relationships!"
Li Wanqing couldn’t listen any longer from the back: "You’re describing that kind of genuine relationship you read about in fanfiction, right?!"
"Stop getting tangled in the details!" Shen Qingming waved her hand dismissively to sent Li Wanqing away, then addressed Shen Ying: "Your hypothesis is simply absurd! Even if Shen Jinghai is really a woman, with so many experts in upper echelons of the Shen Family, could not a single one with discerning eyes see through that?"
Shen Ying sneered: "Discerning eyes? If they truly had discerning eyes, then how did I end up being stepped on, bumped, and kicked aside in person while being in the Outer Courtyard? When the Elder hosted a banquet for 114 people, they prepared diningware for only 113. Tell me, are their eyes truly discerning?"
Shen Qingming nearly shed tears; living in Shen Garden, this elder sister Shen Ying’s life is even more tragic than her own indeed.
Shen Ying continued: "Furthermore, how do you know no one has seen through it? Maybe everyone has seen it, but no one speaks up. Take Shen Jinghai frequently reporting work to Lord City Lord alone, do you honestly believe that’s just work reports?"
"...What then?"
Shen Ying snorted: "When in Shen City, do as Shen City people do, read more romance novels like them! The story of the domineering City Lord falling in love with me, you truly should learn from it!"
"..."
Just as the two were fiercely arguing, suddenly Wang Jiu spoke up.
"Shen Jinghai is a man."
Wang Jiu’s words were like a decisive hammer on the Li Family side, Shen Qingming instantly showed an expression of victory and pride: "Ha! I told you so!"
Shen Ying naturally felt a bit unconvinced: "What makes you so certain?"
"Of course, it’s based on my keen observation," Wang Jiu said, "If a person wants to conceal their gender, they can change their appearance, clothing, even practice special cultivation techniques if necessary, training in Retracting the Yang into the Belly, or Red Bean Growth to directly change primary sex characteristics. So judging solely by appearance is easily misleading, and daily behavior doesn’t hold much persuasion either. To truly determine gender, the most accurate method is True Essence Fluctuation, as the characteristics of True Essence released by different genders are completely distinct, which is why I am very sure Shen Jinghai is a man."
"..." Shen Ying’s lips moved several times, yet ultimately did not continue arguing with Wang Jiu.
"Alright, let’s say Shen Jinghai is a man then." Shen Ying reluctantly turned her head as she spoke, "But he still might be in love with my grandfather!"
Wang Jiu said: "What difference does it make? Such things are quite common in Shen City anyway."
"..." Shen Ying was silent for a long time, spreading her hands, "Then I really have no way out. The Shen Jinghai I know is nearly flawless, has been Vice City Lord for many years, and regardless of public or personal affairs is impeccable... for someone from a humble background who suddenly rose to high rank, there are quite a few people who can’t stand it, yet all these years Shen Jinghai remains unyielding, and his way of dealing is conceivable."
Speaking of this, Shen Ying was somewhat unwilling: "It’s a pity I rarely get a chance to approach Shen Jinghai, otherwise with my Void Clarity Body, I might truly have a chance to find his flaw..."
Wang Jiu interrupted: "Unlikely, Void Clarity Body is only effective on neutral and friendly targets, for those inherently vigilant and whose cultivation far exceeds yours, it’ll hardly work. At your current level, approaching within a hundred zhang of Shen Jinghai and he’ll sense it."
"...Is it that formidable?" Shen Ying said disheartedly, "Then there’s truly no solution, I can’t help you guys any further."
Shen Qingming asked: "What about Shen Yueying? Does she have any weaknesses?"
Shen Ying thought for a moment: "If you’re willing to invite your father, I think Aunt Yueying should reveal a flaw. Although she consistently denies it, she really loved uncle miserably back then, even her always close relations with her biological sister became hostile. Now that Aunt Yue’e has passed away and uncle didn’t adhere to celibacy, marrying the princess of the Lu Family, so in that case, Aunt Yueying actually has a chance!"
"..."
Shen Ying continued with excitement: "Moreover, it’s said that uncle always cherished eldest aunt in his heart, with at least an eighty to ninety percent resemblance in appearance between the sisters, to uncle this is a great way to remember those who have passed! What do you say, Qingming, do convince your father, resolving the family feud lies within your father’s single thought!"
However, Shen Ying’s excited smile only received a few looks of pity.
Even proposing such a lunatic idea with enthusiasm clearly showed Shen Ying’s wits end. After some internal discussion, everyone gave up on expecting anything from Shen Ying.
"Ah, you guys are really picky, this won’t do, that won’t do... Anyway, it’s a pity that I can’t be of much help." Shen Ying said regretfully, "But if there’s anything you need, you can always come to me. I’m also happy to see the two families repair their relationship."
——
After bidding farewell to the useless Shen Ying, they were puzzled once again.
The clues to achieving their mission had been cut off again.
"I’m suddenly thinking, maybe we should just go back." Li Chaolu said somewhat languidly as they walked along the street, "I thought it’d be interesting, but look at what we’ve gone through these past ten days."
What Li Chaolu said did indeed bring down the morale suddenly.
The stubbornness shown by the Shen Family was more severe than expected. Previous attempts by the Li Family to repair relations officially failed, and the resolute and uncooperative attitude of the Shen Family was the main reason, making it more difficult than a direct confrontation.
"No, giving up like this is too unsatisfying! We’ve put in so much effort, and it’s clear that the Shen Family doesn’t have such deep hatred for the Li Family. It’s just that the whole situation is stuck on one or two people. It’s a terrible feeling!"
Wang Jiu suggested, "So as long as we eliminate that one or two key people, the situation would resolve itself?"
"...That would turn into an irreconcilable blood feud!"
Wang Jiu said, "Just blame it on a third party. Nearby you could choose Chaos Demon Essence; afar, Golden Jade City or Heaven-Reaching City could be options. Establishing a new and powerful enemy for the Shen Family would favor the Li Family stepping in as an ally to improve relations."
"...Why is it that even knowing you’re talking nonsense, I can’t find a reason to refute you!?"
Wang Jiu said, "If we decide to act, I’ll cooperate with Shen Ying. With her Void Clarity Body, and the right guidance, she could grow into an assassin capable of killing Shen Jinghai and Shen Yueying within a year."
"She’ll help you over her dead body!"
"Why wouldn’t she help? After assassinating Shen Jinghai and Shen Yueying, her parents’ status would undoubtedly rise. She would also form a solid alliance with the Li Family over the assassination, which is beneficial for her status. The only problem would be if the assassination was exposed, she’d lose everything, but with me providing technical guidance, the possibility of a failed assassination is minimal. Overall, there’s no reason to refuse such a good thing."
Shen Qingming was dumbfounded, unable to say a word.
"If there’s no problem, I’ll go talk to Shen Ying about the cooperation."
"You mustn’t go!" Shen Qingming had to interrupt rudely.
"Why not?"
"Because... If my mother knew about this in the afterlife, she wouldn’t want to see her family killing each other!"
Wang Jiu said, "The question of whether people have cognitive abilities after death has long been a contentious issue in the Immortal Cultivation Realm, but as far as I know, after death people actually..."
"I said no means no!" 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
——
In the end, under Shen Qingming’s unreasonable refusal, Wang Jiu regretfully abandoned the flawless assassination plan and had to think of another way.
Fortunately, there was still enough time before Shen Ruoshi’s birthday banquet, so the group could still take a long-term view. The urgent matter was to find a hotel in Shen City to stay in and then split up to gather intelligence. At this time, people remembered that they had not yet checked out of their reserved Sect Leader’s Suite at Divine Sword Tower...
Back at Divine Sword Tower, after paying a portion of the room fee again, the group moved back into the luxurious and comfortable room. After a little rest, it was time for dinner. Wang Jiu suggested trying Shen Qingming’s repeatedly mentioned sandstone barbecue. This commoner delicacy cannot be truly appreciated in a high-end restaurant; instead, it requires a stroll through the alleys to find a small shop recognized by locals.
Everything seemed to return to the starting point.
