Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 44 - 36: Walking Beside You, Always

Afternoon of June 13, 2017

Wang Jiu was disappointed that he couldn’t get what he wanted from Li Tianya.

Before he had a chance to try to extract useful information from Li Tianya’s brain, he was forcibly taken away from the old man’s secluded forest cottage by Lu Xin and brought to Lu Xin’s tea room.

"Alright, stop playing around. Father has been hurt in his Primordial Spirit and can’t take your torment! I’ll bring you to see him when he’s a bit clearer... But don’t get your hopes up, his memory is getting worse. He barely remembers his closest kin and has started to forget even the Immortal Techniques and swordsmanship. Those fragments of Primordial history must have been completely forgotten."

Wang Jiu curiously asked, "If Li Tianya doesn’t remember and Li Fengyun isn’t interested in remembering, wouldn’t the Li Family’s historical lineage be broken?"

Lu Xin explained, "That’s nothing to worry about. Every few decades, the Three Academies, Saint Sect, and the Seven Great Noble Families in Xiangzhou hold high-level meetings to exchange and complete these historical fragments. These histories do not belong to any single family or power but are treasures of the entire Xiangzhou. So even if a family occasionally loses its historical fragments, other families will help complete them. At least in this regard, there are no conflicts of interest."

Wang Jiu asked, "So, if I go and ask other family leaders, it’s the same?"

Lu Xin thought for a moment and said, "Currently, aside from the Saint Sect, the Zhao Family of Golden Jade City has preserved the historical fragments the best. However, the Saint Sect always remains aloof from the human world, and the contemporary patriarch of the Zhao Family isn’t easy to deal with... Forget it, I’ll keep an eye on it for you if I get a chance."

After saying this, Lu Xin handed over all the gifts given by Li Tianya to her, including the one hundred thousand spirit stones, to Wang Jiu.

"Please pass these on to Qingming."

Wang Jiu wrote: "These one hundred thousand spirit stones are yours."

"I don’t need them!" Lu Xin glared at Wang Jiu and was about to turn away, but just before leaving, she turned back, speaking seriously.

"Although Fengyun completely trusts your background and origin, I don’t have such open-mindedness. Up until now, I’m still skeptical of your matters, and if you dare to harm Qingming, I swear I will make sure you are shattered to pieces and your soul is scattered!"

After saying this, Lu Xin frowned, sensing something amiss, and added: "But don’t misunderstand that I’m worried about her. On the contrary, as the daughter of Shen Yue’e, I detest her to the core and wish she would never grow taller in her life!"

Wang Jiu wrote: "Like you?"

Lu Xin jumped up: "I’m not short! I’m just... late in development, and the cultivation techniques require a particular body condition, so... Anyway, remember this: I hate her!"

After that, Lu Xin said no more, unfurled the Golden Crow Wings, and forcibly flew Wang Jiu away from the Li Family Mansion to Shen Garden in the east of the city.

In the courtyard, Shen Qingming wore a furious expression.

"Where did you go?! Didn’t I ask you to watch the house? But when I came back, the courtyard gate was open. What if the Li Family took this opportunity to come and steal things?!"

Wang Jiu looked at the barren courtyard and asked, "Steal what? The leftover wild vegetables in the kitchen?"

"... It’s not impossible." Shen Qingming argued, "Without those wild vegetables, I would run out of food, and then I might be forced by hunger to surrender to the Li Family and lose my dignity forever."

"So, wild vegetables are your dignity."

Shen Qingming huffed: "Yes! I take joy in poverty and simplicity! I’d rather chew on bitterness and maintain my independence and strength than bow down to that family!"

Wang Jiu greatly appreciated this strong-willed spirit.

So when Shen Qingming ran to the kitchen to cook wild vegetable soup, Wang Jiu, holding the many spirit stones and treasures given by Li Tianya, ordered takeout just for himself.

At dinner, Shen Qingming pinched her nose, imagining she was eating "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall," while incredulously watching the gourmet feast in front of Wang Jiu.

"Wait, didn’t the fifteen thousand spirit stones get returned before? Where did this money come from?!"

Wang Jiu relished the delicious feast and said, "This was originally the New Year’s money from Li Tianya meant for you, but since you just said you wanted to be independent and chew on bitterness, I figured you wouldn’t want to use this money for ordering takeout, so I didn’t order for you."

"Li Tianya!?" Shen Qingming, in shock, forgot to pinch her nose, and the bitter, earthy taste flooded her mouth, making her retch and almost kneel on the ground.

Wang Jiu, seeing the girl’s plight, kindly poured her a cup of hot water.

"Th-thank you! And quickly tell me everything that happened today!"

Wang Jiu paused for a moment and then simply recounted everything he experienced after Shen Qingming ran away from home.

However, even though his words were understated, they struck Shen Qingming’s heart like countless divine thunders crashing down.

"My father and Lu Xin were here!? They learned about your identity and gave you the position of Honored Guest Elder, and then took you to see Li Tianya?!"

Shen Qingming’s voice started to tremble as she spoke.

"Are you... are you going to leave me?"

Wang Jiu was baffled by the question: "Why? Did you fall into a cesspool?"

"Of course not!"

"Then why are you worried about me leaving you? Or did you eat a lot of carrots for lunch?"

"I didn’t eat anything at all for lunch! Plus, you drained half of my Qi Blood, and I almost fainted in front of my mother’s grave! And are these two things even equivalent?!" Shen Qingming protested continuously, her spirits finally deflating, "But, but they’re all so much better than me in every way. With the resources of a great noble family at their disposal, they can provide whatever you need. And I, I’m just an ordinary girl with average talent and understanding, limited abilities, limited knowledge, and not even a good temper. Any rational person would choose them."

Wang Jiu said, "But it was you who awakened me from slumber."

"That was just a coincidence."

"It was a coincidence worth its weight in gold."

"I’ve said before, I don’t need you to repay me."

"And I’ve said before, but I do need it."

Shen Qingming was silent for a long time, then chuckled: "Why have you suddenly become so eloquent?"

"Eloquent about what?" Wang Jiu had no idea what she was talking about.

"...Forget it, anyway, thank you." After saying this, Shen Qingming was stunned for a while, then added, "But, Father’s and Lu Xin’s reactions are so strange. I wrote to Father yesterday to ask for independence, and he agreed without hesitation. He should have been eager for me to leave the Li Family soon, so why did he come knocking today?"

Wang Jiu was equally perplexed by this question and, after deep and careful thought, said: "Maybe their usual aloofness is just a façade, and the harsh treatment is to motivate you to strive upward. Deep down, they still care for you but aren’t good at expressing it. And when they learned you wanted to leave the family, they had to respect your wishes while hoping to win back familial affection."

"...Huh?" Shen Qingming squinted at Wang Jiu, "What are you doing?"

Wang Jiu said, "I’m providing you with a plausible conjecture."

"Since knowing you, I’ve heard many stories from you. In terms of incredibility, the Immortal Demon War of Jiuzhou ranks third, your peerless Divine Skill surpassing the Heaven Shattering Realm ranks second, and what you just said ranks first!"

Wang Jiu thought it over and had to admit: "It does seem a bit far-fetched. What do you think?"

Shen Qingming said, "Probably they came to mock me for overestimating myself, saying I’m doomed to accomplish nothing without the family? Just that I encountered an unexpected factor in you, so they simply deviated from the theme."

"Hmm, that does make some sense." Wang Jiu pondered, thinking that this theory wasn’t entirely unreasonable. Although Lu Xin warned him before leaving never to harm Shen Qingming, she herself said not to mistake the threat as care for Shen Qingming, and since there wasn’t any care intended, her and Li Fengyun’s mockery of a daughter overestimating herself also seemed quite reasonable.

"Then should this pile of stuff be returned?" Wang Jiu pointed at the heap of miscellaneous gifts in his hand.

"Are these from Grandpa?" Shen Qingming walked forward, looking at the messy yet undeniably priceless gifts, her face breaking into a smile, "He’s really a good man and especially pampered me. When I was little, every time I saw him, he would pull out a heap of random things from his clothes to give me as gifts. Once, he even stuffed the family’s treasury key and the Li Family genealogy into my hands. It was also that time everyone confirmed that he had hurt his Primordial Spirit from excessive cultivation, rendering him a bit mentally unclear..."

"From what you said, you do seem to hold some affection for the family."

Shen Qingming said, "How could there not be? I’ve lived here for more than ten years, but since I’ve already made my choice, I must stick to it."

"Hmm, at least this persistence is worthy of praise. As your master, I will accompany you all the way."

"Hee hee, Ah Jiu, thank you."

Wang Jiu was puzzled: "Who’s Ah Jiu?"

"...What do you think?" Shen Qingming shrugged helplessly, walked next to Wang Jiu, and then reached out to grab the take-out food in front of him.

Wang Jiu, with lightning speed, used the Shape Manipulation Array to move the tray away.

Shen Qingming exclaimed, "What are you doing?!"

Wang Jiu said, "I should be asking what you’re doing?"

"Eating, I’m starving!"

"Didn’t you make wild vegetable soup?"

"You! You plan to feast on gourmet food while you watch me eat that bitter and astringent wild vegetable soup?!"

Wang Jiu said, "Since you’ve made your choice, you should stick to it. Your persistence is your greatest strength, and I’ll help you maintain it."

"..."