Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 46 - 38: How to Be Popular with Girls
Some things in the world repeat like the rising and setting of the sun, never changing.
For example, Shen Qingming’s anger.
In the past two months of getting along with her, Wang Jiu could hardly find a day when she wouldn’t get angry. The reasons for her anger, however, were always strange and varied. For instance, bringing her hot water when she’s injured could make her angry. Helping her stick to her persistence when she’s determined to do so, keeping her away from gourmet food and eating wild vegetable soup instead, could make her angry. Inviting her to taste Jiuzhou Era’s specialty cuisine from Qing Province could make her angry too... It’s completely impossible to summarize any pattern, so after much consideration, Wang Jiu could only regard Shen Qingming’s anger as a natural phenomenon like sunrise and sunset, unmoved by any external factors.
No matter what you do, the sun always rises as usual.
Of course, based on objective etiquette, Wang Jiu still had to ask, "What’s wrong?"
Shen Qingming glared, "What’s wrong? You made me suffer! I’ve lost all face!"
Wang Jiu was instantly curious, "Lost all face? Are you referring to the IQ test more than a month ago, the water jar incident, or the Celestial Flying Sword? But those were long ago, right?"
"Thank you for reminding me of what you’ve done before! But the problem is today!"
"What’s wrong today?"
Shen Qingming gritted her teeth, then slightly lowered her gaze and said, "I went the wrong way today."
"Went the wrong way?"
"Yeah, I was supposed to go to the Mountain Shifting Sword Cultivator Club to spar with someone. There are many young cultivators in the Wind-Rising Realm over there, cultivators from the Lu Family, Qian Family, the Cloud Heaven Sect, and some surrounding independent cultivators all come; the sparring results are very good... In short, I was supposed to go to the Mountain Shifting Sword Cultivator Club! But today, after leaving home, I was dizzy, my vision went black, and while walking, I was in a daze. Unknowingly, I wandered into a field and saw many young sword cultivators sparring inside. I followed the usual practice and invited someone at a similar level to have a sword fight. At first, the other party reacted a bit strangely, but seeing me draw my sword, they also joined the duel with me."
Wang Jiu interjected, "Lost?"
Shen Qingming glared, "Of course I won! Then there was a second, a third, more and more people came to duel with me. Most of the time I could win, only occasionally meeting a High Tier Wind-Rising Realm or those particularly profound in swordsmanship would lose a move or two. But that’s not the key point! As I fought, I gradually became clear-headed and then realized all those dueling with me were familiar faces! They were all sword cultivators from the Li Family’s Outer Sect! I thought I went to the Sword Cultivation Club but subconsciously ended up at the Outer Sect’s training field!"
"I see, so that’s what you meant by going the wrong way." Wang Jiu nodded, "Then you really are foolish."
"You! How dare you accuse me? If it weren’t for you draining my Qi Blood during my morning exercises, and then asking me to do mental arithmetic during meals, making me dizzy and sluggish when I went out. How could I go the wrong way? I’ve lived in Cyan Cloud City for fourteen years; don’t I recognize the roads? It’s all your fault! Now the major city’s Cultivator Associations have rules that cultivators must not fly on swords when extremely fatigued to avoid traffic accidents. You made me exhausted before I left home. If not your fault, then whose fault is it?!"
After a burst of angry complaints, Shen Qingming suddenly noticed a short, chubby young cultivator standing beside Wang Jiu, and his face looked very familiar...
"Li Xinyu?!"
This shock was no small matter for Shen Qingming. She stepped back several steps, almost tripping over the threshold.
"Why are you here?!"
Recalling how she had loudly revealed her embarrassing stories in a fit of anger, Shen Qingming wished she had two hundred or so True Essence Cores from Mountain-Overturning Realm cultivators in her body that would simultaneously explode, erasing everything before her!
This small shop specializing in dark seasonings is generally deserted, aside from Wang Jiu, a curiosity seeker, who occasionally visits. There might not be two or three customers all day long. Shen Qingming, filled with shame and anger, returned home to find Wang Jiu was not there, so she guessed he went to buy seasonings. As a result, she caught Wang Jiu in the seasoning shop, but unexpectedly, there were others in the store!
That Li Xinyu seemed to have gained even more weight than when they met a few months ago. When she first entered the shop, she mistook him for a wine barrel or a water jar placed next to the shelf...
Li Xinyu was already in an extremely excited state since Shen Qingming entered the room. His chubby body trembled slightly, and his gaze moved back and forth between Shen Qingming and Wang Jiu, as if he discovered the ultimate truth of the Heaven and Earth Dao.
"Sister Qingming, good afternoon..." Li Xinyu said, unable to contain his excitement, "I didn’t expect your relationship with Wang Jiu to be so good!"
Shen Qingming originally intended to treat this Inner Sect Chief with courtesy, but upon hearing this, she was instantly filled with anger: "Which eye of yours saw that we have a good relationship?!"
Li Xinyu said, "Just now, weren’t you speaking so enthusiastically with him?"
"I was scolding him! How is that considered enthusiastic speaking?"
Li Xinyu sighed, "If only I could have a top-grade loli like Sister Qingming, willing to scold me like that, I’d be willing to die."
"..." Shen Qingming suddenly felt as if she stepped in dog poop, her face twisted as she backed up two steps, finally stepping out of the store’s entrance.
"Ah yes, yes, that’s exactly the kind of gaze." Li Xinyu said, "Most young girls look at me with that kind of gaze, like they’ve encountered something filthy and immediately run far away! Oh, how much I wish they would talk more with me, even if it’s scolding, I happily listen!"
Shen Qingming couldn’t help but twitch the corners of her mouth, "Wang Jiu, you actually hang out with people like this? I really misjudged you!"
After saying that, she turned and left, shaking her head all the way as if she were a spin dryer, as if trying to shake off all the memories of her conversation with Li Xinyu from her mind...
Li Xinyu watched the figure of Shen Qingming fade into the distance, pausing for a moment, and then sighed, "Sigh, it’s the same again... every time. I really don’t know what I’ve done wrong?"
After saying that, he turned his head with the utmost sincere look for help from Wang Jiu.
"May I ask, what should I do now?"
Wang Jiu glanced at Li Xinyu and said, "You should go to the counter to settle the bill, just put the silver taels or Spirit Stones into the money box, the owner here rarely comes out, they have an automatic system for billing."
"No no no." Li Xinyu hurriedly shook his head and waved his hand, "I meant how can I be like you and build a good relationship with an exceptional girl like Sister Qingming! And don’t say it’s because of looks and physique, Sister Qingming was famously aloof in the compound, never giving those so-called young talents in the family any color... Although you’re more handsome than them, that shouldn’t be the main reason, right? To win a girl’s favor, there must be special tricks!"
By the end of his words, Li Xinyu was almost about to kneel to seek advice, full of sincerity.
Wang Jiu was at a loss. To say how to win a girl’s favor, he truly knew nothing. Back when he was the Nine Provinces Sword God, he was solely focused on Sword Dao, even when a woman named He Yue admired him, he didn’t even notice. Later, after reincarnating as a Divine Sword, such matters became even less relevant, as a distinguished Sword Spirit, was he supposed to form relations with his own steed?
However, during idle times in battles alongside the Jiu Immortal Venerables, Zhao Yuming occasionally mentioned some tips on how to win a girl’s affection...
"First, can’t be a shut-in."
Boom!
Wang Jiu seemed to hear a sound like muffled thunder, then he saw Li Xinyu fall to his knees, trembling all over.
"So, is there no hope for shut-ins?"
Recalling what Zhao Yuming had once said, Wang Jiu pondered, "Not necessarily absolute, being a shut-in just takes off a lot of points, but if you have other advantages to make up for those points, then there’s no problem. And the way to add points, firstly is... to have money."
Li Xinyu was excited, "Money? I have it! As the Inner Sect Chief, I get a monthly stipend of 50 Spirit Stones, I’m the eldest son of the third house, that’s an additional 50 Spirit Stones a month, plus monthly assessments and scholarships, I earn at least 150 Spirit Stones a month. Additionally, there are annual red envelopes, holiday bonuses, and investment returns from a few small shops, asset-wise, I have at least a few thousand Spirit Stones..."
Wang Jiu murmured an "um" without responding.
Li Xinyu was taken aback, "Not enough? Then how much money should one have to be considered wealthy?"
Wang Jiu said, "I don’t have an exact standard either, but the person who told me this said outright, just in terms of money, if you don’t have seventy to eighty million Spirit Stones in assets, you’re not qualified to speak to her."
Li Xinyu’s jaw dropped, "Seven, seven to eighty million Spirit Stones?! Even combining the entire assets of Cyan Cloud’s wealthiest doesn’t reach that amount!?"
"Well, that was her personal standard, she also said for ordinary girls, having ten thousand Spirit Stones would suffice."
Li Xinyu’s mouth remained agape, "Ten thousand Spirit Stones?! This, unless my father dies young and lets me inherit his wealth quickly... hmm, sharing it with Chaolu, I should be able to get around a million Spirit Stones."
Wang Jiu said, "If you fall short in terms of money, having talents should suffice."
"Having talents?" Li Xinyu pondered for a moment, nodding, "Makes sense, I often hear stories about the Immortal Cultivation Realm, where accomplished daughters from great families ignore matched marriages with sons of wealthy clans, instead falling for poor boys from the mountains, all due to a special talent... hmm, if it’s all about talent, I should fare well, right? Reaching the Cloud Surge Realm at age 15, attaining the seventh level of the Earth-Shaking Sword, ranking as the Inner Sect Chief of the Li Family— even if Sister Wanqing returns, I’ll still be firmly second. Moreover, since age 7, I’ve been deeply studying the classic works of Dongxuanzi and others, with exceptional theoretical prowess, I’m definitely considered talented! So, with talents like mine, I should be eligible for a girl’s favor, right?"
Listening to the former remarks, Wang Jiu wasn’t particularly impressed, a 15-year-old at the Cloud Surge Realm was no different from Shen Qingming’s juvenile antics to him. But the mention of the classic works of Dongxuanzi did pique Wang Jiu’s interest.
"What is Dongxuanzi?"
"Eh, haven’t you read it?!" Li Xinyu exclaimed, "It’s pretty classic, though many concepts are outdated, it’s still worth referencing. Hold on, I have it with me."
He said, fishing out a thoroughly worn book from his pocket and handing it to Wang Jiu.
"Here, this is it. I’ve already annotated the important parts, making it easy to read..." Li Xinyu enthusiastically peddled, but before he could finish, his face changed. "Ah no, my mom is calling me home for dinner, let’s chat more next time!"
Afterwards, he casually tossed a few Spirit Stones into the money box at the counter, then used a rapid body technique which did not match his figure to swiftly exit the store.
