Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 50 - 41: Beautiful Girls Fighting for You

In order to save his life, Li Xinyu quickly racked his brains to find a topic: "By the way, Wang Jiu, the book I gave you last time..."

Unfortunately, before he could finish speaking, Li Chaolu used a move called Hundred Flowers Trample that nearly crushed his toes.

The girl’s face didn’t show any change as she elegantly smiled and asked, "Mr. Wang Jiu, how do you know Sister Qingming?"

Wang Jiu replied, "At the market..."

Shen Qingming coldly interrupted, "It was a fortuitous encounter, nothing worthy of mentioning to outsiders."

Li Chaolu didn’t even glance at Shen Qingming, her gentle and blinded gaze remained on Wang Jiu.

"I guess it must be that the gentleman found himself in trouble by chance and was saved by Sister Qingming, owing her a favor. That’s why he stays by her side, taking care of her like a mentor or father."

Wang Jiu thought for a moment: "Though there are some errors in the details, the general summary is not wrong."

Shen Qingming wanted to refute, but had to admit she had no grounds for an argument...

Li Chaolu continued, "Your righteousness in repaying kindness is truly admirable, sir, but delaying your own cultivation to repay a favor... is ultimately not good. Especially when you’re so young and already possess astounding cultivation, showing that your talent is exceptional. It’s really a waste to squander such precious time."

Shen Qingming protested: "How is he delaying his own cultivation?!"

As someone whose Qi blood is halved every day, the girl’s complaint was powerful.

Li Chaolu replied leisurely, "The essentials for cultivation are wealth, companion, method, and place. Which of these can Shen Garden provide?"

Shen Qingming was instantly at a loss for words. Now, instead of her providing wealth, companion, method, and place for Wang Jiu, her entire cultivation depended on him, even the financial plans for Shen Garden relied on Wang Jiu’s income as Honored Guest Elder and from association tasks...

"Mr. Wang Jiu’s willingness to sacrifice himself to repay kindness is his righteousness, but is Sister Qingming’s sitting and enjoying the fruits a bit..." Li Chaolu smiled lightly, not continuing but the provocation was enough.

"Of course, I do not oppose Mr. Wang Jiu repaying kindness, I just suggest that it could be done more flexibly. For example, just guiding Sister Qingming in her cultivation daily is sufficient, why the need to stay in Shen Garden?"

Shen Qingming, in a bad mood, retorted: "If he doesn’t stay in Shen Garden, does he have to stay at your place?"

Li Chaolu blushed, but firmly nodded, smiling: "Indeed, there is a vacant yard in Kongcheng Garden where Mr. Wang Jiu could reside."

Li Xinyu curiously asked: "How can there be an empty yard in Kongcheng Garden? There are hardly any guest rooms left."

Li Chaolu maintained her smile and said, "Brother, how could you forget? Isn’t the Cosmic Pavilion in Kongcheng Garden unoccupied?"

Li Xinyu was shocked: "I’m living in the Cosmic Pavilion!"

Li Chaolu slightly turned her head: "Brother, you’re really confused. Just last month you moved out of the Cosmic Pavilion and into the South Court."

"Isn’t the South Court where the servants live?"

"Brother’s willingness to eat and live with the servants, showing such humility, is something I truly admire," said Li Chaolu.

"I..."

Li Xinyu was about to speak again when he felt a chill down his back and a sweet fragrance filled his nose, making him shudder.

This was his sister’s Hundred Flowers Sword Qi... It was up to his choice whether to keep the Cosmic Pavilion or his life.

Li Xinyu, of course, had no choice.

"Yes, yes, I’m really confused. The Cosmic Pavilion is available at any time for outsiders to live in." Li Xinyu exclaimed tearfully.

Li Chaolu immediately glanced expectantly at Wang Jiu: "How about it, Mr. Wang Jiu? The Cosmic Pavilion in Kongcheng Garden benefits from the Nine Dragon Spirit Gathering Array of the Li Family Mansion. Cultivating there is even better than in most Grotto Heaven Blessed Lands. Moreover, there are over ten thousand books in the pavilion—uh, although some cleaning is needed to get rid of the messy and worthless books inside."

"No, they can’t be thrown away!" Li Xinyu was shocked.

Li Chaolu ignored him and continued to persuade: "I have many girlfriends who also really like Mr. Wang Jiu..."

At this point, Shen Qingming couldn’t hold back any longer.

"Enough! Wang Jiu is not going anywhere! He’ll stay at Shen Garden with me!"

As she spoke, Shen Qingming’s face blushed slightly, but she was resolute.

"You’re fond of idolizing stars and being a fangirl, best find someone else quickly and stop having any notions about Wang Jiu!"

Li Chaolu was annoyed: "Why are you talking so much!? What matter is it of yours if I’m talking to Wang Jiu, nobody invited you here!"

Equally exasperated, Shen Qingming replied: "If it weren’t for me, Wang Jiu wouldn’t have come at all! You owe me a huge favor and still dare raise your voice at me!"

"If you really want me to owe you a favor, you better roll back to that shabby Shen Garden of yours now! I’ll remember to send you pocket money in a few days!"

"So what if it’s shabby? At least I stand on my own feet; if you lost your parents, what would you be?"

"Standing on your own feet? Don’t make me laugh! I saw your miserable state not even five months ago. With only nine taels of silver stipend per month, you couldn’t even afford a meal with meat once in ten days! If not for meeting Mr. Wang Jiu, you’d probably be stunted your whole life due to malnutrition!"

"What?! You think just being taller makes you something special? What’s there to be proud of with height and insubstantial health? When I was in the Inner Sect, at the Body Refining Stage, I even single-handedly bested you in every sparring match!"

"What do you have left besides bragging about the past? Besides, I’m a year younger than you; so what if my accomplishments at the Body Refining Stage didn’t match yours? Now I’m at the middle stage of Wind-Rising Realm, on the verge of breaking through to the late stage, and you’re a year older than me, yet it seems your realm still isn’t as high as mine."

"Ha, showing off realm ranking? Besides pumping yourself up with drugs to reach the false heights of the middle stage, what else do you have? That circus-like Hundred Flowers Sword of yours? Even your pudgy brother’s swordsmanship talent surpasses yours by a few points!"

"At least I’m better than you who, with the Windchasing Sword, can even chase it into a Celestial Flying Sword!"

"Look down on the Celestial Flying Sword, why don’t you try it out yourself!"

"Alright, don’t cry after I knock you down!"

The two girls, without further ado, stood up simultaneously, ready to fight.

Li Xinyu watched in stunned silence, hurriedly interjecting, "Let’s talk things out nicely, why resort to violence..."

But clearly, no one paid him any attention.

Li Xinyu had no choice but to turn to Wang Jiu for help, "Aren’t you going to stop them from fighting?!"

Wang Jiu remained at ease, "Cultivators sparring is a common practice, it’s as natural as can be."

"Is this what you’d call a common sparring?!"

"Of course, I’ve seen this sort of thing so many times. In the past, Zhao Yuming and Shang Lanfei would often quarrel over some inexplicable issues, quickly escalating into full-blown fights, hitting each other until they were black and blue, and then they’d stop. Afterward, when I asked them about it, they’d just laugh it off, saying it was just routine sparring, nothing to worry about."

Li Xinyu: "... Seriously, that sounds like a lame excuse!"

After a moment, Li Xinyu asked, "The Zhao Yuming and Shang Lanfei you mentioned, they must be really beautiful, right?"

Wang Jiu contemplated for a bit. Although he wasn’t confident in his aesthetic judgment, given that one was acclaimed as the most beautiful woman in Jiuzhou and the other was her strongest challenger for that title, they theoretically deserved the compliment of being beautiful.

Li Xinyu was greatly impressed, "Wow, having beautiful girls get jealous over you and even fight, that really makes me envious... If a pretty girl would fight for me, I’d die a happy man. But alas, even if I died ten times, I’d never encounter such a scene."

Seeing Li Xinyu speak so earnestly and sadly, Wang Jiu pondered briefly, "It’s actually not that difficult."

"What’s not difficult?"

"Getting pretty girls to fight for you."

"No way." Li Xinyu shook his head vigorously in denial, looking dejected, he said, "Even if I were to throw money in a night club, not a single girl would pick it up."

Wang Jiu replied regretfully, "What a pity, back when those nightclubs were hiring female promoters, I tried persuading Shen Qingming to apply. If she were there, she definitely would’ve picked it up."

"..."

Wang Jiu asked, "Feeling any better?"

"... Not consoled at all! If you truly believe there could be a girl blind enough to fight over someone like me, then show me such a sight!"

"Hmm, hold on a moment." Upon saying this, Wang Jiu turned his attention to the two girls who were in a standoff, carefully crafting his words.

Meanwhile, the tense atmosphere between Shen Qingming and Li Chaolu was gradually cooling off.

After all, since they weren’t children of eleven or twelve (one being thirteen, the other fourteen), it wasn’t easy for them to rashly fight over a disagreement. Although their gazes were icy, they were both pondering how to end the standoff in a way that was reasonable, yet didn’t compromise their dignity, before heading back home.

Just then, Wang Jiu’s voice came across.

"If Miss Chaolu defeats Shen Qingming, I’ll switch places with Li Xinyu and let him stay in my room."

"Deal!" Li Chaolu agreed without hesitation, then without so much as a heads-up, she stood up and unleashed a sequence of moves: ’Spring Plum Blossoms,’ ’Hundred Flowers Blooming,’ and ’Frosty Dew,’ catching Shen Qingming off guard and knocking her out of the pavilion, sending her rolling through the forest.

"Well, I win!" Li Chaolu declared victory unilaterally, without even checking the outcome—for with her mid-stage Wind-Rising Realm cultivation, a surprise attack through this sequence was more than enough to defeat any beginner in the Wind-Rising Realm.

After saying so, Li Chaolu pointed to her dear brother, "You, pack your things and go to Shen Garden."

Li Xinyu was on the verge of tears.

But just then, from within the mountain came a loud, indignant roar, "Despicable coward! Li Chaolu, prepare to meet your death!"

Accompanying the approaching roar was the agile silhouette of a girl, resembling a gray ape, as Shen Qingming, covered in dust, climbed and dashed through the mountain forest, charging recklessly, whipping up a storm of dust with a mere few steps.

Li Chaolu stood gaping, watching as her beautiful garden was being trampled and destroyed by that woman, not knowing how to respond.

Seizing the opportunity, Shen Qingming rushed forward in two strides and landed a punch straight at her face.

"Die!"

"Ow! You actually hit my face!" Li Chaolu’s eyes flashed with stars from the punch, leaving her utterly bewildered.

After taking the solid hit of a surprise three-combo sequence head-on, how was she able to still be so energetic, and why did her punches feel so heavy, almost shattering her Protective True Essence!

Li Chaolu couldn’t fathom there existed such a thing as the Unmoving Dominating Divine Skill. With little time to think, she quickly harnessed her Hundred Flowers Sword Qi, clashing with Shen Qingming in an intense battle, hard to tell who would emerge victorious.

Shen Qingming, being keenly aware of how she wasted her time over the years, realized that her skills were no match for the Inner Sect elite, Li Chaolu, and thus she fully leveraged the strength of her physical body, swinging her fists like heavy hammers, unleashing true essence as if they were swords, bravely charging through the Flower Rain and into Li Chaolu’s sword encirclement, furiously stating: "Dream on if you think that fat guy will move into Shen Garden!"

Li Chaolu repelled Shen Qingming with a move of the Lotus Cyan Sword, "Yes, I’ve dreamt of having him out of the Li Family Mansion!"

"Then keep dreaming!" Shen Qingming sprang back into action, aggressive and fierce.

...

Wang Jiu watched from the sidelines as his mount battled fiercely with Li Chaolu, whose True Essence Cultivation was a full rank higher and swordsmanship particularly remarkable, grudgingly acknowledging her diligent practice over this time.

But that wasn’t the main point.

He then turned to ask Li Xinyu.

"See, two beautiful girls are fighting because of you."

Li Xinyu had already collapsed to his knees, unable to stand.