It was only after the elder had left did Wei Xingâerâs cold eyes mellow. There was a bit of anger and resentment in her eyes, but she was for the most part pleasantly surprised to see Jiang Chen. It was obvious that his unexpected visit had caught her off guard.
Wei Xingâer smiled slightly when she noticed the lingering caution on his face. âRest easy, there are no eyes or ears around. This is the Resplendent Emerald Verandaâs forbidden grounds and no one would dare scrutinize this place. To think that you would come to Great Scarlet Capital! I had thought our goodbye back then to be our last.â
Wei Xingâerâs smile looked a little bitter and resentful. It was obvious that her current lifestyle had ground away much of her willpower after so long.
Jiang Chen sighed quietly. âYou did me a favor back then, Miss Wei. Iâm here to save you.â
âSave me?â Wei Xingâer smiled in self-derision. âI have no roots to return to. Where can I go even if Iâm free? I am but a walking corpse here, but at least itâs a peaceful and steady life. Too many years have passed. I hear that Myriad Domain has completely fallen under the Eternal Celestial Capitalâs control. Little guy, I know that you still havenât given up on revenge, but listen to me when I tell you to let go of that thought.
âWe so-called geniuses of Myriad Domain are nothing compared to the members of a true first rank sect. Itâs true that your talents may be ten times of what I have, but no genius from Myriad Domain can ever compare to the geniuses of first rank sects and the Upper Eight Regions. Most importantly, the first rank sects have more than just geniuses. Those terrifying masters... ai!â
Wei Xingâer sounded a little depressed. She was different from when Jiang Chen saw her last time. Back then, she hadnât lost all hope and optimism despite adopting a slightly pessimistic outlook of the world. At the time, she had even asked him about Walkabout Sect and hoped that Myriad Domain could rise once again. But after a few years had passed, it looked like sheâd completely given up.
Jiang Chen stared blankly at her for a moment. A bit of disappointment entered his eyes.
âMiss Wei, I didnât think youâd actually want to be a walking corpse. Maybe I made the wrong choice when I travelled all the way here to save you.â Jiang Chenâs voice turned cold.
Wei Xingâer gave him a miserable smile. âThe only reason youâre here to save me is because you owe me a bit of favor from those years ago. Youâre simply trying to deal with this responsibility so youâll feel better about yourself. Tell me, do you really truly care if I live or die? If you do, then why didnât you rescued me before and waited for years before you finally came to me during your leisure? Save me? Save me how? There are prisons everywhere in this world that eats up losers like me. People who lost the protection of their sects like me are ultimately nothing more than ants...â
Jiang Chen frowned. âI see. You arenât aware of the truth even now, are you? Do you think you can live comfortably like this forever on after losing hope? Do you think that the master canât find another pretty face to hold up the Resplendent Emerald Veranda? Are you really so confident, or are you just lying to yourself?â
Wei Xingâer paled drastically. âWhat... what have you heard?â
âDo you really not know?â Jiang Chen sneered and threw the question back at her.
Infinite pain welled inside Wei Xingâerâs eyes. She said sorrowfully, âAnd what if I know? What if I donât know? Ever since I joined the Resplendent Emerald Veranda, my fate is not mine to decide. How could I not know that the Veranda master has something sinister in store for me? I may not be aware why he keeps me here, but if thereâs one thing Iâm certain of, itâs that he doesnât desire me for my beauty... he hasnât touched me, not even once!â
This wasnât out of Jiang Chenâs expectations at least. After all, the Veranda master wanted to use Wei Xingâer as a cultivation cauldron. He would never take away her virginity so soon.
âSo, youâve truly given up?â Jiang Chen asked seriously.
âWhat else do you think I can do in this situation?â Wei Xingâer smiled bitterly.
âDo you know why the Resplendent Emerald Veranda is so lively as of late?â Jiang Chen asked another question.
âHmph, the Veranda master is planning to achieve a breakthrough and become a high level emperor realm cultivator. He has enemies everywhere, so itâs only natural that heâll seek out a couple protectors to defend him.â
Jiang Chen nodded. He asked again, âIâm sure you donât know that he plans to use you as his cultivation cauldron, do you?â
Wei Xingâer swayed as her face turned deathly pale. Her delicate, ruby-lipped mouth was slightly agape with surprise. The surprise quickly turned into thick fear.
âHow do you know about this?!â Wei Xingâer asked in a panicked state.
âThatâs not important. Whatâs important is the two choices presented before you. One, leave this place. Two, give up and become his cultivation cauldron.â
There was no sugarcoating it. She would die if she became a cultivation cauldron. Almost no one survived the experience. Wei Xingâer didnât recover from her fear and shock for a very long time. She might have submitted to her current circumstances, but that didnât mean she was so far gone that she could give up her life on a whim.
She wasnât actually afraid of death, but dying as a cultivation cauldron was a different matter altogether. It was too sudden and terrible for her to accept. Real fear gripped Wei Xingâer tightly for a time. At first, the young woman thought that she had given up on life completely, but now Wei Xingâer finally realized that she couldnât accept her fate at all.
She was young and barely at her thirties. In the martial dao world, she was like a child who had just started to walk. She should be shining like a new sun and full of youthful energy, but she had been reduced into another personâs puppet instead. Time had ground away her delusions of resistance and adapted her into this puppetâs life, but when Jiang Chen told her the truth, her will to live finally burst out of her shell.
âI... I want to live.â Wei Xingâer stared frightfully at Jiang Chen. âYou have a plan. I know you have a plan, right?!â
âWhat do you think our chances are if I were to take you with me and escape from this place by force right now?â Jiang Chen suddenly asked.
Wei Xingâer was taken by surprise greatly. âAre you joking? Escape this place by force? Both of us would be turned into dust!â
Jiang Chen smiled and said nothing. He was that confident in his current abilities. Still, it was unwise to try and escape this place via force. Alone, he ultimately wasnât strong enough to take on the entire Great Scarlet Mid Region by force. He would be trapped inside Great Scarlet Capital and attacked by countless experts if he chose to forcefully break out. They wouldnât stop until he was completely destroyed.
âYou must have another way, right?â Wei Xingâer couldnât help but ask.
Jiang Chen didnât answer her question. Instead, he asked, âDo you know why the Veranda master chose this place to achieve his breakthrough?â
Wei Xingâer thought for a moment but shook her head in the end. âHe never told me anything about martial dao, and I was never bold enough to ask him about it.â
The young madame might look well off on the surface, but in reality she possessed little to no power. She barely saw the Veranda master in person, and their conversations consisted of polite greetings and nothing more. Theyâd never had a true conversation with each other. There was simply no way that the master would tell Wei Xingâer something as important as his cultivation.
Wei Xingâerâs lack of answers wasnât a problem for Jiang Chen though. He wasnât someone who made reckless decisions without a plan. The young man passed over a bottle of powder to Wei Xingâer after pondering for a moment.
âMiss Wei, this is something I made by myself. Iâm sure youâve used a similar drug in the past, although it absolutely is incomparable to this one. For the next few days, you will consume some of it on a daily basis. Remember, itâs only for consumption, not outward application. This is so that Iâll be able to track you down accurately within a radius of a couple thousand kilometers for the next three months. Iâll be able to track you down the moment the Veranda master makes his move.â
Wei Xingâer didnât accept the bottle right away. Instead, she asked in astonishment, âTrack me? Are you planning to rescue me on the road? Little guy, I admit that I very much want to escape from this place, but if youâre going to use a suicidal method like this, we may as well call off this rescue mission.â
It wasnât that Wei Xingâer looked down on Jiang Chenâs abilities. She just didnât like this plan at all. Jiang Chen was undoubtedly a genius. Literally no youths in the entire Myriad Domain was comparable to him. However, no matter how talented Jiang Chen was, he was ultimately a genius in the scope of only Myriad Domain. Even if he could still be considered a genius in the Upper Eight Regions, his cultivation was completely incomparable to the Veranda masterâs, not to mention the large group of protectors the Veranda master just hired for himself.
Wei Xingâer had definitely been a femme fatale in the past. She cared little for a manâs life, and only the heavens knew how many many men sheâd killed. Jiang Chen was the only exception to the rule though, and heâd come from a distant place today to save her. Even if he did it only because he owed her, his action still touched her. She might not want to die, but she didnât want to drag Jiang Chen with her when she did.
Jiang Chen didnât explain anything. He said coolly, âYou donât need to know my plan. Consume this powder if you trust me. If you donât, then whatever.â
Wei Xingâer stared blankly at him before she slowly accepted the bottle. She fell into silence for a moment as she held it.
âAre you leaving?â Wei Xingâer finally broke out of her reverie when she noticed that Jiang Chen was striding outside. She chased after him.
âStay here.â Jiang Chen stared at her meaningfully and moved his arms a little. A strange smile tugged at the corners of his lips slightly, but he didnât say anything more. Suddenly, he dashed out of the side hall as quick as lightning.
Jiang Chen swore the moment he exited. âI knew it, a woman has no eye for true value at all. This Resplendent Emerald Veranda is truly a disappointment! Iâd be a fool to step into this place once more!â
When Jiang Chen saw the elder walking towards him, his anger turned even more overt. âElder Li, you have nothing to say to me. Even if the Veranda master were to show up himself, I have no interest in discussing anything with you lot any longer!â
Elder Li was completely stunned. He had no idea what the young madame had done to earn such fury from this man.