Chapter 114: Human! I'll fight you to the death!

Donglin City.

The sun shone as brightly as ever; the bustling streets remained filled with pedestrians coming and going, shopkeepers called out continuously, and mothers walked with their children buying candied hawthorns—a scene brimming with harmony and joy.

Inside the Qian residence, Jiang Lin still found himself facing off against a young woman.

She appeared pale, her complexion hinting at wounds not yet healed.

Jiang Lin recalled that after she unleashed a Five Elements Formation, her spiritual energy was completely drained...

“I’ll ask you again: how do you know my sect’s Five Elements Formation? Who are you?” he demanded.

The young woman gripped tightly the peach wood sword in her hand, her stance ready to fight to the death with Jiang Lin.

“Which sect do you belong to?” Jiang Lin pressed.

“The Shebao Sect!” she replied.

Jiang Lin refrained from commenting on the oddness of the sect’s name.

“The Five Elements Formation was taught to me by a friend named Tai Er Zhenren. He’s a bit of an eccentric—do you know him?”

“What do you mean by ‘eccentric’?”

“He’s a bit crazy, always fantasizing that he’s the emissary of black flame, a free and unrestrained black flame dragon.”

“Never heard of him!” The woman’s voice was cold as she pointed her peach wood sword at Jiang Lin. “This Tai Er Zhenjun is a fabrication! You’re mocking me! Do you want to ride me too?”

“Huh?”

Jiang Lin was genuinely baffled.

“You... you... young lady, how dare you slander another’s honor with such vile accusations!”

“Bah! I don’t understand you cultivators at all!”

Spitting on the ground in Jiang Lin’s direction, she continued:

“The White People’s Kingdom lies north of the Dragonfish, its people white and unbound by hair. There is a creature called Chenghuang, resembling a fox with horns on its back, ridden for two thousand years of life.

This is what you humans have said with your own mouths! Though I don’t know how you concoct such nonsense, you only want to ride me! Why should you have the right to ride me?!”

“Hmm? You’re Chenghuang?” Jiang Lin’s confusion deepened.

He had thought the girl his friend Xiao Pang liked was a cultivator.

In this merciless world of Dao, cultivators generally avoid entanglements with ordinary people.

After all, a decade is but a fleeting dream to a cultivator, whereas to an ordinary person, it is enough time for many changes—making such relationships impossible to sustain.

Jiang Lin assumed the girl was ignoring Xiao Pang to reject him.

But now this girl was not only a cultivator—she was Chenghuang?

In other words, Xiao Pang wanted to ride the Chenghuang???

Good heavens! Was Xiao Pang aspiring to be some kind of legendary figure like Yin Zhiping? Not quite; Yin Zhiping rode a dragon...

Still, riding Chenghuang to extend one’s life by two thousand years sounded dubious. Otherwise, Jiang Lin would have gone to the White Kingdom, captured a young Chenghuang, and ridden it daily to achieve immortality.

In the Journey to the West, monsters coveted the Tang Monk’s flesh for longevity; why didn’t they just catch a Chenghuang and take turns riding it?

Though the rumors were likely exaggerated, extending one’s lifespan and strengthening the body seemed plausible.

Imagining riding Chenghuang to improve health, Jiang Lin’s eyes turned comically as he glanced at the petite girl before him.

“I knew it—humans are all the same! All of you just want to ride me!” she accused.

Seeing Jiang Lin’s lascivious expression, the Chenghuang girl threw down her peach wood sword. Surrounded by spiritual energy, she transformed into a pure white fox-like creature standing before him.

Yet it looked less like a fox than an antelope, with two long, slender, and sharp horns on either side of its head.

For some reason, Jiang Lin thought of the Malay sword...

“Human! I’ll fight you to the death!” the Chenghuang bellowed, pawing the ground fiercely, its horns aimed at Jiang Lin like a bull ready to charge.

“Yo, Yo... wait a moment...” A gentle female voice called from inside.

As the words fell, a woman slowly emerged from the room—tall and slender, delicate features, her face pale as if she might collapse at any moment.

“Sir, please forgive me. Might you pardon my friend’s rudeness?” she asked, picking up the peach wood sword and bowing deeply.

“Each is responsible for their own deeds. Please spare my friend. I am willing to offer the Sea Bright Pearl as compensation. Should you persist in hostility, we shall have no choice but to perish together.”

Sea Bright Pearl?

Jiang Lin was utterly confused.

What on earth was going on? He had only wanted to talk quietly with the girl Xiao Pang liked—how had it come to this, as if he were about to kill someone and seize treasure?

Though he was the villain here, he was mostly just a trickster...

“Miss, I think we need to clarify things,” Jiang Lin said, sheathing his initial weapon to show sincerity.

“I am a friend of Master Qian, and I have come today because Master Qian has...”

He looked at the Chenghuang and the woman, unsure whom to address first.

“...harboring feelings for one of you, and I am here as a matchmaker.”

“Eh?”

The woman’s expression turned slightly embarrassed, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.

Upon hearing Jiang Lin’s words, the Chenghuang merely snorted and turned away.

Now Jiang Lin knew whom Xiao Pang liked. He had to admit, Xiao Pang had a good eye, and secretly, Jiang Lin felt Xiao Pang might have a chance.

“You’ve come on behalf of Master Qian? Not for the Chenghuang or the Sea Bright Pearl?” the woman asked.

“Of course not,” Jiang Lin replied firmly.

“Although I, Snake, am a wild cultivator of the mountains and marshes, living a meager life scraping by, constantly fighting tooth and nail for any chance at fortune—

“I am still a scholar at heart. I would never resort to robbery or force.

“And I have come here upon hearing of demons troubling Donglin City, to slay them and bring peace to the people—nothing more.”

“I spit on you! Your lecherous gaze just now clearly meant you wanted to ride me!” the Chenghuang growled lowly at Jiang Lin.

“*Ahem*...” Jiang Lin coughed several times to ease the awkwardness.

“That was merely a reflex. Miss Chenghuang, my gaze was not lascivious but full of admiration and envy. After all, you are a divine beast, and I have long yearned for you, hence my momentary lapse.”

“It seems we have misjudged you, sir. Please forgive us,” the woman bowed again. “Please tell Master Qian that his lifesaving kindness will never be forgotten. But as you know, cultivators are no longer ordinary people...”

“Alas... so it is. But I hope, miss, that you will tell Xiao Qian yourself.”

Jiang Lin sighed.

“Before the matter of ‘love,’ we are all the same...”

...

...

[Thanks to the generous patron “Dust. Sage” for the 10,200 Qidian coins tip~~~ Here’s an extra chapter for the big shot (..›ᴗ‹..)]

[Thanks to the generous shout-out from “The Delayed Salted Fish is Not a Good Salted Fish” for the 10,000 Qidian coin tip~~~ This reader is probably preparing for the college entrance exam. Wishing you the best results in a hundred days~~~(⑉••⑉)‥♡]