Chapter Sixty-Five: Not Entirely Impossible

“There are two kinds of martial artists in the world: the pure martial artist, and the martial artist in name. Some say that cultivators could never become pure martial artists, but that’s not true. My mother once said, ‘Even dragons can find snakes to beget flood dragons. Horses and donkeys can produce mules. So why couldn’t one master both sword and body arts together?’ No slacking! Sink lower in your horse stance.”

“Daddy, you can do it!”

Atop Twin Pearl Peak, Chen Jia circled Jiang Lin, who was holding a horse stance, with a willow branch in hand. Little Nian Nian lay sprawled atop Jiang Lin’s head, her tail swaying as she cheered him on.

“No slacking!”

Seeing Jiang Lin’s knees begin to straighten, Chen Jia bit down on his neck without warning.

“Hey! Don’t bite me!”

“That’s what you get for slacking off. Continue!”

“Still continue? It’s been a whole hour.”

“Hmph! Only an hour and you’re giving up? What kind of man are you? Not persistent at all!”

“???”

Hearing Chen Jia’s words, Jiang Lin wanted to retort, but inside he felt himself crumbling.

This rhythm was all wrong.

In just a few days he’d be leaving for Eastwood City. He’d planned to study some theory in the meantime—like taking the written test before learning to drive. Pass the first section, and the rest could wait until he had time to practice.

But why did it feel like Chen Jia wanted him to learn everything step by step, starting with turning the wheel, not just to get a driving license, but to learn to fly a plane?

“Chen Jia…listen to me…”

“Hm? What did you just call me?”

“I…”

To create a warm and harmonious family atmosphere for little Nian Nian, Jiang Lin and Chen Jia communicated telepathically and agreed to address each other with affectionate nicknames.

After all, in a loving household, Nian Nian would grow up surrounded by warmth. Even if she tried to roast him alive someday, she might recall these happy times and show some mercy…

Maybe, just maybe, she’d spare him then.

“Jia…Jia Jia…”

But as soon as Jiang Lin uttered the doubled nickname, a wave of awkwardness and embarrassment swept over him, making him shiver all over…

Damn! Why had he made such a suggestion? This was way too mushy!

The worst part was, Chen Jia actually agreed!

“Mm…H-husband, you…you were saying…”

Hearing Jiang Lin call her that, the girl turned her little face aside, her pretty and perilous hands plucking nervously at the willow leaves. The stern manner of an instructor vanished instantly.

“No, I can’t! It’s too much for me! Let’s just use our regular names,” Jiang Lin quickly sent by heart-speech.

If this kept up, he’d get nothing out of this training but a bad case of goosebumps.

“No!” Chen Jia replied bluntly, turning her head away with a huff.

…

Watching Chen Jia cross her arms (though she really had nothing to cross) and turn aside in a sulk, Jiang Lin couldn’t help picturing a certain golden-haired, defeated anime dog…

Still, as embarrassing as it was, why did calling her “Jia Jia” feel so familiar? The more he said it, the stronger the sense that he was on the verge of remembering something important.

“Chen…”

“Mm?”

“Jia Jia, listen to me.” Jiang Lin stood up, rubbing his aching legs. “This method is too slow. Is there a faster way to help me get started as a martial artist?”

“A faster way?” Chen Jia furrowed her delicate brows, thinking hard. “But this is how my mother taught me. I reached the Mud Embryo Realm quite quickly.”

“How quickly?”

“I started boxing at three years old. After two or three days of horse stance, I reached the Grassroots Realm—the second realm of martial arts. But my mother thought my foundation was weak and broke both my Mud Embryo and Grassroots Realms herself.”

“…”

“Oh, right. Just now, after Nian Nian finished that set of moves, she also reached the Mud Embryo Realm. I’m not sure how stable it is—maybe my mother should check. Eh? Husband, what’s wrong?”

“No… It’s nothing…”

Jiang Lin wiped his face deeply, his eyes moist, and gazed skyward from the eaves of their home.

He’d thought of himself as an outstanding transmigrator, complete with a system cheat. Even in this world teeming with protagonists who all seemed bent on scattering his ashes, he had confidence in his own talent and ability to survive as a crafty, resourceful villain.

But compared to these people…why was the gap so wide…?

“Don’t be sad, Daddy. Even if you can’t master boxing, I’ll protect you,”

Little Nian Nian, perched on Jiang Lin’s head, waved her short chubby arms, her big eyes blinking adorably.

“It’s all right, husband. My father learned boxing from my mother too, and my grandfather from my grandmother. My mother and grandmother said they were slow at first, but they made progress.”

“…”
Jiang Lin wanted to complain, but nothing seemed quite right, and besides, why did this girl call him “husband” so naturally? It almost made him believe it himself.

“So your mother trained Uncle Chen in horse stance too?”

“Not exactly. Their methods were… a little… a little something else…” Chen Jia shot Jiang Lin a shy glance, her eyes turning bashful.

That “something else”? Was she implying couples’ cultivation methods? Chen Jia’s eyes seemed to drift. Could it be…

“Chen Jia, sorry, I…”

“If you don’t mind, husband…then we could also…”

“???”

Just as Jiang Lin tried to clarify that he hadn’t meant that, Chen Jia’s soft voice trailed off, growing quieter and quieter…

…

Meanwhile, in the heart of Sun and Moon Sect’s city, a palace-like complex sprawled across a quarter of Sun and Moon City—the headquarters of the Sun and Moon Sect itself.

At the very center stood the main hall. Beneath the bed in one chamber lay a small door. Descend through it, and you entered a pocket world almost as vast as Sun and Moon City itself.

In this small world, it was always spring. Bees chased butterflies, butterflies teased bees, tigers courted lions, and a horse led his wife to parade before a donkey.

All was harmonious and beautiful.

Outside a small wooden cottage in this blooming world, a woman in a long dress rocked gently in a lounge chair, savoring her leisure.

“Oh my, someone’s about to leave seclusion,” she murmured, slowly opening her eyes with a smile. Rising, she smoothed her skirt and bowed lightly toward the cottage.

“Welcome back, Sect Leader.”