Jiang Xuan was well aware that denying having met Xia Xiao Yu at this moment would only make things worse. He might very well lose Nangong Liu Yun’s trust entirely. So, he boldly admitted:
“My dear wife, your intuition is spot on! I did meet Xia Xiao Yu yesterday. She just returned from her sect and Aunt Xia brought her to the Jiang Family for a visit.”
Upon hearing Jiang Xuan’s explanation, Nangong Liu Yun’s furrowed brow relaxed slightly.
“Is that really all there is to it? I can see she has some feelings for you. But from my observation, she seems too timid to act recklessly. When you told her not to follow, she really didn’t dare to and just watched us leave.”
Hearing this, Jiang Xuan lamented internally: “Wow, she’s good! Just one meeting with Xia Xiao Yu and she’s already figured her out. She really is a naive, wealthy benefactor. Ugh, I think the same way! That’s why I had a rough time yesterday. Who would’ve thought she’d change her demeanor and be so assertive? I almost lost my innocence! Luckily, Xia Xiao Yu hasn’t fully turned dark yet.”
Of course, Jiang Xuan couldn’t possibly explain the real situation to Nangong Liu Yun. He secretly decided to avoid any more dealings with Xia Xiao Yu in the future. He just wanted to earn some spirit stones, and she was after his body? That was taking it too far! He was very dedicated to the Young Lady Nangong!
After Jiang Xuan cleared things up, Nangong Liu Yun took him on a tour of the Nangong Mansion. With the head of the Nangong Family leading a hundred thousand soldiers into battle, everything within the mansion was now under the control of the Young Lady Nangong.
As they passed the training ground, Jiang Xuan noticed a woman resembling Nangong Liu Yun by about eighty percent, who was single-handedly taking on hundreds. Over a hundred strong fighters attacked simultaneously, and with a gentle sweep of her spear, the woman sent everyone flying.
At this moment, Nangong Liu Yun introduced her, saying, “That’s my sister, Nangong Xin Wan. Her strength makes her the strongest among the younger generation in the Imperial City. Many martial sects want her as a disciple, but she has turned them all down. Just right, I’ll introduce you to her; we can rely on her for protection!”
It seemed that Nangong Xin Wan sensed something, as she turned to look at Jiang Xuan and Nangong Liu Yun. Her gaze lingered on Jiang Xuan for a moment without any change in expression before she turned and left.
Nangong Liu Yun, slightly apologetic, said, “Husband, I’m sorry. My sister has always been a bit awkward and distant, almost like she has a permanent poker face. I haven’t seen her smile since she grew up. She might not be ready to accept you just yet.”
After finishing her sentence, Nangong Liu Yun noticed Jiang Xuan seemed a bit dazed.
“Darling, what’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing… just reminiscing about some things. Let’s continue our tour.”
While Jiang Xuan outwardly said this, internally he was drowning in a storm. He had scanned Nangong Xin Wan’s information with the system, and upon seeing what it revealed, he was tempted to make a run for it from Nangong Mansion.
Name: Nangong Xin Wan
Cultivation: Martial King Level 3
Spiritual Root: Exceptional Immortal Spiritual Root
Current Affection Level for Host: -10000
Didn’t they say she was the youngest Earth Martial powerhouse? How did she turn out to be a Martial King? That left a gap of three huge realms: Sky Martial, Martial Spirit, and Martial King! Jiang Xuan’s mind was blown.
What does it even mean to be a Martial King? That’s a level typically reached only by the ancestors of top martial sects! How is it commonplace in the Nangong Family?
No, cultivating that powerful was one thing—after all, Nangong Liu Yun’s hidden strength was known. But why did her affection level skyrocket to -10000?
It was just their first meeting, and hatred was already maxed out! Jiang Xuan had already tagged Nangong Xin Wan as a dangerous person in his mind. He absolutely couldn’t be alone with her.
Otherwise, getting his neck sliced wouldn’t be out of the question. Right now, the safest place in Nangong Mansion was actually next to Nangong Liu Yun.
Before long, Nangong Liu Yun brought Jiang Xuan to her small courtyard room and slowly locked the door behind them.
“Darling, last time we were interrupted outside the city, but this time there shouldn’t be any disturbances.”
After saying that, Nangong Liu Yun moved closer and cupped Jiang Xuan’s face.
“Hehe, I’m really starting to feel something for your face, now I understand the meaning of ‘a beauty brings disaster.'”
Before Jiang Xuan could respond, she eagerly sealed his lips with hers. Bit by bit, she invaded and claimed his space. With Jiang Xuan losing all initiative, he had no choice but to carefully cooperate.
After a while, Nangong Liu Yun finally eased off Jiang Xuan.
However, her gaze turned a bit dark as it moved close to his ear.
“Husband, you seemed a bit experienced just now. Was it my illusion?”
Jiang Xuan: “!!!!!!”
“What? It’s… all thanks to you guiding me!”
“Well, that’s true. You rarely go out, so it’s normal not to know these things. I’ll teach you slowly. How about staying with me for dinner at the Nangong Family tonight? My mother should be returning in triumph.”
Just then, a voice called from outside the room.
“Young Lady, we’ve received news that the Lady is returning victorious and is almost at the Imperial City.”
“Got it.”
After a quick response, Nangong Liu Yun continued speaking to Jiang Xuan, “Husband, just wait here in the Nangong Family for me. I’ll head out to welcome my mother. I can’t let you show your face; otherwise, the ladies of the entire Imperial City will be captivated, and I can’t let you harm them.”
Jiang Xuan: “??????”
Internally, Jiang Xuan muttered, “Am I supposed to be blamed for being handsome?”
After giving a few instructions, Nangong Liu Yun left the room, leaving Jiang Xuan alone.
In his mind, the system chimed in, “Yes, host, if you weren’t handsome, those with affection levels of -6666 and -8888 would have been long dead by now.”
Jiang Xuan: “…”
“Hey, system, why are you suddenly so talkative? Did you finally wake up or do you have an ulterior motive? Just to make it clear, if you want me to do some task or something, I won’t accept.”
“Ding! Please rest assured, host, you’re just a trash with a defective spiritual root. This system had no expectations of you and won’t be giving you any tasks. By the way, if it weren’t for your handsome face, this system would have left you long ago!”
“Shove off, shove off! You’re a trash system too; let’s not throw stones at each other.”
As Jiang Xuan was busy engaging in a battle of wits with his system, a sound of a door opening suddenly snapped him back to reality.
The next moment, a woman in white slowly walked in. When he recognized that it was Nangong Xin Wan, Jiang Xuan panicked immediately.
He knew her affection level toward him was -10000, and now that Nangong Liu Yun was out, he was in serious trouble.
This Martial King was way above his league!
Forcing himself to calm down, Jiang Xuan greeted her, “Uh… Xin Wan, are you looking for your sister? She just went out to welcome the head of the Nangong Family; do you need to go too…?”
At this moment, Nangong Xin Wan expressionlessly said, “Yes, I know. I’m here to find you.”
The girl’s crisp voice dramatically contrasted with her poker-faced demeanor. However, when Jiang Xuan probed and discovered her intentions, he completely panicked.
This person was definitely here for him!
How could someone with -10000 in affection communicate? In times like this, being handsome won’t help at all!
It’s over! Nangong Xin Wan clearly intended to wipe him out now that Nangong Liu Yun wasn’t around.
At this moment, Jiang Xuan hurriedly called out in his mind, “System, where are you? Hurry and save me! If you don’t act now, your host is toast! Where will you find such a handsome host later? Quick, do you have any secret abilities? Tell me right now! Whether we can turn this around depends on you!”
“Host, I’m just a useless system. You had the opportunity to use that starting package to enhance your spiritual root quality, but instead, you maxed out your charm.”
“You always said you were traumatized from being single in your last life, and you wanted to max out your charm to get a partner in this life.”
“I told you, your looks have already surpassed 99.99% of people; you don’t need to boost your charm.”
“But you thought you weren’t perfect and insisted on maxing out your charm; did you forget all that?”
“What? Oh, I thought that was just a newbie package! Who would’ve thought you’ve only given me one package all these years?”
“It’s okay, host! After all, your charm is maxed out, well beyond the ‘handsome disaster’ level, ordinarily, you shouldn’t be in danger.”
“System, quit with the chit-chat. Just tell me if I’m really in danger, will you step in or not?”
“Fine, host, if you’re really in danger, I will intervene.”
“Aha! So you do have some secrets! Your claws are showing now.”
“Never mind. With that I’ll be a little relieved for the time being.”
As Jiang Xuan communicated with the system in his mind, only a few moments passed in reality.
When he came back to his senses, Jiang Xuan carefully said, “Uh… Xin Wan, what do you need from me?”
No sooner had he asked, when Nangong Xin Wan pressed a long spear against Jiang Xuan’s chest.
“I hope you will distance yourself from my sister. The gap between you two is like the moon in the sky and a toad on the ground.”
“Of course! I’ve always felt I don’t deserve Liu Yun! I’m the one who’s reached too high, but this marriage isn’t just about me…”
Before Jiang Xuan could finish, he was cut off.
“You’re misunderstanding. I meant to say that my useless sister, who knows nothing but to act arrogantly, doesn’t deserve you.”
Jiang Xuan: “???????”
Upon hearing this from Nangong Xin Wan, Jiang Xuan was utterly confused, unable to collect himself.
He initially thought Nangong Xin Wan understood her sister’s strength, which is why she’d said he didn’t match Nangong Liu Yun. But what was this change of events?
Seriously, Nangong Liu Yun was hiding her strength too well that even her own family was in the dark.
Her sister even thinks of her as a useless person—this is quite the revelation!
If that’s the case, then he should reverse his approach.
Seeing Jiang Xuan solemnly say, “Xin Wan, I think you have many misunderstandings about your sister. Although I haven’t known her for long, from what I see, Liu Yun is kind-hearted, compassionate, and not at all like the spoiled rich girl rumors suggest.”
Nangong Xin Wan: “???????”
As soon as he finished, Jiang Xuan could feel the temperature in the room plummet.
Suddenly, a powerful aura erupted from Nangong Xin Wan. All the strong figures in the Imperial City drastically changed their expressions upon sensing it. Even the powerful beings within the palace were on high alert.
Meanwhile, the already near the city Nangong Liu Yun frowned.
“This aura feels like it’s coming from the Nangong Mansion. Oh no! Could it be that my husband is in danger?”
Realizing this, Nangong Liu Yun, who had been sitting in her palanquin, instantly disappeared from sight.
If someone saw this scene, it would definitely shatter their understanding.
After all, space jumping is a standard feature typically reserved only for legendary Martial Emperors.
Moments later, when Nangong Liu Yun appeared in the Nangong Mansion, she noticed her injured sister, Nangong Xin Wan.
“Xin Wan, what happened here?”
At this point, Nangong Xin Wan wiped the bl**d from her lips, looking lost.
“Sister, I’m sorry! Just now, a man in black barged into the Nangong Mansion, and his target was… was your fiancé. After I intervened, I was heavily injured by him… I’m just too weak… I can’t protect anything.”
“It’s okay; you’re not to blame. You go rest and recover. I’ve sent someone to welcome our mother; I’ll handle the man in black who intruded.”
“But… but sister, you have no martial arts cultivation…”
“Don’t worry; I have the shadow guards my mother left for me.”
“Alright, but please be careful. The strength of that man in black likely rivals that of mother. If he hadn’t rushed to leave just now, I might have…”
Nangong Liu Yun gazed thoughtfully at her sister.
“Xin Wan, you go back and recover. Anyone who dares to harm my sister and tries to take away my husband won’t get away with it.”
After sending a few people to the palace to report the situation, Nangong Liu Yun looked at her messy room and furrowed her brow.
Meanwhile, Nangong Xin Wan returned to her small courtyard room, where she touched a mechanism on the wall, and a secret door slowly opened.
As she walked inside, the secret door closed again, leaving no traces behind.
Deep inside the secret room, Jiang Xuan was tied up and thrown onto an ice bed.
Seeing Nangong Xin Wan arrive, Jiang Xuan questioned, “What are you trying to do?”
Hearing this, Nangong Xin Wan stepped forward and pinched his face.
“This situation is getting more interesting. It seems my sister is hiding quite a lot from me. I just hid you, and here she comes back to the Nangong Mansion. She returned faster than I expected, nearly exposing my plan.”
“But she should have been far from the city; even a Sky Martial being wouldn’t have reached here so quickly. So perhaps everything about her not cultivating was a lie.”
“Do you know that my sister has always been spoiled by my mother because she couldn’t cultivate since childhood? Every time my mother comes back, she prioritizes giving her all the good stuff while I only get what’s left behind.”
“Every time I was tired from cultivating, my mother forced me to keep going, not giving me any time to rest, always saying that I needed to support the family and I had to work hard to protect my sister.”
“But what about my sister? She just enjoys her life every day, hanging around and indulging herself because she doesn’t have martial cultivation talent, and my mother has always felt guilty and indulgent towards her.”
“She’s always lived the life I long for, and I’m so envious and jealous of her. After a while, I became numb from cultivating every day and lost my emotions, turning into a poker-faced person.”
“Actually, I harbor no hatred for my sister. Even if my mother is biased, she has always looked after me. She shares good things with me, and whatever I want, she’ll give it to me without hesitation.”
“But my mother and the Empress treat her too well. The moment my sister mentioned she liked you, my mother did everything to promote this marriage. The Empress blatantly disregarded the objections of several princesses and granted my sister marriage to you.”
“My sister can get what she wants with just a word, but no matter how hard I try, I rarely earn recognition from others. Instead, they think my strong talent in cultivation is a given. I’ve always lived in my sister’s shadow.”
“However, I’ve discovered my sister seems to have deceived me; she’s not a cultivation waste at all. And I can just use you to see what my sister is really like.”
Jiang Xuan: “!!!!!!!!!”
At that moment, Jiang Xuan’s inner thoughts were screaming, “This is getting way too intense! And also, why involve me in your plans?!”
