Chapter 128: Chapter 126: Posing as Husband and Wife
’I didn’t expect to be stopped the moment I entered Fenggu Town!’
Lin Qing looked to be about thirty. His cultivation was impressive, at the mid-stage Innate Fifth Layer—far stronger than Lin Qiu. No wonder people said Lin Qiu was a good-for-nothing.
Reaching the mid-stage Innate Fifth Layer by the age of thirty practically made him one of the top three geniuses in Fenggu Town.
Jiang Jichen, however, was only displaying the cultivation of the Innate First Realm. To Lin Qing and his men, he was as weak as an ant—the kind of person they could bully and crush underfoot at will.
Lin Qing’s two followers were at the Innate Third Realm. At his command, a cold glint flashed in their eyes. Their gazes fell upon Jiang Jichen as if he were livestock ready for slaughter.
On paper, it was a search, but they had lost count of how many people they’d crippled in the process—all of them members of smaller families who had dared to defy Lin Qing.
Dark Force erupted from the hands of the two searchers as they reached for Jiang Jichen’s body.
This Dark Force would seep silently into its victim’s body, not detonating immediately. Only after the person had been gone for some time would it suddenly erupt, typically causing crippling injuries, destroying their cultivation, or in severe cases, instant death.
Of course, this Dark Force was only effective against those with far weaker cultivation. Seeing that Jiang Jichen was merely at the Innate First Realm, they figured they could toy with him however they pleased.
"Kid, I suspect you’re carrying the stolen treasure. Don’t even think about resisting. Just cooperate with our search, heh heh..."
one of the searchers sneered maliciously.
"Don’t waste words on him. I’ll restrain his arms while you search him!"
The other searcher said coldly.
Jiang Jichen sneered inwardly. ’Their Dark Force can’t even scratch me. Besides, they aren’t the only ones who can use it.’
He was very cooperative, allowing them to search him. As a hand touched the spot over his heart, a silent stream of Dark Force penetrated his body and sank into his heart.
’So ruthless. They’re actually trying to kill me!’
Killing intent flashed through Jiang Jichen’s own heart.
Had it been anyone else, a blast of Dark Force erupting in their heart would have meant certain death.
Jiang Jichen simply circulated his Source Character Qi Condensing Technique, and the Dark Force was refined, vanishing without a trace.
Of course, given Jiang Jichen’s formidable power, the Dark Force couldn’t have truly harmed him even if it had exploded in his heart.
Having planted the Dark Force, the two were about to pull their hands away when a faint, almost imperceptible aura emerged from Jiang Jichen. It flowed silently through their palms and into their bodies.
’Gray Killing Intent!’
The Dark Force Jiang Jichen used was condensed from the Gray Killing Intent of his Life Killing Technique. Even a single wisp was enough to destroy their cultivation upon detonation. Better still, it was completely untraceable and would not appear to be the work of Dark Force.
He had considered killing them, but he decided that a quick death would be letting them off too easily.
Once their cultivation was crippled, they would lose all value. A heartless man like Lin Qing would never support a pair of good-for-nothings.
He would surely cast them out, and men like them were bound to have countless enemies in Fenggu Town.
When they had their cultivation and Lin Qing as their backer, they could throw their weight around as they pleased, and no one dared to seek revenge.
But without their cultivation and a patron like Lin Qing, their vengeful victims would have no reason to hold back.
By now, the search was over, the Dark Force had been planted, and one of Lin Qing’s followers casually reached for the Mid-Level Storage Bag at Jiang Jichen’s waist.
"What are you doing? Do you really want to make an enemy of the Hua Family?"
Hua Xiaoling strode to Jiang Jichen’s side, shoved the man away, and demanded coldly.
Their audacity was pushing her to her limit.
Jiang Jichen, on the other hand, remained silent and completely unfazed.
But Lin Qing just smiled leisurely and said, "Even if he isn’t the thief, he still doesn’t have an Identity Token. He cannot enter Fenggu Town. So, my apologies, Miss Hua!"
Hua Xiaoling was so furious she almost attacked, but she knew she was no match for Lin Qing. Instead, she suddenly shouted, "Jiang Jichen is my husband! Why can’t he enter?"
A large crowd of onlookers from Fenggu Town had already gathered. They all recognized Lin Qing, and they certainly recognized the town’s number one beauty, Hua Xiaoling.
Hua Xiaoling was the goddess of many people’s dreams in Fenggu Town, and now, here she was, shouting before the town gate, "Jiang Jichen is my husband!"
What the hell? Their goddess was married? And to some piece of trash at the Innate First Realm?
In that instant, the crowd was flooded with a mix of emotions—shock, confusion, disbelief. Everyone thought they must have misheard.
The young prodigies who harbored fantasies about Hua Xiaoling were especially heartbroken. Some had eyes red with anguish, on the verge of challenging Jiang Jichen to a duel.
Even though Jiang Jichen’s cultivation was high enough to sweep them all aside, he couldn’t help but shudder inwardly as he felt the sheer force of their collective emotion.
’Damn, looks like Hua Xiaoling has a lot of admirers in Fenggu Town!’
Jiang Jichen knew, of course, that Hua Xiaoling had only said it to get him into the town.
’But did she really need to go this far?’
’Or maybe my charm is just too overwhelming, and she couldn’t help herself!’
Jiang Jichen gloated to himself but figured he still needed to play along. If they were going to pretend to be husband and wife, they had to make it convincing. This was his specialty, after all!
Jiang Jichen turned to Hua Xiaoling, about to speak, but she suddenly grabbed his hands. With a shy blush, her eyes shimmering with emotion, she gazed at him with deep affection. Her voice was incredibly sweet and full of feeling as she said, "My husband, I was going to wait until we returned to the Hua Family to announce this, but saying it now before the whole town is fine too. Thank you for risking everything to save me. In that moment, your towering figure, like that of a Celestial God, was etched into my heart. And you protected me the entire journey, slaying Fierce Beasts to clear my path. With you by my side, no matter how great the storms ahead, all I see are sunny skies. ’To win a single heart, and never be apart.’ Having you is all I need in this life!"
Hearing this, Jiang Jichen was shaken to his core.
’Now *that* is what you call acting!’
’I never would’ve guessed... Hua Xiaoling has truly mastered the art of faking a relationship. She’s leagues ahead of me. She’s... she’s incredible!’
’But even so, how could I, Jiang Jichen, back down now?’
An infinitely tender look flashed in his eyes. He tightened his grip on Hua Xiaoling’s soft, delicate hand, his voice thick with emotion. A thousand words were condensed into a single sentence: "Ling’er, let’s go home."
Then, he wrapped his arm around Hua Xiaoling’s soft, slender waist.
Seeming to have eyes only for each other, they didn’t spare the crowd another glance as they walked past Lin Qing and into the town.
Everyone was stunned, forgetting to stop them. They could only watch as the couple walked away...
