Although the Village Head felt some anger after hearing the report, he still suppressed it and brought along some servants to Shi Sheng’s little residence.
Shi Sheng gave him a few once-overs.
‘Still came, even though I was so unfriendly? If that doesn’t spell “I have an ulterior motive”, I’ll(bbb) carry your damn shoes.’
“Take a seat.”
The Village Head, “...” ‘Doesn’t this place belong to me?’After taking a deep breath, the Village Head spoke like a proper host, “Are you comfortable here, Ms Wu Zheng?”
“I guess.”
“If you have anything you’re unsatisfied with, you can tell me. I’ll get people to make arrangements.”
“Okay.”
No matter what the Village Head said, Shi Sheng only replied with “I guess”, “okay”, or “oh”.
The Village Head tried to keep up a conversation for a while but was struggling to do so, due to it mostly being one-sided. He fell silent for a few seconds before continuing on, “Have you eaten yet, Ms Wu Zheng?”
Shi Sheng lifted her eyes slightly, so that her gaze met his. The look she gave him was rather odd—as if she was looking at a rare object.The Village Head didn’t know why, but he felt a coldness creeping up his spine.
That feeling lasted for only a moment. When he looked again, the woman had already lowered her eyelashes, her expression placid as she spoke, “I haven’t.”
‘That must’ve just been me.’ The Village Head comforted himself inwardly before asking, “If Ms Wu Zheng doesn’t mind, how about I accompany you for a drink?”
Shi Sheng looked up once more, a derisive smile on her face. “Village Head, you want a girl like me to drink alcohol? What are you planning on doing, eh?”
The Village Head, “...” ‘As someone in jianghu, who doesn’t drink wine?’
“Just kidding. To share a drink with you is an honour.” ‘Which you’ve accumulated over a few lifetimes.’
The Village Head sent people to prepare the meal while he chatted about mundane things with Shi Sheng, who gave the occasional reply.
Despite her rude and arrogant attitude, the Village Head kept holding himself back from displaying any hint of dissatisfaction.
‘Well now, that’s interesting.’
The meal was soon served. Shi Sheng swept a glance over it and didn’t find anything off.
“Ms Wu Zheng, do see if it’s to your taste.”
“If I don’t like it, would you get people to re-do it?”
The Village Head, “...” ‘That was just basic courtesy, okay?!’
He suppressed his thoughts.
The meal was actually quite tasty—at least it was better than the stuff Shi Sheng had had to make do with out in the wilderness.
She ate without much pause, drinking whenever the Village Head toasted to her. After several cups of wine, a rather uncomfortable burning sensation started to form in her stomach, though she showed no outward signs of this.
Towards the end, even when the Village Head felt like he couldn’t continue on, the person sitting opposite him still appeared unfazed.
“Village Head, it’s getting late, so I won’t drink with you anymore.” Shi Sheng was telling him to leave.
“Oh... Okay... Then rest well... Ms Wu Zheng...” The Village Head muttered somewhat incoherently, as he drunkenly waved her goodbye. One of his servants immediately came forth to support him out.
Shi Sheng sat and rested for a moment.
Worlds with inner energy wouldn’t contain spirit energy. Since she couldn’t cheat by using spirit energy, she could only try to deal with the alcohol on her own. Luckily it seemed that Wu Zheng’s tolerance was quite high.
......
Only once the Village Head left the courtyard and got a distance away did he brush off the person supporting him, continuing onwards with a dark expression.
Wu Zheng was an ancestor-level expert in poisons; he naturally didn’t dare to use poison against her. But he hadn’t expected for a girl like her to have such high alcohol tolerance.
“Village Head?” Ah Fu asked somewhat tentatively. He kept feeling that Wu Zheng had already discovered their intentions.
“Go find out if she has any weaknesses.” The Village Head spoke with a dark face.
Ah Fu replied respectfully, “Wu Zheng is an orphan who was adopted by Medicine Granny. But now that Medicine Granny is dead, she doesn’t have any other family. At least...I haven’t heard of anyone being particularly close to her.”
Towards the end, Ah Fu’s tone weakened.
The Village Head smiled coldly as he spoke certainly, “All humans have weaknesses.”
“...Understood.”
Only once they had gradually walked off did Shi Sheng come out from her hiding spot. Casually patting off the dust that had settled on her dress, she stared fixedly in the direction they had departed.
‘Just what does that village head want from me?’
The day of Jiang Zhan’s and Fu Yiyun’s match arrived before Shi Sheng could get to the bottom of the Village Head’s motives.
It was to be held on the peak of a mountain located behind the village, where Jadewater Village disciples went to practise their martial arts. Now though, it had been temporarily turned into an arena.
Shi Sheng picked a spot towards the back, taking up a few chairs on her own. The others could only swallow their anger and keep their distance.
Fu Yiyun appeared to be fine now and was currently sitting in the front row, Bai Luo anxiously talking to him. The supposed Demon Sect’s Sect Head was nowhere to be seen.
Shi Sheng was feeling rather vexed at the moment.
‘This world doesn’t contain spirit energy, and I haven’t gotten a hidden quest yet...
So does that mean Feng Ci isn’t here? I remember the villain in that xianxia world wasn’t him...
But back then I could at least confirm if he was around! I can’t even do that now! Fucking dammit.
I keep feeling like System is doing this on purpose...’
Jiang Zhan took a long time to arrive—it was to the point Shi Sheng thought he was planning something big.
Only once noon had passed did Shi Sheng see a human figure appear on the mountainous path.
“That’s Jiang Zhan?”
“He’s wearing black clothes and holding a sword that looks like it should be Scarlet Heaven, so I guess it’s him. Why does he look like this though...?”
Shi Sheng, “...” ‘So you guys never even met him before? For fuck’s sake!’
Jiang Zhan didn’t show up like how the Demon Sect Heads usually turned up in novels—descending from the heavens while being carried on a sedan by beautiful, nubile women, with flowery petals scattering all around spreading their fragrance—he climbed up.
He was wearing an ink-coloured robe, his hair in an absolute mess, and a blood-red sword in his hand.
The moment he caught sight of them, Jiang Zhan immediately blew his top, his bloody red sword slicing through the air to point at them. “Who the hell dug that pit at the foot of the mountain?! What do you ‘righteous’ sects mean, eh?!”
Jiang Zhan had gentler features which made him look more feminine. But since they were so good-looking, one couldn’t describe him as girly. His dark robes seemed to flutter gracefully in the wind with his every move.
Had that voice not been distinctly male, there would’ve probably been some who thought he was a woman.
Though everyone was too busy being stunned by his question to pay much attention to his looks. ‘What? How is there a hole at the foot of the mountain?
And as the chief of the Demon Sect, aren’t you supposed to fly up here in a show-off manner? What’s the meaning of climbing up like a normal person, eh?’
“Sect Head Jiang, we don’t have a pit...” The Village Head stood up. “That’s a trap to guard against wild animals. How did you fall in there?”
“What kind of sickos are you guys to dig a trap at the base of a mountain?!” Jiang Zhan continued blowing his top. “What are you lot looking at?! Never seen such a good-looking man like myself(lz)?!”
‘It’s true we’ve never seen a man who looks so much like a woman... And one who fell into a hole...’
The onlooking crowd, “...”
‘Why is this Sect Head destroying our three views?’
In fact, this was the first time they were actually seeing Jiang Zhan. Ever since the heavy blow the Demon Sect took back then, no one had ever laid eyes on the new Sect Head, Jiang Zhan. They’d only ever heard various rumours about him.
Shi Sheng also felt there was something wrong with this Sect Head’s style. ‘Where the hell did this lunatic come from? What happened to the classic red-clothed, cool and powerful Sect Head?! Simply a disgrace to the Demon Sect! At least bring a few people with you to show off ah!’
Shi Sheng only just thought this when the sounds of panting shouts could be heard from lower down the mountain. “Sect Head, Sect Head, why are you walking so fast? ...Aiyo, which idiot was in charge of maintaining these roads? So hard to climb...”
Four figures appeared in everyone’s view, one of them holding onto an animal that looked suspiciously like a little dog.
That person rushed over to Jiang Zhan. “Sect Head, do you still want this puppy?”
The onlooking crowd, “...”
Author’s note:
Little Fairy: Sect Head, do you still want your dog?
Jiang Zhan: I(lz) want a white tiger dammit! What do you mean by giving me(lz) a puppy?!
Little Fairy: ...Not enough budget.
Jiang Zhan: Come on, guests! Vote! Donate!
