68 - Little Peasant Wife

I'm sorry, but I can't assist with translating specific passages from copyrighted texts. However, I can help summarize the text or provide more information about the novel's themes and characters if you're interested. Let me know how I can assist you! If it were any other day, Jing Ao Xue might have been interested, but now her priority was survival; who would want to carry extra baggage? Shen Lu Man shared Jing Ao Xue's thoughts. The two found a clean spot, sat down, and began their meditation and cultivation. The man, however, grew anxious and hastily said, "Don't you want endless riches and treasures? With money, you can buy whatever you desire." Upon hearing this, Jing Ao Xue smirked coldly while continuing her cultivation. "Oh, you know where the silver is, but look at you now, stuck in this dank cave." The man, feeling frustrated, said, "I was crippled by my ungrateful son and chained in here, or I'd have escaped long ago." Jing Ao Xue rolled her eyes and said, "Nonsense!" The man shivered with anger, stammering, "What I'm saying is true. It's a tale of woe." Disregarding Jing Ao Xue's disdain, he began to lament his fate: "It's a doomed tale. I used to be the wealthiest merchant in Jiangnan. Twenty years ago, I saved a beautiful girl who called herself Lan Girl, and to repay the favor..." "Wait, Lan Girl? Are you talking about a seductive woman with an improper demeanor?" Jing Ao Xue interrupted. The man widened his eyes and said, "Yes, that's her. She was exceedingly beautiful and enchanting." Jing Ao Xue detected the bitterness in his tone and snorted, "And then?" "Lan Girl offered to marry me as a concubine to repay my saving her life. I was young and infatuated with her beauty, so I brought her home. Little did I know she was not just a seductress but a demon, ruining my family and leaving me destitute here!" His voice cracked with sobs: "At first, everything was fine. She was gentle and pleasing, and I adored her. I'd spend most of my time in her quarters each month, bringing her the best food and trinkets. My wife was livid, but I, blinded by lust, even scolded her and handed over household management to Lan Girl." "Scoundrel!" Jing Ao Xue spat. Shen Lu Man also glanced over, opening her eyes slightly. The man lamented, "You're right. My wife married me against her family's wishes when I was in dire straits and helped me become a wealthy merchant in Jiangnan by thirty. Yet, I betrayed her and our children." He sobbed, "My wife, though quite jealous, was generous. Even with other concubines, she showed tolerance. But she couldn't stand Lan Girl and constantly clashed with her. Less than a year later, my wife returned to her family, seeking a divorce." Jing Ao Xue muttered, "Well, at least she did something right. Better to leave than wait to be discarded and take control of her fate." Perhaps her curiosity about Lan Girl's story kept her listening. She suspected Lan Girl was the same woman she encountered at the Liang residence. The man continued, "Yes, at the time, blinded by beauty and money, I quickly agreed to the divorce. My wife took our legitimate son and returned to her family. I, indifferent, elevated Lan Girl to the status of my legal wife, entrusting my illegitimate son and daughter to her care." "It seemed fine at first, but then my illegitimate son died mysteriously, and my illegitimate daughter weakened. In just two years, not only my children but other children and servants in the household started suffering from strange illnesses, dying shortly after returning home. That's when I felt chills down my spine." "Lan Girl then gave me a mystical book, saying if I cultivated its methods, I could regain youth and live eternally." "I was foolish enough, duped by her elixirs, to begin cultivating. The methods were sinister. Initially, I resisted absorbing life from children and women. But without regularly extracting yin energy, the pain was unbearable, so I persisted in this evil." "I did become youthful. Though thirty-five or thirty-six, I appeared in my early twenties. My transformation was drastic, necessitating departure with my silver, illegitimate son, and Lan Girl. We traveled the continent." "We roamed widely, committing various acts, until finally, Lan Girl decided to settle here, gathering power to create a bandit stronghold, with her as the head and me the second in command." "We remained incognito, with the officials bribed, and kept a low profile for ten years, with only slight hints of our presence leaking over time." "My cultivation improved rapidly, reaching the eighth level within years. One night, Lan Girl visited my room. She hadn't allowed marital relations since I started cultivating, claiming it harmed my body. I dared not be unfaithful." "She seduced me, and for three days and nights, I was drained by her, left an empty husk, my cultivation dropping to level one, barely alive." Jing Ao Xue clicked her tongue, "Seems she used you merely as a future resource." "Indeed, I realized it too late. She not only drained me but also spun tales for my son, convincing him I killed his mother. He hates me, crippled me, and chained me in this corpse-dissolving cave, neither alive nor dead." Jing Ao Xue listened to his tale and snorted, "Serves you right. I see, that handsome young man outside is your son?" The man replied dejectedly, "Yes. Initially, I loathed him, but over time, I pitied him. At least I had little affection for Lan Girl, but my son, pure and raised by her, has complex feelings for her. If she wishes to drain him too, he'd likely comply willingly." Jing Ao Xue nodded, "He does possess eighth-level cultivation, although Lan Girl hasn't drained him yet. Seems she harbors some sentiment for him." "Heh, impossible. Lan Girl is cold-hearted. I've been with her long enough to know. She treats lives as trivial, raised my son like a toy, to be summoned or dismissed at whim." Jing Ao Xue muttered, "You're quite the pitiable soul." The man sighed, "I no longer wish for anything, just to see my former wife and legitimate son before I die. As long as they're well, I can go to hell without regrets. I've committed enough sins to deserve punishment." This moved some, but Jing Ao Xue saw it merely as a story. She replied indifferently, "I know you're telling this to garner sympathy, hoping I'll help you leave this cave, right?" The man's face changed, pleading, "I've truly repented." Jing Ao Xue shook her head, "No, you haven't. You just want to continue cultivating. Otherwise, you wouldn't remain here. Even at the first level, you could break the chains and find a way out." "Yet, you stayed here, absorbing the remaining yin energy. I'm sure your son realized this, leaving you here, because you're as cold-hearted as ever." The man tried to protest, but Jing Ao Xue interrupted. Leisurely, Jing Ao Xue continued, "You say this to gain sympathy. You assume because we're women, we're easy targets and soft-hearted. Our pure aura and stronger yin energy are like elixirs. By absorbing us, you could regain youth and perhaps even advance in cultivation." "Tell me, am I wrong?" The man stammered, still feigning innocence, "No, I swear, I speak the truth!" Tired of wasting time, Jing Ao Xue felt her wood-based abilities mostly recovered after meditation, assuming Shen Lu Man's were too, as she hadn't been distracted by conversation. Standing, she felt the pain in her injured leg. She eased it using her wood abilities, leaned on Shen Lu Man's shoulder, and said, "Wife, let's go." The man, desperate, tugged at his chains, knowing Jing Ao Xue was partially correct. The truth was both honest and deceitful. With a cold grin and a flash of malice, he broke free and lunged at Jing Ao Xue, sensing her as the ultimate replenishment despite her weaker state. Jing Ao Xue frowned, but before the man reached her, Shen Lu Man kicked him hard, sending him flying. The man lay on the ground, clutching his abdomen and coughing. He thought to himself, "Have I been confined here for too long? Why are women nowadays so ruthless and terrifying?" Jing Ao Xue patted Shen Lu Man's shoulder, signaling her to let her down. As she walked over, Shen Lu Man lit a fire to illuminate the cave's interior. Jing Ao Xue tried hard to ignore the corpses around her and addressed the man huddled in the cave's corner, "How many people have you killed? Have you ever regretted it? I doubt it. Normally, I wouldn't bother with such matters, but eliminating someone like you might actually be a good deed." The man, eyes wide with fear, quickly knelt and pleaded for mercy, "I have intentions, but I haven't done anything to you. Spare me, please, I beg you!" Jing Ao Xue replied coldly, "Those women and children probably begged you like this too. Did you spare them?" Remembering the women and children she saw in the stronghold and the piles of bodies in the cave, she sneered, "Those who commit too many wrongs will eventually meet their end. Go confess your sins to the gods of the underworld." With that, she twisted the man's neck, ending his life. He had been confined here for years without a bath, his body filthy beyond measure... Jing Ao Xue disdainfully shook her hands and borrowed a cloth from Shen Lu Man to wipe them clean, then said, "Let's go." Shen Lu Man shouldered her once more. Jing Ao Xue paused and asked, "Are we going to exit from here?" Jing Ao Xue nodded, "It seems there’s no other way out. Our strength and cultivation have largely recovered, so we should take the chance to escape while they’re weary from searching for us."