Chapter 60 - 54: Jiang Mu’s First Confession
Besides the news that the Island Master of Glazed Island was going to claim the Ziwei Star Position, another message from the paper crane also caught Shangguan Luoxue’s attention.
That was the Double Fish Jade Pendant.
It was said to be the only divine artifact capable of defying the Celestial Dao.
However, the truth was that Jiang Chaoxi had obtained it back then, yet he was still obliterated by the Celestial Dao.
But that didn’t diminish its allure.
After all, there were far too many rumors surrounding it.
Rumors claimed it could shatter the void, grant otherworldly fortune, split a person in two, or even create a duplicate, among other things.
Unfortunately, after Jiang Chaoxi died, the divine artifact’s whereabouts became unknown.
However, a clue suddenly surfaced not long ago, spurring many people to begin searching for it.
But based on the information received so far, it was still proving incredibly difficult to find.
Perhaps the divine artifact was gone for good.
’After all, why would the Celestial Dao allow an external object to challenge its authority?’
Shangguan Luoxue sighed softly.
She had never met the Great Demon, Jiang Chaoxi, but that didn’t stop her from hearing all sorts of stories about him.
Absurd claims like how the Star Position system was a deathmatch, how everyone was just a disposable pawn, and how they should all resist.
In order to defy the Celestial Dao, he embraced the path of Demon Fiends, earning the wrath of humanity and the resentment of demonkind.
And yet, there were still people who admired and were fascinated by a man like that.
The ancestor of the Celestial Blade Sect, for example.
Or her own Grand Master.
The ridiculous thing was, that Great Demon was a hundred times more arrogant than her own master.
He never deigned to look at the Fairies who adored him, his mind completely consumed with defying the Celestial Dao, sparing no one a thought.
Her Grand Master fawned over him for so long, yet he never once responded.
After he died, her Grand Master even suffered a cultivation deviation over him.
A textbook case of being hopelessly love-struck.
However, Shangguan Luoxue had heard an interesting piece of gossip.
It was said that when the Great Demon was on his deathbed, he confided in a close friend that he deeply regretted pretending to be so proper his whole life, because in reality, he’d desperately wanted to sleep with women.
But his position was too lofty, and he could never bring himself to drop his dignified facade.
He only came to regret it as he was dying.
He said he truly wished he could split himself in two, so the other half could spend all its time chasing girls and being a degenerate.
He said that this regret might become his Heart Demon.
Of course, this was just gossip.
After all, how could such a cold and arrogant man possibly have thoughts like that? No one would believe it.
The man was, by all accounts, very proper.
’Ridiculously, my Grand Master always regretted that she couldn’t be the Great Demon’s first woman.’
’What’s there to regret about that?’
Shangguan Luoxue inwardly felt a certain amount of contempt for this Grand Master of hers.
’At least I wouldn’t be like that.’
’He’s just a man. Is it really necessary to love someone so desperately?’
’If that Jiang Chaoxi were standing in front of me right now, I, Shangguan Luoxue, wouldn’t even spare him a glance, let alone be moved.’
’Of course, I wouldn’t fight my Grand Master over a man either.’
’I’m not capable of committing such a flagrantly disrespectful act.’
’I’m very filial!’
Shangguan Luoxue shook her head and murmured:
"I suppose that old fossil failed to find the Double Fish Jade Pendant, so he’s going to claim a Star Position instead. Hmph. I’d like to see just how you manage that."
——
——
By the time he returned home, the night was already late.
Jiang Mu, however, found the lights in the front hall still on.
Stepping inside, he saw Bai Xiang sitting upright at the table, looking through the account books by the dim yellow candlelight.
One of her hands held down the page while her other, slender hand moved across the abacus.
CLACK CLACK. The sound was like pearls, large and small, falling onto a jade plate.
Today, the woman wore a plain cyan, cross-collared dress, its wide hem spread around the legs of her chair like flower petals.
Her small feet, clad in soft-soled embroidered slippers, peeked out playfully from beneath her skirt. They were casually crossed, the tips of her toes swaying gently in time with the rhythm of the abacus, exuding a hint of languor.
’This woman is really starting to look more and more like the lady of the house.’
Seeing Jiang Mu return, Bai Xiang looked up and gave him a gentle smile.
"Why are you still up so late?"
Jiang Mu asked.
Bai Xiang gestured with her hands:
*I couldn’t sleep, and there were still some accounts from the shop that needed settling, so I decided to pass the time.*
*I left some hot water for you in the kitchen. Go wash up and get some rest. Don’t worry about me.*
After signing, she lowered her head again, her fingertips dancing nimbly across the beads.
A lock of black hair slipped down from her temple.
It caught the faint light from the lamp’s halo, like an ink-dyed willow thread, and softly brushed against her fair cheek.
It felt as if something had gently tickled Jiang Mu’s heart.
Jiang Mu watched, lost in thought for a moment.
A strange thought suddenly popped into his head:
’Although this woman’s looks are plain, she wouldn’t be a bad choice for a wife.’
’She can manage a household, has a gentle temperament, and is a great cook.’
’Besides, look at those plump hips. You can tell at a glance she’d be good for bearing children.’
’She might be a mute, but that has its advantages. At least she won’t be nagging all day, so I’ll have some peace and quiet.’
’So... should I marry her?’
Jiang Mu was confident. With his family background and looks, he believed that if he proposed, she would absolutely accept through tears of joy.
She wasn’t some young lady from a wealthy family, after all.
The way she’d stubbornly refused to leave his house in the beginning was likely because she was looking for a stable place to call home.
Perhaps his gaze was too direct, because Bai Xiang seemed to sense it. She looked up at him, a quizzical expression on her face.
She signed: *Is there something else?*
"Ahem, it’s nothing."
Jiang Mu gave a tactical cough. "I just wanted to remind you to try not to go out alone for a while. The city hasn’t been very safe lately."
Bai Xiang nodded lightly, then lowered her eyes and returned to her accounts.
"You’ve worked hard."
Jiang Mu said with feeling, "If you hadn’t been here to help take care of the house all this time, this place would’ve probably turned into a pigsty long ago. Sometimes, I really think I can’t get by without you."
Bai Xiang smiled gently, her eyes curving into crescents, but she didn’t think much of his words.
Just then, Jiang Mu suddenly reached out.
Bai Xiang assumed he was reaching for the account book beside her, so she paid him no mind.
But the next moment,
the man’s warm palm came to rest directly on the back of the hand she was using to move the beads.
CLICK.
The abacus bead stopped moving.
Bai Xiang froze.
For a moment, she forgot to pull her hand away and simply stared, stunned.
With her skills, she clearly could have dodged it, but for some reason, her reaction in that instant was half a beat too slow.
Jiang Mu held her hand, feeling its warmth, so smooth and soft to the touch.
"Xiang’Er, what do you think of me?"
Bai Xiang was still in a daze.
It was the first time in her life that a man had held her hand.
Although she had touched this man’s body all over before, she had been the one to initiate it.
This felt completely different.
She couldn’t say exactly how, but in any case, it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling.
When she didn’t react for a long moment, Jiang Mu tightened his grip slightly.
Bai Xiang subconsciously tried to pull her hand away.
’But then again,’ she thought, ’I’ve already felt him up all over. Now that he’s holding my hand, I guess... we’re even?’
’Whatever, it’s just holding my hand.’
She silently comforted herself, forcibly suppressing the strange feeling in her heart. ’Besides, he hasn’t done anything inappropriate.’
’I have my limits, after all.’
’As long as he doesn’t cross them, this is acceptable.’
Jiang Mu didn’t beat around the bush and got straight to the point. "Xiang’Er, will you be my wife?"
’A man has to be decisive about taking a wife.’
’Shilly-shallying isn’t manly.’
However, considering that words alone might not seem sincere enough...
Jiang Mu took the Storage Ring he had exchanged his merits for out from his robes and slipped it directly onto her slender finger.
"This can be our engagement gift."
?