CHAPTER 35: CHAPTER 35 OLD AFFAIRS_1

"Senior Sister Chen?" Upon hearing the footsteps, Shen Mo turned his head and saw Chen Mengze, who had followed him out.

"The Dark Crystal Mine is rich in metallic Qi. If a Stone Spirit were to condense here, it would likely be very powerful."

"You haven’t achieved Qi Gathering yet, so you might not be able to handle it," Chen Mengze said calmly. "That’s why I came out with you, to prevent any accidents."

"Oh, I see. Thank you for your concern, Senior Sister Chen," Shen Mo said with a smile.

The two of them proceeded cautiously, patrolling the mine.

"By the way, Senior Sister Chen, isn’t your birthday coming up soon?" Shen Mo suddenly asked. "Have you thought about what kind of birthday gift you’d like?"

"You still remember my birthday?"

Chen Mengze was momentarily stunned, a wave of warmth spreading through her heart.

These past few years, I’ve intentionally distanced myself from him. I thought our relationship had faded, but I didn’t expect him to remember such things so clearly.

"As for a birthday gift... If someone were to give me a Green Wood Sachet on my birthday, I would be very happy."

Chen Mengze hesitated for a moment before speaking.

A Green Wood Sachet?

Shen Mo quickly made a mental note, planning to tell Guo Zhao when the time was right.

"Also, from now on, back in the cave mansion, if Senior Brother Guo invites me to spend time with him, I’ll call for you. You shouldn’t keep holing yourself up in your room, engrossed in alchemy and talisman making."

Chen Mengze continued, "If you’re not around, Senior Brother Guo always tries to say strange things."

"Well..."

Shen Mo hesitated upon hearing this.

I’ve already accepted benefits from Guo Zhao to specifically create opportunities for them. If I take the payment but don’t deliver, that would be rather unethical.

"What, you’re unwilling?"

Seeing his hesitation, Chen Mengze felt a little puzzled. She frowned slightly and asked, "Did Senior Brother Guo say something to you?"

"Senior Brother Guo... well, he did indeed ask me to help him out a bit."

Shen Mo didn’t hide it from her, briefly explaining how he had accepted benefits to help.

"You...!" Chen Mengze felt both ashamed and angry upon learning the truth. She suddenly recalled his earlier question about the birthday gift. "Earlier, when you asked about my birthday gift, was that also for him?"

"Senior Brother Guo really couldn’t decide, so he asked me to inquire," Shen Mo admitted readily, scratching his head.

Hearing this, the flicker of hope and gratitude Chen Mengze had felt instantly turned into mortification and anger.

I’m never speaking to him again!

「Two Shichen later」

Shen Mo and Chen Mengze had completed a full patrol of the Dark Crystal Mine. They found some stone steps and sat down to rest for a while.

"Hey, seriously, what do you think of Senior Brother Guo?"

Chen Mengze, having held it in for two Shichen, finally couldn’t resist asking.

"Mm, he’s a good person." Out of a sense of professional obligation, Shen Mo still gave a fairly positive assessment.

"Back then, my father had actually intended for you to be his son-in-law."

"That was just Uncle Chen’s wishful thinking. Ultimately, matters of affection require mutual feelings."

Shen Mo was surprised she had suddenly brought this up, feeling rather puzzled.

Could it be... Chen Mengze still has some feelings for me? But back then, the original owner of this body was incredibly enthusiastic about the prospect. It was Chen Mengze who took the initiative to refuse, and she became much colder towards him afterwards.

Seemingly noticing Shen Mo’s confusion, Chen Mengze said, "Do you know why I was unwilling back then?"

"Why?"

"You were too weak."

Chen Mengze stated it bluntly, without sparing his feelings.

So, I was looked down upon.

Shen Mo couldn’t help but rub his nose, finding he had nothing to say.

Before I transmigrated, the original owner of this body was indeed quite mediocre. In his twenties, despite Uncle Chen’s care and guidance, he had cultivated for so many years yet remained stuck at Body Tempering Layer V, making no progress. He clearly wasn’t a promising prospect. From a pragmatic standpoint, when choosing a husband, he was hardly an ideal match.

"I carry a blood feud; I cannot afford to choose an ordinary Dao companion."

A blood feud?

Shen Mo’s eyebrows twitched.

Uncle Chen accompanied my father to the Riverside Sect to become disciples; it seems there’s quite a story there. However, I don’t know much about it, and Uncle Chen rarely spoke of these past events. But now, Chen Mengze seems willing to talk.

"Do you want to hear about my Chen Family?"

"If you want to tell me, I’m willing to listen," Shen Mo said after a moment’s thought.

"My father hailed from the Chen cultivating family of Sishui City. Our family’s patriarch was originally a low-level rogue cultivator. He chanced upon an opportunity, discovering the ruins left by a Spirit Sea Realm cultivator. This provided him with the foundation to rise and establish our family..."

So, the Chen Family patriarch had seized a fortuitous opportunity back then. He broke through to the Qi Gathering Realm, then married, had children, and established his lineage in Sishui City. Thus, the Chen Family began.

Thanks to the various treasures from the ruins, the Chen Family patriarch rose with incredible speed.

In just under a hundred years, what began as a small, newly established family gradually expanded through strategic marriages, property acquisitions, and various other means. Eventually, they developed into a major family in Sishui City, standing alongside the Liu Family and Wu Family as one of the city’s Three Great Families.

The Liu and Wu families were long-established cultivating families in Sishui City, each with the backing of an immortal sect.

Naturally, they were displeased with the Chen Family’s sudden emergence and its claim on the city’s resources. At the same time, they were perplexed: how could the Chen Family, without any immortal sect backing, rise so rapidly?

Thus, they dispatched spies and employed various methods to gather information from all possible sources.

Eventually, news of the ruins leaked.

What the Chen Family patriarch had obtained from the ruins back then were merely some elixirs and exotic treasures from the periphery.

The inner chamber of the ruins, which housed the true treasures left by the Spirit Sea Realm cultivator, was protected by Prohibitions that the patriarch was then unable to breach.

Therefore, the real secret treasures had not yet been retrieved.

There is truly nothing new under the sun. When the Liu and Wu cultivating families learned of the Spirit Sea Realm cultivator’s ruins, they were immediately filled with greed.

"To seize the secret key to the ruins that my Chen Family possessed, the Liu and Wu families took advantage of a critical time. Sishui City was under orders from the immortal sects to resist an invasion of Foreign Realm Demons. They slandered my Chen Family, accusing us of colluding with the Foreign Realm Demons and intending to bring calamity to the mortal world."

Foreign Realm Demons are creatures from the Lower Realm and are natural enemies of human cultivators.

The current Red Flame Country is jointly governed by the Five Great Sects. To maintain peace within the nation’s borders, the Five Great Sects specifically established rules: all families and factions affiliated with them must obey their mobilization orders. If Foreign Realm Demons invaded, they were obligated to go to war. Meritorious service in battle would be richly rewarded by the immortal sects. However, colluding with Foreign Realm Demons was, conversely, a heinous crime.

With such an accusation leveled against them, even if the Chen Family were to be annihilated as a result, no one would dare to speak a word in their defense.

"Back then, the Liu and Wu families joined forces and annihilated my entire Chen Family. My mother, of the An family, died in that massacre."

"My father, in order to protect me, a newborn, managed to escape with me by a stroke of luck. He had lost all hope, but fortunately, with Uncle Shen’s help and counsel, he found the will to live on. He then joined the Riverside Sect, dreaming of the day he could avenge our family’s blood feud."

So, my own father and Uncle Chen shared such a history.

Hearing this, Shen Mo finally understood why Uncle Chen had always treated him as his own son.

"The affairs of the world are truly unpredictable," Shen Mo sighed. "My parents also died wrongful deaths. Unlike you, even if I wanted to avenge them, I wouldn’t even know where to begin looking for those responsible..."