Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 196 - 166: Three Years of Blood, Death Penalty Well Earned

December 24, 2017

Regarding Wang Jiu's unexpected withdrawal from the competition, tens of thousands of spectators fell into a prolonged frenzy of discussion, with opinions fairly divided.

A considerable number of people believed that Wang Jiu was exceptionally talented and highly principled, unwilling to turn a ten-year grand event into a personal showcase. This group, led mainly by veteran fans like Li Chaolu and Qian Yue, resolutely opposed dissent and counteracted all deviant thoughts with the maximum force possible—sometimes even up to the point of capital punishment. They quickly banded together and organized themselves.

Aside from these fanatic fans, opinions were relatively diverse. Some believed that Wang Jiu was being deliberately mysterious, essentially having some unspeakable secrets like Qian Jinlu... On this matter, the public quickly indulged in rich speculation. For instance, it was said that he and Shen Qingming, with whom he had cohabited for years, had already shared physical intimacy. The 14-year-old Shen Qingming was allegedly pregnant, which even affected her physical and mental development—this could be inferred from the odd sprint she made at the start. That stumbling in mid-air likely resulted from her pregnancy. Wang Jiu, unable to bear the pangs of conscience and having some dirt held by Shen Qingming, had no choice but to surrender and withdraw from the competition.

For instance, Wang Jiu had a highly respected senior in the Li Family Mansion who, due to political struggles, was demoted in disguise and sent to a dead-end office to drink tea and read newspapers with 18 other honored elders. To protest, Wang Jiu took it upon himself to concede and withdraw from the competition. Losing to Shen Qingming was merely a coincidence or an excuse.

Of course, some believed that Wang Jiu disregarded professional ethics and invested heavily in Qian Family's financial products before the contest, willing to forgo the competition to ensure profits.

The holders of this view were mainly Qian Family members. They expressed strong disapproval of Wang Jiu's unexpected concession, and even protested to the committee chairman, Li Fengyun, on the spot.

The second leader of the Qian Family, Qian Jing, slammed the table, pointed at Li Fengyun's nose, and cursed, "Li Fengyun, does your Li Family have no shame? Doing such things for outside gambling stakes and even having the nerve to say such things!"

Li Fengyun watched the furious Qian Jing inexplicably, then turned to Lu Xin beside him and asked, "Is this the person you mentioned, who deliberately uses sanctimonious words to cover up his embarrassment?"

Lu Xin covered her face with her hand, "Why is it that your mind becomes particularly sharp at this time!?"

Li Fengyun replied with a slight air of indifference, "Back in Shen City, the Shen Family people also talked to me like this. It's quite familiar..."

Lu Xin instantly chuckled, "I see."

Qian Jing, however, was more flustered and exasperated, "Who's embarrassed? Can't people criticize what your Li Family does?!"

Seeing that dozens of influential figures from Cyan Cloud City on the podium began to pay attention, Lu Xin sighed, deciding not to be polite to the Qian Family anymore.

The Qian Family's pre-competition dealings might have eluded those who spent their hard-earned money filling the pits dug by the Qian Family, but they couldn't deceive the Li and Lu Families, who were also among the three major families. Lu Xin, as the matron of the Li Family, naturally had her information channels... Well, actually, it was Li Wanqing who mentioned it during a chat with her earlier. As to how Li Wanqing knew, Lu Xin didn't want to know.

Just as Lu Xin was about to speak, a bald and brawny man came up behind Qian Jing and patted his shoulder, "That's enough, stop it."

Qian Jing was taken aback, "What?!"

"Conceding and withdrawing from the competition is Li Family's freedom. If they wish to give up their best card, should we stop them?" Qian Long said, then cupped his hands to Li Fengyun, "Brother Fengyun, don't take Qian Jing's angry words to heart."

Qian Jing was even more perplexed, "But... shouldn't the Li Family give everyone an explanation? As the hot favorite to win, withdrawing from the competition and delivering such arrogant remarks?"

"That's enough; even the Immortal Envoy hasn't spoken. Why should we meddle in someone else's affairs?"

Qian Jing immediately realized, secretly cursing his blindness for needing his older brother to point out such a simple truth... Why should the Qian Family come forward to criticize the Li Family? Why not use the Holy Sect Immortal Envoy? That's like having a goddess wife at home but still doing things yourself every day—utterly wasteful!

He had been so shocked earlier that he lost his composure... This was truly incomparable to his older brother. Despite witnessing Wang Jiu's concession and knowing how much it affected the Qian Family's grand plan, his brother seemed to have anticipated it and remained unfazed.

Perhaps that's why he's the family head and I'm just the housekeeper. Sigh, in my younger days, I used to see my brother as a rival and would always confront him. During meals, I'd purposely pick from his plate, and in family class, I'd often argue with him and steal his cultivation notes... In retrospect, those were beautiful memories.

But now is not the time to be nostalgic. Qian Jing nodded, then turned to look at the Holy Sect Immortal Envoy, awaiting his decision.

After all, the main referee of the Cyan Cloud Grand Competition may have been appointed by the committee, but the one with the highest authority, who could make a final decision on the competition results, was the Holy Sect Envoy. This was the Xiangzhou Cultivation Realm's show of respect to the Holy Sect.

Next, except for the Qian Family members, all eyes on the podium turned to the almost forgotten milky white mask in the last row.

The Holy Sect Immortal Envoy sat calmly like an old fisherman, as if he hadn't witnessed anything that had just happened, remaining silent about the dispute triggered by Wang Jiu.

As time passed, more and more people felt amazed by the envoy's silence, except for Qian Long, who felt introspective. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

The Immortal Envoy deserves his title, seeing through everything, knowing all, far superior to a regular sect envoy in unknown ways.

Indeed, for those familiar with the inside story, Wang Jiu's concession and withdrawal were entirely normal, without any dark undercurrents.

And myself... despite being a head of the family, I couldn't see problems or people as clearly as a teenage girl.

The moment Wang Jiu conceded, Qian Long found his precious daughter, Qian Yue.

"You knew all along?"

Qian Yue chuckled openly, "Of course, I guessed early on that Mr. Wang Jiu might withdraw. He's different from everyone else; from start to finish, he had not even a hint of fighting spirit. Especially when he sat in the contestant seat, he was unlike everyone around him, completely out of place with the whole arena. Do you think someone like that would fight all the way to pursue victory? I don't believe it."

"But casually conceding isn't certain either, is it? This will cause so much trouble!?"

Qian Yue said, "Yes, any other person wouldn't concede, even if as powerful as City Lord Zhao from Golden Jade City; back then, he also honestly completed the entire course. But Mr. Wang Jiu is different—his transcendence, his otherworldly detachment are unparalleled in this world. Hehe, Dad, you wouldn't really think your daughter would fall for just anyone?"

Qian Long, of course, wasn't buying it, coldly snorting with indifference.

He had swallowed this rhetoric for fourteen years, utterly sick of it!

"Not fall for just anyone? You became his enthusiastic fan in July, did you really see his transcendence and otherworldly detachment back then?"

Qian Yue bluntly said, "At that time, it was because he was handsome, later I discovered more advantages. But so what? Young girls, more or less, do look at faces. Otherwise, why would it have taken you so much effort to win Mom? Any other person with your conditions would have succeeded two years early."

"Fine, I got it!"

"By the way, Dad, now that you're bald, don't shave your beard anymore; your eyebrows are already sparse, without a bit of beard, you look like a big egg... Mom actually hates eggheads the most."

"You brat, and whose fault is that?! I'll be the death of you sooner or later!"

——

The silent atmosphere on the podium gradually brewed into awkwardness, as the Holy Sect Immortal Envoy's silence increasingly resembled a silent ridicule of the clamoring people.

Someone concedes, withdraws, speaks not untruthful parting words, yet causes such an uproar, while a group of distinguished nobles from Cyan Cloud City, couldn't even be as free-spirited as a young participant in the Cyan Cloud Grand Competition; this is truly laughable.

Subsequently, people gradually turned their attention back to the field, essentially acquiescing to this result.

However, at this moment, the Holy Sect Immortal Envoy suddenly raised his head.

"Death penalty."