"Jiang Jue! You bastard — you actually dare to come back?!"
When Xiao Hongchen saw Jiang Jue appear, he was startled at first, then his face filled with anger. Thinking of how his sister had grown haggard because of this guy, he clenched his fists and walked straight toward Jiang Jue.
But Jiang Jue's gaze didn't linger on Xiao Hongchen for even a moment — it was completely focused on that slightly tragic yet beautiful figure.
"I'm back."
Those four simple words shattered Meng Hongchen's statue-like stillness. The girl suddenly stood up from the sofa, the calm in her ice-blue eyes gone, her heart pounding violently.
All the longing she had accumulated burst out like a tide. In a flash, she rushed forward like a homing dove and threw herself into Jiang Jue's arms.
The scene made Xiao Hongchen, who was still walking angrily toward Jiang Jue, freeze in place. His raised fist slowly dropped…
Am I… also just part of your play?
Jiang Jue reached out and gently held Meng Hongchen, stroking her hair. Her unique faint fragrance reached him, and ripples spread through his normally calm eyes.
Meng Hongchen hugged Jiang Jue tightly around the waist, burying her head deep in his chest, as if afraid he would disappear again the next second. Her tears quickly soaked his clothes.
"Jiang Jue… I knew you would come back…"
"I knew you would keep our promise…"
She sniffed lightly, murmuring softly, her voice filled with attachment.
"Of course. Of course."
Jiang Jue's eyes softened as he replied quietly.
Xiao Hongchen stood to the side, watching his sister in Jiang Jue's arms. The corner of his mouth twitched; his expression was complicated.
"Maybe I shouldn't be in the room… I should be outside."
After a moment, Jiang Jue gently patted Meng Hongchen's back and said warmly,
"If you don't get up soon, this shirt will be completely soaked."
Meng Hongchen's pretty face flushed red. She lifted her head shyly, looking at Jiang Jue's handsome face, happiness mixed with bashfulness.
"Then let it get soaked. Jiang Jue, I really, really missed you."
"Mmm. I know."
Jiang Jue nodded slightly.
"Hey, hey, hey — you two, that's enough, okay? I'm still here!"
Xiao Hongchen pointed at himself helplessly.
"Then, Brother, you can go out first," Meng Hongchen said lightly, jokingly.
"What?!"
"This is outrageous! This is my house!"
Xiao Hongchen clutched his chest in mock grief.
Sure enough — he was the third wheel.
"Oh right, Jiang Jue, how did you come back? Our Mingde Hall was attacked today by those madmen from the Body Sect — did you know that?"
Xiao Hongchen suddenly thought of something and glared at Jiang Jue.
"I came back openly."
Jiang Jue rubbed Meng Hongchen's hair calmly.
"Fine, fine. As long as you're back, that's good enough. Just don't get kidnapped again and make my sister worry."
Xiao Hongchen waved his hand and sighed.
"Brother, Jiang Jue wasn't taken on purpose… It's just that I wasn't strong enough. Otherwise…"
Meng Hongchen shook her head, biting her lip slightly, her tone carrying a trace of guilt.
"Sigh… you're still defending him. Just spoil him, then."
Xiao Hongchen looked at his sister with mixed feelings. At that moment, he finally understood how his grandfather Jing Hongchen must have felt.
"But Jiang Jue, I'm telling you — if you want to marry my Meng, it won't be that easy. You keep disappearing like this — how can I be at ease…"
Whoosh!
Before he could finish, a sharp sound pierced the air. A soul bone radiating sharp aura and golden light flew toward him.
The sharp energy from it even seemed to cut through the surrounding space.
"A hundred-thousand-year soul bone?!"
Xiao Hongchen stared in shock at the golden-attribute soul power flowing over it, then looked at Jiang Jue in disbelief.
"Jiang Jue — what do you mean by this?"
A hundred-thousand-year soul bone was known as a treasure that could cause rivers of blood. Every such soul bone would stir up carnage; it could never appear on the market, no matter how rich you were.
Yet now one lay quietly in his hand — and it even matched his element.
"No special meaning. Just treat it as Meng's betrothal gift."
Jiang Jue said calmly.
This right arm bone was one of the three hundred-thousand-year soul bones Mu En had given him during the Continental Soul Master Academy Tournament as "mental compensation."
Since Jiang Jue already had the Ice Empress's arm bone, and this one didn't match his attribute, he might as well use it to win over his future brother-in-law.
Besides, Mingde Hall might be his someday anyway.
"Oh… why are you saying that…"
Meng Hongchen blushed and lightly punched him.
Xiao Hongchen stared at the soul bone, then deeply at Jiang Jue.
He had to admit — he'd been completely flexed on.
Giving a hundred-thousand-year soul bone as betrothal gift… how many cases had there been in ten thousand years?
"You should keep this yourself. I'm not someone who lives off my sister."
He tried to return it.
"No need. If I gave it to you, take it."
Jiang Jue flicked his hand lightly. A jade box flew into Xiao Hongchen's hands.
"What's this?"
Xiao Hongchen asked and opened it.
The moment it opened, the room filled with an exotic fragrance. A rich orchid scent cleared the mind and refreshed the spirit.
Inside lay an eight-petaled orchid, snow-white and crystal clear, gently trembling.
"This is an immortal-grade herb — Eight-Petaled Immortal Orchid. It stabilizes the foundation and purifies impurities. It can make up for the damage your body took from heavy drug use earlier, and its effect lasts until you reach level eighty."
"Its value even surpasses that soul bone."
Jiang Jue said calmly.
"Immortal herb… same level as the Qiluo Tulip?"
Xiao Hongchen's breathing quickened.
He knew the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect had offered enormous rewards for that herb, because it once transformed Ning Rongrong's martial soul from Seven Treasures to Nine Treasures.
An herb that could improve martial soul quality and stabilize cultivation was priceless.
"But… Jiang Jue… you're marrying my sister — why are you giving two bride prices?"
(End of chapter)