Cold and Ruthless? That’s Nothing Compared to His Wife’s Broken Waist chapter 237

Chapter 237: Returning Together (Part VII)

Hearing this, Xiao Ji’s heart tightened.

“Terrible?”

Zhong Yinnian raised his index finger, making a shushing sound to signal Xiao Ji to stay quiet.

He stood up, holding Xiao Ji’s hand, and examined it carefully against the inn’s candlelight—looking at it from south to north, from east to west.

Then, he walked around the table, squeezed in next to Xiao Ji, and sat down. Pulling Xiao Ji’s hand, he draped Xiao Ji’s arm around his own neck and leaned closer into Xiao Ji’s embrace.

Only after a long while did he tilt his head and say to Xiao Ji:

“A long time ago, I heard a legend.”

Since gaining self-awareness, Xiao Ji had never been in such close physical contact with anyone.

With his entire arm draped over Zhong Yinnian’s shoulder, it felt as though he had the man wrapped in a tight embrace.

At this proximity, he could clearly smell the faint scent of aloeswood lingering on Zhong Yinnian.

He instinctively tried to pull back, but his wrist was still firmly locked in Zhong Yinnian’s grasp.

Xiao Ji asked him with an expressionless face:

“Are you done looking?”

Only then did Zhong Yinnian release Xiao Ji’s hand, slip out from his embrace, and take a sip of wine from his bowl:

“I’m done looking. I was just about to tell you, why are you in such a rush?”

“Speak,” Xiao Ji said, his face stony.

“According to ancient texts, in a land very, very far away, there is a belief that the ring finger is protected by the Sun God. Wearing a ring on this finger invokes divine protection, ensuring that the affection between partners endures through the tests of time.”

“There’s another ancient text detailing a belief from another very, very distant land. They say there is a vein in this finger that leads directly here.”

As Zhong Yinnian spoke, he reached out and tapped the spot on Xiao Ji’s chest where his heart resided:

“Your heart.”

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Xiao Ji looked down at Zhong Yinnian’s finger. His immediate thought was whether this ring would cause some adverse side effect to his heart.

But Zhong Yinnian quickly followed up:

“Wearing the ring here symbolizes that both partners hold their love in the place closest to their hearts.”

To Xiao Ji, all this talk of love and romance sounded incredibly hollow and absurd.

He looked at Zhong Yinnian’s face and remained silent for a moment:

“I was asking if you could discern what kind of magical artifact this is.”

Zhong Yinnian rolled his eyes at him. “You truly lack any romantic sensibility. That person who bound their fate to yours is genuinely unfortunate. They went through such meticulous effort to show their affection, yet all you can think about is whether they’re trying to harm you.”

Xiao Ji’s mind drifted back to the pair of hands that had slid the ring onto his finger.

He pursed his lips. “So, what kind of artifact is it?”

Zhong Yinnian tipped his head back and downed the rest of his wine. His tone shifted, sounding noticeably less enthusiastic than before:

“I can’t discern its tier, and it hasn’t established a blood-bond with you. It won’t harm you; it’s safe, healthy, clean, and hygienic. Just wear it with peace of mind. As for its purpose, you’ll have to figure that out on your own. I can’t tell.”

Xiao Ji uttered an “Oh” and returned to eating his food in silence.

Resting his chin in one hand, Zhong Yinnian stared at Xiao Ji. “Aren’t you even a little curious about who your Dao Companion is?”

Hearing this, Xiao Ji paused.

To be honest, in the beginning—especially when he was sitting in that bridal sedan—he had indeed harbored a sliver of curiosity.

But now that things had already progressed to this point, his only hope was that the other party wouldn’t come looking to bother him. As for who they actually were, it no longer seemed all that important.

He shook his head.

Seeing this, Zhong Yinnian’s enthusiasm, which had already dropped by half, plummeted straight to rock bottom. He didn’t speak again.

He had gone through all this trouble entirely to pique Xiao Ji’s curiosity about him.

With curiosity comes constant preoccupation.

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But looking at it now, Xiao Ji didn’t seem to care in the slightest.

Ending up with an inexplicable Dao Companion hadn’t caused even the slightest ripple in his state of mind.

Zhong Yinnian had known Xiao Ji would be difficult to pursue, but sitting there in that moment, a wave of profound defeat still washed over him.

Just as he was contemplating whether he really should just tie Xiao Ji up, drag him back to the fiery pits of the Demon Realm, and force the romantic cultivation later, he suddenly heard Xiao Ji say:

“I do have one doubt.”

Zhong Yinnian’s head snapped up immediately. “What?”

Xiao Ji frowned. “It was a man.”

Zhong Yinnian was utterly disappointed. “In this world, people are either men or women. What is there to be doubtful about?”

Xiao Ji pondered for a moment. “That makes sense.”

Zhong Yinnian couldn’t hold back his thoughts. After thinking for a second, he added, “You’re so calm. Have you ever considered whether your Dao Companion is human, demon, or monster? What if they have a green face and terrifying fangs, looking absolutely hideous? What will you do then?”

Xiao Ji set down his chopsticks and looked at Zhong Yinnian. “How do you know I didn’t see his face just now?”

Zhong Yinnian silently cursed his own loose tongue. He raised an eyebrow and replied smoothly, “I divined it. The time hasn’t come for you two to truly meet face-to-face yet.”

Xiao Ji didn’t question this further.

The Zhong family was already deeply mysterious. What heavenly secrets the disciples of the Zhong family could calculate or spy upon was something no one could say for sure.

Although Zhong Yinnian dressed ordinarily, his bearing was extraordinary. He was likely a core disciple of the Zhong family, so having some genuine skill wasn’t surprising.

Xiao Ji simply didn’t know why he had appeared in Fu’an Village alone.

However, that was Zhong Yinnian’s own business and had nothing to do with him.

Xiao Ji had only ordered a simple serving of plain porridge and side dishes, but aside from that jug of wine, Zhong Yinnian had ordered an entire table overflowing with lavish fish and meats—an extravagant display.

Xiao Ji quickly finished his meal, bypassed Zhong Yinnian, and walked to the inn’s front counter to pay for his food. He then said:

“One premium guest room.”

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The innkeeper, who had been tallying accounts, let out an “Aiyo” and smiled apologetically, “Forgive me, honored guest, but we are fully booked today.”

Xiao Ji frowned. “When I arrived, you still had rooms.”

While he had been sitting there eating, aside from the brief distraction when Zhong Yinnian was talking to him, he hadn’t noticed a single other person entering the inn.

The innkeeper sighed, “Isn’t it the truth? The world is unpredictable. Just a moment ago, we still had five rooms left—two premium and three standard. But that honored guest over there booked them all.”

He pointed toward Zhong Yinnian, who was still at the table eating.

“Aren’t you two traveling together?”

Xiao Ji shook his head. “We’re not close.”

The innkeeper clicked his tongue. “That makes things difficult. We’ve had a lot of travelers passing through the town lately. I’m afraid the other inns are likely full as well.”

Xiao Ji had no desire to waste further words with the innkeeper. If there were no rooms, he could just leave the town and travel through the night back to Qingyang Mountain, or find a tree at the foot of the mountain to rest in. He turned to leave.

But the moment he turned around, a key sailed through the air and landed right against his chest.

Xiao Ji instinctively caught the key and looked at Zhong Yinnian.

Zhong Yinnian stood up and wiped his mouth. “My treat. Stay here.”

Xiao Ji’s response was distant. “No need.”

Zhong Yinnian replied, “I only booked these rooms to invite you. If you refuse, then my good intentions have turned into a bad deed.”

Xiao Ji didn’t want to owe anyone a favor. He pulled his money pouch from his robes, but Zhong Yinnian walked over, snatched the pouch from his hand, and stuffed it back into his robes:

“I have a favor to ask of you. Consider giving me a chance.”

“I can’t help you,” Xiao Ji stated bluntly.

Zhong Yinnian countered, “I haven’t even told you what it is yet.”

Xiao Ji despised getting entangled in karma or owing favors more than anything else. Just as he prepared to refuse again, Zhong Yinnian added:

“Don’t always reject me, Buddhist Son brother. You and I… we do share quite a bit of affinity.”

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Translator’s Note:

The Ring Finger & The Sun God/Heart Vein: Zhong Yinnian is charmingly feeding Xiao Ji common Western lore (Apollo/Sun connection and the Vena Amoris or “vein of love”) wrapped in cultivation-esque language (“ancient texts from very far away”).

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