The Husband Was Once The Long Aotian

T/N: This chapter was translated by Elysian Pit. I DO NOT own the translation and all credit goes to the original translator. I’ve picked up this novel to continue from where the previous translator left. Thank you ❤️❤️

 

Lulled with Jian Xingzhi’s promise, Qin Wanwan envisioned her blissful future.

Surrounded by beautiful men and ascending smoothly, how tempting did that sound…

And, the most tempting was…

“After I ascend,” Qin Wanwan had a yearning, “Will I become stronger?”

“That’s natural.”

Jian Xingzhi arched his brow, “With your innate talent, provided that you put your whole mind on ascending, becoming the strongest in the Immortal Realm wouldn’t be out of reach.”

Jian Xingzhi dared to open his eyes and talk nonsense for the sake of encouraging Qin Wanwan. Qin Wanwan’s eyes were sparkling, “I can be so powerful?”

“That’s right.”

Jian Xingzhi paused for a second before persisting in his rubbish talk, “You must have known that in the puppy’s world, there is a man called Jian Xingzhi.”

Stars materialized in Qin Wanwan’s eyes the moment she heard Jian Xingzhi’s name. She nodded her head quickly.

Of course she knew him! That person was her mortal enemy!

“He is quite powerful, just a tad worse than me.”

Jian Xingzhi gave her an estimation of his true strength and Qin Wanwan offered no comment on his words.

This guy is bragging again.

“As long as you practice hard, with your aptitude, even Jian Xingzhi wouldn’t pose a problem for you after your ascension!”

“Awesome!”

At the imagination of her trampling on Jian Xingzhi, Qin Wanwan was deeply touched. She appeared like a student who had obtained enlightenment after waves of brainwashing. She was brimming with vigor, “I’m going to practice hard!”

“With me to supervise you,” Jian Xingzhi nodded in pride, “You are guaranteed to succeed.”

Qin Wanwan clenched her fist and made a posture of encouragement for herself. She got to her feet and started to hone her swordsmanship.

With the moon as witness, Jian Xingzhi could feel relief washing over him as he monitored Qin Wanwan.

From now on, he decided to keep giving chicken soup* to ‘Qin Wan’ about how talented she was. Once she ascended, she would certainly be filled with admiration of him.

[T/N: 鸡汤 – jītāng, or 心灵鸡汤 –xīn líng jītāng. Chicken soup for the soul. Words with a comforting effect and a motivational strengthening (inspirational) effect.]

Jian Xingzhi tried his best not to reveal a delighted smile.

Soon, the sound of money colliding echoed in Jian Xingshi’s mind with a ‘ding ding ding’.

666 merrily notified, “Host, your point has arrived. Now, your total points are -350. The Female Lead’s journey is on the right track and you can open multiple routes* along the way. The more routes you open, the more chances you get to obtain points. Do you wish to open it?”

[T/N: 支线 – zhī xiàn. Branch line. Just like an otome where you are currently in the common route and choose which route you want to play. (or choose the harem route)]

“Open, Open, Open!” Jian Xingzhi did not even need to consider it.

A festive ‘Ding Dong’ tolled and 666 resumed with a more detailed explanation, “The additional routes for Female Lead have been opened. Related tasks will be issued whenever and wherever there is a chance. In order to ensure the progression of the task, I applied for a piece of special equipment to the Main System. It costs 100 points to activate. But it’s a one-time purchase and it can be used to check the favorability of the people around the Female Lead anytime and anywhere. Master can buy it with credit first and pay the bills in the future. Does the Master wish to buy it?”

“Buy.”

If he could get fifty points just for throwing ‘Qin Wan’, what was a mere hundred points?

Once Jian Xingzhi settled on buying it, loading sounds accompanied with ‘click click click’ appeared on his mind. Not long after, 666 chirped, “It’s all done.”

Arabic Numerals from 0 to 9 emerged in his mind.

“Later, there will be numbers displayed above relevant people’s heads with a full score of 100. The displayed numbers are the favorability value of said person towards the Female Lead. There won’t be any numbers displayed for those who are considered irrelevant, only ‘–’ will be displayed. For your better understanding, please listen to me as I explain these arabics numerals. This is ‘1’…..”

666 taught Jian Xingzhi to read Arabic numerals as Qin Wanwan practiced sword next to him.

Based on the Martial Arts Panel provided by 38, she kept aligning her posture according to the figure in the panel, brandishing her sword repeatedly.

In her mind, 38 watched while snacking on potato chips.

Two pairs of Systems and Hosts, each overflowed with joy as they strived for their own goals.

In the second half of the night, Bai Suiyou and Su Zhenxue came out. Bai Suiyou saluted to Jian Xingzhi, “Fellow Daoist Long, we will watch the second half of the night. You two can rest.”

Jian Xingzhi glanced at their heads. He noticed a ‘10’ hanging above Bai Suiyou’s head and ‘–’ above Su Zhenxue’s.

Jian Xingzhi nodded with delight with the number.

He called out to the weary Qin Wanwan. He didn’t want to call her ‘Master’ nor did he want to call her ‘Qin Wanwan’ or ‘Wanwan’. But, he couldn’t call her ‘Qin Wan’ either in front of everyone.

So, he opted for a less dreadful alternative, “Lao Qin*.”

[T/N: 老秦 – lǎo qín. lit. Old Qin. Jian Xingzhi didn’t actually call QWW old. In this context, the 老 used is the 老 that old buddies/pal used for each other.]

Qin Wanwan’s eyes flared in shock, courtesy of Jian Xingzhi’s overly familiar nickname.

“Go, rest.”

Qin Wanwan’s brain was still muddled from her training and couldn’t process his words. Only after she and Jian Xingzhi lay around the fire did she react, “What did you just call me?”

Jian Xingzhi feigned ignorance. He closed his eyes and went to sleep.

Qin Wanwan recalled the ‘Lao Qin’ from Jian Xingzhi’s mouth and fell into a deep thought. Why did it sound she and this Long Aotian had become bros?

All five of them got a good night’s rest. Early the next day, Qin Wanwan was relishing her sleep when someone relentlessly nudged her, “Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Master, it’s no good!”

Qin Wanwan dazedly roused from her slumber and rubbed her eyes, “What on earth are you shouting for?”

“Just a short while ago,” Nan Feng stammered, “five people from Wen Xin Sect have passed the test!”

“What?!”

Qin Wanwan bolted to her feet and rushed outside.

Su Zhenxue and Bai Suiyou stood at the cave’s mouth, glancing up at the sky with a tense expression.

Jian Xingzhi yawned from beside her, “See, I have told you just to go straight to catch the highest-grade spiritual beasts but no one listened. You guys went to catch cacti and now where is the cacti you guys want to catch, hm?”

“It’s only been a day,” Qin Wanwan was incredulous, “How did Wen Xin Sect manage to pass the test so quickly?”

“They bring twelve people inside,” Su Zhenxue analyzed with a grimace, “According to the previous practice of these Sects, only a few of them are actually allotted to enter the Sword Mound, the others are there just to help them. They should have been sweeping low-grade spiritual beasts and grass yesterday.”

“It’s still low-key impossible to collect so much within a day…”

Qin Wanwan had taken the sparseness of the spiritual beasts and grass in this secret realm into mind when she formulated the plan.

Bai Suiyou informed with a sunken tone, “There is a way. Last night, fifty people crushed their nameplates and were teleported out of the secret realm.”

Qin Wanwan was stunned by the information.

Compared to catching the sparse spiritual beasts and grass, capturing cultivators who had caught the spiritual beasts and grass was indeed easier and faster.

Each person needed 100 points to be qualified to pass the test. Wen Xin Sect had five people pass the test, and behind these five people, there were the hard-earned points of 50 cultivators who were eliminated.

Qin Wanwan’s heart sank. Only five seats were left. If they were late even for a step, they would lose their chances.

“The points we got yesterday is just a drop in a lake,” Su Zhenxue reflected, “Right now, we only have one way left to turn the table.”

She looked at them, “Before entering the secret realm, my Senior Martial Brother informed me that within this secret realm, there is a spiritual beast not listed in the directory. It is the Master of this secret realm. It specializes in raising spiritual beast cubs and spiritual grass seedlings. It should have a lot of high-grade spiritual beasts and grass in its den.”

Jian Xingzhi traded glances with Qin Wanwan. Qin Wanwan asked tentatively, “They are still cubs and seedlings, they aren’t dangerous, right?”

“They aren’t.”

Nan Feng answered in affirmative, “All spiritual cubs and seedlings need to be carefully cultivated. While they are young, they can’t protect themselves and must rely on their parents’ protection.”

“Then, is there any catch with the Master of this secret realm?”

Qin Wanwan didn’t believe that there would be such a big pie falling from the sky just like that. Su Zhenxue confirmed her thought, “It’s nearly impossible to defeat it.”

“Pardon?”

“In this secret realm, it is invincible.”

Qin Wanwan: “……”

“Does it have any weaknesses?”

Qin Wanwan had not given up on hope. Su Zhenxue thought for a moment before replying,“It… likes good-looking people.”

“That can be easily arranged.”

Qin Wanwan immediately decided, “We will send a good-looking one to lure him away. It is best if we can get it to hand over the spiritual cubs and seedlings on its own accord, if not, we will find a way to distract it and the rest will go to steal those cubs and seedlings away. One cub and seedling for each person.”

“That’s indeed the only way for us now.” Bai Suiyou assented and swept a circle at them, “So, who’s going to attract it?”

The crowd fell into silence.

Qin Wanwan broke the silence, “About this matter, we must find the best looking one objectively. So, let’s just vote for who we think is the best-looking among us. I will count from one to three,” Qin Wanwan counted, “One. Two. Three.”

Jian Xingzhi pointed to Su Zhenxue, while the others pointed to Jian Xingzhi.

Jian Xingzhi froze for a moment before bursting out, “Are you guys blind?!”

He had painstakingly molded his current face to only be 1/10 of his original appearance but they still consider his current face good-looking?!

“If it comes to beauty, I can’t compare to Fellow Daoist Long.” Su Zhenxue serenely stated.

Bai Suiyou agreed, “Fellow Daoist Long may be a man, but you are indeed the best looking among us…”

Jian Xingzhi turned to Nan Feng and Qin Wanwan for backup.

Qin Wanwan awkwardly smiled, “It’s the result of the vote.”

She squeezed her hands on Jian Xingzhi’s shoulder, “Aotian, you are an expert at this kind of thing. With your face, attract the Master of this secret realm, okay? We are counting on you, besides you, who else can we rely on?”

Qin Wanwan swiftly made an arrangement, “Hurry, put on this dress.”

The groups added fuel and the flames rose high*. Jian Xingzhi was a step too late to refuse it and was held down by Qin Wanwan. The group made a joint effort to beautify him. After they were done, they sneaked into the dense forest in accordance to Su Zhenxue’s instructions.

[T/N: 众人拾柴火焰高 – zhòng rén shí chái huǒ yàn gāo. Great things can be achieved by mass effort; It is easier to get a thing done or solve a problem if many people join hands and work together; Many hands make light work. Or in this case, the majority wins lmao.]

Five people of the Wen Xin Sect had passed the test. Since the announcement, the atmosphere in the entire secret realm had been very tense. Cultivators were hiding from each other lest they get into a fight and get their points stolen.

The group avoided confrontation with other cultivators. After four hours of walking, they arrived at the location that Su Zhenxue mentioned. Before reaching the location, they bent over and placed a straw hoop on their heads. Then they laid on the ground and crawled forward.

Atop a small hill, they scanned the area ahead. Su Zhenxue pointed to the shimmering lake in front of them, “It’s there.”

Bai Suiyou furrowed his brow as he examined the lake with some concern, “There is nothing there, is Fellow Daoist Su sure there is no mistake?”

“Use your Divine Sense.”

Jian Xingzhi gave a reminder. Qin Wanwan shut her eyes and started ‘scanning’ the area with her Divine Sense.

What she saw with her Divine Sense in front of her was not a lake at all, but a huge manor. Many spiritual cubs were crawling over the lawn. A huge chicken was valiantly patrolling the territory, it pointed at the spiritual cubs and scolded, “Learn to drink milk by yourself or just starve to death! I have no wife and I need to take care of you brats all day long! I’m sick of this!”

It yanked a sunflower that was twisting wildly next to it, “Stop twisting! Can’t you see your leaves are falling off! What kind of imaginary music are you, a sunflower, twisting to?!”

“Did you see that chicken? It is the Master of this secret realm.”

Su Zhenxue spoke in a hushed voice. She motioned to Jian Xingzhi, “Go to the gate and pose seductively, it will definitely come to strike up a conversation with you. Buy us time and take him for a walk. We will steal the cubs in the meantime.”

“Don’t worry.”

Qin Wanwan reassured him, “I will steal your share for you, will four pandas be enough for you?”

“Can’t we just fight it?”

Jian Xingzhi knitted his brows, “I am clueless with how to attract that chicken over.”

Everyone presented him with a deadpan stare.

Jian Xingzhi took a deep breath, “Fine. I will try.”

Jian Xingzhi stood up and ran toward the bottom of the hill, stopping at the edge of the lake.

As soon as he appeared at the lake, the chicken’s eyes swept past him. However, it looked away the next second as if it had seen nothing, lowering its head and tearing away two little rascals that were making trouble.

Jian Xingzhi glanced back at the group. Qin Wanwan stood up and began to sway her body like a supermodel, suggesting he should do the same.

Jian Xingzhi’s brows were now creased. He imitated Qin Wanwan’s movement, striding towards the chicken with a swaying waist.

The chicken’s action stopped which increased the group’s enthusiasm. Jian Xingzhi took another look at Qin Wanwan.

Qin Wanwan immediately flipped her hair. She recalled the pose of the idol group she had seen. Her fingers danced from her head to her waist as her waist swayed. She twisted her waist and repositioned her hands, one in front of her chest and the other outstretched to him. Then she winked bewitchingly at Jian XIngzhi as a finishing blow.

Su Zhenxue and Bai Suiyou gasped in silence at Qin Wanwan while Jian Xingzhi sucked back a breath of cold air.

Is this really necessary?

Ah. His hands really itches to beat something.

But, weighing the fact that the chicken fell for the movements designed by Qin Wanwan, Jian Xingzhi once again began to mimic her pose and sent a wink to the chicken, while minimizing the twitching of his eyebrows.

The chicken narrowed its eyes and straightened up. Its wings furled up and rolled into a fist.

He was emboldened when the chicken paid more attention to him and felt that it would be a wise victory to defeat a foe without a fight.

He waited for Qin Wanwan’s next instruction with great anticipation.

Qin Wanwan leaned sideways. She bent her waist like Marilyn Monroe and blew a kiss at Jian Xingzhi.

Jian Xingzhi threw his face away.

Still, he turned sideways according to Qin Wanwan’s pose. He pressed his waist and blew a kiss at the chicken witht the expression of a constipated person.

The chicken had enough. A gale of wind swept past Jian Xingzhi as the chicken flashed in front of Jian XIngzhi and kicked him, “That’s enough!!!”

Jian Xingzhi felt a tremendous force pressing on his chest, before he even had time to react, he was booted away by the chicken and crashed toward the ground near Qin Wanwan and the others.

Qin Wanwan and the group scampered for Jian Xingzhi and plowed him out of the ground. He had only got a breath of air as he started to flounder, “Let go of me. I’m going to kill it…”

Bai Suiyou pushed Jian Xingzhi to sit as he healed his wound. Qin Wanwan breathed a thankful sigh, “Thankfully it isn’t a fatal blow. Our best bet Long Aotian has mustered all his efforts but ended up beaten like this. We are out of luck now. That chicken didn’t even spare one more glance at him. Or, maybe that chicken only likes beauty from its opposite gender?”

Everyone’s eyes fell on Su Zhenxue. The smile on her Su Zhenxue’s face stilled. Qin Wanwan stared intently at her, “Fellow Daoist Su, how about you give it a shot?”

“Yes, yes. That’s right.”

Bai Suiyou quipped, “Fellow Daoist Long is good-looking, but he is a man after all. Fellow Daoist Su is the World’s Top Beauty, it will be a cinch to take down that chicken.”

Su Zhenxue gripped her sword and her expression changed, eventually ending with her clenching her teeth and conceding, “I will give it a try.”

After patching up Jian Xingzhi’s injury, the group plopped back down on the bushes. They watched Su Zhenxu, carrying a sword, gracefully approaching the chicken.

The chicken was basking in the courtyard. Su Zhenxue saluted nervously at the door and spoke with a soft voice, “This Junior*, Su Zhenxue has long heard of Senior’s reputation. Today, Junior has finally gotten a chance to enter the secret realm and see Senior in person. This Junior is overjoyed and wishes to invite Senior for a drink…”

[T/N: 晚辈 – wǎnbèi, lit. Late Generation. Junior. 前辈 – qiánbèi, lit. Early/Past Generation, Senior. To call oneself with Qianbei/Wanbei is equal to saying, “This Junior/Senior (I).]

The chicken leaped up from the recliner. With a flap of its wings, the giant chicken sent Su Zhenxue flying, colliding straight to the place where Jian Xingzhi had just fallen.

“Fellow Daoist Su!”

Qin Wanwan and others hurriedly caught up and scooped Su Zhenxue out of the soil. Su Zhenxue leaned on Qin Wanwan’s lap and spat a mouthful of blood.

She seemed to be resistant to dirtying Qin Wanwan’s clothes with her blood and tried to move herself away from Qin Wanwan. But, Qin Wanwan took none of it and propelled her back into her lap, “You are already beaten up like this! Don’t be so courteous and just stay still!”

Su Zhenxue was held down by Qin Wanwan. She closed her eyes in pain and stiffly leaned against Qin Wanwan, not daring to make any movement.

Jian Xingzhi sat cross-legged next to them. He propped his head and watched Bai Suiyou heal Su Zhenxue’s wound. He contemplated on the situation, “It doesn’t even get attracted to women. Fellow Daoist Su, are you sure your intel is correct?”

“Absolutely.”

Su Zhenxue slowly recovered with the help of Bai Suiyou. She gently pulled away Qin Wanwan’s hands that were holding her and sorted herself as she calmly explained, “Someone from my Sect has entered the Sword Mound in this way before. My Senior Martial Brother specifically told me this method because this method is flawless.”

“Then,” Jian Xingzhi frowned, “Is it because we are not good-looking enough?”

“But I think Immortal Su’s beauty is already out of the world ah.” Nan Feng was in doubt as he admired Su Zhenxue.

After a moment of quietness, Su Zhenxue suggested, “How about Fellow Daoist Qin give it a try?”

“Eh?”

Qin Wanwan heard her suggestion and hurriedly waved her hand in rejection, “No, no, no. That won’t do. I am ugly, can’t you see this big mole on my forehead?”

She pointed to the upper half of her face, which was not covered with a veil, “I fear that the chicken will straight up beat me up in disgust.”

“There is no harm in trying.” Su Zhenxue counseled.

“I really…”

“You can.”

Jian Xingzhi spoke and Qin Wanwan turned back abruptly at him, “Who can?”

“Come with me.”

Jian Xingzhi got up and dragged her to the side. Qin Wanwan detected that they were alone and quickly reasoned, “That chicken isn’t even tempted by Su Zhenxue, how would it get seduced by me?”

“Your current face can’t.”

Jian Xingzhi fished out the Qianmian Mirror from his sleeve, “So, let’s just change your face. Isn’t it simple?”

Qin Wanwan was stupefied. She responded almost instantly, “Then why don’t you just do it? You excel in martial arts, you are more suitable than me for this role.”

“These spiritual beasts can recognize people’s aura and it has seen mine.”

Jian Xingzhi yanked Qin Wanwan’s palm and made a neat cut. Qin Wanwan’s face wrinkled from the pain. He put pressure on her palm and squeezed her blood on the mirror’s surface.

“I have been experimenting with this Qianmian Mirror. As long as the current owner is alive, it won’t recognize others as its owner. So, I got the idea to just make it recognize two owners. I will be the main owner and you will be the co-owner. I can help you transform your face. From now on, just use this face I will change you into.”

“That’s… Fine.”

Qin Wanwan reluctantly acquiesced and gave him a reminder, “Make sure it looks good.”

“Don’t worry.”

Jian Xingzhi comforted, “I am counting on you to take care of that chicken. I promise you to change your face into the prettiest one I’ve ever seen.”

Qin Wanwan was somewhat dubious of him. Jian Xingzhi instructed her to close her eyes and poked his finger on the center of her forehead before instructing, “Empty your mind.”

Qin Wanwan nodded nervously and repeated her reminder, “It must be the best-looking one. I don’t care whether it’s your enemy, your lover, your relative, or even your friend but it must be the best looking one…”

Jian Xingzhi ignored her rant and closed his eyes. He chanted a spell and countless faces of female immortals flashed through his mind.

He discovered that in fact, he didn’t remember most of their faces clearly. He only had a vague impression of them, the only female immortal engraved deeply on his mind was…

His mind crossed to the time when he came to the Palace of Jishan and saw Qin Wanwan for the first time.

All in all, she was an immortal renowned for her beauty in the Immortal Realm. Mighty and gorgeous, her figure was deeply engraved in his mind.

His mind wandered. He gathered his senses back when he heard Qin Wanwan’s voice, “Is it done?’”

Jian Xingzhi opened his eyes and saw a pair of eyes as dazzling as the peach blossoms gazing up at him. There was a pause in Jian Xingzhi’s movement before he let go of his hand, “It’s done.”

He averted his gaze and said, “Let’s go.”

Qin Wanwan nodded. She was lightning fast at fetching the mirror from her Qiankun pouch to appreciate her new face. But her expression froze when she saw the image in the mirror.

Wasn’t this her own face?!!

She raised her head in shock. Her eyes captured Jian Xingzhi who was striding in a rather hurried pace ahead of her.

She told him to change her face to the prettiest face in his mind, and Long Aotian changed her face to her original face in the Immortal Realm.

Could it be, this Long Aotian knows her in the Immortal Realm and even… has a crush on her?!

Qin Wanwan sucked a breath of air when the realization struck. There was a change in the way she looked at him.

She took a slow breath and put the mirror back in her pouch, calming herself. After she composed herself, she trekked back to the group.

Jian Xingzhi had long returned to the group and formed a plan in advance, “Later on, Lao Qin will seduce that chicken, if that chicken still gives her a cold-shoulder, then there must be something wrong with that chicken. Don’t bother to make a fuss or detour to attract that chicken anymore. Just go straight and steal the cubs.”

“The last method is plausible.”

Bai Suiyou pondered, “Fellow Daoist Su can’t attract that chicken, with Fellow Daoist Qin’s appearance, we can only wish for the best, we really should…”

Bai Suiyou stopped midway.

He stared wide at Qin Wanwan who appeared behind Jian Xingzhi. Qin Wanwan smiled apologetically at him, “To be honest, this is my true face. But because it’s too eye-catching, I dare not reveal my true appearance in public. I hope Fellow Daoists can keep this as a secret in the future.”

Qin Wanwan shyly bowed her head.

Bai Suiyou was snapped back to his senses. Blush appeared on his pale face and he quickly replied, “Fellow Daoist Qin, fear not. Our lips are sealed. Fellow Daoist Long,” Bai Suiyou turned to Jian Xingzhi, “There is no need for a backup plan. There is no way for Fellow Daoist Qin to fail.”

Jian Xingzhi simply sneered with a ‘Heh’ as a ‘20’ floated above Bai Suiyou’s head.

As he expected from this ghost who was attracted to the skin*.

[T/N: Og text is 老色鬼 – lǎosèguǐ, lit. old ghost (who likes) color. Jian Xingzhi made a pun on BSY’s origin. Bai Suiyou is from 鬼(Gui)cheng so Jian Xingzhi associated him with the word 鬼 – guǐ/ghost and figuratively used, 老色鬼 means big pervert because 色 is linked with appearance, look, sex appeal, etc.]

Then, his eyes swept to the side but he was struck silly.

He stared in astonishment at Su Zhenxue whose eyes were all on Qin Wanwan. He repeatedly checked whether his eyes were functioning normally and confirmed that—

Su Zhenxue also had a ‘20’ above her head.

A string of question marks gradually surfaced in Jian Xingzhi’s mind: “???”

The hell is wrong with this Su Zhenxue???

 

The Author has something to say:

Jian Xingzhi: “Whether it’s the System or the Author, neither can make me fall in love.”