Could it be that I am the cruel villain?
Chapter 296 - 197: A Trip Home_2

Chapter 296: Chapter 197: A Trip Home_2

Within Swordmaster Peak, Jiang Feng was a unique exception, and judging by Liu Tangxi’s stance, she had no intention to take on other male disciples. If one was actually waiting for an all-out disciple recruitment, they would probably have to wait until Jiang Feng assumed the position of the Peak Master in the future.

"I’ll go find Senior Sister first, you two continue your sword cultivation."

Waving his hand, the youth quickly walked towards the residence of Liu Tangxi.

Raising his hand, before it even touched the door, he found it automatically swung open, clearly indicating that Liu Tangxi was already aware that Jiang Feng was coming.

"Senior Sister, I’m coming in."

His expression froze.

This line seemed somewhat familiar, but still, he straightened up and confidently stepped in.

Liu Tangxi’s abode was simple and unadorned, with just a few touches of greenery adding color. The rest was antique and fragrant with agarwood, exuding an intoxicating fragrance. The walls were adorned with various calligraphies and paintings, all of which shared a common theme.

"Sword."

There were more than thirty different calligraphic depictions of the word "Sword", each unique and each representing a pinnacle of swordsmanship. For an ordinary cultivator, just observing these dozens of words could occupy them for months.

As for the paintings, they were all various representations of swords.

Some were entirely silver, as bright as the moon; some entirely red, as if they were the crimson of the horizon; some exuded nobility and power without anger; others were plain and mundane, made of ordinary iron. There were forty-five exquisite longswords in total, each one portrayed so vividly on the canvas.

Just looking at them closely, one could sense the sharpness almost leaping off the paper, as if they could tear a person in half.

The first time Jiang Feng visited his Senior Sister’s room, even he was startled into a daze, completely captivated by the images, unable to extricate himself, until Liu Tangxi, out of impatience, jolted him awake with a couple of strikes from a wooden sword.

Since then, Jiang Feng dared not stare at these objects on his own accord. He knew they were not things he could engage with at his current realm.

"Sen...ior Sister?"

A cautious head peeked in.

In fact, Liu Tangxi had told him before that whenever he wanted to come, he could just push the door open; she did the same when entering his room, casually pushing the door to come in. However, about nine months ago, Jiang Feng took it upon himself to head to Lan Zhu Peak and spar with Yan Fengchun.

After getting beaten half to death and returning, he wanted to discuss his experiences with his Senior Sister. But upon entering, he found... Liu Tangxi was bathing inside the room.

Trivia—back in those days, bathtubs were typically placed in a corner of the bedroom and shielded by screens.

Although the Senior Sister never blamed him or said anything about it, after that incident, Jiang Feng never dared to enter directly again. He would always knock on the door first, and only after asking would he go inside.

But today, Liu Xianzi was merely lying on her bed in leisure, eyes closed in rest, assuming a relaxed posture like that of a noble consort. Sensing Jiang Feng’s arrival, she merely said indifferently, "You’re back, that’s good timing. Give me a shoulder rub; I’ve been feeling somewhat uncomfortable lately."

"Yes, my Lady~"

His gender transformed on the spot.

He bent forward like a little eunuch, proactively approaching; this gesture amused Liu Tangxi a bit, her disciple brother was always coming up with new antics.

Strong and firm hands began to knead the shoulders. It wasn’t the first time he massaged his Senior Sister’s shoulders and back, but no matter how many times he had to do it, he would concentrate fully, placing his hands upon his Senior Sister’s shoulders.

Then, forehead veins bulged! All of a sudden, his arm muscles even twisted a bit, his face contorting painfully, and with all his might, he fiercely pressed down on his own Senior Sister’s neck and shoulders!

"Mmm~"

Her face etched with enjoyment and bliss.

His fingers were strong as if they were stakes filled with molten iron, yet on Liu Tangxi’s body, they could only press about half an inch deep. He used all his strength to knead, but those seemingly fragile shoulders couldn’t even be budged.

Even so, Liu Xianzi just lazily yawned.

"Weak strength, did you even eat?"

"..."

You all wouldn’t think that giving Liu Tangxi a massage is a simple task, right?

Jiang Feng’s face wore a bitter smile. The first time he massaged his Senior Sister, he had been extremely careful, afraid of injuring her, but without even needing to speak, just by touching her skin, Jiang Feng understood how naive his thoughts were.

Injure her?

Do I qualify?

Even now, having reached Core Formation, it takes all my strength to barely give senior sister a shoulder rub—and that’s when she’s completely relaxed. Before, I had no idea how profound a cultivator of my sister’s level could be.

As my own realm has improved, I’ve finally realized just how exaggerated sister’s strength is. To put it this way, with someone like Liu Tangxi at her level, if I harbored any ill intentions, probably my own blade would shatter first after a few dozen stabs against her.

"Senior sister, your body is just too tough."

"I didn’t choose it, but how can you practice swordsmanship without a tough body? Have you forgotten how rough your Sword Qi was? When you draw the sword, your own body nearly collapses. It would be a laughingstock to tell others."

"Sister, you are right. But I was wondering... among us at Swordmaster Peak..."

"I naturally rank first."

Liu Tangxi didn’t even let him finish his sentence before she interrupted.

Clearly, she heard the conversation Jiang Feng had with Lin Jiangxian outside and knew what this lad was about to ask. It was probably about the ranking of the other two people.

The youth showed an expression that seemed to say ’I knew it.’ One could guess that Liu Tangxi had specifically mentioned she started her cultivation journey, meaning she must have chosen to do so at least at the age of sixteen or even later, the same age as himself.

"Master took me in when I was seventeen. Not to talk about Qi Refinement, I hadn’t even started Body Refining. I followed Master and learned for three years, and just so happened that he needed to send a letter to the South Sea, so I volunteered to deliver it."

"Then I went down the mountain alone. Although I had practiced Sword Cultivation for three years, I didn’t pay much attention to my exact realm. However, I remember on my first trip down the mountain, I encountered the Southern Border Witch Clan—specifically, the lineage that had conflicts with our Purple Cloud Palace."

"That person seemed to be... at the Nascent Soul Stage, right?"

I almost spat out my drink.

Even the fingers massaging her almost twisted and poked my face by mistake. Encountering a Nascent Soul on my first trip down the mountain?

What sort of bad luck is that?

"What happened after that?"

Jiang Feng couldn’t help but ask, wondering if it was like his own experience being chased by Wu Mingsheng, where he had to run away for three days and nights...

"Oh, I slew him."

Cold sweat instantly broke out.

Her tone was as casual as if she had just killed a chicken, slaying someone who had cultivated for thirty or even a hundred and thirty years after just three years of cultivation. And the most crucial point was that Liu Tangxi seemed to be indifferent to the incident.

It was as if she couldn’t even be bothered to remember unless it was the first person she killed.

"After I killed him, I encountered a few more seeking revenge. I slew them too."

She casually dropped the statement.

Even without thinking hard, one would know that all those who came for revenge were Nascent Soul Stage experts. Being able to slay Nascent Soul experts after only three years of cultivation—is beyond describing as genius.

This is a monster, no, a cheat!

"What about the other senior?"

"He is my senior brother, also the eldest disciple of Swordmaster Peak. He went missing after the great battle with the Demon Clan. He’s probably dead."

Still that unconcerned tone, but Jiang Feng could detect something unnatural in her voice. Being smart, he didn’t linger on this topic and changed the subject.

"I’ve learned from you, senior sister. After coming back this time, I plan to set off again tomorrow morning. I’ve been quite lucky recently, landed a good job."

He bore a somewhat pleased expression. Now she understood why all those master’s disciples were all around her—indeed a joyous thing, just teaching the disciples some basic skills and having a bunch of people serve you.

Truly a merry life.

"It was that Yan family lad who sought you, right? You even had drinks with him?"

She sheepishly nodded.

"Yes, but don’t worry, senior sister. This time I got quite a lot of good wine before leaving the mountain. I didn’t let him drink much. Mainly, he was troubled by his family urging him to marry, so I just accompanied him for a few..."

"Poor little guy, it’s understandable. He should indeed drown his sorrows in alcohol!"