Chapter 76: Beautiful Wife, First Come First Served

Chapter 76: Beautiful Wife: Slow Hands Miss Out

Shen Lian watched his back, then averted his gaze. This Shen Nian made him deeply uneasy. Though he was nothing like Yan Huaixuan, he still set Shen Lian on edge.

He looked around. Everything was a vast expanse of white—surprisingly, not as crawling with monsters as he'd imagined.

Shen Nian, still facing away, remained expressionless. He raised a finger and, without caring whether the medicinal juice was mixed with snowmelt or anything else, poured it down He Ci's throat.

Only then did Shen Nian turn around.

Seeing Shen Lian leaning against a rock, his body trembling slightly, Shen Nian's eyes softened almost imperceptibly.

"Cold?"

Shen Nian sat down and raised a hand. A campfire materialized before Shen Lian, chasing away the chill in an instant. Shen Lian hesitated, then shot Shen Nian a glance.

He saw a fawning, almost pleading smile on Shen Nian's face.

Shen Lian looked away, his face unreadable.

The other cultivators crawled out of the snow one by one. "Cough, cough—are we in the Lost Snow Domain?"

He Ci coughed, opened his eyes, and immediately clutched his throat. "Cough, cough—why do I have dirt in my throat?"

He turned his head and spat twice on the ground.

"Dirt?" Shen Lian frowned. "Maybe you swallowed some while you were buried in the snow."

But Shen Lian cut himself off.

He remembered He Ci's jaw had been clamped shut—impossible to pry open.

Shen Lian's eyes slid toward Shen Nian.

Confusion flickered in Shen Nian's eyes. When their eyes met, he broke into a smile.

Shen Lian quickly looked away.

Shen Nian's fingers curled slightly.

He Ci noticed everyone else had just crawled out of the snow, while he alone had been lying on top. He said cheerfully, "A Lian, thanks for digging me out."

Shen Lian gave a small shake of his head.

He handed He Ci a few more pills. He Ci downed them without hesitation, and the moment they hit his stomach, his wounds healed almost completely.

When the other cultivators saw this, envy flickered in their eyes. The campfire alone was enough to make them jealous, but now they realized he was an alchemy cultivator.

But no matter how they stared, Shen Lian ignored them completely.

Convinced he was special, He Ci grew even happier.

He thought—could it be he mattered more to Shen Lian?

At that moment, Shen Nian coughed into his curled fingers. "A Lian, could I get some pills too?"

He Ci's smile vanished. Why was this pest still here!

Shen Lian hadn't expected Shen Nian to ask so bluntly. His brows knitted slightly, and Shen Nian gave a wry smile. He held out his hand, revealing a long gash on his wrist.

Something clicked in Shen Lian's mind. When they'd fallen from the sky, someone had held him, swapping positions to break his fall.

He'd also heard the man's muffled grunt.

Shen Lian hesitated, then tossed him a pill. But he never once looked at Shen Nian or said a word.

Instead, Shen Nian said softly, "Thanks, A Lian."

He Ci finally couldn't take it anymore. A vein throbbed in his forehead. "Who said you could call him A Lian? Are you two that close?"

When Shen Nian turned to him, his tone went ice-cold. "If you can call him that, why not me?"

He Ci's eyes went wide. "A Lian, look! This guy isn't even trying to hide it anymore! He's definitely up to something!"

Shen Lian's eyes turned cold in an instant.

In the Taichu Realm, he knew almost no one. The only one who knew his secret was that man!

Shen Lian drew his sword. "Yan Huaixuan!"

He Ci was taken aback. "Who's Yan Huaixuan?"

Shen Nian glanced at the sword Chen Xue at his neck. He paused, then met Shen Lian's eyes and said slowly, "Who is Yan Huaixuan? I don't know him."

Shen Lian's body shook, his voice going hoarse.

Seeing Shen Lian like this, He Ci was stunned.

He'd known Shen Lian for a while now, and Shen Lian almost never showed emotion. He was always cold, wrapped in a thick shell of defenses.

But now, he saw a sharp, searing hatred in Shen Lian's eyes.

Shen Lian ground his teeth. "Still playing dumb? Are you him or not?"

Shen Nian sighed. "I didn't want to lie to you."

"So you admit it?" Shen Lian's face changed. He hadn't expected Yan Huaixuan to be this relentless.

But then Shen Nian said, "Brother, don't you remember me?"

Shen Lian froze. "What?"

"I'm Shen Mo," Shen Nian said. "A few years ago, you cast me out. Now, I've taken human form."

Only then did Shen Lian remember—right, besides Yan Huaixuan, there was also a Shen Mo who knew who he really was.

"I don't believe you," Shen Lian said with a frown. "If you're Shen Mo, why go by Shen Nian?"

"Have you forgotten? It was you who drove me out years ago," Shen Nian said softly. "I was afraid you wouldn't want to see me, so I changed my name to Shen Nian."

Seeing Shen Lian still didn't believe him, Shen Nian raised a hand, and a black serpent's tail slowly emerged from beneath his robes.

"Too bad I already gave that drop of blood back to you back then, or I could prove who I am."

Seeing Shen Lian still didn't believe him, Shen Nian went on, "The first time my master met me was by the Lingxue Yuhua flower, when a dragon-snake was hunting me."

Shen Lian's grip on Chen Xue loosened. Everything he'd said was right.

"And another time," Shen Nian chuckled, "when my master was refining the Xiaoxiao Pill, he accidentally used xuehui instead of linglan, and the whole furnace blew up."

"Back then, I was still young, but I did have some vague memories."

These were indeed all things that happened between Shen Lian and the little snake, but given what happened before, Shen Lian still refused to believe it.

He Ci finally got it—this person had known A Lian long before. He couldn't help but say, "A Lian, just do a soul search, and we'll know if he's telling the truth."

Shen Lian clenched his hand again. If a soul search were performed, the person subjected to it would, at best, lose cultivation; at worst, their Spiritual Sea would collapse.

Hearing He Ci's words, Shen Nian's expression instantly turned cold.

But Shen Lian was also thinking—what if this really is Shen Mo?

But he didn't get a chance to think it over. The sky was slowly getting darker, and someone realized something was off.

"Hey, listen—do you guys hear something?"

Shen Lian looked around, and He Ci's face also turned serious.

Then, they noticed that the heavy snow above their heads had vanished, and the sky had turned black. Not only that, they also realized that all the spiritual energy in their bodies was being drained for no reason.

"What's going on?"

Shen Lian's hand went weak, and he couldn't even muster the strength to pick up Chen Xue.

Just then, the ground started shaking. Little bumps started popping up all over the snow-covered ground, as if something was about to break through.

Beneath Shen Lian's feet, a hand burst out from the ground.

"So hungry..."

He Ci's face changed. "A Lian, come here."

But even as he spoke, Shen Lian was already swept away by Shen Nian.

He Ci: "...What the hell!"