txolops Chapter 29 A Beautiful Wife at Home, as Mother Said
Chapter 29 A Beautiful Wife at Home, as Mother Said
The familiar cry of "Stop!" rang out, and the immense power that was about to erupt within Zhang Kui was forcibly suppressed back into his dantian. As his blood and qi surged, his face paled slightly.
He stared incredulously at the figure blocking the woman in red—wearing coarse linen clothes, with slightly graying temples, and the marks of years of hard work in her eyes and brows, yet still standing tall. Who else could it be but his mother, Wang Yunniang?
"Mother?" Zhang Kui cried out, instinctively lowering the Wolf Fang Wind-Breaking Blade in his hand, and at the same time, the light on the blade quickly faded.
The woman in red, known as "Aying," trembled slightly. With a flick of her hand, dozens of golden needles that had been floating in the air and flashing with dangerous red light flew back into the crimson gourd she was holding, like weary birds returning to their nest.
The chilling, scorching, and destructive aura inside the room dissipated almost entirely in an instant.
"Aunt Yun!" Gao Lanying rushed forward and took Wang Yunniang's arm, her pretty face showing a hint of fear and worry. "Why did you come out? That scoundrel..."
"What scoundrel! You silly girl!" Wang Yunniang slapped Gao Lanying's hand in annoyance, then turned sharply to look at Zhang Kui, who was completely bewildered, her eyes instantly reddening.
The next moment, this woman, who was usually so strong, became like an old mother seeing her long-lost son, both angry and heartbroken. She took a few steps forward and raised her hand to punch Zhang Kui's arm. Of course, this punch was more like a tickle to Zhang Kui.
"Stone, you heartless little bastard, you finally came back!" Wang Yunniang cried and cursed as she pounded the stone, her voice choked with sobs. "You've been gone for so many years without a word. Do you know how worried I was? If it weren't for the occasional letters from Shanzi, I would have thought... I would have thought you were just like your deadbeat father, heartless."
Hearing his mother's tearful nagging and feeling her powerless blows, Zhang Kui's initial anger at the sudden attack vanished, replaced by deep guilt and sorrow. He quickly sheathed his Wolf Fang Wind-Breaking Blade, letting his mother vent her frustrations, forcing a fawning smile as he awkwardly comforted her, "Mother, Mother, please don't cry. It's my fault, I'm so unfilial, making you worry... I'm perfectly fine, aren't I? Look, I'm back safe and sound..."
As he spoke, he carefully observed his mother. Although she had become thinner, she seemed to be in good spirits and her eyes were still bright, which reassured him.
Gao Lanying, who had been so fierce just moments before, cleaving her golden needles with her sword, was now smiling and apologizing to her mother like a child who had done something wrong. The huge contrast made her chuckle softly.
Realizing she had been somewhat out of line, she quickly covered her mouth, her cheeks flushing red. Her eyes darted away, and she lowered her head in embarrassment, her hands unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes, yet she couldn't help but steal glances at Zhang Kui.
Upon closer inspection, she realized that the "intruder" was tall and robust, with a resolute face, sharp eyebrows, and bright eyes, exuding a heroic aura forged on the battlefield. His eyes, in particular, were deep and bright, now filled with apology and tenderness.
After venting her anger, Wang Yunniang gradually calmed down and then remembered that there was someone else beside her. She wiped away her tears, glared at Zhang Kui with annoyance, then pulled Gao Lanying's hand, a smile spreading across her face, her tone filled with undisguised boastfulness and smugness: "Aying, come here, let Aunt Yun introduce you. This is my good-for-nothing eldest son, Zhang Kui, nicknamed Shitou (Stone). What do you think? Aunt Yun wasn't lying to you, was she? Isn't he quite handsome?"
Zhang Kui was a little embarrassed by his mother's straightforward "praise" and touched his nose.
Gao Lanying's cheeks flushed even redder, and she responded in a voice barely audible, "Hmm... Aunt Yun is right..."
Wang Yunniang then turned to Zhang Kui, her smile widening as she patted Gao Lanying's hand: "Shitou, this is Aying, Gao Lanying. You don't know, these past few years, you two brothers haven't been around, and it's only this girl Aying who's kept this old woman company. If it weren't for her, I don't know how I would have survived. Aying is such a good girl, sensible, capable, and she even helps me manage the pharmacy."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Kui felt a surge of gratitude towards the young lady Gao Lanying. He quickly and respectfully bowed, saying, "Zhang Kui thanks Miss Gao for taking care of my mother all these years! I didn't know it was you just now, and I apologize for any offense I may have caused." He then understood why she had suddenly attacked him; she must have mistaken him for an enemy.
Gao Lanying quickly stepped aside to avoid the greeting and said in a low voice, "General, you are too kind. It was Lanying who acted rashly without asking first, and almost hurt you..." She was still shaken by the power of her golden needles. She didn't even dare to think about how she might have hurt him.
Watching the two exchange polite greetings, Wang Yunniang smiled so broadly her eyes narrowed into slits. Suddenly remembering something, she asked Zhang Kui, "By the way, Shitou, these past few years you've been alone, haven't you? Haven't...haven't you found a companion?"
Zhang Kui was taken aback by his mother's abrupt question. Although he found it a bit strange, he still answered honestly, "I've been fighting in the army all these years, my life is uncertain, how could I have the mind to think about these things? Of course I'm alone." He paused, then, thinking of his younger brother, added, "I did run into my second brother in the Beihai Army a while ago. He's doing well now, so you don't need to worry."
Upon hearing news of her second son, Wang Yunniang's face lit up with even greater joy, and she nodded repeatedly, "Good, good, I'm relieved that you two brothers are both well." Then, her tone shifted, her smile becoming somewhat meaningful. Her gaze swept back and forth between Zhang Kui and Gao Lanying, she cleared her throat, and spoke in a tone as if announcing something momentous:
"That's perfect, Stone. Let me tell you, Ah Ying is actually yours—"
"Aunt Yun!" Gao Lanying suddenly interrupted Wang Yunniang, her cheeks flushed red as if they were about to bleed, her eyes filled with a pleading shyness.
Wang Yunniang, though interrupted, wasn't angry. Instead, she smiled knowingly, then looked at Zhang Kui again, her tone resolute and brooking no argument:
"It's your wife!"
"Wh...what?!" Zhang Kui was struck dumb, completely stunned. His eyes widened like saucers, almost wondering if he had misunderstood during his tribulation and was hallucinating. "Mother, what...what did you say? Wife...wife? What are you talking about?!"
He looked at Gao Lanying in disbelief, only to see that she had already lowered her head in embarrassment, her neck flushed pink, her fingers tightly twisting the hem of her clothes, but she did not utter a word in rebuttal.
Looking at her son's silly expression, Wang Yunniang couldn't help but pat him again: "What? Would your mother lie to you?" She sighed and began to explain the reason.
"Three years ago, my mother went to the mountains outside the city to gather herbs and found Ah Ying fighting with a giant snake that had become a demon. The snake demon was very powerful. Although Ah Ying won in the end, she was also poisoned and fell into a coma. It was my mother who carried her back and used our family's antidote to pull her back from the brink of death."
"Later, Aying stayed at the shop to recover from her injuries. This girl was kind-hearted and knowledgeable in pharmacology. Even after she recovered, she didn't leave, saying she wanted to repay a debt of gratitude, so she stayed to help me manage the pharmacy. As a young woman, and so beautiful, it was inevitable that people would gossip if she stayed in the pharmacy all day. What good things could those gossipy women say? In order to shut them up and protect Aying's reputation, my mother told people... that Aying was the wife of my eldest son Zhang Kui, who was a general in the army, and that she had come back to take care of my parents."
At this point, Wang Yunniang spread her hands and looked at Zhang Kui with a righteous air: "Look, now that you're back, and you haven't married, you still want to deny that Aying is such a good girl? How will she face people in the future? Let me tell you, Shitou, I'm acknowledging this wife for you. Aying is your wife."
After hearing these words, Zhang Kui was completely stunned, his mouth agape, unable to utter a word for a long time.
He looked at his mother, whose face said, "This is settled," and then at Gao Lanying, who was too ashamed to look up but had tacitly agreed to everything. He felt his mind was in complete turmoil.
What... what's going on here?
After being away from home for several years, on his first day back, he not only almost got into a fight with a powerful female cultivator, but also inexplicably gained a wife.
Moreover, judging from his mother's demeanor, it was clear that she had planned this all along, just waiting for him to come back and "fall into the trap."
Gao Lanying...that name sounds familiar?
Zhang Kui tried hard to search his memory. In the Investiture of the Gods, there seemed to be a female general who was skilled in using the Sun God Needle and later married Zhang Kui, the garrison commander of Mianchi. Could this be the one in front of him?
Thinking of this, Zhang Kui's gaze towards Gao Lanying suddenly became complicated. Fate, in such an absurd way, had twisted their originally misaligned paths back together.