Wife is hell

Chapter 84, Third Update (5,000 words)
Jiang Mu returned home, his mind still a complete blank.

He took out the mysterious note and examined it repeatedly, becoming more and more puzzled with each reading:
"Is this really my senior sister's handwriting? If it is, why doesn't she just show herself to me?"

"Also, is it true or false that my wife will appear in a few days?"

"What's even stranger is that the person who patted my shoulder and spoke to me didn't sound like my senior sister at all. It sounded more like..."

The imprisoned fragments of memory began to collide and struggle in his mind again, causing him to experience throbbing pains in his skull.

Jiang Mu slapped his forehead hard, trying to clear his muddled thoughts.

So much has happened today.

It's like being sound asleep when suddenly someone forcibly inserts countless dreams heavily pixelated, bizarre and indistinguishable.

"Assuming that my senior sister really was secretly helping me, why would she warn me that Sister Yuzhu was a dangerous person?"

Whether it was Mu Jiang's original memories or his interactions with Shi Yuhua during this period, the woman gave him the impression of being a kind, gentle, and approachable older sister.

What kind of dangerous person could such a gentle woman be?
Jiang Mu could hardly believe it.

However, these are secondary matters at the moment.

Jiang Mu's biggest concern was his wife in the sedan chair in the mirage.

Just as he had anticipated, his wife was split into three parts because of the "Sinful Curse Butterfly".

The sedan chair contained only a body.

The head and hands are gone.

His hands are here, his body is in a mirage, so his head... is very likely to be enshrined somewhere.

Or perhaps they lurk in the void as spirits.

"Mirages... are essentially the phenomenon of light refraction and projection. Of course, even without a physical explanation, the principle is not much different."

Jiang Mu murmured, "So somewhere, there must be a real place. As long as we find that place, we can get my wife's body back."

Jiang Mu took out his notebook and carefully recorded the clues he had analyzed.

The appearance of the mirage made him reconsider his subsequent plans.

As for the information on the note, he decided to take it half as fact for now and remain cautious.

"The most urgent task is to improve our cultivation level."

"From what I've seen so far, the cultivators in this world are much more powerful than I imagined."

-

The next day, Madam Yan visited again.

Jiang Mu thought the other party wanted him to help investigate the stalker his best friend had encountered.

But Madam Yan said that the pervert had been found.

It turns out that every time a mirage appears, it is always accompanied by some strange phenomena.

Either flocks of crows circle in the sky for days, or there are torrential rains for several days in a row, or large areas of forest die...

The strange phenomenon that occurred in Yancheng yesterday was that a large number of rats emerged from underground burrows.

Almost every household has a few of them.

Those wealthy families had no choice but to send their servants to search every nook and cranny of their mansions.

Pan Sheng'er's family was no exception.

While the servants were carefully searching the backyard, they unexpectedly discovered a very well-hidden abandoned cellar.

Even Pan Shenger herself was unaware of its existence.

Upon opening the cellar, they discovered a man hiding inside!
Considering the recent harassment incidents, Pan Shenger and Madam Yan immediately concluded that this person was that perverted lecher.

At first, the other party was stubborn and refused to admit it, but when Madam Yan threatened to report it to the authorities, the man was frightened into admitting it and kneeling down to beg for mercy.

After some questioning, it was learned that the man's name was "Zhao Asan," and he came from Chanzhou, where he made a living by doing odd jobs in Yancheng.

Some time ago, I caught a glimpse of Pan Sheng'er and fell in love with her. Later, I climbed over the wall and sneaked into the Pan family compound. I accidentally discovered this abandoned cellar and secretly hid there.

He usually survived by stealing food from the kitchen without being detected.

Madam Yan originally intended to hand him over to the authorities.

However, Pan Shenger, mindful of her husband's suspicious nature and fearing for his reputation, resolutely refused to agree.

Left with no other option, Madam Yan forced the other party to sign a document with their fingerprints and leave proof such as their hometown address before driving them away.

After hearing what had happened, Jiang Mu felt quite helpless about the way the two women had handled the situation.

Even if you don't dare to report it to the authorities, you should at least inform him.

He could easily deal with such scum and scoundrels quietly in the shadows to prevent future trouble.

Now that the person has been released, it will be difficult to find them again.

However, now that the stalker has been caught, it saves him the time of subsequent investigations.

-

In the days that followed, Jiang Mu calmed down and devoted himself to revising and supplementing the demonic art "Refining the Dao in Other Mountains".

The Dao of Other Mountains has seven realms.

With each advancement in cultivation level, the speed and power of absorbing the power of others will increase exponentially.

Upon reaching the fourth level of cultivation, one can even absorb the cultivation of others remotely within a certain range.

If one cultivates to a higher level, one can absorb the power of multiple masters at the same time.

Like an invisible vortex, it devours all the surrounding spiritual energy and cultivation wherever it goes.

It swallows the four seas and gathers all rivers into one.

Although the technique was very powerful, the difficulty of piecing it back together far exceeded Jiang Mu's expectations.

After racking my brains for three whole days, almost pulling my hair out, I could only figure out the basics of the first level.

But considering that it is a profound and mysterious technique of demonic cultivation, this progress is already quite good.

"Let's start with the first level and see how it goes."

Jiang Mu closed the doors and windows tightly, took off his shirt, sat cross-legged on the bed, and began to cultivate.

He first circulated the "Wushan Wonderful Golden Elixir Scripture" to gather the scattered energy in his body into a unified whole.

Then, use your mind to guide the flow of breath through your meridians.

It passes through the Ren and Du meridians, goes past the Tanzhong point, and through the Qihai point...

Finally, he gathered a concentrated stream of true energy deep within his dantian and refined it repeatedly.

From the outside, Jiang Mu's skin occasionally rippled with air currents, forming bulges, which looked quite strange.

The essence of "Taoist Path" lies in "plunder".

View the human body itself as a furnace that can plunder external things and refine all things.

Cultivators need to first build the basic structure for plundering and refining within their own bodies, which is called the "Five Thief Mysterious Apertures".

For example, first place "Stealing Spring" on the Laogong, which is the palm of the hand.

The Laogong acupoint is considered a "gateway to leakage" in the human body, and a handshake between ordinary people will "leak in confidence".

This technique, however, goes against the grain, refining it into a "water-absorbing dragon's mouth".

With a thought, the palm becomes like a bottomless pool, capable of drawing in the vital essence and spiritual energy overflowing from the opponent's acupoints.

Once the Five Thieves' Mysterious Apertures are established, the next step is to refine the Five Organs.

Lungs, liver, heart, spleen, kidneys...

Finally, the kidneys complete the final transformation from "other mountains" to "our mountains".

The kidneys govern water, store essence, and control the intake of qi.

This perfectly complements the dual cultivation technique "Wushan Wonderful Golden Elixir".

It can be said that Jiang Mu now possesses these two sets of cultivation techniques. Even if he cannot find a suitable furnace for the time being, he is still qualified to be among the top experts. At least he will not have too much trouble using spiritual objects.

And if one were to encounter a suitable furnace, it would be unimaginable.

-

While Jiang Mu was practicing his skills, Shi Yuhua did not disturb him, but instead focused on drawing talismans at home.

Ever since learning that this seemingly insignificant little talisman could sell for a tael of silver, Shi Yuyan has been as excited as if she had been injected with chicken blood.

Aside from necessary sleep, cooking, and meal times, he devoted all his remaining time to drawing talismans.

She had already silently calculated the costs in her mind.

When Xiao Jiang gets married, she needs to save at least several hundred taels of silver for him.

In this way, Xiao Jiang's future children will no longer have to worry about food, clothing, and daily necessities.

Shi Yuyuan's consideration for Jiang Mu stemmed from two reasons: firstly, she always regarded him as family, and secondly, because of her sister, she always felt indebted to Jiang Mu.

While Shi Yuhua was focused on drawing talismans, she did not notice that an apple had appeared out of thin air on the table behind her.

The apples were bright red.

There is a bite mark.

At the opening, a tiny, baby-like hand emerged from the flesh.

The five fingers slowly spread out.

It then grew larger at a visible speed, transforming into the hand of an adult woman, and quietly reached towards Shi Yuhuan's back.

Just as the hand was about to touch the woman's back, a golden light suddenly flashed.

The fingers, as if corroded, turn charred black.

It then quickly retracted.

The apple, too, began to rot, gradually becoming transparent and disappearing.

"Ok?"

Sensing something amiss behind her, Shi Yuhua turned around, looked around but found nothing unusual, and continued drawing talismans.

……

Outside the courtyard wall.

The old woman who had asked Shi Yuhua for water earlier was now groaning in pain, her arm already rotting and turning black.

"This girl actually has a protective item on her."

The old woman gritted her teeth, "It seems this family is not simple."

She took out the rotten apple, her face contorted with pain, and thought to herself, "Such a good seed, it's such a waste to give it up... I should report to my master for a decision."

The old woman turned to leave.

At that moment, she was horrified to discover that she could not move her feet.

It was as if they were nailed to the ground.

The next moment, to her horrified gaze, her own shadow on the ground slowly sat up.

The surrounding ground seemed to have turned into a muddy swamp.

The shadow reached out its hands, grabbed her legs, and slowly dragged her into the swamp.

A moment later, the ground returned to normal.

Only a pile of ashes remained, scattered by the wind.

far away.

On a rooftop somewhere, a figure silently watched everything that had just happened.

"See? I told you that woman was not to be messed with."

"If that silly boy doesn't win over this woman soon, he'll be in for a world of trouble later."

-

-

Three days later, Jiang Mu finally succeeded in cultivating "Refining the Dao in Other Mountains" to the entry level.

After several days of intensive training, he clearly felt some changes in his body. His muscles became firmer.

It feels hard to the touch, and is full of explosive power.

After washing up in the morning, Jiang Mu practiced the Five Animal Frolics in the courtyard.

This was a strict requirement from Aunt Yan Wenxiu.

Moreover, the kidney-tonifying herbal soup has been supplied daily without fail these days.

It is clear that the label of "virtual" has already been attached to Jiang Mu.

Under Yan Wenxiu's supervision, Shi Shuangsui and Shi Baolu also practiced the Five Animal Fist to improve their health.

The seven-year-old girl, who usually calls herself a "heroine," practiced with extra effort. Her little face was tense, and she made "ha-ha" sounds, imitating the leaping of a tiger and the bounding of a deer.

Although their movements were clumsy, they were precise and endearing.

Even the big white goose flapped its wings and imitated it.

Logically speaking, Shi Baolu's round figure should have found it very difficult to train.

To Jiang Mu's surprise, after mastering the key points of the movements, this kid's Five Animal Fist was exceptionally agile and precise.

It resembles a round yet agile raccoon.

"Could this guy be a prodigy like me?"

Jiang Mu rubbed his chin, secretly surprised, "Should we find him a cultivation technique to try too?"

After finishing her practice, Yan Wenxiu had already prepared breakfast.

It was only natural that Shi Baolu and his sister would stay and freeload a meal.

Yan Wenxiu specially added extra kidney-tonifying ingredients to Jiang Mu's bowl, instructing him:
"After you finish eating, you and Baolu should hurry to the yamen to report for duty. After all, you are yamen runners who receive salaries. You can't just take advantage of your Uncle An being a constable and work only sporadically."

As the saying goes, "If you receive a reward, you must fulfill it." Personal relationships can be relied upon temporarily, but not forever; don't give others a handle to use against you, lest you invite unnecessary gossip.

Jiang Mu nodded repeatedly in agreement.

He himself didn't care about the official duties.

The county magistrate certainly wouldn't have any objections, after all, he not only has Uncle An behind him, but also that woman who can hold up half the sky, and no one dares to offend her easily.

Even if he didn't join the Patrol Division, as long as Tang Jinxian of Big Soft Candy was still in her position, he was still one of Big Soft Candy's people.

That's how assertive they are when they live off women.

However, for Shi Baolu, this long-term habit of skipping work is indeed inappropriate.

Especially since this guy has hardly ever worked a proper day, yet he receives a monthly salary, even if the county magistrate turns a blind eye, the other colleagues and yamen runners will inevitably have grievances.

We're all from the same village, we see each other all the time, there's no need to make things too awkward.

"Don't worry, Aunt An, I will definitely do my job well in the yamen."

Shi Baolu grabbed a large steamed bun and said while eating,
"My elder sister said that Uncle An went to great lengths to get me this job. Although it's not exactly an official position, it's still a legitimate government job. If I work hard, I'll have my day."

Who knows, in three to five years, Mu Tou and I will become high-ranking officials. At that time, Mu Tou will buy you a big courtyard to live in... No, if we're going to buy one, we'll buy one in the capital.

I've already decided that the first thing I'll do when we get to the capital is to get a top-quality coffin for my whole family.

I've heard that the dragon energy there is abundant; burying yourself there will bring you lasting blessings in your next life and a good rebirth...

Then they dug up the remains of their parents, grandparents, and other relatives, moved them to the capital, and changed the feng shui…

Yan Wenxiu was quite pleased with the first half of the speech, but she couldn't hold back her emotions in the second half.

In particular, Shi Shuanghui added from the side, "My coffin must be made the most beautiful!"

Snapped!
Yan Wenxiu couldn't help but give the little girl a light flick on the forehead.

"What nonsense are you spouting at such a young age?"

Shi Shuangsui's eyes were brimming with tears, and she pouted with a wronged expression, not understanding what she had said wrong.

Yan Wenxiu originally wanted to reprimand Shi Baolu, but seeing his sincere gaze, she didn't know how to start.

While clearing away the dishes, she whispered to Jiang Mu:

"Xiao Jiang, take good care of Shi Tou when you go to the yamen. Look at his head, don't let him get bullied."

Jiang Mu sighed: "It's tough. I'm not afraid of people pretending to be stupid, I'm afraid of stupid people being too sincere."

"Weren't you an idiot before?"

Yan Wenxiu glared at him irritably.

Jiang Mu was speechless.

……

After greeting Shi Yuhua, Jiang Mu took Shi Baolu to the yamen for roll call.

County Magistrate Yang Yunqing didn't say much about the two men's absences over the past few days. He only offered a few words of encouragement to Shi Baolu and then asked Jiang Mu when An Chenghu would return.

To be honest, Jiang Mu was also stunned when he heard the county magistrate's question.

You were the one who arranged for my Uncle An to go to the neighboring county, and now you're asking me when I'm coming back?
How would I know?
I'm not Uncle An's boss.

Yang Yunqing was somewhat disappointed when he found out nothing, so he sent them off to patrol the streets at will and kill time.

A hint of doubt arose in Jiang Mu's heart.

Since the county magistrate asked this question, it means that the case in the neighboring county should not be complicated.

But Uncle An has been delayed for so long and has not yet returned.

Could something have gone wrong?

probably not.

If something had really happened, the news would have come back long ago.

While patrolling the streets with Shi Baolu, Jiang Mu ran into Uncle An's sidekick, Jiang Xiaoyuan.

"Xiao Jiang, when is Officer An coming back?"

Just like the county magistrate, the other party started asking questions as soon as they met.

It feels like without Uncle An, this county government office is doomed.

Jiang Mu felt a little numb.

He even considered taking a leave of absence to visit a neighboring county.

However, upon seeing Jiang Xiaoyuan, Jiang Mu recalled the strange incident a few days ago in which an octogenarian woman was found dead naked in the street.

At the time, they were going door-to-door searching for the deceased's relatives.

Jiang Mu then casually asked:
"By the way, have you found the family of that old lady from last time?"

Jiang Xiaoyuan waved his hand and said:

"No. The body has been sitting in the mortuary for ages, and nobody's come to claim it or report it. These days, there are tons of unsolved cases like this. Who has the time to keep an eye on things? Nobody cares about it anymore."

Jiang Mu found it strange.

Could this be a lonely old woman with no children?
"When the body was discovered, was there really nothing at the scene that could identify the person?"

Jiang Mu asked another question.

"No, if it were, we would have found it long ago."

Jiang Xiaoyuan said, "When he died, he was clutching half an apple that had been eaten, and the apple was rotten."

The old woman must have been starving and picked up something to eat by the roadside. In short, there were no other useful clues.

fruit?

Jiang Mu was taken aback for a moment, but didn't take it to heart.

Just as the two were talking, the sound of rapid hoofbeats suddenly came from afar, breaking the tranquility of the street.

But then a fast horse came galloping down the street.

This caused passersby to panic and scramble to avoid the area, accompanied by a chorus of curses.

Jiang Mu and the others also retreated to the side of the road in advance.

Unexpectedly, when the horse got close, it suddenly changed direction and galloped straight towards their location.

Jiang Xiaoyuan and the others turned pale with fright and retreated repeatedly.

But the horses came too fast, and there was no way to avoid them.

Shi Baolu instinctively shielded Jiang Mu behind him, intending to use his large body to withstand the horse's charge.

"Get out of the way, rocks!"

Jiang Mu frowned, shoved Shi Baolu aside, and instead of retreating, he advanced, charging straight at the galloping horse.

Should I avoid your edge?
Those around who witnessed this scene gasped in shock.

Wow, is this young man really that brave?

Jiang Mu's expression was stern.

Because he had already seen the person riding the horse; it was Gan Yuanyuan, the scarred woman who was the chief of the patrol office.

It's obvious that the other party did it on purpose.

Seeing that Jiang Mu didn't dodge or avoid but instead crashed into her, Gan Yuanyuan was also stunned.

Her intention was merely to scare the other party, at most to make him suffer some physical pain, to avenge the humiliation she suffered in prison that day.

They didn't intend to take his life.

Given Tang Jinxian's protective and domineering nature, if she really killed this kid, wouldn't she tear her apart alive?

Did the other party end up courting death?

"This kid is truly a fool who doesn't know his own mortality!"

Gan Yuanyuan cursed under her breath and hurriedly pulled hard on the reins, trying to turn the horse around.

Just as the horse reared up and neighed due to the sudden stop, Jiang Mu had already crashed into it solidly.

The golden amulet in his arms flashed.

From an outsider's perspective, after Jiang Mu bumped into the horse, the horse let out a mournful cry and fell backward to the ground.

Gan Yuanyuan, who hadn't even realized what was happening, also fell down.

The woman, being a woman of cultivation, twisted her waist sharply in mid-air, slapped her palm on the ground, used the momentum to leap into the air, and landed steadily.

She first looked at Jiang Mu.

Seeing that the other party was not only unharmed, but also standing perfectly still, he was greatly surprised.

"This kid's actually a martial arts expert!"

The horse was convulsing and foaming at the mouth.

The passersby were stunned by the scene, looking at Jiang Mu as if he were a monster.

"Wood, are you alright?"

Shi Baolu quickly stepped forward and inquired with concern.

Jiang Mu dusted off his clothes and looked coldly at Gan Yuanyuan: "You did that on purpose just now, didn't you?"

Gan Yuanyuan glanced at her beloved horse lying on the ground, her heart aching with pain. Hearing this, she became even more furious and said coldly:

"Do you know that this horse is a prized Akhal-Teke horse, a tribute from the Western Luo Kingdom, worth a fortune! Mu Jiang, you deliberately ran it over and killed it... You must pay for it today!"

"A horse isn't worth that much money."

Jiang Mu said calmly,
"But if it's your mother who's foaming at the mouth because of my arguing, I'd be happy to throw a few coins at her, as a way of doing good deeds."

-

Ps:

Five thousand six hundred words, bringing the total to over thirteen thousand today. That's roughly six chapters in terms of normal chapter count. That's all for today. It's not exactly a super update, but it's not as short as usual either.

I didn't eat lunch or dinner, and I feel like I'm floating while typing.

From now on, updates will be posted at night, probably around midnight, as there definitely won't be enough during the day.

It will either be one large chapter or divided into two smaller chapters; this will be specified in the title.

(End of this chapter)