Transmigrating into the world of Jade Dynasty, I was targeted by the female lead in a reverse romanc

With great difficulty, Jiang Xiaochuan gently patted Tian Ling'er's back with his free hand, and then used a little force to "peel" her out of his arms.

Tian Ling'er's eyes were as red as a rabbit's, and tears were still on her face. She glared at him angrily, but finally let go of his hand.

Faxiang walked over at this moment, his face filled with genuine joy. He put his hands together and chanted a Buddhist prayer: "Amitabha, Benefactor Jiang, the ancients said that good people are blessed by heaven. Seeing this today, it is indeed so. My senior brother has survived a great calamity and will surely have good fortune in the future."

The towering monk Fashan, who was standing beside him, echoed in a deep voice, "Brother Jiang, you are very fortunate."

Fa Xiang paused, looked at Jiang Xiaochuan with gentle eyes, and added meaningfully, "These past few days, your sect's benefactor Lu Xueqi has been very concerned about benefactor Jiang's safety."

Beneath the icy chill in Jiang Xiaochuan's heart, something seemed to stir slightly with the mention of "Lu Xueqi"—very subtle, but undeniably present.

His expression remained unchanged; he simply nodded to Faxiang and said, "Thank you for your concern, Brother Faxiang, and... thank you for informing me."

Song Daren, He Dazhi, and other disciples of Dazhu Peak also gathered around, their faces beaming with joy.

Song Daren chuckled憨厚ly and patted Jiang Xiaochuan on the shoulder: "It's good that you're back! It's good that you're back! Junior Sister Lu, she..."

He was halfway through his sentence when he caught a glare from Tian Ling'er beside him. He immediately swallowed the rest of his words, coughed twice, and turned away.

Jiang Xiaochuan turned his gaze to Zhang Xiaofan, who had been standing quietly a little distance away.

Zhang Xiaofan held the dark blue Abyss Thunder Sword, standing still, staring at him without blinking. His eyes were already red, his lips were tightly pressed together, and his body was trembling slightly, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Jiang Xiaochuan walked over and, as usual, naturally raised his hand and patted Zhang Xiaofan on the shoulder.

"Xiao Fan, I'm back. Have you been keeping up with your cultivation these past few days? Are you finding the Abyss Thunder Sword easy to use?"

Zhang Xiaofan didn't answer, but just stared at him, his gaze fixed on him as if trying to see into the depths of his soul.

Jiang Xiaochuan waited a moment, but received no reply. He then reached out, pinched Zhang Xiaofan's chin between his thumb and forefinger, and gently lifted it, a mocking smile playing on his lips.

"What's wrong? Have you gone mad from cultivating for months? You can't even call me 'Senior Brother' anymore?"

The skin his fingertips touched was icy cold, and Zhang Xiaofan trembled slightly at the movement, as if he had finally woken up from some kind of stiff state.

He blinked, and large tears rolled down his face without warning, tracing paths across his dusty cheeks. He opened his mouth, his Adam's apple bobbing several times before finally uttering a hoarse, broken sound:

"Jiang... Senior Brother Jiang... you... you've finally... returned."

The voice was very soft, yet it sounded as if it had used all its strength.

Jiang Xiaochuan felt a growing bitterness in his heart. He put away his joking expression and patted Zhang Xiaofan's shoulder hard again, this time very hard.

"Yes, I'm back."

"Old Jiang!" A lively voice broke in, and Zeng Shushu appeared out of nowhere, her face full of exaggerated surprise. She rushed over in a few steps and grabbed Jiang Xiaochuan's neck.

"I knew it! The wicked live long lives! You're a tough nut to crack, you won't be so easy to get out of here!" He winked and whispered in a way everyone could hear, "By the way, Senior Sister Lu is head over heels for you, you didn't see her... cough cough, Old Jiang, you're really lucky with the ladies..."

"Stop, stop!" Jiang Xiaochuan quickly nudged him with his elbow, interrupting him, his face flushed.

Zeng Shushu chuckled, released him, and then, as if remembering something, asked, "By the way, last time you had that broken gun deliver a message saying 'Shushu, forget it,' what did that mean? Hmm? What did I do wrong?"

Jiang Xiaochuan rolled his eyes at him: "It means literally. It seems that some people are too playful and carefree, unlike Senior Brother Qi Hao who is more steady and reliable."

"Hey!" Zeng Shushu protested, reaching out to put her arm around his neck again. "I'll give you one more chance, talk to me properly!"

"Junior Brother Jiang." A steady voice rang out, and Qi Hao walked over with Lin Jingyu.

Qi Hao smiled gently and nodded to Jiang Xiaochuan: "Congratulations on escaping and returning safely."

Lin Jingyu stood beside Qi Hao, looking at Jiang Xiaochuan with bright eyes, filled with undisguised excitement and admiration.

Qi Hao reached out and gently pulled Zeng Shushu, who was still clinging to Jiang Xiaochuan, away. He then said to Jiang Xiaochuan seriously, "Now that Junior Brother Jiang has returned, shouldn't you go and see Junior Sister Lu first? She has been very worried these past few days."

Jiang Xiaochuan paused for a moment, somewhat puzzled.

Didn't I send a message through the gun to let them know I was safe?

Why is it that everyone from Faxiang to Song Daren to Qi Hao keeps mentioning Lu Xueqi? And their tone...

Before he could think further, he heard a familiar, suppressed angry snort come from behind the crowd: "Hmph!"

The crowd parted, and Tian Buyi and Su Ru walked over. Tian Buyi's chubby face had a complex expression. First, there was surprise, then a relieved joy, and then he straightened his face, as if he wanted to put on the airs of a strict teacher, but the uncontrollable upward curve of the corners of his mouth betrayed him.

He walked up to Jiang Xiaochuan, looked him up and down a few times, mumbled something in his throat, and finally uttered only four words in a stiff voice: "It's good that you're back."

Su Ru, on the other hand, instantly reddened her eyes. She took a few steps forward, said nothing, opened her arms, and hugged Jiang Xiaochuan tightly.

Her embrace was warm and soft, carrying the unique, reassuring aura of a teacher's wife, and a very faint tremor.

"It's good that you're back...it's good that you're back...you child...you scared your master's wife to death..." Su Ru's voice choked with sobs, her arms were tightly wrapped around him, as if if she let go, he would disappear again.

Jiang Xiaochuan stiffened slightly, then relaxed. He hesitated for a moment, then raised his arm (the one not holding the gun) and gently hugged Su Ru back, whispering, "I'm sorry to have worried you, Master's wife. I'm fine, really."

Su Ru hugged him for a while before slowly letting go. She wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand, and a gentle smile returned to her face, though her eyes were still red.

She took Jiang Xiaochuan's hand: "Come on, let's go back to where we're staying. You must have suffered a lot. Let your master's wife take a good look at you."

As he spoke, he pulled Jiang Xiaochuan and turned to walk towards the cave where the group from Dazhu Peak were temporarily staying. Tian Buyi followed behind with his hands behind his back, and Tian Ling'er immediately stuck to him like a little tail, standing on the other side of Jiang Xiaochuan.

Zhang Xiaofan silently sheathed the Abyss Thunder Sword and followed to the side, surrounded by Song Daren, He Dazhi, and others.

Seeing that there was no excitement to watch, the other righteous people gradually dispersed. Several female disciples from Xiaozhu Peak looked at Jiang Xiaochuan, who was surrounded by the people from Dazhu Peak, and their faces showed surprise and joy. They whispered a few words to each other, then turned around and hurriedly ran towards the cave where Xiaozhu Peak lived, obviously to report the news.

……