Chapter 99: A Sword for Longevity
“Hahahaha!”
Jiang Changtian laughed too.
He laughed until tears welled up in his eyes.
It was extremely funny.
He had groveled on the ground like a dog, begging for a bite of food to keep his wife and child alive, while Old Madam Jiang claimed that there was no overnight grudge between Mother and son.
Yet today, Old Madam Jiang had actually shed tears.
Others could bleed dry, and it still wouldn’t be as valuable as a single tear from Old Madam Jiang.
Jiang Changtian laughed heartily.
He laughed, looking up at the sky.
His laughter sounded somewhat manic.
The corners of his deep eyes were flushed red.
He raised his sword.
With a single strike, he slashed at the bowls and chopsticks in front of him.
Sauce splashed everywhere.
“That year, I was weak and incompetent, and I jumped into the river to end my life. Luo Xia pulled me out of the river and saved my life. She said that if I wasn’t afraid of death, what else could I not endure? I had to live.”
“That year, Old Madam Jiang, I returned my life to you.”
“From then on, my life belonged to Luo Xia. What is wrong with offering myself in return for saving my life? The villagers acted as matchmakers and witnesses. I offered my life as a betrothal gift to ask for her hand in marriage, fair and square. She is my wife, and I, Jiang Changtian, swear that in this life, I will marry only her.”
Jiang Mianmian was in Mother’s arms and saw that Mother was also crying, with large, heavy teardrops falling.
The chopsticks in Mother’s hand bent.
“I did not come here today to play games of Mother-son reconciliation or mending broken mirrors with you. I just want to ask one question, Old Madam Jiang: who exactly am I? Am I your biological son? Why do you keep trying to kill me over and over again?”
The meal on the table had basically not been touched.
When Jiang Changtian swung his sword, the sauce splashed onto the people around him.
Old Madam Jiang’s magnificent robe with lotus patterns was stained with sauce, and vegetable soup had splattered onto her well-maintained face.
Jiang Huaisheng’s satin robe was not only covered in sauce but also had vegetable leaves clinging to it.
Jiang Wan hid behind her grandmother and escaped unscathed.
Of course, Jiang Changtian himself was splattered with some, but it didn’t matter; his face was so handsome that no one noticed his clothes.
Old Madam Jiang wiped the vegetable juice from her face, appearing surprisingly calm.
Aunt Yao, the nanny, stepped forward to block the path in front of Old Madam, cursing angrily: “If the Madam really wanted you dead, would you have survived until today? Young Master, everything the Madam has done is for your own good.”
Jiang Huaisheng was also very angry and reprimanded him: “What on earth are you making a scene for? If you have any dissatisfaction, take it out on me.”
The crowd was excited; even the little girl who had been screaming just now forgot to cry. It was a massive scene of spectators watching the drama unfold.
Whether they were ancients or anyone else, everyone was very excited.
Although the occasion was inappropriate, it couldn’t stop everyone from watching.
It was a showdown.
This youngest son of the Jiang Family was truly brave.
Once he hooked up with the Rebels, he went all out.
He pointed his sword at his own Mother.
Jiang Changtian recalled the past, one incident after another. Who could know that he would feel like vomiting when eating meat? He was afraid of the dark, he could never fall asleep alone, waiting all night for dawn. He had self-harmed; his body and skin were gifts from his parents, yet he didn’t understand why his Mother didn’t like him. He had cut his own skin, blade by blade, watching the blood well up. He was sick.
He was sick, very sick, and he had wanted to die countless times.
He held his sword, looking at Jiang Huaisheng, at Old Madam Jiang, at Jiang Wan, at Aunt Yao, and at that guard.
Today, he did not need explanations; he needed a resolution.
Looking at Aunt Yao’s fleshy face, how many times had he been scared awake in his dreams by this face?
She was like a demon or monster, capable of devouring people.
Aunt Yao glared at Jiang Changtian with a fierce gaze, just as she had every time she saw this beast in the past.
Although she was a nanny, she had been trained since childhood and possessed immense strength.
In the past, every time she grabbed the Young Master, it was like an eagle snatching a chick.
She was very used to it.
The Young Master holding the sword was just bluffing; he wouldn’t actually dare to use it, at most he would just slash at bowls and chopsticks.
Because while holding the sword, his expression was more pitiful than anyone else’s.
So, it turned out that this adjective could also be used for men.
Jiang Wan was startled.
She hid behind her grandmother and looked at the man holding the sword in front of her, only to find him bewitchingly beautiful; she couldn’t find anyone better-looking.
Aunt Yao took a step forward.
She held her head high, using her body to block the tip of the sword. She wasn’t afraid at all, her eyes filled with contempt, and she shouted in a booming voice: “Young Master, do not be stubborn anymore. If you are wrong, you must admit it. Quickly apologize to the Madam.”
“Pfft!”
In the past countless times, when Aunt Yao stepped forward, Jiang Changtian would recoil in terror.
He had retreated countless times, until there was nowhere left to retreat.
Today, he held a sword.
Behind him were his wife and child.
He had no path of retreat; he could not retreat.
He took a step forward.
The sword also moved forward.
Aunt Yao’s fierce expression froze, her eyes bulging as she looked down at her chest in disbelief.
A sword was truly thrust into it.
Jiang Changtian did not twist the blade; he simply took a forceful step forward.
The sword cleanly pierced through Aunt Yao’s winter clothing. Aunt Yao was dressed very well; Aunt Yao’s clothes were even better than those worn by his wife, Sister Xia. Her outer garment was a cotton robe, and inside was silk. It was said that if you wore silk as an underlayer, and were wounded by an arrow, the silk wrapping around the arrow tip made it harder to die.
But what if it pierced all the way through?
Jiang Changtian had only self-harmed; he had never personally killed anyone else.
At this moment, Aunt Yao’s body was a bit thick, and it wasn’t that easy to pierce through.
However, he had been locked in a dark room, and in his mind, he had thought about every structure of the human body countless times.
He didn’t want to kill; he just wanted to die.
He just wanted to know how to die, to be faster, to not be so painful.
Now, he was putting it to use.
No piece of knowledge was wasted.
He used it on Aunt Yao.
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