Marrying Wives and Attaining Immortality in a Chaotic World

Chapter 49: The Family’s Unexpected Change

In just half a day, Xu Lian had returned to Green Bamboo Town.

First, his strength had increased; now that he was at the Marrow Refining stage, he could easily leap and run through the mountains without getting tired. His speed had greatly increased.

Second, he was already familiar with the direction and path, so he didn’t get lost, saving him from taking any detours.

It’s worth mentioning that his horse, which was tied up in the wilderness, was still there. Luckily, it hadn’t been eaten by any wild beasts, though it was restless and scared.

Xu Lian went to his mine first, where he found that Pu Ling had organized everything well. There were no issues, so he felt at ease and decided to head home.

“Brother Lian is back!”

When Xu Lian returned home safely, Li Xiya joyfully ran up to him with Yang Chan’er, her heart finally at ease after worrying about him for the past few days. The outside world was frightening and unknown to them.

“Good, it’s good that you’re back,” Wang Cuiyun said cheerfully.

She had also been worried. If anything had happened to Xu Lian, it would have been hard for the family to find someone so capable. She didn’t want to return to the days of eating dry flatbread, which would drive her crazy.

Missing his beautiful wife and concubines, Xu Lian couldn’t wait to return to the main house. He led Li Xiya and Chan’er there, eager to relieve his longing.

Li Xiya rolled her eyes at him but didn’t say anything, treating it as a reward for his hard work.

Yang Chan’er, a bit shy, obediently followed Xu Lian. She never objected to him.

Wang Cuiyun, with a neutral expression, left the front yard to take a walk in the back yard. As long as the man in the house was capable of providing for her, she didn’t care much about these minor matters.

In her younger years, she had been much more ruthless. When Li Jinshui was away at the mine, she would attract passing men into the house to make extra money to supplement the family’s food. She had raised Li Xiya so well, and that was the reason behind it. Poor families usually have malnourished children, but she managed to raise such a beautiful daughter. That was her skill.

In fact, this was a common phenomenon in Green Bamboo Town. Many women would work when their husbands were away to earn some extra income.

Sometimes, when the men’s income was too low, they would even encourage their wives to earn some extra money, because the world was hard and nothing was more important than food.

By the evening, Xu Lian had fully satisfied his longing and came out of the main house. He found that Wang Cuiyun had already prepared dinner. This really proved the saying: “An old family member is like a treasure.”

Sometimes, one had to admit that Wang Cuiyun, that “old treasure”, was very thorough and did the household chores perfectly.

The four of them enjoyed a hearty dinner together. A family with food and meat could not help but feel happy. It was hard not to feel satisfied in such a home. In families without food, quarrels would break out every day, as the saying goes: “A poor couple is destined for hardship.”

“Without a man to protect the family, it becomes easy for malicious people to spy on you,” Wang Cuiyun said between bites of meat. “While you were away for the past few days, a sinister-looking man sneaked into the house.”

Xu Lian’s face immediately changed. His anger flared up, and killing intent flashed in his eyes. This was the first time that he truly wanted to kill someone. “Did you see who it was?”

Wang Cuiyun said, “It was the evening of the day before yesterday. The sky was getting dark, and we could only see the figure of a man. He looked to be in his forties, with a ghostly pale face. He was quite tall. When we spotted him, he ran away.”

Yang Chan’er shuddered, “After that incident, we’ve been afraid every night. We all sleep in one room, with the doors and windows firmly locked.

Li Xiya asked confusedly, “The food, meat, and silver are still here. I don’t know what that man wanted.”

Wang Cuiyun sneered, “What’s so strange about it? If he’s not after money or food, then it must be women! You have a slim waist and big hips – perfect for bearing children. What man wouldn’t be tempted? Chan’er is also a fresh and pretty young girl. Any man would want her”.

Xu Lian, who was both Li Xiya’s and Chan’er’s husband, was even more enraged. If the man had been after money, it would have been a small issue, but to target his women was unforgivable.

No matter what, Xu Lian was determined to find this man.

Killing one person wouldn’t be enough to satisfy him. He would have to kill the entire family to set an example, to show everyone in Green Bamboo Town the consequences of trying to take his women.

“Go to bed early. Put out all the oil lamps,” Xu Lian ordered. “Let’s see if this man dares to come back.”

Now that he was back, the family felt more secure. Wang Cuiyun, Li Xiya and Yang Chan’er followed his instructions and went to their rooms to sleep.

Xu Lian, moving silently, began to patrol the dark courtyard.

With his hearing at the Marrow Refining stage, he could immediately detect if someone tried to climb the wall.

But he waited until late at night, and there was still no sign of anything unusual.

Then he went to the back garden to inquire about the strange things in the old well, calling out, “Sister.”

A pleased voice came from the well. “Sister, you came to see me!”

Xu Lian said directly, “Sister, I need to ask you something. The night before yesterday, a man snuck into the house. Do you know about it?”

The voice from the well replied, “I am locked in here, and my senses are also sealed. I don’t know what’s going on outside.”

Xu Lian asked, “Then why can you hear me when I talk to you?

The voice from the well replied, “Because you’re my sister.”

“..” Xu Lian’s face darkened.

What the voice from the well said made him question everything. Was he really the sister of the strange creature in the well?

Ah~ No way.

Absolutely impossible.

Xu Lian asked, “If someone else speaks to you near the well, can you hear them?”

The voice responded, “I can’t hear them. There’s a barrier in the well that isolates all sounds from the outside. Unless the person speaking to me is strong enough to ignore the barrier and let their voice pass through, I won’t be able to hear them. There can’t be many people in the world with that kind of strength.”

Xu Lian froze.

He felt a chill run through him, and his hair stood on end.

With his current strength, he shouldn’t be able to make his voice penetrate the barrier in the well. Then why could the creature in the well hear him?

It didn’t make sense!

What was going on?

Xu Lian asked, “So you recognize me as your sister just because my voice can reach you?

The voice in the well replied, “Yes, because my sister originally came from the well. Only your voice can bypass the barrier and reach me, so you must be my sister.”

“..” Xu Lian was stunned, completely confused by the night wind.

There were only two possibilities for his voice to travel into the well:

First, his strength was powerful enough to ignore the barrier in the well.

Second, he was the sister who came out of the well.

But he was only at the Marrow Refining stage. There was no way that he could ignore the barrier. Therefore, the only possibility left was that he really was the sister from the well.

To conclude, the strange creature in the well wasn’t the one who went crazy, it was him. He was the crazy one, the real “Sister from the Well”!

“Goodbye!”

Xu Lian no longer wanted to talk to the creature in the well. If he kept talking, his worldview would collapse and he’d probably lose his sanity.

He left the backyard and returned to the front yard to get some rest.

Just then, he noticed a man standing in the yard, just as Wang Cuiyun had described him – forty-something years old, with a pale face and tall stature.

“Damn it!”

Xu Lian was furious. This guy really had the nerve to show up.

The man turned around and climbed over the wall to escape.

Who could stand this? Xu Lian immediately ran after him.