Chapter 292 - 140: Being Matchmade

Chapter 292: Chapter 140: Being Matchmade

Especially when he remembered how she had acted like a senior, insisting he call her "Aunt." The contrast was just too stark.

He couldn’t help but let the corners of his mouth lift.

That smile was caught by Shui Miaozheng.

The woman, a mixture of embarrassed and annoyed, shot him a fierce glare from her beautiful eyes.

But Jiang Mu was suddenly struck by a playful impulse. The fingertips of the hand held by the old woman gently traced the inside of her soft palm.

Shui Miaozheng’s delicate frame trembled slightly, as if a tiny electric current had passed through her.

She bit her silver teeth, unable to hold back any longer.

The small, exquisitely embroidered shoe beneath her skirt sneaked out and planted itself on the man’s instep.

Then, she ground it down with force.

Jiang Mu winced and sucked in a sharp breath.

His fingers moved mischievously again, lightly scratching her palm once more.

Shui Miaozheng pressed down harder with her foot, her beautiful eyes filled with reproach as she shot him a warning glare.

And so, amidst the old woman’s ramblings, the two of them engaged in a childish yet flirtatious silent battle, using their overlapping hands and feet.

Above the courtyard, the sky remained a gloomy gray.

It filtered the light into an ambiguous haze.

An occasional cool breeze would sweep by, rolling up a few withered leaves on the ground and sending them spinning.

The fence was crooked, the chicken coop was silent, and even the cooking smoke seemed too lazy to rise straight.

In the small, simple farmhouse courtyard, time itself seemed to slow to a viscous crawl, carrying a hint of dampness that clung stickily to the old woman’s faded memories.

It also clung to the silent connection between the man and the woman.

——

——

Leaving the old woman’s courtyard, Jiang Mu had just stepped over the threshold, not even having a chance to breathe in the fresh air, when his ear was suddenly twisted.

"OUCH—"

Jiang Mu cried out instinctively.

Turning his head, he was met with Shui Miaozheng’s almond-shaped eyes, which were simmering with both reproach and anger.

"You little rascal, you were secretly laughing at your Aunt, weren’t you?"

Shui Miaozheng’s slender eyebrows shot up. The blush on her cheeks had yet to fully fade as she glared at him, feigning ferocity.

She was afraid that the awkwardness and embarrassment of being teased back in the house had undermined her authority as a senior, so she decided to strike first and overwhelm him with sheer presence.

She had originally wanted to use the word "teasing," but as it reached her lips, she felt it was too suggestive, as if it would confirm the truth of the ridiculous incident. So, with a twist of her tongue, she forced herself to change it to "laughing at."

His head tilted from the twist of his ear, Jiang Mu said helplessly,

"Aunt Shui, how would I dare laugh at you? It was clearly that grandma’s eyesight that’s failing. She insisted on playing matchmaker, saying we were a talented man and a beautiful woman. You didn’t explain anything at the time, so I just..."

"How was I supposed to explain?"

Shui Miaozheng let go of his ear and shot him an exasperated glare. Smoothing her sleeves, she hesitated for a moment before warning him, putting on a brave front,

"And no more sneaking peeks in the future!

I’m your senior, your Aunt! If you’re going to stare, you should be sneaking peeks at those pretty young girls. What’s the meaning of staring at me?"

’Young girls don’t have your mature charm.’

Jiang Mu rubbed his reddened ear, smiled, and had the good sense to keep his mouth shut.

Seeing that he had quieted down, Shui Miaozheng gave a light hmph. She smoothed her hair and clothes, which had been slightly mussed by the breeze, and resumed her usual capable demeanor as a commander:

"Alright, enough joking around. We need to head up the mountain and find that Wolf Demon to confirm whether it’s collaborating with the Red Umbrella Sect. That’s the most urgent matter right now."

Jiang Mu nodded. "Alright."

Without further delay, Shui Miaozheng summoned her subordinates from around the village, quickly assigned tasks, and finalized a detailed plan for the mountain search.

She divided the personnel into several small teams, each responsible for a specific area.

She and Jiang Mu, however, would remain a separate team, responsible for investigating the key areas where the villagers said the Wolf Demon was most likely to appear.

On their way up the mountain, Jiang Mu couldn’t help but ask,

"Aunt Shui, you’re an Eighth Realm master. Your Divine Sense should cover a huge area, right? Can’t you just scan the entire mountain at once to find the Wolf Demon’s lair? Why go through all the trouble of searching section by section?"

While checking the Talismans and Magical Artifacts she carried, Shui Miaozheng explained,

"Under normal circumstances in an ordinary forest, yes, I could.

But this mountain is special. It seems to have been the territory of a Great Demon in the past. The ley lines are complex and the earth qi is in disarray, leaving behind some natural fields that interfere with Divine Sense.

Moreover, the mountain is quite large. If I were to force a large-scale scan with my Divine Sense, not only would it consume a massive amount of energy, but I’d also be easily misled by the chaotic earth qi, which could cause us to miss crucial clues.

Doing it like this—scanning section by section and combining it with the villagers’ tips and investigative Magical Artifacts—is actually more efficient and reliable."

Jiang Mu nodded in understanding.

The two walked along the mountain path, one behind the other.

Perhaps because being stared at by Jiang Mu while he was "admiring the scenery" back at the old woman’s house had left a psychological scar, Shui Miaozheng deliberately walked behind Jiang Mu this time.

She maintained a distance of several steps from him at all times, preventing her back from once again becoming someone’s "viewing spot."

During the search, they indeed didn’t encounter a single lesser demon.

Even ordinary wild animals were rare.

The mountain forest was quiet all the way.

It seemed to confirm the villagers’ stories that any outside Demons who trespassed in this area would be driven out by "Grandpa Wolf."

By the time they reached halfway up the mountain, the already gloomy sky finally couldn’t hold it in any longer. Large raindrops began to fall sporadically.

At first, it was just a few sparse drops, but in the blink of an eye, they threatened to become a downpour.

"Damn, I didn’t bring an umbrella."

Jiang Mu looked up at the sky, annoyed.

Shui Miaozheng, however, just smiled faintly and took out the iridescent round fan she always carried.