Chapter 3 RJS Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – The Elder Starts Doubting Life

This was Song Zhen’s first time attending an ancient wedding, and the scene was indeed grand and festive—except all the bride’s relatives were crying their eyes out.

Song Zhen disguised herself by putting on the bride’s personal maid’s clothing.

The rituals were complicated and endless. By the time they finished, Song Zhen felt dizzy.

Oh my, no wonder ancient weddings were called ‘marriage consummation.’ Going at it from morning until sunset—no wonder they called it ‘fainting!’

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TL Note : marriage consummation (成婚 cheng hun); ‘fainting!’ (昏 hun)

Both have the same pronunciation, but two completely different meanings.

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Inside the bridal chamber, the bride sat nervously while Song Zhen found a hiding spot, with the sword in her hand.

Since it was the Mystic Cloud Sword Sect’s trial, of course there had to be a sword. 

But it doesn’t have to be this ‘Sword’. ‘Shameless’ works too, hehe.

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TL Note : ‘Sword’ (剑 jian); ‘Shameless’ (贱 jian)

Both have the same pronunciation, but two completely different meanings.

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Song Zhen casually tossed the sword behind her without a second thought. She wouldn’t need it anyway.

Watching her throw away the sword, the elder monitoring the illusion nearly blew his beard off.

 “What is this girl doing?! How is she supposed to fight without the sword?!”

And that nonsense she said earlier—“pull out something bigger than his”—how could a young girl say such things?! Even he, an old man, felt embarrassed hearing it.

The trials in these illusions usually test courage. Most newcomers are physically weak, but they still need the courage to fight against evil forces

Many have already failed here before, because no one knows if dying in the illusion would mean truly dying. Nobody dares to gamble with their life.

Cultivation is great, but countless people have perished on the path to immortality. They really don’t want to throw their lives away before even starting.

How can someone without courage embark on the path of cultivation? The road to immortality is full of dangers—if you don’t even have this bit of courage, why pursue the heart, why join a sect?

After a long wait, the villain finally staggered into the bridal chamber, clearly drunk.

“Hahaha, beauty, I told you you’d end up in my hands. Don’t worry, I’ll treat you real nice.”

His voice was greasy and nauseating. The bride glanced nervously at the hidden Song Zhen. Song Zhen signaled her to stay calm.

The moment the villain came in, he started stripping. Soon he was completely nude—people like him always rushed straight to the point.

Song Zhen stealthily gathered his clothes from the floor and threw them out the window.

The villain reached out toward the bride and immediately felt something a woman shouldn’t have—and it had some serious weight to it!

The terrified bride shrank back. The villain, confused, his hand moved downward and again touched something extremely wrong.

He froze instantly. What the heck?! How could a woman possibly have this thing?!

Did that mean the beauty he coveted… was a man? Impossible! His eyes widened in confusion and shock. Did he just have an interest in a man?

At that moment.

Song Zhen burst out of hiding, grabbed the bride, and dashed away—pausing only to toss a candle onto the bed.

The bedding immediately caught fire. With the clothes gone and the bed sheets burning, there would be nothing left to cover himself. Let’s see how he gets out now—hahaha!

Song Zhen’s expression was manic. Her eyes were practically glowing.

Burn, burn, burn! Burn it all!

The servants outside were stunned when Song Zhen and the bride suddenly rushed out. A few seconds later, they saw their master run out too—completely naked.

Once outside, the villain felt the cold air against his skin and finally noticed he was totally bare.

 “Close your eyes and get out of here!”

Seeing all his servants staring at him wide-eyed, he roared.

Song Zhen spun around and shouted:

“Don’t be shy, little one. Being small isn’t a problem! But being small and perverted at the same time is NO NO!”

The elders outside were utterly dumbfounded. 

Where on earth did this crazy girl come from?

How do we rate this round? This girl definitely has enough courage, and she’s pretty clever too. Sure, her method is a bit cheeky and shameless, but… watching it unfold is kind of satisfying.

Song Zhen originally planned to escort the bride all the way back home. But as she ran, the scene suddenly shifted—she now found herself mid-mountain, with the bride gone.

This didn’t feel like the real world, so it must be another illusion realm.

“Little Girl, are you lost?” an old man walked out from a nearby path.

Song Zhen instantly recognized this as another illusion trial. She smiled and asked,
“Grandpa, may I ask where this place is?”

The old man replied, “This is the mountain.”

Song Zhen didn’t catch the meaning and asked again.

The old man explained, “The name of this place is Mountain. No other name. But below the mountain there is a village called Mountain-Base Village. I’m from there. Why don’t you stay the night? It’s dangerous up here at night.”

Song Zhen’s mouth twitched. What a rustic name. Like naming a person… Person.

But since he invited her so warmly, she might as well go see it.

As they walked down the mountain, the old man talked nonstop about the village.

“Looking at your impressive demeanor, you must be a cultivator, right? Could you do us a favor? There have been frequent accidents in our village lately, and many people have already died. Could you help us figure out what’s going on?”

Without a second thought, Song Zhen replied, “Sure, I’ll take a look for you.”

The elder had meant to persuade her further, but before he could even get the words out, Song Zhen had already agreed.

Looking at her innocent wide eyes, the old man suddenly felt oddly suffocated.

Was this girl too naive… or did she simply not understand the situation?

The elder watching outside was speechless.

Did this little girl ever think before agreeing? She just accepted the request like it was nothing!

When they reached the village, Song Zhen quickly noticed something strange—there were no young women at all. Only elderly women. And no children.

This trial tests alertness and quick thinking. It’s mainly because sword cultivators are usually straightforward, and they’ve been tricked far too many times before, so this challenge was added.

The idea is for you to be a bit more alert. If they kept getting deceived, their reputation as sword cultivators would be ruined. People would say they’re all muscles and have no brains—though honestly, they’re not exactly in great shape even now.”

Song Zhen also noticed that these people were looking at her strangely. Although they treated her to good food and drink, she couldn’t shake the feeling that they were a little… excited.

So she didn’t sleep that night. She took out the sword that automatically appeared for this stage.

Every trial had a sword—the question was how the candidate used it.