Seeing Jiang Ziya sighing over and over, Shen Gongbao asked, "Senior brother, did you run into a monster? Though... with your level of cultivation, an ordinary monster couldn't get anywhere near you, could it?"
"If only I'd run into a monster. That would've been much simpler."
Jiang Ziya had no choice but to answer, so he said vaguely, "To be honest, junior brother, the one who hurt me wasn't a monster. But she's a hundred times more vicious than one!"
"Huh?"
After hearing this, Shen Gongbao couldn't help but stare in shock. Then he exclaimed, "There's... actually a creature this terrifying in the world?"
"Just look at my injuries and you'll know."
Jiang Ziya nodded emphatically, then shook his head and sighed under his breath. "Truth is, I only found out yesterday..."
"Heh, hearing you talk about her makes me want to see her for myself." Shen Gongbao pinched his wispy mustache between two fingers and narrowed his eyes. "Senior brother, where is this creature now? Take me to her, and I'll avenge you."
"This... There's no need for revenge, really..."
Jiang Ziya hurriedly waved his hands and said with a smile, "Don't trouble yourself, junior brother. That creature is terribly vicious. I wouldn't want you getting hurt too."
"Why would you say that, senior brother? You know what I'm capable of." Shen Gongbao hurriedly replied, "Could it be... that creature is even stronger than I am?"
"This..."
Jiang Ziya froze. He'd been carrying a shoulder pole loaded with flour around all morning, and after he'd worked up a sweat, it had run over the wounds on his face, making them throb with pain.
At the thought of it, anger welled up inside Jiang Ziya. Remembering how fierce Ma had been, he gritted his teeth and said, "All right, let's go. I'll be counting on you to help me vent my anger this time!"
"Let's go!"
Shen Gongbao was also full of fighting spirit.
The two returned to the shop. Jiang Ziya left the flour he'd been carrying inside, and after Shen Gongbao closed the shop, they used Earth Escape to head for Song Family Village.
Before long, they appeared at the entrance to Song Mansion.
"Isn't this the mansion of your sworn brother, senior brother?" Shen Gongbao glanced at Jiang Ziya beside him, puzzled. "That creature's hiding in Song Mansion? How come I didn't notice her when I came here last time?"
Jiang Ziya hesitated, but the wounds on his face began to ache again. He steeled himself and said solemnly, "At this point, I won't hide it from you anymore, junior brother..."
"Go ahead, senior brother!"
Seeing Jiang Ziya's expression remain so serious, Shen Gongbao grew serious too.
"Junior brother, you may laugh when you hear this, but these injuries... I got them from my wife last night."
Jiang Ziya opened his mouth, but in the end, he told the truth. Shaking his head, he sighed, "I thought I'd married a virtuous wife. I never imagined I'd brought a tigress into my home. What a calamity, what a calamity..."
As he spoke, he recounted everything that had happened after he got home the day before.
It turned out that he hadn't earned a single coin after going home, and, just as he'd expected, Ma had nagged and scolded him without pause.
He hadn't been much good with words to begin with, and besides, he was the one who'd failed to make a living. So he'd figured that if he just put up with it, things would pass.
But the more he put up with it, the more Ma lorded it over him. Her scolding turned into cursing, and then escalated to insults. She called Jiang Ziya a good-for-nothing and asked how he'd ever been foolish enough to think she'd marry him...
Hearing that, Jiang Ziya flared up too.
That kind of talk wounded a man's pride. Who could swallow such an insult?
Jiang Ziya couldn't, so he shot back.
But if only he'd kept his mouth shut. The moment he retorted, things escalated, and their argument slowly turned into a fight.
He couldn't out-talk Ma, and to his surprise, when it came to throwing hands, her powerful "fighting strength" overwhelmed him too.
He knew a little martial arts and magic, but he couldn't just use those on an ordinary person, especially not on the wife he'd formally married.
Ma, on the other hand, fought without any rules or restraint. As the saying went, "A flurry of punches can beat even a seasoned master." She went at him with both hands, unleashing a "wild flurry of grabs." The longer she fought, the bolder she got, until she had him beaten back in utter defeat.
Just like that, he lost in a few rounds.
Fortunately, Song Yiren heard the commotion and came over to break them up. He also gave Jiang Ziya some flour to sell that day, which temporarily calmed them both down.
After Song Yiren left, Ma had sneered that he was not only useless but couldn't even beat a mere woman like her. In the end, they'd gone to bed in a huff and slept in separate rooms for the night.
"Junior brother, listen to this, just listen! What kind of thing is that for a woman to say? Is that any way for a wife to speak about her husband?"
The more Jiang Ziya talked, the more worked up he got. When he finished, he let out another long sigh. "I... I brought this on myself. I should never have agreed when big brother forced this marriage on me. Now it's too late for regrets!"
"Uh, so that creature... was your sister-in-law..."
Listening to Jiang Ziya grumble beside him, Shen Gongbao awkwardly rubbed his nose, not daring to say anything.
Even the wisest judge could not settle a family quarrel!
A married couple might fight at the head of the bed, then make up at the foot of it!
Those were words of wisdom. If he said anything bad about Ma here, what if the couple made up later? Wouldn't he ruin the bond between himself and his senior brother?
He'd been worried about Jiang Ziya earlier and had forgotten to ask for the full story in his haste. Now that they were here, he was beginning to regret coming.
"What sister-in-law? She's a tigress, a shrew..." Jiang Ziya grew more and more agitated. Pointing at the scratches on his face, he said, "Look at this, just look at what she did to my face. Sigh, this is my calamity, Jiang Ziya's calamity!"
Shen Gongbao glanced at the scratches on Jiang Ziya's face. His expression didn't change, but inwardly, he felt like laughing.
"Senior brother, I'm sorry, but I can't help you with things between you and sister-in-law."
Shen Gongbao kept a straight face to stop himself from laughing. He decided to stay out of it and not get involved, lest he end up on the wrong side of both of them.
"Think about it. What couple doesn't have the occasional quarrel? Once you and sister-in-law have both cooled down, things will be fine. Senior brother, I'll take my leave."
With that, he turned to go.
"No... junior brother, you don't understand. That woman isn't gentle or virtuous at all..."
Jiang Ziya panicked at once. He hurried forward, grabbed Shen Gongbao by the arm, and said, "She's a total shrew! Since you came here with me, you... you have to think of a way to help your senior brother!"
"Help you? Senior brother, it's not that I don't want to, but how can I interfere in the affairs of a married couple?"
Shen Gongbao was utterly at a loss. This was the kind of thing he really shouldn't meddle in, but he couldn't leave either, with Jiang Ziya clutching his arm in both hands.
"Junior brother, I know you're quick-witted and eloquent, and that your schemes are unmatched..."
Jiang Ziya suddenly remembered those things and clung to Shen Gongbao's arm, pleading, "Junior brother, please help me this time. I can't beat that tigress, and I can't outtalk her either. I'm completely at my wits' end! I'm scared, I'm scared!"
After saying that, he let go and squatted on the ground, sighing and groaning.
Seeing this, Shen Gongbao felt a little sorry for him. After all, they were fellow disciples, and they'd cultivated together on Kunlun Mountain for forty years. They were almost brothers in all but name.
"Let me think..."
Shen Gongbao pinched the mustache at the corner of his mouth and narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.
Jiang Ziya watched Shen Gongbao expectantly.
Before long.
Shen Gongbao's lips suddenly curled into a smile. "I've got it, senior brother. I have three plans that can help you escape this misery."
"Oh? I'm all ears!" Jiang Ziya exclaimed with delight.
Shen Gongbao said, "The first plan is for me to use magic to kill that shrew. Then your ears will be free of her forever, and the problem will be solved once and for all. That's the best plan. What do you think?"
"Kill her?"
Jiang Ziya stared in shock, then immediately shook his head. "No, no, that won't do. She may be fierce, but she doesn't deserve to die. We can't wantonly kill an innocent person. What's the second plan?"
Shen Gongbao smiled faintly. He'd known Jiang Ziya well enough to expect that answer.
In truth, he'd only said it. He hadn't really intended to kill anyone; he'd mainly wanted to test Jiang Ziya's attitude.
"The second plan is the simplest. No killing, and not even the slightest effort on your part, and you can still get rid of sister-in-law."
"Oh?" Jiang Ziya hurriedly said, "Quick, tell me!"
"A divorce letter!"
Shen Gongbao smiled. "All you have to do is write a divorce letter, and from now on you'll go your separate ways. Surely writing one won't take much effort, senior brother?"
Jiang Ziya's smile froze when he heard that. Then he lowered his head and frowned, lost in thought.
Before you continue