I'm Scared Too

"What is my Senior Brother still hesitating about?"

Shen Gongbao asked with a puzzled look, "This method neither takes a life nor presents any great difficulty; why are you still so hesitant?"

He was genuinely confused.

He was not surprised that Jiang Ziya would not use the first method, as in his impression, Jiang Ziya was a rather honest man, but he could not fathom why he would not use this second one.

"Junior Brother, what is your inferior plan?"

Jiang Ziya did not answer, but asked instead.

"The inferior plan... well, it would mean I have to go to some trouble and act as a peacemaker for you two."

Shen Gongbao spread his hands, "However, based on the description you gave just now... I must admit I am feeling a bit apprehensive, and I have no real confidence that I can make you two reconcile."

After listening, Jiang Ziya pondered for a moment, his expression shifting, before he finally let out a long sigh and bowed to Shen Gongbao, "Then I must trouble you to make this trip, Junior Brother."

"Senior Brother, why suffer so?"

Shen Gongbao shook his head and said, "In truth, you only need a letter of divorce to escape this sea of bitterness and no longer suffer this torment, yet you..."

"No matter what, a day as husband and wife brings a hundred days of grace. She married me, and although she is a bit fierce, she has done nothing to wrong me."

Jiang Ziya also shook his head and said solemnly, "I, Jiang Shang, naturally cannot be so heartless and unrighteous as to give her a divorce letter and treat her poorly. Look at our age now..."

He gave a bitter smile and continued, "I am seventy-two this year, and she is sixty-eight. If I were to give her a letter of divorce now, her life would be completely ruined."

"Senior Brother is truly benevolent and righteous!"

Shen Gongbao nodded in praise, then added, "But how will you get along with such... formidable a sister-in-law in the future?"

"To tell you the truth, after chatting with you just now and hearing your three plans, my anger has suddenly vanished."

Jiang Ziya shook his head again and smiled, "It is better for a man to be as tolerant as possible. Since we were able to become a couple, it is fate in this life; let everything take its natural course!"

"Good, a wonderful 'natural course.' Just for this open-mindedness and breadth of spirit of yours..."

Shen Gongbao laughed, "I will make this trip for you. Senior Brother, come with me and wait outside the courtyard for my good news!"

"Very well!"

Jiang Ziya also laughed. The two entered the Song Mansion and soon arrived outside the courtyard where Jiang Ziya lived.

They saw a woman dressed in coarse cloth sitting in the main hall making shoes. Although she could not be called beautiful, her features were regular, as was to be expected given her age.

"Senior Brother, wait for my good news!"

Shen Gongbao smiled slightly, and Jiang Ziya, crouching by the gate, nodded repeatedly.

He had great confidence in his junior brother's eloquence.

Shen Gongbao walked into the courtyard with composure and asked deliberately, "May I ask if my sister-in-law is in?"

Ma, hearing this, stood up in the main hall to look, saying, "Who is this Daoist in the courtyard?"

"I am Jiang Shang's junior brother, Shen Gongbao. We studied together at Kunlun. It is a pleasure to meet you, sister-in-law," Shen Gongbao said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Ma looked Shen Gongbao up and down. Seeing his plain attire, she said in a lukewarm tone, "May I ask what business you have here, Daoist Shen? If you are looking for your senior brother, he is not here; he went into Chaoge early this morning."

"No, no, no, I have come specifically to see you, sister-in-law," Shen Gongbao laughed.

Ma asked in surprise, "I have never met you before; what do you want with me?"

"I opened a shop in Chaoge. I happened to run into Senior Brother when he entered the city this morning, and he has already told me about your situation."

Shen Gongbao smiled, "I heard that you and Senior Brother had a falling out, so I came today to act as a peacemaker..."

"What? He still has the face to find someone to complain to? That useless thing must be bad-mouthing me behind my back again."

Hearing this, Ma flew into a rage. She strode from the platform into the courtyard, interrupting him. She glared at Shen Gongbao and sneered, "Are you the reinforcements he hired to come and take revenge for him?"

"No... no, no, not at all..."

Shen Gongbao was stunned, then stammered.

The truth was that it had been exactly like that at the beginning, but did he dare admit it?

Stared at so murderously by Ma, in that brief moment of distraction, he felt as if he had already lost the upper hand in terms of momentum.

"Not at all? Hmph, the ghosts might believe you."

Ma sneered, "It's likely you were both out there bad-mouthing me. Junior Brother Shen, have you never heard that one should stay out of other people's family affairs?"

"This..."

Shen Gongbao's words faltered, and he was left speechless.

He felt as if he had met his match, and damn it, she was an expert.

Outside the courtyard.

Seeing Shen Gongbao enter, Jiang Ziya waited by the gate, full of joy, anticipating his junior brother's triumphant return.

But before long, he saw sweat breaking out on his junior brother's forehead.

Not long after...

"Sister-in-law, it isn't right for you to look down on my senior brother like this."

Shen Gongbao felt he could no longer be suppressed, or he would surely lose, so he said, "One cannot judge a person by their appearance, just as one cannot measure the sea with a bucket. My senior brother is, after all, a man of high standing from Kunlun, skilled in martial arts and profound in the Dao. How can you speak of him in such a way?"

"Martial arts? Him? He knows martial arts?"

Ma acted as if she had heard the greatest joke in the world. "If what he does counts as high-level martial arts, then wouldn't I be invincible?"

"You... Sister-in-law, my senior brother is letting you win, don't you understand?"

Shen Gongbao was also displeased. "Otherwise, with his abilities, do you think you could even touch a single finger of his?"

"Abilities? Hah, can his abilities put food on the table? Can they earn money to spend? Can they ensure the family has no worries about clothing or food?"

Ma sneered, "I don't need him to have great skills, but he should at least have the ability to support our family, right? But look at him, sponging off others, eating and drinking—isn't it shameful? You have no idea how nasty the servants' gossip is..."

The more she spoke, the more agitated she became, and the nastier her words grew.

"Sister-in-law, we must be reasonable. Surely you have heard that when a tiger is trapped in the lowlands, it is bullied by dogs, and when a dragon is stranded in the shallows, it is mocked by shrimp? Once my senior brother's luck turns, you will have great wealth to enjoy."

Shen Gongbao took a deep breath and tried his best to smile. "Besides, let's take a step back. Even if my senior brother had no skills, a woman should follow her husband regardless of whether he is a chicken or a dog. You shouldn't resort to violence after just a few words, and you hit so hard—that's going too far."

"Going too far? Hah, the fox's tail is finally showing. I knew you came here to stand up for him."

Ma sneered at these words, then suddenly threw her head back and shrieked at the top of her lungs, "Jiang Ziya, you spineless wretch! You actually called someone here to bully your own wife? Do you have any ambition left at all?"

As she spoke, she actually sat down on the ground, wailing and screaming, "Why is my life so bitter? Everyone, come and look! Jiang Ziya has brought someone to bully his wife..."

"I..."

Shen Gongbao's smile froze instantly. Watching Ma on the ground, playing the villain while crying and making a scene, he felt she was truly an unreasonable shrew.

He suddenly felt a toothache, thinking he had been far, far, far too... foolish this time. It was as if his head were filled with water; he had actually tried to reason with a woman, and a shrew at that.

Look, she started making a scene after only a few words—how could they even talk?

The crucial point was that because of his connection to Jiang Ziya, he couldn't hit her, couldn't scold her, and certainly couldn't use magic. It was truly... infuriating.

"Enough! This is nothing but a woman's narrow-mindedness. With my senior brother's abilities, let alone supporting your family," Shen Gongbao shouted, cutting her off, "if he ever prospers, you will have more silver than you could spend in several lifetimes. And as for you, you tigress, did I even touch a single finger of yours just now?"

This shout startled the wailing Ma. She quickly realized what he had said and flew into a rage, scrambling up from the ground while snarling, "You stinking Daoist, how dare you call me a tigress! I'll show you!"

Before she finished, she had already lunged, her hands clawing viciously at Shen Gongbao's face.

It was fast.

A figure moved like a gust of wind, shielding his face with his sleeve as he bolted from the courtyard. Seeing Jiang Ziya at the gate, he shouted, "Senior brother, let's go!"

With a twist of his body, he transformed into a streak of light and vanished into the distance.

"Stinking Daoist, if you have any guts, don't run! I'm not finished with you..."

Angry curses and the sound of running footsteps echoed from the courtyard.

Hearing this, Jiang Ziya felt his scalp tingle. He hurriedly grabbed a handful of dirt, tossed it into the air, chanted a spell, and also transformed into a streak of light, flying into the sky.

He had barely ascended before Ma reached the courtyard gate.

Seeing only a cloud of dust at the gate and not a soul in sight, Ma spat on the ground and huffed, "Ran away fast enough."

She brushed the dust off her clothes and, like a victorious rooster, turned around and headed back into the courtyard with a smug expression.

At the entrance.

The two senior brothers stood facing each other, leaning against a wall, their chests heaving as they gasped for air.

"Junior brother, why are you still covering your face with your hand?"

Jiang Ziya asked Shen Gongbao, who was still shielding his face with his other sleeve, revealing only his eyes.

"Terrifying, truly terrifying. Senior brother, I would rather face a hundred demons," Shen Gongbao said with a bitter smile, "than ever encounter such a shrew and tigress again. Senior brother, I am afraid of this sister-in-law of yours. Divorce her, I'm serious."

Jiang Ziya: "..."

Then, Shen Gongbao lowered his arm, revealing three bloody claw marks on his face.