[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-immortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s":3,"chapter-immortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s-immortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s-chapter-162":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Immortal Through Martial Path, I Who Cannot Die Shall Ultimately Be Invincible",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2325380,4549,"Chapter 162: Yielding","immortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s-chapter-162",162,"\u003Cp>Chen Guanxin saw Chen Guanlou and instinctively wanted to avoid him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing he couldn’t dodge, he had no choice but to force himself forward, his eyes darting nervously, revealing both guilt and cunning—full of petty theft and moral decay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Coming up with ways to brush me off?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Chen Tou, you’re mistaken—how could I? I was overjoyed to hear you’d returned.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So joyful you won’t even buy me a drink?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This… it’s working hours now—is it appropriate?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I say it’s appropriate, so it is. Let’s go—find somewhere outside to eat something hot. This damn weather is freezing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In just half a month, he’d traveled over a thousand li back and forth, scaling mountains and crossing rivers, his legs aching from the journey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They found a small tavern, ordered two plates of snacks, and had the owner warm a pot of wine. The two brothers shut the door and ate and talked together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uncle arranged for you to work in the Tianlaomiao—what do you think of it yourself?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huh?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Isn’t this an interrogation?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanxin was stunned. He’d been tense, answering carefully: “My old man’s just got wild ideas. Brother Lou, don’t pay attention to what my father thinks.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So I’m asking what you think. No one else here—speak up. I need to know your thoughts before I can help you, right? Even for making money, you need the right path, the right field you’re suited for. Not every trade is one you can swallow whole.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanlou spoke a few words straight from the heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanxin was moved!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes yes yes, Brother Lou, you’re right. My only thought? Make money, suffer less.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You don’t mind that prison guard is a lowly job?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To say I don’t mind is impossible. Honestly, even now I can’t understand how you’ve managed to stick with it. That place grinds people down.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How else to endure? Money, of course.” Chen Guanlou chuckled, speaking plainly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanxin’s courage grew; he began drinking and eating. “That’s true. Without money, most guards couldn’t last. Brother Lou, you know my father sent me here to make money.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How? Tell me. Maybe I can help.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanxin perked up immediately. “It’s like this—my father manages two of the Hou Fu’s farmlands, but over the past two years, the weather’s been terrible—droughts, floods—yields have plummeted, and mountain produce has dropped too. There’s been a big deficit.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanlou’s eyebrows lifted slightly—he’d never heard this before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Such large farms could still run a deficit?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Isn’t it just so? I asked my father the same thing. He said first, too many mouths to feed, too few workers. Second, the Hou Fu’s quotas are too high—they haven’t lowered them despite bad harvests. You know, the second branch runs the Hou Fu now, and the Second Young Lady is greedy. Without her approval, my father must pay the old quotas—utter misery. Plus, our family’s grown; luxury’s hard to abandon, expenses haven’t dropped, and with more people, they’ve risen further. So you get it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanlou laughed. “Your father took a concubine, your brother followed suit. More children added to the back courtyard, more maids and servants needed. Truly a large household.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly! Only I’m single, my monthly expenses fixed, unchanged for years. Yet my father’s most dissatisfied with me—calls me a wastrel, insists I get out and work. Fine, I’ll work. Since I’m here in the Tianlaomiao, I figured I shouldn’t come empty-handed—I need to make money.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your monthly income from the Tianlaomiao isn’t enough?” Chen Guanlou smiled faintly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanxin forced a nervous laugh. “It’s enough. But I want my father to look at me differently. Brother Lou, I swear—I have no intention of stealing your business.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Didn’t your father warn you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Warn me about what?” Chen Guanxin looked confused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanlou lifted his cup, a mocking smile on his lips. “Didn’t your father tell you not to reach too far? Overreach, and they’ll cut your hand off. Since I promised your father I’d look after you, I won’t let you lose out—your share will be yours. Stick with me, and I’ll see you eat well and drink well. As long as you don’t gamble recklessly, you can buy property and take two concubines in a year.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So why are you so impatient? I’ve been gone a few days, and you can’t wait? Even the two Fan officials don’t interfere in my business. What do you think you have that lets you steal from my side? Hmm?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah… I… Brother Lou, let me explain!” Chen Guanxin panicked, a nameless fear suddenly gripping him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He avoided Chen Guanlou’s gaze, unsure what it was—but he felt danger, immense danger. His instinct to avoid harm told him: don’t resist, submit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I never meant to steal from you—never! I just… I just wanted to understand better, see if I could help.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You want to help?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes yes yes!” Chen Guanxin nodded frantically, his eyes earnest. “I truly want to help. Antique and calligraphy trade? I couldn’t handle it alone—I have no capital, no connections, no experience! Besides, those exiled officials don’t trust me. Heh, Brother Lou, believe me—I’m telling the truth.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanlou looked at him with that half-smile, reached out, patted his head, then his cheek—like soothing a cat or dog.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanxin sat still, not daring to turn his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t know why he was so timid! Normally he was bold. But before Chen Guanlou, he couldn’t muster even a shred of arrogance—all his courage and fearlessness vanished before Chen Guanlou’s eyes—deep as abysses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fear consumed his entire mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He waited anxiously for judgment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanlou had just returned to Jingcheng; many hadn’t yet noticed his change. After the Hujiacun affair, he was still himself—and yet not himself. The overwhelming aura of slaughter, though suppressed, still leaked through his eyes—eyes consecrated in blood, revealing fragments of truth. The sharp would sense his difference.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One who has walked through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, even if he tries to appear harmless, his eyes betray flashes of brutality—intense, terrifying, chilling the soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only when he reaches the state of “true simplicity” can he hide all sharpness, truly disguise himself as harmless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He patted Chen Guanxin’s shoulder. “If you truly want to help, listen to me. We’re both Chens—I’ll make you rich, who else will?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanxin nodded vigorously. “I—I’ll obey. I won’t act recklessly again. Brother Lou, believe me—I’ll prove it to you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanlou smiled in satisfaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanxin felt relief—the oppressive weight lifted at last.\u003C\u002Fp>",1082,"2026-06-20T17:39:56.967Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","c5c8d5f5f651970db90d0cc897e1e15b57a63e86658d25be61a9c875950b397d","immortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s-chapter-163","immortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s-chapter-161",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fimmortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s-cover.jpg"]