Chapter 169: Farming: Saving the Substitute Bridegroom 12

Jinbei took another two bites of the steamed bun, deciding to speed up the progress.

He asked Madam Song, "Mother, how much silver do we have left? I must quickly marry Yun'er into the family!"

"You still want to marry her!" Madam Song almost spat out her food, recalling it with some lingering fear, "That poisonous woman could even kill her own mother! How dare you still marry her!"

Originally both families had also agreed to a verbal marriage engagement, but after such a major incident, Ye Yun and Jin Lao San would never again agree to let Ye Yun enter the household.

"Mother! You don't understand! Only by marrying her can I achieve great success!"

Jinbei's voice sounded somewhat urgent.

The argument among the few people was heard clearly by Jin Chen, who was separated by a half-wall, not missing a single word.

His movements peeling shrimp for Yelin slowed slightly as he pondered the meaning of Jinbei's words.

Could it be that Jinbei has already awakened the protagonist's consciousness?

"What are you thinking about, husband?"

Yelin noticed Jin Chen spacing out and curiously asked.

"... Ah, it's nothing, I was just thinking about how to get the remaining silver back." Jin Chen came to, gave his husband a gentle smile, and continued peeling shrimp and placing the meat for him.

0731 squatted under the table, eating meat in big bites, quite delighted.

It just said! The Host definitely wouldn't bear to go without food!

——

Night fell.

Jin Chen coaxed Yelin to sleep quickly; with him present, the room that had originally been a nightmare for Yelin became warm and cozy, and his dreams were deep and sweet.

In the village, all sounds were silent, with only occasional cicada chirps.

Until midnight.

Jin Chen opened his eyes, his expression clear and alert, completely unlike someone who had just woken up.

He slowly drew back his arm, then leaned over to kiss his husband's soft, warm cheek, sat up, and set up a barrier in the room to ensure that, within his controllable range, Yelin would suffer no harm.

After doing all that, Jin Chen left the room, easily opened Jinbei's door, and walked in.

Jinbei was sleeping deeply on the bed, completely unaware that someone had intruded.

Likewise, Jin Chen raised his hand and set up a barrier to prevent anything from appearing outside.

【Jinbei is currently lacking a soul!】

0731 was the first to detect the problem and hurriedly reported it to Jin Chen.

【Could it be that that evil flower devoured it!】 It watched Jin Chen use spiritual power to probe in the System Space and exclaimed in astonishment.

【Hmm.】 Jin Chen responded.

It could only be the Curse-destroying Flower causing trouble.

Jin Chen suddenly paused.

He somewhat doubted his guess, reached out to probe again, his expression grave, yet the result remained the same.

【0731, check if there is any system inside his body.】

【Ah?! Impossible, Host! If there were one, I would have detected it already!】

0731 denied it in a flustered manner, but just to be safe, it extended several threads of probing into Jinbei's mind.

【No, Host! But his lost soul is actually in the Sea of Consciousness, already assimilated by that flower; it is likely responsible for transmitting the flower's commands and controlling Jinbei!】

Just as he had suspected, after hearing this Jin Chen furrowed his brows, indicating that after only briefly experiencing one world, the Curse-destroying Flower and that power have already grown increasingly strong.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, a flash of killing intent passing through.

Afterwards he raised his hand; threads of spiritual power like silver silk pierced Jinbei's body, like cocoon silk, completely encircling the blooming Curse-destroying Flower.

Then he clenched his fingers into a fist and pulled down sharply.

The Curse-destroying Flower was instantly entwined by Jin Chen's silver threads; it tried to resist and struggle, even attempting to assimilate the silver threads with dark aura, but all attempts failed.

Two equally domineering forces clashed inside Jinbei's body, causing his veins to bulge, his chest turning visibly black, then shifting to a brilliant silver; a slight misstep would cause his body to explode.

One who dies in such a state cannot even sense how painful it is; Jin Chen would not let him die so easily.

He stabilized Jinbei's body and soul, placed his other hand on his right wrist, formed a two-finger seal, and continued to increase the input of spiritual power.

In terms of spiritual power, Jin Chen has never lost.

After only a few moments of struggle, the Curse-destroying Flower was defeated; its petals withered, and a purer evil energy surged out of Jinbei's body, rushing straight at Jin Chen.

At the critical moment, that energy was partially devoured by 0731, the remainder turning into black smoke that dissipated in this heaven and earth.

【Burp——】

0731 let out a full burp.

It rubbed its little belly, eyes wide with shock.

It actually possessed half-system magnetic force! It had been a long time since it had eaten something like this!

【Host Host! Your suspicion is correct; this force is indeed related to the system, but it's only a half-finished product, having been assimilated by dark power!】

0731 spoke solemnly; the Quick Transmigration Bureau has always strictly controlled systems, even recording every initial product of each serial number, let alone a half-finished product about to become a complete system—such an incident occurred, yet not a single person in the Quick Transmigration Bureau noticed!

Now Jin Chen could not hear 0731's words very clearly.

Just now, after being struck by the dark aura, although unharmed, many scenes he had never seen before flashed through his mind like a rewinding film, wanting to grasp them but they slipped away instantly.

After a moment, the images finally vanished; Jin Chen suddenly opened his eyes, the blue in his pupils dimming, returning to normal.

He tilted his head in puzzlement; none of the scenes he had just experienced could be remembered clearly, so he simply stopped trying.

Jinbei on the bed, having lost the continuous supply from the Curse-destroying Flower and also lacking a soul, lay there drenched in cold sweat, as if he might stop breathing at any moment.

Jin Chen continued as he had originally intended.

He disguised a strand of his own spiritual power as dark energy, placed it back inside Jinbei's body, and left a message.

After doing all that, Jin Chen tilted his head excitedly, eagerly anticipating what would happen next.

Hope Jinbei, this opera performer, doesn't let down the big stage they've set up for themselves.

With a wave of his hand, Jin Chen dispelled the barrier, glanced at the bright moon hanging in the sky, and returned to his room bathed in moonlight.

"Husband…"

Yelin on the bed seemed to sense that no one was beside them, unconsciously murmured, and rubbed against the side.

"I'm here."

Jin Chen lay down again, embraced the husband who lacked a sense of security, responded softly, then covered them with the thin blanket and gave a comforting pat.

He lowered his gaze to the husband's sleeping cheek, rubbed it with his fingertip, gradually revealed a gentle smile, and closed his eyes as well.

——

The next morning.

With the birds' cries, dawn broke, and a new day in Fengshu Cun began.

Jinbei woke up in a daze, and upon touching themselves found they were soaked in cold sweat.

A morning breeze blew in through the window, and he couldn't help but shiver.

Soon, the memories returned.

Last night……

He dreamed of that voice.

It said…… that as the destined protagonist, their path had encountered an obstacle, and only by successfully overcoming it would everything go smoothly.

So, they must kill anyone who tries to stop them!

Thinking of the method that voice offered, Jinbei clenched the corner of the blanket fiercely, their eyes filled with obsessive ruthlessness.

No one can stop him.

Jinbei quickly got dressed, rushed out, and ran to the kitchen where they shouted at the already busy Madam Song.

"Mother! I'm marrying Ye Yun tomorrow! This is set!"