Chapter 85: Persuasion

Su Chen’s hand paused slightly in midair while he was putting his teacup down. He sighed, “It seems like you made the right call in dropping by.”

Ji Hanyan said with curiosity, “What do you mean?”

Su Chen explained his encounter with Wei Liancheng.

When she finished listening to Su Chen’s explanation, Ji Hanyan was stunned for some time before she said, “Based on what you’ve told me, he really did find that Spirit Race group.”

“Unfortunately, he’s become a puppet under their control,” Su Chen sighed. “A Vice Director had their heart and mind totally controlled by the Spirit Race. What a tragedy!”

Because the Spirit Race had an ethereal body, they were especially proficient in consciousness ambushes. They had all kinds of techniques that made them experts in enslaving other individuals. One could say that every Spirit Race individual was a Jin Ling’er or a Zhou Juanjia or a Zhu Xianyao, or possibly even stronger than them.

This was because the lifeforms controlled by the Spirit Race often still had their own intelligence preserved; they would just be totally willing to die for their masters.

“Su Chen, you absolutely need to help me catch these damned Spirit Race individuals!” Ji Hanyan slammed her palm on the table, her expression filled with anger.

It was no surprise that she was so angry. The Spirit Race’s enslavement of other individuals was something that all the races hated.

“Alright. As long as you have the clues, you can notify me at anytime,” Su Chen nodded in agreement.

There was no need for friends to act politely with one another. As long as it was within his capabilities, Su Chen wouldn’t shirk his duties.

That evening, Cloud Leopard was also called over. The four of them drank to their hearts’ content.

After they had drunk for a bit, Su Chen secretly asked Jiang Xishui, “You and her...... how are things?”

Jiang Xishui knew that he was talking about himself and Ji Hanyan. He shook his head and laughed bitterly, “Even though I’m infatuated, my love is like falling petals being swept away by a ruthless current.”

His tone was lonely and desolate.

Ever since he had been a student, he had been pursuing Ji Hanyan the whole time, but Ji Hanyan had never seemed to view him favorably. She had always been relatively indifferent towards him.

This was the case even now. Even though Jiang Xishui had come so far to look for Ji Hanyan, he was just being treated as an attendant.

Everyone else was envious of Jiang Xishui’s infatuation, but they didn’t know that his heart was actually very bitter.

Su Chen’s question caused Jiang Xishui to begin to utter some of this bitterness within his heart.

Upon seeing him like this, Su Chen gently shook his head. “What woman cannot be chased down? It might just be that you’re using the wrong tactic.”

“Using the wrong tactic?” Jiang Xishui was shocked.

Su Chen walked as he spoke, beginning to head toward the backyard.

Jiang Xishui understood and hurriedly followed after.

After coming to the flower garden in the backyard, Su Chen said, “You know what Ji Hanyan’s temperament is like. Stubborn, haughty, and unwilling to admit defeat. A woman like her hates weak and soft men the most. I’m not saying that you’re weak and soft, but to subdue a woman like her means that you need to display even more might than she does.”

“How do I do that? Do I fight with her? Defeat her?” Jiang Xishui asked.

Su Chen laughed and waved his hand. “That’s not called displaying might, that’s called looking for death. Many people want to demonstrate to a woman that they themselves are individually powerful, but that’s a big mistake. The power of a man isn’t used to defeat a woman, but is demonstrated by achievement and military prowess.”

“Achievement and military prowess?” Jiang Xishui was stunned.

Su Chen sighed, “You weren’t present on the Goldwater Ruins expedition. This should be related to your background. Unfortunately, that was your best opportunity to demonstrate your strength, but you lost it because of this. Xishui, have you ever asked yourself what big accomplishments you’ve achieved ever since leaving the Institute?”

Jiang Xishui opened his mouth but couldn’t find anything to say.

Su Chen continued, “I know you have an uncommon background, but a woman like Ji Hanyan won’t care about your background at all. Do you believe me if I say that even without a bloodline and Gu Qingluo by my side, if I tried to take Ji Hanyan from you I am confident that Ji Hanyan would be willing to be the concubine of a bloodline-less person like me rather than be your woman? That is because up until this point, you haven’t had any particularly great achievements, and even your achievements in the Hundred Refinements Pavilion were probably carefully controlled, right?”

Jiang Xishui was dazed. He didn’t know how to reply.

Su Chen sighed and patted his shoulders. “Knowing how to conceal yourself is a good thing, but that really only applies to someone who has already achieved something. Without anything achieved, what point is there in hiding? That’s not called concealment, that’s called acting pretentiously!”

During those years in the Hidden Dragon Institute, Jiang Xishui hadn’t done anything but earn a third-place ranking in the Hundred Refinements Pavilion, and even this was done by suppressing his own performance. To him, this was being low-key and concealing himself, but to Su Chen he was being an idiot.

Ji Hanyan liked strong men, but all you did all day was fool around. A rare opportunity for you to demonstrate yourself came around, but you still wanted to act foolish. Was this fun for you?

Su Chen didn’t care for fame either, but he had his own goals and pursuits. He was someone who wanted to do great things.

Even though the two of them had very different backgrounds, their ways of doing things were very different from each other.

Basically, Jiang Xishui’s way of doing things was exactly what Ji Hanyan hated.

It would be strange if Ji Hanyan were suddenly attracted to him.

Jiang Xishui didn’t know this before, but when Su Chen laid it out for him like this, it was like he had been struck by lightning. His entire being was dazed.

He originally thought that as long as he followed Ji Hanyan around, he could obtain her affection, but he never expected that doing this was what Ji Hanyan hated the most.

“Men should have spirit and style, and dreams. Even if you’re a bastard and can’t inherit any position of power, and even if you don’t want to show off or brag, you should have your own path and your own choices. To Ji Hanyan, even if you make the wrong choice, that’s better than not making any choices at all! She isn’t a person who likes people that hesitate at three-way intersections!” Su Chen said sincerely.

When Jiang Xishui heard this, he sighed and bowed deeply to Su CHen. “So Brother Su already knows my identity. Thank you for your pointers. Xishui understands.”

Su Chen patted him again. “As long as you understand.”

“Then, Brother Su, what do you think I should do next?” Jiang Xishui continued to ask Su Chen.

Su Chen replied, “First, leave Ji Hanyan. Don’t be like a pet always following her around. Since she doesn’t like you now, it’s useless no matter what you do. Advancing by retreating isn’t a bad choice.”

“But I’m worried that if I leave now, Hanyan might forget me. What if someone else comes by while I’m gone......” Jiang Xishui hesitated.

Su Chen said disdainfully, “What need is there to treasure a bad impression? Time can cause memories to fade as well as negative impressions. Her current label of you is weak. If it were me, I would rather she forget about me, then return one day and try again. As for someone else coming by while you’re gone...... trust me, with Ji Hanyan’s personality, no one will be able to subdue her for a period of time. Secondly, if someone does come by while you’re gone, there won’t be any difference whether you’re here or not. Actually, if you are here, it might even backfire against you.”

Jiang Xishui was shocked. “It isn’t that bad, is it?”

“The most frightening thing a person can go through is that even as they are about to die, they have no sense that they are in danger...... Brother Jiang, your have no awareness of your current situation.”

“......” Jiang Xishui could only nod. “Then what about the second thing?”

“Go and do something big, something that can change her impression of you. Make a name for yourself under the whole sun and show off your manly side! Brother Jiang, I believe that you are an intelligent and courageous person, but your affection for Ji Hanyan has suppressed your talent. Leave Ji Hanyan and display your talent to the fullest extent in a more spacious place; that’s the only way you can really shine and let Ji Hanyan see that you aren’t common.”

“But you know what my background is. If I do things too ostentatiously, I’m afraid that......” Jiang Xishui hesitated.

“That depends on by what means you act ostentatiously. Aren’t they afraid that you have an ambition to try and seize a seat of power? If what you do doesn’t help you seize that seat but actually damages it, then the more ostentatious you are, the happier they’ll be.”

“You mean......”

“Go and be a pirate!” Su Chen replied.

Having reached this point, Su Chen’s fox’s tail finally revealed itself.