After Transmigrating, I Stole The Protagonist's Man - Chapter 3

Shen Yanchu followed closely behind Ji Yanche, his heart pounding like a beating drum, full of anxiety.

He glanced at the back of the big shot in front of him, muttering to himself: “I am practically a foolish rabbit walking right into the crosshairs. Targeted by this humanoid tiger, if I am not careful, I will be skinned and devoured alive.” With no other choice, he first had to figure out a way to stabilize this formidable Buddha before seizing an opportunity to make his escape.

With a swift roll of his eyes, Shen Yanchu stepped forward, flashed an ostensibly harmless smile, and probed: “Sir, do you perhaps hold some special feelings for Su Rongyu?”

He was calculating rapidly in his mind, wishing to change the subject while simultaneously probing Ji Yanche’s bottom line to see if he could find any vulnerabilities and carve out a path to survival.

Ji Yanche swept a sideways glance at him, the corner of his mouth curving upward in a half-smile that seemed to say, You little imp, you certainly have plenty of tricks up your sleeve. Without missing a beat, he replied, “You certainly possess some observational skills. As for Su Rongyu, he is indeed someone who interests me.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Yanchu’s heart skipped a beat, and he nearly lost his footing. Goodness, I must keep my disguise tightly sealed. If this master finds out that I am the very Shen Yanchu who kept teasing Su Rongyu for no reason, he will probably skin me alive and use me as a sacrifice by the next second.

Yet on the surface, he still had to put on the appearance of an inquisitive innocent, his eyes widening in curiosity: “Sir, I have heard that Su Rongyu possesses the legendary cauldron constitution, which is exceptionally beneficial for cultivation. Since you pay so much attention to him, is it all for this purpose?”

Ji Yanche came to an abrupt halt as if stepping on a sudden brake, turning around to fix Shen Yanchu with a blazing gaze that felt like two torches piercing straight through him: “You seem to know quite a lot. That is correct. Su Rongyu’s cauldron constitution is as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns in the cultivation world. Countless people are eagerly hoping to rely on this shortcut to ascend.”

Shen Yanchu muttered internally: Isn’t this asking the obvious? Everyone in the cultivation world knows about this. But out loud, he had to keep acting, scratching his head with a bewildered look: “Then, sir, are you drawn to Su Rongyu’s constitution, or to the person himself?”

A smile hovered at the corner of Ji Yanche’s lips as if he saw right through everything. Refusing to give a direct answer, he strode forward once more: “You do not need to know so much. You only need to understand that you now belong to me.”

Shen Yanchu rolled his eyes inwardly behind Ji Yanche’s back, cursing every single ancestor of Ji Yanche’s eighteen generations: “This fellow is truly a tough nut to crack, completely impervious to reason.” With no other choice, he could only continue tailing him step by step, his brain spinning like a high-speed windmill as he frantically brainstormed ideas.

The two of them walked one after the other out of the town as if on a military drill, plunging headfirst into a dense forest. Looking at how familiar Ji Yanche was with the path, it seemed as though this forest were his private backyard. After twisting and turning through several paths, they arrived in front of a mountain cave hidden away as securely as a treasury.

“Go in.” Ji Yanche issued the command like a commanding officer.

Shen Yanchu curled his lips, filled with helplessness, and bit the bullet as he followed him inside. Upon closer inspection, the cave was dark and damp, resembling a waterlogged rat hole. As for Ji Yanche, he acted as if nothing were amiss, boldly seating himself upon a boulder to meditate and regulate his breathing, looking every bit like an imposing Buddha statue.

Shen Yanchu stood off to the side, his eyes darting mischievously toward the cave entrance as he calculated the timing for an escape. As luck would have it, a flash of light caught his peripheral vision near the entrance. Thrilled to his core, he thought, Heaven is helping me! Right away, he raised his voice and called out, “Sir, take a rest. I will go outside and check if there is anything I can help with.”

Ji Yanche could not even be bothered to open his eyes, waving a hand with a gesture akin to swatting away a fly: “Go.”

Granted his pardon, Shen Yanchu sprinted toward the cave entrance like a flash. Just as he reached the mouth and before his front foot could even step outside, Ji Yanche’s leisurely voice drifted from behind like a ghost: “Do not think about escaping, or you will regret it.”

Shen Yanchu shivered, nearly tumbling face-first into the dirt, but he had to maintain a calm facade, inching his way out of the cave entrance one step at a time. Looking left and right, there was not a single trace of a person in sight; that light from earlier must have been a trick of his own eyes. Still, it was for the best. It seemed Ji Yanche was not watching him every single second, meaning an opportunity still existed.

Shen Yanchu took a deep breath, hardened his heart, and decided to seize this golden opportunity to run for his life. Walking on tiptoe past the cave, he readied himself to break into a mad sprint when suddenly the ground beneath his feet vanished, and he plunged down into a trap like a falling dumpling.

“Good grief, what kind of wretched luck is this!” Shen Yanchu wailed internally, using both hands and feet in a struggle to climb back up. Yet upon inspection, the pit was as deep as a bottomless abyss with smooth walls lacking even a blade of grass to grab onto, making it completely impossible to generate any leverage.

At that exact moment, Ji Yanche’s infuriating voice drifted down from above: “Shen Yan, why must you put yourself through this?” As the voice trailed off, Ji Yanche’s face appeared at the rim of the pit. Looking down at the disheveled Shen Yanchu, a trace of mockery flashed in his eyes as if he were watching a monkey show.

Shen Yanchu looked up with a bitter, smiling face, feeling utterly wretched: “Sir, I was wrong. Please show mercy and let me out.”

Ji Yanche chuckled without saying a word, turned around like a heartless fellow, and walked away, leaving Shen Yanchu to flounder alone in the dark.

Trapped within the pitch-black pit, Shen Yanchu tried every trick in the book: screaming for help, climbing upward, scratching at the walls, all to no avail. Just as he reached the verge of despair and prepared to bid farewell to the world, a sound of footsteps suddenly echoed from above.

“Ji Yanche, you are back? I know I was wrong. Pull me up!” Shen Yanchu yelled at the top of his lungs like a slaughtered pig, pinning all his hopes on Ji Yanche suddenly growing a charitable heart.

At the edge of the pit, Ji Yanche’s figure reappeared, looking down at Shen Yanchu with an inscrutable light in his eyes: “Shen Yan, you are in such a rush to escape. Do you have some kind of secret?”

Shen Yanchu’s heart skipped a beat, thinking what time is this, let us not invite further complications, and hastily waved his hands in denial: “No, no, I just wanted to go out and catch some fresh air.”

Ji Yanche clearly did not buy it, though he chose not to pursue the matter further, tossing down a rope: “Grab hold.”

Grasping the rope like a drowning man clutching a straw, Shen Yanchu was hauled upward by Ji Yanche with a single pull. Scrambling to his feet, Shen Yanchu patted the dirt off his clothes, feeling so mortified his toes could curl deep enough to carve out a three-bedroom apartment, and forced out an awkward laugh: “Thank you, sir.”

Ji Yanche glanced at him indifferently and turned to walk deeper into the cave: “Follow me.”

Dropping his head in resignation, Shen Yanchu followed helplessly. The cave actually contained a hidden world within; Ji Yanche led him through a long passageway into a spacious stone chamber resembling a palace. At the center of the stone chamber stood a stone platform cluttered with ancient texts and medicinal pills, looking like an exhibition fair.

“What is this place?” Shen Yanchu widened his eyes, feigning curiosity.

“This is where I cultivate. Starting today, you will stay here and manage things for me,” Ji Yanche said, picking up a book from the stone platform and tossing it at Shen Yanchu like a dart. “Start with this one and help me organize my notes.”

Shen Yanchu caught the book, flipped it open, and nearly passed out on the spot. What was written inside? It was densely packed with cultivation mental methods and medicinal pill formulas. To a cultivation novice like him, this was nothing short of a heavenly book written in an unreadable script.

“Sir, I do not understand these very well. What should I do if I mess something up?” Shen Yanchu bit the bullet and spoke up, attempting to find an excuse to slip away.

Without lifting an eyelid, Ji Yanche sat down upon the stone platform and began meditating: “Learn if you do not understand. If you make a mistake, you will naturally bear the consequences.”

With no other choice, Shen Yanchu found a corner to sit down in and began studying those ghost-like cultivation secret manuals. As he flipped through the pages, he cursed this cursed transmigration and the cold-faced man from the bottom of his heart: “What kind of sins have I committed to transmigrate into this ghost place and end up acting as a book attendant for this ice block? I must have owed him in a past life!”