Junior Brother Has No Idea - Chapter 2

After neutralizing the larger sphere of light, Xie Yong let out a breath of relief. Even though his spiritual energy was completely depleted leaving him slumped miserably on the floor without the strength to even sit up, he felt a weight lift.

While he didn’t fully understand what these “otherworldly visitors” were, he could guess that the recent freak accidents were linked to them. The smaller sphere of light, which had helped buy him time, was still fluttering in the air. Xie Yong smiled faintly and asked, “What is a ‘hubby’?”

“‘Hubby’…” The light flickered and stopped in front of him. “A hubby is a hubby! A hubby is my heaven, a hubby is my earth, a hubby stands tall and supports the world for me~ I love my hubby, mwah!”

Xie Yong didn’t understand a word of it. He reached out and flicked the light, discovering it actually had a physical form as it was lightly tossed aside. He asked again, “Why did you help me?”

“Because I’m a college student,” the light pulsed proudly. “College students are one of the kindest groups of people in the world.”

“College student,” Xie Yong, tired of lying on his stomach, flipped over to lie flat on his back. He gazed at the light and said with a playful glint in his eyes, “Your name is College Student.”

“Ber.” The College Student instantly retreated three feet. Its flickering grew rapid. “I give up, Dad. Hubby, you’re too handsome stop smiling at me like that.”

The light danced around for a while longer, rambling in words Xie Yong couldn’t grasp. Eventually, it seemed to grow weary; the glow dimmed, and it settled gently onto Xie Yong’s forehead.

“I’m so sleepy… I want to go to bed. I don’t know why, but I just want to stay close to you…”

Xie Yong hesitated before reaching up to touch the sphere.

“Don’t sleep,” he said, struck by a possibility. “Are you about to dissipate?”

This sphere was somewhat like a primordial spirit. If a spirit left the body and the physical form was destroyed, the spirit would soon vanish. From their earlier conversation, Xie Yong gathered that this “spirit” had come from another planemeaning its physical body wasn’t here.

The light flickered, sounding miserable. “Is that so?”

It began to wail. “My bros and I were just playing games in the dorm when my phone suddenly exploded. Then I ended up in this hellhole. I’m only twenty-one, I don’t want to die!”

As it spoke, its light grew fainter and fainter.

Xie Yong thought for a moment, then tucked the light into his sleeve. Using the edge of the side table for support, he struggled to climb off the floor and onto his daybed. He lightly rang a small golden bell hanging nearby.

A moment later, a servant dressed in a brown short-tunic appeared outside the door.

“Second Young Master.”

Xie Yong gave his orders through the door. “I remember there is a Meat Lingzhi (Ganoderma) in the storehouse. Go fetch it. Say I have need of it.”

Because Xie Yong was born with a weak constitution, he was usually allowed to use any medicinal herbs in the estate. However, the servant returned empty-handed a few minutes later. “Master, that Meat Lingzhi was borrowed by the Third Young Master. He said he would find a similar one to replace it in a few days.”

Third Young Master, Xie Jiusi?

What did he want with a Meat Lingzhi?

Xie Yong leaned against the bed, closing his eyes to rest. He slowly began absorbing the local spiritual energy, though his dantian felt like a parched, cracked plot of land. Between his natural frailty and the “System’s” harassment over the last few days, his body was in terrible shape. Even with countless treasures on his person designed to nourish the dantian and help him absorb the essence of heaven and earth, they were largely wasted on a “half-useless” person like him.

“When did he take it?”

The servant could only say he didn’t know.

Xie Yong lifted his sleeve; the noisy little light had dimmed until it was almost invisible. He sighed and told the servant to find Xie Jiusi. If the Meat Lingzhi hadn’t been used yet, he wanted it back.

Usually, there is a “first come, first served” rule, and it was improper to demand back something already borrowed, but he had no choice. This light had saved his life; he couldn’t just watch it vanish.

As it turned out, Xie Jiusi hadn’t used it yet.

He had intended to use it during his upcoming secluded meditation. Meat Lingzhi had the effect of strengthening the body and tonifying qi. For a sword cultivator like Xie Jiusi, consuming one during a breakthrough offered immense benefits. He hadn’t expected Xie Yong’s people to come knocking the moment he’d taken it.

When Xie Jiusi heard the servant’s explanation, he found it laughable. “That Lingzhi sat in the storehouse for over half a year without him touching it. The moment I borrow it; he suddenly needs it?”

To anyone else, it looked like Xie Yong was picking a fight. After all, the two had never gotten along.

The servant bowed his head, bracing himself. “This Third Master, the Meat Lingzhi was originally prepared by the Mistress specifically for the Second Young Master.”

Xie Jiusi’s lips curled into a smirk. “Fine, fine. Using Mother to pressure me, are we? Forget it, I’ll go with you. I want to see for myself exactly what he intends to do with it.”

Back in the room, Xie Yong had placed his personal jade pendant and the light into a teacup.

The jade had the miraculous effect of nourishing spiritual forms. As soon as the light touched it, it clung to the surface. It no longer had the strength to speak, offering only a weak flicker as a greeting.

Xie Yong looked down at it, his feelings complicated. He couldn’t understand why his broken, frail body would attract the greed of these “otherworldly things.” If they had the power to cross dimensions and freeze time, why were they obsessed with him?

He rested his chin on one hand and toyed with the teacup with the other. The light spun in circles inside the cup. “So dizzy… feel like barfing… Hubby, stop spinning, yue—”

The culprit, Xie Yong, immediately withdrew his hand.

At that moment, hurried footsteps sounded outside. The door was kicked open, and Xie Jiusi stormed in, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

“Xie Yong!” Xie Jiusi barked in a rage. “Tell me, what do you need the Meat Lingzhi for?”

Xie Yong placed the cup upside down on the table to hide its contents and looked up with a weary gaze. “To eat,” he said listlessly.

Only then did Xie Jiusi notice that Xie Yong’s brow was furrowed in pain. He was supporting his head with his hand, and his complexion looked even worse than when he was fished out of the water.

It was just a dip in a pond, how can he be in such a state? What a waste of spiritual treasures!

Startled and suspicious, Xie Jiusi pulled out a chair and sat down. He grabbed Xie Yong’s hand, pinning his wrist to take his pulse.

The sensation of warm, calloused fingers on his skin made Xie Yong scowl. He yanked his hand back in disgust. “Don’t touch me.”

Xie Jiusi disliked him, and the feeling was mutual.

“You…” Xie Jiusi’s eyebrows shot up. If it weren’t for the fact that the person in front of him was a walking medicine jar, he would have slapped him. “Earlier at the pond, I recall someone grabbing my ankle and refusing to let go.”

Xie Yong was too tired for petty bickering. “The Meat Lingzhi. Hand it over.”

With a flick of his wrist, Xie Jiusi produced a yellowish-brown Meat Lingzhi from his storage ring. It was about the size of an adult’s palm, soft and springy to the touch with cloudy patterns on the surface.

Xie Yong’s eyes lit up. He reached for it.

Xie Jiusi jerked his hand up, dodging the touch. “Are you really going to eat it?”

Having grabbed at thin air, Xie Yong’s face darkened.

Being stared at like that made Xie Jiusi’s temper flare. “Why are you glaring at me? I borrowed this first. Can you even finish it all? Let’s go halves.”

“No,” Xie Yong said. “Give it to me.”

Xie Jiusi naturally refused.

After a moment of standoff, Xie Yong suddenly said, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell Mother?”

This confirmed Xie Jiusi’s belief that Xie Yong was just being difficult. He snorted. “Is there anything you can do besides tattle to Mother? Fine, tell her then! It’s not like I’m not giving it to you, but why can’t you share? It’s a huge Lingzhi!”

No matter what he said, Xie Yong wouldn’t budge.

Finally, losing patience and unwilling to waste more time, Xie Jiusi slammed the Meat Lingzhi onto the table and stormed out, crashing the door behind him.

Once he was gone, Xie Yong exhaled. The strength he’d been forcing into his body vanished; his vision blurred and his head throbbed.

“Hubby? Hubby, are you okay?” The light inside the cup flickered violently with worry.

“I’m fine,” Xie Yong replied.

He picked up the Meat Lingzhi and began to mold it into a body for the light. The material was highly malleable. After a while, Xie Yong had shaped it into something with a head, torso, arms, and legs. He lifted the cup and placed the “body” in front of the light.

The light flickered, skeptical. “What is this?”

“Meat Lingzhi,” Xie Yong said. While not the rarest treasure, it could serve as a physical vessel.

The light was silent for a long time. Finally, it squeaked, “Isn’t… isn’t this a bit too ugly? It doesn’t even have a face.”

Xie Yong picked up the lump of meat and used his fingers to pinch out some features. Suddenly, it became even uglier. He shoved it toward the light. “It’s all I have. Just make do with it.”

“AAAAAAAAAAHHH!” The light shrieked, terrified by the hideous thing. “What kind of monster is that?! Get it away from me!”

“If you don’t use it, your spirit will vanish,” Xie Yong warned.

The light struggled with the decision for a long time. Eventually, as it felt its life force slipping away, it yielded. Between being ugly and being dead, it grudgingly chose ugly.

It dove into the Meat Lingzhi, and the material welcomed it. Once fully merged, the creature curiously lifted a stubby, yellowish hand and took two steps. It immediately realized something was wrong.

“Why is one foot higher than the other?” It wobbled along. “Five-foot-six, five-foot-seven… five-foot-six, five-foot-seven…”

“Hey!” it snapped, enraged. “The legs are different lengths! Could you put a little more effort into it?!”

Instead of apologizing, Xie Yong said, “Stop making expressions. It’s a bit nauseating; that thing is far too ugly.”

The “body” possessing the light bounced up in anger. The Meat Lingzhi material was surprisingly elastic. It boinged onto Xie Yong’s shoulder, grabbed his hair like a handle, and screamed in his ear: “Did I ask to look like this?! Who’s fault is it that I look like this?!”

After the outburst, the light realized it truly couldn’t go back home. Not only that, but it was now a freak in a weird mission world. It began to sob. In its own world, it was only twenty-one just a kid who loved snail rice noodles with fried duck feet, a shut-in who only washed his socks once he’d saved up seven pairs.

As the crying grew louder, Xie Yong felt a wave of nausea. It wasn’t because of the light, but because his body had finally reached its limit.

He told the light, “Stop crying. I’m going to throw up.”

The light went quiet for a second, then turned its back on him and began to sob quietly hic-hic-hic. It tried to stifle the sound, but it ended up sounding like a small pig-demon.

Exhausted, Xie Yong lay back on his bed. “I’ll find you a new body later.”

The light was remarkably easy to soothe. It stopped crying instantly and asked coyly, “Then, Hubby… can you find me one that’s a bit better looking?”