There is Still Such A Good Thing? - Chapter 10

There were very few moments in Wu Lingchan’s life when he felt embarrassed.

Anything that made him feel uncomfortable, such as self-blame, guilt, anxiety, or depression, was like a ferocious beast. Surviving was already difficult enough, and he could not allow intangible things to harm him.

However, he was still young. Being caught sneaking around still made him feel subconsciously awkward, to the point where he wished he could crawl into a hole.

It was over.

The moment a full-grown person appeared in Chen She’s arms, Fuyu wasted no time in drawing the long blade she had just tucked back into the nape of her neck. A flash of cold light struck directly at Wu Lingchan’s neck.

“Clang.”

Chen She, seemingly distracted, flicked his finger. The long blade was deflected the very instant it was about to touch Wu Lingchan’s neck.

Fuyu was stunned. “Chen Jun?”

Wu Lingchan was almost entirely sitting in Chen She’s lap, his red robes and snow-white cloak draped over Chen She’s knees. Having narrowly avoided a blade, he subconsciously clutched Chen She’s lapels and buried his face into the crook of his neck.

Chen She waved his hand, signaling for her to withdraw.

Fuyu retracted her blade suspiciously and stepped back.

Wu Lingchan had regained his senses. He hopped off Chen She like a rabbit, rambling, “Brother, Brother, what a coincidence, ha-ha… why are you here too? The Bihantai is so big; I got lost again. It is so late, Brother, you should rest quickly.”

With that, he turned to run away.

Chen She asked in a leisurely tone, “Where are you going?”

Wu Lingchan snapped his head back, saying in a low voice, “I am going back to practice writing ‘Chen’. If I do not write one thousand of them tonight, I will not sleep.”

“So obedient?”

“Yes! If I write ‘Ying’ or ‘E’ wrong again, I will bury myself in the dirt. I am very obedient; I promise to only write Brother’s name: Chen, Chen, Chen, Chen.”

Fuyu, who had just reached the door, thought, “Why is he like this?”

She had only been away for three days, and the Bihantai had turned upside down?

Wu Kunkun tried his best to gesture to Chen She, wishing he had three tongues to explain that he absolutely had not done anything bad. But he was not proficient in the Kunfu language, so he spoke in a jumbled mess, blurting out whatever popped into his head.

Chen She actually listened patiently to his babbling for a long time before laughing and saying, “Brother’s things are your things. Just take whatever you want; there is no need to go to such great lengths.”

Fuyu raised an eyebrow.

That sentence was a dangerous probe. If he did not answer correctly, he would be killed.

Wu Lingchan did not pick up on it and immediately said with excitement, “Really? Can I take anything?”

Fuyu thought, “Is he playing a deep game with a hidden strategy, or is he just heartless and completely lacking in perception?”

“Of course,” Chen She said indifferently. “What do you want most?”

Wu Lingchan’s eyes lit up. He reached out and pointed at the desk with restraint.

The magic tool sealed by the talisman paper on the desk could not help but bounce twice, struggling to make a decaying sound: “Save… me…”

Chen She’s eyelashes flickered.

A terrifying pressure suddenly spread throughout the entire Bihantai. Even Xun Ye and Fuyu struggled to withstand this aura; their faces turned deathly pale as they stumbled to their knees.

The magic tool froze instantly, losing all sound.

Wu Lingchan’s demonic bloodline was too pure. Even at the Qi Refining stage, he could ignore any pressure. He walked to the desk and picked up the demonic beast’s inner core.

Chen She paused.

The whole scene earlier, killing those demonic cultivators, was primarily intended to kill the chicken to warn the monkey.

But Wu Lingchan did not feel like a monkey. He did not even glance at those gruesome corpses and was even thinking about wanting to eat dried plums.

The demonic beast cores were like goose eggs. Wu Lingchan was greedy and grabbed three in one hand. But his hands were too small, and the inner cores almost fell, so he quickly hugged them to his chest and looked back at Chen She expectantly. “Can you give me these demonic beast inner cores?”

Chen She was silent for a long time. “What do you need these for?”

“To eat.” Wu Lingchan took advantage of Chen She’s distraction to grab another one and stuff it into his clothes. “My artifact spirit is injured and needs spiritual power to fill its stomach. It just swallowed a magic tool today, but it is still not full.”

Before Chen She could speak, Xun Ye rushed over, dumbfounded. “Swallowed a magic tool? Where did you get a magic tool?”

Wu Lingchan was still embarrassed in front of Chen She, but he did not hold back with Xun Ye. He said unhappily, “Why are you shouting so loudly? Is this how you speak to me? Apologize to me.”

Xun Ye stood still.

Fuyu thought, “What is going on?”

Fuyu wandered over in disbelief, admiring this god-like man who had broken into the Bihantai without permission but still had not been killed by Chen Jun.

Chen She asked gently, “Swallowing magic tools? Where did Young Lord Kun get a magic tool?”

The attitude of the same question from Wu Lingchan was completely different. Turning his head back, he was obedient again. “Elder Jiang gave it to me. It was ugly and useless, so I gave it to the artifact spirit to eat.”

Chen She remained silent.

Xun Ye remained silent.

Teleportation artifact spirits are extremely rare; he just ate it like that?

No, perhaps Wu Lingchan did not know about teleportation at all. No wonder Jiang Zhenglu had not made a move all night.

Chen She laughed, closed the box, and signaled for him to take them all. “Come here.”

Wu Lingchan said, “Hm?” and ran over, confused.

Chen She: “Reach out.”

Wu Lingchan complied.

“Left hand.”

Wu Lingchan switched hands.

Chen She pinched Wu Lingchan’s wrist with his thumb and forefinger, and with his other hand, he lightly tapped the ink stick hanging from the red string. A massive amount of demonic aura surged toward Xuanxiang’s original form like a tsunami.

This spiritual power was so vast that even an immortal-grade artifact spirit could not digest it. When the spiritual power dissipated, Xuanxiang, who had fallen into a deep sleep again, was directly shocked awake.

Chen She’s fingertips were cool, pressed tightly against the inside of Wu Lingchan’s wrist, leaving a red mark without even using much force.

Wu Lingchan blinked. “Brother?”

Chen She finally withdrew his hand and said softly, “Go back. From now on, do not feed your artifact spirit just any dirty thing.”

“Oh!”

Although Wu Lingchan did not get any demonic energy, he had narrowly escaped danger and returned fully loaded. Seeing that Chen She was not pursuing the matter, he ran off happily.

Fuyu had never seen such bright, dazzling colors in the Bihantai before. Watching Wu Lingchan disappear into the wind and snow, she could not help but ask, “Xun the Second, who is he? Why does he call Chen Jun Brother?”

Xun the Second was currently hating himself for overthinking and falling into Wu Kunkun’s trap again. He replied testily, “Wu Kunkun, the son of Lord Jufu. He just returned to Kunfu a few days ago.”

“Wu… Wu Kunkun?” Fuyu thought for a moment and said in shock, “Is he that one?”

Xun Ye: “Yes.”

Fuyu was horrified. “Him… that… but is he not…”

Xun Ye: “Yes. I suppose he has excellent luck; he turns every danger into safety.”

“That should not be the case, though,” Fuyu finally said something sensible. “Chen Jun detests Lord Jufu and wishes he could grind his bones into dust. The sins of the father should be paid by the son. Chen Jun is no saint, so why would he let Lord Jufu’s own son live so comfortably?”

Xun Ye remained silent.

Fuyu gasped, a trace of wariness appearing in her eyes. “This Young Lord looks harmless, but his schemes are so deep. Was his pretending to be stupid and acting spoiled just a means to bewitch Chen Jun? He is not to be underestimated.”

Xun Ye remained silent.

Xun Ye laughed twice and turned to go about his business.

The not to be underestimated Wu Kunkun ran all the way back to the side hall and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

That was close. Luckily, he had his pretending to be stupid act.

Facing the vast spiritual power in his sea of consciousness, Xuanxiang finally managed to snap out of it and said in an inscrutable tone, “Chen She seems not to loathe you?”

He snuck into the Bihantai, and Chen She neither questioned him nor punished him, but instead gave him such vast spiritual power? Even for a younger brother, he would not be this indulgent, right?

“What do you mean by that?” Wu Lingchan signaled for the ink-men to help him take off his clothes. “I have not done anything wicked or evil, and I have no grudges against him, so why would he loathe me?”

Xuanxiang sneered, “You are innocent, but your father did many wicked and evil things to him back then.”

Wu Lingchan paused. “My father? You know my father?”

Xuanxiang did not answer, only asking, “Do you not wonder why Lord Jufu, who has ruled the Kunfu Ruins for five hundred years and is feared and obeyed by everyone, would take an adopted son for no reason?”

Wu Lingchan: “Could it not be because my father has a kind heart?”

Xuanxiang sneered, “Ha. Ha.”

Wu Lingchan remained silent.

“Lingchan, a piece of advice: Chen She is not as simple as he looks on the surface,” Xuanxiang said in a deep voice. “Do not get close to him again, or you will not even know how you died.”

Wu Lingchan stood there, watching the ink-men who were untying his cloak, and said nothing for a long time.

Just when Xuanxiang thought he was reflecting on this, Wu Lingchan whispered, “You are clearly terrified of him, yet you still talk tough.”

Xuanxiang remained silent.

Xuanxiang ignored Wu Lingchan for the entire night.

Wu Lingchan never used other people’s evaluations as his standard. If Brother treated him well, he would get close. If one day Chen She loathed him and treated him badly, he would not need Xuanxiang to remind him; he would stay ten thousand miles away.

Xuanxiang’s words did not affect him.

In his dreams, Wu Lingchan had lofty ambitions. His cultivation improved rapidly, and at the Penglai Assembly, he kicked Meng Ping to attain the Tao and become an immortal, with everyone kowtowing and calling him “Immortal Lord” whenever they saw him.

Ha-ha.

The next day, the “Immortal Lord” scrambled up to attend the Fengyu Small Hall.

The cubs in the study hall, having received their own frogs, crickets, and toads, once again paid their respects to the new lord, chattering, “King Wu, King Wu.”

While King Wu ate snacks and practiced writing “Chen”, the teacher of the Fengyu Small Hall arrived for the lesson.

Wu Lingchan looked up.

“Huh, why did the teacher change again?”

The new teacher did not look very old, like a boy who had just graduated from the study hall. He wore all white and looked somewhat meek and timid.

The students were extremely disappointed not to see Elder Jiang.

“Ah? Why is it you?”

“We changed teachers again?”

Xiang Cang coughed and said in a soft, gentle voice, “Elder Jiang was injured and fell ill last night and is in seclusion to recover.”

Wu Lingchan crunched on pine nuts.

Can a demonic cultivator with that level of cultivation also fall ill? Jiang Zhenglu is truly weak.

Without the path of Chen She, Wu Lingchan did not know where to get demonic energy. Fortunately, Xuanxiang had woken up, so he finally had some ability to protect himself. Wu Kunkun worked hard to write “Chen” and went to find Brother every day to check for typos.

Finally, on the fourth day, he wrote one hundred neat, error-free “Chen” characters and received a “good boy” from Chen She.

Chen She sat cross-legged on a cushion, with heavy snow falling in the long corridor behind him. Wu Lingchan sat opposite him, his legs crossed in an unrefined posture, with his soles facing each other. There were talisman patterns on the cushion that Xun Ye had specially drawn to dispel the cold.

“I am so obedient. Does Brother have a reward for me?”

Chen She was playing chess against himself, laughing. “You cannot go to the Chufeng Study Hall just because you learned one character.”

“I am not going, I am not going.” Wu Lingchan casually took the white chess piece from Chen She’s hand and placed it down without looking. Click. “I heard that the students of the academy are hunting demonic beasts in the back mountain recently. Can I go take a look too?”

The immortal-grade magic tool needed vast spiritual power to gather spirit. The bag of demonic beast cores Chen She gave him last time had already been swallowed by Xuanxiang, and he had been urging Wu Lingchan to get more for the past few days.

Wu Lingchan even asked him why he did not swallow Chen She’s spiritual power.

Xuanxiang replied with a stinky face, “I do not want to swallow his spiritual power. Who knows if there is anything strange inside?”

So there was no way around it; Wu Lingchan had to hunt them himself.

Chen She looked at the deadlock that had been broken after several days and put the chess piece back into the container. “Hunting beasts with Qi Refining cultivation is too dangerous.”

“It is fine. Mobao has woken up, I will be fine.”

“Mobao?” Chen She’s brows moved slightly, and he smiled. “The name you gave your natal magic tool?”

“Yes!”

Chen She said, “Immortal-grade magic tools each have their own pride. This name is probably inappropriate.”

Wu Lingchan did not understand. Whenever he called him “Mobao,” Xuanxiang never said anything; where did the pride come from?

Xuanxiang rolled his eyes. He also found it inconceivable. Chen She had such a deep hatred for Lord Jufu; how could he live in peace with his son? Anyone else seeing this scene would truly think these two were a pair of deeply affectionate brothers.

“The natal magic tool is connected to the owner’s spirit. If the artifact dissipates, the owner’s soul will be severely damaged,” Chen She said. “If you want to hunt beasts, you may, but I will have Xun Ye accompany you.”

Wu Lingchan: “No, no need. I can go by myself.”

“Are you sure?” Chen She laughed. “Most of the students hunting in the back mountain are the pride of the Sizhuo Academy—arrogant and high-minded. With your cultivation and no one to protect you, I fear you will be at a disadvantage.”

Wu Lingchan asked nervously, “What is the cultivation level of the most powerful pride?”

“Chi Fuhan, already in the middle stage of the Golden Core at nineteen,” Chen She said. “He has good talent, but a bad temper. He has always regarded those with lower cultivation than him as ants…”

Wu Lingchan breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh my, only the middle stage of the Golden Core!”

I thought he was a Deity Transformation stage cultivator; I scared myself for nothing.

Chen She remained silent.

Although Xuanxiang was still very weak, as long as it was not a Nascent Soul or Deity Transformation level treasure, he could barely put up a fight.

Wu Lingchan stopped worrying completely. He rested his chin on his hand and looked at Chen She, asking with interest, “Brother’s cultivation is very high. Have you been practicing for a long time? What methods do Kunfu cultivators usually use to cultivate? Are there any mental techniques?”

“Kunfu cultivators inhale demonic aura; they do not have orthodox training methods like the Immortal Alliance. The methods are numerous and messy,” Chen She laughed gently. “You have just reached Qi Refining; it is the time to build a foundation. Do not be impatient or greedy for speed.”

Wu Lingchan pouted. Wait until I recover my Golden Core, then I will modestly tell Chen She, “Oh my, I reached the Golden Core at fourteen. What is a foundation? I do not know.”

Brother will be shocked, ashamed, regret this impatient and greedy comment, and stop valuing Chi Fuhan, changing his focus to me, Wu the Prodigy.

“Then which method does Brother use?”

Chen She’s move dropped and paused abruptly. He smiled gently. “I am different from others. The cultivation method I use is not suitable for you.”

Seeing that Chen She did not want to discuss this topic and was resetting the unfinished chess game, Wu Lingchan glanced at it curiously. Does Kunfu Ruins not sell chessboards? This chessboard is tattered, and even the vertical and horizontal lines only have seventeen rows, looking like it was chewed on by something.

Why does Chen She use such an ugly chessboard?

He looked at the chess game again.

Wu Lingchan was even more confused.

He seemed to have seen this endgame on page nine of “Longitude and Latitude: Beginner’s Guide.”

Seeing that Chen She was studying it seriously, Wu Lingchan did not say much and continued to ask, “Then what are the general cultivation methods of the Kunfu language?”

“Demonic Eye Transference, Devouring the Same Source, Ancient Inheritance, Cauldron Absorption, Demonic Aura Tempering,” Chen She focused on the game. “Which one are you most interested in?”

Wu Lingchan did not understand, but he could guess the general meaning of the others, except for this one.

“Cauldron Absorption?”

Chen She’s hand holding the chess piece paused. He seemed not to have expected that out of a pile of orthodox methods, Wu Kunkun would pick the most improper one.

At such a young age, so lecherous?

Wu Lingchan continued to ask, “…What does that mean?”

Chen She remained silent.

Chen She said, “It is the least suitable for you.”

“Oh!”

Wu Lingchan was playful. Seeing that his goal had been achieved, he did not stay and ran off to play.

Xun Ye was guarding the corridor. Knowing that Chen Jun was extremely immersed when studying the black and white pieces and would never call him, he began to seize the time to practice secretly, aiming to surpass Fuyu and win the throne of “Number One Killing God.”

But not even half a cup of tea time had passed in meditation before Chen She suddenly said, “Xun Ye.”

Xun Ye was caught off guard and almost suffered cultivation deviation. He quickly opened his eyes and walked into the inner hall.

“What are your orders, Chen Jun?”

Is he going to eradicate Jiang Zhenglu, whose natal magic tool was destroyed, or go to Tonglan Hall to snatch the Demon Lord’s Seal, or slaughter into the Wangliao Tomb to unify the Kunfu Ruins?

Xun Ye waited for instructions.

Chen She flipped through “Longitude and Latitude” and said indifferently, “Find someone to secretly look after Wu Kunkun. Tell me who he associates with. Do not let him be fooled by others and go astray.”

Xun Ye said solemnly, “Yes!”