CH 118

After bypassing the great altar of Zhong Yi, Yin Ren’s expression turned pale. It wasn’t until he smelled the oily roasted duck that his soul slowly returned to him.

The Fu family’s manor was so big, and they were specially led to a semi-open dining room.

Under the antique cornices, bamboo leaves rustled against each other, and the gurgling of the mountain spring could be heard. Over a dozen beautiful and sturdy koi lazily swam in a clear pond. The rockery beside the pond was full of wild charm, and a black cat was lying on top of it with its belly exposed, basking in the sun.

The dining pavilion was cool, with four round tables arranged inside. The dishes ordered by everyone had just been placed on the table, with insulation pads underneath, and the aroma was so enticing that it made everyone’s mouth water.

…It would be even better if the painting in the pavilion wasn’t of Zhong Yi hunting ghosts.

What the hell is up with this Fu family?

Yin Ren grabbed his chopsticks speechlessly and found that the ends of the chopsticks were also dyed with colorful paint.

Yin Ren: “……”

Zhong Chengshuo: “Pfft.”

It may be that Yin Ren’s expression changed too quickly, but Comrade Xiao Zhong let out a rare laugh. Yin Ren gave him a sad glance and decided to divert his attention.

With great difficulty, Yin Ren moved his eyes away from the dazzling array of different dishes and roughly glanced at the other three tables.

There were five old people, three young people, and a middle-aged person sitting at the table. One of the woman’s facial features was very similar to Fu Xingchuan’s, but she didn’t have Minister Fu’s signature panda eyes. Her skin was well maintained, and her hair was permed in fashionable waves. The red dress she was wearing looked expensive.

That table was probably the Fu family.

The other two tables must be Shian’s special groups from Yandu and Linnan. Yin Ren felt there was at least one powerhouse at each table; most likely, they were coaches of their respective teams.

Those two were only a little weaker than Fu Xingchuan, which meant Shian shouldn’t be underestimated.

The smell of meat persisted in drilling into his nose, causing Yin Ren to retract his gaze and look at the roasted duck with its crispy skin. Lord Ghost King rubbed his chopsticks and anxiously waited for the last member to arrive…

Fu Tianyi had already sat at the Yandu’s table, but Fu Xingchuan was still missing. It wasn’t good to start eating before everyone was present.

“Are you sleeping to death?” Yin Ren was just thinking about whether he should steal some food with his hair when a sneer reached his ears. “Fu Xingchuan, are you feeling itchy? We’re all waiting for you, and you have quite the nerve to keep us waiting like this.”

The woman, who looked a lot like Fu Xingchuan, grimaced at the phone.

“Our parents are here. What are you doing?”

In less than thirty seconds, Fu Xingchuan flew into the pavilion with a levitation spell and almost fell on all fours on the smooth stone tiles.

“My alarm didn’t go off.” The black and blue under Fu Xingchuan’s eyes had faded a lot, and his voice had regained some strength. He slightly bowed to everyone at the nearby tables and said, Evil Smith”I’m sorry, everyone. Really sorry—please go ahead and eat!”

After speaking, he didn’t take his seat but stopped at Yandu’s table. “Hey, isn’t this Zhou Gong and Qiao Shang? What wind blew you two great gods here?”

“Haigu hasn’t competed recently, so we came to see if you’re still alive, right, Xiao Qiao?” The male coach from Yandu grinned—he was a round and chubby guy with a shiny bald head, looking especially festive.

Not far away, the female coach of Linnan nodded. “I heard that there has been a lot of unrest near Haigu recently, so I came to take a look.”

The responding voices came from the two strongest people at their respective tables.

They didn’t care about Fu Xingchuan’s lateness and talked enthusiastically with Minister Fu.

“Who are those people?” Yin Ren turned to Hao Wenzhe curiously, only to find that their senior had run away with his frozen dumplings and soda, along with his computer bag as well.

Hao Wenzhe was a dignified science post but he ran with agility and in such a low-key style that even the 1,000-year-old Ghost King couldn’t detect him.

Yin Ren: “……”

“Hao Wenzhe doesn’t like crowded places. It’s okay. Minister Fu knows his problem.” Lu Xiaohe rubbed her forehead as if she had a headache. “Let me explain.”

“Zhou Gong is the ‘#1 Evil Smith’ of Shian, and Qiao Shang is the ‘#1 Priestess’. Coupled with the ‘#1 Ghost General’ Fu Xingchuan, the three of them represent the apex of the three superior professions. If anyone in this era can become a true ‘Celestial Master’, it will surely be one of these three.”

After staying in Shian for a few months, Yin Ren was already familiar with modern classification methods.

There were three basic cultivation directions: ghost master, corpse servant, and spirit smith.

Those who were proficient in the occupations of both a ghost master and a corpse servant were called “Ghost General”. In contrast, “Evil Smith” corresponded with a corpse servant and spirit smith, while the “Priestess” combined the ghost master and spirit smith—only those who were proficient in all three branches of knowledge could be considered a “Celestial Master”.

These knowledge were interrelated and could produce countless variations when they collided. After becoming proficient in each of them, it took several more times as much time to polish and integrate them. It wasn’t as simple as adding one plus one to advance to the next level.

Fu Xingchuan was given the title Ghost General in his forties, which they considered to be young and promising. The other two powerhouses were over fifty, no matter how he looked at them.

Yin Ren knew the hardship involved, but young people may not realize it…

Ge Tingting asked curiously, “Isn’t there a genius like Xiang Jiang?”

Lu Xiaohe smiled wryly. “It takes a lot of time to gain battle experience and explore combat methods. It’s like studying—there may be young geniuses in math or art, but there are no natural prodigies in subjects like history. In fact, there hasn’t been a Celestial Master since Zhong Yi.”

The tempering of countless battles was the basic of the basics, which couldn’t be made up with “natural talent”.

Ge Tingting: “Wow, isn’t the Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi very powerful? How did he do it?”

The tip of Yin Ren’s chopsticks trembled slightly.

Simple really. One just needed to live for 360 years. Although, to be fair, Yin Ren himself was also considered a genius. Unfortunately, he always adhered to the “good” habit of three days of fishing and two days of drying the net*, so the title of Celestial Master was purely a pile of messy nonsense. If he was replaced by Fu Xingchuan, it was estimated that he would become the so-called Celestial Master in less than two hundred years.

*(三天打鱼两天晒网的) Idiom means that someone isn’t consistent in doing something regularly or has an irregular work/study schedule. It comes from the idea that a person who fishes for three days and then rests for two will not be able to catch as many fish as someone who fishes for five days straight, which implies that someone who works or studies in an inconsistent way may not achieve as much as someone who works or studies consistently with regularity.

The reason why no new Celestial Master had appeared after him was assuredly because the lifespan of humans was too short.

Thinking of this, Yin Ren’s movement of holding the duck skin suddenly stopped.

The inexplicable bitterness rushed to his throat again, making his mouth uncomfortable.

The browned and crispy duck skin was covered with osmanthus granulated sugar. Yin Ren wanted to offer it to Zhong Chengshuo and persuade him to have a bite, but as he looked at the side of Zhong Chengshuo’s face, Yin Ren silently chewed on the duck skin and instead picked up a piece of lean meat to offer to him.

Training wasn’t arranged immediately after the meal. This time, the live-in attendant of the Fu family led the way and brought everyone to their guest room. The rooms of the Fu family were no different from a five-star hotel. They were all spacious and beautiful double rooms, with huge floor-to-ceiling windows facing the green mountain scenery.

He didn’t know whether it was intentional or not, but Ge Tingting and Lu Xiaohe had single beds in their rooms, while Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo were assigned to a room with only a queen bed.

Yin Ren sat by the bed and looked at the dreamlike mountain scenery outside. He stared at it for a while, then motioned his hand at Zhong Chengshuo, who was busy adjusting the angle of his toothbrush. “Zhong Ge, come here.”

Zhong Chengshuo obediently walked to the bed. Yin Ren maintained his sitting posture, put his hands around Zhong Chengshuo’s waist, and buried his face into the other party’s chest and abdomen.

“What’s wrong?” Zhong Chengshuo’s hands stopped a few centimeters above Yin Ren’s head, and he shrank back hesitantly.

“Nothing. Just wanted to hug you,” Yin Ren replied while still burying his face into Zhong Chengshuo’s loose t-shirt, making his voice muffled. “It may be that I’m nervous before the competition.”

Zhong Chengshuo: “……” Even he wouldn’t believe this kind of outrageous bullshit. For the legendary Celestial Master to be nervous, the contestants would have to be the six Evil Spirits led by Qi Xin.

Zhong Chengshuo: “There’s an introductory meeting in the evening. Just hold on until 4:30.”

Yin Ren: “Do you know it’s only 2 right now?”

“Yes.”

Yin Ren stifled a laugh, and when he had laughed enough, he sighed. “I kind of know why Fu Xingchuan chose the training location here… It turns out the Fu family reveres Zhong Yi very much, and I have shattered his illusion.”

“Nn.”

“But at least that kid has some conscience and knows to arrange a big bed for our room,” Yin Ren said. “At this point, on behalf of the Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi, I forgive him.”

“…Pfft.”

“What are you laughing at?”

Zhong Chengshuo continued to maintain the posture of being hugged, trying to stretch his arms to reach for the remote control by the pillow. With a beep, the electric curtains slowly closed. The soft indoor lights came on at the same time, and the <Zhong Yi scattering flowers> picture on the curtains became particularly conspicuous…

The painting showed Zhong Yi with a smile on his face. His tiger eyes were slightly closed, and his long beard was fluttering as golden flower petals that symbolized good luck scattered from his hands. The embroidery was extremely fine and at a glance, one could tell it was expensive from a first glance.

Yin Ren: “……” What is this thing?!

“I just saw it when I was helping Huang Jin move his things. The single bedrooms don’t have this kind of curtain,” Zhong Chengshuo explained with a smile.

Yin Ren: “Fuck forgiving him!”

……

In the evening, Haigu Municipal Hospital.

“Hey, have you heard that the grandson of the Qiu family signed for early discharge… His family isn’t short of money, so why don’t they let him stay for a few more days?”

“His family business is quite good, so maybe he can’t afford to stay.”

“What? How come I heard that Mr. Xiao Qiu is a dandy and doesn’t care about the business.”

“Who knows what’s going on in other people’s homes?”

Sun Qi’an was sitting in the cafeteria with her ears filled with gossip of her colleagues. At this location, it just so happened she could see the vestibule of the hospital. Sun Qi’an raised her eyes and stuffed a chopstick of vermicelli with fried bean sprouts into her mouth.

She saw the figure of “Mr. Xiao Qiu”.

Mr. Xiao Qiu’s name was Qiu Fang. He was thin and tall and wore an ill-fitting high-end jacket. At this moment, he was staggering out, accompanied by a woman, who she was unsure of whether it was a nurse or a relative. From this angle, Sun Qi’an could only see the backs of the two.

As Qiu Fang walked past a flower bed, he brushed shoulders with a man in dirty clothes. The man swayed more violently than Qiu Fang and stumbled forward, his speed increasing.

One step, two steps.

The dirty man trotted up and rushed at the gate of the hospital. He took out an old-fashioned pair of iron scissors lodged in his chest and stabbed the doctor closest to him.

Sun Qi’an almost choked on her vermicelli. She put down her chopsticks and opened her eyes wide.

Amidst the screams, Qiu Fang accelerated his pace among the scattered crowd. His shoulders brushed against a couple who were tightly hugging, almost knocking him over.

One step, two steps, three steps.

The couple suddenly stood still and began to argue fiercely about something. The man suddenly slapped the woman, and the woman screamed and reached out to grab her boyfriend’s face.

The scissors left a hole in the dirty man’s chest, and he used his nails to open up the flesh, spraying dark red blood everywhere.

Qiu Fang cranked his neck and finally turned his head.

Ignoring the bloody conflict, he looked at the restaurant behind the reflective glass. The hospital cafeteria was installed with one-way glass, so it stood to reason that the interior couldn’t be seen.

But Sun Qi’an had a feeling that Qiu Fang had discovered her prying eyes.

The young Mr. Qiu’s neck bent unnaturally as he bared his teeth and gave Sun Qi’an a twisted smile.

The author has something to say:

Minister Fu: Who knows where my happiness is?

Even kissing feels awkward in this room, Xiao Yin.

#Even Xiao Zhong couldn’t help laughing at the decoration