"I'm full!" In the Bamboo Forest, Mao Nanbei rubbed her round little belly and set down her chopsticks.
More precisely, she was not full—she had simply finished eating.
It was not just Lu Xun and Mao Nanbei who had finished. Even the bowls and plates that had floated down from the stone were empty.
It was clear that both Second Senior Sister and Fourth Senior Sister had given their Little Martial Brother's cooking a thumbs-up through their actions.
"Burp—!" Mao Nanbei was the first to burp.
She hurriedly covered her mouth with her little hands, looking flustered while pretending to be innocent, as though she were saying, "You heard wrong. It wasn't me."
Then she burped again.
The sound slipped through the gaps between her fingers, loud and clear.
Obviously, no matter how high one's cultivation was, such natural bodily reactions could never be held back.
Thus, after enduring for a while, the Cold Daoist Nun on the stone unexpectedly burped as well.
Though the sound was very soft, both Lu Xun and Mao Nanbei heard it.
This annoyed her a little, so she waved her hand and began shooing them away.
Lu Xun and Mao Nanbei hurried off. Before leaving the Bamboo Forest, he could not help glancing once more at Second Senior Sister's back.
Second Senior Sister is really so thin, he thought.
Her loose Daoist Robe draped over her body, making her slenderness stand out even more.
She almost seemed too thin.
A very strange thought suddenly arose in Lu Xun's heart:
—Should I try fattening her up?
It would probably be fun.
As for whether he could successfully fatten up Second Senior Sister, Lu Xun had no answer for now. Everyone's physique was different, and cultivators' physiques varied even more greatly.
But he would definitely prepare three meals a day. His cultivation was still insufficient for him to live without food. Besides, in his previous life, he had practically been half a gourmet. He could not give up the pleasures of eating, nor did he want to.
His tongue was picky!
And as an excellent cook, he added fattening up Second Senior Sister to his plans. He would treat it as a bit of amusement during his dull days.
That said, Mao Nanbei and Second Senior Sister had both immediately noticed that Lu Xun had advanced to the first level of the Qi Devouring Art, yet neither showed the slightest surprise.
Perhaps, in their eyes, as a member of the Small Study, no matter how extraordinary Lu Xun was, it was only natural.
Forget reaching the first level of the Qi Devouring Art overnight—even if he advanced several more levels, no one would find it strange.
Compared with that, they valued Lu Xun's perseverance during cultivation more. That was what truly moved them.
After returning to the Small Study, Mao Nanbei lazily sprawled by the door again, basking in the sun.
The well-fed little cat had gone back to lying around.
Lu Xun sat beside her and asked, "Fourth Senior Sister, when will Teacher return?"
This was something Lu Xun cared about deeply.
"How would I know?" Mao Nanbei said as though it were obvious.
"Isn't there at least an approximate time?" Lu Xun was speechless.
"Of course not. Sometimes it might be a few days, sometimes a few months. A few years is possible too." Mao Nanbei waved a hand.
Puzzled, Lu Xun continued, "Then why does Teacher go down the mountain?"
As one of the most mysterious figures in all of Heavenly Dust, Lu Xun was full of curiosity about him.
"To have fun!" Mao Nanbei instantly replied without even thinking.
Lu Xun: "..."
Were you sure there was not even a slightly grander reason?
Or was it because she had the mindset of a child, so going down the mountain naturally made her think of having fun?
Mm, that had to be it.
How could a reclusive master possibly go down the mountain just to have fun?
Since he could not get anything useful from talking with her, Lu Xun returned to his room.
He did not intend to continue cultivating. Instead, he began studying his status panel.
At present, his Experience Points bar showed 586/500, enough for him to level up once more.
But he had no plans to do so for the time being.
In the past, he had only treated it as a game and leveled up whenever he could. But now he was truly alive. At the very least, he ought to get used to it first.
How should he put it? He simply wanted to study his current body and cultivation strength. It felt interesting.
Once he had thoroughly figured them out, he could continue leveling up.
There was nothing much to see in the status panel for now. What caught his attention was a countdown in the lower-right corner.
From what he remembered, Heavenly Dust had been heavily promoted before its launch, and the game forum had been opened to the public even before the closed beta.
Lu Xun had long forgotten exactly when the game forum opened. Why would he deliberately remember something like that?
But now, the countdown in the lower-right corner reminded him that the game forum was about to open. This countdown marked the time of its opening.
"How strange. There are still three years until the players arrive, yet the forum is opening this early?"
"Could it be... that time flows differently in the two worlds?"
He had no way to investigate these questions for now. He could only wait quietly, because he was very curious whether he would be able to see information on the forum.
Logically speaking, the status panel and other functions had all become benefits of transmigration. Aside from becoming an NPC, he seemed no different from the players in terms of functions.
Then he should be able to see the forum too.
If the players truly arrived in Tian Chen Calendar 4000, the forum would be of immense help to Lu Xun.
When the countdown ended, he indeed saw a notification pop up:
The game forum has opened.
He clicked on it, only to find it completely empty.
Two or three seconds later, he refreshed it, and a chaotic flood of posts surged in!
Most were meaningless spam posts, and he could not be bothered to browse through them carefully.
Lu Xun tried making a post, only to discover that he could not.
"Damn it, what am I supposed to do now?!" Lu Xun panicked.
Players loved trash-talking NPCs. There was no telling whether he would be viciously flamed by players in the future.
Did that not mean he could not even disguise himself as a passerby and sarcastically flame them back!?
"Damn it, they actually stripped me of my right to fight keyboard warriors to the bitter end!"
Angered, Lu Xun directly closed the forum and stopped looking at it.
Right now, he felt like he had been muted by some obnoxious administrator in a QQ group. The more he looked, the worse he felt.
Instead, he began considering his future path of development.
He definitely had to make use of the players. What was the point of being an NPC if he did not use players?
In the players' eyes, NPCs were a bunch of Tool Persons.
But from Lu Xun's perspective, were players not Tool Persons as well?
Perhaps, if he wanted to establish himself in this world, players would become his greatest source of support!
"Then before Heavenly Dust officially enters open beta, shouldn't I make a name for myself too?"
If he were merely an obscure NPC, players would not follow him.
With that thought, he focused on the Prestige Value Task again. It seemed he needed to complete this task quickly. It could both build his reputation and earn him a considerable amount of Experience Points—a win-win situation.
He was someone who did things with plans and order, and he had plenty of ideas. Most of the scheming bastards in games were people like him, with filthy hearts.
He quickly came up with several rough plans. Was there not going to be a grand ceremony held specifically for him tomorrow? It was the perfect chance to give them a try.
Before you continue