Please, Let Me Take One More Puff—Just One

Lin Li screamed as he "silently" edged toward the door.

Although his Merit Banner was still in Xue Jian's hands, Lin Li truly had no intention of taking it back.

Losing his life just to retrieve a Merit Banner was no bargain. Running was clearly the wiser choice.

He was so close to the door. The light of victory was right before his eyes. Come on, keep going! "Stop."

Just as Lin Li reached the door, he heard Death whispering from behind him. In a daze, he saw Ox-Head and Horse-Face smiling warmly at him.

I'm screwed.

The bad news was that he would never see Xiao Jing again. The good news was that he could go visit Lao Da.

"Hey, my illness is over! I'm cured!" Lin Li ended his performance, mechanically and slowly turned around, then stood obediently where he was and looked at Xue Jian. "Teacher, I really did go blind just now. Believe me, I never lie."

Lin Li did not see Xue Jian's gaze.

Because Xue Jian had already returned to his seat, pressing his fingers to his forehead while his palm covered his eyes. He gave no response to Lin Li's words.

"Come here," Xue Jian suddenly said several seconds later.

How did one write an obituary? Could someone watch a thirty-second ad and revive me? Moshi moshi, urgent help needed online, extremely urgent.

Thankfully, I used incognito mode on all my browsers... Wait, no! I haven't deleted JM Comics yet. It'll show all the manga I bookmarked! 363848, go! I leave all my inheritance here.

With the determination of a man heading to his death, Lin Li trudged over to Xue Jian with a miserable face.

Yet Xue Jian still did not look up. It seemed as though he did not dare meet Lin Li's eyes either.

He stretched out a trembling hand, unlocked his phone with his fingerprint again, and said in a quavering voice, "Take the phone. Scroll up and read more of the chat history."

After a pause, he added tremulously, "Please."

This was the first time Lin Li had seen Xue Jian show such a "fragile" side, like a decrepit old man. At a time like this, who could bear to refuse such a request?

Lin Li could.

—Though really, Lin Li was just too scared to pick up the phone.

At that moment, he was like a bomb disposal expert. Keeping his distance, he reached out and began scrolling through the screen from afar.

"..."

"Xue Jian: Where are all my Merit Banners? You couldn't find any of them?"

"Wife: Didn't see them. Maybe they were hidden in those boxes when we moved last time, so we didn't bring them over. I've searched everywhere. Why are you looking for those things?"

"Xue Jian: They concern my dignity. Look again. Please, look again."

"Wife: I really can't find them."

"Xue Jian: Then did you keep any Photos of them? I changed phones, and I didn't transfer the old Photos over."

"Wife: Why would I keep Photos of your Merit Banners? Am I sick?"

"Xue Jian: ...Then go make one for me. Hurry. I still remember what one of the Merit Banners said..."

"..."

Okay, Lin Li now understood what Xue Jian had been trying to convey.

Although homework that was not brought in was treated as homework that had not been done, Xue Jian really had done it.

It was just that the homework had been lost. With no other choice, he had copied out another version on the spot, and Lin Li had only witnessed him copying homework. It really had been a misunderstanding.

Xue Jian was a good student.

He really was. Lin Li was moved to tears.

Come to think of it, he was a homeroom teacher at a key high school. His age and seniority spoke for themselves. Of course he could have Merit Banners.

"Teacher, I've finished reading. I understand. You really did have them," Lin Li said cautiously, afraid that raising his voice would trigger Xue Jian.

"Thank you." It was rare to hear a word like thank you from Xue Jian. He stretched out his trembling hand again and handed Lin Li his Merit Banner. "Take it and go home. Be careful on the road."

From beginning to end, Xue Jian never looked up at Lin Li, but Lin Li did not feel disrespected in the slightest.

"Thank you, Teacher." He carefully accepted it and thanked him.

"Go on, leave." Xue Jian waved a hand.

Lin Li turned and left without the slightest hesitation. He suspected that Xue Jian was currently suppressing either his second personality or the beast sleeping within his body. If he did not leave now, he might never get another chance.

After getting on his bicycle,

Lin Li did not immediately head home. He first went to an ATM to deposit most of the money into his bank card, then began wandering around Xi Ling Town seemingly without purpose.

Where were those dead rats? Come on, show me one.

Yet after cycling around for half an hour, the system Lin Li had been hoping for gave no response at all.

It did not tell him whether there was a Chicken Farm nearby.

Could it be that his luck was simply too bad, and he had never happened upon a place hiding a Chicken Farm?

Since he only had half an hour and had actually been circling around, Lin Li had remained in the central area of Xi Ling Town the entire time.

Perhaps these places were too urbanized, which was why nothing had triggered?

It was already too late today. He had wasted too much time in the office. Tomorrow evening, he would try cycling farther out to more remote places. If nothing triggered after a week of this, Lin Li could basically conclude that the system would no longer notify him proactively. He would have to find a new way to search for Chicken Farms himself.

Lin Li rode home.

Without hesitation, he manifested the spirit stones.

The spirit stones were not as large as he had imagined. In fact, each one was even slightly smaller than an egg. He could barely hold all five in one hand, but they were extremely light. Together, they weighed less than an egg.

Lin Li had thought they would be huge, the kind where one hand could only hold one, and heavy besides. Apparently, he had overthought it.

Nor did they trigger any grand heavenly phenomenon.

They had a crystal-like luster, with something glittering and flowing inside. Their shapes lay somewhere between regular and irregular.

Lin Li leaned closer and sniffed them. They even carried a faint fragrance, rather appetizing.

This really was good stuff. Even if he took these out to sell, collectors would surely be interested.

But Lin Li could not possibly do that.

"Heh, this is worth the price of admission even if I die!" Lin Li grinned excitedly. He could finally find out what spiritual energy was all about!

But then Lin Li ran into another problem.

These spirit stones were a product with no label, no production date, no expiration date, and no instruction manual.

In the Cultivation World, this was basic knowledge.

But this was not the Cultivation World.

How was he supposed to extract the spiritual energy? As the saying went, even a clever housewife could not cook without a pot.

The Body Tempering Eight Section Exercise did explain how to use and absorb spiritual energy into the body, but it did not mention how to handle spirit stones.

Lin Li tried taking a bite. It was hard enough to make his teeth ache.

"This thing can't be like the Golden Cores in novels, where you swallow it and refine it in your stomach, right?"

Looking at its size, he really could swallow it. He put it in his mouth, but hesitated before swallowing.

Forget it. Lin Li spat it back out.

It did smell appetizing, but swallowing it might literally open up his stomach.

If he ate it and could not digest it, there was no way he would be able to crap it out. It was not like he was on Chengdu's must-eat list.

"A man can't let himself be suffocated by urine!"

Lin Li gritted his teeth and decided to treat a dead horse as if it were alive. He manifested the Body Tempering Eight Section Exercise, turned to the second section, held the spirit stone in his mouth, and began practicing.

As he assumed the movements, the technique began guiding his body on its own.

"oh~~~~"

Lin Li could not help letting out a Light Hum.

It worked!