Apologize to Me

Half an hour later, Chu Huai Xu and Han Shuangjiang rose to take their leave.

Niu Yuanshan courteously saw them all the way to the small courtyard gate.

His gesture drew sidelong glances from the several handymen inside the yard, who couldn't fathom why these two registered disciples merited such regard from the adult.

After seeing them off, Old Niu picked up the jar of Erlang Wine from the table and retreated to his own room.

Once inside, the man with the broad brows, big eyes, and square face shifted his expression.

"How did Chu Huai Xu open two orifices?" he puzzled, utterly baffled.

As a Golden Mask in the organization and formerly in charge of the Newcomer Reception Mission, he had reviewed this kid's file.

"He's clearly a Pseudo-Spirit Fetus."

"Moreover, all nine of his innate orifices were completely blocked!"

This situation defied common sense in the cultivation world.

It was hard not to be shocked!

"Could it be that he's one of those legendary ones with dust on their spirit fetus, where the fetus doesn't manifest, leading people to mistake him for a Pseudo-Spirit Fetus?"

"Once he truly starts cultivating, things become different?"

As an old hand in the organization, his curiosity about this newcomer grew heavier.

He even felt tempted to take a drop of his blood and thoroughly investigate his spirit fetus's condition.

After a few seconds, Niu Yuanshan's gaze suddenly sharpened.

Then, he raised his hand and slapped himself with brutal force, twisting his own face sideways.

He even channeled spiritual energy into the slap.

"Slap--!"

"How many times is this, how many times already?"

"Niu Yuanshan, Niu Yuanshan, you really have no memory!"

"How can you keep making this mistake!"

"Admonition" Article Three: Do not harbor excessive prying curiosity toward fellow cultivators.

On the other side, after parting with Old Niu, Chu Huai Xu glanced at the azure sky.

In that half hour, drawing on his experience as a veteran player, he kept trying to accept missions and strike up conversations.

Yet the Mission System still showed no response.

"Borrowed Sword" was a game with extremely high freedom—there was no reason it wouldn't let him play the double agent.

Thus, he planted a seed of doubt in his heart.

On the way home, Han Shuangjiang suddenly called out to Chu Huai Xu.

The cold-faced girl's eyes flickered with hesitation as she said, "Um... about today, thank you."

Clearly, this iceberg wasn't even good at thanking.

Chu Huai Xu tossed out a random joke: "First off, I'm not 'um.'"

Seeing the confusion in her eyes, he realized how pointless his teasing was.

"No need to thank me, it's only right. And the outcome was good, wasn't it?" He smiled at her.

To that, Han Shuangjiang felt immense relief.

If Chu Huai Xu had truly met with an accident because of her, her fundamentally kind nature would have left her guilt-ridden for life.

After a moment's thought, she retrieved the Jade Token Fragment from her Storage Token.

"Take this. I don't think I should keep it," Han Shuangjiang said.

Chu Huai Xu glanced at her, suddenly feeling that this World Protagonist seemed to like keeping things very clear-cut.

Earlier, when he said he'd go home and let her seek help from Old Niu, she refused.

Now, she was even trying to hand over the jade fragment she'd obtained.

"I already have one. Giving me another is useless—I don't need two 'keys,'" Chu Huai Xu said.

"You can exchange it for Contribution Points from the sect," Han Shuangjiang insisted, her face earnest and stubborn.

As if Chu Huai Xu would take it!

He knew that the Jade Token Fragment came in ten pieces total, meaning Liu Tianfeng's side had eight left.

By then, it'd be eight of them entering the dungeon against just the two of them.

So the Three Pricks of the Liu family, though pained, would still think—advantage is ours!

But Chu Huai Xu was clear-headed: the iceberg standing before him was a World Protagonist, the favored child of fate who would sweep up the remaining two Dao Ancestor Inheritances!

"You coming with me into the dungeon gives me way more confidence," he thought to himself.

So he furrowed his brow, put on an annoyed and gruff tone, and said, "I told you to keep it, so keep it!"

Han Shuangjiang's rosy lips beneath her veil couldn't help but purse slightly again.

Chu Huai Xu looked at her and said, "Steward Niu got these for us. He's already made the distribution—one piece each. Instead of giving yours to me here, you'd be better off helping me more once we enter the secret realm."

The cold-faced girl hesitated for a moment before relenting, whispering softly, "Fine."

Along the way, the two chatted as they walked.

After this ordeal, their relationship seemed to have grown a bit closer.

The usually reserved girl, who kept her distance from others, rarely opened up and said, "I didn't expect the Dao Sect to still have seniors like Steward Liu. I thought all the seniors here were like Steward Niu."

Chu Huai Xu chuckled at that.

"All like Old Niu? The Dao Sect would be done for. What, from the sect leader down to the stewards, all moles?" he muttered inwardly.

He glanced at Han Shuangjiang and said, "That's normal. Every place has its bad apples. Besides, human nature is complicated in the end."

"As long as someone's human, they'll have selfish motives."

"Let me tell you, that Liu Chenggong who came to arrest me seems like a fun guy. I pried a lot out of him along the way."

"Our Steward Liu, years ago before he got promoted, went down the mountain with his wife and a group of Outer Sect Disciples on a mission. Then something happened."

"His wife died on the spot, and he was badly injured. His cultivation hasn't advanced a bit since, but all the Outer Sect Disciples came out fine—he protected them well."

"Maybe power corrupted him, or maybe his son is his weak spot. Who knows?" Chu Huai Xu shrugged.

Han Shuangjiang grew even more silent at that.

Chu Huai Xu looked at her and said, "It's fine. Since they wanted to make a move on us, you saw I didn't let them off easy, right?"

The cold-faced girl turned her head to look at him, speaking seriously, "I really didn't expect you to suddenly strike with that palm at the end."

And then he got cocky, smirking as he said, "See? Pretty arrogant, huh?"

Han Shuangjiang: "..."

She didn't speak, so he just stared at her until she had no choice but to nod slightly.

"Right? Arrogance is the way to go!" Chu Huai Xu laughed it off.

The more arrogant he acted, the more they'd think his background was unfathomable!

He went on, "You know why there's a saying 'bully the weak, fear the strong'? And 'bully the lowly, fawn on the mighty'?"

"Because those who bully the weak often fear the strong, and those who bully the lowly often fawn on the mighty."

"Want to make a bet? I bet even after that palm I threw, they'll still come knocking tomorrow with generous gifts." Chu Huai Xu said.

Han Shuangjiang asked, "But didn't they already give us the key to the secret realm?"

"That's an apology, and Steward Niu wrangled it out of them." Chu Huai Xu waved a hand.

"At first, he said it himself—that he'd prepare generous gifts and visit tomorrow. Since he said it, he has to follow through. He can't just brush it off because he gave us the Pill King Token."

"After all, he can't be sure whether we heard those earlier words or not. What if we did?"

Steward Liu was an old hand; he'd have at least that much experience in handling social niceties.

"Besides, an apology is an apology, and building goodwill is building goodwill."

Chu Huai Xu looked at her and pressed on, "So, bet or not?"

"No bet." Han Shuangjiang shook her head repeatedly and quickened her pace.

She felt she lagged far behind him in many ways of thinking—no way she'd do that!

"Come on, bet with me! I haven't even said what the stakes are yet. Don't refuse so fast." Chu Huai Xu thought she was a real buzzkill. This girl was so dull.

"No bet, no bet." Han Shuangjiang kept a cold face, her long legs moving even faster.

Not listening, not listening—nonsense in one ear, out the other.

No matter what Chu Huai Xu said, Han Shuangjiang refused to bet.

Back home, they each returned to their own Bamboo House.

Chu Huai Xu sat cross-legged on a cushion and began to steady his breathing.

This haul was generous—he'd gotten 1000 Experience Points, enough to level up several times.

"With Han Shuangjiang's freakish cultivation speed, if I don't have some Experience Points, she'll leave me in the dust in no time."

"And after this ordeal, she's probably feeling the pressure too, more eager to get stronger. Her cultivation speed might even pick up." That was his guess.

"Having great talent is so nice. Not like me—I have to endure pain and do quests. Everything I have, I earned through hard work!"

"System! Level me up!"

"Sword Refining Art," third layer, fourth layer, fifth layer.

Chu Huai Xu broke through three acupoints in a row.

(PS: First chapter, requesting monthly votes. Extra chapter today.)