Half an hour later, Chu Huai Xu and Han Shuangjiang rose to leave.
Niu Yuanshan courteously saw them all the way to the entrance of the Small Courtyard.
His action caused the several servants in the courtyard to cast sidelong glances at them, unable to understand why these two Registered Disciples were worthy of such attention from their superior.
After seeing them off, Old Niu picked up the jar of Erlang Wine on the table and returned to his own room.
The thick-browed, square-faced man's expression changed somewhat once he entered the room.
"How did Chu Huai Xu open two orifices?" He couldn't understand it no matter how hard he thought.
As the organization's Golden Mask, he had previously been responsible for the Newcomer Reception Mission and had seen this kid's information.
"He's clearly a Pseudo-Spirit Fetus."
"Moreover, all nine of his innate orifices were completely sealed!"
This situation violated common knowledge in the cultivation world.
It was difficult not to be shocked!
"Could it be that he's one of those legendary people whose Spirit Fetus is covered in dust, making it invisible and causing others to mistake it for a Pseudo-Spirit Fetus?"
"Once he officially begins cultivating, will things become different?"
As an old-timer in the organization, his curiosity about this newcomer grew stronger and stronger.
He even felt an urge to obtain a drop of his blood and carefully investigate the state of his Spirit Fetus.
Several seconds later, Niu Yuanshan's gaze suddenly sharpened.
Then he raised his hand viciously and gave himself an extremely hard slap, smacking his own face crooked.
He had even used Spiritual Power when he slapped himself.
"Smack—!"
"How many times has this happened? How many times?"
"Niu Yuanshan, Niu Yuanshan, you really never learn!"
"How can you keep making this kind of mistake!"
The third rule of the "Admonition": One must not have excessive curiosity about fellow cultivators.
On the other side, after saying goodbye to Old Niu, Chu Huai Xu glanced at the azure sky.
During that half-hour, relying on his experience as a veteran player, he had continued trying to accept missions and strike up conversations with all kinds of people.
Yet the Mission System still showed no response.
"Borrowed Sword" was a game with an extremely high degree of freedom. There was no reason it wouldn't allow him to be a double agent.
Therefore, he planted a seed of suspicion in his heart.
On the way home, Han Shuangjiang suddenly called out to Chu Huai Xu.
The Cold-faced girl's eyes darted about slightly as she said, "Um... thank you for today."
It was obvious that even offering thanks was something this iceberg wasn't good at.
Chu Huai Xu blindly played along with the joke. "First of all, I'm not 'um.'"
Seeing the bewilderment in her eyes, he also began to feel that he was being utterly ridiculous.
"You're welcome. It was only right. Besides, the final outcome was good, wasn't it?" He smiled at her.
Han Shuangjiang also felt extremely fortunate about it.
If Chu Huai Xu had truly met with an accident because of her, she, kind-hearted by nature, would have felt guilty for the rest of her life.
After thinking for a moment, she took the Jade Token Fragment out of her Storage Token.
"Take this. I don't think I should keep it," Han Shuangjiang said.
Chu Huai Xu glanced at her and suddenly felt that this World Protagonist seemed to like settling accounts very clearly.
Previously, when he had said he was going home and told her to seek Old Niu's help, she had refused.
Now, she even wanted to give him the Jade Token Fragment she had obtained.
"I already have one. Giving me yours won't help. I don't need two 'Keys,'" Chu Huai Xu said.
"You can exchange it for sect Contribution Points." Han Shuangjiang's expression was serious and insistent.
As if Chu Huai Xu would want it!
One had to know that there were ten Jade Token Fragments in total, meaning that Liu Tianfeng still had eight.
When the time came, the other eight would enter the dungeon while there would only be two on their side.
Thus, although the three Liu scoundrels would feel the pain, they would still think in their hearts: We have the advantage!
But Chu Huai Xu knew the situation perfectly well. The iceberg standing before him was a World Protagonist, a child of destiny who would claim both of the remaining Dao Ancestor Inheritances for herself!
"I'll feel more confident if you enter the dungeon with me." That was what he thought, anyway.
Thus, he frowned again and said in an unhappy, slightly fierce tone, "I told you to keep it safe, so keep it safe!"
Han Shuangjiang's tender red lips beneath her veil unconsciously pressed together again.
Chu Huai Xu looked at her and said, "Steward Niu helped us ask for this. He already decided on the distribution: one each. Instead of giving it to me here, you might as well help me more after we enter the Secret Realm."
The Cold-faced girl struggled for a moment before she could only give up and softly say, "All right."
The two walked and chatted along the way.
After this incident, their relationship seemed to have grown somewhat closer.
The usually reserved girl, who always kept people at a distance, even rarely revealed her Inner Voice.
"I didn't expect the Dao Sect to have seniors like Steward Liu. I thought all the Dao Sect's seniors were like Steward Niu."
Chu Huai Xu was amused when he heard this.
"If they were all like Old Niu, wouldn't the Dao Sect be finished? What, from the Sect Leader down to the stewards, they're all undercover agents?" he muttered inwardly.
Chu Huai Xu glanced at Han Shuangjiang and said, "That's normal. There will be a rotten apple in any place, not to mention that human nature is ultimately complicated."
"As long as someone is human, they'll have selfish motives."
"Let me tell you, Liu Chenggong, the one who came to capture me, seems to be a joker. I got quite a lot of information out of him along the way."
"Our Steward Liu here, before he was promoted to steward many years ago, took a group of Outer Sect Disciples down the mountain to carry out a mission with his wife. Then something happened."
"His wife died on the spot, and he was also seriously wounded. His cultivation never advanced another inch after that, but all the Outer Sect Disciples were unharmed. He protected them very well."
"Perhaps he was corrupted by power. Perhaps his son was his Achilles' heel. Who knows?" Chu Huai Xu shrugged.
Han Shuangjiang grew even quieter when she heard this.
Chu Huai Xu looked at her and said, "It's all right. Since they wanted to attack us, you saw that I didn't let them off easily either, right?"
The Cold-faced girl turned to look at him and said seriously, "I truly didn't expect you to suddenly strike with your palm at the end."
As a result, he became smug, twisting his mouth into a grin. "How was it? Pretty arrogant, right?"
Han Shuangjiang: "..."
She said nothing, so the man kept staring at her until she had no choice but to give a slight nod.
"See? Arrogance is the way to go!" Chu Huai Xu laughed.
The more arrogant they acted, the more unfathomable their background would seem!
He continued, "Do you know why there's a saying about bullying the weak and fearing the strong, and another about bullying those below while fawning on those above?"
"Because those who bully the weak often fear the strong, and those who bully those below often fawn on those above."
"How about we make a bet? Do you believe that even after I struck them with my palm like that, they'll still come knocking tomorrow with lavish gifts?" Chu Huai Xu said.
Han Shuangjiang asked, "But haven't they already given us the Key to the Secret Realm?"
"That's compensation. Besides, Steward Niu demanded it on our behalf." Chu Huai Xu waved his hand.
"At the beginning, wasn't that what he said himself? He said they would prepare lavish gifts and visit tomorrow. Since he said it, he has to do it. He can't just let the matter go because he gave us the Pill King Token."
"After all, he can't be certain whether we heard those earlier words. What if we did hear them?"
Steward Liu was an old hand. He still had this much experience in handling people and social affairs.
"Besides, compensation is compensation, while making friends is making friends."
Chu Huai Xu looked at her and continued asking, "Anyway, are you betting or not?"
"Not betting." Han Shuangjiang shook her head repeatedly and quickened her pace.
She always felt that she was far inferior to him in many respects. She wasn't going to do it!
"Just bet once. I haven't even said what we're betting yet, so don't reject it right away." Chu Huai Xu found her too disappointing. This woman was actually so boring.
"No bet, no bet." Han Shuangjiang kept a cold expression as her long legs moved even faster.
Not listening, not listening—the tortoise chants sutras.
No matter what Chu Huai Xu said, Han Shuangjiang simply refused to bet.
After returning home, the two went back to their respective Bamboo Houses.
Chu Huai Xu sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion and began adjusting his breathing.
He had gained a great deal this time, obtaining 1,000 Experience Points. He could level up again, and he had enough to rise several levels.
"With Han Shuangjiang's heaven-defying cultivation speed, I'll be left far behind immediately if I don't have any Experience Points."
"Besides, after this incident, she probably feels a sense of urgency too and wants to become stronger even more desperately. Her cultivation speed may become even faster." That was his guess.
"Having good talent really is great. Unlike me, I have to endure pain and complete missions. Everything I have comes from my own hard work!"
"System! Level me up!"
The third, fourth, and fifth levels of the "Sword Refining Art."
Chu Huai Xu broke through three orifices in succession.
(P.S.: First update. Please vote for me with your monthly tickets. There'll be an extra update today.)
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