Eating Seeds

Xu Xiaoshou stood by Goose Lake for an entire night.

There were always mosquitoes and flies by the lake in summer. Some overestimated themselves and tried to do their tiny part by contributing Passive Value to him.

But his innate physique was no longer something their feeble mouthparts could pierce.

In the early hours of dawn, the air was cold. Xu Xiaoshou pulled his clothes tighter. His emotions had mostly settled, and he planned to leave.

The moment he turned around, a gaunt, withered face was staring at him.

Xu Xiaoshou jumped in fright.

Everything else about this old man was fine, but those two enormous dark circles under his eyes were truly unsettling.

"From the Outer Court?"

The old man's lips twitched into a smile. "Young man, aren't you going to watch the Wind and Cloud Tournament?"

Xu Xiaoshou hurriedly backed away several steps. Only after putting some distance between them did he realize that the old man's voice sounded strangely familiar. "You are...?"

Xu Xiaoshou studied him. Wasn't this the old man he had run into through wind and rain when his legs had gone weak during the group matches that day?

What a coincidence.

The old man chuckled and put the straw hat in his hand onto his head. Xu Xiaoshou immediately knew for certain.

"Senior, this is...?"

Xu Xiaoshou was baffled. Running into him once was fate, but twice was too much to explain, wasn't it?

Could this old man have come specifically to find him? The old man in the straw hat clasped his hands behind his back and said, "What a pity. I heard that the Wind and Cloud Tournament has been producing one genius after another lately."

"Yesterday, there was some kid. What was his name, Little Beast?"

"He even killed someone. Tsk, tsk. Youthful hotheadedness, these people!"

Xu Xiaoshou's face darkened. Why bring up the one subject nobody wanted to touch? The murderer is standing right in front of you! Yet the old man seemed to genuinely not recognize him and continued, "But it's fine. I'm not here for him. I'm here for you!"

"Me..."

Xu Xiaoshou had just begun to speak when the old man raised a hand to stop him. "I know you!"

"Old Xiao and Old Qiao told me that the Outer Court had produced two innate cultivators, along with a sword cultivator who had comprehended Acquired Sword Intent."

"But of all of them, you're the one I like best!"

Xu Xiaoshou could not take it anymore. You spouted a whole load of nonsense and named four people in total. Two of them are me! "I am..."

"Hey!" The old man glared, signaling for the young man not to be so impatient and to let him finish.

"Hehe, you have an innate physique. Am I right?"

"I've been looking for you for days. I turned the entire Outer Court upside down, yet I never expected you'd be here admiring geese. As expected of the person I've taken a fancy to..."

"You've got taste!"

Xu Xiaoshou rolled his eyes inwardly. What taste? I was contemplating life, not admiring geese.

What was there to admire about these fat geese? Eating them would be more like it.

"I noticed you when I came here last night!"

The old man's words startled Xu Xiaoshou. Last night?

He had not noticed a thing!

He secretly observed the old man and found that he could not sense his aura at all. It was as if the man before him were just an ordinary old man.

But how was that possible?

Would an ordinary old man be in Tiansang Spirit Palace?

This was definitely some big shot! Xu Xiaoshou secretly speculated, unable to understand why such a big shot had sought him out. Was it because of the innate physique he had mentioned? Taste, physique, secretly observing...

Xu Xiaoshou shuddered. Why did this feel a little wrong?

The old man did not notice anything amiss and continued with his hands behind his back. "I observed you for an entire night. Good lad, your composure is excellent!"

"Even mosquito bites and eerie ghostly cries failed to make you move an inch. You didn't even turn your head."

"I admit it, kid. You have the bearing I had in my youth!"

Xu Xiaoshou staggered. He remembered how, in the middle of the night, the back of his neck had often turned cold, as if someone were blowing air behind his head...

There really had been someone there?!

His face was full of lingering fear. He had reached a crucial point in his contemplation of life and was somewhat exhausted, so he had closed his eyes for a while while standing there. Yet he had not noticed this old man?

And why had the information panel not even given him a notification like "Under Sneak Attack" or "Frightened"? It was seriously neglecting its duty! No, no. From now on, I absolutely have to go back to the courtyard and sleep properly.

Don't stand around outside and end up dead without even knowing how I died! The old man nodded incessantly. Beneath his sparse brows, his eyes were filled with satisfaction. He looked Xu Xiaoshou up and down before suddenly asking, "I've said so much. Don't you have anything to say?"

Xu Xiaoshou: ???

His face turned livid. "Didn't you tell me not to speak?"

"Did I?"

"You didn't?"

"Think again. Did I?"

Xu Xiaoshou was about to argue when he thought back. The old man had only stopped him with gestures and looks; he really had not said anything aloud.

Helplessly, he said, "I've disappointed you, Senior!"

"That youthful, hotheaded murderer you mentioned was me. The one who comprehended Sword Intent was me. The innate physique... uh, that was also me!"

"And my name is Xu Xiaoshou!"

He paused, then continued, "I'm going to participate in the Wind and Cloud Tournament now, not watch it. Goodbye!"

Though he did not know what this old man wanted, it was best not to provoke him if he could avoid it. Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, fleeing was the best.

"Wait!"

The old man grabbed him. His grip was astonishingly strong, and Xu Xiaoshou's wrist hurt from the squeeze.

"Senior, please spare me! I really don't taste good. I didn't even bathe last night!"

The old man in the straw hat's eye twitched. "Eat my ass! Aren't pills good enough to eat? Why would I eat you?"

"Honestly!"

He looked Xu Xiaoshou up and down again. "Are you really that talented?"

Xu Xiaoshou glanced at the information panel and found no entry for "Under Suspicion." His voice carried a sobbing note as he said, "You already believed me, so why are you still asking?"

"Good lad!" The old man grinned. "You speak with such confidence, just like me. It's decided, you're the one!"

He pulled out a red, seed-like object from his trouser pocket and handed it to Xu Xiaoshou. "Eat it!"

Xu Xiaoshou nearly wet himself. What the hell is this?! Is this doddering old man sick? He came up and rambled nonsense at me, then told me to eat a seed? I swear, Xu Xiaoshou will never come out here to daydream again!

Am I fucking asking for it? For the sake of a dead Wen Chong, I'm about to lose my own pure body?

"Eat it!"

Seeing Xu Xiaoshou's pleading gaze, the old man said righteously, "It's fine. It might hurt a little, but you have an innate physique. Endure it, and it'll pass."

Please, stop talking!

Xu Xiaoshou nearly dropped to his knees. It would have been better if you hadn't said anything. The moment you opened your mouth, even the tiny flame of hope in my heart went cold!

Forced to take the thumbnail-sized red seed, he found that it was surprisingly hot in his hand.

Xu Xiaoshou was shocked. He had an innate physique—if it were anyone else, their hand would have been burned straight through!

He glanced at the old man in the straw hat again and found him looking at him expectantly. "Eat it! It's delicious!"

This was definitely a big shot. There was no need for him to drug Xu Xiaoshou with poison or aphrodisiacs...

Right? Xu Xiaoshou's heart was bitter. He might be handsome, but he was definitely not the sort of handsome that made people unable to stop themselves and resort to any means necessary.

Fuck it!

Gulp!

Xu Xiaoshou swallowed it with a despairing look, as if drinking poisoned wine, then looked at the old man in the straw hat. "What next?"

"What next?"

"There is no next!"

The old man gave a sly grin and vanished with a whoosh.

Fuck!

Xu Xiaoshou exploded. What the hell is this? You gave me some unknown thing, told me to swallow it, and then the moment I swallowed it, you left...

You left! Really left! Xu Xiaoshou went mad. He swore that if he saw this old man again, he would immediately unleash Leisurely White Clouds and let him know what "there is no next" meant! The next moment, he suddenly felt his face flush red and his entire body grow scorching hot.

Xu Xiaoshou's face trembled.

I'm done for!

My body, my body feels so strange...

What kind of fucked-up feeling is this?!

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly jolted in alarm. That old man... he wouldn't be going to call someone, would he?!

"Help!"

"I'm not worth it! Help!"

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