Courtesy Returned

Half an incense stick's time passed.

The Spirit-Hidden Rat ate mouthful after mouthful, devouring all three pounds of python meat.

Once it had finished the roast, it stopped moving again and stared fixedly at Shen Mo, seemingly still hungry.

"How on earth is that beast's stomach made? It's practically a gluttonous Taotie. No wonder it's so fat."

Under the Spirit-Hidden Rat's expectant gaze, Shen Mo's eye twitched.

He had even given it the portion he'd meant to eat himself, yet it still wasn't full. It was truly unbelievable.

"Most likely, it's because of the wondrous bloodline of an ancient primordial beast."

Thinking this, Shen Mo didn't dwell on the matter. He merely put on a stern face and said seriously, "There's no more roast meat today. If you still want some, come find me here tomorrow evening."

"I'll roast more then."

"Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!"

The Spirit-Hidden Rat was overjoyed at his words and squeaked excitedly several times.

It had roamed the Mystic Crystal Mine for years, always sleeping under the open sky and eating whatever it could find.

But these past two days, fortune had smiled upon it.

Not only had it eaten delicious food, but judging by the look of things, this human cultivator might keep feeding it for the long term—perhaps even become its personal caretaker.

The thought made the Spirit-Hidden Rat even happier. The golden tuft atop its head swayed excitedly.

But Shen Mo soon continued, "I don't mind giving you food, but we humans believe in returning favors. Since I'm treating you to food and drink, you need to bring me something in return."

"That's only fair."

"If you want to come for roast meat tomorrow, don't come empty-handed. Otherwise, don't blame me for refusing to feed you."

At last, he revealed his true intentions and began bargaining with the Spirit-Hidden Rat.

According to the brief description in the Monster Knower Manual, the Spirit-Hidden Rat possessed a special ability that let it ignore barriers and other impassable obstacles. It also loved collecting all kinds of treasures.

Shen Mo figured he might be able to use roast meat to get quite a few treasures out of this gluttonous rat.

After all, the roast meat wasn't worth much.

As long as the Spirit-Hidden Rat brought him something good, he wouldn't be losing out.

"Do you understand?"

He kept asking to make sure, like some creepy old uncle trying to coax a little girl.

"Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!"

The Spirit-Hidden Rat gave a slight nod and squeaked several times, as though answering him.

Then it leaped off the stone platform and vanished in a flash.

"Let's see if it brings me any surprises tomorrow."

Shen Mo looked away and went back to the kitchen in the cave abode to prepare another meal.

Senior Brother Guo and Chen Mengze had been on night patrol. They should be back soon.

Shen Mo spent his days slacking off in the cave abode with nothing to do, so naturally, he had taken on the task of cooking for them.

Sure enough, just as Shen Mo brought out the final dish—steamed sea bass—he heard a commotion outside the cave abode.

Chen Mengze and Guo Zhao had returned from their night patrol.

"Senior Brother Guo, Senior Sister Chen, you're back!"

"Mm."

Chen Mengze's response was rather subdued, and she looked displeased, as though the night patrol had worn her out.

She didn't eat. After returning to the cave abode, she went straight to her room and shut the door tight.

Guo Zhao, meanwhile, nodded at Shen Mo. "Mm, we're back."

"What happened?"

Seeing the forced smile on Guo Zhao's face and Chen Mengze's strange attitude, Shen Mo couldn't help asking.

"Ah... it's a long story."

Guo Zhao finally couldn't hold it in. He let out a long sigh, his face full of worry. "I don't even know if Junior Sister Chen will speak to me again."

So it was still a matter of the heart!

"Senior Brother Guo, sit down and tell me." Shen Mo's curiosity flared. He pulled Guo Zhao over to the stone table, where they could talk over dinner.

"What happened?"

"Tonight, I couldn't hold back any longer, so I told Junior Sister Chen how I felt."

Guo Zhao sighed as he spoke.

So he really had confessed.

Hearing this, Shen Mo looked at Guo Zhao's faintly sorrowful expression and didn't ask whether she'd accepted. The answer was already obvious.

"If only I hadn't confessed so rashly." Guo Zhao was filled with regret and punched himself hard.

Before they'd torn through that final layer of paper, he and Chen Mengze could at least maintain a semblance of civility.

But now, they'd probably feel awkward even seeing each other.

"Senior Brother Guo, why not give up?"

Shen Mo patted him on the shoulder and said, "If it isn't meant to be, don't force it."

If Chen Mengze didn't like him, she probably wouldn't change her mind.

After spending these past few days together, Shen Mo and Guo Zhao had become fairly close. He couldn't bear to watch Guo Zhao sink deeper into this, so he offered a kind word of advice.

"No." Guo Zhao fell silent for a long while, then grabbed Shen Mo by the arm. "Brother Shen, you have to help me!"

Shen Mo was speechless.

Guo Zhao really was the sort who'd keep charging even after hitting a wall.

Fine, fine.

Seeing this, Shen Mo stopped trying to talk him out of it and simply asked, "How do you want me to help?"

"You must have some way to get Junior Sister Chen to speak to me again, right?" Guo Zhao gazed at him hopefully.

"If Senior Brother Guo wants to make Senior Sister Chen happy, find a way to get the Azure Water Pearl when you return," Shen Mo said after thinking it over. "If you find one, I'll make sure to put in a good word for you with Uncle Chen once I've refined the Thunder-Dissolving Pill."

"Senior Sister Chen and her father are very close. If she learns you've been a great help, she won't stop speaking to you over this."

Seeing that Guo Zhao was hopelessly caught up in love, Shen Mo decided to put him to work for himself, too.

He'd have him find the spirit herb.

"Right, right, right!" Guo Zhao exclaimed, as though he'd grabbed hold of his last lifeline. "I'll send a message right away and ask if anyone in the sect knows where to find it!"

"Wait, Senior Brother Guo. Don't rush."

Shen Mo hurriedly stopped him. "Let's talk about finding the herb after we return to the sect. For now, I still have plenty of questions about artifact forging to ask you."

From Guo Zhao, he'd already received not only the Profound-grade, low-tier Dragon Sparrow Sword, but also a copy of the Basic Casting Manual.

The Basic Casting Manual covered the key points of artifact forging and all kinds of practical experience.

It was only an introductory text, but it was comprehensive, covering nearly everything.

Shen Mo had found time to read through it several times over the past few days. Once he'd memorized it, he'd gained plenty of experience in artifact forging despite never having tried it before.

However, after reading it, he still had some questions he couldn't understand, and he needed Guo Zhao to explain them.

"Mm. Tell me what you don't understand."

Guo Zhao nodded at Shen Mo's request.

So Shen Mo brought up all the passages in the Basic Weapon-Forging Canon that he hadn't understood.

Guo Zhao, an experienced second-tier Artifact Smith, answered each of his questions one by one.

The two talked until late into the night. Shen Mo resolved many of his questions and uncertainties, and his mastery of artifact forging made considerable progress.