"We can only resort to a few tricks!"
Dugu Yan froze. "Huh?"
Dugu Bo pulled a jade bottle from his robes and handed it to her with a mysterious air.
"I Love a Stick of Wood!"
"Yan Yan, it's all up to you tonight!"
Dugu Yan took the bottle, her face instantly turning crimson.
"G-Grandpa... this..."
Dugu Bo patted her shoulder, speaking earnestly.
"Grandpa can only help you this far!"
"The rest is up to you!"
Dugu Yan clutched the bottle, head lowered, her face burning red.
But the corners of her mouth crept upward.
Night fell.
Lin Jiang's room.
He sat cross-legged on the bed, ready to cultivate, when a familiar notification chimed in his mind.
[Ding, you have gained one distribution attempt (yearly)] [Current distribution attempts: 5] [Current Subversion Points: 156]
Lin Jiang's lips curled.
Not bad. The Shrek Seven Devils would soon be together. The fun was about to begin.
He sensed the Soul Power in his body—he was about to break through to level forty.
And that was with him cultivating until he got tired, playing until he got tired, wandering until he got tired, and then lying down.
He was a young man of the modern age, after all. If he could lie down, he'd never sit; if he could sit, he'd never stand.
Just then,
a knock sounded at the door.
"Lin Jiang, I brought you a late-night snack."
It was Dugu Yan's voice.
Lin Jiang's eyes lit up. "Sister Yan Yan? Come in!"
Late-night snacks. What a delight!
The door opened, and Dugu Yan walked in carrying a bowl of steaming tangyuan.
She was dressed especially... well, beautifully today.
A purple halter-neck qipao showed off her delicate collarbones and slender waist. The hem swayed gently as she walked.
"Lin Jiang, it must be hard work cultivating." She set the bowl on the table, her voice so gentle it hardly sounded like her.
Lin Jiang waved a hand. "It's no trouble at all. You're the one who works hard, Sister Yan Yan."
He picked up the bowl and began eating without a second thought.
The tangyuan were soft and chewy, and the broth tasted sweet.
"Hm? Sister Yan Yan, this broth..." Lin Jiang smacked his lips. "Why is it so sweet? It's so sweet I feel like I'm getting heated up."
Dugu Yan watched him nervously. "Is it? Maybe... maybe I added too much sugar?"
Did I pour in too much?
Her hand had slipped earlier, and she'd poured in more than half the bottle.
Dugu Bo's room.
The old man was lying in bed when he suddenly sat up.
"Oh, no!"
He slapped his forehead.
"I forgot to tell Yan Yan that this I Love a Stick of Wood is incredibly potent. Even smelling it is enough to make you succumb, and just a tiny sip will do the trick!"
He lay back down, stroking his beard with a benevolent smile.
"But with my medicine, it should be a done deal!"
Lin Jiang's room.
The more Lin Jiang drank, the thirstier he got.
After finishing the bowl of tangyuan, he felt his whole body burning, his mouth and throat parched, even his breath scalding hot.
"Sister Yan Yan... is there something wrong with this broth?" He looked up, his voice hoarse.
Then he froze.
Dugu Yan stood by the table, her cheeks flushed, her breathing quick, her eyes hazy.
She was looking at him, too.
Their eyes met.
At that moment, the two of them were—
one a troublemaker, the other a goofball.
And so, on that quiet, late-night evening, they had themselves some Wutao Thick Tea.
That night, the medicine spread like wildfire across the plains, burning their reason to ashes.
There was no stopping, no catching their breath.
From the moon climbing above the willow branches until dawn broke in the east, their reckless night lasted until morning.
Lin Jiang slept through the entire day.
Outside the window, night had fallen again.
He blinked awake, dazed, and felt completely refreshed, as if he'd spent the whole day soaking in a hot spring.
Beside him, Dugu Yan slept peacefully, her face rosy and her breathing even.
Her blue-green hair was spread across the pillow, and a contented smile lingered on her lips.
Lin Jiang sensed the Soul Power in his body.
"Gasp..."
He sucked in a sharp breath.
His Soul Power flowed with incredible ease, like a river choked for years that had suddenly burst free, surging without end.
The bottleneck at level thirty-nine had loosened.
Level forty was right before him!
"Is this the 1,000% boost to cultivation speed from dual cultivation?!"
Lin Jiang's eyes widened in shock.
That was ridiculously powerful!
He lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling and sinking into thought.
Dual cultivation made him stronger.
He turned over and contentedly closed his eyes.
"Looks like I'll have to do this more often..."
"I get to have fun and don't have to work hard at cultivation~"
"Perfect."
Beside him, Dugu Yan rolled over and snuggled against him.
Lin Jiang stiffened.
All right, then.
He'd lie here a little longer.
Outside Heaven Dou City, at the stone pavilion.
The sky had grown completely dark.
A solitary lamp flickered in the pavilion.
Xue Qinghe still sat at the stone table, staring at the chessboard before her.
The black piece hadn't been played today.
Her fingers tapped lightly on the tabletop, her brows faintly furrowed.
Strange.
The black piece was played every day. Why had it suddenly stopped today?
Had something happened?
Outside the pavilion, Porcupinefish Douluo yawned and muttered under his breath:
"Who's been playing black here every day? The young master's been distracted by it day after day."
Snake Lance Douluo glanced at him but said nothing.
They could both tell that their young master had become more and more invested in the person playing chess lately.
Every day, she came to the pavilion and stared blankly at the board.
Today, the other person hadn't shown up, and she'd already been sitting there for three hours.
Qian Renxue stood.
"I'll come back tomorrow."
She walked out of the pavilion, her voice calm, though a trace of worry lingered in her eyes.
Porcupinefish Douluo rolled up his sleeves. "If I catch whoever's been playing black, I'll make sure he pays!"
Qian Renxue turned and gave him a cold look.
Porcupinefish Douluo shrank his neck and hurriedly shut his mouth.
Snake Lance Douluo took the chance to speak. "Why not invite him to the East Palace? Then the young master won't have to come all the way here every day."
Qian Renxue ignored them.
She lifted her gaze toward the distant night and murmured softly to herself.
"What exactly... happened to you?"
The next day, just as dawn began to break,
Qian Renxue arrived at the stone pavilion with Snake Lance Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo.
She sat at the stone table, her gaze fixed on the chessboard.
The black piece still hadn't moved.
It hadn't yesterday, and it hadn't today.
An hour passed.
Then two.
Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the trees, falling on the empty chessboard.
Qian Renxue tapped her fingers lightly on the table, her brows drawing tighter and tighter.
Outside the pavilion, Porcupinefish Douluo yawned and looked around, bored out of his mind.
Just then—
A young man appeared in the distance, carrying a bamboo basket on his back and a fishing rod in his hand as he ambled over.
It was Lin Jiang.
He made his way to the stream with practiced ease. This was his usual fishing spot.
He set down his basket, baited the hook, cast his line into the stream, then propped the rod on a Y-shaped tree branch and sat on a rock, happily waiting for a fish to bite.
Porcupinefish Douluo noticed him.
He looked the boy up and down. He seemed about ten years old, carried a bamboo basket, and was clearly a villager from nearby.
"Where'd this brat come from?" Porcupinefish Douluo strode over and waved him away. "If you want to fish, go somewhere else!"
He didn't want some country bumpkin disturbing the young master's peace and quiet.
Lin Jiang looked up at him. "Hm? What gives you the right to tell me to go somewhere else?"
Snake Lance Douluo walked over as well. He glanced at Lin Jiang and shook his head. "So he's just a boy. Looks like he's not the one who's been playing black."
Before you continue