Senior Sister Lü's mouth was full of filthy innuendo, and Chen Yu had no idea which of her words were true.
When she had introduced the "Happy and Carefree" service earlier, she had mentioned some organization and said its founder was Han Feng, who ranked among the top five on the Outer Sect Genius Ranking.
Later, when he said he wanted to challenge the Outer Sect Genius Ranking, she had offered to introduce him to Han Feng.
And now,
she was suggesting he join the "Heavenly Union Association."
Even she was preparing for its exam for the sixth time, saying she hoped to finally make it ashore.
Which raised a question.
If even she was still preparing for the Heavenly Union Association's exam, what was that organization she had mentioned earlier? If it didn't exist, what was her relationship with Han Feng? What made her so confident she could introduce Chen Yu to him? Or had everything been a lie?
Recalling the three abrupt changes in her demeanor last night, as though she were switching masks, Chen Yu found this Senior Sister increasingly unfathomable.
Still, the Heavenly Union Association should be trustworthy.
After all, even the old man at the Scripture Repository specifically mentioned it. If joining really could help me shake off those troublesome people and learn about the Outer Sect Genius Ranking, it wouldn't be a bad option.
Not knowing what things were like outside his house now, Chen Yu was in no hurry to return.
He wandered around, stocked up on all the everyday necessities he would need, and rested for a while at the Emerald Cloud Inn. Only when evening came did he return to his residence, carrying a heap of things.
Those people were still surrounding his house.
At the door,
under the tree nearby,
beside the steps,
people were sitting everywhere.
When the disciples saw Chen Yu walking back from outside, they all froze. With so many pairs of eyes watching, none of them had noticed when he left his room. Still, when their junior brother had left wasn't important. What mattered was getting a chance to talk to him.
Like ravenous wolves spotting a lone chicken wrap, everyone sprang to their feet at once.
Wearing ingratiating smiles, practically drooling...
they walked toward Chen Yu.
"Little brother~"
"Junior brother, oh, junior brother! Your senior brother has been waiting here for you for sooo long!"
"My dear junior brother, care to learn about the Emerald Cloud Points Association? Invest 100 points and you can earn one point in interest every month! The Emerald Cloud Points Association guarantees its credibility. Leave your points with us, and all you have to do is sit back and collect the interest!"
"..."
Chen Yu looked at them.
Clutching his belongings tightly, he walked toward his room and answered them one by one:
"Hello, Auntie."
"Senior brother... I don't have a Male-Male Preference."
"I'm open to investing, but could you give me a few points first, senior brother, so I can see how well-funded you are?"
"..."
[Article 534 of the Code of Conduct Manual stipulates that when one disciple greets or asks a question of another disciple of the same rank, the other disciple must respond politely. Failure to do so constitutes a violation.]
Most of the people willing to blockade his front door were no saints. He couldn't give them a chance to catch him violating the rules.
As Chen Yu replied politely, he circulated the spiritual energy inside him and squeezed forward.
At last, he pushed the door open.
Fortunately, it opened inward. If it had opened outward, there was no telling whether he would have made it home today.
Before entering, he saw that his next-door neighbor's door and windows were still tightly shut. Chen Yu also noticed a small detail: whenever the people surrounding him approached that side, their voices automatically dropped several decibels.
Bang-
He shut the door.
At last, his ears had some peace.
Outside.
Seeing the door close again, the smiles on everyone's faces instantly froze. Then they swiftly dispersed like a receding tide and sat down around Chen Yu's house, expressionless.
They were all people driven into a dead end by points loans.
They had nowhere to live,
and could barely afford food.
Since they would be sleeping wherever they ended up anyway, they might as well sleep here.
Perhaps, if they annoyed their junior brother enough, he might spare them even a single point to make them leave. One point could buy a month's worth of filling meals at the dining hall.
Inside.
Chen Yu quietly opened his window a crack. Seeing the people sitting or lying around outside, he frowned.
He gently closed the window.
Why do I feel like I'm the deadbeat debtor here?
Was this right?
Chen Yu took a deep breath.
The Dao Sect forbade disciples from getting into any conflicts, so driving these people away by showing off his stats was impossible. They knew he wouldn't dare attack them. In fact, if he really did, that would be even better for them. They could simply lie on the ground and play dead, perhaps extorting a huge sum of points.
Talking them into leaving was out of the question.
As for giving each of them a point to send them away...
Why should I?
I worked hard for these points too.
He recognized several faces among the people outside. For instance, they had stood by watching the commotion during both of his entries into the immortal vestige last night. Burdened with loans, they still hadn't been willing to seize an opportunity and risk their lives even once. Instead, they only dared to blockade the home of someone who had risked his life. What right did people like that have to sympathy or handouts?
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
Chen Yu looked around the room.
A pot,
water,
the half-packet of chili peppers left over from his earlier cultivation.
The tattered clothes he had changed out of yesterday, which were still in the trash bin.
Some kitchen scraps.
The assorted things he had just brought back.
A ruthless gleam flashed in Chen Yu's eyes!
The stars shifted in their courses.
The sky
gradually darkened.
The people outside showed no intention of leaving.
They sat cross-legged where they were, cultivating their techniques.
Suddenly!
At that very moment,
a strange smell burrowed into their nostrils.
No one knew where it came from. It carried a whole assortment of odors... spicy, sour, rancid, sweet, fishy... along with the acrid stench of fabric burning without fully combusting.
All brutally mashed together!
In the end, they fused into an indescribable, ultimate horror.
"Who the hell took a shit?"
"What the fuck is that smell?"
"Can you show some civic decency?! This is a public
space!"
"Huh? Pissing and shitting wherever you please? Interesting. Now I'm really going to nail someone for a violation!"
Some frowned and covered their noses.
Others stood up, fighting nausea and the urge to vomit as they sniffed around.
Finally,
"Over here!"
"This smell... urgh, it's coming from... urgh... inside the room!"
"..."
"..."
"...Urgh!"
The smell was coming from inside the house, so there was no violation to catch. As the horrifying stench beyond human comprehension grew thicker and thicker,
most of them couldn't take it anymore and retreated.
A few still held on.
But,
just then,
the door suddenly opened a crack.
Thinking their junior brother was coming out, those still holding on fought their nausea and hurried to their feet.
But they saw no one.
Whoosh-
A brilliant light suddenly burst forth!
"???"
"Am I blind?"
One of them finally realized Chen Yu had done all of this on purpose, and anger welled up inside him.
His vision had yet to recover as he indignantly addressed a tree:
"Junior brother... urgh, even if you don't welcome us... urgh! There's no need to... urgh... go this far!"
With that,
he turned to leave.
Bang-
He walked into a tree.
That finally restored his vision.
Clutching his head, the last person finally left as well...