Zhou You had just logged into his Cultivation Forum account when two notifications popped up.
Your friend Ji Sen (Bamboo Shoots with Pork) has gifted you 15 Spirit Jade. A stranger (I Won't Recruit) has gifted you 5 Spirit Jade.
Zhou You blinked. The first was fine-it was payment for helping Ji Sen. But where had the second come from? Had some kind soul taken pity on how poor he was and tossed him five bucks?
Then Zhou You remembered. "I Won't Recruit" had posted asking for help with body-refining methods, and he had replied with the Mosquito Body-Refining Method.
"Looks like it helped him." Zhou You felt immensely pleased. He had earned these five Spirit Jade with his knowledge. That was a whole different matter from completing an ordinary bounty.
Looking at his balance of twenty-two Spirit Jade, Zhou You immediately went to the Heavenly Market and ordered two Spirit Stones.
He ran into a slight problem while placing the order.
"Would you like discreet delivery?" Zhou You was puzzled. Buying Spirit Stones wasn't illegal. Did that really need discreet delivery?
Then he noticed the note below: If you live with your family and they do not know you are cultivating, please select discreet delivery.
"So I need to choose discreet delivery?"
Following the instructions, Zhou You checked the discreet delivery option, curious to see just how discreet it would be. He filled in his address, specifying not only his room number but even which room he occupied.
His balance was back down to a lonely two Spirit Jade.
"Might as well buy a couple of books and learn more about the Cultivation World." Zhou You remembered that books in the Heavenly Market were cheap-one Spirit Jade each.
With his balance emptied, Zhou You continued window-shopping in the Heavenly Market.
"Qi Refining Stage mosquitoes. Item description: Foundation Establishment Mosquito Byproduct."
"Huh? What kind of bizarre item is this?" Zhou You shook his head. These cultivators certainly had some wild ideas, raising mosquitoes to the Qi Refining Stage. They were even in the same realm as him.
After window-shopping in the Heavenly Market for quite a while, Zhou You's eyes hurt from the prices listed at the bottom right of every item. He stopped looking.
"I'll read some posts instead."
Bounty post: Who gave the elder this idea? Now I can't even beat a mosquito!
The poster poured out their grievances on the forum.
"Seriously, are they out of their minds? The Punishment Hall elder got an idea from somewhere and brought in a bunch of mosquitoes with cultivation. Originally, they were used to interrogate prisoners. Their bites itch like crazy, and no ointment helps. They worked great for interrogations."
"Then the Punishment Hall elder decided that us sect disciples had been living too comfortably lately and slacking off in our cultivation. He proposed releasing some cultivated mosquitoes in the mountains, saying it would spur us to cultivate. Only when we reached a higher realm than the mosquitoes would they be unable to bite through our skin."
"And the Sect Leader actually agreed to this [expletive] idea."
"I got bitten by mosquitoes when I was a mortal. Why am I still getting bitten now that I'm a cultivator?!"
"We sect disciples discussed it and pooled our money to offer a bounty of 200 Spirit Jade. We want to know who gave the elder this idea!"
Zhou You leaned back slightly. He could feel the towering resentment through the screen.
Zhou You had a pretty good idea who had given the Punishment Hall elder that suggestion.
Although those two hundred Spirit Jade were terribly tempting-it would take eating twenty poverty ghosts to earn that much-his life was still worth more.
"Forget it. I'm not turning myself in."
The post became a hot topic on the forum. What everyone cared about most wasn't the poster's safety, but whether the mosquitoes might escape.
Someone from the same sect explained, "They won't. Our sect has a Mountain-Protecting Formation. We can't get out, and neither can the mosquitoes."
That put everyone at ease.
And so a huge crowd arrived to enjoy the spectacle.
Zhou You read the post twice, feeling that something about it was awfully familiar.
Then it hit him. "The poster's called Nuomi Three Meals a Day? Isn't that Su Tingxue's account?"
Had this happened at Dragon-Tiger Mountain?
That didn't make sense. Su Tingxue had been staying at school and hadn't returned to Dragon-Tiger Mountain. Where would all that resentment have come from?
Zhou You forwarded the post's link to Su Tingxue. "Is this happening at your Dragon-Tiger Mountain?"
Before long, Su Tingxue replied, "It's Kunlun Mountain. A Kunlun Mountain disciple wanted to post a complaint but was worried the higher-ups would use their access privileges to find out who posted it, so they borrowed my account."
Zhou You: "I see."
Zhou You breathed a sigh of relief. If Dragon-Tiger Mountain had suffered this calamity, he would have felt guilty.
As for Kunlun Mountain, he didn't know them.
Su Tingxue: "Speaking of which, I should thank you. That fellow cultivator from Kunlun Mountain paid me Spirit Jade to borrow my account. I couldn't have earned that money without you. Want half?"
Cold sweat broke out on Zhou You as he read that.
I'm screwed. How did Su Tingxue figure out I was the one who suggested it?
Zhou You: "I'm kowtowing here. Please spare me. Keep that half as hush money. Don't tell them it was my idea."
Su Tingxue: "So it really was you. I was just bluffing."
Zhou You: "..."
In her villa, Su Tingxue lounged on a beanbag chair. Looking at the string of dots Zhou You had sent, she couldn't help laughing.
"That's enough rest. Back to practicing talismans."
Su Tingxue rose from the chair. The walls, the table, the bed... talismans covered the room, the fruits of her tireless practice day and night. She had used up an entire box of yellow paper sent from Dragon-Tiger Mountain.
"Ah-time for bed."
Drawing on his formidable willpower, Zhou You told himself to stop browsing the forum and go to sleep on time, or he wouldn't be able to get up the next day. He finally fell asleep at half past midnight.
Bang, bang, bang...
An incessant, irritating noise rang in Zhou You's ears like some demonic sound. His brows knitted tightly, and he writhed miserably in bed like a cobra moving to the noise.
What's that sound? My alarm doesn't sound like that...
His thoughts a jumble, Zhou You fought through his sleepiness and forced his eyes open. Then he saw a human-shaped shadow outlined against the curtains. Trembling, he pulled them aside. A huge figure loomed against the window, ghostlike in the moonlight, instantly scaring him wide awake.
This was the sixth floor!
"Fellow cultivator, open the window. I'm here with your delivery," the figure said quietly, the words muffled by the glass.
Now Zhou You could see clearly. A cultivator using Sword Flight was knocking on his window.
A delivery?
Puzzled, Zhou You opened the window, and the man flashed a brilliant smile.
"Good evening, fellow cultivator. Discreet delivery. Here's your order."
As he spoke, he handed over a cardboard box.
Zhou You checked the time on his phone. The screen's brightness stung his eyes.
Half past three in the morning.
"This is what you call discreet delivery?" Zhou You finally understood, his tone distinctly unfriendly.
The man smiled brightly and explained, "It seems this is your first time choosing our discreet delivery service, fellow cultivator. Delivering it straight into your hands at this hour guarantees your family won't notice. Isn't that discreet enough?"
Zhou You: "...Fine."
Early the next morning, Zhou You headed to school, yawning nonstop. He happened to run into Su Tingxue as she entered the school.
Su Tingxue looked puzzled. Could a cultivator really get this sleepy? Weren't cultivators supposed to be full of energy?
"What were you doing last night?"
Su Tingxue worried that her teasing the night before had made Zhou You think she would inform on him to Kunlun Mountain, costing him a good night's sleep.
"Don't worry. I won't spill your secret."
Zhou You explained between yawns, "I bought two Spirit Stones yesterday and chose discreet delivery."
Su Tingxue understood as soon as he began. "Just come to me when you want to buy Spirit Stones. Why choose discreet delivery? It's such a hassle. I have plenty of Spirit Stones here. I'll sell them to you at the regular price."
"Thanks, then," Zhou You said gratefully. He had been worrying about how to buy Spirit Stones in the future. Was he supposed to keep choosing discreet delivery and getting packages at half past three in the morning?
It was sheer torture.
Su Tingxue had really done him a huge favor.
Wei Hang walked past them, catching only fragments of their conversation.
"...Chose discreet delivery..."
"...Just come to me. Why choose discreet delivery..."
"Huh?" Wei Hang turned back in astonishment, giving the two a peculiar look. Are you two even closer than I thought?
He silently resolved that, although he was president of the School Newspaper Club, he still had his principles. He wouldn't spread something like this around. It was enough that he alone knew.
Hidden on the rooftop, the Red King surveyed the entire school, keeping track of everything. He instructed the Mind Master.
"Remember to hypnotize that boy named Wei Hang every day and gather information."
Before you continue