If a Companion Beast Contract could change fortune, then after I contracted the Golden Egg, would my own fortune improve too?
As soon as the question occurred to him, Chen Beiwu could hardly wait to go home and enter the Nine-Breath Chaos Land to investigate, to see whether the fortune drifting through Chaos Heaven and Earth had improved.
"What are you thinking about?"
Seeing Chen Beiwu standing there in a daze, Xu Ziqing couldn't help raising her fair hand and waving it in front of him.
"I was thinking about something happy." Chen Beiwu smiled and began changing the subject. "Where's Director Lin?"
"He's probably accompanying Senior Lin Yi while he picks out a Companion Beast."
Xu Ziqing casually stroked the Scarlet Flame Fox's head and warmly invited him, "It's rare to come to the Spirit Beast Pavilion. Want to look around together?"
"I have something to take care of, so I need to head back early," Chen Beiwu said tactfully. "Sorry for the trouble, but could you tell Director Lin for me?"
Xu Ziqing was slightly taken aback, at a loss for words.
Was she some kind of prehistoric beast?
Why did Chen Beiwu want to leave as soon as she showed up?
"All right." Xu Ziqing nodded and watched Chen Beiwu thank her before leaving.
Sun Yajing raised her delicate brows. Her sweet face now looked a little lecherous. "What's going on? You still haven't won him over?"
"That's my personal business. It has nothing to do with you, Senior Sister."
As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Ziqing turned and left too, paying no heed to Sun Yajing's status as her senior.
"What's wrong with a little gossip?" Sun Yajing muttered under her breath, like a melon-snatching field mouse who couldn't get her paws on any gossip.
Meanwhile, Chen Beiwu hadn't even left the Spirit Beast Pavilion's main hall when he ran into Senior Lin Yi, who could barely hide his delight.
"Junior Brother Chen, what are you-?"
Hearing him, Chen Beiwu stopped and greeted him politely.
"I just finished contracting a Companion Beast. Junior Brother, would you be interested in sparring with my Flower Spirit Butterfly?" Lin Yi took the initiative to ask.
At that, Chen Beiwu gave him a long look.
Senior Lin Yi had liked Xu Ziqing for years. Pretty much everyone in the high school division at Shouhe No. 2 Middle School knew it.
What sparring?
The other man was clearly dissatisfied and planned to vent his resentment under the pretext of a spar.
Would Chen Beiwu give him that chance?
Of course not!
A gentleman could be taken advantage of through his principles; a petty man feared force, not virtue.
Senior Lin Yi was the former. Chen Beiwu could refuse to spar without any problem, and the other man probably wouldn't keep pestering him.
But when dealing with petty men who liked to stir up trouble, Chen Beiwu needed to hit hard and use his strength to show them who was boss, beating them until they didn't dare provoke him.
"Senior, I have something urgent to take care of. How about next time?"
Chen Beiwu waved and walked out of the Spirit Beast Pavilion on his own.
Watching Chen Beiwu disappear from sight, Lin Yi felt a lump of pent-up frustration clog his throat.
Seeing him in person was different from hearing about him. He had wanted to test what this student from Shouhe No. 2 Middle School could do, but this outstanding, talented junior wouldn't take the bait.
"Fellow Daoist, please wait." Another voice rang out.
Chen Beiwu frowned, stopped, and looked toward the speaker. It was Guan Ange, whom he had met once at the bottom of Four Seas Lake.
A small Darkwater Spirit Turtle was perched on his shoulder.
Chen Beiwu went through the proper courtesies, greeted him, and congratulated him on getting what he wanted.
Guan Ange smiled. "May I ask you a question, if I'm not being too presumptuous-"
"No. I have something urgent to take care of." Chen Beiwu's tone was calm, and he kept walking.
Guan Ange was slightly taken aback, then caught up and got straight to the point. "Going it alone isn't a long-term plan. The Guan Household is recruiting Rogue Cultivators. Would you be interested?"
At that, Chen Beiwu stopped and looked at him in surprise. "Does the Guan Household take Qi Refining cultivators as attendants too?"
"???"
Although Guan Ange was a second-generation cultivator, he was also a clever man.
Chen Beiwu's question seemed mild, and was hardly aggressive, but it revealed his pride and ambition.
The Fallen Dragon Guan Household might only have influence in one prefecture, but it was still a Golden Core Aristocratic Clan known throughout the prefecture. Any cultivator invited to serve as an attendant would have to be at least a Foundation Establishment Rogue.
Chen Beiwu's meaning was plain: if Guan Ange couldn't offer him the treatment due to an attendant, he wouldn't even consider joining.
How could an ordinary cultivator at the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining be so confident? Guan Ange frowned, but because of Chen Beiwu's performance at the bottom of Four Seas Lake, he forced down his irritation.
He wasn't afraid of a talented person being proud. He was afraid of someone with little ability putting on airs.
Chen Beiwu had managed to trade a Variant Golden Scale from the Variant Spirit Turtle, which showed that he was quick-witted and skilled at cooking.
After all, there had been many cultivators at the bottom of Four Seas Lake, but Chen Beiwu was the only one who had keenly noticed the Variant Spirit Turtle's fondness for good food and successfully guided things step by step.
Everyone knew the Golden Scale's weaknesses. A clever cultivator like Chen Beiwu wouldn't have entered into a Companion Beast Contract without being certain of his chances.
With that thought, Guan Ange took out a business card and held it out, extending his invitation another way.
"I recently opened a private restaurant called Immortal Flavor Pavilion, and I need a chef who can cook Spirit Fish. You'd only need to work two hours a day, so it wouldn't interfere with your cultivation. The monthly salary during the trial period is fifty Spirit Origins; after you pass, it'll be one hundred a month."
Chen Beiwu took the card and looked at him in surprise.
What did a monthly salary of one hundred Spirit Origins after the trial period mean?
Just in terms of income, working at Immortal Flavor Pavilion for one month would earn him as much as both his parents made together in seven months.
"I'll save you a place. Give it some thought." Guan Ange waved and turned to leave.
Who you worked for didn't matter.
A hundred Spirit Stones a month wasn't a lot, but it wasn't a little either.
That amount might not even be a fraction of his pocket money, but to a Rogue Cultivator, it was a rare, high-paying job. Given Chen Beiwu's family circumstances, he probably wouldn't turn it down.
If Chen Beiwu managed to make a name for himself and enter one of the Thirteen Immortal Sects, Guan Ange would be praised by the elders of his clan for his discerning eye and for having extended a helping hand when Chen Beiwu needed it.
If Chen Beiwu failed to rise and couldn't even get into one of the Seventy-Nine Upper Sects, Guan Ange still wouldn't lose out. He would have found a good chef for his private restaurant.
After all, the other man's cooking was good enough to win over a Variant Spirit Turtle.
In short, he had casually left behind an idle piece. Whatever Chen Beiwu achieved in the future, Guan Ange was sure he would come out ahead. The only question was how much he would gain.
An hour later.
The Bixi Train arrived at Pingchen Township Station.
As soon as Chen Beiwu got off, he used Wind Manipulation and hurried home, unable to wait.
He pushed open the front door and saw his dad lying on the sofa. A fragrant smell drifted from the kitchen.
Iron Egg had also shed his lazy ways and excitedly ran up to Chen Beiwu.
"Woof?"
Iron Egg's nose twitched. He widened his dog eyes and stared at Chen Beiwu in disbelief.
They'd only been apart for a few days, but he could smell the stench of Water-Attribute Spirit Beasts all over his master.
"So soon?" Chen Dong stood up in surprise and asked curiously, "What Companion Beast did you choose?"
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