An unexpected invitation

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Chapter 46: An unexpected invitation

If contracting a companion beast could change my luck, would my own luck improve after I contracted Golden Egg?

The moment that question crossed his mind, Chen Beiwu could hardly wait to get home and enter the Nine-Breath Chaos Land to investigate, to see whether the luck drifting through that chaotic world had increased.

"What are you thinking about?"

Seeing Chen Beiwu standing there in a daze, Xu Ziqing could not help waving her fair hand in front of him.

"Something that made me happy." Chen Beiwu smiled and changed the subject. "Where's Director Lin?"

"He probably went with Senior Lin Yi to pick out a companion spirit beast."

Xu Ziqing stroked the Scarlet Flame Fox's head and warmly invited him, "We don't get to visit the Spirit Beast Pavilion often. 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 let Director Lin know?"

Xu Ziqing froze for a moment, at a loss for words.

Was she some ferocious beast from the primordial wilderness?

Why did Chen Beiwu want to leave as soon as she arrived?

"All right." Xu Ziqing nodded and watched Chen Beiwu thank her and leave.

Sun Yajing arched her delicate brows. Her sweet face actually looked a little sleazy now. "What's going on? You still haven't snagged him?"

"That's my private business. It has nothing to do with you, Senior."

With that, Xu Ziqing turned and left too, showing no regard for Sun Yajing's status as her senior.

"What's wrong with a little gossip?" Sun Yajing muttered, like a zha badger that could not get its paws on a melon.

Meanwhile, before Chen Beiwu could leave the Spirit Beast Pavilion's main hall, he ran into Senior Lin Yi, who could barely contain his delight.

"Junior Chen, are you...?"

Hearing his voice, Chen Beiwu stopped and greeted him politely.

"I just contracted my companion beast. Interested in sparring with my Flower Spirit Butterfly, Junior?" Lin Yi offered.

Chen Beiwu gave him a long look.

Senior Lin Yi had liked Xu Ziqing for more than a year or two. Almost everyone in the high school division of Shouhe No. 2 Middle School knew about it.

Sparring?

He clearly couldn't swallow his resentment and wanted to vent it under the guise of a spar.

Would Chen Beiwu give him that opportunity?

Of course not!

A gentleman could be deceived through his principles; a petty man feared might, not virtue.

Senior Lin Yi happened to belong to the former category. Refusing the spar would cause no trouble, and he probably would not keep pestering him.

As for petty men who liked stirring up trouble, Chen Beiwu needed to strike hard, using his strength to show them who was boss and beating them until they dared not provoke him.

"Senior, I have something urgent to do. Maybe next time."

Chen Beiwu waved and walked straight out of the Spirit Beast Pavilion.

Watching Chen Beiwu's departing figure disappear, Lin Yi felt a breath of frustration lodge in his throat.

Hearing about someone was no substitute for meeting them. He had wanted to test this student from Shouhe No. 2 Middle School, only to find that the exceptionally talented junior would not take the bait at all.

"Fellow Daoist, please wait." Another voice rang out.

Chen Beiwu frowned and stopped, turning toward the newcomer. It was Guan Ange, whom he had met once at the bottom of Four Seas Lake.

A small Darkwater Spirit Turtle lay on his shoulder.

Chen Beiwu observed all the proper courtesies, greeting him and congratulating him on getting what he wanted.

Guan Ange smiled. "May I ask you a rather presumptuous question...?"

"No. I have something urgent to do." Chen Beiwu's tone was calm, and he kept walking.

Guan Ange froze briefly, then caught up and went straight to the point. "Going it alone isn't a long-term solution. The Guan Household has been recruiting rogue cultivators lately. Would you be interested?"

At that, Chen Beiwu paused and looked at him in surprise. "The Guan Household accepts 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 almost entirely devoid of aggression, but it actually revealed his lofty pride and ambitions.

Although the Fallen Dragon Guan Household's influence extended over only one prefecture, it was still a Golden Core Aristocratic Clan known throughout that prefecture. A cultivator invited to serve as an attendant of the Guan Household had to be at least a Foundation Establishment Rogue Person.

Chen Beiwu's meaning was clear: unless Guan Ange could offer him treatment on par with an attendant's, he would not even consider joining.

How could a mere mortal cultivator at the seventh layer of Qi Refining dare to be so confident? Guan Ange frowned, but remembering Chen Beiwu's earlier performance at the bottom of Four Seas Lake, he forcibly suppressed his irritation.

He was not afraid of geniuses with lofty pride. What he feared were people with little ability who insisted on putting on airs.

Chen Beiwu had managed to trade for a variant Golden Scale from the Variant Spirit Turtle, proving both his quick wits and his exceptional cooking skills.

After all, there had been many cultivators at the bottom of Four Seas Lake that day.

Yet Chen Beiwu alone had keenly noticed the Variant Spirit Turtle's love of good food and guided matters toward success step by step.

And everyone knew the Golden Scale's shortcomings. How could a clever cultivator like Chen Beiwu have entered a companion beast contract without hesitation unless he was confident?

With that in mind, Guan Ange took out a business card and offered it to him, extending his invitation in another form.

"I recently opened a private restaurant called the Immortal Flavor Pavilion. I need a chef who knows how to cook spirit fish. You'd only work four hours a day, so it wouldn't interfere with your cultivation. The monthly salary during probation is fifty Spirit Origin, rising to a hundred Spirit Origin once you pass."

Chen Beiwu took the card and looked at him in surprise.

What did a monthly salary of a hundred Spirit Origin after probation mean?

In terms of income alone, one month working at the Immortal Flavor Pavilion would equal seven months of both his parents working together.

"I'll keep the position open for you. Think it over." Guan Ange waved and turned to leave.

Work was work, no matter who you worked for.

A monthly salary of a hundred spirit stones was neither enormous nor insignificant.

To him, that sum might not even amount to 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 would not refuse.

If Chen Beiwu eventually made a name for himself and gained admission to the Thirteen Immortal Sects, Guan Ange would have demonstrated a discerning eye for talent, earning his clan elders' praise for sending charcoal in the snow.

If Chen Beiwu failed to rise and could not even get into the Seventy-Nine Upper Sect, Guan Ange would still lose nothing. He would simply have found a good chef for his private restaurant.

After all, Chen Beiwu's cooking was good enough to move even a Variant Spirit Turtle.

In short, he had casually placed a spare piece on the board. Whatever Chen Beiwu achieved in the future, Guan Ange was confident he could only profit, never lose. 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 any longer.

Pushing open the front door, he saw his father lying on the sofa, while a delicious aroma drifted from the kitchen.

Iron Egg abandoned his usual laziness too, bounding excitedly up to Chen Beiwu.

"Woof?"

Iron Egg's nose twitched. His canine eyes widened as he stared at Chen Beiwu in disbelief.

They had only been apart for a few days, yet he found his master reeking all over of water-attribute spirit beasts.

"That was quick." Chen Dong rose in surprise and asked curiously, "What companion beast did you choose?"

(End of chapter)