The peculiar smell suddenly became very authentic.
"Ugh!"
...
Fang Che sat cross-legged, absorbing the medicinal strength.
A quarter of an hour later, Fang Che took a bath in the pool outside the cave.
The Golden Horned Flood Dragon's Soul Body watched the black, stripe-shaped scales that had fallen at the bottom of the pool, its gaze complex.
...
Fang Che finished his work and, to his surprise, found his cultivation had improved by one grade, becoming a Third Grade Samurai.
"This Tianmai red fruit clearly isn't for enhancing cultivation..."
Fang Che sighed. His cultivation was too low; any small benefit could lead to a breakthrough.
It was simply too weak.
But upon checking his aptitude, even he was astonished.
The Infinite Scripture, combined with the Tianmai red fruit, brought out nearly multiple times the effect of the fruit's medicinal power. At least, he could find no fault with it.
"However, with my current supreme aptitude, it should be enough to pique the interest of that envoy Sun Yuan, right? Tsk tsk, a supreme aptitude, and having survived the test of the Five Spirits Gu, a life after calamity... For the Yixin Sect, I'm simply the dream seed player gifted to them by heaven."
...
Fang Che began to disguise the cave.
After all, it had been tampered with by Su Family members.
And with so many spoils of war, he simply couldn't take them with him. This place could not be exposed.
"I really wish I had a Space Ring. It's a pity that I, in this life, don't have such a thing."
Fang Che felt somewhat melancholy: "Even in my previous life, I didn't possess such a thing."
Seeing Fang Che about to leave, the Golden Horned Flood Dragon felt a bit reluctant.
Although it was his mortal enemy who had killed him, it was the first human he could communicate with since becoming a Spiritual Body.
Loneliness had been too long.
"Following me right now would be inconvenient, and entering the city, you'd probably be caught quickly by the Guardians, because a Soul Body is considered heterodox."
Fang Che consoled: "You stay here and cultivate well, and in the meantime, look after our home. Make good use of that spring eye to cultivate, and when you've made progress and your Divine Soul is refined to the point you can hide perfectly, I'll figure out a way to get you a weapon or something to attach to. Then you can follow me."
"You've started to congeal your soul body now, so you must cultivate to the formless stage as quickly as possible."
Fang Che instructed.
Soul body cultivation first transforms from ethereal to solid, being able to manifest, but the next step is becoming formless; only by reverting from a manifest state to a formless state can one be considered as having entered the threshold.
A manifest Soul Body is too easily discovered and dissipated by others. Only by becoming formless can one ensure a bit of safety.
The Golden Horned Flood Dragon rolled happily.
Wow, I have a master again!
And a stronger one than the last!
"Those poisonous insects and whatnot, you can cultivate another batch to guard the home, the more the better. I don't want our lair to be ransacked by others."
The Golden Horned Flood Dragon nodded eagerly: I'll definitely complete the task. That's my original expertise!
...
Fang Che dragged a deer down the mountain.
Its innards had been thoroughly gutted.
Inside was stuffed with his gains from this time. Six Tianmai red fruits, a bag full of Low Grade Spirit Crystals the size of fingernails; a bag of Low-grade Demon Beast Spirit Cores, and golden and silver notes.
Besides that, there was nothing else.
There were High Grade and Middle-grade Spirit Crystals in the cave. He didn't want to take them, firstly because there were too many, and secondly, because the meridians couldn't handle the Innate Spiritual Energy in the Middle High Grade before breaking through to the Innate level.
The same was true of the Demon Beast Spirit Cores.
Taking these things back now would not be a fortune, but a disaster.
It was better to leave them here, anyway, as he could fetch them at any time.
He was always indifferent to these external possessions — even if they were found and stolen by others left here, it would be much better than bringing them back and causing trouble for himself.
...
All the way down the mountain.
As expected.
The horse had indeed vanished without a trace.
"Good luck to you, horse. I don't know if someone ate you."
Fang Che sincerely wished, then he found another suitable victim, well, he stole a horse.
But he still left a silver note of one hundred taels and a note.
"Borrowing the horse for a moment."
...
By the time he returned to Bibo City, it was again the afternoon.
Fang Che rode in on horseback, carrying a deer slung across the saddle, making quite the entrance through the city gates.
"Young Master Fang back from hunting deer? Which mountain's deer is this? It's really fat."
The fat, round gatekeeper, clearly recognizing the young master from the Fang Family, greeted him with a smile.
"Fat?"
Fang Che thoughtfully glanced at the man's belly.
"..."
The gatekeeper looked down at his bulging midriff, hesitated, then decided he didn't want to say anything else.
Scowling, "Pass through!"
Watching Fang Che stride away, the gatekeeper spat out resentfully, "That guy's really freaking annoying!"
...
Returning home, Fang Che entered the Fang Family Courtyard, making his way towards his own small residence.
"Cousin Young Master got a deer? Looks like everyone's in for a treat tonight."
The martial master serving as the family's Guardian beamed, "Haven't seen you these past few days, where were you..."
Before he could finish, Fang Che turned to look at him, "My hunted deer, and you're looking forward to a treat? Who said you could have any?"
The Guardian had said 'we,' but Fang Che was speaking to one individual: you.
Simply because whenever this guy was around, Su Yue could always slip in unnoticed.
The previous incarnation was actually glad to have him around and deliberately indulged him, but the current Fang Che wished he could just run him through with a sword.
The Guardian had wanted to ask where he'd been these days, how worried the family had been... and maybe report his concerns and claim some credit for his diligence.
But after that remark, the man's face turned red, and he was left stuttering, "...this... this..."
Fang Che snorted, "Day after day, thinking about freeloading. Aren't you too old for some shame?!"
Dragging the deer, he marched off into his small courtyard.
Slam.
The door closed behind him.
The Guardian stood outside, gasping for air, feeling like his stomach would explode with rage.
But Fang Che on the other hand felt quite pleased: Ah, there's a benefit to being ill-tempered.
Just let the anger out.
...
Entering the courtyard.
Fang Che quickly moved everything into his room.
Silver and golden bills went right under the pillow; the Spirit Crystals were tossed carelessly on top of the shoe cabinet; the Tianmai red fruit, stored in six little jade boxes, were a bit trickier to handle, so he placed them under a fruit bowl on the table.
Buried with a heap of apples and pears.
The Demon Beast Spirit Core was kept in the cupboard; he could use that to claim a mission from the Guardian Hall of the Shi Family when the opportunity arose.
In any case, don't ask.
Asking meant getting an earful.
Then he changed clothes and began to work on the deer meat, hanging it up in the courtyard, slicing into strips, preparing for a barbecue.
After all, even if just for form's sake, he had to eat some of it.
As he worked, he sighed.
"Having to do all this myself is really... so unfortunate!"
As an outsider related to the Fang Family and the daughter of the family, Fang Che naturally had people waiting on him.
However, both maids were his mother's people, and since his mother was out on a mission, the original body couldn't stand the maids' overcautious and ingratiating preachiness mixed with probing.
He had sent them both home on leave.
"Come back when my mother returns. If you return early, I'll break your legs!"
For the maids, however, this was a huge favor: they could stay at home for a few days.
Now, his mother hadn't returned, and neither had the maids.
So Fang Che had to do everything himself.
And just then.
Suddenly, a voice laced with amusement said, "Would you like this old man to lend you a hand?"
Fang Che turned his head to look.
Well now.
White robe? Gaunt? Pointy face? A mole on the upper lip? A middle-aged man in his forties or fifties?
Isn't this... the envoy from the Yixin Sect that Su Yue mentioned?
...
[Can I ask for a monthly ticket?]