Shu Chen glanced at the senior brother lying on the ground truly unfortunate.
Urged on by the puppet’s prompting, Shu Chen walked toward the pond, his hand hidden within his sleeve casting a spell discreetly, yet nothing changed at the scene.
The things within the temple were not subject to his spell’s control, and the stagnant water in the pond could not be stirred into waves.
In the end, he still had to go into the water.
Thanks to his original body, Shu Chen moved agilely underwater and soon found a jade pendant affixed with a talisman.
Holding the jade pendant in his hand, the more he looked at it, the stranger it seemed.
The system, which he had angered earlier, coughed inexplicably not like it was ill, but rather as if it had something to say yet was sulking, hoping out of pride that someone would take the initiative to ask.
Such a thought flashed through Shu Chen’s mind, so he took the opportunity presented by the system’s cue and asked, “What do you want to say?”
[Actually, I’m not entirely sure either, but you seemed to have just broken through some kind of barrier.]
Shu Chen: What a clever barrier I didn’t sense it at all.
[Next time, find a more reliable companion. This is just too unlucky.]
Shu Chen: “Don’t be so demanding of someone who volunteered to help.”
[Then do you think he was of any help?] The system’s tone carried disdain, with a hint of sowing discord.
[Even if you forcibly dragged the male lead here, he’d be more useful than this guy.]
If this traitorous system said a few more words, its fox tail would be exposed. Shu Chen copied the talisman’s pattern and replied casually, “Forget it. He’s avoiding me as it is.”
[You’ve never tried, so how do you know he wouldn’t be willing?] The system was still trying to convince him, but unfortunately, it was of no use.
Back on shore, Shu Chen noticed that the puppet, as a kidnapper, actually adhered to the rules of the jianghu Qin Yu’an was exactly as he had been when Shu Chen went into the water. He couldn’t help but, think a bit more highly of it.
Handing the jade pendant to the puppet and politely declining its invitation to stay, Shu Chen left that eerie place without even drying the water off his clothes, dragging his senior brother along.
The moment they stepped out of the temple gates, Qin Yu’an suddenly woke up as if he had taken a miraculous elixir, full of vigor as he jumped down from his junior brother’s hold. He looked back at the temple in confusion and asked, “What just happened? Did you deal with the puppet?”
Shu Chen drew his spirit sword and said succinctly, “Helped it with a small favor and traded you back from it. Didn’t deal with it I can’t beat it.”
Seeing that Qin Yu’an seemed to have something to say, Shu Chen pointed behind him. “Senior Brother, get on. It’s getting late; we should hurry on our way.”
Qin Yu’an instinctively said, “It’s fine. I’ll just find some random place to sleep, or I can skip sleeping altogether.”
Shu Chen gave him a faint smile. “It’s me who doesn’t want to sleep outside.”
Hearing this, Qin Yu’an felt so guilty that he forgot what he was about to ask. This junior brother was clearly not the carefree type like him. He quickly jumped onto the spirit sword, then suddenly seemed to think of something and placed a hand on Shu Chen’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Junior Brother. No one else will know we used flying swords in the mortal realm.”
Shu Chen glanced sideways at the hand on his shoulder and said in a calm voice, “Senior Brother, hold steady.”
Qin Yu’an didn’t take the warning to heart and was busy rummaging through his map to help navigate. But before he could even open the map, he nearly got blown off the flying sword by the oncoming wind.
Shu Chen steadied his disheveled senior brother and explained, “As long as we fly high enough and fast enough, people below won’t be able to tell what it is.”
Qin Yu’an felt something was off, but on second thought, the junior brother’s reasoning made some sense. “Oh, okay wait, what’s that sound?”
He turned his head in shock, looking back at the temple behind them.
Shu Chen also looked back, a hint of confusion on his face. “A sound? I didn’t hear anything.”
Qin Yu’an rubbed his ear and said hesitantly, “Maybe I misheard.”
But that sound whether it existed or not rekindled the curiosity Qin Yu’an had forgotten. “By the way, you said you helped the puppet with a small favor. Did it give you any trouble?”
Under the system’s guidance, Shu Chen was flying in the right direction and was in a good mood. He didn’t intend to take advantage of the situation and answered honestly, “No, actually, it’s a decent person.”
Qin Yu’an pointed behind him in disbelief. “You’re saying it’s a decent person?”
Shu Chen thought about how this senior brother had been crushed and retaliated against by the puppet, so it was understandable that he didn’t believe it. But he didn’t want to explain further. “Mm, it really didn’t give me any trouble.”
Half-hidden, half-revealed let the person involved figure out the rest.
Sure enough, Qin Yu’an seemed to have imagined something, and moved by emotion, he draped an arm around Shu Chen’s shoulder. “No matter what, thank you for getting me out of that cursed place. I know of a hidden, ownerless secret realm. Once this mission is done, I’ll take you there to hunt for treasure as a thank-you.”
Shu Chen: Shouldn’t this be the male lead’s treatment?
The mission location was in the mortal realm, where ordinary people lived. There was a clear treaty of non-interference between the cultivation world and the mortal realm. Though the passage of time had weakened its effect, it still wouldn’t look good for cultivators to be flying around in the other’s territory.
The two of them landed from a distance, making sure they wouldn’t get lost before proceeding on foot.
The closer they got to the city, the more people they passed, and with their keen eyesight, they could see the city’s prosperity from afar.
Qin Yu’an basked in the admiration of those around him and remarked with a sigh, “Rich, huh. No wonder they only send inner disciples.”
The reward for this mission was indeed substantial, but not enough to tempt Shu Chen. Had the system not forced him, he wouldn’t have accepted it.
That flicker of dissatisfaction at being coerced by the system vanished the moment he sensed the male lead’s location.
He could detect the fluctuation of Xiao Nian’s spiritual artifact without even trying to search for it, which meant the male lead was very close by. Shu Chen grew a bit intrigued.
Why did the system always try to deliver the male lead into his hands?
The city guards seemed to know they were coming. After a brief inquiry into their identities, a squad immediately stepped forward to lead them to the prince’s residence.
The sky was darkening, but many merchants along the streets were still doing business. When they saw the prince’s carriage pass by, nearly all of them whispered to those beside them.
Cultivators had sharp ears and keen eyes, and Shu Chen, sitting in the carriage, heard every word clearly.
“Another distinguished guest for the prince’s residence?”
“I saw them at the city gate tsk, tsk, with that bearing and that air, they’re definitely immortal masters.”
“Then we’d better keep our voices down. I’ve heard their ears are incredibly sharp.”
“Are the immortal masters here to cure the prince’s illness?”
Shu Chen pulled the carriage curtain tight and silently corrected them in his mind: they were here to exorcise evil and dispel demons.
Curing illness that, he couldn’t do.
“The physicians in town are useless. They still haven’t cured the prince.”
“The prince is a good man. I hope the immortal masters can help him recover soon.”
“My mother went to the temple yesterday to pray for the prince!”
Qin Yu’an leaned close to Shu Chen and said in a low voice, “Your employer has quite a good reputation.”
Shu Chen nodded without speaking.
Indeed, too good.
By the time the carriage was nearing the prince’s residence, lanterns were already needed for light.
Shu Chen lifted a corner of the curtain. Something about the area felt off to him. Just as he was about to investigate, he received a voice transmission from Qin Yu’an.
“Junior brother, this prince’s residence is shrouded in black mist.”
“From what I can tell, it’s the result of someone’s wrongdoing.”
“If we don’t handle this properly, it could be very dangerous.”
The carriage had been crawling along for so long that he was already bored to death. Now, with an expression that said “finally something’s happening,” he teased, “Junior brother, if it came down to it money or justice, which would you choose?”