By the stove, Chen Mu held a wooden cup while lying in a rocking chair, the epitome of leisure.
The grunting and coughing sounds of pig rabbits and black sheep occasionally entered his mind.
"This is hardly the noise you’d expect from the Inspection Courtyard."
"Are Lu Ku and the others not working today?"
Chen Mu suddenly realized.
For the past half a month, Lu Ku and his five companions had been busy working non-stop at the Inspection Courtyard, making Chen Mu almost forget that under normal circumstances, Patrolling Inspectors got three days off every month.
Today just happened to be their rest day.
Just as he thought of cutting off the sensory link, Shang Huan’s voice suddenly reached his ears.
Chen Mu’s mouth curved into a slight smile.
"Fatso can’t take it anymore, huh? Serves him right!"Over the past half a month, Chen Mu had performed the Seven Souls Return to Origin on Shang Huan every day.
The drain on his spirit and the resultant depletion of his vitality had caused the fat man to visibly lose a lot of weight.
"Let’s see if you dare to cook up so many schemes in the future!"
If it wasn’t for this guy’s greed for White Jade, risking trade with the East Ridge mountain folks, he wouldn’t have brought this fatal disaster upon himself.
...
To the southwest of Eagle Grief Cliff, there was a small mountain village.
Most of the southern part of the village was enclosed by a sheep pen made of sturdy wooden stakes as tall as two men.
Within, a flock of deer-horned black sheep occasionally lowered their heads and charged, hitting the fence.
A group of fierce-looking, robust men busily attended to their respective duties near the enclosure.
Some were feeding the black sheep grass, others were cleaning the droppings inside the fence, and many more were grasping the wooden stakes, pounding them into the ground to reinforce the fence.
To the north of the village were several spacious wooden houses supported by wooden stakes and lifted more than two meters above the ground.
Clutching a gray wooden box and with a face full of eagerness, Shang Huan walked into one of the houses and asked hopefully, "Mr. Gongsun... are you there?"
Shi Xian, as if he had heard nothing, stared blankly into space with wide eyes. Explore more adventures at
Shang Huan was unfazed.
Having interacted with the six siblings of Wu Mountain for a while, he had gotten quite familiar with them.
This one in front of him often seemed to be lost in thought, with a cold disposition and a somewhat silly appearance.
He stood by patiently waiting, and after a long while, the other party seemed to just react and nodded slightly.
Shang Huan was delighted. He lightly tapped the wooden box in his hands and said slyly, "Sir, here’s the gain from the last hunting trip. Just give me an address, and I’ll send it over to you."
Hunting gains?
That must be what they scavenged from the bodies of Zhao Shaoyuan and others.
Tsk... Kill a man, start a fire, and you get a gold belt, eh?
Chen Mu shook his head.
He had killed to save people, not for wealth.
Besides, he was an Alchemist. Just refining a few hundred batches of Fasting Pills would give him everything he needed.
Such sudden windfalls, hmpf! They weren’t necessary... eh, but it wouldn’t hurt to take a look.
Sigh... I don’t really want to see it.
But what if there’s something incriminating left over that could be traced back? It’s still safer to inspect it thoroughly.
I’m not being greedy for ill-gotten wealth here; I’m totally considering the safety of Shang Huan and the others.
Just as he was pondering how to get the wooden box, Shang Huan had already started to play the victim.
"Sir, I really can’t hold on anymore." Shang Huan’s voice was full of grievances: "Look at me, I’ve lost a whole lot of weight."
"I fully recognize my mistake and from now on, I will conduct myself cautiously and live honestly," Shang Huan promised earnestly.
"Please forgive me."
Ha!
Now you know it hurts? Where was this realization before?
Chen Mu curled his lip.
If it wasn’t for this reckless fatso, there wouldn’t be so many problems now.
"Sir, rest assured, if you tell me to go east, I will never go west," Shang Huan said with seriousness.
"Making choices, I will surely take the most cautious and conservative approach."
"Even if... even if it means losing White Jade Coins, I will never engage in any conspicuous and flashy trade," Shang Huan declared through gritted teeth.
Wow! He can even talk about losing White Jade Coins.
Is this the same cunning merchant Shang Huan?
"Whatever demands you have, just say them." Shang Huan begged for mercy: "Please, give up the Divine Skills."
Hmm, good, it seems you’ve really learned your lesson.
Chen Mu smacked his lips.
Alright, then...
"Why don’t you do the splits then?" Shi Xian suddenly spoke up.
Shang Huan was dumbfounded.
Is that the kind of request you make?
Chen Mu was even more baffled.
I haven’t even said anything yet, okay!
Shi Xian might look like an honest kid, but when it comes to setting someone up, he’s surprisingly swift and decisive!
Unaware that Shi Xian was setting him up, Shang Huan grimaced, stamped his foot and promptly performed a perfect split.
Intense pain surged through the insides of his thighs, and his cheeks immediately turned red with agony.
After maintaining the pose for just a brief moment, he had to stand up; it was too painful!
His body might have been enhanced by a Secret Technique, but stretching like that hurt even more.
A glimmer of amusement flashed in Shi Xian’s large eyes, then he returned to his blank stare, gazing into space with an air of nonchalance, pretending to be oblivious.
"Sir, do you see..." Shang Huan’s face was full of hope.
What are you looking at!
You don’t even know you’ve been screwed over!
Aren’t you usually so shrewd?
Chen Mu immediately urged Shang Huan to activate the United Heart Curse for telepathy, "Chop another one."
Shang Huan: "..."
...
After a long while, Chen Mu reluctantly ceased the telepathic connection.
If it weren’t for the Truthful Listening Talisman disintegrating, Chen Mu would have no radio to listen to.
He would definitely have made Shang Huan chop a hundred or eighty more times.
With a thought, the Jade Seed Inner Magical Power surged, and a brand new Truthful Listening Technique Talisman rapidly took shape.
Although it was not his first time doing this, Chen Mu still couldn’t help but marvel.
"Its operating mechanism is similar to Talismans. Place the Jade Seed Inner Talisman into another carrier for delayed activation."
"It’s just that the carrier for Talismans is Exotic Beast Demon Beast Skin. The carrier for the Truthful Listening radio is the six siblings of Wu Mountain."
He had also tested it before; his Truthful Listening Talisman could not only be transmitted to Shi Xian but also lent to the other six for activation.
And it wasn’t just Truthful Listening, even other Secret Techniques could be lent to the seven for activation!
"Though the Thousand Mountains Sutra is unorthodox, it truly has its methods!"
Chen Mu pondered for a while but then felt it strange.
"The Secret Techniques I worked so hard to build, and these guys just take them and use?"
"This..."
Have I become a system grandpa handing out Secret Techniques for free?
"You guys are the real protagonists, aren’t you?!"
As he was muttering to himself, the Sixth Rank Truthful Listening Technique Talisman inside the Jade Seed was successfully crafted.
He instinctively activated it, and a faint breathing sound suddenly entered his ears.
Although the sound was faint, Chen Mu felt as if thunder had struck.
That’s because the noise was too close!
Had someone actually approached him without his notice?!
Suppressing his panic, Chen Mu composed himself and turned his head, only to see a face full of smiles on the large jade window beside him.
Liu Hongyang?
Is this... a neighbor visit?
You almost scared me to death!
...
Inside Chen Mu’s wooden tower.
Liu Hongyang curiously examined the underfloor heating pipes.
"Junior brother really has some unique ideas."
Chen Mu handed him a cup of tea, "It’s essentially just boiling water, nothing special."
"It’s nothing compared to the profound power of the Hundred Workshops Hall’s Mountain Protection Restrictions that can keep an entire courtyard warm as spring."
"When senior brother learns it one day, you must have a good chat with me about it."
"Certainly, certainly." Liu Hongyang chuckled.
"The tunnels, are they all dug out?" Chen Mu probed.
The other party hadn’t been at Eagle Grief Cliff for long before he went underground to help set up the Mountain Protection Restriction.
Now suddenly back...
"All set up," Liu Hongyang didn’t conceal it.
Chen Mu was delighted.
With the Mountain Protection Restriction, Eagle Grief Cliff was now even safer.
"It wasn’t supposed to be completed so quickly," Liu Hongyang shook his head.
"There seemed to be someone killed by the barbarians’ Witch Gu Curse on the mountain. Elder Hu became anxious, fearing an attack from the barbarians. So, he went down and personally supervised us, and we didn’t get a moment of rest."
Liu Hongyang looked frustrated. "The work we did this past half month is more than we did in the previous two months!"
Chen Mu looked at Liu Hongyang’s slightly pale face and shook his head with a smile.
It seemed he was worn out.
"Think positively, completing it early means you can get your Daoist Cultivation and White Jade Coins sooner," Chen Mu consoled.
But Liu Hongyang looked even more upset: "But our compensation is calculated by the day."
Chen Mu was speechless.
He finally understood why the Mountain Protection Restriction of Eagle Grief Cliff was being built so slowly.
The guys from the Hundred Workshops Hall must have been deliberately delaying to swindle more Daoist Cultivation points.
"Let’s not talk about it," Liu Hongyang waved his hand.
He then looked around and soon his eyes fixed on the brown wooden cup on the windowsill.
Liu Hongyang stood up, walked to the window, sniffed, and then pointed at the cup eagerly, "Junior brother actually has great cooking skills!"
"This aroma, tsk tsk..."
"Senior brother likes spicy soup?" Chen Mu raised his eyebrows in surprise.
That wooden cup originally contained Replenishing Origin Soup which had the flavor of spicy soup.
He had drunk the soup, but the cup hadn’t yet been washed.
Little did he expect it would be sniffed out by Senior Brother Liu.
"It’s getting late, senior brother, please sit for a moment, I’ll go cook right now. It’s a good opportunity to show off my skills," Chen Mu said with a smile as he stood up.
"Won’t it trouble you?" Liu Hongyang rubbed his hands, feeling embarrassed.
"If you tell me the key points of Point Ground into Steel, that will be enough," said Chen Mu cheerfully.
"That’s not enough for just one meal!" Liu Hongyang immediately laughed.
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