Chapter 998: Worldly Wisdom

Chapter 999: Why Are You Staring at Me Like That...

The silent deep sea, the violent thunder. These two extremes intertwined, yet remained distinctly separate.

Shui Gui adjusted the half-golden beast mask on his face, confirming it wouldn’t loosen and fall off like his belt or pants had. His expression, which had been disheveled from playing around with Xu Xiaoshou, gradually returned to seriousness.

After a long wait, when there was no longer any sign of that absurd young man in the vicinity, he finally flipped his hand and produced a communication pearl.

He pondered for a moment.

Xu Xiaoshou possessed a vanishing technique, and with the interference of the Sheng Di Long Lin, he might not have gone far at all, perhaps even remaining within Shui Gui's domain.

Shui Gui wasn't entirely certain whether he had truly left the area.

After a pause, Shui Gui soared upward, emerging from the deep sea and landing back on Gu Yin Cliff.

The water-element mystic array diagram unfolded beneath his feet, instantly piercing through the shielding power of the Yun Jing world and connecting to external forces.

"Beep..."

The communication pearl rang out.

It rang only once before being quickly answered, and a mature woman's teasing voice came through: "What a rare guest, Mr. Shui Gui. Why the sudden message? Have you been thinking of me?"

"Feng Tang Meng Po?" Shui Gui responded coldly, without any emotion.

"Don't worry, I'm not dead yet, and my contact method hasn't changed—it's really me." The woman's voice from the other end turned a bit resentful. "Mr. Shui Gui, you still won't call me Xiao Meng. Hmph!"

"Your time is running out." Shui Gui cut straight to the point, skipping any pleasantries.

This calm statement hit like a heavy hammer, leaving the woman on the other end speechless for a long while.

"You're... you're joking, right? Mr. Shui Gui, you're still so cold and heartless..."

"You can treat this as a joke and end the communication. From now on, I won't chase you for debts anymore, though you won't have the chance anyway."

"Huff..." The woman on the other end let out a heavy sigh, her voice turning serious. "Mr. Shui Gui, you never speak without reason. Tell me, what's happened?"

"Jiang Shi Bansheng has targeted your Yan Wang group—strictly speaking, it's Lei Jia Tong, though he's also interested in your leader, since he has space-time attributes."

"...Something this big, and I haven't heard a whisper of it? Doesn't Lord Huang Quan know either?"

"He shouldn't know, because Jiang Shi Bansheng only approached me for cooperation about half an hour ago. He wants all the information on your Yan Wang members and demands it within half a day..."

Shui Gui paused, his tone unchanging and devoid of any sorrow or joy, as he continued: "If I can't find it, he'll kill me, or make me join Jiang Shi. Now, I probably only have one choice left."

The other end of the communication pearl fell into a long silence.

"Mr. Shui Gui, you're not trying to trick me again, are you? I've been fooled by you too many times..."

"You can treat it as..."

"Stop, stop! I believe you, okay? I believe you!" The woman's tone shifted to helplessness. "So, what's your stance now, Mr. Shui Gui? Or which side are you on?"

"Isn't it obvious? I've even contacted you." Shui Gui held the communication pearl, a slight smile forming at the corner of his mouth.

"Is it... because of me?" The woman's voice carried a hint of expectation.

"It's because you still owe me seven favors, plus the formula for 'Wu You Tang,' the source of 'Chi Yan Qing Shui'..."

Shui Gui paused and added, "Wait, that's eight favors now."

"...Uh." A sound like a heart attack came from the other end, followed by a soft murmur: "With so many favors, I can't repay them. I'd be willing to pay with my body, but Mr. Shui Gui doesn't even look at me... Hmph."

"There's no need."

"Hmph!" The voice on the communication pearl suddenly grew louder.

Shui Gui didn't want to dwell on the topic and said calmly: "First, do me a favor. Give me the locations of all your Yan Wang members. Then, find Huang Quan—this is too big for you to handle alone. I'll talk to him myself."

"When did I become your personal spy?" The woman instinctively retorted.

Shui Gui chuckled: "You don't have to help me, but in half a day, I'll be with Jiang Shi. By then, you won't be able to contact me at all."

The communication pearl fell silent again.

After a while, a voice finally came through: "Fine, fine, I'll help you with this. Does that count as repaying one favor? But Lord Huang Quan has to know about this..."

"It doesn't matter."

"Then that's settled." The woman's voice became lively again. "I'll contact Lord Huang Quan for you."

"Mm."

Shui Gui nodded and directly ended the communication.

"Beep..."

"Who is it?"

"Ye Mao, it's Shui Gui. Meng Po made the connection; she's my friend."

"So?"

"Jiang Shi Bansheng wants to seize your Lei Jia Tong and is also eyeing your space-time attributes. In a day, he'll make his move. You might not die, but your years of effort, your Yan Wang members—at least half will be lost..."

Shui Gui pressed on.

"Heh..." Huang Quan's unmasked laughter came from the other end. "You sound just like a con artist. Why should I believe you?"

"He's at Yun Lun Mountains right now, in person, with big plans. You can check that easily. And coincidentally, I'm here too—he sought me out because of my skills." Shui Gui said with a smile.

"In that case, why help me? Aren't you on his side?"

"It's not just helping you—it's cooperation, and it's helping myself." Shui Gui explained. "He thinks I'm just Ye Mao Shui Gui, but I've wanted to kill him for a long time."

"TU Sheng?"

"Yes."

"Heh, you're quite amusing..."

"More flattery, please."

"Ye Mao Shui Gui doesn't have that guts. Do you have another identity?"

"Everyone in intelligence work has three or four identities—some even five or six, seven or eight."

"Oh? So your real identity is..."

"Sheng Nu Fifth Seat, Shui Gui."

Shui Gui smiled in return, then added after a pause: "How about it? Interested in working with me now?"

The other end of the communication pearl lost its lighthearted tone, and the voice turned serious.

"Let's talk in detail."

Beneath the deep sea, a figure cleaved through the water, speeding downward continuously.

After a long while, in a dark and deserted spot, the figure came to a stop.

"That should be far enough..."

Xu Xiaoshou wasn't sure if Shui Gui had secretly followed him.

But regardless of whether he was being tailed, with this distance and his vanishing technique, even Shui Gui probably couldn't find him now.

"Vanish!"

With that, his figure disappeared into the deep sea.

Infusing the Sheng Di Long Lin with not only the intent to "avoid risks" but also to "forget the existence of Xu Xiaoshou," he swiftly entered the Yuan Fu.

The Yuan Fu world was vast and boundless.

As soon as he entered, a rich medicinal fragrance enveloped him, instantly washing away all his physical and mental fatigue.

"Hiss..."

Xu Xiaoshou took a deep breath of the long-missed fresh air, feeling his very soul relax.

He looked around. The chaotic mist that once surrounded the Yuan Fu world had receded to the distant horizon, revealing vast new lands.

In the center of this world, the broken tower from Zhang Fu still stood. In the pond overgrown with poisonous vines and grasses, toxic fish leaped about energetically, full of life.

This side of the world was chaotic.

But the opposite side was peaceful.

Beneath the various boundary treasures, the newly planned medicinal fields were neatly tended amid the greenery.

The little white cat, Tan Shen, darted among the hundred thousand cauldrons nearby, kept endlessly busy by Ling Ling Qi's tasks.

Glancing a bit further, a massive and incongruous dragon corpse lay stretched out, perfectly separating the vibrant life on one side from the desolation on the other.

"How wonderful..."

Entering the Yuan Fu, Xu Xiaoshou felt completely at ease.

No matter where danger lurked, as long as he wished, he could return to this paradise. How many people dreamed of such a thing?

And he had possessed it for so long...

Thank you, Cheng Xing Chu!

The Yuan Fu world wasn't home to just Tan Shen.

Xu Xiaoshou scanned the area and quickly spotted his target in the middle of the medicinal fields.

She was a woman with smooth, waist-length hair, wearing a light green silk dress that had been mended and lengthened. She was rolling up her sleeves, half-squatting in the field, holding a small wooden pot in one hand and a small wooden shovel in the other, loosening soil and watering the spiritual herbs.

She had a pair of mysterious and lively black-and-white pupils, with a slight curve at the corners of her eyes and lips, wearing a faint, relaxed smile. Her delicate nose showed no beads of sweat, but there was a smudge of amusing dirt.

When the breeze blew, strands of silver hair brushed her cheeks, shimmering in the sunlight, breathtakingly beautiful.

"Little flower, grow quickly..."

For a moment, Xu Xiaoshou felt a daze.

It seemed like the woman squatting in the medicinal field was still his innocent little junior sister—naive, lively, a bit wild, pouting when angry, mixing cuteness with humor, and best at cursing others.

But when she noticed the anomaly in the Yuan Fu world, lifted her gaze, and stood up, revealing her slender, graceful figure and the silver hair that had turned from black and was now worn loose instead of in twin tails...

Xu Xiaoshou realized things had changed.

He smiled, not minding, and waved toward the medicinal field, calling out: "Lei Xi'er."

"Xu Xiaoshou, you're here?"

Lei Xi'er's eyes first flashed with delight, then returned to calm.

Xu Xiaoshou hurried over, pulling out a jade pendant from his ring as he ran: "Look what good thing I brought you!"

Lei Xi'er tilted her head and waited quietly. As Xu Xiaoshou swatted away the "meow" of the pouncing Tan Shen, leaped over the fields, landed in front of her, and dangled the jade pendant like he was coaxing a child, even adding sound effects of "ding ding ding ding," she couldn't help but smile.

"What do you mean?"

With her fair fingers, she pinched the ordinary jade pendant and examined it for a while, not seeing anything particularly attractive or noteworthy about it.

It had some simple carvings, and the edges were chipped, slightly damaged.

After studying it, Lei Xi'er smiled slightly, though her mood was fine, she couldn't help but mutter: "It looks so ugly."

"Uh." Xu Xiaoshou's enthusiasm faltered, leaving him momentarily speechless.

With the glow of Shui Gui's gift still in his mind, he had overlooked the pendant's plain appearance.

But it didn't matter.

"It's just an ordinary protective talisman, nothing special. I just swindled it from a pretty powerful senior—its defensive capability should be decent, maybe enough to block a Bansheng strike!" Xu Xiaoshou scratched his head and said.

Lei Xi'er's eyebrows twitched slightly. She held the jade pendant in her left hand and touched the ring on her right ring finger, asking casually: "What's its name?"

"Uh." Xu Xiaoshou was slightly stunned. Did a jade pendant need a name?

As soon as the words left her mouth, Lei Xi'er's face turned red.

She realized instantly that rings and pendants needing names was just something from her own small world. How would Xu Xiaoshou know?

In her small world, the ring on her right hand from Xu Xiaoshou was called "Fen Ge," complete with an annoying backstory.

But that was from her past self, and Xu Xiaoshou had no idea.

This guy was too straightforward to think of a name when giving a pendant.

"Never mind."

Lei Xi'er turned her head away, covering her right hand, and changed the subject: "No good deed goes unpunished. Do you need something from me?"

"What?" Xu Xiaoshou's expression twisted in confusion, and he chuckled: "I need something from you? What a joke. This is just me making up for how hard you worked using Shen Mo Tong last time."

In a flash of inspiration, he asked: "By the way, how are you recovering?"

Last time, to control Rao Yao Yao and Teng Shan Hai, Lei Xi'er had overused her Shen Mo Tong, even shedding bloody tears.

Xu Xiaoshou worried that if she kept pushing it, her eyes might go blind...

"I'm fully recovered." Lei Xi'er shifted to a normal topic, regaining her composure. "The Yuan Fu world has so much vitality; I was mostly healed as soon as I entered."

"That's good, that's good..."

Xu Xiaoshou gazed at the silver-haired woman before him, suddenly repeating himself like a broken record.

After giving the gift, he wasn't sure what else to say.

Ever since Mu Zi Xi became Lei Xi'er, he felt their dynamic had shifted.

Before, she was always the one fussing over him, but now he had to try to cheer her up, like...

Like he could coax her back to how she used to be.

Even in the midst of the fun, he caught glimpses of that familiar feeling from before.

But afterward, everything returned to normal.

Xu Xiaoshou pondered, wondering what had gone wrong.

His start in the Yuan Fu had been fine, so why the sudden awkward silence?

This is so embarrassing...

Say something, say something, say something...