CHAPTER 33 My physique couldn’t make it. Shixiong save me!

Fu Changling stared dazedly at Qin Yan’s words. For a moment, he didn’t know how he should respond.

All of a sudden, he really wanted to know the reason Qin Yan placed his jade in his palm back in those years, and whether or not these were the words he wanted to say to him.

In his trance, a disciple from the side reminded him, “Shen Shixiong, it’s time to get up.”

Fu Changling came back to his senses and quickly thanked Qin Yan, then got to his feet, and stood aside.

Soon after, there weren’t many things that concerned him. He retreated to a spot behind Jiang Yebai and watched as the rest of the people came in one by one. After he paid his shifu respect and received a gift from his shifu and his direct disciple, it was considered that he’d been accepted as one of them.

The graduation party hasn’t taken a long time. It had only been one shichen and everything had come to an end. After everything was settled, Jiang Yebai ordered Qin Yan to take care of Fu Changling before he left on his own.

After all the newly accepted disciples spent some time with the families who delivered them here, they were guided back to their own respective peaks by the direct disciples.

Fu Changling had no family to bid farewell to. He only had Chen Zhu. Fu Changling spoke a few words with them, then quietly said, “Tell my father that everything went well when you return, so he will have a peace of heart.”

Chen Zhu smiled and bowed. “I will help the Eldest Young Master to bring those words.”

After they finished speaking, Fu Changling bid Chen Zhu farewell. Chen Zhu bowed and then he was guided down the mountain by the other disciples.

Only Qin Yan and Fu Changling was left in the plaza.

Qin Yan eyed Fu Changling with a look, and without having said anything, he turned and left on his sword. Fu Changling quickly followed Qin Yan to the Lasting Moon Peak.

Qin Yan was indifferent of Fu Changling when he soared his sword. He didn’t consider that Fu Changling was only an “establishment foundation stage” newcomer. Along the journey, he didn’t turn his head back even once. Fu Changling’s journey of following him to the Lasting Moon Peak was done with great difficulty. Qin Yan retracted his sword the moment Lasting Moon Peak came into view. Fu Changling chased after him on his sword but before he could close in even half a zhang, Qin Yan turned his head around abruptly and, with a wave, a gust of strong wind threw him off his sword, sending him rolling onto the ground.

“It’s forbidden to fly on swords in the Lasting Moon Peak.”

Qin Yan impassively said, then he turned and went forward.

Fu Changling pushed himself up and mumbled “Tsk Tsk” before he ran after Qin Yan and quietly mumbled to himself, “Shixiong, you just need to tell me if there are any rules. There’s no need to so straightforwardly attack. Why waste so much strength?”

“Everyday, at the hour when the Jade Rabbit is working with medicine[2], all the disciples are required to head to Sword-Landing Cliff in the main palace for morning training.”

“That early for morning training?”

Fu Changling was slightly taken aback. He instantly returned to his senses, “Wait, wait. Shixiong, if we train at the hour when the Jade Rabbit is working with medicine, and I am living so far away in the Reaching Moon Palace when flying on swords are not permitted, how would I make my way to the main palace?”

Thinking, Fu Changling tried, “If I flew out straight from the Reaching Moon Palace, detour around the Lasting Moon Peak…”

“It is only permitted to leave the Lasting Moon Peak through flying on swords from the top.”

As he spoke, Qin Yan seemed to understand the meaning in Fu Changling’s words. He creased his brows and snapped, “Who allowed you to live in the Reaching Moon Palace?”

“Would that make me homeless otherwise?”

“Build your own.”

“Even if I do that, I would need some time.” Fu Changling quickly said, “Shixiong, you wouldn’t be so heartless, would you?”

“You can live in other places,” Qin Yan calmly said, “There’s a little hut outside of the Reaching Moon Palace. I built that for Flower. If you have no places to live in, you can live there temporarily.”

Fu Changling felt a sense of dejection after having heard those words, but regardless of how shameless he was, it was impossible for him to find a reason to live in the Reaching Moon Palace now. With his head lowered as he followed behind Qin Yan, he said in displeasure, “Fine if I can’t live there. I will build it myself. However, who is Flower? The name sounds so old-school. Shixiong, is he a person of Lasting Moon Palace?”

Qin Yan didn’t answer him. Fu Changling continued to yabber on different topics, “The Jade Rabbit hour requires morning training, and you’ve prohibited me to fly on a sword. How would I go to the main palace then? Wouldn’t I have to run through the entire Lasting Moon Peak…”

“Precisely.” Qin Yan calmly replied.

Fu Changling’s eyes widened. “How could you make such a cruel request of me?”

“You are a sword cultivator.” Qin Yan reminded him and impassively said, “But your physique is horrid.”

Fu Changling, “...”

Qin Yan said the truth.

The entire realm knew that daoist cultivators possess the worst physiques. He was already the most fit daoist cultivator among his kind, but compared to Qin Yan, he really was a little more soft.

Thankfully, in his late life of the previous lifetime, his physique was quite special. He had successfully transitioned to a sword cultivator and hence acquired two types of cultivation. Otherwise, he would have made himself look terrible in front of a true sword cultivator like Qin Yan. Presently, it was still early and he didn’t want to expose himself too much. But at the thought that Qin Yan thought his physique was horrible, he couldn’t help feeling upset and quietly said, “Actually, my physique is quite good.”

Qin Yan eyed him emotionlessly but it was enough to make Fu Changling suddenly feel nervous. He couldn’t help straightening his back and soon after, he heard Qin Yan turn his head and impassively said, “Wake up one hour earlier in advance and run over there.”

Hearing these words, Fu Changling felt unpleasant at heart but when he reconsidered how this was an order from Qin Yan, and now that Qin Yan was his Shixiong and needed to take care, look after, and worry about his academics, he couldn’t help feeling happy all over again. He took a step forward and leaned in close to Qin Yan, enthusiastically saying, “Shixiong, are you going to teach me now in future? Or is shifu going to teach me?”

“Shifu is busy and all the basics will be taught by Xie Shijie in *unison*.”

“What about the special ones?” Fu Changling excitedly asked and Qin Yan impassively gave him a look, then retracted his gaze, “They’re still too early for you.”

“When that time comes, are you going to teach me?”

Fu Changling refuse to back out. Qin Yan remained quiet, and after a long while, only did his answer came, “We will think about that when the time comes.”

“Then, are you going to be responsible of my life in the future? For example, what time I will be sleeping, what time I will be waking up, what I would be eating, and what I will be wearing. Oh, as well as what I will be speaking, and what I will be doing…”

Fu Changling jabbered on and began to get worried for the future, “Shixiong, do I have to wake up at the hour of the rabbit everyday in the Lasting Moon Peak? Then what time should I sleep best? What time do you usually sleep? Would I be a nuisance to you? Oh, I didn’t mean to say that I want to sleep with you, not that I want to live in the Reaching Moon Palace. Since you don’t allow me to live in it, I won’t. But I’m thinking about building my place next to the Reaching Moon Palace. That place has good fengshui, so I’ll just build mine next to yours. If you slept early, then I’ll follow your lead. I’m afraid I’d be a nuisance to you…”

As Fu Changling fantasized about his future life, he hadn’t heard what Qin Yan said. After passing through the dense forests and the bubbling white lakes, they arrived in front of the Reaching Moon Palace. Qin Yan heard Fu Changling said, “Oh right, Shixiong, is it allowed to cook in the Heavenly Palace of Hongmeng? Can I fry an egg? In some sects, eggs are prohibited, and so are meat, but I think that…”

“Shen Xiufan,” Hearing these words, Qin Yan finally couldn’t stand it. He stopped and glared at Fu Changling, “How old are you already?”

“Me? I’m seventeen—eighteen in three months.”

Fu Changling didn’t understand what Qin Yan meant as he happily jabbered on. Watching his slowness, Qin Yan could only remind him, “You are seventeen years old, not seven years old. You don’t need my permission for everything you do.”

Speaking, Qin Yan raised a hand and pointed at a wooden hut not far off. Calmly, he said, “Tonight, you’ll be living there.”

Fu Changling eyed that dilapidated and tattered little wooden hut. He momentarily hesitated before asking, “There?”

“En,” Qin Yan impassively said, “I built it but you can choose not to live in it if you don’t like it. However, you’re not allowed in the Reaching Moon Palace.”

“You built it?” Hearing that, Fu Changling felt happy, “Alright, I’ll live in it.”

Qin Yan nodded then didn’t bother with him further. He turned and told Fu Changling, “Take a rest.”

Fu Changling turned to look at the colour of the sky, then quickly said, “Shixiong, let me cook for you tonight!”

“There is no need.”

Qin Yan coldly answered before he beelined into the house.

After Qin Yan left, Fu Changling ran towards the little hut. That little hut was only as tall as Fu Changling’s chest. Although it was little, it was very cute. Fu Changling walked a circle around the little wooden hut. Just as he wanted to bend down to enter, he saw that its floors were made of bamboo. Fu Changling spread his blankets on top of it, then hung a lantern above his head and prepared to turn in for the night. He didn’t delay. He went about the forest searching for wood, bamboo, rocks, and other things. Along the way, he also picked some spiritual plants. After returning back, he began building his house, counting the time as he did. When it came to half a shichen before dinner, he quickly slipped into the kitchen and tossed the spiritual plants he’d picked in the afternoon as he began to cook.

Those painfully long years of running for his life gave Huayang-Jun the greatest gift of all, and that was giving him all manner of skills that one needed to live.

For example, how to turn food cultivators found most disgusting into the most delicious dishes. This was what came from Huayang-Jun, who expected a high standard from life.

Fu Changling considered the injuries that Qin Yan recently sustained, then he considered Qin Yan’s physique, and Qin Yan’s mood. Fu Changling assembled his ingredients and then began to steam, fry, and grill. In less than half a shichen, he’d gotten all the dishes ready. He then found a small wooden tray to bring all his dishes to Qin Yan’s room.

Qin Yan was mediating in his room. Fu Changling carefully entered holding his dishes. Then, he stood by the side and quietly said, “Shixiong?”

“Speak.”

Qin Yan’s words were curt and brief. Fu Changling lightly coughed and reminded him, “Shixiong, I made you some dishes. Try some? These are all made by spiritual plants; they’d be good for your body.”

“Get out.”

“Shixiong…” Fu Changling quietly said, “I spent a long time making them.”

Qin Yan said nothing. He obviously didn’t want to bother with him anymore. Fu Changling stood there for a while, trying to place the dishes on the table and quickly ran out.

After he ran out, Fu Changling exhaled in large breaths. He returned to his own little hut and sat on the bed he’d made himself. At the thought that Qin Yan was eating the dishes he made, a happy feeling rose up in him. He soothed his nerves and fished out some Moonlight Herbs from his spiritual pouch and then a pill forging furnace.

He couldn’t go easy on taking care of Qin Yan, neither could he go easy on cultivation!

The last time he’d forcibly ingested the Moonlight Herbs raw had barely managed to heal the wounds he’d sustained from propelling his cultivation levels up, but this manner of eating them raw didn’t have a good effect. Only when they were forged into pills could the Moonlight Herb be utilized to its full potential.

Forging pills wasn’t a difficult task to do for Fu Changling. He had priorly prepared the ingredients he needed for the Moonlight Pills before he came to the Heavenly Palace of Hongmeng. So, he built an energy barrier before dropping all those herbs into the pill forging furnace.

He used his spiritual energy to manipulate a small fire. He was still capable of forging pills despite his current situation. It wasn’t a pain to do so yet.

When it came to forging pills, the most critical part to succession or failure lied in portion of ingredients, the strength of the fire, the amount of time taken, and precise judgments. If one pill could be forged each time, it was already quite a laudable result. If there were three to four pills successfully forged, then it’d make them a master. However, Fu Changling’s chances of success when he forged pills are almost one hundred percent.

There was no other reason other than he was too poor back in those years.

The ingredients were expensive, so he had no choice but to use them scarcely. If he failed to successfully forge his pills, then it would mean he was wasting money.

Wasting money would only mean that he was wasting his life.

Presently, he needed all the Moonlight Herbs he had. The Forbidden Lands of the Spiritual Mountain would no longer open itself to visitors at whim. So, Fu Changling needed to be more careful. After a furnace of pills were successfully forged, he poured them out and counted: they were thirty-six pills, none of them wasted.

Fu Changling wipe sweat off his brows. He needed one Moonlight Pill a month, so these would be enough for three years.

Three years later, he would need to look for the Flower of Rebirth. If he couldn’t find it, then there would be no hope left for his golden core.

He needed to find the Flower of Rebirth. He needed to watch over Qin Yan. Most importantly, he needed to think of ways to strengthen the four seals of energy pulses of the Avici.

Fu Changling tosses one pill into his mouth, swallowed it, and then took some medicine to soothe himself.

He decided not to think of anything and that he’d take care of Qin Yan first. At the very least, he must prepare food for Qin Yan for some period of time and heal him, fattening him up, then they’d speak.

At the thought that Qin Yan would live in perfect health unlike his last life where he had to rely on medicinal pills to prolong his life, Fu Changling felt a lot better in his heart.

What he hated the most about sword cultivators was that they were all eager to jump into the fire when they were young, so once they reached their elderly stages, they’d be riddled with diseases. Especially Qin Yan; he was only concerned with living through today and leave tomorrow for a later discussion.

Fu Changling put away the Moonlight Herbs and plotted what he would be doing in future as he drifted into sleep.

He slept until the dead of the night when he felt a hot breath closing up to him. Soon after, there was a low bestial growl. Fu Changling abruptly woke up and instinctively rolled to the side, hitting against the wooden walls of the hut.

He saw moonlight casting its glow upon the door of the wooden hut. On the other side of the little hut, there was a fox of mixed colour prowling on the ground, fixing its eyes onto him, baring its teeth, its mouth emitting low growls.

Fu Changling’s mind blanked. What is the meaning of this?

From the aura of the fox, it’s a seven-grade beast. Nine-grade beasts were the highest ranks and seven-grades are already very scarcely seen. However, why would the pelt of a seven-grade fox look so ugly?

Of course, these weren’t important. Most importantly was that ‘Shen Xiufan’ present cultivations had no chances of beating this seven-grade beast.

So what should he do now? Should he yell for help and wait for Qin Yan to rescue him or kill this thing himself?

If he yelled for Qin Yan to come to his rescue, wouldn’t that be disturbing Qin Yan’s sleep?

If he killed it himself, how could he explain how a foundation establishment newcomer like himself killed something like a seven-grade beast?

Oh, most importantly, could this spiritual beast belong to someone since it had appeared out of nowhere on Qin Yan’s territory?

Wait, wait.

A crucial thought flashed across Fu Changling’s mind—spiritual pets.

“There is a little hut outside of the Reaching Moon Palace that I’ve built for Flower to live in…”

Flower…

Fu Changling looked at the seven-grade beast in front of him as it growled, and he found it a little difficult to believe… Is this how Qin Yan named his pets?

It couldn’t be true, could it???

Hearing this name, the fox was momentarily in shock, but after that, it angrily rose to its feet, let out a bark, then pounced into Fu Changling’s direction!

At the moment the fox pounced on him, Fu Changling rolled across it from underneath and reached the door. Soon after, he ran towards the Reaching Moon Palace and loudly called, “Shixiong! Save me!!”

Author’s Notes:

[Small theatre]

Fu Changling: How could you make such a cruel request of me?

Qin Yan: You are a sword cultivator.

Fu Changling: No, I’m not.

Qin Yan: This book can end now.

Fu Changling: You are right. I am a sword cultivator. Do you recall my handsome posture from the previous life?

Qin Yan: That was the reason I said your physique is horrible.

Fu Changling: Don't put it like that. You spoke as if you’ve tried. I’m shy.

Qin Yan: …

[Small theatre 2]

Fu Changling: F..Flower?

Flower: Who gave you permission to call me Flower?! Call me the Flower of Purple Heart, Butterfly Tears, and Dreams of Mary Sue!

Fu Changling: The Flower of what?