Chapter 19

Time passed in a flash, and several days had gone by. Meng Hao did not leave his cave dwelling for a single step. He did not want to go out, did not want to see anyone. He could not forget Wang Tengfei standing in the square, making himself the opposite of the entire world. He sat cross-legged in his cave dwelling, looking at the fingernails with dried blood. His expression changed from numbness to anger, then to a deep gloom. On this day, the cave dwelling’s door opened with a rumble, and moonlight shone in, making the entire cave dwelling hazy.

Sister Xu’s figure stood at the entrance of the cave dwelling, the moonlight behind her making her face indistinct.

Meng Hao did not speak, and Sister Xu was silent. After a while, Sister Xu’s voice echoed.

“I just came out of seclusion yesterday.”

Meng Hao stood up, bowed deeply with his head down.

“Wang Tengfei has a great background and is not from the Zhao Kingdom. His cultivation is already at the peak of the Sixth Layer, and he is the Inner Sect disciple chosen by the Sect Master for this promotion. You… don’t provoke him.” Sister Xu fell silent again, then spoke calmly after a long while.

“Junior Brother understands.” Meng Hao raised his head, smiled slightly, and his expression seemed to have returned to normal, showing no sign of lingering resentment. However, deep in his eyes, there was a hint of something different, something he had never had in the first sixteen or seventeen years of his life.

This difference was a cold glint, but Meng Hao hid it very deeply, so deeply that only he could sense it, and no one else could tell.

“But if he causes you trouble again, even if I am in seclusion, you can crush this slip, and I will sense it.” Sister Xu paused for a moment, then waved her right hand, and a purple jade slip immediately landed beside Meng Hao.

“On that day, I brought the four of you up the mountain. You were the first to become an Outer Sect disciple. Your companion in the Northern Area’s杂役处 (labor area) has also successfully advanced and will report to the Outer Sect tomorrow morning.” Sister Xu finished speaking, glanced at Meng Hao, and then turned to leave.

“Thank you, Sister. I have a question I want to ask. With my talent and current Fourth Layer Qi Condensation cultivation, how long would it normally take to reach the Seventh Layer?” Meng Hao suddenly spoke.

“To achieve Fourth Layer Qi Condensation in less than a year, it seems you have your own cultivation fortune. You don’t need to tell me, and I won’t ask. If we don’t count your fortune, with your talent, it would take ten years at the fastest, and sixty years at the slowest to reach the Seventh Layer. The Fourth, Sixth, and Eighth Layers are all bottlenecks, especially the Sixth Layer, which is hard to break through without an opportunity.”

“Does everyone have it?”

“Everyone has it.” Sister Xu gradually moved away, and Meng Hao sat cross-legged in his cave dwelling, a sharp light appearing in his eyes.

After half an hour, Meng Hao stood up and walked out of the cave dwelling he had not left for several days. The night sky was already chilly, and the change of seasons seemed to have quickly transitioned to autumn in just a few days. The leaves had mostly changed color, and the mountains looked desolate.

The moon was bright in the sky, and Meng Hao walked on a small path in the wilderness. The surroundings were relatively quiet, with only the rustling of leaves accompanying him as he made his way to the Northern Peak.

He wanted to see the little fatty, as he was now the only friend among the current disciples in the sect.

The Northern Area’s labor area was quiet at night, and perhaps it was this quiet that made the snoring particularly loud. As Meng Hao approached, he heard this unique, undulating snore.

This sound was familiar to Meng Hao. During the four months he spent in the labor area, he would fall asleep every night listening to this snore.

The young man with the horse face, who was in charge of the Northern Area’s labor area, was sitting cross-legged on a large stone. He suddenly opened his eyes, looked at Meng Hao, and was taken aback, but quickly stood up and bowed to Meng Hao.

“Greetings, Senior Brother Meng.” There had been too many rumors about Meng Hao in recent days, and how could this horse-faced young man not know?

“Senior Brother, there’s no need for such formality. I just came to see an old friend.” Meng Hao glanced at the horse-faced young man, whose cultivation was clearly at the Third Layer Qi Condensation, and had been stuck there for many years.

The horse-faced senior brother nodded, watched Meng Hao enter the labor area courtyard, and then sat cross-legged again, his expression somewhat complicated. He sighed inwardly and closed his eyes, saying nothing.

Meng Hao walked through the courtyard of the labor area and saw the seventh room on the west side. As he approached, the little fatty’s snore was deafening. When Meng Hao pushed the door open, his expression immediately became strange, and the restlessness of the past few days lessened.

Inside the room, the little fatty was lying on his back, snoring continuously. The other bed had been moved to block the corner, creating a gap between the bed and the wall.

In that gap, the large man who called himself Tiger Lord was sleeping, but he was curled up, his face showing lingering fear, as if he had encountered something terrifying even in his dreams.

His wooden bed was covered with countless bite marks, some places even bitten through, looking tattered. The table that was there before was now gone, and Meng Hao could imagine that it had been completely chewed up. Even the walls around the room had bite marks, except for the little fatty’s bed, which had not a single bite mark, a stark contrast.

As he watched, the large man in the corner suddenly shivered and let out a cry, clearly having a nightmare. His yellowish complexion and dark circles under his eyes suggested he had not slept well for a long time. Meng Hao found it hard to imagine what kind of suffering the man had endured to be in such a state.

Perhaps the large man’s cries disturbed the little fatty, who opened his eyes impatiently. When he suddenly saw Meng Hao in the room, he became excited.

“Where’s the wild chicken? Did you bring a wild chicken?”

Meng Hao looked at the little fatty and could not help but smile.

The little fatty was still as round as a ball, not having lost any weight, and had even gained some. His teeth, which he showed when speaking, were shiny and had grown halfway out.

“I heard you reached the First Layer Qi Condensation. I came to see you, but I didn’t catch any wild game in a hurry.” Meng Hao sat on the little fatty’s bed, looking at his teeth and said with a smile.

That night, the little fatty talked a lot, boasting about his cultivation. Meng Hao spoke less, just smiling and listening to the little fatty’s chatter. As the moonlight gradually faded and dawn approached, the wound in Meng Hao’s heart slowly healed, though the scar remained. It merged with the fingernails in his cave dwelling and the cold glint in his eyes, forming a sign of maturity in the growth of the sixteen or seventeen-year-old Meng Hao.

In the morning, Meng Hao took the little fatty out of the Northern Area’s labor area, leaving amidst the large man’s emotional tears. The large man’s tears deeply moved the little fatty, who had already walked out of the courtyard but ran back to hug the large man tightly, saying something that made the large man’s face turn pale and his body tremble.

“What did you say to him?” As they approached the Outer Sect, Meng Hao could not help but ask.

“He’s a good person. He was my good friend in the labor area after you left. Look how sad he was when I left. I felt bad, so I went back and told him that I would try to come back every few days to keep him company.” The little fatty said with a sad expression.

“Don’t look at his fierce appearance; he’s actually very timid. He often has nightmares and is very pitiful.” The little fatty shook his head and sighed.

Meng Hao immediately fell silent and did not ask about the large man’s words. As they entered the Outer Sect, everyone who saw Meng Hao had an unusual expression, often sizing him up.

“Hey, Meng Hao, you’re doing really well in the Outer Sect. A lot of people have been looking at you.” The little fatty became excited again, thinking that with Meng Hao behind him, few would dare to bully him in the Outer Sect.

Meng Hao smiled slightly but did not explain. As they approached the Treasure Pavilion, Meng Hao stopped and gave the little fatty some instructions, then watched him run towards the Treasure Pavilion.

After about an hour, the little fatty returned excitedly, holding a small sword. The sword had a fish-scale-like surface, felt rough to the touch, and did not seem very sharp.

“Meng Hao, look what treasure I got. It’s a big treasure.” The little fatty excitedly played with the small sword. As Meng Hao wondered what was so special about it, he saw the little fatty put the sword in his mouth and grind his teeth, making a rasping sound that made Meng Hao’s expression waver between laughter and tears.

“It’s a good thing. My teeth keep growing, and I’ve used up many things to grind them. This treasure should last me a long time.” The little fatty became even more pleased as he thought about it.

That day, Meng Hao took the little fatty around the Outer Sect, and he proposed living together in the same cave dwelling, but the little fatty refused. He had been sharing a room for a long time and was looking forward to living alone as an Outer Sect disciple. No matter how much Meng Hao tried to persuade him, the little fatty was not convinced and was quite satisfied with his own living quarters.

Meng Hao did not push further and left late at night, returning to his cave dwelling to sit in meditation.

Time flew by, and three months passed. More than two months ago, Meng Hao had resumed his stall in the low-level public area. Perhaps the incident with Wang Tengfei had a significant impact, as no one bothered him anymore, and his business at the general store gradually improved.

Especially after Meng Hao added magical treasures to his offerings, his business became even more prosperous. However, he was no longer alone, always accompanied by the little fatty, who constantly used a flying sword to grind his teeth. The little fatty had a good business sense and often ran into the public area to persuade people, becoming the main force, while Meng Hao, who could not enter the low-level public area, cooperated from outside, resulting in a good harvest over these days.

Until this day, it was the cold winter, and snow was falling from the sky. Meng Hao was sitting cross-legged on the flat-topped mountain, meditating with his eyes closed, when the little fatty suddenly shouted in the public area and ran towards Meng Hao, grabbing someone.

“Meng Hao, Meng Hao, look who this is.”

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Since I started writing, I have never had a recommendation or member click first place. Whether it was "Immortal Ascension" or "Seeking Demon," and now, on the last day of this week, can everyone come to Qidian and cast a recommendation vote to help me achieve a first place, even if it’s just for one day, I would be content!

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