Chapter 8

Feeling that the aura of the man in white had faded away, Chen Jiu instantly collapsed to the ground, not wanting to move at all. This was a life-threatening adventure; if there had been the slightest slip, it would have been the end of his life.

Seeing Chen Jiu sitting on the ground, Chen Zhong ran over: "Xiao Jiu, how are you?"

Chen Jiu laughed loudly, laughing wildly like a madman, making both the fatty and Chen Zhong feel puzzled, thinking Chen Jiu had gone crazy.

After a while, Chen Jiu caught his breath: "That guy is gone."

The fatty squinted his small eyes: "Gone?"

Chen Zhong was stunned, then said: "We survived."

Chen Jiu nodded: "Yes, it was too hard. This world is too dangerous."

The fatty looked at Chen Jiu: "What should we do now?"

"Go back to the bandit camp," Chen Jiu said.

The fatty's head jerked, then he turned to look at Chen Jiu with difficulty: "Are you crazy? You're still thinking about going back? That guy could come back at any time."

Uncle Zhong also looked at Chen Jiu, as if waiting for an explanation.

Chen Jiu laughed: "Should we just leave the mountain empty-handed? The silver we have won't last long. We don't have any survival skills. There are probably some treasures left on the mountain. If we collect them, we should be able to get through the winter."

Chen Jiu's expression turned serious: "Since we're leaving the bandit camp, we'll have nothing to do with being bandits anymore. We won't take risks again. We'll find a place to settle down."

As he said this, Chen Jiu's face showed a look of longing. In this world, Chen Jiu had two wishes: the first was to have enough food and a beautiful wife.

The second wish was to have a stable home, not to be a bandit anymore, and not to live in constant fear and suspicion.

To be honest, no one in the world wants to be a bandit, let alone live a life with their head on the line.

The fatty looked at Chen Jiu seriously, then nodded: "Alright, you're the leader, I'll follow you."

Chen Jiu shook his head: "The bandit camp is gone, I'm not a bandit anymore, and I'm not your leader. We are brothers."

After saying this, Chen Jiu looked at Uncle Zhong, who nodded: "I'll follow you, young master."

The two of them helped Chen Jiu up, and the three slowly returned to the bandit camp. Looking at the bodies all over the mountain, Chen Jiu laughed: "Robbing the dead is the fastest way to get rich. Let's get started, and search these bodies."

After saying this, Chen Jiu picked up a piece of cloth and slowly made a bundle, then started searching the bodies of the bandits.

Surprisingly, these bandits had quite a lot of things on them. Although the leader had ordered them to hand over their treasures, these guys were not simple. They all had some private savings.

They quickly collected a large bundle of treasures. The fatty's fat face showed a greedy smile, hugging the bundle tightly: "We're rich, we're rich."

Chen Jiu kicked him: "You're hopeless. Let's go, get down the mountain. I never want to come back."

At the foot of the mountain, Chen Jiu walked in front, the fatty in the middle, and Chen Zhong at the back.

"Hey, fatty, Uncle Zhong, do you have any family down the mountain?"

The fatty hugged the bundle tightly: "Of course not. Who would have a family in this line of work? If we had families, who would come up the mountain?"

Uncle Zhong didn't speak, but his silence spoke for him.

Chen Jiu looked around: "After we settle down, we'll find brides for you and Uncle Zhong, to carry on the family line."

The fatty's eyes left the bundle and looked at Chen Jiu: "That's a good idea, but it will cost your money."

Chen Jiu glared: "You want me to pay for your bride? That's ridiculous."

After saying this, Chen Jiu raised his foot to kick the fatty, but the fatty was quick and dodged.

"Uncle Zhong, where do you think we should settle down?" Chen Jiu turned to look at Uncle Zhong.

Uncle Zhong was the oldest and most experienced among them, and Chen Jiu wanted to hear his opinion.

"It doesn't matter. The world is full of snakes and rats. Just find a place," Chen Zhong clearly had no opinion.

Chen Jiu turned his head, thinking to himself. In this world, the rule that only scholars are respected still applies.

Looking at the greedy fatty, Chen Jiu pursed his lips: "Fatty, what do you think about us going to study?"

The fatty looked at Chen Jiu as if he were a rare treasure: "We are bandits, and you want to study? Aren't you afraid of being caught by the officials?"

Bandits are naturally afraid of officials, and this is an unchangeable fact.

Chen Jiu knew from the fatty's expression that his thoughts were in vain. He changed the topic: "Since you love money so much, why don't you go into business?"

The fatty thought about it seriously and then nodded: "That's a good idea. Although we have some treasures, we can't just sit on them. I'll think about how to do business when I have time."

Chen Jiu was surprised that his joke was taken seriously by the fatty.

"Uncle Zhong, what are your plans?" Chen Jiu asked Chen Zhong.

Chen Zhong shook his head: "Wherever you go, I'll go."

Chen Jiu nodded and didn't say anything more.

They soon arrived at the place where they had spent the night the previous night. Looking at the pile of charcoal, Chen Jiu smiled: "It looks like we'll have to stay here for a while."

Uncle Zhong corrected him: "It's just one night, not a while."

Chen Jiu smiled, not expecting Chen Zhong to be so serious: "Isn't one night a while?"

Chen Zhong shook his head: "We just left the bandit life. Saying we'll stay here for a while is not good. It could lead to trouble."

Without arguing, Chen Jiu looked at the fatty: "You're in charge of dinner. I'll go gather firewood."

After saying this, he broke some nearby branches and carried them back to their camp.

Soon, the fatty brought back some game, and Chen Zhong fetched some water.

Roast meat, again. But there was not enough salt, so the taste was not satisfactory.

Chen Jiu glared at the fatty: "You only care about the treasure. You didn't even think to take some salt from the mountain."

After saying this, he took a drink of water and passed the water flask to Chen Zhong.

The fatty's chubby face was covered in oil. He ignored Chen Jiu's scolding and ate with relish, as if he hadn't heard anything.

At night, Chen Zhong and the fatty lay by the fire, looking at the stars, occasionally saying a few words, and then turning to look at Chen Jiu, who was meditating, with a strange expression.

At this moment, Chen Jiu's mind had sunk into the Dao of Creation. Endless cosmic energy was gathering in his dantian, repairing his hidden ailments and strengthening his bones.

The path of the Dao of Creation, one day, one divine skill.

Chen Jiu was currently comprehending the first level, or rather, he hadn't even entered the first level. He naturally didn't have any divine skills yet.

This cultivation method was very strange. After entering the first level, one couldn't continue to cultivate it but had to cultivate the second level. Once the second level had some energy, it would drive the first level to completion, until all thirty-three levels were complete.

The jade light sprinkled down, being absorbed by Chen Jiu. Even within a dozen meters around him, it became a black hole, or rather, a blackness within the night, with no light at all, just pure black. All the moonlight was absorbed by Chen Jiu.

The fatty's eyes were wide open, whispering to Chen Zhong: "Uncle Zhong, what kind of cultivation method is this kid practicing? This phenomenon is quite significant."

Chen Zhong shook his head: "I don't know, but this cultivation method is not simple. But why can't I sense any energy from Xiao Jiu?"

"This kid has many secrets. We couldn't even detect the presence of the man in white, but this kid could. He's not to be underestimated," the fatty said, adding more wood to the fire.

After that, it was silent. It seemed they had fallen asleep, or were recalling the past, or thinking about the future.

Only the occasional "crack" of the burning wood and the disappearance of the surrounding bird sounds, as if the birds were also sleeping.