Chapter 25: Male Fox Spirit

Before Chu Wange revealed all the dirt, Lin Mo might have been able to bluff his way with his 455-point second mock Immortal Exam score, but now…

“What’s it to you? Just grill your skewers—I’m a future Immortal too, my scores are more than enough, the Nine Great Dao Academies aren’t a problem!”

The barbecue vendor saw right through Lin Mo’s hollow bravado and cleared his throat.

“I heard two years ago, the Yinming Palace and Cang Academy both offered extravagant deals to snatch our province’s top scholar—especially Cang Academy, even promising a small spiritual vein—but in the end, the Yinming Palace won him. Care to guess why?”

Lin Mo chuckled, saying nothing.

The vendor didn’t mind and grinned as he continued.

“The Yinming Palace somehow heard that our top scholar had a little girlfriend before the Immortal Exam—her score was barely enough for an ordinary Dao college, so after the exam, they tearfully broke up…”

He paused, glancing at Lin Mo, who subtly turned his body and strained to listen.

A sly half-smile curled on his lips as he went on.

“In the end, the Yinming Palace tracked down the top scholar and promised to admit his girlfriend along with him—only then did they win him away from Cang Academy.”

Lin Mo blurted, “Can they even do that?”

The moment he spoke, the vendor let out a knowing chuckle, wearing an expression that saw through everything.

Damn, I fell for it!

Lin Mo cursed inwardly—the old fox was too cunning, perfectly exploiting his weak psychological point.

Before he could salvage his dignity, Chu Wange beside him spoke up: “Sure.”

Lin Mo froze: “Huh? Sure what?”

Chu Wange looked at him calmly. “I can help you get in. Getting you into the Dao Sect won’t be hard.”

Lin Mo & the barbecue vendor: “...”

Lin Mo stared blankly for a long moment before slowly turning to glance at the vendor.

The vendor was frozen too—when he caught Lin Mo’s faintly smug gaze, his face turned as sour as if he’d eaten shit.

He wanted to slap himself—this damn mouth, always making up nonsense!

It wasn’t entirely made up, but the source was unreliable—just like street gossip, passed down from second aunt’s sister-in-law’s third uncle’s wife…

No one could confirm if such rumors were true.

Watching the vendor’s humiliation, Lin Mo felt delighted.

Heh, but I’m not some gold-digger.

Besides, I’ve got my own cheat system, okay?

Lin Mo smiled inwardly, then turned to Chu Wange with a perfectly calibrated expression of “surprise” and “embarrassment.”

“Really? Would that be too much trouble? Won’t it affect you?”

Yue~!

The barbecue vendor nearly gagged—Lin Mo’s expression was pure, unadulterated green tea: “I’m just so worried about my giegie.”

Yet Chu Wange’s 95-point beauty made even this artificial, low-grade performance strangely compelling.

Even the vendor had to admit: since Lin Mo and Chu Wange started coming here every night for barbecue, his once dismal business had improved dramatically.

These past few days, his wife had been busy counting money—and her mood toward him had improved too.

The vendor gritted his teeth and decided to swallow his anger, holding off from rushing over to beat the bastard.

Chu Wange shook her head. “You’ve treated me to so many meals of barbecue—consider this repayment.”

Just eating barbecue gets you into the Nine Great Dao Academies?

Why didn’t you say so earlier? I’d have given you the whole stall!

The vendor screamed silently inside—just as Lin Mo shot him a sly, knowing look.

Fuck, I should’ve never charged him!

He regretted it bitterly—then heard Lin Mo continue:

“Oh come on, we’re friends—barbecue’s nothing. Next time, I’ll treat you to Immortal fruits.”

“By the way, I heard of a kind of Immortal beast called Chuyun Powder Abalone—its meat is springy and chewy, perfect for grilling. Once we get into the Wenda Academy, I’ll catch one myself and grill it for you.”

Damn, now he’s just painting pies!

Hearing Lin Mo’s lies made the vendor feel worse than losing money on his barbecue.

But Chu Wange didn’t find anything odd—she nodded. “Okay.”

The vendor froze. Wait, is this settled already? Is getting into the Nine Great Dao Academies really this easy?

Amid the vendor’s unbearable misery, Lin Mo chatted and joked with Chu Wange while devouring his skewers.

Their high-looks combo drew attention from passersby as usual.

“Look at that couple—so sweet! The guy’s so handsome, even wiping her lips with a napkin!”

Vendor: You’re wrong—that’s not a couple, that’s an employee serving his boss.

“So thoughtful! If my future boyfriend were this gentlemanly…”

Vendor: Then tell me, can you give your boyfriend a chance to enter the Nine Great Dao Academies?

“The guy’s so hot—he’s even better-looking than the male lead from ‘Immortal Lord, Love Me Again!’”

Vendor: Girl, open your eyes—that’s a male fox spirit!

“...”

…

After they finished devouring the unusually lavish skewers, Chu Wange let out a satisfied burp, patted her slightly bulging belly, and waved at Lin Mo.

“See you at school tomorrow.”

Lin Mo gave his standard polite smile and waved. “See you tomorrow, my good friend!”

Hearing “good friend,” Chu Wange’s eyes flickered with a spark. She hummed twice, picked up the wooden sword beside her chair, and—just as usual—left with the same unbothered air of a free rider.

Lin Mo watched her walk away, then stood and walked over to the vendor, smiling sweetly.

“Boss, check out!”

The vendor’s face was blank. “Two hundred ninety-eight.”

Lin Mo pulled out three hundred-yuan bills and handed them over. “Boss, change.”

“Hmph.”

The vendor tugged his lips, took the money without expression, pulled two coins from his apron, slapped them into Lin Mo’s palm, stared blankly as Lin Mo’s lips curled into a √, then turned away…

“Heh~tui! Pretty boy—man’s shame!”

He turned and spat to the side—but the spit landed right in front of a fat girl walking by.

“Hey, boss!”

The chubby girl snapped.

“Oh! Sorry, sorry!”

The vendor apologized profusely—then looked up and noticed she wore a bright red Daoist robe. His eyes lit up. “Miss, let me treat you to some barbecue?”

“Really?”

The girl’s eyes sparkled.

“Absolutely!”

“Great! Great!”

“By the way, may I ask—what grade are you in? What’s your Immortal Exam score?”

The girl frowned. “I’m already working. I didn’t even pass the Dao Academy entrance exam.”

The vendor’s smile vanished. He tossed his tongs into the cart below, face blank.

“Sorry, closing up.”

“Huh? Not treating me?”

“Next time, for sure.”

“...”