[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world":3,"chapter-cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-chapter-30":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Cultivation: I Studied Abroad in the Modern World",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2263756,4418,"Chapter 30: Night of Chaos","cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-chapter-30",30,"\u003Cp>The night had fully fallen, and the carriage raced through the starlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Seventh Young Master looked utterly defeated, clinging to the carriage door and asking Gao Yuan: “Where are we?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We should be almost there,” Gao Yuan replied uncertainly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You can’t even find the right road—what good are you? When I get back, you’re fired!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I learned how to drive, not how to read maps!” Gao Yuan shot back defensively: “Why don’t you scold Zheng Fa? He can’t even recognize his own way home!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both turned to stare at Zheng Fa, who stood nearby watching the scene, as if it had nothing to do with him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa: … This blame really is mine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the city, all the roads look nearly identical—who knows which fork is the right one?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the modern world, after GPS navigation, many people can’t even read maps anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And this place doesn’t even have road signs—only the old horse knows the way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, this road must be right! No doubt about it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, Zheng Fa had a good memory; recalling the scenery along the way, he finally spotted the correct intersection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Zheng Fa’s confident reply, the Seventh Young Master turned and sat back on his chair, rubbing his stomach and frowning: “I’m so hungry! Is there any food?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had set out after lunch; at this carriage’s speed, they should have reached the Zheng family’s estate before dinner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now they’d taken the wrong road and wasted half the day—dinner was out of the question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They’d even missed the time for midnight snacks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All three were hungry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa noticed sharply that when the Seventh Young Master spoke, his eyes fixed on the food box beside his feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He thought for a moment, then picked up the box.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Seventh Young Master smiled—then watched in disbelief as Zheng Fa hid the box behind his back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You won’t even let me see it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zheng Fa!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm?” Zheng Fa looked vaguely confused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m hungry!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m hungry too,” Zheng Fa said, nodding with deep understanding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I saw it—you took a whole pile of pastries from the kitchen, all in there!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Zheng Fa pretend ignorance, the Seventh Young Master dropped the act.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These are for my sister,” Zheng Fa replied coldly. “There’s only this little.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Brother!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though Zheng Fa always considered himself more worldly than the people of this world, he was stunned by the Seventh Young Master’s brazenness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She’s only six years old...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa didn’t say the thought that came to mind: How can you even ask for this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m hungry!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa sighed. The Seventh Young Master, raised in such privilege, had likely never gone hungry in his life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s why he couldn’t bear it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He opened the food box—inside lay two plates of small pastries, all ones Zheng Fa had tasted and chosen for himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, everyone in the Zhao household knew Zheng Fa had some favor with the Seventh Young Master; when he asked the kitchen for these snacks, someone would prepare them for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Here,” he handed one plate over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Seventh Young Master snatched a bean cake and shoved it into his mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa thought for a moment, then lifted the carriage curtain and called to Gao Yuan: “Gao Yuan, you’ve been driving all night—you must be hungry too. Have some.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He passed the plate out; Gao Yuan nodded eagerly and grabbed a piece.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa figured both were still growing and one pastry wouldn’t fill them, so he set the food box inside the carriage and said: “Take more when you’re done.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Seventh Young Master finished his bean cake quickly, then noticed Zheng Fa hadn’t taken any and had returned to his seat. He frowned in confusion: “Aren’t you eating?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m not hungry.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Seventh Young Master looked at his hands—licked clean of every crumb—then at Zheng Fa, and remembered they’d all eaten lunch together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He and Gao Yuan were both hungry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa wasn’t?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe he was saving some for his sister?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Seventh Young Master swallowed hard, then suddenly said: “I’m not that hungry anymore. I won’t eat.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the carriage, Gao Yuan added: “No water—eating too much will choke me! I’m not eating either.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa genuinely didn’t feel that hungry—he was used to enduring hunger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did intend to save a few pieces for his sister.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These two...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t press them further, just smiled and closed the food box. “We’re almost there. We’ll eat when we arrive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Zheng Fa had said, less than half an hour later, they saw the dark silhouettes of houses against the starry sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’re here!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Seventh Young Master gazed at the low cluster of houses, eager to leap from the carriage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, the foremost house lit up with torches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gongs and drums rang out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The villagers, already asleep, scrambled out of bed and lit candles in their homes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire estate erupted into chaotic commotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s going on?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Seventh Young Master stared in shock at the panicked estate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They’re afraid of bandits. We arrived too late—the sentries couldn’t make out the carriage and thought we were hostile.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Xuanwei Realm is not peaceful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jingzhou City is safe enough, but the outlying estates often face raids by bandits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every night, able-bodied men keep watch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice grew somber.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa’s father had been one of the night watchmen on the night the beast came down from the mountains...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, the estate was in full turmoil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Mu held her drowsy daughter Zheng Shan, peering out the window.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mother?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Shan felt her mother trembling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Mu forced a smile for her daughter—Zheng Shan had been only one year old when her father died, with no memory of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she could never forget.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back then, it was the same gong sounds, the same chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a while, a villager ran over shouting: “It’s fine! It’s fine! It’s the Zhao family’s carriage!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Shan felt her mother’s grip loosen, and a sigh rose from above her head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A moment later, her mother suddenly stiffened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She set Zheng Shan down and rushed wildly outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mother! What’s happening!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Shan, barefoot, stumbled after her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Mu didn’t answer. She dared not answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A while ago, Wang Gui had been beaten by the Lady and sent back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a carriage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The household had brought back Wang Gui, unconscious and near death, all of a sudden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the Wang steward’s home, Wang Gui had dressed and was whispering excitedly to his father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I told you Zheng Fa wouldn’t last long! We should’ve moved against the Zheng family sooner! You kept saying ‘wait a little longer, wait a little longer!’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shut your filthy mouth.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Gui fell silent, but his face still brimmed with defiance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Wang steward knew his son was right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew a bit about the Seventh Young Master’s temper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His son’s failure was one thing—but this Seventh Young Master was truly unbearable to serve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, no one from the household came out this late.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Zheng Mu had thought, he too remembered the night his son had been sent back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Being cautious is right! Besides, he’s fallen out of the Seventh Young Master’s favor—his whole family lives here in the estate. Where could they run? What’s the rush?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Wang steward scolded his son, then walked toward the edge of the estate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Gui laughed behind him, knowing his father would never hold him back again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A carriage was slowly approaching; Wang Gui looked at the driver, Gao Yuan, puzzled by the man’s youth and unfamiliarity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And where is Zheng Fa?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lying inside the carriage?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He leaned forward to look into the carriage and saw the curtain lifted—Young Master Seven poked his head out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Young Master Seven?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Gui stared, dumbfounded, at Young Master Seven’s face, unable to fathom why he had come here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had he come to take me back?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master!” he cried out, deeply moved, silently vowing: Young Master Seven came himself to fetch me—I will give my life for him!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if Lady Zheng breaks my legs again, I’ll take him to Yan Yu Lou!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh? You live here too?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Young Master Seven’s surprised expression felt cold and hurtful to Wang Gui.\u003C\u002Fp>",1381,"2026-06-19T19:16:02.864Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","df0c52fdf5ae1b335bbf3bdf05f31af847bd5d4ee41fd98ca709ac987c6b1ce6","cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-chapter-31","cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-chapter-29",487,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fcultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-cover.jpg"]