Chapter 17: Chapter Fifteen: [Can the Destiny-Cutting Technique Do This?]

Lu Sisi ran off crying, and Chen Yan and Xiao Zhao had no reason to go to the hospital anymore.

Xiao Zhao simply returned to the tourist attraction to resume his role as a shill.

After seeing Xiao Zhao off, Chen Yan’s expression finally revealed a hint of expected delight.

My Yuan Qi… has increased again!

After I “helped” Lu Sisi evade her destined calamity, the girl choked on water, and the black aura of her drowning fate receded slightly.

Chen Yan once again felt the same sensation he’d experienced on the plane a few days ago:

The flow of his personal fortune shifted once more, with tiny threads of Yuan Qi entering his body, smoother than ever. The growth of Yuan Qi brought a pleasant comfort throughout his entire body, like a spring rain brushing against his face—cool, soft, and deeply satisfying.

I… can increase my cultivation by helping others evade calamity?

What exactly am I cultivating—Yuan Qi, or some kind of merit-based dharma?

After standing in place and pondering for a moment…

If helping others boosts my cultivation, Chen Yan had no objection to starting tomorrow by helping old ladies cross the street every day.

Things you can’t figure out should be set aside for now; the sky had grown late, and it was time to go home.

Hmm? My stomach’s a bit hungry.

Chen Yan glanced left down the street—yes, he remembered there was a KFC nearby, and today seemed to be Thursday.

·

A tall, graceful girl stood by the roadside, gazing longingly at the clean, bright storefront ahead.

Through the large floor-to-ceiling windows, the interior was spotless, with promotional posters showing a white-bearded old man in a white suit.

But the girl wasn’t interested in any of that.

What caught her attention were the two little boys who had just walked out of the store, each biting into a fragrant chicken leg.

(Ugh… so hungry… I really want a chicken leg…)

The girl’s hair looked filthy, unwashed for many days, and her braids had come loose in places.

She wore an old-fashioned black cotton coat, equally dirty, streaked with dust—black patches mixed with gray.

Yet her small face was clean, her features strikingly beautiful, her eyes alluring.

She really wanted to go inside and buy a chicken leg.

But…

She had no money left.

Her last yuan had been spent on a phone call today.

Uncle hadn’t told her how quickly money disappears in this world!

When she left, Uncle had given her a few hundred bills from this world, assuring her they’d last her months if she was careful.

But she’d only been out ten days, and even eating just once a day, she’d spent every last cent.

The girl had been secretly observing outside the store for a long time—customers entering this “chicken leg shop” didn’t pay any staff at the counter; instead, each person used a device called a “mobile phone” to scan a screen…

Then they waited while staff prepared the food and placed it on the counter for them to pick up.

Hmm… maybe there’s a loophole here!

·

Chen Yan walked into the KFC, used his phone to order a Family Meal for takeaway, then sat down nearby and scrolled through short videos while waiting.

After a while, Chen Yan looked up at the large screen behind the counter.

Pickup: A0087

Hmm, that’s mine.

As Chen Yan approached the counter, he saw the pickup area—there sat a packed Family Meal.

He was just about to reach for it…

Whoosh!

A figure shot past Chen Yan like the wind!

Snatched the Family Meal, hugged it to her chest, and turned to run!

Chen Yan: Huh?!

·

The figure dashed through the front door with the Family Meal, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

She moved so fast Chen Yan couldn’t make out her form clearly.

He only vaguely caught the impression of a girl in black clothing.

And just as she dashed past him, snatching the meal, Chen Yan thought he heard a clear voice.

“Sorry!”

·

Several seconds later, Chen Yan snapped back to reality, staring wide-eyed at the empty counter, then out at the street.

Chen Yan: What the hell?!

My Family Meal! Where the hell is my big-ass Family Meal?!

Did I just get robbed?

No way.

Are thieves this polite now?

Didn’t she just say sorry to me?

·

Two streets away, the figure turned sharply into an alley, sprinted to the end, and reached a construction site.

With winter approaching, workers had gone home and the site stood empty. The girl rushed to the side of a five- or six-story unfinished building, circled around to the back, paused to scan left and right—no one in sight—then stomped her foot.

Shhh!

Her figure shot straight up to the rooftop!

Landing on the concrete slab, she finally exhaled, turned, and leaned halfway over the edge to look down.

Hmm, confirmed—no one followed.

The girl exhaled a long breath, opened the Family Meal in her hands.

As the lid lifted, a rich, oily aroma filled her nose, and her stomach immediately growled.

The girl pouted pitifully, set the Family Meal on the ground before her, then clasped her hands together, solemnly murmuring:

“Ancestors above, your disciple knows our clan’s rules strictly forbid stealing, deceiving, or swindling the innocent—but… I have no choice.

My transgression has brought me to this state, and the reasons are threefold:

First, Uncle taught me everything wrong!

Second, that Chen family rogue is truly cunning and well-hidden.

Third, third, third…”

Here, the girl’s lips trembled; she swallowed her grievance and continued:

“…Third… I’m just too hungry to bear it anymore…

So, Ancestors above, if you must punish me—

Punish Uncle first.

Then punish that Chen family villain.

As for me…

Surely, with your wisdom and mercy, you won’t punish your disciple, right?”

After speaking, the girl seemed to finally relax, sat back down on the ground, and reached into the greasy paper box with her filthy hands, grabbing a piece of chicken and biting into it!

“Mmm… so delicious…”

The girl’s eyes widened.

·

Evening.

Winter had arrived; the sun set early, and without its warmth, the temperature dropped swiftly. Even before full darkness fell, standing outside already brought a chill from the wind.

Chen Yan sat in the basement of the villa.

The previous owner had converted it into a storage room, filled with miscellaneous items, spare parts from household appliances, and two toolboxes.

Chen Yan had cleared a workbench, covered its surface with an oilcloth, and placed on it a set of carving tools and several green stone bars, each over a meter long, used for practicing rune carving.

Now, on the bench lay two jade plaques—one green, one white—both ordinary, mass-produced pieces Chen Yan had bought from a jade shop today.

Chen Yan sat before the table, staring at the two jade plaques, lost in thought.

He’d already tested them at home: the white jade had better quality, but even after fifteen seconds of Yuan Qi infusion via the cultivation method, it reached its capacity limit.

The green jade was worse—after only ten seconds, fine cracks appeared on its surface.

But Chen Yan remembered clearly: before leaving, when he’d tried the emerald signet ring, the cultivation method had infused Yuan Qi for minutes without filling it!

Granted, the emerald was naturally far superior in material quality to these low-grade jade plaques.

But even ordinary worldly materials shouldn’t differ so drastically in capacity.

Chen Yan became even more certain the signet ring was no ordinary object.

But…

“Carrying a golden bowl and begging for food.”

Chen Yan sighed helplessly.

I knew it was a treasure, but had no idea what use it had.

With my current cultivation level, I simply couldn’t fathom the strange nature of this jade signet ring.

If Old Grandma put this treasure in the safe and left it to me, why didn’t she leave even a single instruction manual?

After much thought, Chen Yan finally made a decision: from today on, he would daily use the Nourishing Method to channel Qi into the ring—just about a minute each day, no more.

More than that might damage the treasure.

Slowly nourish it, and when my cultivation rises in the future, I’ll gradually figure out its mystery.

·

He hadn’t gotten to eat KFC outside today, and after rushing around at home for so long, Chen Yan felt he could devour an entire ox.

As for the bucket being stolen… he’d just have to let it go. It was only a few dozen yuan’s worth—could he really call the police and demand the restaurant’s surveillance footage?

Not worth it.

He patted his empty stomach and wondered: should he order takeout?

Hmm… eating takeout all the time wasn’t good for the body. That greasy, salty, spicy food was just a cover for cheap, even stale ingredients.

And the oil was mostly low-grade stuff too.

Thinking of this, Chen Yan tidied up his workbench and went into the kitchen to wash his hands.

At home, he still had some ingredients.

The fridge still held half a pot of leftover rice from yesterday, and a dozen eggs—now that Chen Yan had money, he bought those supposedly edible-raw, sterile eggs.

He’d already eaten a few since buying them, but hadn’t noticed anything special.

He just always felt his mouth was full of the taste of money.

He cracked two eggs into a bowl and beat them well, then scooped out a large bowl of white rice.

He poured the egg mixture directly over the rice and stirred it thoroughly.

Then he lit the stove, heated oil in the wok, and tossed in the egg-coated rice to stir-fry.

The resulting fried rice was golden-grained, with not a single visible piece of solidified egg.

This was the “Golden Fried Rice” Chen Yan had learned from Old Grandma.

Before removing it from the heat, he sprinkled in a pinch of salt and added a spoonful of dark soy sauce, stirring a few more times.

Done!

In the vast dining room of his home, seated at a large round table capable of seating ten, Chen Yan ate, following the habit of most urban youths today: he picked up his phone.

There weren’t many unread messages on WeChat—he wasn’t the type to make friends everywhere, so he had few.

The latest one was from “Hutian Dog”—Chen Yan had nicknamed him “Hutian Dog” on WeChat.

Hutian Dog: Bro, how’s the apartment? I can handle after-sales—if you have any issues, just call me, I can help coordinate with the landlord.

Chen Yan read it, nodded: Old Hu was a decent guy—he’d hire him again if he needed housing.

The second message was from Xiao Zhao.

Zhao Shanhe: Brother, I just remembered something—when I fell into the river, was it you who kicked me in?

Knowing his good friend was joking, Chen Yan didn’t mind and playfully replied: Guess?

The third was from a name he didn’t recognize: Someone Sometime.

Chen Yan raised an eyebrow—this name was oddly literary.

Someone Sometime: Mr. Chen, I’d like to visit regarding a matter. When might you be available?

Chen Yan suddenly remembered—this WeChat ID was from a few days ago, when he rented the villa. It belonged to the landlord’s subordinate.

Adding him then made perfect sense—someone to contact if any issues arose during his stay.

He thought a moment, then casually replied: What’s this about?

He’d just planned to switch apps and find a show to eat with, but the reply came instantly.

“It’s a small matter, about the house. When are you free? I’d like to drop by.”

Chen Yan was puzzled, but after thinking, replied: “I’m home all the time. Come whenever.”

One minute later, Chen Yan had opened a show to eat with, when WeChat popped up a notification.

Someone Sometime: I’ll visit tomorrow at 3 p.m. Is that convenient?

Chen Yan replied OK and ignored it, focusing on his show.

After eating and cleaning up, Chen Yan returned to his room and sat on the bed to practice the Qi Circulation Technique twice.

Suddenly, his phone rang again!

This time, when he picked it up, the caller ID read: Hutian Dog.

Huh?

He answered casually, and Hu Shangke’s excited voice came through.

“Chen Yan, Chen Yan, got a juicy gossip—want to hear it? And it’s even related to you!”

Chen Yan, half-asleep: “What? Dengzi and Dongwang just came out?”

Hu Shangke paused, clearly annoyed his momentum was broken: “What? This gossip’s related to you!”

“Oh?” Chen Yan perked up: “Go on.”

Hu Shangke’s enthusiasm returned: “Remember that apartment you moved out of? I helped you move, right? Your old landlord gave me his number back then, said he’d rent it out and asked me to find tenants—remember?”

Chen Yan didn’t quite recall—he’d moved out with Hu Shangke present, and the landlord had been there too. But one was a realtor, the other the landlord—of course they’d chat.

“I remember. Then what?”

Hu Shangke got excited: “I’ll tell you—today your landlord came to our office. All his tenants fled, not one stayed. He came to re-rent the place.”

“And he told us something insane! Absolutely insane!!”

He paused, took a deep breath: “He told me… [161] One day after you moved out, he went to collect rent, opened the door, and saw one of the tenants—seemed to be a Wang or something—[162] naked, lying face-down on the floor, unconscious. [163] But he was still spitting—spitting… [164] Spitting that thing!”

After you moved out, one day he went to collect rent, opened the door, and saw one of the tenants in the apartment—uh, he said the guy’s last name was Wang or something like that…

The man was naked from the waist down, lying face down on the floor, unconscious.

But he was still spitting out mouthful after mouthful, spitting…

Spitting out that stuff!’

Chen Yan was curious: “Spitting what? What thing? Be specific.”

Hu Shangke chuckled, and said one word:

“Shit!”

Holy shit!

Chen Yan had been lying lazily on the bed, but at that, he shot upright!

“What? Say that again! Shit? [171] Out of his mouth… Holy shit!!”

He was spitting out of his mouth… Holy shit!!’

“It gets worse! [173] The landlord said his whole body went numb. In that apartment—on the table, floor, sofa, coffee table… [174] It was everywhere. The place was completely uninhabitable. [175] He called an ambulance, took the bastard to the hospital. When he woke up, he remembered nothing. [176] But the doctors found traces still in his stomach after gastric lavage… [177] Said… he must’ve eaten it himself, overate, got nauseous, and vomited it up.”

The landlord said he was completely frozen stiff! In his apartment, on the table, on the floor, on the sofa, on the coffee table…

It was spewed everywhere—the apartment was truly uninhabitable.

Then he called an ambulance and took that bastard to the hospital; when the man woke up, he remembered nothing.

But the doctor said that when they pumped his stomach, they found residual material still inside…

It was said… that he must have eaten it himself, ate too much, got sick to his stomach, and threw up as a result.」

“Holy shit!” Chen Yan was speechless: “He ate it? But where’d he even get that stuff?”

Hu Shangke replied dryly: “Didn’t I say? When the landlord found him, the bastard was naked…”

Chen Yan: “…………”

“Because of this, all the other tenants in the building freaked out and refused to stay—they totally get it. Who’d want to live in a place where that stuff was splattered everywhere? Everyone demanded to move out. Your old landlord was furious, had no choice but to come to us to find new tenants…”

Hu Shangke went on rambling for a while, then hung up after sharing the gossip.

Chen Yan had already lost interest in the rest, just murmured vague replies.

After hanging up, Chen Yan fell into deep thought.

He’d once cast a Qi-Cutting Technique on that Wang guy to punish his vulgar behavior.

Normally, the Qi-Cutting Technique only brought bad luck—maybe a stumble, a sprained ankle, a few days of pain, or a cold.

His cultivation was too weak to produce anything more powerful.

Could the Qi-Cutting Technique do this?

Holy shit!

If I can do this to anyone I dislike in the future…

The harm’s minor, but damn—it’ll give them nightmares for life.

·

Tonight is New Year’s Eve—2024 is ending. May you all have smooth sailing, health, and joy in 2025!

A little tip for good fortune would be appreciated!

A dime or two isn’t too little; gold or silver isn’t too much~

Also, though I’ve signed the contract, because I delayed too long, the expedited process is done, but the recommendation will be delayed a few days.

That means my book will be naked for many more days… So far, no recommendations at all, and now it’ll stay naked…

Let me cry a little here.]

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