Chapter 38: [This Is Simply Unjust!]

The old turtle opened its eyes and looked in all directions, discerning the flow of primal energy, and felt greatly puzzled in its heart.

What is happening? Why does the primal energy seem to be drawn away by something?

Is there an unscrupulous cultivator nearby performing a ritual to gather primal energy?

After a moment of thought, the old turtle stepped forward and headed toward the direction where the primal energy was flowing...

·

Chen Yan soaked in the bathtub; after the Primal Energy Circulation Art had been cycled six times, his body could no longer take it.

A thought struck him, so he simply continued to circulate the primal energy, but simultaneously kept injecting it into the ring.

One in, one out, neither delayed the other.

Having lain there for nearly an hour with nothing else to do, his mind began to ponder the matter of Lu Sisi.

Stealing luck, swapping fate.

With such a technique, the opponent must possess some cultivation.

If it were up to Chen Yan's own thoughts, he certainly would not want to get involved in such matters.

Anyone capable of such sinister and poisonous means must have considerable power.

Moreover, such a person must be both wicked and fierce.

For no reason at all, if he interfered, attracting such a powerful enemy would be trouble...

After all, Lu Sisi has no kinship or connection with him.

However...

"A human experience pack..."

Chen Yan sighed.

Setting conscience aside for the moment, the benefits were certainly attractive enough.

Helping Lu Sisi once would increase his cultivation by a segment.

If he helped her with something major...

His cultivation would likely make a tremendous leap.

Perhaps he could even break through to a new realm in one go!

Chen Yan did not know exactly what technique the other party had used against her, but the manual recorded some similar methods. He could roughly understand the principle.

In short: whether by conscience or the attraction of benefits, Chen Yan was willing to help Lu Sisi and wanted to help Lu Sisi. But at the same time, he did not wish to provoke powerful enemies.

Carefully pondering the spells recorded in the manual regarding this matter...

A thought struck Chen Yan; indeed... it seemed there was a way.

Just as he was thinking, suddenly, he felt the warmth surrounding him vanish.

Huh?

Chen Yan sat up in the bathtub.

"Did the power go out?

Ah, no, did the gas stop?"

The primal energy gathered, then suddenly cut off?

He rose from the bathtub, grabbed a towel, wiped himself hastily, wrapped it around his waist, and went straight downstairs.

He arrived at the array core to take a look.

"A Shanzhai is a Shanzhai indeed... the materials for the array core are indeed insufficient."

The jade tablet serving as the array core had cracked, and the primal energy within was exhausted.

Calculating the time, one jade tablet could only last for two hours.

·

By the lakeside of Yinlong Lake, a trail stretched from the lakeside out to the edge of the forest.

The old turtle was crawling toward the forest.

For an hour, it crawled with all its might...

It had covered a distance of about fifty meters!!

Turtles are naturally slow movers.

Moreover, the old turtle was currently in a special situation: after years of cultivation, it had recently reached the critical moment of attempting to break through to a new realm.

At this moment, it had suppressed its aura and fallen into slumber to avoid the heavenly tribulation; it absolutely could not use any magical power!

Just as it was lifting a leg, suddenly the old turtle raised its head.

This primal energy... isn't flowing anymore?

It stood frozen in place.

In the distance, the direction that had been attracting the primal energy seemed to have gone quiet as well.

Has that unscrupulous fellow finished casting his spell and left?

Should I still go?

The old turtle looked back at the lake fifty meters away, then gazed ahead at the mountains and forests; it would still have to cross mountains and hills...

Forget it, forget it; that unscrupulous ghost must have left. This Venerable One shall return to the residence and sleep.

Five minutes later, it turned around.

Another five minutes later, it had crawled several meters...

·

Chen Yan drained the bathtub water and cleaned up; after soaking for so long, many impurities in his body had been washed out.

He refilled the water.

Filling the bathtub once takes at least half an hour.

He took the opportunity to quickly prepare some dinner for himself.

Braised minced pork with eggplant, tomato and egg soup, a bowl of white rice.

Chen Yan read while eating, carefully checking the records in the booklet about reversing fate...

Before returning to his room, Chen Yan pondered for a moment, then sighed.

He was still using Qi to cleanse his physical body; how could cultivation be abandoned halfway!

He took out a new jade tablet, placed it into the array core, reactivated the Spirit-Gathering Array, waited a while, felt the Qi gathering again, and nodded in satisfaction.

Returning to the upstairs bathroom, the bathtub was full; he touched the water and found the temperature just right.

Chen Yan comfortably stripped and got back into the water.

·

By the lakeside in the mountains, the old turtle had trudged with difficulty; after an hour, it finally reached the water's edge, its claws just touching the surface...

Suddenly, it lifted its head.

"Holy crap!! It's happening again?!!"

Countless currents of Qi surged, all flowing cheerfully in one direction...

The Qi around the lakeside continued to dissipate, becoming extremely thin.

The old turtle was dumbfounded.

Turning to look behind, it realized that in the two hours it had spent going back and forth, it had only crawled one hundred meters.

I...

You're just messing with me, aren't you!!

·

By nightfall, the Spirit-Gathering Array's second battery died again.

With no reserves left, Chen Yan simply let it be.

Anyway, after soaking in the water for two hours, his body had been thoroughly cleansed.

That tingling, itchy sensation all over his body was gone.

This process of Qi cleansing the body and altering his constitution must be over.

Chen Yan lay in bed at night, holding the booklet until dawn, having formulated a plan in his mind before finally falling asleep.

At daybreak, Chen Yan opened his eyes and let out a long breath.

His body felt light; that feeling of overflowing energy and full spirit was truly refreshing!

After getting up to wash and prepare some breakfast, Chen Yan meditated for a while, practicing the Qi Circulation Technique once more.

He glanced at the time again: nine o'clock.

He picked up his phone and called Lu Sisi.

On the other end, Lu Sisi seemed to be walking outdoors, her voice sounding somewhat anxious.

"Lu Sisi, are you free today?"

"I'm on my way to the classroom; I have a required exam today."

"What about tomorrow?"

"Nothing tomorrow; after today's exam, all exams for this semester will be over."

"Good." Chen Yan nodded: "Then go take your exam first. When you're done this morning, let me know; I need to talk to you about something."

·

Lu Sisi hung up the phone and looked at the teaching building ahead.

She took a deep breath and exhaled.

She didn't know if it was psychological, or because she had already suffered bad luck from yesterday's injury, or perhaps because the talisman Chen Yan gave her really worked.

Anyway, since returning yesterday, she hadn't encountered any more bad luck.

It seemed everything was going quite smoothly.

Before leaving home this morning, Lu Sisi hid in the bathroom and burned another talisman.

Hope... everything goes smoothly today as well.

·

Sitting in the classroom for the exam, when she received the paper, Lu Sisi froze.

As if afraid she was seeing things, she rubbed her eyes hard.

Hmm?

This question, I did it a few days ago!

Ah, that question, I saw it while reviewing!

Eh, this passage, I memorized it last night!!

Gripping her pen tightly, the young girl stood there with her eyes wide open, utterly stunned.

·

In the morning, Chen Yan arrived again at the store near the university district and found Hu Tiangou.

"You want to rent another place?"

Hu Tiangou looked at his classmate curiously: "Didn't you already move into a mansion?"

"What kind of talk is that? You won't take business that's handed to you?" Chen Yan smiled.

"Take it! Take it! Sit down and talk!"

Hu Shangke was overjoyed, personally brought Chen Yan a chair, and even poured him a cup of tea.

A few minutes later, Hu Shangke stared at Chen Yan with a blank, dumbfounded look.

"Bro, you said you want to rent a short-term place?"

"Yeah, just for a few days, about a week," Chen Yan said with a smile. "Winter break is coming soon, there should be plenty of short-term rentals near the university district, right?"

Hu Shangke nodded. "That's true. You've gone to college around here yourself, so you get it—lately, quite a few short-term rental listings have come into our shop."

Near the university district, every summer and winter break, some short-term rentals would pop up.

The reason was actually easy to understand: some upperclassmen—those in relationships, starting businesses, or just preferring the freedom of living outside—would secretly rent places off-campus.

But when summer or winter break came, students went home—especially during winter break… everyone had to go home for New Year.

So the places they'd rented would sit empty for a month or two.

For students, leaving it empty for a month or two meant the rent was just wasted—the landlord wasn't going to reduce it or give a refund either.

So, whenever this time came around, some quick-witted student tenants would quietly list their place.

Renting it out short-term.

A week, ten days to half a month, a month… they could collect some money back and cut their losses.

But a lot of property owners weren't happy about this kind of thing, so some students could only do it on the sly, finding agents they knew to quietly introduce the place.

"What's your budget?"

"The cheaper the better," Chen Yan answered matter-of-factly.

"Bro… same thing as before—even if you want it cheap, you still have to give me a number so I can look for you," Hu Shangke said helplessly. "Cheap places are usually a bit out of the way."

"Far is fine."

"The place is also old."

"Doesn't matter."

"The facilities are pretty basic too."

"Doesn't matter."

Hu Shangke's face scrunched up like a bitter gourd: "Bro, how about I just find you a shed?"

Chen Yan actually thought about it seriously: "A shed isn't out of the question—as long as it has walls, a window, and a roof…"

Hu Shangke rolled his eyes.

If this guy hadn't actually forked over real money a few days ago to rent a big villa from him, he would've thought the guy was just messing with him.

"Just renting for one week?" Hu Shangke thought for a moment, then scrolled through the listings on his phone. "There actually is a cheap one. I just got the keys yesterday—it's from a junior of ours, a senior here at our school."

"Mm, tell me about it."

"The price is six hundred. Use it for a week or a month, whatever you want—just clear out before school starts again after Spring Festival.

The place is a bit far, on the very edge of the university district. A little further and you're almost at the provincial road.

It's a single-story place, just one room with a small toilet. The toilet does have a flush toilet, but you can't shower there.

No kitchen. The guy himself just sets up an induction cooker in the room normally.

The furniture and stuff are all pretty basic—there's a bed, a wardrobe, a desk. But no internet."

No internet?

Chen Yan laughed. "What kind of junior rents a place without internet and still lives there?"

"A senior civil engineering dog. He usually goes out for internships, hauling bricks and eating sand on construction sites, day in and day out. He doesn't like living on-site, and often works until the middle of the night. Going back to the dorm isn't convenient either, so he rented a place nearby.

He doesn't care about no internet—as long as there's a bed to sleep in, that's fine.

No kitchen because he eats boxed meals on the construction site normally.

As for showering, civil engineering dogs get used to being dirty. If he really needs to, he can still go back to the school's bathhouse."

That civil engineering junior lives rough… Chen Yan sighed. "Alright, let's go with that one."

"Just so we're clear—no deposit needed, but also no contract," Hu Shangke reminded him.

"I understand." Chen Yan nodded.

Renting it out secretly behind the landlord's back was technically not compliant, so in this kind of situation they chose not to sign a contract—even if they did, it wouldn't have any legal force.

Naturally, no deposit was needed either.

Chen Yan stood up and pulled Hu Shangke along to go look at the place.

The two of them scanned some shared bikes, rode through the university district, and arrived at the destination after ten-plus minutes.

Chen Yan took a quick look. The place was okay—a bit old-looking, but not the kind of rural farmhouse.

Instead, it was a proper industrial-style building.

Probably some old work unit or old factory dormitory from back in the day.

The surroundings had mostly been torn down. There were only five or six households left near this place, and they weren't even close together.

The place was just as Hu Shangke had said—basic, but it had what it needed.

The room was about twenty square meters—a bed, a wardrobe, a desk. That was it.

Just a bit messy.

No contract needed. The rent went straight to Hu Shangke for him to pass along, plus an extra hundred yuan on top of the rent as Hu Shangke's agency fee.

Chen Yan transferred the money to Hu Shangke, took the keys casually, but lowered his head to send a WeChat message.

Then he sent a voice message over.

"Just come to the location I sent you. I'll wait for you here."

Hu Shangke glanced at Chen Yan. "What, waiting for someone here?"

"Yeah, waiting for a junior from high school." Chen Yan replied.

"…Yeah, right!" Hu Shangke didn't buy it, and carefully reminded Chen Yan: "That civil engineering junior is my friend. Bro, please take good care of the place, alright? If you break anything, the landlord will give him trouble.

He only trusted me enough to let me handle the place…"

Chen Yan smiled and agreed, then spotted a broom leaning against the wall, picked it up, went inside, and swept the room.

Hu Shangke, being enthusiastic, simply came in to help tidy up.

After a while of busy work, the room wasn't large, so they cleaned it up with ease; there was also a bag of trash, which Hu Shangke said he would take away and throw out.

No sooner had they stepped out of the room than Hu Shangke's eyes lit up!

A petite girl was standing outside!

She wore a milk-yellow down jacket, her face was palm-sized, pink and tender, with big eyes and a high nose bridge...

One glance at her was simply enough to make one's face bleed from cuteness!

It was just that a piece of gauze was stuck on the girl's forehead, which looked a bit of a pity.

While Hu Shangke stared at her, the girl held a mobile phone, looking around in confusion, as if she were lost?

Hu Shangke's heart suddenly gave a jolt!

It moved!

His DNA moved!

A sycophant's DNA moved!!

Such a woman, why not lick her!!!

·

"Yo, why did you take so long?"

Just as Hu Shangke was racking his brains for a pickup line, Chen Yan's voice came from the room behind him.

Hu Shangke turned around and saw Chen Yan walking over slowly, passing him to head straight for the girl.

"I, I thought I got the wrong place..." Lu Sisi apologized softly, "Sorry to have kept you waiting."

As she spoke, the girl held up a plastic bag in her hand: "You said you hadn't eaten, so I bought you a pancake on the way..."

Chen Yan laughed heartily, stepped forward, and grabbed Lu Sisi's arm.

"Let's go, come inside with me."

·

Watching that pretty, cute girl being gently dragged by Chen Yan into the room...

Hu Tiangou was dumbfounded!

"Old Hu, it's fine, you can head back! I'll find you next time I need something."

Chen Yan turned back, left those words, and then the door slammed shut with a bang.

Hu Shangke: "…………"

It wasn't that Chen Yan was rude, not even introducing them.

Rather, he thought that Lu Sisi was surrounded by bad luck, and whoever got close would suffer misfortune; Hu Tiangou's fate was average, so he shouldn't get involved.

·

Hu Shangke stood stunned outside the room for a full five seconds, then turned around in grief and anger and left!

What kind of world is this!!

I said, why did you suddenly get a short-term rental... so, so...

You brought a girl here to have fun!?

Short-term rental, one week?

Seven days?

Can your body even handle it, you bastard!

Such a beautiful girl!

You bastard, at least spend some money and book a hotel room!!

A girl of this caliber!!

If it were me... I'd sell blood every single day to treat her to luxurious feasts, and she'd need a car for every outing! If the girl were kind enough to grant me her favor, I'd sell the pot and melt the iron to find a five-star hotel!!

You Chen Dog, you bastard, just stand there and pedal!!!

It's too unjust!!

·

【You all keep saying I'm short, but this public version chapter is four thousand five hundred characters.

Type "Dance long and hard!" on the public screen!

Votes~~~~~~~】

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