Chapter 66: [Playing Against the Rules?]

The next morning, Luo Qing came out of the teahouse, having arranged to meet a contractor. Taking advantage of the fact that the man hadn't yet returned to his hometown before the New Year, he asked him to bring people to Luoyun Studio to look at the site and then estimate the cost of rebuilding the west wing and the main hall.

He had drunk morning tea before heading out, drove all the way to the commercial district, parked in the parking lot, and walked to Luoyun Studio. From a distance, he could see the contractor he had arranged to meet standing at the shop entrance with his people.

Luo Qing staggered over to greet them, then unlocked the door and led the contractor's people through the shop toward the rear courtyard.

"The west wing of the third courtyard has collapsed, and the main hall has half collapsed. Help me see how much it would cost to renovate..."

Just as he was speaking, after walking into the third courtyard, Luo Qing suddenly shut his mouth.

The contractor behind him stared wide-eyed at this "rear courtyard" and cast a puzzled glance at Luo Luo Fang Zong.

"Um... Luo Luo Fang Zong, didn't you tell me wrong before? It's not a renovation, it's a complete rebuild, right?"

At this moment, before Luo Qing's eyes, the third courtyard behind his own Luoyun Studio...

Apart from the courtyard walls still standing intact, the originally collapsed west wing was still in the same state.

And the east wing had also been razed to the ground, becoming a stretch of broken bricks and shattered tiles.

As for the main hall... it had originally only half collapsed, but now the roof and walls were completely gone, leaving only a few pillars stubbornly standing there.

"Luo Luo Fang Zong, this is no small job. The price we discussed before definitely won't work."

"Luo Luo Fang Zong, these houses all belong to the street's pseudo-classical architecture. If you want to rebuild, do you have permission from the street office?"

"Also, Luo Luo Fang Zong, if it's a street-owned house, then I'll need an entry permit to do the renovation, otherwise I'm afraid of getting investigated..."

"Oh right, Luo Luo Fang Zong, do the rebuilt house's design and style still need to match the surrounding buildings? I heard the authorities have regulations for these kinds of houses...

Hey! Luo Luo Fang Zong! Luo Luo Fang Zong, what's wrong with you? Luo Luo Fang Zong!"

The contractor was rambling on when he saw Luo Qing beside him suddenly go rigid and fall face-first onto the ground.

He hurried over to look and saw this Uncle Qing lying on the ground, face deathly pale, lips trembling, still muttering something incomprehensible.

He leaned in closer to listen and finally understood:

"My money... my money... my money..."

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Chen Yan was eating breakfast with Gu Xiaoniang.

Soy milk + vegetable buns.

This shop's vegetable buns were quite good—the filling was vegetables and wood ear mushrooms, tossed with sesame oil, and one bite filled the mouth with fragrance.

Gu Qingyi only drank one cup of soy milk, but ate eight fist-sized buns in one go.

Chen Yan watched from the side, frowning.

"Let's pack a few more to take back—they can double as lunch, right?" The well-fed Gu Qingyi wiped her mouth and looked at Chen Yan a little sheepishly.

Chen Yan sighed.

Buy them, buy them—just a few buns—supporting elders, traditional virtue, right?

"Oh right, I almost forgot to ask you. Demolishing someone's house last night, you were quite skilled with your hands. Have you done this kind of thing before?"

On the road, Chen Yan carried a big bag of buns in his hand, walking side by side with Gu Qingyi, and suddenly thought of it and asked casually.

Gu Qingyi's gaze drifted into the distance again, as if she hadn't heard a thing.

Chen Yan didn't think much of it and directly sent Fang Fang Zong two photos on WeChat—on-the-spot photos of Luoyun Studio's rear courtyard after being razed to the ground.

Didn't beat up the guy, but flattened his house—should count as severely crippling Luo Qing, right?

Sure enough, a moment later Fang Fang Zong replied with a thumbs-up emoji.

Returning to the villa district and heading home, just as he reached the gate of the villa courtyard, he saw a truck with "Joyful Moving" printed on its cargo box parked at the gate of another villa in the distance.

Several movers in uniform were busy carrying furniture out from inside the courtyard gate.

"The neighbor next door is moving," Chen Yan glanced over. "The feng shui here is pretty good, why are they leaving?"

Gu Qingyi glanced over and suddenly said, "I remember you said the house you're in now is rented, right? The people next door moved away. Why don't you go ask—if it becomes vacant, you could buy one?"

"No money!" Chen Yan shook his head.

He only had a million-something in cash on hand.

Hmm... but the gold and jewelry and jade in the Hong Kong vault, he could consider finding a way to get them back and sell them off.

Gold worth tens of millions didn't seem like much.

But those jade pieces were worth quite a lot. When Chen Yan saw them at the time, he didn't really understand, but after studying the "Treasure Appraisal Chapter" from the booklet later, the taste of it gradually dawned on him.

In the vault left behind by the Old Grandma, the most valuable things weren't those gold bars at all.

It was that batch of jade!

Relying on his memory from that time, Chen Yan could still vaguely recall that the color and translucency of that batch of jade were quite excellent.

And... maybe he could even find one or two treasures similar to that thumb ring among them?

Speaking of which, Chen Yan had also asked this Gu Xiaoniang to help look at the thumb ring.

Her reaction was very direct: "Can't make sense of it, don't understand."

Well, she studies combat arts after all.

Even some seafood seller once said that martial men are the most coarse and vulgar.

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Back home, Chen Yan sat in meditation circulating his vital energy, while Gu Qingyi carried a chair out to the courtyard to sunbathe.

After Chen Yan practiced the Vital Energy Circulation Method back and forth several times, it was already afternoon.

At noon, Gu Xiaoniang, being very sensible, didn't disturb this illegitimate son who was practicing his cultivation method, and instead gnawed on a few buns herself—she had already learned to use the gas stove, putting the buns in a steamer to heat them up.

The villa's original basement had been converted by Chen Yan into a cultivation room. Sitting on a meditation cushion, Chen Yan felt that the Vital Energy Circulation Method had already been cultivated to today's limit... his body could no longer accommodate any more vital energy.

This kind of cultivation method required a gradual approach, circulating vital energy into the body every day.

Then, nourishing it little by little each day, while raising his cultivation, it could also let his body be continuously nourished by vital energy. This way, the body's capacity for vital energy would slowly grow with accumulated days.

Based on Chen Yan's own feeling, he could now practice the Vital Energy Circulation Method at most six times a day. After six times, the vessel was full, and further practice couldn't draw vital energy into the body.

However, with daily cultivation, the container would expand and grow larger, bit by bit, at an extremely slow pace.

Chen Yan had roughly calculated that at this rate, in about half a year, he could go from eight daily circulations of vital energy to nine.

By Gu Qingyi's account, this kind of progress already counted as very good talent.

But of course Chen Yan wouldn't be satisfied with that…

If I can cheat, why would I be dumb enough to grind levels and fight monsters?

Slipping the thumb ring onto his left thumb, Chen Yan resumed circulating his vital energy.

Ninth round!

This time, once the vital energy entered his body, he already felt a vague sense that his body could no longer absorb and nourish itself with it. But Chen Yan's approach was very simple: the circulated vital energy would simply follow the channels of his cultivation method, make one pass through his body, and then be poured directly into the thumb ring.

Running it through like this meant the vital energy only circled his body once and wouldn't be retained — his capacity wasn't enough for that anyway.

But letting it make one pass before pouring it into the thumb ring brought a benefit: the vital energy got an extra round of rinsing and nourishing his flesh!

Moreover, under the effect of the cultivation method, this rinsing method was extremely clever — gentle and harmless.

It wasn't like what Gu Qingyi had described, placing yourself in a spirit-gathering array as its eye, where vital energy would rinse you in a crude, brute-force way and turn you into some muscle-bound ugly brute.

By evening, Gu Qingyi, curious, came downstairs to the cultivation room to take a look at Chen Yan. She was at the Heavenly Human Realm, and after a couple of glances from the doorway, she immediately understood what Chen Yan was doing.

"Huh?"

After a brief moment of thought, Gu Qingyi figured out Chen Yan's method. She thought it over, shook her head, and walked back upstairs.

In the evening he heated up a few more steamed buns for dinner, and Gu Xiaoniang went back to the chair in the courtyard to lie down and watch the moon and stars again.

Chen Yan's cultivation session lasted until morning, when he slowly awoke from his trance.

After opening his eyes, Chen Yan felt his body light and refreshed, his five senses sharp. When he stood up, he felt his body was weightless, an indescribable ease and cheer from head to toe.

Like having slept a full dozen-plus hours, then taking a hot bath and scrubbing off all the grime — that kind of thorough clarity, inside and out, mind and body alike.

There was even a feeling as if a wave of his arm could send him flying.

Especially when Chen Yan activated his Qi-Reading Art, he could feel that the form of the vital energy in his field of vision had already changed.

The vital energy of heaven and earth appeared to his eyes as a hazy grey expanse.

But as his own vital energy flowed outward, his own vital energy had taken on a faint silvery shimmer.

Clearly, his 【Return to Origin Realm】 had stabilized. According to what Gu Qingyi had explained in detail when she briefed him before, after entering the Return to Origin Realm, one's perception of heaven and earth's vital energy, as well as the observation of fortune, would both rise to a new level.

Of course, the growth in his Dao cultivation also meant Chen Yan could attempt more spells.

Mm, the only downside was his stomach was ravenous.

A glance at his phone showed a bank deposit notification.

Eight hundred and eighty-eight thousand, eight hundred and eighty-eight yuan.

The memo read: Second-phase payment for house renovation.

Excellent! Chen Yan expressed great satisfaction… Director Fang was a forthright sort, after all.

Chen Yan was in a great mood.

On one hand, earning money is never something to be unhappy about.

On the other hand, using the thumb ring to assist his cultivation had yielded remarkable results!

Originally, with the spirit-gathering array, once the vital energy was concentrated, his cultivation efficiency had risen by just over three times.

With the thumb ring as a cheat, he could practice the vital energy circulation art at most eight times a day. But from last night until now, Chen Yan roughly recalled he had practiced at least thirty rounds!

That was over four times the efficiency.

Add the two together… seven or eight times the efficiency!

Gu Qingyi had said he would need twenty years to break through again to the 【Ascension Platform Realm】.

But with seven or eight times the efficiency…

He should only need three or four years to do it.

Sure enough, when it comes to cultivating immortality, cheats are the way!

No wonder in those cultivation web novels he'd read, the male lead wouldn't dare show his face without some kind of cheat.

Going upstairs to the living room, he looked past the floor-to-ceiling window and saw Gu Qingyi still lying in the recliner in the courtyard.

This woman couldn't have spent the whole night watching the moon, could she?

Whatever, she's at the Heavenly Human Realm anyway, she won't freeze to death.

Chen Yan, ever the filial son, turned and went into the kitchen.

He turned on the stove and scrambled four eggs, grabbed a carton of milk, and sliced two pieces of toast.

Just as Chen Yan finished assembling the egg sandwich — Gu Qingyi caught the scent and swept into the kitchen like a gust of wind.

In the blink of Chen Yan's eye, the egg sandwich in front of him was gone!

Another blink, and the milk was gone too.

Another look, and Gu Qingyi was already seated at the dining room table, munch-munch-munch…

Wait, that's not right — I think I've seen this episode before… Chen Yan felt a little dazed.

·

You are impressive!

Chen Yan glanced at his twenty-one-year-old legitimate mother, my lord, whose mouth was smeared with oil from eating, then got up and headed out the door.

"Where to?"

"Off to pick up girls, got a problem with that?" Chen Yan retorted with full confidence.

Gu Qingyi's momentum deflated. She hemmed and hawed for a moment, then said in a low voice: "Um… you go ahead, be nice to your girlfriend, I'll order my own lunch delivery."

Chen Yan stepped out, strolled to the entrance of the residential compound, and got into a ride-hailing car. He rode all the way to the city center, then picked a restaurant he would never have dared patronize in the past and walked in.

This restaurant was famous for its Su-Yang cuisine, and equally famous for being expensive.

The wealthy Chen the Good Man, who had just earned 880,000, walked into the restaurant with full confidence and sat down, ordering four dishes and one soup with a generous hand.

When the food arrived and he took a bite…

Perfect—his mouth was full of the taste of money!

Chen the Good Man loved this flavor.

As he ate, he calculated: judging by the time, he should go to the woodenware shop in the afternoon to pick up the custom ancestral tablet for his own father.

Hmm, the weather is fine today—should he invite Lu Sisi out for a stroll and a movie? The cinema is dark, perfect for holding her tiny hand.

No!

Improper!

Who goes on a date carrying their own father's ancestral tablet?

Filial piety must not be corrupted!

So, better let his father's tablet stay one more day at the woodenware shop.

Surely his spirit in heaven would understand—after all, if he found a woman sooner, he could start expanding the Chen family lineage sooner, wouldn't he?

This is great filial piety!

As Chen the Good Man was pondering these thoughts, he heard the tap-tap-tap of high heels on the floor.

A fragrant breeze reached his nose; he looked up and saw a graceful figure in a qipao standing before him.

Hmm, this voluptuous, curvaceous figure, dressed in such clothing, gave the impression of being tightly wrapped.

Chen Yan had always favored this kind of figure!

In his view, what made a woman's figure perfect… was the way her clothes looked like they might burst open at any moment—that was top-tier.

Looking at her face, a gorgeous visage with a faint chill… hmm?

A small face, large eyes, a pointed chin, a natural seductiveness in her brows, delicate glasses perched on her nose—not diminishing her allure, but amplifying it with three-tenths of bewitching charm.

…Uh… Director Jin Meiting?

Pfft!

"…Zi Lao?" Chen Yan narrowed his eyes.

The gorgeous mature woman exhaled softly, a faint cold smile on her lips, and said slowly: "Master Chen, I apologize for the intrusion!"

"If you feel it's an intrusion, you shouldn't have intruded," Chen Yan replied coolly.

"... Master Chen is quite humorous," Zi Lao paused, then shook her head and walked slowly to Chen Yan's side, seating herself elegantly across from him.

Chen Yan: "..."

It wasn't that he was surprised Zi Lao had found him.

It was…

He saw the woman sit down beside the table, her chest nearly resting on the tabletop.

Chen Yan took a deep breath and said seriously: "... Thank you!"

Zi Lao blinked: "Huh?"

"Nothing," Chen Yan waved a hand, sat upright, leaned back, and said slowly: "You found me—that's impressive."

Zi Lao shook her head: "Director Fang is a decent man. He didn't sell you out. I have ties with him too—I wouldn't use underhanded methods on him. But his driver was easy to handle—one True Word Talisman made him talk."

"Director Fang sent you a grand gift, visited you, and before that, Luo Qing performed rites in the haunted house where you live—all these things linked together make it easy to guess who the real person is."

Chen Yan nodded. No wonder—this woman was sharp, not just a brute.

—At this moment, Chen the Good Man was certainly unafraid.

A few days ago, if a person with obvious cultivation had come knocking, he would have been uneasy.

Now… Chen the Good Man's own cultivation had surged.

Bring your tricks—I'll go home and tell my mom!

The beautiful mature woman leaned back slightly—the posture lifted her chest off the table; Chen Yan sighed inwardly with regret.

Then the woman formed a strange finger seal, then switched to a Taiji fish gesture with both hands: "Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing, Sect Leader of the Yun Sect, greets Master Chen. Please, Master Chen, reveal your title."

Chen Yan looked at her: "There are chopsticks on the table—if you haven't eaten, join me for a bite."

Zi Lao—Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing took a deep breath; the motion made Chen Yan's gaze drift involuntarily, then he heard her voice carry a hint of annoyance: "Is the Yun Sect's name not enough for Master Chen to reveal his title?"

Chen Yan frowned, put down his chopsticks, and studied the woman: "Yun Sect?"

"Precisely."

Chen Yan shook his head: "What century is this? All these sects and schools—do you have a business license? An organizational code? Are you a registered enterprise with the Industry and Commerce Bureau or a registered civilian association with the Civil Affairs Bureau? Do you have a legal representative? Did you complete last year's tax settlement?"

Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing's beautiful eyes behind her glasses widened: "…………"

How does this man not follow normal logic?

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【This chapter is 4,700 words; last chapter was 3,300. Today's two chapters total 8,000. Type out "Dancing Hard and Long"!】

Regarding typos—I reviewed it myself after writing, but there are surely oversights. Feel free to help correct them; I'll adopt corrections in my Author Assistant.

I'm counting on you~】

【PS, I'll say it for you: Fat Five slacks off so boldly!】

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