Chapter 22: I Have Never Hoarded Merit, I Have No Interest in Merit

"No, cough cough..."

Choked by a breath he hadn't managed to swallow, Ren Yidao looked at Shi Anqi, not knowing what to say.

Foster Father?

I am to be her foster father?

It would be one thing if Yu Yu were a young girl, but your niece looks older than me, and you want her to be my foster daughter?

How could this possibly work...

Hiss, wait, does it actually work?

Glancing over Shi Xue, who was still frowning in pain even while unconscious, Ren Yidao had to admit that her features were actually quite outstanding.

Through the deliberately applied makeup, one could see that Shi Xue's true appearance was much better than it looked now.

This was not any kind of Dao Technique.

It was just that in his past life, he had seen too many girls proficient in evil arts and spatial magic, and had trained himself to automatically remove the "censorship."

Incidentally, another one of his useless skills was being able to accurately identify an actress's name just by looking at a certain part of her body...

He regretfully shifted his gaze away from those only slightly undulating plains.

This one is truly "poor in chest, evil in heart."

"Uh, no, no, now is not the time to be thinking about this."

Shaking his head to drag his wandering thoughts back, Ren Yidao did not try to evade the problem at hand.

Although he couldn't escape it anyway.

But this matter wasn't really about whether it was feasible in principle, but rather involved a much deeper issue.

"Why am I so outstanding? I hate it..."

Ren Yidao only hated that he had acted too arrogant before.

The other party is a dignified high-ranking official of the Imperial Court, a confidant of the Emperor, and the leader of the Imperial Secret Guard, yet he wants me to be his niece's foster father?

What virtue or ability do I have to deserve this!

How did I, a harmless little fox, end up in this situation?

Ren Yidao had indeed intended to show off his uniqueness in front of Shi Anqi, but he hadn't expected to be elevated to such a high position in his eyes.

He had underestimated how much of a headache the issue of Evil Qi was for Shi Anqi, and even more so, how much other cultivators of the path of Merit valued Merit.

Others wouldn't be as wasteful as him, wanting to spend their Merit the moment they earned a little.

Every cultivator of Merit treats Merit with extreme caution and seriousness.

They either practice asceticism or perform many good deeds, strictly demanding things of themselves at every moment, fearing they might do something that would damage their Merit.

But Ren Yidao is different.

What is there to fear about losing Merit?

The thing I love most in life is telling dark jokes!

Listen to me:

A boy with a wild imagination trips over a pearl necklace in an alley, but he doesn't fall; he falls into the arms of a priest...

Merit -1

Merit -1

To Ren Yidao, Merit is just an ordinary number; if he spends it all, he can just earn more.

I have never hoarded Merit; I have no interest in Merit!

Is it really that hard to earn a "small goal" of it first?

Really?

Ren Yidao truly expressed that he could not understand at all.

He had redeemed Merit once when slaying the Fox Demon, leaving only twenty percent of his Merit for emergencies.

But by the time Ren Yidao met Shi Anqi, his Merit had already recovered to fifty percent.

And to obtain this Merit, he had only done a few trivial things.

One: Saved Yu Yu's life at the Yu Mansion; this was a genuine life-saving grace, a merit equivalent to creating life anew.

Two: Cared for the lonely and autistic Senior Brother of the sword, focusing on vocal companionship, passionate interaction, and unilaterally guiding his melancholic inner world.

Three: Led the Senior Uncles of various peaks to Lieyang Peak to offer congratulations, resolving a conflict that was about to erupt, and even reforming a self-abandoning genius, moving them to tears on the spot.

Four: Suppressed the Demon of the Divine Path Sect for an entire night during the full moon, using various techniques and methods to successfully stop her from going out to ravage the common people.

Five: Tapped the Wooden Fish from time to time, reflecting on himself daily, and deciding to stick to his original heart, firmly refusing to change.

Six: Went out alone late at night, sacrificing himself to relieve Lady Yu's worries... cough!

Especially suppressing the female Demon; do you know how much en... energy this requires?

You don't know.

You only care about yourselves!

In short, after doing all these little things, isn't that enough?

Hoarding Merit isn't such a difficult thing, you know.

As long as you integrate the idea of doing good deeds into every detail of your life, you are accumulating Merit at every moment.

Half the effort for double the results!

Understand?

It doesn't matter if others understand; Ren Yidao himself understood long ago.

That is why he never regarded this share of Merit and Incense as anything important.

He did not care how others viewed him.

Ren Yidao only cared about whether the rewards from the Divine Statue were good or not.

Everything else could just step aside!

Ren Yidao would never have imagined that his indifference toward Merit would become the trait Shi Anqi admired most.

Willing to willingly sacrifice the Merit gained from his own bitter cultivation for the sake of the sect.

Facing such a massive gain and loss, he could actually be so open-minded, without a hint of hesitation.

This person's future will surely be extraordinary!

Ren Yidao calmed his emotions and sighed silently.

Senior Sister.

I was pestered by a Constable at a brothel.

But I said I didn't do anything...

Would you believe me?

It really was them who started it!

It was them who insisted on making me the Foster Father of their female Constable!

Facing Shi Anqi's burning gaze, Ren Yidao let out a long sigh:

"This is even more inappropriate."

"Brother Shi, do you think I look like someone who could be Miss Shi's Foster Father?"

Although he hadn't discussed it with anyone else, Shi Anqi had already made up his mind at this moment, insisting on taking their relationship a step further.

"What's wrong with that? The capable come first, after all."

As he spoke, he scooped Shi Xue up by the waist as if he were carrying a sack.

Shi Xue: "Ugh..."

His face twitched, and Ren Yidao spoke up to remind him:

"Uh, the way you're carrying her, Miss Shi doesn't seem very comfortable?"

"It's fine, it's fine, I've carried her like this since she was little, it'll be fine."

Shi Anqi didn't care at all, even hoisting her up and bouncing her twice, then urged:

"Let's go directly to prepare the things needed for the ceremony, shall we? Better early than late, I'll preside over it for you two myself!"

Seeing Shi Anqi's stance of wanting to get it done on the spot, Ren Yidao knew that if he didn't turn up the intensity today, he was afraid he really wouldn't be able to leave.

Helpless, he had no choice but to reveal a secret he had intended to disclose next time.

Pressing down on Shi Anqi's shoulders, Ren Yidao gazed deeply into his eyes and said in a low voice:

"Brother Shi, I just turned eighteen this year."

Shi Anqi waved his large hand and said with feigned boldness:

"Age is not a problem, even if... ah?"

He froze abruptly, then his eyes widened more and more as he looked at the helpless-looking youth before him.

Ah?

Thud.

Shi Xue, who had fallen to the ground, squeezed a painful sigh from her throat:

"It hurts, ugh..."

"Ah! Xiaoxue! Second Uncle really didn't mean it! Oh, she hasn't woken up, then it's fine... No! How old did you say!?"

Coming back to his senses, Shi Anqi stared at Ren Yidao, wishing he could pinch himself.

Say that again?

How old!!?