Chapter 107: Learned Something Again

"Emmm..."

After working for half an hour, he gave up.

It wasn't because he was lazy, but because both the Sword Light Thunder and the Sword Light Shell were too dangerous. Chen Shu himself felt that the Sword Light Thunder had a five-second delay after being activated, and he could throw it into the Crystal to let it trigger. But in the process of cracking it, he quickly discovered that his actions were not a normal activation; if an accident occurred and the Spirit Power inside was disrupted, it would very likely skip the delay mechanism and trigger directly.

Better to wait until he returned to school to deal with it.

The Ancient Cultivation Academy specifically provided laboratories and testing grounds for students of their Spell Principles course; that place was safe.

And although the academy said that damaging public property required compensation, in reality, as long as you weren't intentionally damaging public property and it was for normal research and testing, the dignified Yujing Academy wouldn't make things difficult for a student over such a small amount of money.

The sky was gradually darkening.

Outside, people were setting off fireworks again, the sound of explosions continuous.

Today was the last day that the urban area allowed the setting off of large fireworks, and many Cultivators were rushing to get their fill tonight.

After tomorrow, setting them off would result in a public security penalty.

Because although the firework Spell did not have high lethality, it ultimately possessed a certain degree of lethality and made a lot of noise. Under normal circumstances, the urban area was monitored; wherever a powerful Spell disturbance erupted, police would soon come to patrol. Allowing firework Spells was not conducive to Spell control, as the police could not quickly and effectively distinguish between firework Spells and other highly lethal Spells, which would give lawbreakers an opportunity to fish in troubled waters.

Including the time Chen Shu used a Thunder Method in the alley, there was a very small probability it had been detected, but he wasn't afraid in that situation at the time.

After admiring the fireworks for a while, the moon rose above the treetops.

The fireworks bloomed in front of the bright moon.

Chen Shu rested his chin on his hand, thinking quietly.

In his past life, there was a "stealing green" custom during the Lantern Festival where they were from, which meant stealing vegetables; you could pick vegetables from all over the mountains and plains and take them home, and it didn't count as theft. You just shouldn't carry a sack or drive a car to steal them, as that would look too unscrupulous.

The idea was to get a bit of good luck.

But only a small number of regions had this custom.

Back then, once it reached the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the mountains and plains were full of firelight and lamplight; stealing vegetables became secondary, but it was truly a night of revelry.

Chen Shu initially thought that Shengzu's hometown didn't have this custom, but later research revealed that the old man had brought this custom over, only for it to be lost by later generations during the five thousand years of vicissitudes.

Perhaps it was because there were too many unscrupulous people.

It was a pity that Chen Shu lived in the city; if he lived in the countryside or the suburbs, he might have taken Qingqing, Xiaoxiao, and Chen Banxia out to play by the moonlight.

Although he disdained theft, he still had no psychological burden about picking a few leaves or pinching a few small green onions from others.

"The fifteenth day of the first lunar month..."

School started on the twentieth day of the first lunar month.

Chen Shu took out his Mobile Phone.

Chen Shu: Qingqing

Qingqing:?

Chen Shu: You cannot just reply with a symbol

Qingqing: What is it?

Chen Shu: Look out the window

A few seconds later.

Qingqing: Looked

Chen Shu: The moonlight tonight is truly beautiful

Qingqing: It's alright

Chen Shu: You really are a fool

Qingqing: /smile

Qingqing: Has your... changed back?

Chen Shu: /angry

Qingqing: Hmm?

Chen Shu: I said you are not allowed to mention it!

Qingqing: Not mentioning it outside

Chen Shu: I said you are not allowed to mention it even at home!

Qingqing: Didn't say

Qingqing: And not at home

Chen Shu: Then where?

Qingqing: Online

Chen Shu:...

Qingqing: /question mark

Chen Shu: Can't be bothered with you

Chen Shu: Have you contacted your truck?

Qingqing: Reserved an unmanned truck, convenient for entering Yujing; you come help me move when the time comes

Chen Shu: I will not

Chen Shu: Unless you promise me not to mention it again

Qingqing: Are you going to start again?

Chen Shu: /complex expression

He didn't know how long she would keep playing this joke.

Chen Shu looked out the window again.

The bright moon hung high.

The palace walls are deep.

Inside the Imperial Palace, there is a place brightly lit and exceptionally lively.

For the past few hundred years, the Imperial Family has been intentionally controlling the number of descendants, practicing late marriage and late childbearing, and having fewer but better-raised children; yet, after several generations of branches, there are still quite a few people. Having so many people sitting in one great hall, chatting and laughing, is a rare scene.

Sitting at the very head is naturally His Majesty the Emperor; of his generation, besides himself, there is only one other person still alive, who is his own younger brother and also a Nine-Tier Cultivator.

If Chen Shu were here, he might be able to recognize that when the Yuanzhou Fangti appeared abnormal, this Imperial Family Nine-Tier Cultivator had been to Yuanzhou.

Moving down generation by generation, the number of people grows larger and larger.

The atmosphere in the great hall cannot be called constrained, but as the distance grows, there are inevitably some barriers; due to the closeness or distance of relationships, age gaps, and the constraints of royal etiquette, it is impossible for it to be as relaxed as a gathering of an ordinary family.

The most relaxed are the young juniors at the very bottom.

Young people, after all, can all play together; usually, by making plans to eat, going out to have fun, or playing games together online, they quickly become familiar with each other.

They also have common topics.

Chatting about games, chatting about music, chatting about the Spring Festival movie releases, chatting about study and life, chatting about cultivation...

The descendants of Meng Yi are still quite impressive; apart from the direct line who are strictly required and pinned with high hopes, even the collateral descendants are often no weaker than others—either progressing smoothly in cultivation or having their own achievements in various industries.

Meng Chunqiu sits in a position near the middle; at first it was fine, but once they started chatting about careers and cultivation, he could not get a word in and only felt bored.

He simply propped his chin up, turned his head, and quietly admired the moon.

This is the first full moon of the year, round and flawless.

Therefore, it is called the Lantern Festival.

Hearing from Brother Chen, during the Xia Dynasty, one had to eat a snack called yuanxiao on the Lantern Festival, which is said to be similar to sweet rice balls...

Brother Chen is truly interesting.

Meng Chunqiu's thoughts gradually drifted far away.

Despite the hustle and bustle beside him, he did not want to listen to any of it; in fact, the more enthusiastic others were in their conversation, the more it highlighted his loneliness.

Having just drunk a few cups of light wine, he suddenly felt a bit of urgency, so he stood up and walked straight out, walking quietly through the long corridor hung with lanterns, facing the moonlight; with every step he took, the clamor in the great hall grew a bit further away, and the chill within the palace courtyard struck him, making him shiver involuntarily.

Meanwhile, in the great hall, where the young people were gathered—

After Meng Chunqiu left, a female cousin soon lowered her voice and asked with concern: "Is Ziyang still obsessed with poetry?"

Someone replied: "Pretty much."

Immediately, a young male cousin shook his head and sighed: "Ziyang's talent is also top-notch; it is truly a pity to waste time on these things... I am not saying that loving poetry is bad, but poetry is ultimately a minor path; it can be a hobby, but one cannot be obsessed."

"Little Cousin is right; even among the famous poets of ancient times, how many made a living purely by poetry? Ziyang is indeed not doing well this way."

"Besides... that... he doesn't seem to have talent in this area either..."

"Indeed, it is hard to achieve anything."

"Hahaha, what are you all saying? Our Dayi Dynasty was founded on martial arts and protects the country with martial arts; do we descendants of Meng Yi need to have talent for poetry?"

"Oh, I say to you all, life is short, and besides, it is this era now; let him do what he wants, it is not like it is anything harmful or evil, just let him be. No matter what, our Imperial Family can ensure he lives a life of luxury and comfort without worries; don't discourage him."

"Yes, yes, yes..."

"We are just talking behind his back..."

Listening to everyone saying one thing after another, although he knew everyone had a good relationship and meant well, the man sitting in the center listened quietly, yet he could not help but feel a bit bitter inside, so he spoke up:

"Last time I checked my social media feed, when the first snow fell in Yujing, I saw him post an update, and the poem he paired with it was quite good; did you all see it?"

"I saw it; the poem was quite good, but it definitely wasn't written by him."

"That's hard to say."

"Ah? Could it really be written by him?"

"Anyway, I searched online and never found it." The man in the middle had a calm expression. "You can search for it too."

"Thinking about it, I don't think I've ever seen these two lines of poetry either; how did they go?"

"Should be: 'The heavenly immortal is wildly drunk, recklessly crushing the white clouds.'"

"This line is amazing!" A young girl only in her teens immediately praised. "Although I am not good at literature, I can tell it is amazing!"

"There is another line that is also good."

"How did it go?"

"Suddenly, like a spring breeze coming overnight, a thousand trees and ten thousand trees of pear blossoms bloom."

"Let me search online..."

"Eh, I really can't find it!"

"This poem is good! Ziyang is amazing!"

"If he were born in ancient times, just based on these two lines of poetry, Ziyang would probably be remembered for generations, while we... are all just dust in history."

"Indeed..."

By the time Meng Chunqiu returned from relieving himself and admiring the moon, everyone had already moved on to another topic; he noticed that the way a few younger cousins looked at him had changed, inexplicably filled with a bit more admiration, and there was even a thick-skinned younger cousin who came over and said he would make an appointment to go mountain climbing with him another day, and if he had poetic inspiration, he should write it down and learn from the ancients by adding his name into the title of the poem.

Meng Chunqiu looked blank.

But this feeling was actually quite enjoyable...

The eighteenth day of the first lunar month, morning.

Chen Shu arrived at Ning Qing's home and saw her pruning the rose bushes all over the courtyard.

Many of the roses were in bloom, blooming beautifully, yet they were being pruned away by her without mercy, and she was heavy-handed; the leaves were also to be picked clean, and after pruning, only a bare little stub of a branch remained.

"Why prune it?"

"Yujing is too cold; it won't start to warm up until next month," Ning Qing answered without turning her head, while her hands did not stop moving. "If it were allowed to go to Yujing with its leaves, it might get frostbite; now it is equivalent to winter pruning. Besides, if not pruned, the crown is too large, which is inconvenient for transport."

"Is it pruned this heavily?" Chen Shu asked curiously. "Do the leaves have to be picked off too?"

"This way, it can go directly into dormancy; after Yujing warms up, it will grow back, and the newly grown branches will have stronger vitality and bloom more."

"So troublesome."

"I am very patient."

Ning Qing paused as she spoke, then turned her head to glance at him lightly, adding: "I am only this patient with flowers, because I am skilled at handling them."

Chen Shu always felt she was expressing something obscure, and his expression immediately became as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed a fly.

"Ah, you are so annoying."

"He who stays near vermilion gets stained red."

"..."

"If you have nothing to do, help me clean up the branches and leaves I've pruned on the ground. I put a cardboard box nearby; throw them into that. Remember to take it with you when you leave and place it next to the trash can outside the courtyard."

"..."

Chen Shu silently did as he was told.

However, he did not go to get a broom, but instead rummaged through the branches and leaves first, picked up some of the prettier cut flowers to set aside, and then spread his five fingers and waved them at the branches and leaves on the ground, sweeping the remaining debris to one side.

Ning Qing turned her head to look at him, but said nothing.

Spirit Cultivators simply have more tricks than other systems, and their daily lives are much more convenient as a result.

This is also where the advantage of a Spirit Cultivator lies.

Cultivators of other systems can also learn these miscellaneous little Spells, and in this day and age, there are no longer any sectarian prejudices. But cultivators of other systems spend their time and energy elsewhere, and their study of Spell Principles is far less profound than that of Spirit Cultivators. A Spirit Cultivator can learn a little Spell very quickly, while a cultivator of another system might have to spend several times or even dozens of times longer than a Spirit Cultivator. Learning a few is fine, but if you learn too many, you might find that by the time you realize it, your original Cultivation System has been neglected, while you have become very knowledgeable about Spell Principles; then, congratulations, you have become a Spirit Cultivator.

Nowadays, the major systems and even their subdivided systems are basically all like this—

As a Sword Cultivator, you can absolutely learn the little Spells of a Spirit Cultivator, and as a Spirit Cultivator, you can also learn basic Sword Technique, but the advanced methods of every system require a large amount of preliminary accumulation; if you want to learn them, you must start from the basics.

But everyone only has 24 hours in a day.

Chen Shu completed the cleaning task Ning Qing had assigned him, and upon successful delivery, received the reward of a "well done."

He then stood and watched Ning Qing prune the flowers, soon noticing Ning Qing's nails.

Chen Shu pondered for a moment, then pretended to say casually: "This manicure of yours has been on for almost a month now, let me remove it for you later..."

"No need," Ning Qing replied.

"It's time to take it off," Chen Shu said with a natural tone, "It's starting to look a bit bad."

"It still looks good," Ning Qing lowered her head to look at her nails and said calmly, "I have been intentionally slowing down the growth rate of my nails. Now, it just lacks the luster it had when it was first applied, but everything else is the same."

"I'll do a new one for you after I take it off."

"I like this one very much."

"I'll do an even prettier one for you."

"I want this one."

"Hey, why are you so stubborn?"

"Why are you acting so strange?" Ning Qing turned her head to glance at Chen Shu calmly, her eyes narrowing, "It seems like you are hiding something from me?"

"..."

Chen Shu sighed inwardly, turned his head, and walked into the house.

The little girl was sitting on the sofa watching television.

Chen Shu went over and sat with her, instructing her: "Have you packed everything? You must make sure to bring everything you need, especially clothes; the temperature in Yujing is even colder now than when you last went."

"I've packed everything!" The little girl turned her head and said earnestly, "I'm bringing so many things! I'm moving everything away!"

"Haha..." Chen Shu couldn't help but laugh, "Then are you coming back to school next semester?"

"I'm not coming back; I've already written all my capsules."

"When did you write them?"

"Last semester."

"What did you write?"

"If I say it out loud, it won't come true..."

"Who says? It will still come true if you say it out loud." Chen Shu realized she must have made a wish, rather than writing a message to her future self, "Tell me, tell me."

"I wrote..." The little girl trusted her brother-in-law very much and answered honestly, "I hope I can become a god in the future!"

"Become a god? What kind of god?"

"An omnipotent god, a god who can grant wishes for people, a god who can beat my sister."

"Oh..." Chen Shu dragged out the long tail of his voice, "An omnipotent god does not exist, but there are many gods in this world who help people grant wishes. However, if it's just about being able to beat your sister, your brother-in-law believes in you. Keep it up, and when the time comes, pin your sister down and let me land a couple of hits too."

"Okay!"

"Then if you become a god, what will you do?"

"First, I'll pin my sister down and beat her up!" The little girl said with a blank expression, but after finishing, she stretched her neck to peek outside the window, afraid of being heard by her sister.

"And then?"

"Pin her down and let my brother-in-law land a couple of hits too."

Chen Shu laughed, feeling that the little girl's ideas were truly interesting, so he continued to ask:

"After the beating?"

"After the beating, I'll grant wishes..." The little girl said, "Brother-in-law, what wishes do you have? I'll help you grant them first."

"And then after that?"

"Then after that, I'll grant my sister's wishes."

"Is that so..." Chen Shu laughed again, then asked, "Aren't you going to grant your own wishes?"

"My first wish has just been granted."

"Are there none after that?"

"There are many."

"For example?"

"I want to plant potatoes all over the world, and make those who don't eat potatoes plant them, and their wages will also be potatoes."

"Emmm..."

What a brutal deity.

Chen Shu thought this to himself, nodded repeatedly at her, and even patted her on the shoulder: "Not bad, not bad, keep it up, I have high hopes for you..."

The little girl silently withdrew her gaze.

Her brother-in-law was still coaxing her like a child.

Right—

The little girl immediately turned her head back, stared curiously at her brother-in-law, and blinked her eyes: "Brother-in-law, what did you write?"

Only to hear her brother-in-law say without hesitation: "I won't tell! If I say it out loud, it won't come true!"

"..."

The little girl looked at him for a long time, fell into deep thought, and only then withdrew her gaze.

It seemed there was still much she had to learn.