Chapter 148: Returning to Qingqing's Embrace

Jiang Lai stole a glance at Chen Shu beside him from time to time, only to see him typing rapidly, completely absorbed, seemingly chatting with someone, his face filled with a radiant... and slightly crazy, perverted smile?

Jiang Lai couldn't quite understand this emotion for a moment, but he didn't dare to disturb him.

Finally, Chen Shu's gaze moved away from his Mobile Phone for a moment, turning instead to look at the night in the distance.

Jiang Lai followed his gaze to that direction.

Where the sky and earth met in the west, there was still a remnant of daylight, presenting a fish-belly white, but black clouds had already gathered overhead, and lightning descended from time to time, instantly outlining the contours of the distant mountains before they vanished again.

The vegetation on both sides of the highway swayed incessantly in the wind.

It looked like there would be a heavy rain tonight.

Jiang Lai finally found an opportunity and spoke up: "Brother Chen, shall I transfer the money from selling the Sword Pigs to you?"

"How much is there?"

"We caught and sold a total of ninety-three Sword Pigs; some were big and some were small, but the selling price was the same. I specifically opened a new wallet, and the total amount in the wallet now is this much..." Jiang Lai handed his Mobile Phone to him. "The Sword Pigs we caught were relatively large on average, and I recorded the weight and amount for every single pig when we sold them, and I even took screenshots. Then, I just took screenshots of all the income and expenses in the account for these past few days..."

"Stop, stop!"

Chen Shu felt a bit of a headache.

This young man was a bit too earnest.

He then took Jiang Lai's Mobile Phone and looked carefully through the cracked screen.

2,814,119;

Two million eight hundred fourteen thousand one hundred and nineteen.

No decimal point.

Chen Shu thought for a moment and said to this exceptionally earnest young man: "Just send the screenshots to me later, and then we'll split this money equally. Hmm, let me calculate, it should be one million four hundred seven thousand fifty-nine point five, don't you dare miss a single cent, I'll input it for you..."

So he began to input his own account.

Then he entered the amount.

Jiang Lai waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no, I only did manual labor these past few days. Ten thousand yuan is already enough for me, and it was even easier than fighting in the Arena."

Chen Shu looked at him helplessly and tossed the broken Mobile Phone back to him: "Then there's no other way. If it's not this amount, I won't accept it. Anyway, the money is in your account."

"This..."

"Hurry up, you can go change your screen once you get the money."

"..."

Jiang Lai silently picked up the Mobile Phone.

Verification for large transfers was a bit more troublesome, but fortunately, his account had no restrictions, and the money was transferred over quickly.

"Ding-dong."

Chen Shu's Mobile Phone rang.

It was almost the price of another potion.

Very comfortable.

At the same time, his Feixin vibrated continuously; it was a pile of screenshots sent by Jiang Lai.

Chen Shu ignored all the other screenshots and only found the one summarizing the Sword Pigs, saved it, and prepared to keep it as a memento of his first time participating in the Hunting Festival.

Then he opened the Ancient Cultivation Group.

Grandma Always Says: Have you returned from Qingshan Ridge yet?

Qingcai Keke: Still on the road.

Grandma Always Says: Only coming back now?

Grandma Always Says: You stayed for so long?

Qingcai Keke: Yeah.

Qingcai Keke: Making money, you know.

Grandma Always Says: That's true.

Grandma Always Says: With your cultivation, even with a helper, hunting Sword Pigs is very difficult; you have to hide if you encounter a group of Sword Pigs.

Grandma Always Says: But you're quite clever.

Grandma Always Says: I met you on the first day and saw that you two had caught quite a few, there were several, comparable to my harvest for a whole day of playing. But the Sword Pigs weren't as easy to catch in the following days, right? How many did you catch in total?

Grandma Always Says: Let me see if it's more than what I caught in two days.

Qingcai Keke: 【Image】

Haoran Zhengqi: Not bad, over ninety.

Nameless Person: Over two million!!!

Zhong Miao Zhimen: Quite a bountiful harvest.

Qingdeng Gufu: Amitabha.

Grandma Always Says: /Expression complicated

Haoran Zhengqi: @Zhong Miao Zhimen

Zhong Miao Zhimen:??

Zhong Miao Zhimen: Why @ me?

Haoran Zhengqi: Stirring the pot.

Zhong Miao Zhimen: Oh, okay.

Zhong Miao Zhimen: Grandma, how many did you catch in two days? You didn't catch over a hundred, did you? @Grandma Always Says

One minute later.

Two minutes later.

Three minutes later.

The group was silent.

Haoran: She must have logged off.

Qingcai Keke: No, she must have turned off her Mobile Phone. If she only closed the software, she wouldn't be able to resist opening it to check if she received a notification.

Qingcai Keke: I propose we mock her a few times now, and then none of us speak in the group until she logs on next time. That way, she can see our messages from today as soon as she logs on. How about it?

Zongmiao Zhimen: Good idea!

Qingdeng Gufu: Sin, sin...

Two minutes later.

Chen Shu completely closed the Ancient Cultivation Group.

Then he checked his personal account, and his mood became beautiful.

This Hunting Festival really is a good thing.

If he had known, he should have borrowed a larger Space Artifact from someone beforehand to use as a cover, or searched online to see if there were any rental services for this. That way, he could have at least doubled this result.

That would have been how much money.

Missed out on a hundred million.

Fortunately, he can come again next year.

By this time next year, he will definitely be at the Fifth Stage, and finding and capturing Sword pigs will be even easier; he could even go directly to the edge of the Forbidden Land to look.

He can still come when he reaches the Sixth Stage, depending on whether he is short on money then.

The Seventh Stage wouldn't be very suitable.

The Hunting Festival is not only a source of income for many people, but also a joy that many have looked forward to for a year. If a High-level Practitioner were to participate and capture most of the Sword pigs in Qingshan Ridge in a few swipes, it would likely trend on the hot search.

Chen Shu thought as much, quietly watching out the window.

The car was already on the highway.

Lightning flashed from time to time, illuminating the city in the distance with exceptional clarity.

The ring expressway leads directly into the University City in the Xicheng District, and there is no traffic jam in the University City, so he soon arrived at the entrance of Yujing Academy. After staying alone in the deep mountains and forests for a week, suddenly returning to the city made one feel a bit unaccustomed.

Chen Shu rubbed his stomach: "Let's have dinner at the Commercial Street, your treat."

"Eat what?"

"Eat..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Chen Shu glanced over—

There was a familiar figure ahead.

A light green long-sleeved shirt, slightly loose, with the hem tucked into off-white trousers. Her long hair draped over her back, her beautiful face expressionless; she stood quietly at the school gate, and just happened to be looking up at him.

Jiang Lai was still asking beside him: "Brother Chen, eat what?"

Who cares about him.

Chen Shu quickened his pace and walked forward, a smile blooming on his face: "Found a wild Qingqing... haven't seen you for a week, did you miss me?"

Ning Qing's expression was indifferent as she turned to look at Jiang Lai.

Chen Shu also looked at Jiang Lai.

"Uh..."

Jiang Lai scratched his head and asked uncertainly: "Still eating?"

"Help me take the bag back."

"Oh."

Jiang Lai left alone, carrying a mountaineering bag on each shoulder.

Only then did Chen Shu continue to look at Qingqing, still full of smiles, opening his arms:

"Qingqing, come let me give you a hug!"

Ning Qing pursed her lips, said nothing, and did not refuse.

She just stood where she was, motionless.

So Chen Shu successfully pulled her into his embrace.

The texture of this shirt was not the fine and soft kind, but rather coarse and stiff, yet the fabric was very thin, very thin indeed, so through the shirt, one could very clearly feel the softness of Qingqing's body and her body temperature; perhaps it was even more comfortable than having no barrier at all.

Chen Shu quickly let go and asked happily:

"How was my hug?"

"Average."

"I last showered three days ago, it's the original flavor." Chen Shu pulled at his own clothes and sniffed, "Lucky you."

"..."

"Say something."

"Let's go."

Ning Qing's expression was indifferent as she turned and walked away.

Chen Shu hurriedly followed:

"Where to?"

"Eat."

"You haven't eaten yet?"

"I have."

"Oh."

Half an hour later.

A beef brisket pot with a lot of instant noodles added was placed in the middle of the table.

Chen Shu ate the meat in large mouthfuls, taking the opportunity to recount how fun the past few days had been, trying to make her, who hadn't gone, feel regretful.

Ning Qing sat opposite him, resting her chin on her hand, listening quietly; from time to time, she handed him a tissue or refilled his cup with hot tea. The rest of the time, she maintained a quiet, thoughtful expression, and no one knew what she was thinking.

Outside, it gradually began to rain.

The sound of the rain went pitter-patter.

At ten o'clock in the evening, Chen Shu finally returned to the Dormitory.

Passing through the dining room, he glanced over; the takeout box Jiang Lai had eaten from was still in the trash can. Looking at the box, it seemed to be pork knuckle rice. Meanwhile, Meng Chunqiu was standing on the living room balcony, staring blankly at the curtain of rain outside.

Occasionally, lightning illuminated the campus.

Chen Shu was in a great mood and still asked with a smile, "Brother Meng, I haven't seen you for a week; have you missed me?"

Meng Chunqiu turned around in surprise, his eyes lighting up: "Brother Chen, you've returned too? I thought the rain was too heavy and you wouldn't be coming back."

"I'm back."

"I've been staying in the Dormitory alone these past few days, and it has been terribly lonely."

"Is that so?"

"Brother Chen, come quickly and enjoy the rain."

"No thanks."

"Why?"

"Where is Brother Jiang?"

"Brother Jiang is taking a shower."

"Oh..."

"Brother Chen, come quickly to enjoy the rain; you and I can discuss some poetry about the rain."

"Forget it, forget it..."

Chen Shu waved his hands repeatedly, indicating that he had no talent for poetry and wasn't cut out for writing it, then sat down on the sofa and opened WeChat.

Chen Shu: I got the Full Moon See.

Chen Shu: A lot.

Chen Shu: Conservatively estimated, enough to make three portions.

Chen Banxia: Did it go smoothly?

Chen Shu: Smoothly.

Chen Banxia: Did you use the spiritual sealing method I told you about?

Chen Shu: I'm not stupid.

Chen Banxia: /pout

Chen Shu: Should I give it to you tomorrow morning?

Chen Banxia: Sure.

Chen Shu: I'll transfer the money to you too; leave the other materials to you. No rush, I'm not in a hurry.

Chen Banxia: No problem.

Chen Shu: Don't mess it up.

Chen Banxia: Don't doubt your sister's ability.

Chen Shu: Going to sleep.

Chen Banxia: Sister is going to sleep too.

Chen Shu: You must have been a Sword pig in your past life.

Chen Banxia: /angry

Chen Shu: /sleepy

Chen Shu exited the chat interface with her directly and clicked on Qingqing's name.

Chen Shu: I'm going to wash up and sleep.

Qingqing: Okay.

Chen Shu:?

Qingqing: Goodnight.

Chen Shu: Sensible.

Qingqing:?

Chen Shu: Goodnight.

Only then did he close WeChat.

Just then, the bathroom door opened; Chen Shu immediately got up and walked over, brushing past Jiang Lai as he walked out, and entered the bathroom.

I really need a good wash.

Half an hour later.

Chen Shu had returned to his room.

The familiar soft bed, the familiar scent; he lay under the covers, completely naked, feeling refreshed from the inside out.

The rain outside was actually getting heavier.

The sound of the rain grew louder, drowning out all other noises, and when the whole world was left with only this one sound, it didn't feel noisy at all. A sense of indescribable peace rose in Chen Shu's heart; he thought of nothing in his mind, just closed his eyes.

However, because Chen Shu had already completed his daily cultivation out of boredom while Brother Jiang was moving the pigs this afternoon, he felt a bit unaccustomed to it now.

He actually couldn't fall asleep.

Then he would just listen to the rain.

When he woke up again, it was already late March.

In the morning, Chen Shu delivered the Full Moon See to Chen Banxia, then returned to the Dormitory and took out the Storage Ring he had scavenged in Wangxi Ancient Town to continue cracking it. By the afternoon, he headed to the laboratory to study the Penetration Rune and Thunder Method with the teachers.

In his spare time, he would scroll through short videos and tease Qingqing and his sister-in-law.

He watched some silly netizen in the group chat jumping with rage, throwing a fit of impotent fury, threatening this person and that person, just like an immature child.

Just like that, he returned to his previous life.