Chapter 422: The Source of a Good Mood

Chen Shu slowly stood up and walked toward Qingqing.

He had intended to pretend to be reluctant so he could get a scolding, but the closer he got to Qingqing, the closer he got to the person he hadn't seen in over a month, and his expression couldn't help but brighten, the corners of his mouth curling up involuntarily, unable to keep from smiling.

"Hehe!"

When he reached her, Chen Shu suddenly jumped up, wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and lifted his legs to clamp them around her waist, hanging onto her—a move usually done by a girl to a boy in a relationship, yet he did it without any psychological burden.

"Did you miss me?"

"I did."

A quiet, plain answer, without a hint of hesitation or falsehood.

Zhang Suannai, standing to the side, blinked her eyes, quickly chanting in her heart "do not look at what is improper, do not look at what is improper," yet it took a long while before she shifted her gaze away.

She then looked at the little roommate, wanting to exchange a look with her regarding the situation, only to see that the little roommate, who had already been shuffling over to welcome the Demon King Sister, had suddenly lost her target and was looking around in a daze, much like a kitten searching for a vanished red laser dot.

"Get down."

"Hehe..."

Chen Shu landed on his feet and let go of Qingqing.

Only then did the little girl find her target for greeting in the courtyard again and walk toward them.

At this moment, however, she only heard the sister ask the brother-in-law:

"Who is a dog?"

"!"

The little girl's footsteps faltered again; she stood in place, rolling her eyes around, observing in secret.

"Huh?"

"I'm asking you, who is a dog?"

"Whoever said that is the dog..."

"..." Ning Qing's gaze turned cold. "I brought back some fruit; it seems some people don't want to eat."

"Taozi is a dog!"

"Woof?"

"Look—"

Chen Shu pointed at the bewildered Taozi on the ground: "You can tell just by the accent!"

"..."

Ning Qing pursed her lips tightly, too lazy to pay him any mind.

What a rascal.

She then looked past him, aiming her gaze behind him.

Only then did the little girl shuffle forward, her hands tightly clasped in front of her, though her face was expressionless; after thinking for a moment, she said, "Qingqing, did you miss me?"

"Who is a pig?"

"Huh?"

"?"

"..."

The little girl hesitated for a long time, her eyes darting around, until finally, she aimed them at Taozi on the ground:

"Taozi Daren is a pig!"

"Woof??"

I'm sorry, Taozi Daren!

The little girl shrank her neck, thinking the matter was settled, and turned to walk away, but unexpectedly, a hand suddenly reached out and grabbed the back of her neck; the icy touch made her almost shiver uncontrollably.

Oh no! The treatment is different from the brother-in-law's again!

"Asking you one more time, who is a pig?"

"Taozi, Taozi Daren is a pig..."

"Last time! Who is it?"

"I am, I am a pig..." the little girl glanced at Sister Suannai on the side and said in a panic.

"Very good."

"Phew..."

The little girl let out a sigh of relief, lowered her head deeply, but kept her fists clenched, her gaze fixed only on the ground as she fled all the way to the swing to sit down—since the swing was several meters away from the stone table, she was now merely a spectator, and all their conversation had nothing to do with her.

That evening, after dinner.

Chen Shu sat on the edge of the bed playing with his Mobile Phone.

Ning Qing walked in carrying a two-tiered fruit basket filled with freshly washed fruit, still dripping with water, and her hands were wet too.

"Hold this."

"Oh..."

Chen Shu took the fruit basket from her hands and looked down.

Inside were grapes, winter jujubes, Tianshan Strawberry, large cherries, and frontier tribute pears, all washed clean, combining into a rich fragrance, but even better was the process of someone washing the fruit and bringing it to him.

Chen Shu couldn't help but look up again.

He saw Qingqing reach behind her head and undo her bun; her hair immediately fell loose, and she shook her head, causing her hair to sway, the strands still holding the shape from the bun, fluffy and dark, as she stared at him expressionlessly.

Chen Shu picked up a strawberry, bit off half in one go, and the rich fragrance combined with the scene made him squint his eyes, revealing a sense of enjoyment.

He then patted the bed beside him:

"Come, sit."

"What for?"

"To chat."

"......"

Ning Qing pursed her lips and walked to the side of the bed, but she did not sit down beside him; instead, she took off her slippers, climbed onto the bed, sat cross-legged, and stared at him as she asked:

"Chat about what?"

"Have you finished your graduation thesis?"

"Finished."

"You finished writing it?"

"Mm."

"Completely finished?"

"How many times are you going to ask?"

"So fast? I've only just come up with a topic."

"It's still early."

"I'm not in a rush; I mean you're too rushed, finishing it so quickly."

"I just wrote it offhand."

"Right, I got a lot of good things from the Square Body. Do you need anything lately? Tell me, and I'll see if it's in there," Chen Shu said while munching on a strawberry. "If you need anything, speak up soon; tomorrow I'm going back to the Spirit Sect, and then I'll have to hand it all in."

"No."

"You don't even want Beast Pills?"

"I have some, enough to use."

"Open your mouth."

Chen Shu handed over a large cherry.

Ning Qing opened her mouth and bit it so he could pull off the stem, then asked again: "You saved some for your sister-in-law, right?"

"What? The Beast Pills or the fruit?"

"The Beast Pills."

"Of course, why?"

"Give them to me."

Ning Qing reached out her hand toward him.

"Why?"

"If I get a whim later, I can use these to make her endure humiliation and follow my orders."

"Emmm..."

Chen Shu hesitated in his speech, but his actions were without hesitation; he handed a pile of Beast Pills to her, including Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Stage ones, with more than one of each, and urged: "Remember to remind me when the time comes; I want to watch from the side for that kind of thing, so you don't bully Xiaoxiao too much."

"Hypocrite."

"What nonsense are you talking about!?"

"Can't be bothered with you."

Ning Qing glanced at him.

Chen Shu shook his head, continued eating his strawberry, and not minding, said again: "It seems many people in the group have advanced to the Seventh Stage, like the group owner, Wu Eiwei, as well as Master Tongdeng and Master Xuanzhen, they are all Seventh Stage now."

"Mm."

"When will you advance to the Seventh Stage?"

"Soon too."

"When?"

"Next month."

"Today is..."

"The 27th."

"It's already the 27th, no wonder it's getting colder and colder."

"The temperature dropped earlier this year than last year."

"Is that so..."

Chen Shu couldn't help but peek at Qingqing at this moment.

At this time, she was still wearing the outfit from the daytime; the extremely soft and thin fabric created a contradictory effect of being both loose and form-fitting. Unlike during the day, she had let down her hair, sat cross-legged in the center of the bed, and was resting her chin on her hand, looking at him from a close distance and talking to him.

"I've discovered that this outfit makes you look uncharacteristically gentle and feminine!"

"?"

"It means you look good."

"I look good to begin with."

"This outfit looks especially good!" After Chen Shu finished speaking, he reached out and pointed at her with the bottom of a strawberry. "Be honest, did you wear it like this on purpose?"

"Yes."

To think she admitted it so readily!

Chen Shu was stunned for a moment, then fell into deep thought, unable to tell for a moment whether he was flirting with her or she was flirting with him.

The next morning, he slept until he woke up naturally.

There was no one left beside him.

"Ugh..."

Chen Shu stretched his back grandly; upon waking, he felt refreshed and invigorated, as if his entire body and every bone and joint were completely at ease. After washing up and going downstairs, he happened to see Qingqing in the courtyard doing her winter pruning for the year, so he couldn't help but smile and greet her:

"Morning, Qingqing."

"..."

Ning Qing only stared at him silently—

This person's good mood could be seen on his face. If it weren't for the fact that his good mood was gained at her expense, having kept her up so late, she would have been willing to share this moment's mood with him. Right now, she didn't want to pay him any mind at all.

"Why are you ignoring me?"

"..."

Ning Qing still didn't speak, only withdrawing her gaze, holding the shears, and snipping away—*snip, snip*—as the rose branches and leaves fell in a rustle.

"Strange..."

Chen Shu felt a sense of empathy for no apparent reason.

"Do you want me to help you prune?"

"Go make breakfast."

"Alright, alright..." Chen Shu turned and walked toward the kitchen, saying to her at the same time, "I'm heading back to the Spirit Sect this morning; I'll try to be back before noon."

"Mm."

Ning Qing continued with the shears—*snip, snip*—as if venting something, to the point that this year's winter pruning was heavier than in previous years.

The weather in Yujing was indeed very cold, which was particularly evident during the flight, but Chen Shu's speed remained unaffected.

Departed at eight, arrived at the Spirit Sect at nine.

Chen Shu went straight to the Vice Sect Master's small courtyard.

The Vice Sect Master had already come out of seclusion and had successfully advanced, which meant that the Spirit Sect now had two Ninth Stage cultivators, which was quite prestigious. Compared to the Sword Sect, although the Sword Master's Personal Disciples were all very impressive—nine disciples, seven of whom were Eighth Stage—they still hadn't produced a Ninth Stage cultivator yet.

Therefore, as soon as Chen Shu entered the door and saw the Vice Sect Master, he said with a grin: "Congratulations to the Vice Sect Master on advancing to the Ninth Stage. When will you be promoted to the full position?"

The Vice Sect Master looked at him and also revealed a smile:

"When my master dies."

"You don't even avoid suspicion saying that."

"What is there to avoid suspicion about? I'm several hundred years old." The Vice Sect Master smiled again. "People always die."

"Some people can see past it, some cannot."

"Where did you hear that I successfully advanced?"

"Teacher Shi Qian said so," Chen Shu said, pulling a bag out of his Storage Artifact. "Tianshan Strawberry, the highest grade. My girlfriend went to do research in the no-man's land of Jiangzhou a while ago and brought them back on the way home. They taste very good, sweet and sour. I brought some for you to try."

"So it was him..."

The Vice Sect Master said, glancing at the bag in Chen Shu's hand, and nodded: "You have a thoughtful heart."

"I got some more things during this trip to Xixiao, and I specifically returned to the sect today to hand them over." Chen Shu paused and emphasized, "There is quite a lot this time, and the variety is far more chaotic than last time, and there are many cultural relics."

"Mm."

The Vice Sect Master only nodded, clearly already aware of this: "If there is anything you need, you may keep it."

"I don't have much need for anything; I only took a few Beast Pills. I have a younger sister whose talent is also top-tier, and I want to keep them for her to use in the future."

"What about the rest?"

"The rest I either don't need, or I need them but the demand isn't high, or they would be wasted in my hands. It's better to hand them over to the sect or the Government, as long as I can be included when those cultural relics are studied later." Chen Shu thought for a moment, but still decided to keep the Shengzu's Autobiography for the time being. There was no other reason; he just wanted to keep it in his hands to read a few more times, to study it more, to chat a bit more with his fellow countryman from five thousand years ago, and to wait a few more days before handing it over to the big shots in the Spirit Sect or the Government.

"I will arrange it."

"Good."

Chen Shu said, grinning again: "I just returned to the country, and I still want to go back and have lunch with my girlfriend."

The Vice Sect Master's smile was bright: "Then I will be as quick as possible."

Half an hour later.

Hundreds of crates were piled on the plaza outside Yuling Hall, and the Spirit Sect's logistics personnel were currently taking inventory.

It was obvious that the Command Center and the Government must have reached some kind of consensus with the Spirit Sect, so Chen Shu wasn't worried that the Spirit Sect would swallow certain cultural relics, causing those he hadn't had time to study yet to never see the light of day again.

The Spirit Sect had no need to do such a thing.

It was just unclear what shameless excuse the Yiguo Government would come up with to cover up the fact that the cultural relics in these four Square Bodies had suddenly appeared all at once.

"Vice Sect Master, then I will..."

"Go, go."

"Good."

Chen Shu shot straight up into the sky and flew back to Yujing.