PID Chapter 38.2

After reading through his sword manual, Chu Jinglan stood up and noticed the Night Blooming Cereus still attached to his belt. He decided to remove it and place it in a vase but hadn’t yet reached for it when there was a knock at his door.

Opening it, he found Mo Zhi standing outside.

“What is it?” Chu Jinglan asked.

Mo Zhi held a booklet in his hands—it turned out to be a manual on saber techniques. Scratching his head awkwardly, he said: “Master, I’m interested in this… but I don’t really understand it. Shixiong said saber and sword techniques share some similarities, so he told me to come ask you.”

Among the three children, only Mo Zhi had managed to develop a new way of thinking from Xiao Mo and Chu Jinglan’s unconventional teaching methods. Unexpectedly, Mo Zhi had already found a weapon he was interested in. Chu Jinglan nodded and asked, “What don’t you understand?”

Mo Zhi opened the book and pointed. “Here.”

Chu Jinglan’s gaze paused on the page for a moment before he asked, “Do you not understand the deeper meaning, or do you simply not recognize the characters?”

Mo Zhi hesitated and stammered, “Uh… I haven’t learned these characters yet.”

“They’re in The Three-Character Classic.” Chu Jinglan wasn’t so easily fooled. He closed the saber manual and said, “No more saber techniques today. Copy The Three-Character Classic three times first.”

Mo Zhi immediately let out a wail: “Noooo—!”

Chu Jinglan placed the book on the table and said calmly, “Or you can tell me what you’ve been hiding from me.”

Mo Zhi’s wailing came to an abrupt halt. He froze in shock before quickly trying to cover up his reaction, attempting to feign innocence with wide eyes: “Huh? What? Nothing at all!”

Unfortunately for him, his earlier reaction hadn’t escaped Chu Jinglan’s sharp eyes.

“Oh,” Chu Jinglan said coolly. “So you really are hiding something from me.”

Mo Zhi: “…”

It wasn’t that he wasn’t trying—it was just that his opponent was too strong.

Lowering his head in defeat, Mo Zhi muttered gloomily, “Why are you so smart, Master?”

He had come all this way with such effort, only to expose their secret and earn himself three rounds of copying—what a loss!

Chu Jinglan’s tone remained steady: “So what is it?”

Even Xiao Mo was hiding it from him.

No wonder Xiao Mo had been so unusually cheerful today—it turned out he was planning something in secret.

Chu Jinglan wasn’t in a hurry. He wasn’t worried that Xiao Mo might be plotting something harmful to him either. After all, for an Inner Demon, the greatest benefit they could gain from their host was their physical body. But with Chu Jinglan’s currently crippled state, taking over his body would only be a burden.

Mo Zhi called him clever, but even Chu Jinglan couldn’t guess what kind of matter would require Xiao Mo to team up with the three children to keep it hidden from him.

Rising from his seat, Chu Jinglan decided to go see for himself.

Seeing Chu Jinglan about to leave the room, Mo Zhi panicked and shouted: “Wait! Uh—”

Just then, Xiao Mo’s voice rang out faintly from outside: “It’s fine—don’t stall anymore. Let him come out.”

Mo Zhi immediately fell silent and stepped aside with a bright smile in his eyes as he gestured grandly toward the door: “Master, please!”

The excitement and anticipation in Mo Zhi’s gaze made Chu Jinglan think that whatever they were hiding wasn’t anything bad.

That only made him more curious.

Xiao Mo and the others were likely in the main hall. The door to the hall was slightly ajar, and Xiao Mo’s voice had come from inside.

Chu Jinglan walked forward and pushed open the door.

The wooden door creaked as it swung open. As soon as it did, a glowing orb of spiritual energy suddenly floated toward Chu Jinglan at high speed. It seemed like it was going to collide with him but stopped abruptly three inches away from his face with a playful halt. Then it spun around mid-air before floating upward—and suddenly burst apart—

There was no destructive force—only spiritual light scattering like stars. The dazzling display resembled brilliant fireworks that painted the most beautiful scene before transforming into specks of fireflies that gently drifted down from above.

Behind him, Mo Zhi cheered along with Yan Chun and Chu Xia in front of him: “Master, happy birthday!”

Chu Jinglan stood frozen at the doorway, stunned.

At some point, Xiao Mo appeared beside Chu Jinglan and gave him a gentle push forward. “What are you standing there for? Come sit.”

A rare trace of confusion flashed in Chu Jinglan’s eyes. He was so caught off guard that he didn’t react at all as Xiao Mo guided him to the table, like a puppet being led by strings. Xiao Mo pressed down on his shoulders, making him sit.

On the table before him was a bowl of noodles topped with two poached eggs—a symbol of good fortune and harmony.

Xiao Mo kept his hands on Chu Jinglan’s shoulders, smiling warmly. “Happy birthday, Chu Jinglan. I made longevity noodles—give them a try.”

Chu Jinglan stared at the steaming bowl of noodles but didn’t move.

“Hm?” Xiao Mo tilted his head to look at him and waved his hand in front of Chu Jinglan’s face. “Snap out of it, Senior Brother Chu!”

Birthday…

Chu Jinglan’s eyes slowly shifted. That’s right—September 7th. Today was his eighteenth birthday.

When he was six years old, the Chu family had tried to win him over with kindness by throwing him an extravagant birthday banquet. However, he had coldly ruined the event, leaving it joyless and ending on a sour note. After that, the Chu family stopped pretending to care about him, and Chu Jinglan never celebrated his birthday again.

In the years that followed, if September 7th happened to be a busy day, he wouldn’t even pay attention to the date. Often, it wasn’t until he needed to consult a calendar for something that he realized another year had passed.

This kind of celebration felt utterly foreign to him.

The table was already filled with delicious dishes, and each place setting included small portions of candied fruits and pastries. Everything Xiao Mo had done today—it was all because of his birthday…

When Chu Jinglan finally spoke, his voice surprised even himself with its hoarseness: “You made these longevity noodles?”

“That’s right.” Xiao Mo sat down beside him, resting his chin on his hand and smiling brightly. “You might be better than me at flutes and drawing, but you can’t beat me at this. Longevity noodles for your birthday—blessings for long life, prosperity, and good health.”

The bowl held one long, unbroken noodle curled into a perfect spiral. The noodle had been infused with fragrant herbs, giving it a pale golden hue. The broth was clear and aromatic, filling the air with its rich scent.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone around him, Chu Jinglan picked up his chopsticks and lifted the noodles to his mouth.

The noodles were tender yet chewy, carrying the herbaceous fragrance and hearty wheat aroma within each bite. The flavorful broth complemented them perfectly, warming him from his lips all the way down to his heart.

The portion wasn’t large—he quickly finished the bowl of noodles.

Turning slightly, he met Xiao Mo’s gaze.

Xiao Mo was silently asking with his eyes: How is it?

Though the broth had soothed his throat, Chu Jinglan found himself struggling to speak even a few words. His heart burned quietly but trembled as if it had been scalded. Clenching his fingers tightly, he forced himself to respond: “…Delicious.”

It truly was delicious.

Better than any delicacy he had ever tasted before.

As if regaining control over himself at last, Chu Jinglan repeated: “It’s delicious.”

[Ding! Mental attack successful, points +500!]

Xiao Mo was startled—500 points?!

This single gain had shattered his previous record, one he hadn’t even dared to imagine before.

While he was confident in his cooking skills, he didn’t think Chu Jinglan’s emotions had been stirred so dramatically by just a bowl of noodles. It had to be the culmination of everything prepared for today—the celebration of Chu Jinglan’s birthday.

After his initial surprise, Xiao Mo felt a sense of understanding.

See? People with emotions and desires—why act so stubborn? Surrounded by everyone like this, you must’ve been moved to tears inside, huh?

The smile on Xiao Mo’s face grew even brighter. Today truly was a good day—a lively meal with everyone, plus a massive haul of points for him. Resting his chin on his hand, Xiao Mo chuckled softly: “Now you know how good I am to you, don’t you?”

Chu Jinglan’s lashes trembled slightly, and he remained silent for a moment. Xiao Mo heard the sound of more points being added in his ear—ding ding ding—before Chu Jinglan suddenly interjected: “Have you ever thought about celebrating your own birthday?”

Xiao Mo froze for a moment before waving it off casually. “Nope.”

He had never celebrated his birthday either. Although his parents didn’t care much about him, they had at least given him a birth certificate, so Xiao Mo knew when his birthday was—December 3rd.

Come to think of it, if he calculated based on the time since he transmigrated, he might actually be a few months younger than Chu Jinglan now.

Chu Jinglan suggested: “Why not treat the day you appeared here as your birthday?”

He added calmly: “Next year, I’ll throw you a full-year banquet.”

“Chu. Jing. Lan.” Xiao Mo reached out to grab the bowl and chopsticks in front of him. “If you dare do that, don’t even think about eating!”

But Chu Jinglan’s reflexes were quick. He smoothly dodged with the bowl in hand—though it was partly because Xiao Mo wasn’t serious about grabbing it. After all, with his Nascent Soul-level strength, there was no way he’d miss if he really tried.

Xiao Mo was about to bicker further when he suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

Chu Jinglan was quietly watching him, and in those eyes—usually cold as frost and snow—there was now a faint trace of warmth and a genuine smile. It wasn’t a smirk or mockery but an actual lighthearted smile.

And it didn’t disappear in an instant—it stayed there, meeting Xiao Mo’s gaze directly.

…He really did look stunning when he smiled.

Clear and serene as the moon, flawless as white jade.

Xiao Mo, who had been ready to retort, found himself at a loss for words. Awkwardly withdrawing his hand, he shifted his gaze elsewhere and muttered under his breath: “You’re the birthday star today—I won’t argue with you.”

Seeing that Xiao Mo wasn’t trying to grab the bowl anymore, Chu Jinglan set it down and slowly picked up the remaining poached egg from the broth. Bit by bit, he ate it quietly, letting its warmth replace the chill within him.

Meanwhile, Xiao Mo couldn’t bring himself to look directly at Chu Jinglan but couldn’t resist sneaking glances out of the corner of his eye to see if that smile was still there.

He wanted to look but felt hesitant about looking too much.

Involuntarily, Xiao Mo touched his cheek with the back of his hand. The coolness of his hand met the equally cool skin of his face. Only then did he belatedly remember: Oh right—Inner Demons don’t have blood or body heat. What am I even doing?

Why had he instinctively checked if his face was warm?

Weird.

Ahem—it must be because I’m just too happy today. No big deal.

—

Author’s Note:

Xiao Mo: Good thing my face doesn’t blush—problem solved at its root!

T/N: Happy weekends ~ Happy reading ~