PID Chapter 10

Xiao Mo accompanied Chu Jinglan all the way to the small wooden cabin, providing a flute soundtrack.

 

Inside the cabin was only Dai Zisheng. He could barely get up and take a few steps now but still couldn’t sit in meditation to regulate his qi as it would easily cause discomfort. He had just managed to move his stiff body a bit and was lying back in bed, panting, when Chu Jinglan arrived.

 

Out of politeness, Dai Zisheng tried to get up, but Chu Jinglan waved his hand, so Dai Zisheng just sat up against the headboard.

 

Uh, why did his savior look so exhausted?

 

If he had listened to that “masterpiece” all the way here, he’d be tired too.

 

Chu Jinglan sat down in a chair by the bed, his gaze deep. Lowering his eyelids, he said: “I have a senior who is deeply troubled by an inner demon.”

 

Dai Zisheng was confused: “Ah, um?”

 

Chu Jinglan’s eyes lifted slightly: “Do you know any good methods to suppress an inner demon?”

 

He didn’t try to avoid the inner demon still playing the flute nearby. Xiao Mo had just finished another round of his “great ape” performance and tossed the flute back into the small attic in the sea of consciousness. Hearing this, he couldn’t help but chuckle: “Is your senior actually yourself?”

 

Chu Jinglan’s face remained expressionless, pretending not to hear. With others present, he wouldn’t casually speak to “thin air.”

 

Chu Jinglan didn’t explicitly mention Dai Zisheng’s identity as a Huanjian Sect disciple, but he did have some expectations. After all, it was a well-known sect in the middle realm. Under Chu Jinglan’s quiet yet intense gaze, Dai Zisheng felt inexplicably pressured.

 

But no matter how much pressure he felt, he had to be honest: “Uh, no, I’ve only reached Foundation Establishment. Inner demons are too far away for me, so I haven’t looked into them in detail.”

 

Besides, he thought his mentality was good, so he wouldn’t have to worry about inner demons.

 

Chu Jinglan’s eyes dimmed, and though he said nothing, his disappointment was visible. Seeing this, Dai Zisheng quickly tried to make up for it: “When I get home, I’ll keep an eye out for information for you!”

 

Chu Jinglan’s expression remained indifferent, not placing much hope in a promise from a chance encounter. He merely nodded: “Thank you for your trouble.”

 

“It’s no trouble at all,” Dai Zisheng hurriedly said. “You saved me, so I should repay you. If you need anything else in the future, feel free to ask me!”

 

As he was earnestly making this promise, a light laugh came from the doorway. It was Su Baimo, who had come to visit with a food box. He smiled as he entered: “What are you all talking about? It seems lively.”

 

Although it wasn’t clear how he saw “liveliness” on Chu Jinglan’s expressionless face, Dai Zisheng couldn’t let his savior’s conversation fall flat. He smiled and responded: “We were talking about repaying kindness. You too, don’t hesitate to ask if you need anything. When I get home, I’ll repay you fully!”

 

Su Baimo: “Oh my, then I’ll have to think carefully.”

 

As he spoke, he struck a thoughtful pose, tapping his chin with his hand. Seeing both Dai Zisheng and Chu Jinglan looking at him, he suddenly giggled playfully: “Haha, I’m just teasing you. It was a small gesture; how could I expect repayment? Here, I just bought some food from a restaurant in town. I hope it suits your taste.”

 

The food box could be separated into trays. Su Baimo placed a tray by the bed and arranged the dishes for Dai Zisheng. When he took out the chopsticks, he hesitated, unsure whether to hand them over: “Do you have enough strength in your hands to hold…”

 

Before he could finish, Dai Zisheng quickly interjected: “Yes, yes, I can eat by myself. My hands are steady today!” He swiftly took the chopsticks with both hands. “Thank you, Young Master Su!”

 

The two saviors were betrothed; he understood he needed to maintain an appropriate distance!

 

Hmm, but Young Master Su was truly considerate, Dai Zisheng thought as he held the chopsticks. Savior Chu would be very happy to have him as a dao partner in the future.

 

While fasting pills were useful, they couldn’t compare to the happiness of eating delicious food.

 

Xiao Mo watched with amazement. With just a few small gestures, Su Baimo had completely won over Dai Zisheng. Su Baimo did have some skills.

 

Su Baimo: “No need to call me Young Master Su, just call me Su Baimo!”

 

Dai Zisheng first glanced at Chu Jinglan, and seeing no reaction, he smiled: “Alright, Su Baimo.”

 

Xiao Mo’s voice sounded with a sigh: “Your fiancé is indeed considerate.”

 

Though there was no sarcasm in his tone, Chu Jinglan felt that it wasn’t a genuine compliment for Su Baimo either.

 

“By the way,” Xiao Mo floated up and down next to Chu Jinglan. Su Baimo’s words reminded him that he hadn’t told Chu Jinglan his name yet.

 

“Chu Jinglan, it’s probably inconvenient for you to keep calling me ‘this inner demon,’ right? It’s too long. I’ll make it easier for you. You can call me Xiao Mo. Xiao as in ‘desolate,’ and Mo as in ‘ink.'”

 

Chu Jinglan was a bit surprised. When Dai Zisheng and Su Baimo weren’t paying attention, he glanced at Xiao Mo from the corner of his eye.

 

He wasn’t surprised that the inner demon had given himself a name, but he didn’t understand: Since he could choose his own name, people usually give themselves names with positive meanings. Yet the inner demon had chosen such a desolate interpretation of his name…

 

Xiao could mean many things, but he specifically chose the meaning of “desolate.”

 

Chu Jinglan suddenly remembered the inner demon’s words on their way here: “Your sea of consciousness is too cold, I don’t want to stay in such a frigid place.”

 

The sea of consciousness was lightless, boundlessly desolate, bleak, and lonely.

 

Chu Jinglan’s hand under his sleeve twitched, as if about to clench into a fist, but then slowly relaxed.

 

He reminded himself: Chu Jinglan, you must always remember, that is the most untrustworthy inner demon in the world.

 

Showing sympathy for an inner demon would be disastrous for oneself.

 

“…Brother Lan, Brother Jinglan?”

 

Su Baimo called twice before it finally reached Chu Jinglan’s ears. He came back to his senses and slightly raised his eyes: “What?”

 

Su Baimo blinked curiously: “It’s rare to see you lost in thought.” He asked with concern, “Is something bothering you?”

 

Chu Jinglan only said: “It’s nothing.”

 

Not to mention that Dai Zisheng was present, even if it were just the two of them, Chu Jinglan wouldn’t say anything to Su Baimo.

 

There was always a boundary between him and Su Baimo. He never got angry with Su Baimo, and whenever Su Baimo asked for help, Chu Jinglan almost always obliged. But it stopped there.

 

Rather than fiancés, they were more like a responsible older brother taking care of a younger brother.

 

Since Chu Jinglan said it was nothing, Su Baimo didn’t pursue the matter further. He returned to his original topic: “Will you be watching the secret realm selection in three days?”

 

This selection event was jointly organized by several major families in Mu City, with the purpose of competing for entry qualifications to the Mu Mountain Secret Realm.

 

The Mu Mountain Secret Realm was an important training ground for Mu City, opening once every thirty years. Only those under nineteen could enter, and spots were limited. The great clans had fought over it for many years until they came up with the joint selection method, which finally put an end to the meaningless bloodshed.

 

Chu Jinglan had already secured his qualification. He didn’t need to participate in the selection because his cultivation level far surpassed others. All the nineteen-year-olds in Mu City combined were no match for him, so all families tacitly agreed that he didn’t need to compete.

 

After all, no one wanted their disciples to be utterly humiliated.

 

Chu Jinglan: “I will go.”

 

The clan had already made arrangements for him, wanting Chu Jinglan to appear at the selection event so he could immediately know which Chu family disciples qualified and look after them. Of course, bringing Chu Jinglan was also a way for the Chu family to show off to other families.

 

After all, Chu Jinglan’s mere presence would attract attention from other families, and the Chu family elders greatly enjoyed this feeling.

 

As for whether Chu Jinglan enjoyed it or not, that wasn’t within their consideration.

 

Su Baimo was very happy: “That’s great! I’ll do my best on the day of the selection!”

 

Su Baimo’s cultivation had just reached the late stage of Qi Condensation, not even touching the threshold of Foundation Establishment. So despite being the apple of the Su family’s eye, he wasn’t qualified to secure a spot in advance.

 

Dai Zisheng, unaware of the details, only heard about the selection and sincerely said, “Good luck to both of you!”

 

Su Baimo smiled and explained to him: “Brother Jinglan doesn’t need luck. He’s already secured a spot.”

 

Dai Zisheng: “Oh, oh, as expected of my savior. Impressive!”

 

When others praised Chu Jinglan, Su Baimo’s vanity was greatly satisfied: After all, he was his fiancé, he belonged to him!

 

His expression was modest, but he was clearly showing off: “Of course he’s impressive. He’s at the peak of the Golden Core stage!”

 

Dai Zisheng: “Pffft! Cough cough cough!”

 

He was drinking water and choked unexpectedly, coughing violently. Su Baimo hurriedly came forward to pat his back. Dai Zisheng’s face turned red from coughing, but he still remembered to maintain his distance, leaning back while expressing disbelief: “Wait- cough cough wait!”

 

“I thought- cough cough, we were about the same age?”

 

His voice broke from coughing, and the final tone came out strangely, like a pheasant trying to screech but getting cut off halfway, ending in an odd sound.

 

Su Baimo: “Brother Jinglan will come of age in a few months.”

 

Dai Zisheng: “Cough cough cough cough!!”

 

Seventeen, seventeen and at the peak of Golden Core!!

 

Is he even human?!

 

Amidst his earth-shattering coughs, Dai Zisheng finally remembered why Chu Jinglan’s name sounded familiar. Right, he had overheard the elders mentioning finding a genius in the lower realm who would come to cultivate at the Huanjian Sect in the future.

 

He was hurrying somewhere at the time and didn’t stop, vaguely hearing the name’s pronunciation but not knowing which three characters it was.

 

Now that he thought about it, wasn’t it precisely the three characters “Chu Jinglan”?

 

Other was at the peak of Golden Core at seventeen, while he was still at Foundation Establishment at nineteen.

 

How could the gap between people be so large!

 

They say people are more emotionally vulnerable when sick or injured. Dai Zisheng was so shocked that he felt dazed, almost forgetting where he was, until his gaze fell on Su Baimo—Su Baimo, sixteen, Qi Condensation stage.

 

Dai Zisheng slowly came back to his senses.

 

Right, this was the cultivation level of most people. It wasn’t that he was too weak, it was that Chu Jinglan was too abnormal!

 

Peak of Golden Core at seventeen—forget about the middle realm, even the upper realm couldn’t produce such terrifying talent. Dai Zisheng thumped his chest, feeling comforted, and finally managed to stop his intermittent coughing.

 

He also understood why the Huanjian Sect would try so hard to keep news of Chu Jinglan under wraps. Once too many people knew, or if word reached the upper realm, it would spark a bloody battle just to recruit him.

 

And no matter which sect Chu Jinglan chose, the sects that failed to recruit him would surely not let the matter rest.

 

Such high talent was both an asset and a danger. Before he could establish a firm foothold in the entire cultivation world, his path would inevitably be fraught with thorns.

 

Dai Zisheng’s mindset was thoroughly balanced now. The world was like this—no one could have smooth sailing all the way, not even geniuses.

 

Seeing Dai Zisheng so shocked, Su Baimo comforted him verbally while secretly rejoicing in his heart: Having Chu Jinglan as a fiancé indeed brought great face.

 

His parents were right; choosing Chu Jinglan was the correct decision.

 

As the commotion caused by that one sentence gradually subsided, in a place no one paid attention to, Xiao Mo stopped moving and just slowly floated in the air.

 

The Mu Mountain Secret Realm… Wasn’t that where Chu Jinglan would be crippled?

 

 

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1 Kofi = 1 Extra Chapter