Chapter 22: Tian Yan Clan – Lonely Island: Smiling angel

Xiang Nu was stunned after seeing Yu Su’s reply, and for a while, he felt a little helpless.

The beautiful young man frowned, and after a while, he could only reply dryly: Oh…

It was unknown whether the reaction of Xiangnu was too dry but there was no further movement from Mr Yu.

Xiangnu bit his finger and thought for a while, and then slowly wrote on the screen: I misunderstood you, Mr Yu, but I didn’t mean to hide from you, Mr Yu. Although my heart tells me that the peerless person that appeared in my dream was you, I had never seen your face before and was not even sure if it was you. How can I let someone kiss me casually without confirming his identity?

Xiang Nu suppressed the shame in his heart and wrote this paragraph, and he breathed a sigh of relief after the content was sent.

Xiangnu clenched his fists, and secretly encouraged himself, ‘it’s okay, Xiangnu, as long as you are not embarrassed, it is another’s turn to be embarrassed. Anyway, the reply has been sent and there is no way to withdraw it. Brave people should face everything calmly!’

Encouraging himself in his heart, Xiangnu’s mood gradually calmed down. Looking at the nauseous words he sent before, he actually thought it was a bit of fun, and even imagined how the indifferent and noble Mr Yu will react when he sees this sincere and enthusiastic confession.

Maybe there will be a little gaffe. In the last dungeon, Mr Yu gave him a very innocent feeling. Xiangnu raised his lips and smiled slightly.

Yu Su on the other side of the screen never replied, but the pattern on Xiangnu’s leg began to heat up.

It’s not hot, but you could feel the rising temperature on it.

Xiangnu pondered for a few seconds, then continued: Mr Yu, what type of pattern did you leave on me? Its temperature has risen a little, but it is not hot, it feels like the exact temperature with slightly hot cheeks when people are shy.

After Xiangnu finished posting, he felt that the temperature of the pattern seemed to rise a little higher. But because it was already a little hot, the temperature change was very weak, and Xiangnu couldn’t confirm if it was his illusion or not.

Yu Su also replied again.

? ? ?: Stop saying things like that.

Xiangnu has completely returned to normal now, and after hearing the words, he continued: Why? Did I say something wrong that made you unhappy, Mr Yu? Mr Yu, are you in a bad mood now?

? ? ?:……It’s not bad.

Xiangnu raised his eyebrows and smiled more recklessly. 

On the other side, Shu Jian carried a bamboo basket full of yarrow and strode towards Xiangnu’s place. Fortunately, only the tasker himself could see the personal panel. For this reason, Xiangnu was not nervous.

Shu Jian smiled shyly, put the bamboo basket in front of Xiang Nu, scratched his hair and said with a smile, “Little Junior Brother, I have already chopped your portion of yarrow for you, here it is, I’ll do my portion now.”

Xiangnu nodded and thanked again, “Thank you, third Senior Brother, I will give you life points after going out.”

Shu Jian smiled more sincerely, but shook his head and refused, “Little Junior Brother, you are too polite, didn’t we agree before that you would be responsible for coming up with ideas and finding clues, and I would do all this physical work. Alright, enough talk, I’m going to get busy!”

Without waiting for Xiangnu to say anything, Shu Jian waved his hand and devoted himself to his task.

Shu Jian did the work of three people alone… Zhong Liyun’s physical strength was also limited, and after trying to chop a few times, he could only give up and apologized to Miao Dong for help. Miao Dong’s physical strength was okay, but his work was not very neat. He was stumbling to do even his own share, and he couldn’t keep up with the speed. Shu Jian also took Zhong Liyun’s workload over.

So Shu Jian was very busy at the moment, Xiangnu will not disturb him at this time and delay his work progress. What’s more, doing work was far more important than talking.

The bamboo basket that Qingfeng had prepared for them was a bit small, so when Shu Jian cut it down, he was able to cut down all the stray branches next to it, which made it barely fit. Do you want to come and see me?

? ? ?: No, the impact will not be good.

Mr Yu regained the gentle taste that he had at the beginning. Xiangnu pondered, and sure enough, he could only follow the hair, can’t there be even the slightest resistance?

This kind of character is not good, it’s okay for a short time, if you get along with each other day and night, it will be very painful for a long time.

The important thing was that Xiangnu didn’t want to coax someone with a smile all the time. He also wanted to be pampered. At least after falling off the chair, even if a certain gentleman didn’t take the initiative to take the blame, he should be concerned about whether it hurt or not.

Mr Yu still has something to train on.

Putting aside personal topics and talking about business, Yu Su’s answer to Xiangnu was also very interesting.

Xiangnu asked if Yu Su would appear in the dungeon, and Yu Su’s answer was not that he could not enter or that there were restrictions, but that it was a “bad influence”.

This meant that it was not difficult for Yu Su to enter other dungeons, and there were no restrictions or costs he had to pay. He could go in and out at will, but because of his identity, he wanted to set an example for other ghosts, so he will not do that casually.

It seems that Mr Yu is not ordinary in the dungeon world. Xiangnu recalled his memory. The flight attendant’s diary mentioned Old Capitol Prison. Judging from its description, Old Capitol Prison seemed to be a very extraordinary place that he(the flight attendant) yearned for. If he only thought about the name, would the prisoners imprisoned there be the monsters in these dungeons that create such an extraordinary status as a prison?

He just didn’t know what position Yu Su had in it, how high he was.

Xiangnu’s thoughts diverged and jumped so much that after Yu Su said that he would not enter the dungeon, he “regretfully” put an end to this round of conversation: Well, I will finish this dungeon as soon as possible, Mr Yu, wait for me~

Yu Su didn’t answer, but he didn’t put away Xiangnu’s personal panel, obviously still thinking about how to answer Xiangnu.

After a long time, Yu Su replied: No need, since you don’t want to see me, I don’t have to see you either.

Xiangnu:?

Mr Yu, when you say that, can you first erase the pattern you left on me.

I’m sure Mr Yu has a long way to go in his training. After his dictatorship, Xiang Nu picked out a second fault, his mouth is too arrogant and his heart is not right.

Xiangnu smiled slightly, it didn’t matter. Things that are too easy to get hold of can get him bored easily, this kind of back and forth tug is how a perfect relationship unfolds. Counting up, he and Mr Yu have not known each other for long, Xiangnu is patient and interested in slowly grinding with Mr Yu.

Xiangnu slowly wrote: Mr Yu, don’t say such things, I will be very sad. I explained to you that I didn’t see you before, just because your appearance scared me, doesn’t mean I backtracked. I really regret rejecting you.

…You look through the records, do you really not understand my sincerity and enthusiasm for you? After coming out of this dungeon, I will also be waiting for you in the apartment all the time until the third dungeon is forced to open.

Yu Su was still thinking about how to reply when Xiangnu saw that Shu Jian and the others had started to stand up and stretched their posture, and said directly to Yu Su: Mr Yu, I want to continue the dungeon mission, I hope I can finish it earlier this time, Let’s stop talking now, turn off the screen.

? ? ?:  

Yu Su turned off the personal panel for Xiangnu. After the red-coloured panel disappeared, the smile on the beautiful young man’s face faded. He put down the rolled-up trouser legs, covered the black pattern on the calf, turned to sort the yarrows and carried the bamboo basket on his back.

Yu Su said that it is not necessary to meet as he didn’t want to, which was true and Xiangnu also didn’t want Yu Su to force him though it was absolutely false to say he didn’t want to meet.

If he was so understanding, why did he leave his mark on Xiangnu and open his personal panel to chat with him?

It’s just duplicity, but Xiang Nu’s heart was very stable. In short, pave the steps for Mr Yu first, it doesn’t matter if you come or not.

However… If they do meet, Xiangnu will have to think about the details, Mr Yu’s temper can’t be tolerated forever.

Xiangnu joined the five taskers with their bamboo baskets on their backs. After completing the task of cutting the yarrow, they counted the number of yarrows each other and went back after confirming that the number of yarrows was alright.

When they returned to the old man’s main house, they found that the old man had rearranged the house while they were away.

In the yard in the centre was a sacrificial table, on which there were fruits for tribute and incense candles, in front of the table stood an image of the god, whose face was clearly the same as the old man’s, with a cold, carved face, three times more grim than the old man.

In addition, there were many more villagers in the yard wearing clothes of the same style as Xiangnu and the others. They were divided into two groups and stood on the left and right. The group on the right were more hostile to Xiangnu’s group. After Xiangnu and the others appeared, they immediately scowled at them with hostile eyes, and the one on the left ignored them.

However, their attitude towards the old man was quite uniform. When they looked at the old man, they all looked in awe, daring not to take any offence.

Qingfeng paused after seeing them, then stepped forward in bewilderment, looking at the bamboo baskets behind them hesitantly, and asked, “How many yarrows did you chop down?”

The missionaries looked at each other, and Xiangnu asked with a puzzled look, “Fifty each basket, senior brother, didn’t you let us cut so many?”

The little fat man scratched his head and said blankly, “I want you to cut fifty stalks in total…” I didn’t tell you to cut fifty stalks for each person.

All the missionaries were speechless for a moment, thinking that you didn’t say it earlier, and so much time was wasted.

The old man was wearing a yellow and black Taoist uniform, holding a willow branch in his hand. After hearing the communication between Qingfeng and the missionaries, there was a look of contempt on his face. He sneered impatiently and said lightly, “Okay, the sacrificial ceremony is about to start, hurry up and put things away. Qingfeng, you go and help them organize the yarrow, don’t miss the auspicious time.”

Qingfeng responded, and like a ghost, he helped the taskers take away the bamboo baskets one by one and moved them into the woodshed in the room next to Xiangnu and the others.

The old man stared at the huge number of yarrows, and suddenly asked, “There are so many yarrows, and there are two of you who are holding back, Xiaowu(little five) and Xiaoqi(little seven), you cut them down so quickly, who was the main worker?”

Everyone frowned and had a bad premonition, but before everyone could answer, the old man looked directly at Shu Jian, and said lightly, “I think you are the sturdiest here, you are the one who did everything, right?”

Shu Jian almost bit his tongue nervously, and couldn’t help but look at Xiangnu, Xiangnu gave him a reassuring look, signalling him not to be nervous, Shu Jian suppressed the panic, and tried to be strong and calm, “Yes…”

“Heh.” The old man hummed and praised without emotion, “Then you’re quite good, in that case, you’ll be the one to do it later.”

Shu Jian’s face turned pale, and the villagers looked at him coldly, as if they were watching a dead man.

Xiangnu walked to Shu Jian, patted his back lightly, and comforted him, “Don’t be afraid, it will be fine.”

Shu Jian reluctantly smiled, his expression full of bewilderment.

Ding Zeming looked at Qingfeng, took a step forward and snatched back the bamboo basket that Qingfeng took away, and said loudly, “Senior brother, there are so many bamboo baskets, when are you going to move it alone, let’s help you together!”

After saying this, he gave a wink to the others, who understood, picked up their bamboo baskets and headed for the woodshed, while Qingfeng, who had nothing better to do, just stared at the side.

The old man said indifferently, “Qingfeng, follow them in and bring out the basket of yarrow for your third brother’s divination later.”

After receiving the order, Qingfeng immediately followed the six people like a ghost. Ding Zeming and Miao Dong took turns walking past Shu Jian, and whispered comfortably, “Third junior brother, don’t be afraid, you are a very valuable existence in the team, and we will not abandon you easily.”

Shu Jian barely pulled up a smile as Xiang Nu glanced outside the door. The villagers on the left were not interested in the missionaries, and no one looked back at them. They stared at the old man intently, incidentally helping to shield the taskmasters from the stares cast by the old man and the group of villagers on the right.

After entering the room, Xiangnu directly pulled Qingfeng behind the door, and also deliberately reached out to cover Qingfeng’s mouth, but Qingfeng had no idea of ​​shouting at all, blinked his eyes, and looked at a few taskers with unusual calmness.

The other questers were almost startled by Xiang Nu, not knowing where he got the nerve to cover the NPC’s mouth, wasn’t he afraid that the NPC would suddenly grow a second mouth and swallow his hand directly?

Seeing Qingfeng’s cooperative appearance, Xiangnu released his hand slightly. After seeing that Qingfeng didn’t shout, he finally released his hand and whispered in Qingfeng’s ear, “Senior Brother, I want to ask you something.”

Qingfeng looked at him without nodding or shaking his head. Xiangnu was not sure whether he would cooperate or not, so he could only ask the question first, “Senior brother, what did Master mean just now, what does he want the third brother to do?”

Qingfeng tilted his head and replied, “He wants the third junior brother to take an exam~”

“An exam?”

Qingfeng looked left and right, pulled out a bamboo basket to pick up the yarrow, and replied casually, “Yes, you have all learned divination in your own families before, and now you have joined the master’s school to study together, so the master must test your level first so that he can teach you later.”

“How?” Miao Dong asked hastily.

Without raising the limelight, he said, “I can’t tell you this, if I do, Master won’t be able to judge your true level. But this question is not difficult for you, when your family sent you here to learn divination from the Master, they promised that your level was very high, not even close to the level of your uncle back then, so you will be able to answer the small questions Master used to test!”

When they suddenly received the information from the old man’s senior apprentice, everyone did not have the opportunity to ask clearly at this moment.

Seeing that Qingfeng did not answer, everyone was a little anxious, especially because the words that Qingfeng added later were simply too risky.

What does it mean to answer correctly, and what will happen if the answer is incorrect?

Xiangnu frowned, his index finger was on his lips, and he motioned for a few people to be quiet. He had already discovered that if Qingfeng would not answer a question, he would simply ignore you. If he did, he would still have a chance to get an answer. Then he continued to grind the breeze and asked, “Elder brother, give us a thorough understanding. Master suddenly wants to test us, and we were not prepared before. Of course, this is not the point. The point is that there are too many onlookers in the village. Wouldn’t it be embarrassing for us to give wrong answers to so many people?”

Qingfeng frowned, as if being persuaded, and hesitantly said after a while, “Well, I’ll give you a sneak peek. But it’s useless to leak the bottom…”

Several missionaries, especially Shu Jian, looked at Qingfeng with great anticipation, eagerly waiting for Qingfeng’s answer.

Qingfeng sorted out the yarrow in his hands and held it in his arms, and told a few people, “Master usually asks ‘what will he have for lunch today, and then let you figure it out. If there is an answer, I also want to tell you, but Master wants to eat differently every day, and this older brother can’t help you, sigh. You will try yourselves later, but don’t be afraid, we only have those few dishes in total, so you may get it right even if you fool around.”

After speaking, he shook his head and hugged the yarrow and went out.

Leaving a few missionaries frowning and thinking hard, unable to figure out why this old man was asking such questions.

Zhong Liyun said quickly: “No, it’s not right. If the Master asks this question, he will be deliberately embarrassing us, because this question is too subjective, if he doesn’t want you to answer it correctly…”

The old man suddenly appeared at the door, and the slender shadow was projected on the floor of the house and fell on several people. The eyes of the villagers outside the door followed the old man, and the eyes of dozens of people looked into the house together, with their backs facing the light. The aura around him was gloomy and cold.

Zhong Liyun closed her mouth and shrank her back subconsciously.

The old man said faintly, “Your senior brother has already prepared the yarrow, it’s time for you to come out, why don’t you go out?”

Everyone was silent for a while, looked at each other, and walked out one by one.

Xiangnu pondered what Zhong Liyun had not yet said. The old man did not have any technical content on this question. He said that he would test other people’s divination ability. Let’s not mention whether these taskers would be able to do it or not. It will still be the old man’s problem.

What will the old man have for lunch? It’s not that the old man eats what he wants. If he wants anyone to win, he will win, and if he wants anyone to lose, let him lose.

Xiangnu frowned, having an idea in his mind.

Qingfeng was obviously more reliable than the old man, and the information leaked to the taskers should not be false, and it was not mixed with water.

The old man sat down on the chair that Qingfeng had brought over after the several missionaries symbolically burned incense and saluted.

He was holding the porcelain jar, and no matter how fiery the eyes around him, he remained unmoved.

Looking at the villagers with respect and awe, Xiang Nu thought to himself that these villagers and the old man did not seem to be on the same page, so it would be easier to gather clues.

The old man took a sip of water slowly and then said faintly, “This old man, has always been sparse and ordinary in everything, only has divination ability that can be said to be very accurate, but my method is not passed on. It is good that you children are good learners chosen as the best pupil from your families, but although I, the old man, am old, I do not accept all kinds of goods.”

The old man raised his head, his dark eyes were like the dark clouds that were pressing down on the top, giving people a lot of invisible pressure, so much that they had trouble breathing: “I don’t usually read fortunes easily, but when I do, I’m not wrong. I lost only one time. That is to say, when I was still studying Taoism when I was young, I lost a competition with my senior brother, so I still admit and only admit my senior brother’s talents. When your family sent you here to learn the trigrams, they all said that your talent was no less than that of my long-dead senior brother, so let’s show your hands before you formally worship.”

The old man put his hand on the armrest, nodded his chin at Qingfeng, and ordered, “Qingfeng, bring out the four kinds of food you have prepared.”

Qingfeng’s fat figure walked on the ground but seemed to float, and quietly walked into the main room. The old man looked directly at Shu Jian, who was the most honest, honest and dull-looking, and showed him a malicious smile that looked almost twisted, “The third, it’s you, aren’t you very powerful, and your family has also blown you out of the water, so you’ll be the first to try. Qingfeng’s yarrow is ready, you go and calculate what I’ll have in the meal later.”

While talking, Qingfeng had already pushed out the four kinds of rice that the old man said, nothing unusual, very ordinary, a bowl of thin porridge, a plate of dried sweet potatoes, a plate of green vegetables, and a steamed bun.

The old man urged coldly, “Third child, choose.”

Xiangnu grabbed Shu Jian, gently pushed him back slightly, and walked to the front, showing arrogance and dissatisfaction, and asked, “Teacher, we are also your disciples, none of us is worse than the third senior brother, Looking at the appearance, the third senior brother is also the least clever, why do you only let the third senior brother come to try something like this?”

Xiangnu pulled the corners of his lips on both sides, smiling but not yet smiling. He looked extremely beautiful, but his eyes flashed with hostility.

The old man frowned, and after seeing Xiangnu appear, a look of disgust and rejection flashed in his eyes, but he could not say anything to refuse, so he could only remain silent.

Xiangnu asked, “Master, why don’t you answer, if you don’t answer, I will take it as your permission for me to come and show my hand to the third senior brother.”

The old man’s complexion was immediately distorted, and his eyes staring at Xiang Nu were as green as-quenched poison. He looked like he couldn’t wait to tear apart Xiangnu.

Xiang Nu walked in front of Qingfeng, the little fat man used a large tray to hold four dishes. The tray was very heavy, but he stood steady as a rock, and his hands did not even tremble.

Xiang Nu looked at the bowl of thin porridge and his smile grew more and more deceitful as he called out softly, “Third senior brother, and several other senior brothers.”

Shu Jian and the others looked at him nervously as Xiang Nu picked up the bowl of thin porridge and walked to the side, saying as he did so, “Help me ‘invite’ Master to sit down.”

The few questers who had reacted to what Xiang Nu was up to instantly pounced on the old man like wolves, holding the old man’s hands and feet firmly in place.

After Shu Jian realized what everyone was doing, he hurriedly asked and followed him around the old man’s neck from behind.

Xiang Nu smiled and came to the old man with the porridge, and whispered, “Master, I guess you will drink this bowl of porridge.”

Then he opened the old man’s mouth, and abruptly poured the bowl of gruel into the old man’s mouth. The gruel was poured into the old man’s stomach along the throat, but the feeding skills of Xiangnu were not good, and the old man almost choked and died on the spot again.

Part of the porridge didn’t go into the old man’s stomach, it overflowed and stained the old man’s clothes. Xiangnu nodded, motioned to the taskmen to let go, followed them back a few steps, and sneered under the awe-inspiring gaze of his companions. He asked, “Master, the apprentice has chosen the right one, how is this hand showing?”

“Do you want other brothers and sisters to show their hands too? You can, but the rest of these things are not easy to swallow. I’m afraid that after all the brothers and sisters show their hands, you may…” die on the spot.

The old man’s voice became hoarse because of his choking. He looked at the slaves viciously, wishing that he could tear them apart, and said, “No need to reveal it, huh, this batch of new disciples of my master are all outstandingly gifted, there is my master’s true heritage ah!”

Xiangnu bowed without revealing the slightest mistake, and said lightly, “Master has fallen short of praise.”

The few other human taskmasters followed Xiang Nu in silence and did as they were told, not afraid of being hated by this old man.

From the moment the old man had targeted Shu Jian, it meant that the old man was ready to make a move against their group of taskmasters, and whether they fought back or not, the old man would not let them go next.

The idea of Xiangnu dousing the old man with porridge had also occurred to several other questers, but the thought was one thing, but they were overwhelmed by various concerns, such as whether they would be retaliated by the boss on the spot, and the only one who stood up for himself without hesitation and succeeded in doing so was Xiangnu.

A few missionaries looked at the beautiful young man who wore a light smile and a face like peaches and plums with admiration against the old man’s resentful gaze. 

The first time Ding Zeming saw him, he was also smiling lightly as he was when pouring porridge into the old man’s mouth calmly without changing his face. He thought that the ancients honestly did not deceive me, and the more beautiful people really are, the sharper the thorns.

Ding Zeming’s charming thoughts completely dissipated at this moment, although the beauty was extremely beautiful, it was too cruel and spicy for him to bear.

He didn’t know what kind of person the gentleman in Xiangnu’s mouth was. It’s amazing to fall in love with such a beautiful snake and he dared to quarrel with Xiangnu.

Admirable!!

T/N: The chapters are so long….I have to be ?for my patient and lovely readers.