Chapter 31: Apologize to Me

Half an hour later, Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang got up to take their leave.

Niu Yuanshan politely escorted them all the way to the gate of the small courtyard.

His gesture caused several laborers inside the courtyard to glance over, puzzled why these two registered disciples deserved such attention from a senior.

After seeing the two off, Old Niu picked up the jar of Erlang wine on the table and quietly returned to his room.

Once inside, his thick-eyebrowed, big-eyed, square-jawed face changed expression noticeably.

“How on earth did Chu Huaixu open two orifices?” he wondered, baffled.

As a “Golden Face” in the Organization, he had previously been in charge of welcoming newcomers and had already reviewed the boy’s dossier.

“He’s clearly a false spirit embryo.”

“And furthermore, all nine innate orifices were blocked!”

Such a condition defied the common knowledge in the cultivation world.

It was hard not to be shocked!

“Could it be that he’s one of those legendary dust-covered spirit-embryo cultivators, whose embryo didn’t reveal itself, leading people to mistake him for a false spirit embryo.”

“Once he formally starts cultivation, something different will manifest?”

As a veteran within the Organization, his curiosity about this newcomer grew stronger and stronger.

He even felt tempted to draw a drop of the boy’s fresh blood to examine the state of his spirit embryo.

After a few seconds, Niu Yuanshan’s eyes suddenly narrowed.

Then, he violently raised his hand and slapped himself with enormous force, his face skewing from the blow.

He even employed spiritual power as he slapped.

“Smack—!”

“How many times is this now, how many times?”

“Niu Yuanshan, oh Niu Yuanshan, you really never learn!”

“You can’t keep making this kind of mistake!”

Rule 3 of the “Admonition”: Do not harbor excessive curiosity about fellow cultivators.

……

……

Meanwhile, on the other side, after bidding farewell to Old Niu, Chu Huaixu glanced up at the azure sky.

During the past half hour, based on his experience as a seasoned player, he had been trying to spawn tasks and initiate various interactions.

But the task system still gave no response.

《Borrowed Sword》 was a game with extremely high freedom; there was no reason it wouldn’t allow him to double‑cross someone.

Therefore, he planted a seed of suspicion in his mind.

On the way home, Han Shuangjiang suddenly called out to Chu Huaixu.

This cold-faced girl’s gaze flickered nervously as she said, “Um… thanks for what happened today.”

Obviously, this iceberg of a girl wasn’t even good at saying thank you.

Chu Huaixu played with the moment: “First of all, I’m not ‘that one.’”

Seeing the confusion in her eyes, he also began to feel how incredibly tedious he really was.

“No need to thank me—it was my duty. And, in the end, the outcome was good, wasn’t it?” he smiled at her.

Han Shuangjiang felt a sense of relief at that.

If Chu Huaixu had suffered any mishap because of her, her fundamentally kind nature would have tormented her with guilt for life.

After thinking it over, she retrieved a jade token fragment from her Storage Token.

“Here, take this—I feel I shouldn’t keep it,” Han Shuangjiang said.

Chu Huaixu glanced at her and felt suddenly that this world‑protagonist type of person loved keeping exact accounts of things.

Previously, when he said he was going home and suggested she ask Old Niu for help, she refused.

Now even more, she wanted to hand over the jade fragment she’d obtained.

“I already have one; adding another is useless. I don’t need two ‘keys,’” Chu Huaixu said.

“You can turn it in for Sect Contribution Points,” Han Shuangjiang said with complete seriousness and insistence.

Chu Huaixu would want it? In dreams!

You must know, there were a total of ten jade token fragments.

That meant Liu Tianfeng had eight left on his side.

At that time, their side would have eight people entering the dungeon, while ours had only two.

Therefore, although the Liu trio would feel the loss, in their hearts they would still think—advantage is on our side!

But Chu Huaixu clearly understood that standing before him was an iceberg world‑protagonist who had fully absorbed the remaining two Dao‑Ancestor inheritances!

"You going with me into the dungeon makes me feel more confident," he thought to himself anyway.

So, he furrowed his brow again and spoke in an unhappy, slightly fierce tone: "When I told you to keep it safe, just keep it safe!"

Under her veil, Han Shuangjiang’s red and tender lips couldn’t help pursing slightly.

Chu Huaixu looked at her and said: "This was obtained for us by Steward Niu, and he’s already allocated it—one piece per person. Rather than giving it to me here, you might as well help me more once we're inside the secret realm."

The cold-faced girl hesitated for a moment, then could only let it go and replied softly: "Alright."

Along the way, the two walked and chatted.

After this incident, their relationship seemed to have grown a bit closer.

The usually reserved girl who kept her distance from others surprisingly revealed her true feelings, saying:

"I didn’t expect Dao Gate to have seniors like Steward Liu—I'd thought all the elders were like Steward Niu."

Hearing this, Chu Huaixu was amused.

"If everyone was like Old Niu, what would happen to Dao Gate? What, from Sect Master down to the stewards, all undercover agents?" he muttered in his mind.

He then glanced at Han Shuangjiang and said: "It’s normal—every place has its rotten apples, and human nature is ultimately complex."

"As long as they’re human, they’ll have selfish desires."

"I’ll tell you, that Liu Chenggong who came to capture me seems like a fun type—on the way, I got quite a few things out of him."

"Our Steward Liu, years ago before he was promoted, brought his wife and a group of outer‑gate disciples down the mountain for a mission, and then trouble happened."

"His wife died on the spot, he was severely injured, and his cultivation stagnated completely, yet all those outer disciples were unharmed—he protected them well."

"He may have been corrupted by power, or maybe his son was his weakness—who knows?" Chu Huaixu shrugged.

Hearing this, Han Shuangjiang became even quieter.

Chu Huaixu looked at her and said: "Don’t worry, since they tried to make a move on us, I didn’t let them have it easy either, right?"

The cold-faced girl turned to look at him and earnestly said: "I really didn’t expect you to suddenly strike with your palm at the end."

He looked pleased and crooked a smile, saying: "Well? Arrogant enough?"

Han Shuangjiang: "…"

She refused to speak, and he stared at her until she had to nod slightly.

"See? Arrogance is correct!" Chu Huaixu laughed.

The more arrogant, the more unimaginable their background seemed!

He continued: "You know why there's a saying ‘bully the weak, fear the strong,’ and ‘flatter the powerful, mistreat the lowly.'"

"Because one who bullies the weak usually fears the strong, and one who mistreats the lowly usually flatters the powerful."

"How about we make a bet—believe it or not, even after I strike like that, they’ll come knocking tomorrow with lavish gifts," Chu Huaixu said.

Han Shuangjiang asked: "But didn’t they already give us the key to the secret realm?"

"That’s just to make amends, and it’s because Steward Niu asked for it," Chu Huaixu waved his hand.

"At first it was his own words—prepare lavish gifts, visit tomorrow. Since he said it, he has to follow through; he can’t just drop it after giving the Pill‑King Token."

"Besides, he can’t be sure whether we heard those few words. What if we did?"

Steward Liu was a seasoned pro—he definitely had some experience handling these matters.

"Moreover, amending and networking are different things."

Chu Huaixu looked at her and continued: "So, will you bet or not?"

"No bet." Han Shuangjiang repeatedly shook her head and quickened her pace.

She felt that in many ways she still lagged far behind him—and refused outright!

"Come on, just bet—we haven’t even said what the bet is about yet, don’t dismiss it so quickly," Chu Huaixu thought she was too dull—such a boring woman.

"No bet, no bet." Han Shuangjiang kept her cold expression and walked faster.

……

……

Refusing to listen, as the old saying goes.

No matter what Chu Huaixu said, Han Shuangjiang just wouldn’t bet.

After returning home, the two went back to their own bamboo huts.

Chu Huaixu sat cross‑legged on his meditation cushion and began to regulate his breathing.

This time he’d gained plenty—1,000 Experience Points, enough to level up multiple times.

"With Han Shuangjiang’s freakish cultivation speed, if I don’t have some experience, she’ll leave me in the dust."

"And after that fight, she probably feels the pressure and a stronger urge to get stronger, and her cultivation might speed up even more," he guessed.

"Having good talent is awesome—unlike me, who still had to endure pain and complete tasks. Everything about me relies on my effort!"

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"System! Level me up!"

‘Sword‑Refining Art’ levels three, four, five.

Chu Huaixu pierced through three orifices in one go.