Chapter 154: Fear of Not Having Enough Money

Chapter 154: Fear of Not Having Enough Money

“Mm, not bad, your efficiency is pretty high. Send it over so I can take a look, hehe!”

Chen Huai’an rubbed his fingers together, his face beaming with excitement.

What Li Qingran heard:

【Leave it on the table, I’ll take it myself.】

Ugh~ Master is still so cold and aloof.

Li Qingran hesitated for a long while before finally placing the neatly folded pillowcase on the table. After another moment of hesitation, she averted her gaze and murmured, “Master, I forgot to give you a tea sachet before. I just found it today, so I’ll leave it here with the pillowcase.”

After saying that, she quickly fished out a small tea sachet from behind her and stuffed it into the pillowcase. Then, she lowered her head, staring at her hands fidgeting on her lap, remaining completely silent.

Beneath her bangs, her misty eyes trembled slightly.

Her fluttering eyelashes betrayed her nervousness and unease.

Will Master notice the secret behind the pillowcase and tea sachet?

And if he does… what will he think of me?

But no matter what… this was his request.

Since it was Master’s own demand, surely he wouldn’t think badly of her, right?

Yes, yes! Master was also responsible for this.

She couldn’t be blamed entirely.

She hadn’t done this on purpose.

She was just… just fulfilling Master’s request.

That was all.

…

Chen Huai’an had no idea that a certain young girl was deep in self-hypnosis.

He had already received the pillowcase and tea sachet.

And he quickly noticed something interesting—the embroidery on them.

The pillowcase had a lotus leaf.

The tea sachet had a frog.

Chen Huai’an narrowed his eyes.

This… wasn’t simple.

“Hmm… was this intentional? Or just a coincidence?!”

After careful analysis, considering Li Qingran’s shy and reserved personality, she definitely wouldn’t have done this on purpose.

His request alone must have embarrassed her enough.

It was more likely that she simply hadn’t noticed the embroidery when making the pillowcase and sachet.

But does that even matter?

What mattered was—the lotus leaf was on the left, the frog was on the right.

That was all he needed to know.

Compared to the previous tea sachet… the one in his hand now was a true imperial-grade treasure.

Chen Huai’an immediately wrapped a pack of tea leaves in the frog sachet and brewed a cup of tea.

Then, he replaced his pillowcase with the lotus leaf one and buried his face in it.

“Inhale—! Exhale—!”

This soft fabric…

This intoxicating scent~

Hiss~ The potency!!!

But something still felt a little off.

Chen Huai’an hugged the pillow and thought for a moment before realizing—it was the pillow itself!

The material wasn’t good enough.

He needed a new one!

“Qingran, your pillowcase and tea sachet are great. Hmm… Do you have any softer fabrics? Master also needs a matching comforter, bedsheet, table mat, headrest, scarf, gloves, mask…”

Chen Huai’an rattled off a long list of items.

What Li Qingran heard:

【Your thoughtfulness has been received. Very good. I am pleased.】

…That was it?

Li Qingran stared longingly into the void.

That was all Master had to say?

Did that mean he had noticed or not noticed?

Probably not. Otherwise, he would’ve said something more.

Thinking this, she felt both relieved and disappointed.

Her heart raced wildly.

She suddenly wanted to see how Master would react if he knew the secret behind those items.

How would Master treat her then?

No, no, this is too risky!

She pinched her thigh, and the sharp pain finally cleared her mind, burning away the blush of embarrassment.

She kept reminding herself—that kind of thought was unhealthy.

It was inappropriate.

It was disrespectful to Master.

If she wasn’t careful, she might not even be able to remain his disciple anymore.

To avoid giving Master a chance to ask any suspicious questions, Li Qingran quickly changed the subject.

“Master, Sect Master Su sent a message. He’s already warned the other sects about the spread of demonic techniques. Later, both the Pill Sect and Lingxi Valley discovered disciples cultivating demonic arts. Once these two sects announced it, all the sects in the Cangyun Realm began conducting strict internal investigations. Every disciple who practiced demonic arts has been caught.”

Li Qingran’s eyes sparkled with admiration.

This was her Master.

Su Qinian might be unreliable, but Master could still make use of him to trigger a domino effect that turned an unreliable situation into a reliable one.

This must be the art of leadership.

She wondered… When would Master make use of her?

【What about Qingyun Sect?】

Chen Huai’an recalled that he had already encountered a demonic cultivator there before and casually asked about it.

“Qingyun Sect also caught disciples practicing demonic techniques,” Li Qingran replied.

“Didn’t expect them to actually listen.”

Chen Huai’an shook his head.

He hadn’t really expected Qingyun Sect to uncover its hidden demonic cultivators.

That sect gave off an air of untouchable arrogance.

If not for Li Qingran’s safety in the Zhongzhou Secret Realm, as well as his own Sword Pavilion’s interests, he wouldn’t have bothered warning them at all.

He opened his Main Quest to check Li Qingran’s survival rate.

By now, the demonic sect’s plans should have been disrupted, so her survival rate should have increased.

And yet…

【Li Qingran’s Dungeon Survival Rate: 62%】

【Heavenly Divination Hint #2: The Zhongzhou Secret Realm will contain a large number of demonic cultivators and some demonic beasts.】

“…What? Why is it still so low?”

Chen Huai’an frowned.

The 1% increase was only because Li Qingran’s cultivation had improved.

But the Heavenly Divination Hint hadn’t changed.

That was strange.

Could it be… that the demonic sect’s plan wasn’t about having these disciples betray their sects in the secret realm?

“Tonight, I’ll use another Heavenly Divination… and every day until the Zhongzhou Secret Realm opens. I refuse to believe I can’t figure this out!”

Chen Huai’an’s expression darkened.

Tonight, he would directly divine the demonic sect’s plans in Cangyun Realm.

As for the Lost Fortune debuff?

Heh.

A bit of bad luck?

So what?

He was already living in a 15-meter-thick alloy-reinforced Supreme VIP Suite.

What could possibly happen? Would the damn thing explode?!

DING LING LING—!

A phone rang.

It was the public line of his suite.

Chen Huai’an got up to answer it…

And immediately tripped on nothing, slamming face-first into the floor.

…

“You’re saying you want to use KSC-01 Toy Bear and KSC-02 Demon Sniper Rifle for livestreaming?”

Zhao Ying stared at the video feed, watching Chen Huai’an, who had just smashed his nose into the floor, now covered in blood.

A General-ranked Revived One, an A-Class Containment Subject…

And he tripped on flat ground and broke his own nose?

Who would believe this if they didn’t see it happen?!

“That’s right.”

Chen Huai’an nodded, his fractured nose already healing. He held it as he spoke in a muffled voice.

“Those two brats don’t listen, right? Just let them live with me. I’ll make them behave and complete missions for you. At the same time, I’ll use them for my livestreams… and all earnings will be mine. How’s that?”

Zhao Ying thought it over seriously.

Spiritual Qi had already revived, and monsters were becoming impossible to hide.

The Demon Slayer Bureau and the major clans needed to help the public adjust.

And livestreaming—an entertaining yet educational approach— seemed like the perfect way.

As for why Chen Huai’an needed money?

The bearded guy already told her the reason.

Chen Huai’an had money insufficiency anxiety.

Honestly, she understood completely.

All Revived Ones had their own quirks.

For example… she herself liked electrocuting herself with a taser multiple times a day.

“…Alright. I’ll arrange for KSC-01 and KSC-02 to move in with you.”

She hesitated, then added, “Just… go easy on them, alright?”

“Relax. We get along great.”

“…Do you have any other requests?”

Chen Huai’an thought for a moment, then raised a finger.

“Yes! Get me a silicone pillow. Full silicone filling, skin-like texture…”

Zhao Ying: “Huh?”

Chen Huai’an: “Ah, I just like hugging toy bears and chewing on lobsters while I sleep. Gotta have good sleep quality, you know?”

Zhao Ying: “……”

…

…