Chapter 163 - 160: Snake Never Eats Meat in Vain
At Delight Restaurant, Shen Mi was furious upon finding a strand of hair in his meat dish!
“I spent hundreds of Spirit Stones, and this is what you serve me? Go, call your head chef here! I want him on his knees apologizing today!”
The head chef of Delight Restaurant hurried over immediately, spatula in hand, wearing an apron.
He was a burly man with a muscular build, big arms and a broad waist, capable of beheading a pig with one cut and splitting it in half with the second.
“My apologies to the distinguished guest. Go, close the door. I’ll apologize to Master Shen in private.”
After ensuring they were alone, Shen Mi and the head chef exchanged smiles.
Delight Restaurant, one of the properties of the Blood Fiend Sect from the Demonic Tao sect, was managed solely by the sect master and the head chef who were disciples of the Blood Fiend Sect.
The head chef was named Chen Shen, known in the underworld as “Blood Mountain Shen,” a cultivator who had reached the peak of Foundation Establishment with countless blood debts and murders under his belt, known for his meticulousness and guaranteed lethality.
Chen Shen said, “Master, are you in such a hurry that you can’t even wait until tonight?”
Without saying another word, Shen Mi pulled out a storage bag and threw it onto the table.
“Help me kill someone.”
“Who?”
“Jiang Cheng. A freshman at Lotus Cloud University.”
“The old rule, we can’t kill someone from the Immortal Sect.”
“He’s just an ordinary college student, not considered someone from the Immortal Sect. Each year, the students from Lotus Cloud University who qualify for the Immortal Sect make up less than ten percent.”
“The risk is too great.”
“There are two million low-grade Spirit Stones in the storage bag.”
Chen Shen’s eyes narrowed, and after a moment of silence, he shook his head and said, “Can’t do it. Sorry.”
Looking Chen Shen in the eye, Shen Mi said unflinchingly, “Two million is just the deposit. Once the job is done, I’ll give you another three million.”
Five million low-grade Spirit Stones was a significant sum even for a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Consider that in Wuyue City, a villa of three to four hundred square meters costs just over three hundred thousand low-grade Spirit Stones, and housing prices in the Capital are six to eight times higher than in Wuyue.
With five million, one could afford two villas in the Capital.
With the temptation of five million Spirit Stones, Chen Shen fell into an even deeper silence.
He sat down, picked up Shen Mi’s wine pot, and took a few swigs.
“Lotus University is teeming with experts, not just at the Foundation Establishment and Core Formation, but even Nascent Soul masters by the handful. Killing someone there is akin to a suicide mission.”
Shen Mi spoke deliberately, “There’s no need to enter Lotus University. His habits are extremely regular. Every weekend, he rests at Ming’an by Jade Lake, just outside of Lotus University. It seems he’s renting a place off campus to keep a mistress. But don’t worry about her; she has just a Qi cultivation level and poses no threat. You can take her out easily if you wish, or leave her be—it’s your choice.”
Chen Shen pondered the information Shen Mi provided.
Jiang Cheng, an ordinary university student, often lived off campus, and had a powerless girlfriend. As long as he acted decisively and thoroughly cleaned up any evidence, disguising the murder as a suicide or crime of passion, it seemed feasible.
The only issue was whether Lotus University would investigate thoroughly.
If Lotus University didn’t dig too deep, everything would be simple. But if they did, that would be problematic.
Seeing Chen Shen still hesitant, Shen Mi finally produced his trump card.
A golden elixir.
Dust Settling Pill!
Similar to Foundation Establishment Pills, Dust Settling Pills aid Foundation Establishment cultivators in achieving Core Formation. They are expensive and rare, particularly scarce for Demonic Tao cultivators.
Upon seeing the Dust Settling Pill, Chen Shen made up his mind.
Worst case scenario, he’d flee after the kill and hide in the wilderness for a hundred years until he achieved Core Formation.
“Deal. Within three days, I will present you with Jiang Cheng’s head,” he said.
Shen Mi cautioned, “Not just the head. I want all of his storage bags, every single one.”
“Understood.”
In the overgrown section of the Spirit Plant Garden, Jiang Cheng was giving his Plant Autonomy Talisman its final upgrade.
The “Enhanced Version of Plant Autonomy Talisman” would now have the ability to “consume” weeds like the Bridge-crossing Talisman.
Moreover, Jiang Cheng had also programmed some “self-defense martial arts” into the “Enhanced Version of Plant Autonomy Talisman.”
Thus, a plain little fruit tree had transformed into a “Kung Fu Fruit Tree.”
If an electric scooter on Earth cried out when its battery was stolen, wouldn’t it be reasonable for a fruit tree to defend itself from fruit theft using martial arts?
It made perfect sense.
Finally, Jiang Cheng changed the base material used to draw the Plant Autonomy Talismans to a more durable and sharp-edged material.
Now, the little fruit tree even had a weapon.
It could hold the talisman in its branch, using it as a brick or a knife.
Imagine intruding into an orchard, intending to commit the crime of theft—plucking Blood Orange Fruits.
And the opponent standing against you is an orchard full of Kung Fu Fruit Trees wielding knives and skilled in martial arts, feeling no pain.
What would you do? Continue stealing or give yourself up on the spot?
The answer is clear.
Therefore, functionalities like martial arts and knives might seem useless, but in truth, they are redundancy features Jiang Cheng had specially included to protect the fruit farmers’ property.
Thinking of his little fruit trees braving the path of chivalry, Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but beam with pride.
Making people’s lives happier had always been his initial intention in creating talismans.
Now it seemed that every talisman he drew stayed true to that intention, accomplishing this task very well.
Today is Friday, and after finishing his work at the Spirit Plant Garden, Jiang Cheng did not return to his dormitory. Instead, he packed two meals from the cafeteria and headed straight to Ming’an by Jade Lake.
Previously, when school was not in session, Jiang Cheng would either cook meals himself after buying groceries or simply pack food from a nearby restaurant.
But once school started, with classes to attend, dorm camaraderie to maintain, and the development of the Plant Autonomy Talisman to balance, there simply wasn’t enough time.
So most of the time, he resorted to packing meals from the cafeteria to feed Snake.
The cafeteria food at Lotus University was not bad, but for a cultivator at the Mahayana Realm, it was indeed a little frugal. Other Mahayana cultivators enjoyed exquisite delicacies, while Snake’s Mahayana diet consisted of steamed buns and potato chips.
Fortunately, Snake was not picky and had never complained to Jiang Cheng.
It very much felt like a snake not minding a poor home.
As Jiang Cheng opened the security door, Liu Qing stood obediently at the entrance, waiting for him to come in and then took the night’s meal from his hands.
While changing his shoes, Jiang Cheng said, “There are two different dishes, you pick first, I’m fine with anything.”
Liu Qing took out the two meals Jiang Cheng had packed from the bag, one was chicken steak + greens + meatballs, and the other was braised pork + Chinese cabbage + stir-fried pork.
After thinking for a moment, Liu Qing left the stir-fried pork for Jiang Cheng.
Although she quite liked this dish, she remembered that Jiang Cheng also enjoyed it.
As a cultivator at the Mahayana Realm, she actually didn’t need to eat anything.
So this multiple-choice question couldn’t have been easier.
Jiang Cheng finished changing shoes, washed his hands, and sat down at the dining table, seeing the stir-fried pork placed in front of him.
“Liu Qing, don’t you like stir-fried pork? I remember you enjoyed it a lot.”
Liu Qing was taken aback for a moment, then shook her head slightly.
“You don’t like it?” Jiang Cheng asked again.
Liu Qing nodded.
“Oh? Is that so? But I’ve been getting pimples recently, and I can’t eat spicy food.”
Snake stealthily glanced at the stir-fried pork on Jiang Cheng’s plate, then quickly withdrew her gaze.
“How about we swap meals, you eat mine, how’s that?”
Liu Qing thought about it and ultimately couldn’t resist the temptation and chose to nod.
When Jiang Cheng exchanged their plates and sat down ready to eat, he saw a certain pretender’s first chopsticks heading straight for the stir-fried pork.
“Liu Qing, I thought you didn’t like stir-fried pork?”
Jiang Cheng said teasingly.
The chopsticks in Liu Qing’s hand holding the stir-fried pork suddenly paused mid-air.
First, her eyes flickered numerous times, then she gently bit her lip and glared at Jiang Cheng with slight irritation.
Jiang Cheng touched his nose and earnestly bowed his head to eat.
Truth be told, Jiang Cheng actually knew the consequences of teasing a cultivator of the Mahayana Realm, but he really couldn’t help himself.
It was mainly because Snake seemed harmless to both humans and animals and even her personality was very stable, making it easy for someone to have the illusion that she was easy to bully.
As Jiang Cheng bowed his head to eat, suddenly a pair of chopsticks appeared in his field of vision, holding a large piece of stir-fried pork.
Jiang Cheng looked up and saw Liu Qing serving him the dish.
Liu Qing expressionlessly put down the meat, quickly withdrew her chopsticks, and then continued to eat without any expression.
“Liu Qing, I really did get a pimple, see.” Jiang Cheng pointed to the pimple on his chin.
Liu Qing said without expression, “It’s gone now.”
Jiang Cheng: ?
Jiang Cheng quickly ran to the mirror and found that the pimple had indeed disappeared!
She used a spell to help me adjust my body, just so I would eat a piece of stir-fried pork?
What is this domineering female CEO plot!?
Previously, Jiang Cheng had wanted to return the stir-fried pork to Liu Qing, but seeing the determination in her use of a spell, he knew he had no choice but to eat the meat.
Liu Qing saw Jiang Cheng obediently eat the meat and the corners of her mouth curved up imperceptibly.
It was he who deliberately played a trick first.
But now, they were even.
This was fair.
After dinner, Jiang Cheng started fussing with his Portable Spirit Gathering Array.
The dinner plates and chopsticks on the table were left for the snake maid to clean up. They had always divided the labor like this, cooperating with tacit understanding.
While Jiang Cheng sat in meditation to cultivate, the bored Liu Qing would sit on the sofa, sometimes eating a snack, sometimes fiddling with the small puppets Jiang Cheng had made.
Like a remote-controlled toy car, she controlled the puppet representing Jiang Cheng to run around chaotically.
Compared to their creator Jiang Cheng, Liu Qing clearly had a deeper understanding of this toy.
Jiang Cheng didn’t even know how she managed to develop the skill to control the puppet so well.
Around eleven at night, Jiang Cheng packed up the Spirit Gathering Array and sent the night-owl Snake off to bed.
“Good night.”
“Mm, good night.”
After exchanging greetings, they each returned to their rooms to change into their pajamas and crawled into bed.
Jiang Cheng, having been busy all day, hit the pillow and immediately fell into a coma.
Whereas Liu Qing was unusually alert, her eyes blinking rapidly, she suddenly sat up and changed her pajamas back into the clothes she wore when going out.
At two in the morning, even the bustling Capital had quieted down, but the window on the balcony of Jiang Cheng’s home made a squeaking noise as it opened.
Liu Qing got up from the bed, put on her slippers, and opened the door leisurely.
She came face to face with Chen Shen from the Blood Fiend Sect, who was just about to make his move.
Chen Shen was initially shocked by Liu Qing’s appearance, then thought to himself why hadn’t he noticed the woman’s movements?
Hesitating for less than a fifth of a second, Chen Shen instantly attacked Liu Qing!
Chen Shen lived up to his reputation as an experienced assassin. He didn’t underestimate Liu Qing’s sixth-level Qi training cultivation and struck with the full force of Foundation Establishment perfection!
Liu Qing’s expression remained unchanged as she slowly extended a finger.
“Sshh!”
Facing Liu Qing’s full-force attack, Chen Shen was suddenly filled with immense fear!
Before he could even cry out, his body, soul, and even any causative existence that might have been extrapolated by foresight magic, all disappeared completely from this space with the fall of Liu Qing’s finger.
Liu Qing expressionlessly took out the small puppet, glanced at the screen on its belly, and Jiang Cheng was sleeping soundly.
She went to the door, softly opened it, then gently closed the security door behind her.
She took the elevator downstairs, and finally vanished into the vast night of the Capital.