Chapter 24

A long time passed without any response.

Lian Yunzhi closed his eyes and withdrew his hand.

Forget it.

He had killed the boy’s grandfather right in front of him, after all. Only a fool would be willing to go with him.

…He would bring it up later.

Lian Yunzhi turned to leave.

But a small hand suddenly trembled as it tightly grabbed his sleeve—

“I am willing.”

“Take me with you.”

.

Unable to use spiritual power was troublesome. Forget Imperial Sword Flight; he couldn’t even open the Storage Bracelet to slap an Earth Escape Talisman on himself.

Fortunately, Lian Yunzhi had the world’s most powerful Vines.

The Vines grew wildly, building a bridge over the lake water and piercing through walls.

Lian Yunzhi scooped up Little Mu Cheng with one arm and strode straight ahead, walking as if on flat ground, with no one to stop him.

“Little Cheng…”

Mu Mother collapsed weakly into Mu Father’s arms, murmuring to herself in disbelief.

Little Mu Cheng heard the voice but didn’t dare to look up.

He simply trembled all over as he buried his cheek into this stranger’s shoulder.

.

Little Mu Cheng didn’t know what was wrong with him.

He couldn’t tell anyone that although his grandfather had been good to him, spoiling him and granting every request, his grandfather had reeked too much, and the Black Mist had been too ugly. He couldn’t help but want to vomit whenever he saw his grandfather.

He couldn’t tell anyone that when his grandfather died in shock, he had trembled all over, yet felt joy in his heart.

He couldn’t tell anyone that this man who had suddenly appeared, killed his grandfather, and inexplicably wanted to take him away seemed cleaner than moonlight in his eyes and smelled better than anything else in the world. The moment he saw this man, a mad thirst surged in his heart.

Mu Cheng didn’t look up.

Thus, he didn’t see the Black Mist on his grandfather’s corpse suddenly stir and fly straight toward him, instantly merging into his spine!

His eyes darkened to red in a place no one knew, and he uncontrollably pressed his nose against Lian Yunzhi’s neck. The faint fragrance entered his nostrils… So fragrant.

Slap!

A slap suddenly landed hard on the back of his head, and Little Mu Cheng stiffened.

“Mu Cheng, are you sick?!”

Lian Yunzhi tore Little Mu Cheng off his body and threw him to the ground, reaching to touch his own neck.

“Hiss.”

He had indeed been bitten until he bled by this little brat!

Lian Yunzhi had already left the Mu Mansion by then. Seeing no one around, he yanked the dazed Mu Cheng, who had fallen sitting on the ground, back up. He pried open his eyelids to check his eyes and felt his pulse.

He looked perfectly normal.

Why had he suddenly started biting people again? Could it be that this guy’s Madness Illness had started from childhood?

Lian Yunzhi suddenly felt a headache coming on.

Mu Cheng’s little face was pale as he tightly clutched Lian Yunzhi’s hand, even his eyelashes trembling: “I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong with me… Don’t abandon me.”

When had Lian Yunzhi ever seen Mu Cheng like this?

Not even the Mu Cheng who had brawled with him as a child, nor the one whose Spiritual Root had been extracted and Meridians severed, treated as his “Demon Beast,” had ever been so humble, terrified, and uneasy.

Just a short while ago (in Lian Yunzhi’s memory), this man had looked down on him arrogantly, intimidated him with ambiguous glances, and even made him check his mood before putting on clothes…

Now, he could only look up at him so pitifully, small and helpless…

Lian Yunzhi: “…”

Lian Yunzhi felt satisfied.

“Ahem,” Lian Yunzhi took his hand and led him onward. “Don’t worry. As long as you’re obedient, I won’t abandon you.”

“I’ll be obedient,” Mu Cheng said softly.

“Tch.”

Lian Yunzhi couldn’t help but pat his head.

.

After leaving the Mu Mansion, Lian Yunzhi sneaked to the Fang Mansion and “borrowed” some money from his best friend’s private money box—of course, he left an IOU, though the nine-year-old Fang Tianxin might not know who “Lian Yunzhi” referred to.

Lian Yunzhi had asked Mu Cheng and learned that in this reincarnation, his original parents had never given birth to a child, and the Lian Mansion had no “Lian Yunzhi” either.

In short, with the “borrowed” money, Lian Yunzhi bought a fine horse and headed straight for the Persimmon Mountain Secret Realm.

The Persimmon Mountain Secret Realm was the first secret realm to emerge in Xiaoze State, but its entrance was remote, and unlike other secret realms, it had no accompanying phenomena when it appeared. It wasn’t discovered until five years later.

That meant, if Lian Yunzhi wished, he could stay inside for five years.

.

Lian Yunzhi arrived at the Persimmon Mountain Secret Realm on the third day and found a place rich in spiritual energy, where he shook the sleeping Mu Cheng awake.

Little Mu Cheng drowsily opened his eyes and, seeing Lian Yunzhi’s somewhat serious expression, immediately sat up straight.

Lian Yunzhi: “Will you be obedient?”

Mu Cheng: “…I’ll be obedient?”

Lian Yunzhi nodded in satisfaction: “From now on, I’m going to teach you cultivation. First, you need to learn Drawing Qi into Body…”

If Lian Yunzhi could use spiritual power, he could directly infuse it into Mu Cheng’s body and guide him through Drawing Qi into Body. But now, without spiritual power or scriptures, he could only use a tree branch to draw diagrams of the human body’s Meridians and acupoints on the ground, explaining as he drew.

As Lian Yunzhi lectured, he suddenly paused, then inwardly panicked but kept a stern face on the surface:

“Now comes the key part. After you successfully Draw Qi into Body, the first thing you need to do is guide your spiritual power to this position, and then you…”

Of course, Lian Yunzhi had a reason for taking Mu Cheng with him.

Leaving aside the fact that only Mu Cheng could control the force sealing all his acupoints, just the Dao Companion Contract between them was enough to make Lian Yunzhi afraid to casually abandon him outside.

Yes.

Lian Yunzhi had discovered that although the world had entered a new reincarnation, he and Mu Cheng’s Dao Companion Contract was still there. It had even broken free from its hidden state and become more obvious—he could sense it even without using spiritual power.

Lian Yunzhi decided to trick Little Mu Cheng into dissolving it.

The Dao Companion Contract was an equal contract with a binding promise. Normally, if one party died or it was forcibly dissolved, the cultivator’s realm would plummet. But there was one exception—unilateral forced dissolution.

If Mu Cheng unilaterally forced the dissolution of the Dao Companion Contract, then the “abandoned” Lian Yunzhi wouldn’t suffer any punishment from the contract. Only Mu Cheng would have his realm drop—and since he was just starting cultivation, how much could he drop? At worst, back before Drawing Qi into Body.

Lian Yunzhi thought cheerfully.

“We are Dao Companions?”

But Little Mu Cheng suddenly asked.

Lian Yunzhi froze: “…What?”

Little Mu Cheng looked up at him, his eyes profoundly deep, his expression no longer obedient: “Actually, I’m already at Qi Refining Layer 2. Grandfather just had me hide my cultivation. Also, Grandfather showed me some cultivation scriptures, so I know you’re explaining how to dissolve a Dao Companion Contract.”

Lian Yunzhi: “…”

What?!!!

…This damn liar. He had thought the Mu Cheng from the previous reincarnation was a heaven-sent genius who broke through three layers right after Drawing Qi into Body. Turns out he was already at Qi Refining Layer 2!

Mu Cheng closed his eyes, as if confirming something with his Qi Refining Layer 2 cultivation.

A moment later, he looked up at Lian Yunzhi and asked: “Are you my Dao Companion from a previous life?”

Lian Yunzhi: “…”

Lian Yunzhi’s scalp went numb. He absolutely couldn’t reveal the Reincarnation Illusion, so he coaxed: “What previous life? It’s just a misunderstanding. Dissolve it first, and I’ll explain everything in detail after.”

Mu Cheng looked at him for a while and said: “No.”

He added: “You are my Dao Companion. Why would I dissolve the contract with my Dao Companion?”

Lian Yunzhi: “…”

Lian Yunzhi itched with anger but still pretended to smile kindly and said earnestly: “You’re just a child. What nonsense are you talking? Do you even know what Dao Companion means?”

“Of course I do.”

Mu Cheng said.

“The meaning of Dao Companion is: No matter where you go, you can’t abandon me. No matter where you are, I can find you.”

Mu Cheng looked up at Lian Yunzhi, his face breaking into that annoying, irritating, half-smile that Lian Yunzhi had seen many years ago.