Chapter 9

Mu Jiajun and Ouyang Yuyuan exchanged a glance. For some reason, they both felt a bit relieved!

But relief was one thing; they still had to chase after the man. The one lying on the hospital bed was their ironclad brother from childhood.

“Yi Ge.” The two caught up to Chu Yi in the parking lot.

Ouyang Yuyuan pursed his lips and carefully advised, “Yi Ge, actually, Uncle Li and the others’ attitude was pretty infuriating for us too. But Yun Kai is their only child. As parents, how could they not be anxious about their son? You’re so young and handsome, no wonder they hesitated to trust you right away… But now they know they were wrong. Yi Ge, for the sake of their parental love, can you forgive them?”

Mu Jiajun chimed in right after, “Yeah, Yi Ge, you’re so amazing—even Master Zhang was left speechless by your guidance. If you go back now, Uncle Li and the others definitely won’t doubt your skills anymore.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to go back; it’s that I’m powerless to help.” Chu Yi shrugged candidly. “Master Zhang’s cultivation base is higher than mine. I’ve already unraveled the mystery of the leaf obscuring his eyes for him. He can definitely handle the follow-up without issue, so I won’t get involved.”

His body had only been conditioned halfway, and his cultivation base was even further from recovery.

The Li couple had been so rude. He was already being generous by offering a few pointers for Ouyang Yuyuan and Mu Jiajun’s sake. Consuming his cultivation base to personally intervene was out of the question.

The couple hadn’t chased out after him, probably figuring they’d already offended him and saw no need to antagonize Master Zhang further. On top of that, they likely thought he was too young—sharp-eyed, perhaps, but not as profound in cultivation as Master Zhang.

Since that was the case, why should he bother when it wouldn’t be appreciated?

Ouyang Yuyuan and Mu Jiajun tried persuading him a few more times, but Chu Yi wouldn’t budge. He kept saying it would overshadow Master Zhang as the guest of honor, so they couldn’t press further.

In the first place, what kind of nonsense was it for those two not to show up themselves and send outsiders like them instead?

Since they favored Master Zhang, asking Chu Yi to go back and play assistant after he’d just bested the man? No way.

Though the two worried about their childhood friend, they weren’t clueless about social graces. If it were them, they wouldn’t want to play second fiddle to a senior who was inferior either.

Fine then—they’d wait and see how Master Zhang’s ritual turned out.

For some reason, both had a premonition. Despite Chu Yi insisting Master Zhang could handle it, they doubted he could resolve the Peach Blossom Evil.

He’d needed guidance just to see it—dealing with it would surely be a struggle!

Because of this, Mu Jiajun and Ouyang Yuyuan treated Chu Yi with even more respect, practically revering him.

“Yi, Yi Ge, it’s almost noon. How about we grab lunch together? My treat!” Mu Jiajun suggested. They’d only spent a short time in the ward before coming out, and it wasn’t quite midday yet.

“Sure.” Chu Yi’s lips curved up. His enthusiasm for modern cuisine hadn’t faded. Besides, he had no money—the previous meals had been street food. Mu Jiajun, a young master from a wealthy family, surely wouldn’t take him to a roadside stall, right?

Chu Yi’s assumption was correct. Since Mu Jiajun was treating, they headed to a five-star hotel. Even with just the three of them, he ordered a full table of exquisite delicacies.

While waiting for the food, Mu Jiajun took a call. From the voice, it sounded like Li Hongming and his wife. Mu Jiajun mumbled vague responses, saying only that Master Chu couldn’t return and that they were treating him well.

The other end offered a few instructions before going silent—exactly as Chu Yi had figured. He smiled indifferently.

“Yi Ge, do you drink?” Mu Jiajun hung up awkwardly, returned to the table, picked up a wine bottle, and moved to pour for Chu Yi.

Chu Yi raised a hand to stop him. “Help yourselves. I’ll pass.”

But his gaze lingered on the bottle for a moment before he forcibly looked away.

He’d truly loved drinking before—never without his flask. With no parents, wife, or children, just him alone, alcohol brought some joy, and drunkenness let him forget worldly troubles. What else could he rely on?

But drinking harmed the body. Later on, his mind grew foggy, and his hands shook while drawing talismans.

He hadn’t been able to quit back then. In this new body, he didn’t want to touch it again. He knew modern wines were surely better than the swill from his era, but that made him even more determined not to open that door.

Mu Jiajun was perceptive and withdrew the bottle. “Then we won’t drink either. Let’s eat. The head chef here is excellent—trained in Port City, I hear.”

Soon, host and guests enjoyed themselves fully. Chu Yi was very satisfied with the meal.

His body was still too thin anyway—no need for dietary restrictions. He ate whatever he wanted.

After the meal, Mu Jiajun pulled an Anonymous Card from his pocket and said sheepishly, “There’s fifty thousand yuan on this card. I hope Yi Ge doesn’t mind.”

Though he was from a wealthy family, his monthly allowance was fixed. With Li Yunkai’s incident, his little secrets were out too.

His dad had personally dragged him to apologize, confiscating his supplementary card and good car. The one he drove today was borrowed from his mom. So fifty thousand was modest, but it was his last reserves…

Chu Yi didn’t find it lacking at all and accepted gladly—he needed money. Even just talking required a fee!

Seeing his friend step up, Ouyang Yuyuan couldn’t lag behind. But as everyone knew, this Ouyang assistant was notoriously stingy, and now his crooked ideas surfaced.

“Uh, Yi Ge, don’t you like acting? How about I arrange a role for you in Director Mo’s Crew?”

Mu Jiajun saw his cousin’s eyes darting and knew the old habit flared up, but he didn’t call him out. Instead, he backed him: “Yeah, Yuanzi’s cousin runs an entertainment company. Getting into acting should be easy.”

When did I say I liked acting?

Chu Yi was speechless, but on second thought, he’d grown tired of fortune-telling and problem-solving. Trying a proper job for a change sounded good.

He’d wandered for years, rootless, and held no prejudice against actors as “lowly performers.” Fine, he’d act—treat it as another trade. He’d wanted to continue as an extra anyway. With Ouyang Yuyuan vouching, the role should be better.

Ouyang Yuyuan hadn’t expected agreement and felt a bit guilty: he’d stayed silent when Director Mo fired him before, yet now easily slotted him back in. Would Yi Ge hold a grudge?

As it turned out, he overthought it. Chu Yi had seen plenty of initial arrogance turning to flattery in ancient times—this was nothing.

With Chu Yi on board, Ouyang Yuyuan struck while the iron was hot. He made a quick call to Director Mo, got confirmation, and planned to take him to the Film Crew that afternoon.