He was shamelessly flattering this fatty crow like his life depended on it. As for shame? Please—Su Chen left that behind back in the modern world when he worked a 9-to-5.
Over there, people practically had to lick their supervisor's coc—ahem—soul just to get a measly promotion. And now? This crow might look like a feathered beggar, but he was basically a living treasure vault handing out storage bags like free candy on a holiday.
"Hehe… Esteemed Lord Da Huang," Su Chen grinned flatteringly, "as I said before, you are destined for greatness! However… you must be extra cautious when dealing with people whose surnames are Li, Wang, Lin, or Xiao."
Da Huang blinked. "Why? Do they all owe you spirit stones?"
Su Chen's expression turned solemn, as if imparting ancient wisdom. ".No, it's worse. Those surnames… they attract calamity."
Cross one of them, and boom—your fate flips from future emperor to tragic cannon fodder real quick."
Inside, Su Chen was already laughing.
Heh… those surnames? They're classic protagonist material in every webnovel I've ever read. Main character halos so thick they bend karma. I'm not saying Da Huang would become cannon fodder—but if he runs his mouth around someone named Li or Xiao, I'll start pre-writing his eulogy.
Seeing Su Chen's solemn expression, Da Huang nodded seriously. For the first time, he truly started trusting this strange human. After all, not many people would warn him about surnames like they were cursed artifacts.
Then, out of nowhere, the conversation shifted.
"Master Su Chen," Da Huang said, puffing out his chest feathers like a philosopher, "what kind of women do you like?"
Since the two had become somewhat familiar, their chats had naturally evolved into deep life discussions—topics like cultivation, fate… and, of course, fairies.
Su Chen raised an eyebrow. "Me? Hmm… I like the type that doesn't demand alimony the moment we get married—I mean, a woman who's not too ugly but also not too beautiful."
Da Huang blinked. "Eh? Why not beautiful?"
Su Chen waved his hand casually. "Beautiful women tend to be arrogant. They act like the world revolves around them. You look at them too long, and suddenly your life's a dog-blood drama."
Da Huang nodded with deep understanding. "Wow, your taste is… unique. But the woman I like—oh, let me tell you—has to be as graceful as a swan, with eyes like moonlight, a voice like heaven's melody, and—"
And off he went, passionately listing every exaggerated trait under the sun.
Meanwhile, Su Chen's eye twitched. If this crow ever got introduced to the internet back in my world, I swear 90% of modern femin—ahem—independent women would drop dead on the spot hearing his standards.
There's an old saying: 'A frog wants to eat swan meat.' But this damn crow? He wants to marry a celestial fairy, start a harem, and have concubines lining up like they're auditioning for a palace drama. Incredible.
Still, on the surface, Su Chen just nodded along politely, like a wise elder who had seen it all.
After all, he did have experience in surviving office politics—and this was just another flavor of it.
Soon, they talked about almost everything. It felt like there was nothing left to say.
Eventually, Su Chen and Da Huang had talked about just about everything—from cultivation philosophies to their (questionable) tastes in women. After a while, the conversation died down, and the silence was surprisingly comfortable.
Then, Da Huang asked, "Master Su Chen, by the way… why did you come to this forest? This isn't exactly a tourist spot."
Su Chen scratched his cheek, a little sheepish. "Well… to tell you the truth, I was running from a democratic cultivator—long story—and came here to hide."
He looked surprised—because honestly, he didn't know anything about this forest. He had arrived here after using a Void Travel Talisman, and ever since landing, he hadn't explored the area. So far, nothing had attacked him, and everything had felt… peaceful. He didn't find it dangerous at all.
"What?! You don't know about this forest?" Da Huang squawked, eyes wide. "This forest is actually a forbidden place."
Then, slowly and with dramatic tension, he began to explain.
As Su Chen listened to the true details of the forest, he almost choked to death.
Fck!*
He immediately felt like cursing the system in his mind.
After some time, Da Huang folded his wings and said, "Ah, now I will take my leave, Master Su Chen. We will meet again."
"Yeah, yeah, we'll definitely meet again. And when we do, you'll have to take me under your wings," Su Chen said with a grin, as if Da Huang was definitely destined to become someone powerful in the future.
"Of course!" Da Huang replied.
With that, the black crow flapped his wings and flew off toward his weird roost near the Sacred Heart Lotus.
As soon as Da Huang disappeared from sight, Su Chen's calm expression vanished—and was replaced by pure anxiety.
He was sweating.
"F*ck… I don't get it. Did the system give me an Outsider Aura or a Trouble Magnet Aura?!"
He looked around in disbelief. "I'm here in the Brightfire Expanse—a forest that's considered one of the most dangerous places in the entire world, where it's nine deaths for every ten lives—and I've been cultivating here with a clear mind like I'm on summer vacation?!"
Panicking now, he rushed into his cave and quickly activated the supernatural power sensing technique from the Wood Sovereign Script, feeling the energy in his surroundings.
This time, his sensing range wasn't just fifty miles—it expanded to one hundred fifty miles.
And with that, he finally understood the true situation.
Now it made sense—why he had been safe until now, and what exactly had drawn Da Huang to him.
His senses picked up something incredible: the presence of a mysterious, powerful energy source nearby. That's when he also sensed Jiang Chen, and even overheard his conversation with his teacher—transmitted through the surrounding plants.