The carriage was lavishly decorated, and even the coachman looked sturdy and well-trained—clearly not from an ordinary household.
Chen An led Su Chichi over and offered a polite smile, explaining the situation.
Perhaps it was his sincerity, or perhaps it was just Su Chichi's cuteness, but not only did the carriage's owner not get angry, she even warmly invited the master and disciple to ride along. Chen An declined politely.
The coachman relayed his response inside. After a moment, a fair and delicate hand extended from behind the curtain, holding out a handkerchief with several enticing pastries placed atop it.
She offered them to Su Chichi, and a gentle female voice followed. "Want one?"
The moment those pastries appeared, Su Chichi's eyes couldn't look away. Hearing the question, she nodded instinctively, then quickly shook her head as if suddenly coming to her senses, casting a pleading look at Chen An.
Only after seeing her master nod did she chirp out, "I do!"
The woman inside chuckled softly and teased, "Then call me big sister."
Driven by temptation, Su Chichi didn't hesitate at all. "Big sister, big sister, big sister!"
The woman laughed even more heartily and motioned for the little girl to come take the treats. "Little Taoist, your disciple is quite the character."
Chen An wasn't offended by the nickname. Smiling, he replied, "A child's heart is pure and innocent—that's the beauty of it."
Unexpectedly, the woman's tone chilled. "Uncle Wang, let's go."
Damn Taoists, always spouting lofty principles but lacking any real ability. Too bad for Miss Ji of Luoyang—she was known to despise this kind of talk the most.
Chen An remained standing as the carriage slowly rolled away. At his side, Su Chichi wasted no time stuffing a pastry into her mouth.
She picked up another piece and mumbled with her mouth full, holding it up to Chen An. "Master, you should eat too! It's yummy!"
Chen An didn't refuse and took a bite. It was soft, sweet but not cloying.
Su Chichi glanced down at the dwindling pastries in her hand, then looked at the receding carriage with visible worry. "Master, do you think we'll ever see that big sister again?"
Chen An raised an eyebrow. "What's this? Already thinking about her?"
Su Chichi's eyes darted mischievously. "Master, don't tease me! I'm not some greedy little kid!"
"So you want to see her again?"
She licked her fingers and was about to nod but stopped herself, trying not to seem too eager. "Well… I guess it wouldn't be so bad."
Chuckling softly, Chen An took her hand again. "Let's get going."
"So master, can I?"
"As long as you want to."
Along the country road, the little girl bounced with joy. "Heehee, then I want to eat lots and lots of pastries."
"Eat too many and you'll get fat—and cavities too."
"Then I'll eat just enough. Not lots and lots. Just lots."
Under the warm orange sunset, a large hand held a small one as the two walked side by side. In the distance, a grand city loomed on the horizon.
"Su Chichi, you know you have to pay people back when they give you treats."
"Huh?" The little girl froze and checked her pocket. It was empty.
"But master, I don't have anything to give back."
Years later, Su Chichi would always remember that afternoon. That was when her master taught her the first lesson in life—making mistakes isn't so scary, as long as you make up for them in time.
---
That night, after school, Chen An returned to the dormitory. Most of Second High's students boarded on campus due to the school's closed-off management style.
They went home Friday afternoon and returned Sunday evening for night classes—weekends were their only time off. The dorm housed six people. By the time Chen An arrived, everyone else was already there.
As soon as he walked in, all eyes turned to him.
"Damn, keeping quiet all this time and now you're Second High's celebrity."
A thick-browed boy darted over, clapping Chen An on the shoulder and giving him a thumbs-up.
With him leading the charge, the others chimed in.
"Yeah, who would've thought our quiet Chen would turn out to be such a beast!"
"Chen? Nah, we gotta call him Brother An now!"
"Brother An, Brother An!"
Their joking turned to genuine concern when someone noticed the bandages on his hand.
"Brother An, does it hurt? I heard that knife went clean through. Just thinking about it makes my legs weak."
Chen An sat on his bed and replied casually, "Doesn't hurt."
He'd answered this so many times by now, but he never seemed annoyed. After nine lifetimes, he had long since shed many of the emotions ordinary people still held on to.
"No way! Let me see it!"
"Back off! Don't touch it. Brother An, let me check—I'm from a line of traditional Chinese medicine. I guarantee results."
"Didn't you say your family runs a vet clinic? Didn't you even choose that as your major?"
"Veterinary medicine is still medicine!"
Ignoring their antics, Chen An went off to wash up.
Thick-brow rubbed his chin. "He really doesn't look like he's in pain. Still doing his own laundry and everything."
"Maybe everyone's pain tolerance is different. I once stepped on a nail as a kid—went right through my foot. Still ran ten miles like it was nothing."
"You serious, Jiege?"
---
Late at night.
In a private residence in Qing City, thick blood pooled on the floor, its stench saturating the room. On the couch lay three corpses—a family of three.
In the dark, a figure sitting cross-legged slowly opened his eyes. His skin was deathly pale, and his pupils flashed crimson.
He stood, glancing at the bodies with a scowl. "It seems regular human flesh is no longer enough to heal my wounds, let alone help me advance further…"
His expression darkened as he muttered to himself.
"Just one more step. Just one step…"
He was bitterly unwilling to accept this. He was so close to reaching the fourth level of the Qi Refining Realm.
Even at the third level's peak, he could already dominate most situations. But this was Qing City—backed by Qingcheng Mountain. He had been injured by an old Daoist from there and was forced to flee into the city.
In theory, modern surveillance should've caught him by now. But he had a stroke of luck—he'd stumbled upon an Earth Escape technique that let him completely evade all detection and flee after every crime.
As he felt the raging, bloodthirsty aura around him, it screamed with hunger. It craved flesh—the flesh of cultivators.
No.
Just recalling the old Daoist's sword made his eyes fill with fear.
He couldn't return to Qingcheng Mountain. Even if he was in the demonic path and used extreme means, he wasn't suicidal.
But then… a cruel smile spread across his lips, as if he had thought of something.