Chapter 42: Second Completion of Vital Energy

Chapter 42: Second Completion of Vital Energy

The moon was faint, and after a night of intense training at the Training Ground, Meng Yuan returned to his quarters.

His stomach was growling again. But at this moment, Meng Yuan wasn’t too eager to eat; his mind was filled with thoughts of women.

"This life, there’s not much to look forward to. Earn a bit of money, gain a bit of power, and sleep with a few more beautiful girls, and that will be enough."

Seeing a faint light in the room late at night, Meng Yuan pushed the door open.

Jiang Tang had changed into new clothes, adorned with pearls and jade. She looked particularly lovely in the dim yellow light.

"Brother, I want to sleep with you." Little Jiang Tang’s eyes were filled with desire, and she started to take off her clothes.

"This old fox’s work is too crude? With this level of cultivation?" Meng Yuan rubbed his head, borrowing Nie Yanian’s evaluation of the Great Tail Venerable, and then drew his knife, slashing it over.

For a moment, his head throbbed slightly, and he heard a crisp voice, "Little Castrator, I’ll help you! Ya ya ya!"

Meng Yuan quickly opened his eyes and saw the old fox with a short sword, already two feet in front of him.

A figure with a brown back and white belly, carrying a flowered small bag, ran over and jumped, headbutting the old fox.

The old fox was about to press Xiang Ling down, but seeing Meng Yuan had opened his eyes, her eyes showed shock. She clearly hadn’t expected Meng Yuan to break free from the secret technique so quickly. She ignored Xiang Ling and thrust the short sword at Meng Yuan with both hands.

Meng Yuan immediately pulled his abdomen back and extended his hands to grab the sword hilt.

The old fox’s arms were short, and she was injured. Meng Yuan easily got the sword and twisted it out of her hands.

"Spare me! Young Hero, spare me! I’ll give you a Celestial Map!" The old fox knew the situation was hopeless and quickly begged for mercy.

Meng Yuan was very curious about what a Celestial Map was and wanted one.

But not now.

He got up, straddled the old fox, and with his left hand, pressed the fox’s head down while his right hand grabbed the short sword, stabbing it fiercely into the fox’s neck.

One stab, two stabs, three stabs—Meng Yuan lost count of how many times he stabbed.

The old fox was dead, her head almost separated from her body.

Meng Yuan got off the fox and sat on the ground, panting heavily.

Looking to the side, Xiang Ling’s eyes were wide open, staring blankly at the old fox’s corpse.

"The matchmaker is dead..." After a while, Xiang Ling finally reacted.

"Yes, the fox is dead." Meng Yuan wiped the blood off his face and smiled, "Are you scared?"

Xiang Ling nodded repeatedly, indeed very frightened.

"I remember you said your wet nurse taught you that it’s better to live a hard life than to die. Why did you try so hard to save me just now?" Meng Yuan asked.

Xiang Ling sat down, thought for a moment, and said, "I don’t know."

"You’re not afraid of death?" Meng Yuan asked with a smile.

"I am!" Xiang Ling said reasonably, "But my wet nurse also said that living is good, and dying is also fine."

"Living is good, and dying is also fine." Meng Yuan repeated, then said no more, and started to search the old fox’s body.

Apart from the green robe, the old fox only had a short sword and a bamboo stick. The bamboo stick seemed to be an ordinary item, indicating her poverty.

As for the so-called Celestial Map, it was nowhere to be found.

"Do you know the matchmaker’s background?" Meng Yuan asked Xiang Ling.

"No." Xiang Ling shook her head and scratched her ears, "The matchmaker was actually quite nice. She sometimes told us stories about the city!"

"She’s not a good person. In the future, you should be more cautious." Meng Yuan said.

"I’m very cautious!" Xiang Ling hurriedly defended herself, upset that the castrator thought she lacked caution.

"Sure, sure, you’re very cautious. Gather some dry branches, let’s burn the fox." Meng Yuan, seeing no more value to extract, didn’t want to bring the body back and decided to cremate it.

Xiang Ling was very obedient, quickly finding dry branches, and Meng Yuan helped too.

"Your arrows will make great firewood!" Xiang Ling picked up an arrow and happily reported.

"..." Meng Yuan flicked her head and had her help gather all the arrows.

After a while of hard work, they finally got the fire going.

The stench of burning flesh filled the air, but Meng Yuan and Xiang Ling did not shy away. While Meng Yuan reflected on the gains and losses of their recent battle, Xiang Ling's thoughts were elsewhere.

"When Wolf One ate my wet nurse, he burned her like this too." Xiang Ling whimpered, "My wet nurse said that eating raw meat is beastly, and eating cooked meat is demonic. She told Wolf One to burn the meat before eating it."

Meng Yuan covered his forehead, genuinely perplexed by what was going on in Xiang Ling's wet nurse's mind.

"Are you going to eat it?" Xiang Ling asked.

Meng Yuan was indeed a bit hungry, but he had absolutely no appetite. He shook his head.

"I won't eat it either." Xiang Ling wiped her tears with her flower-patterned headscarf and muttered, "Little Castrator, can you read and write?"

"I know a little," Meng Yuan replied.

"Then can you write my name?" Xiang Ling asked curiously.

Meng Yuan immediately picked up a twig and started writing on the ground.

Xiang Ling leaned over to watch, her eyes wide with curiosity. "Is this my name?"

"Look from this side," Meng Yuan said, pinching Xiang Ling's nape and pulling her closer.

"Oh! My name looks so pretty!" Xiang Ling, who had been whimpering, now sniffed and bounced with joy. "Write my wet nurse's name too!"

"What's your wet nurse's name?" Meng Yuan asked.

"My wet nurse is called Flower Nun!" Xiang Ling exclaimed.

Meng Yuan wrote Flower Nun's name on the ground as well.

Xiang Ling examined it closely, even using her small hands to gesture.

Seeing this, Meng Yuan took out the Old Fox's short sword and carved both their names on a small stone, "This way, the writing won't be blown away by the wind."

"Little Castrator, you're so kind!" Xiang Ling was delighted. She held the small stone in her hand and then untied the bundle from her back.

"I haven't given this to you yet." Xiang Ling took out a tiny green fruit.

Meng Yuan accepted the hard-earned green fruit and examined it closely.

The fruit was about the size of a thumb, a vibrant green with a hint of crimson. When he brought it closer to smell, a subtle fragrance wafted from it.

Xiang Ling carefully placed the fruit in her bundle and tied it securely around her neck, clearly treasuring it.

"You should eat it quickly!" Xiang Ling held another green fruit and said earnestly, "My wet nurse said that once picked, it should be eaten soon, or it won't taste good after a few days."

"Didn't you say you could take it as part of your dowry? Why do we have to eat it as soon as it's picked?" Meng Yuan had been planning to eat it after his Vital Energy reached perfection.

"I didn't say I'd take it as part of my dowry. It can still be part of my dowry without picking it!" Xiang Ling tilted her head, her expression resembling that of someone looking at a fool.

Meng Yuan rubbed his temples, unsure of what to say.

"I'll just eat it too." Xiang Ling's expression turned sad again, "My wet nurse had given me an idea to eat it in front of my future husband to show off our wealth. But now I'm eating it in front of you..."

She turned her back and began to eat, her teeth crunching loudly.

Seeing this, Meng Yuan no longer hesitated. He immediately swallowed the fruit.

Before he could chew properly, it had already reached his stomach.

In an instant, Meng Yuan felt a slight tremor in the Lower Thirty-Three Heavens, a searing sensation in his Dantian, and his acupoints seemed to have expanded slightly.

His body felt slightly warm. With a fleeting thought, he saw that most of the fruit's nourishing essence had been absorbed by his Vital Energy.

The Vital Energy immediately surged, and within a few breaths, it had enveloped his entire body, clearly reaching perfection.

Meng Yuan sensed that at this moment, with a mere thought, his Vital Energy would unleash its power and further temper his body.

However, the timing was clearly off. Moreover... he looked at Xiang Ling again, and this little one was emitting heat from her entire body, swaying unsteadily, unable to stand firmly.

Obviously, the fruit's medicinal effects were too strong, and Xiang Ling's small frame couldn't handle absorbing so much of the medicine at once.

"Xiang Ling?" Meng Yuan pinched Xiang Ling's nape and lifted her up.

"Huh?" Xiang Ling was dazed, her eyes unfocused. "I feel very hot, and I'm sleepy."

Without saying more, Meng Yuan tucked her into his robe, secured his short sword and longsword, slung the quiver of arrows on his back, and began their descent from the mountain.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end