Chapter 141
Chapter 141
“You were working the fields yourself?” Shen Yanchen shot Shen Shen, standing off to the side, a cool glance.
Shen Shen understood exactly what Shen Yanchen meant and immediately cleared himself. “I already said I’d be the one digging the ground. The Little Celestial Master insisted on doing it herself.”
What a joke. If he didn’t explain this clearly and Mr. Shen really thought he’d ordered the Little Celestial Master around like free labor, he’d be skinned alive tonight.
Xia Sheng stepped in front of Shen Shen and said, “He’s not lying. I really did want to do it myself.”
“I figured I’d have to set up an array anyway, so I might as well do everything myself.”
Seeing how protective Xia Sheng was of Shen Shen, Shen Yanchen’s gaze turned even colder. With a half-smile that wasn’t really a smile, he said, “You two seem pretty close now.”
Xia Sheng didn’t catch the hidden meaning in his words, but Shen Shen definitely heard the jealousy in them. His eyelid twitched, and he hurriedly said, “Of course. The Little Celestial Master even said I’m her biological son, so naturally she has to treat me better.”
Xia Sheng: “?”
When had she ever said that?
How did she not know about it herself?
Seeing Shen Shen’s survival instincts hit max level, Shen Yanchen didn’t bother making things hard for him. He simply walked over to Xia Sheng’s side.
He’d originally wanted to greet her with a kiss like usual, but the girl was covered in mud from head to toe, and he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. In the end, he could only helplessly take out a handkerchief and wipe the mud off her face. “Go upstairs and take a shower first.”
Xia Sheng nodded. Shen Yanchen reached for her hand, but she turned slightly and avoided him.
Sensing her rejection, Shen Yanchen’s breathing stalled, and his gaze darkened. For a split second, the Baleful Qi inside him surged out of control. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m dirty,” Xia Sheng explained, then couldn’t help glancing at him a few more times.
She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but for a brief instant just now, Shen Yanchen’s Baleful Qi had seemed a little unstable.
The overwhelming force of it had sent a chill down even her spine.
As far as she could remember, she’d never really feared anything.
Even when she’d first seen the underworld’s Ghost Enforcers and Judge Lu as a child, she hadn’t felt the slightest bit afraid.
But the Baleful Qi that had burst from Shen Yanchen just now had carried a strange sense of world-destroying power, enough that even she felt somewhat wary.
Come to think of it, she still hadn’t investigated where all the Baleful Qi in Shen Yanchen’s body came from. Maybe she really should find a way to look into it later.
Just as she was thinking that, Shen Yanchen took her hand.
“It’s fine.” A trace of a smile returned to Shen Yanchen’s brows and eyes. “Let’s go upstairs.”
Xia Sheng nodded and went upstairs with him.
The moment they entered the room, Shen Yanchen seemed to remember something and said, “I want to enter the Dao too and cultivate with you. Do you think I have the aptitude for it?”
Xia Sheng studied him seriously for a moment before saying, “Your body is filled with Baleful Qi. If you could find a way to convert it into Spiritual Energy and use it, then when it comes to cultivation, you’d definitely be a genius.”
Shen Yanchen caught the meaning behind her words. “But I can’t turn this Baleful Qi into Spiritual Energy for my own use, right?”
Xia Sheng nodded. “Right.”
The reason she could use Yin Baleful Qi by converting it into Spiritual Power was because her constitution was naturally unique. Her true form inherently had that function.
But aside from being full of Baleful Qi, Shen Yanchen had no other special traits. It was obviously impossible for him to convert Baleful Qi into Spiritual Energy for his own use.
Hearing Xia Sheng’s confirmation, Shen Yanchen couldn’t help feeling disappointed, even though he’d already prepared himself for the answer.
Seeing that he was unhappy, Xia Sheng asked, “Why do you suddenly want to cultivate? Do you want immortality?”
“Not really.”
“Then why?”
Shen Yanchen said, “Because I want to stand at the same height as you. I want to stay with you forever.”
He had never been the kind of man to speak in smooth, honeyed words. The few sentences he said now weren’t meant to coax Xia Sheng into happiness either. He truly meant every word.
Xia Sheng knew his temperament well. Hearing what he said, her heart warmed slightly, and the corners of her lips couldn’t help but lift.
“I want to stay with you forever too. I’ll keep an eye out from now on. If I find any talisman that can convert Baleful Qi into usable Spiritual Energy, I’ll bring it back for you.”
Shen Yanchen didn’t hear a word of what came after. He only remembered the first thing Xia Sheng had said.
She said she wanted to stay with him forever too.
So his little girl had finally come to understand her own feelings.
Joy surged through Shen Yanchen’s heart, and he very much wanted to kiss his girl.
But seeing how covered in mud Xia Sheng was, he could only sigh softly and urge her to hurry upstairs and wash up.
Nanny Wang had already prepared a clean set of clothes for Xia Sheng.
When Xia Sheng came out after her shower, she saw Shen Yanchen sitting in a rattan chair on the balcony, working.
After drying her hair, Xia Sheng sat down by the bed. “Uncle Nine, come here for a second.”
“What is it?” Shen Yanchen came in from the balcony and saw the girl sitting on the bed waiting for him.
She had just finished bathing, and the steam had left her little face flushed pink.
Her skin was delicate and flawless, and her red lips looked fresh and tender, as if waiting for someone to pick them.
Looking at Xia Sheng in that innocent yet enticing state, Shen Yanchen’s Adam’s apple bobbed involuntarily. He thought her sitting on the bed was some kind of hint.
His steps halted, and in a hoarse voice, he said, “Sheng’er, you’re only eighteen this year…”
Before he could finish, Xia Sheng answered his previous question instead. “Come here. I’ll teach you how to meditate first and see whether you can absorb the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth.”
Shen Yanchen: “…”
So he had gotten the wrong idea.
Seeing the odd look on his face, Xia Sheng belatedly remembered what he had just said. “What were you saying earlier? What’s wrong with being eighteen?”
Meeting the girl’s clear, spotless eyes, Shen Yanchen felt faintly embarrassed, though none of it showed on his face. He still carried himself with the same steady composure. “Nothing.”
He walked over to the bed. “What do I need to do?”
Xia Sheng thought his earlier reaction had been a little strange, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on why, so she didn’t dwell on it. “Sit down and cross your legs. I’ll teach you the incantation.”
Shen Yanchen did as he was told and sat cross-legged. Xia Sheng took one of his hands, closed her eyes, and chanted softly, “Five hearts face heaven, the mind guards the origin; let the spiritual breath circulate and draw in nature…”
Xia Sheng guided Shen Yanchen through it for quite a while, but in the end, they still didn’t succeed.
It wasn’t that Shen Yanchen lacked talent for cultivation at all. It was just that the Baleful Qi inside him was too heavy. Every time he managed to draw in even a little Spiritual Energy, the Baleful Qi in his body would quickly devour it, leaving nothing behind.
At this rate, even if Shen Yanchen were a cultivation genius capable of absorbing all the Spiritual Energy in the world, it probably still wouldn’t be enough to offset the Baleful Qi inside him.
They still had to find a way to turn the Baleful Qi in his body into Spiritual Energy he could use.
The two of them stayed busy in the room for quite a while. By the time they went downstairs, half an hour had already passed.
Nanny Wang had dinner ready and was waiting for them.
Seeing that they had taken so long to come out, Nanny Wang felt a little uneasy. She walked over to Shen Yanchen and quietly reminded him, “Mr. Shen, Miss Xia is still young, after all. You should at least hold to the most basic moral bottom line.”
Shen Yanchen: “…”
Exactly how much of a pervert did he seem to be?
Why did everyone think he would do something so beastly to the girl?
There was no expression on his handsome face. “I know my limits.”
After saying that, he went into the dining room with Xia Sheng.
After dinner, Xia Sheng drew dozens of Talismans before finally heading home to rest.