Ch. 314 - Are You Making Veiled Insults at Me

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Chen Shu's mouth hung open slightly. So this was what you'd been scheming all along?!

He sighed, unable to help thinking: I'm an outstanding student of the new era, and yet I've ended up with friends like these.

"By the way, help me cook the meat."

Chen Shu spoke up. The ingredients from the Tianhua Store had just arrived.

"Little Yellow and the husky are probably starving by now."

With that, he summoned the husky.

"Awoo~"

The husky bounced back and forth, looking incredibly energetic.

"Chen Pi, why are your husky's lips kind of purple?"

Chen Shu paused, then looked at the husky. Sure enough, its lips had turned a bit purple, like it had been poisoned.

"It's fine, I'll buy some lipstick and put it on later."

"Huh??"

Zhang Dali looked at him in utter confusion. Was medical treatment really this sloppy nowadays?

He patted the dog's head. With a master like this, how had it survived this long?

"Who told this dumb dog to eat random herbs!"

Chen Shu shook his head, and a wave of heartache washed over him again.

Earlier, the husky had swallowed every last herb left behind by Zhao Yong's beast taming squad.

Looking at it now, there was probably a Silver-grade poison-attribute herb among them.

It would need some time to digest and break down the toxins.

Zhang Dali focused on cooking, while Chen Shu began concocting the Flame Potion.

Several minutes passed.

A bottle of Flame Potion appeared before Chen Shu.

The moment he finished concocting, a notification sounded in his mind.

"Sage Level Bonus Effect: Randomly increases one fire-attribute skill by 1-3 levels! Each contract spirit can only consume one bottle!"

Chen Shu paused, then his eyes shot wide open. "Holy crap, that OP?!"

"What's up?"

Zhang Dali was in the middle of cooking and looked over, puzzled.

Chen Shu said casually, "Nothing, just had a bit of an episode."

"..."

A smile hung on his lips. He dragged the husky over and thought about whether to give it the potion.

Right now, the husky only had one fire-attribute skill — [Fireball Barrage]. If that was the one that got upgraded, it seemed a bit not worth it.

"Maybe I should wait?"

Chen Shu rubbed his chin and ultimately put the Flame Potion away.

Over the course of a day, Zhang Dali finished processing the spirit food ingredients and placed them in the freezer.

"So tired!"

Zhang Dali let out a long breath and said, "If it weren't for historical records, I'd think I built the pyramids myself today."

"..."

Chen Shu spoke up. "Dali, as a token of gratitude, you can treat me to dinner tonight!"

"??"

Zhang Dali's mouth twitched. "Well then, thank you very much!"

He looked at the remaining spirit food ingredients and said, "Aren't we already set? If contract spirits can eat this, so can we!"

"You want me, Chen Shu, to eat dog food?!"

Chen Shu's eyes went wide, looking utterly incredulous.

Two minutes later.

"So good!"

Chen Shu wore an expression of pure enjoyment, wishing he could devour all the food in the freezer.

True Fragrance may arrive late, but it will never be absent! [1]

Zhang Dali asked with a smile, "By the way, Chen Pi, are you heading back to Nanjiang?"

"You're going back?"

"Yeah, it's already August. I want to go home and check in."

"Alright, let's head out tomorrow!"

Chen Shu nodded. He didn't have anything going on in the Capital anymore.

A nostalgic look appeared in his eyes. "I feel like the people of Nanjiang are already missing me!"

"You sure about that?"

Zhang Dali raised an eyebrow. You really have zero self-awareness, don't you!

"What about Sis Fang Si? Is she going home?"

"She's probably too busy to get away."

Whether it was the True Treasures or the rest of the herbs, everything would need some time to process.

"Alright, we'll head out tomorrow morning!"

...

Early the next morning.

Fang Si drove the two of them to the airport.

Zhang Dali asked, "Sis Fang Si, are you sure you're not going back to visit?"

Fang Si said, "I'm not going back. I need to sell things, and my advisor might have tasks for me."

"Oh right, Sis Fang Si, this is for you."

Chen Shu pulled out a bottle of Flame Potion and handed it directly to Fang Si.

He wasn't planning to give it to the husky right now anyway, so he might as well give the potion to Fang Si.

Fang Si asked, "Flame Potion? What does it do?"

She knew her Scarlet Flame Dragon had already maxed out on potions, so he wouldn't be giving her something useless.

Chen Shu said calmly, "Just a little thing. It can increase the level of one fire-attribute skill."

"Huh?!"

Fang Si's expression froze, and she was momentarily stunned.

"Are you serious?"

Looking utterly shocked, she examined the Flame Potion from every angle.

Finally, Fang Si carefully put the potion away.

Though she was extremely curious about Chen Shu's potions, she didn't press the issue. If Chen Shu wanted to tell her, she'd listen; if he didn't, she wouldn't ask.

Two hours later.

"Stay safe!"

Fang Si reminded them, successfully dropping the two off at the airport entrance.

"By the way, when are your tickets for?"

"Dali? When are our tickets?"

"What tickets?"

"???"

The two immediately exchanged glances, a sinking feeling dawning on them.

"Don't tell me you didn't buy them!"

"Don't tell me you didn't buy them!"

They spoke in unison, their ominous premonition instantly confirmed.

"Oh my god! How did I end up knowing you two?!"

Fang Si rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

The two had come to the airport all fired up, and they hadn't even bought tickets?!

How did you two even dare!

Fang Si shook her head. "Are you two still going back?"

"Forget it, let's just buy tickets now."

The two shouldered their bags and headed into the Capital airport.

Fortunately, tickets to Daxing City weren't sold out.

The two completed check-in and waited obediently in the departure lounge.

Right in front of them, a couple was being extremely lovey-dovey.

The girl said coyly, "Darling, do you think I'm pretty?"

The guy paused, looking troubled. "Don't say things that'll hurt our relationship!"

Chen Shu and Zhang Dali exchanged glances, already struggling not to laugh.

"Say it!"

The girl was clearly getting annoyed.

The guy said earnestly, "Pretty! Very pretty!"

Only then did the girl's face break into a smile. "Are you only saying that because you're afraid of hurting me?"

"I'm afraid of you hurting me!"

The guy scooted a bit further away, looking guarded.

The girl's eyes went wide. She immediately pulled out her phone and said in a fit of pique, "Hello! Police station? My boyfriend is a fugitive!"

"Holy crap, have you gone crazy?!"

The guy's expression jolted, and a look of panic actually appeared in his eyes. He immediately tried to snatch the phone back.

Just then, sitting next to the couple was a young man wearing a duck-tongue cap. He looked about eighteen, with a baby-faced appearance.

But when he heard the word "fugitive," a dangerous glint appeared in his eyes.

The young man muttered, "More bounty money?"

In a flash, he struck with lightning speed, subduing the guy in a single move!

Although his physical conditioning wasn't at the Black Iron level, he had definitely trained in combat techniques.

"What are you doing to my boyfriend?!"

The girl looked panicked and immediately rushed to the guy's side.

"You dare get close to a fugitive?"

The young man in the duck-tongue cap was cold and detached, looking utterly unsympathetic.

"No, no, we were just joking."

The girl looked flustered and immediately produced the guy's ID card.

The young man paused, sizing the two of them up, and started to panic internally. It seemed he might have made a mistake...

He cleared his throat and said, "What credibility does an ID card have? These days, even Dragon Guard armbands get counterfeited by criminals!"

Chen Shu's expression froze. You bastard, are you making veiled insults at me?![2]

[1] True Fragrance (真香): A legendary 2014 Chinese internet meme. A young man participating in a rural life reality show declared he would "rather starve to death than eat a single bite of your food," then immediately devoured it and exclaimed "So good!" (真香!). The phrase became shorthand for spectacularly breaking one's own promises after declaring refusal — a "true fragrance" law that may arrive late but never fails to show up. Chen Shu's two-minute flip from "dog food?!" to "so good!" is a direct homage to this meme.

[2] Point at the mulberry, curse the locust (指桑骂槐, zhǐ sāng mà huái): A classical chengyu meaning to make veiled accusations where the overt target is not the real target. In modern usage, it describes passive-aggressive insults. The stranger's comment about "counterfeit armbands" hits Chen Shu directly because Chen Shu once tried to forge Dragon Guard armbands himself.