Chapter 43: Calling Huo Jingchen [2]

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Calling Huo Jingchen [2]

Xi Yunxui stood beside the kitchen counter, staring at the clock.

9:08 a.m.

The hands seemed to be moving faster now.

The gathering would begin at noon.

The two ingredients were still missing.

The senior maid had not returned.

The Food Ingredient Section of the System Store remained locked.

And, most importantly, Xi Yunxui had absolutely no idea how she was supposed to contact Huo Jingchen.

She sighed.

She had already considered asking Madam Huo for his number.

Too strange.

She had considered asking one of the other servants.

Even stranger.

And King C’s suggestion of simply stealing Madam Huo’s phone had already been rejected.

Xi Yunxui rubbed her forehead.

"What am I going to do?"

King C was sitting on the counter nearby, peacefully chewing another piece of carrot.

He glanced at her.

[You worry too much.]

Xi Yunxui looked at him.

"You suggested stealing Madam Huo’s phone."

[It was a practical solution.]

"It was a criminal solution."

[The distinction is unnecessary.]

Xi Yunxui stared.

"Eat your carrot."

King C happily continued chewing.

Xi Yunxui turned away.

She was about to think of another solution when the system suddenly spoke.

[The system can assist the Host in obtaining Huo Jingchen’s phone number.]

Xi Yunxui froze.

Her eyes immediately brightened.

"You can?"

[Yes.]

"Then give it to me!"

The system remained silent for a moment.

Then—

[A transaction is required.]

Xi Yunxui’s happiness disappeared.

She became suspicious.

"A transaction?"

[Yes.]

"What do I have to give?"

[Cultivation.]

Xi Yunxui blinked.

"...What?"

[The Host must sacrifice two stages of her current cultivation.]

Xi Yunxui’s eyes widened.

"Two stages?"

[Correct.]

[The Host is currently at Beginner Level, Stage Three.]

[The transaction will cause the Host to regress to Beginner Level, Stage One.]

Xi Yunxui stared blankly.

For several seconds, she didn’t speak.

Then she looked at her hands.

Her cultivation.

The thing she had only just begun.

The power she had spent years wishing she could possess in her previous life.

She had finally reached Stage Three.

And now the system wanted to take two stages away...

For a phone number.

Xi Yunxui’s expression became increasingly complicated.

"Wait."

She narrowed her eyes.

"What does cultivation have to do with a phone number?"

[...]

"System."

Silence.

"Why are you charging me cultivation for someone’s contact information?"

[The system determines the cost of certain transactions based on their value and available system resources.]

Xi Yunxui frowned.

"That explanation doesn’t explain anything."

[...]

She sighed.

There was clearly no point arguing with the system.

She looked toward the clock again.

There were still missing ingredients.

The gathering was approaching.

She needed a solution.

After a long moment, she asked,

"If I agree to this, can I still cultivate?"

[Yes.]

Xi Yunxui immediately looked relieved.

"It won’t completely remove my ability to cultivate?"

[No.]

[The Host will retain the ability to cultivate.]

[Only two cultivation stages will be removed.]

[The Host will regress from Beginner Level, Stage Three to Beginner Level, Stage One.]

Xi Yunxui lowered her head.

She was reluctant.

Very reluctant.

But the mission was worth fifteen percent system progress.

If she failed because she couldn’t obtain the ingredients, she would lose a valuable opportunity.

And besides...

She could cultivate again.

She could rebuild those two stages.

After thinking about it for several seconds, she finally sighed.

"Alright."

She closed her eyes.

"Go ahead."

[Transaction confirmed.]

The system began processing.

For several seconds, nothing happened.

Then Xi Yunxui suddenly felt something change inside her body.

It wasn’t painful.

There was no sharp sensation.

It was more like a warm current that had been quietly residing within her suddenly began flowing away.

She frowned.

Her breathing became slightly heavier.

She could faintly feel the power she had accumulated through cultivation separating from her.

Slowly.

Gradually.

Like water flowing out of a vessel.

The sensation lasted only a few moments.

Then it stopped.

Xi Yunxui opened her eyes.

She immediately noticed that something was different.

The sense of power that had filled her body since beginning cultivation had weakened considerably.

She clenched her fist.

Her physical strength was still there.

Her body was still stronger than before.

But the strange sensation of spiritual energy within her was noticeably weaker.

The system spoke.

[Transaction completed.]

[Cultivation Level adjusted.]

[Current cultivation: Beginner Level, Stage One.]

Xi Yunxui sighed.

"Two stages... gone."

She wasn’t happy about it.

But she reminded herself that she could cultivate again.

At least she hadn’t lost everything.

Then the system continued.

[Compensation complete.]

[Huo Jingchen’s contact information has been added to the Host’s phone.]

Xi Yunxui’s eyes immediately brightened.

"Really?"

She hurriedly picked up her phone.

She opened the contacts.

Her fingers moved quickly through the list.

Then she stopped.

There it was.

Huo Jingchen.

His name.

His number.

Xi Yunxui stared.

The system hadn’t been joking.

She actually had his number now.

"Thank goodness."

She quickly pressed the call button.

Then immediately became nervous.

What am I going to say?

She hadn’t thought that far.

But the phone was already ringing.

Beep...

No answer.

Beep...

Still nothing.

Xi Yunxui waited.

Third ring.

Fourth.

Fifth.

Still nothing.

The call eventually ended automatically.

Xi Yunxui stared at her phone.

"Why isn’t he answering?"

She frowned.

Maybe he’s busy.

She looked at the clock.

Then at the phone.

"Perhaps I called at a bad time."

She thought about it for a moment.

Then decided to try again.

She pressed the call button.

The phone began ringing.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

---

Meanwhile

In another part of the city, Huo Jingchen was seated at the head of a large conference table.

The room was solemn.

No unnecessary decorations adorned the walls.

The atmosphere was serious enough that even the sound of someone turning a page seemed unusually loud.

Around the long table sat representatives of the country’s most prominent cultivation forces.

There were six major sects represented.

The Xu Sect.

The Wei Sect, renowned for divination and spiritual deduction.

The Xi Sect.

The Shu Sect.

The Ling Sect.

And the He Sect.

Some were accompanied by elders.

Others had brought their most capable disciples.

And among the representatives of the Shu Sect sat a familiar face.

Qing Xi.

She was no longer dressed as a flight attendant.

She wore the simple but elegant robes of the Shu Sect.

Before her sat her master, an elderly cultivator with a stern expression.

The atmosphere was tense.

At the center of the discussion was the recent phenomenon.

The golden light.

Not once.

But twice.

The first phenomenon had appeared in the city.

The second had occurred near Xiang Village.

Both had attracted the attention of cultivators throughout the region.

No one had been able to determine exactly what caused them.

One of the sect representatives was speaking.

"The spiritual fluctuation recorded in Xiang Village was considerably stronger than the first phenomenon."

Another elder nodded.

"Yet there was no obvious sign of a breakthrough."

"Which is precisely what concerns us."

The room became quiet.

Huo Jingchen listened without interruption.

He sat at the head of the table, his expression calm.

As leader of the Bureau of Cultivation, he had called the meeting precisely because these unexplained phenomena could not be ignored.

The speaker continued.

"We searched the surrounding area."

"And?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"No cultivator was found."

The elder frowned.

"No spiritual beast."

"No artifact."

"No formation."

"Nothing that could reasonably explain the phenomenon."

Huo Jingchen’s fingers rested lightly against the table.

He remained thoughtful.

Then—

His phone rang.

The sound immediately cut through the discussion.

Everyone at the table stopped speaking.

Huo Jingchen glanced down.

An unknown number appeared on his screen.

His brows knitted.

Who has this number?

He rarely gave his private number to people.

The call continued ringing.

He didn’t answer.

After several rings, it stopped.

The elder who had been speaking looked toward him.

Huo Jingchen placed the phone face-down on the table.

"Continue."

The discussion resumed.

"The spiritual energy around the mountain has remained unstable since the phenomenon—"

His phone rang again.

Huo Jingchen’s gaze immediately fell toward it.

The same number.

Unknown.

He frowned.

For some reason, he hesitated.

There was an inexplicable feeling in his chest.

Something told him to answer.

He picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

---

On the other end of the call—

Xi Yunxui froze.

Her eyes widened.

Her mind suddenly went completely blank.

He answered.

She had expected him to ignore the call again.

Now she was actually hearing his voice.

"Hello?"

Xi Yunxui swallowed.

Then realization struck.

She had called him.

But...

Why?

She stared at the phone in her hand.

What am I supposed to tell him?

She had been so focused on getting his number that she hadn’t thought beyond that.

How am I supposed to earn Affection Points?

What am I supposed to help him with?

What if he asks why I called?

Her mouth opened.

Nothing came out.

Huo Jingchen waited.

"Hello?"

Xi Yunxui’s mind raced.

She had sacrificed two stages of her cultivation for this phone number.

She couldn’t possibly remain silent now.

Yet she suddenly couldn’t remember a single sensible thing to say.

Across the conference table, several powerful cultivators were staring discreetly at Huo Jingchen.

The leader of the Bureau of Cultivation had received a mysterious call during one of the most important meetings of the year.

And judging from the fact that he hadn’t immediately hung up...

The caller was clearly important.

Huo Jingchen remained silent for another few seconds.

Then he spoke again.

"Who is this?"

Xi Yunxui’s eyes widened.

Oh no.

She hadn’t even introduced herself.

Her fingers tightened around the phone.

"It’s..."

She swallowed.

"It’s me."

The words came out before she could stop them.

There was silence on the other side.

Huo Jingchen’s brows slowly rose.

Somehow...

He already had a suspicion about who "me" was.

And if his guess was correct—

The inexplicable warmth that had settled in his chest moments earlier suddenly intensified.