Chapter 32 [VIP]

The green bamboo on both sides of the road rustled in the wind, and the winding and rugged blue stone path led to the tightly closed and solemn sandalwood door.

The interior is decorated in a solemn manner, with the scent of books and ink intertwined and balanced with a cool fragrance.

Jiang Zhuochen pushed open the door, meeting Xu Xing's long-awaited gaze. He casually draped clothes over Xu Xing's shoulders. His fingers slid from Xu Xing's shoulders to his chest, stirring a ripple of emotion. Then, he innocently sat down to the side, serving tea and water to his master.

Xu Xing's thoughts were momentarily disrupted by these actions. He wasn't angry to begin with; otherwise, no one would have had the ability to snatch clothes from him. He raised the corners of his mouth at Jiang Zhuochen's obedient appearance, "What's going on?"

Seeing that his master was paying attention to him, Jiang Zhuochen said, "I was competing with my senior brothers just now, and I did not mean to bother you, Master."

"It's alright." Xu Xing switched to another booklet. "What made you think of using this competition?"

Jiang Zhuochen hesitated for a moment, afraid that Xu Xing would not let him catch the thief, so he did not tell the truth. "I don't know how to do anything too difficult, this one is more interesting."

See, with a moment of distraction, you can grab anything.

Xu Xing's gaze lingered on Jiang Zhuochen's face for a moment, then he said nothing more.

The night was as dark as ink. A campfire crackled in the clearing in the woods, and dripping oil sparked as it fell into the flames. Three figures sat cross-legged around the fire, and a roasting chicken on a metal rack glowed an enticing golden color.

Because calling on all the senior brothers would be too much of a fuss, the group unanimously recommended the 'most reliable' seventh and eleventh senior brothers as representatives to accompany Jiang Zhuochen in arresting the culprit.

Xu Chang'an took a deep breath and smacked his lips a few times. "Putting everything else aside, this 'Demon-Attracting Incense' truly lives up to its reputation."

Ling He poured out the last few drops of liquid from the jade bottle in her hand. The exotic fragrance, mixed with the aroma of roasted chicken, condensed into a faint golden mist that seemed to have a tangible form, drifting wisps into the depths of the dense forest.

"I'll give it half an incense stick's time." Ling He stared straight ahead, knowing that after half an incense stick's time, the roast chicken would be at its most fragrant and tender.

Jiang Zhuochen propped his head up with a worried look on his face. These two senior brothers were even more hungry than the shadowy figure, like starving ghosts. If a fight really broke out, would these two abandon the important task of catching the murderer for a roast chicken?

Suddenly, the two senior brothers' expressions turned serious, and Jiang Zhuochen also became extremely alert and looked in that direction.

A slight tremor ran through the depths of the forest. He pressed his fingers on the hilt of his sword, his peripheral vision sweeping over the demon-locking arrays that were quietly rising around him. The talismans glowed with a faint blue light under the bright campfire.

"Be on high alert."

The sound of something cutting through the air came unexpectedly.

A dark shadow, accompanied by a fierce gust of wind, stung one's face. The iron rack collapsed with a crash, and the roast chicken was snatched away. At that moment, the demon-locking array activated. Blue light surged into a cage, but unexpectedly, it only captured a wisp of afterimage.

"So fast!" Jiang Zhuochen was shocked. So the shadowy figure had held back last night?

"Chase!" Xu Chang'an swiftly formed a sword technique, and his silver sword shot through the sky like a meteor.

The three ascended on the wind, their swords flashing and spells clashing as they attacked. The dark figure, however, tumbled and twisted through the forest, its wings destroying everything in their path before striking the three with deadly accuracy.

A strong wind, carrying dust and sand, pierced through like sharp blades. Ling He leaped up and stood on the bamboo tip. He summoned his natal sword with a sword formation following the incantation. Three crimson streaks descended from the sky, followed by a shrill scream.

When the heavy object fell to the ground, it kicked up a cloud of dust several feet high, revealing a white crane with blood-stained feathers, still tightly holding the roasted chicken in its beak to prevent it from hitting the ground.

Its golden eyes widened in fury, and its long beak emitted a piercing cry that shook the clouds and cleaved the sun, causing the three to hear a ringing in their ears and retreat repeatedly.

Jiang Zhuochen covered his ears and hid behind her, saying incredulously, "It's actually a crane."

Before the words were even finished, the sky darkened rapidly, like dark clouds obscuring the moon. An even larger shadow swooped down, its sharp claws aimed straight for Jiang Zhuochen's crown!

"Junior Brother!"

"Junior Brother!"

In the blink of an eye, Xu Chang'an and Ling He teleported to Jiang Zhuochen's side, each throwing him ten feet away with one hand. However, the two were gripped by giant claws as hard as black iron, and were sent flying into the sky.

As Jiang Zhuochen staggered to his feet, the strong wind from the crane's flapping wings rushed towards him, accompanied by billowing dust.

He lowered his arms from his face, and looking up, he saw the crescent moon, and amidst the cries of cranes, Xu Chang'an's heart-wrenching screams:

"I'm so dizzy!!"

Jiang Zhuochen was overwhelmed with emotion. Why did a roast chicken have to cause such a fuss?

Just as he was about to give chase, the crane with blood-splattered wings diagonally ahead broke free of the last chain of spiritual energy. Its long beak opened, emitting a sharp, piercing roar like iron clashing against stone, its golden eyes surging with boundless rage.

Jiang Zhuochen's pupils contracted sharply, and he immediately began to flee without hesitation. The azure barrier shattered after blocking the crane's claw, and he turned and ran.

When I first saw cranes, I felt they were unusually unfriendly; when they attacked people, they were more like ferocious beasts than celestial birds.

He used magic to block the crane's sharp claws as it charged at him, and raised his hand to take out the Binding Net to trap the crane, but his movement froze in an instant.

He couldn't remember where he had put the Immortal Binding Net.

A foul wind was blowing, and danger was imminent.

The next moment, Jiang Zhuochen was surrounded by a gentle breeze. The moonlight suddenly condensed into a pillar of light, illuminating the crane's raised wings. A white, wide sleeve swept across the void, and with a light touch of the person's fingertip, the crane calmed down and obediently lowered its neck.

Jiang Zhuochen felt a warmth against his waist and breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced at his master's calm expression and knew that the other knew everything, so he didn't bother to explain.

When the other person turned to look at him, Jiang Zhuochen lowered his eyes and became incredibly obedient. "Master is so amazing."

"Nonsense." Xu Xing pressed his palm against Jiang Zhuochen's waist. Although it was a reprimand, his tone was full of helpless indulgence.

"Master, don't be angry. I just came to join in the fun." Jiang Zhuochen tugged at Xu Xing's clothes ingratiatingly. "This crane stole my things, and I just want to get them back."

"What did you steal?" Xu Xing asked.

"It's nothing important." He couldn't very well say it was an extra meal for his senior brothers; he'd feel terrible about being punished later. Jiang Zhuochen mumbled something, changing the subject: "Aren't cranes the spirit pets of Wangxian Valley? They're usually so gentle, why would they suddenly come out and steal food?"

Outsiders said he was gentle by nature, but Jiang Zhuochen remained skeptical from the beginning.

"Come with me." Xu Xing led him to the crane's dwelling place.

On the western cliffs of Wangxian Valley, a spiritual mist lingers year-round. The vegetation on the cliff face is half a person tall, and the nests in the caves are paved with jade marrow nurtured by heaven and earth.

The crane's fierce aura vanished without a trace after Xu Xing entered, allowing Jiang Zhuochen to successfully find two fledgling cranes in the nest, their feathers not yet fully grown.

"Oh." Jiang Zhuochen drawled, having roughly understood what was going on. "Master is indeed omniscient."

“I’ve encountered this once or twice.” Xu Xing took out the jar he had previously used to feed Jiang Zhuochen and handed it to him again. “Crane chicks need to eat a lot. If the amount of food given by the disciples in the valley is not enough, they will go out to forage for food and even feed their own share to the chicks.”

However, the crane had not laid eggs for over a hundred years, so most of the disciples were unaware of this. Adult cranes are constantly surrounded by hunger, which inevitably makes them irritable.

Jiang Zhuochen poured all the remaining grains in the jar into the baby bird's mouth. Then, looking around, he didn't notice the crane's intention to attack. So, he boldly picked up another unhatched bird egg to observe it.

He murmured, "More than a hundred years, that's too long."

Seeing Jiang Zhuochen stroking the egg with great curiosity, Xu Xing said, "If you like it, take it back and raise it."

Jiang Zhuochen shook his head repeatedly, "I don't have that kind of patience. Anyway, the egg won't run away here, and I can come over anytime I have time."

"Aren't you afraid of getting pecked?" Xu Xing teased him.

Jiang Zhuochen clasped the eggs in his arms and glanced at Xu Xing. "Then I'll go rummage through Master's pocket and offer them some tribute."

Xu Xing was more than happy for him to come and rummage through his pockets every day. But since the other party wasn't very interested at the moment, he didn't force it. Now that the matter was resolved, he took Jiang Zhuochen back.

But as soon as he stepped out of the cave, Jiang Zhuochen suddenly remembered something. "Oh no, Master! Seventh Senior Brother and Eleventh Senior Brother have been carried away by the crane. Could they have been eaten?"

Xu Xing's expression didn't change much after hearing this, but his eyelids drooped slightly, making him look somewhat helpless in the moonlight.

"If they can't even defeat a spirit pet after all these years of cultivation, then they should pack their bags and go down the mountain."

Ling He and Xu Chang'an, who had chased the crane to its nest, froze in their hiding place. Even though their master hadn't turned around, why did they suddenly feel a chill run down their spines?

It's all my junior brother's fault! Why did he have to bring them up for no reason?!

It was past midnight when Jiang Zhuochen finished washing up and crawled into bed. Before falling asleep, he inexplicably remembered something. All his rare and precious treasures were stored in his Qiankun bag. How could he not remember how to deal with the crane?

He simply turned over, drowsiness washed over him, and he fell asleep, forgetting all about the matter.

The next day, upon arriving at the training ground, Jiang Zhuochen saw two figures making jokes in the distance. He paused, a sly smile playing on his lips.

He squeezed to the front of his fellow disciples and loudly proclaimed to two of them who were blindly spouting nonsense, "It seems like someone was carried off by a crane last night... mmm!"

Ling He and Xu Chang'an each covered Jiang Zhuochen's mouth tightly with one hand, hurriedly pulling him out of the encirclement. They smiled warmly at their other unsuspecting fellow disciples, but their smiles concealed a knife towards Jiang Zhuochen.

Xu Chang'an forced out the sound from his throat: "Little Eighteen, that's not very kind of you."

Jiang Zhuochen was almost out of breath, his voice muffled: "This is clearly... the truth..."

"What facts?" Linghe asked anxiously, "We were only careless because we were trying to save you!"

“Exactly,” Xu Chang’an continued, “Why don’t you reflect on why you can’t even beat a crane?”

Jiang Zhuochen opened his mouth and bit someone's palm, taking a deep breath after being relieved. "Why should I reflect? That's all I'm capable of. On the contrary, my two senior brothers have been careless from morning till night. Are you two incompetent?"

"Hey!" Xu Chang'an rolled up his sleeves. "Today, I'll show you whether I'm any good or not!"

"Hey, hey, hey." Shen Hezhou shielded Jiang Zhuochen behind him. "Why are you getting so angry?"

“Exactly.” Jiang Zhuochen stood behind him, speaking with righteous indignation.

Xu Chang'an and Ling He were furious. They chased Jiang Zhuochen around for ages, only to be caught by their uncle, who was on patrol, for not being on good terms with his fellow disciples. As punishment, they were made to sweep the fallen leaves in front of the hall.

Jiang Zhuochen laughed so hard he bent over backwards. After laughing, he grabbed a broom and ran to the front of the main hall to help sweep the floor and beg for reconciliation.

In the days that followed, during a pill-making class that Jiang Zhuochen liked, he unusually sat up straight and listened attentively.

After class, I discovered that the book recorded the method for making a growth elixir, which was specially made for the cubs of celestial beasts. Eating it would greatly replenish their energy and restore them to their normal eating levels.

Jiang Zhuochen thought for a moment. Since the teacher had already assigned homework, he might as well practice making pills and send them to the crane once he had finished.

A note from the author: