Chapter 40

A cricket...

It spoke.

And he speaks modern language with clear pronunciation!

This horrifying and bizarre scene made Tang An and Chi Ying's scalps tingle.

Before the two could digest this absurd reality, an extremely familiar voice popped out of Cricket's mouth: "Hello, hello, hello? Can you hear me? I'm Bu Suanzi! Master used some secret method to try to contact you, I don't know if it worked..."

"It must have worked!!!" He Miao's voice immediately interrupted, with a hint of pain in his voice, "If it doesn't work, wouldn't all my years of savings be wasted? I feel my vitality rushing out now... wuwuwu..."

"Just brag! Didn't you just pat your chest and say it was a piece of cake? Why are you so pretentious?"

"You are weak..."

Just as the master and disciple were about to start arguing again, a penetrating voice, like an icy blade, instantly cut through all the noise: "I am Gu An."

The air seemed to freeze in an instant.

Tang An and Chi Ying looked at each other suddenly, swallowed their saliva at the same time, and their Adam's apples rolled.

The situation over there seemed to be intimidated by Gu An's aura and quieted down temporarily.

Gu An's voice was filled with undeniable coldness, and it came through clearly: "Tang An, and Chi Ying, right?"

Tang An subconsciously raised his hand as if being called by a teacher: "Yes."

Chi Ying used her eyes to silently complain: Why are you raising your hand???

Tang An blinked:...I don’t know, I feel like the dean is watching me.

Chi Ying was about to laugh at him for being timid when Cricket spoke again.

"Is Tang An the only one here? Chi Ying isn't here?"

“…”

Chi Ying reluctantly raised his hand as well: "Here."

Tang An bit his lower lip hard to prevent himself from laughing.

Gu An seemed to have received the signal and continued in his cold tone, as if he were interrogating a criminal, "According to what He Miao and Shen Qi said, the reason you now occupy Shen Qi and my body is that we are your past lives. Do you agree with this?"

There's even a question-and-answer session!

Tang An instantly straightened his back, like a top student being called out in class, and his voice tightened. "Besides this connection between past and present lives, Chi Ying and I can't think of any other more reasonable explanation."

Chi Ying was not as obedient as him. After all, he had been fighting with Gu An for a year. He said casually: "What Tang An means is what I mean."

As he spoke, he stretched out his arm, casually put his arm around Tang An's shoulders, and added a sentence as if declaring his sovereignty.

"We are two people of one mind."

Tang An: “…”

Big brother!

The person opposite is Gu An!!!

It’s not some random cat, dog, or Baba!!!

Gu An was silent for a few seconds, and then a sneer of undisguised contempt rang out: "That's right, mere mortals, how can we expect you to decipher any mysteries?"

Tang Yan's mouth twitched.

Chi Ying, standing next to him, couldn't stand the mockery and immediately sneered back, "Yes, we mortals don't have much ability. But for you, an Immortal Lord who has spent your whole life striving to be the best, to suddenly lose your power and be reduced to a mortal must be very uncomfortable, right?"

He paused deliberately, the gloating in his tone almost overflowing, "However, thanks to you two, Tang An and I have been able to enjoy your top-notch immortal bodies and bones. Maybe one day when you are gone, we will still be here alive and well."

"How dare you! You..." Gu An shouted angrily.

"Xiaobao!" Shen Qi's gentle yet majestic voice suddenly sounded, forcibly interrupting Gu An's rage, "Control your temper!!"

"Don't call me that name!!!" Gu An instantly got angry and his voice became a little sharper.

The other end of the line suddenly fell into a chaotic argument.

Tang An touched his nose awkwardly.

Chi Yingze, with a smug look on his face that said, "See, I told you he couldn't beat me in scolding," leaned close to Tang An's ear and lowered his voice, "Dear, see? The ancients didn't have a good vocabulary when arguing, so they couldn't beat us modern keyboard warriors in scolding."

Tang An was speechless: "...I thought you were afraid of him too."

"Afraid of him?" Chi Ying sneered, his face full of disdain. "When I first saw this guy who looked exactly like you, I thought there was such a good thing, a long-haired version of you, but in the end..."

He made a disgusted expression, "After getting to know her for a long time, I found that she is just a fussy person, a hypocritical freak, not even as good as the tip of my baby's little finger."

As he spoke, he took Tang An's hand and gestured with his little finger in a serious manner.

Tang An: “…”

This strange desire to win.

Chi Ying continued to reveal more information, her eyes gleaming with gossip: "And your husband hasn't been around for nothing this year, I even dug up a big melon!"

Tang An wasn't actually interested, but seeing his expectant expression that said, "Ask me, ask me!", he could only sigh in agreement, "Oh? What's some earth-shattering news?"

Chi Ying cleared his throat and deliberately kept the secret: "Actually... it's not earth-shattering..."

Tang An's forehead veins jumped, and he could no longer endure it: "Fuck! Chi Ying, hurry up!!"

I was so angry that my mouth was drooping.

Chi Ying was finally satisfied. He lowered his voice and dropped a bombshell word by word: "It was that high and mighty Gu Xianjun who had shameful thoughts about his adoptive father, Shen Qi."

This sentence was like thunder from a clear sky, instantly causing an uproar on the other end of the communication.

Even though separated by a long time and space and a strange cricket, Tang An seemed to be able to hear the sudden deathly silence and the chaos that followed.

On Gu An's side, his face was as black as the bottom of a pot, but strangely, there was a hint of red in his face as if his secrets had been exposed. He looked like a strange sun that was both burnt and quenched by fire.

After Shen Qi was briefly surprised, he felt an indescribable complex emotion, as if some long-held vague premonition was suddenly confirmed.

He seemed unable to face it. A rustling sound of clothes rubbing against each other came from the communication, as if he had turned around and left the scene.

As for He Miao and Bu Suanzi, two gasps were clearly heard over the communication line, followed by the sound of both of them letting go of Gu An at the same time, and the silent exclamations of "Wow!" and "Wow!" that were suppressed but still audible.

Tang An looked at the cricket that had suddenly gone silent and cautiously poked it with his finger: "Hello, hello, hello? Are you still there? Are you offline?"

After a few seconds of suffocating silence, Bu Suanzi's voice resounded, a little breathless, obviously having just experienced a period of chaos: "Here, here, here! Not disconnected! The signal is unstable!"

Tang An breathed a sigh of relief, then glared at Chi Ying fiercely.

Chi Ying spread his hands innocently: "Blame me? Just tell the truth."

Bu Suanzi quickly brought the topic back on track: "The ritual has indeed failed. Recovering the body requires careful planning. The most important thing now is to deal with that unstable factor, Su He."

Chi Ying's expression also turned serious: "What do you need us to do?"

He Miao interrupted, his voice much more steady than usual: "We will do our best to track down Su He's whereabouts, and you guys..."

He seemed to be stuck.

Shen Qi, who had just returned, added: "Su Chengyue."

"Yes!" He Miao said with certainty, "Keep an eye on Su Chengyue! I suspect he might have been exposed too!"

Tang An and Chi Ying looked at each other and saw the solemnity in each other's eyes.

Tang An immediately responded, "Understood. We will keep a close eye on him."

Chi Ying added, "Tang An is with me now. Gu An and Shen Qi are probably even less adapted to modern society back home. I'd like to trouble you, Taoist priests, to take care of me. There's something important..."

He spoke faster, "Please help us deal with our family, so that we don't lose contact and think something has happened. Our phone password is..."

“Beep…Sizzle…”

Communication stopped abruptly.

The cricket that acted as a telephone seemed to have exhausted all its spiritual energy. With a soft "pop" sound, it returned to the appearance of an ordinary insect, shook its antennae, and jumped a few times before disappearing into the grass.

The two of them still maintained the same posture as before, like two stone sculptures, and it took them a long time to recover.

Tang An said dryly, "Your ever-victorious general has run away."

Chi Ying replied woodenly: "...Let it be."

There was another long silence.

After three months of wasted vacation, it seems that I finally see the light of hope?

The two of them supported each other to stand up, their eyes becoming sharp and firm again.

"Let's go!" Chi Ying clenched his fist, "Let's go meet that Su Chengyue!"

According to the strength level classification in the world of immortal cultivation, Tang An and Chi Ying's cultivation realm is far superior to Su Chengyue, and their health bars are much thicker, but their fatal weakness is that they are not original goods, and their use of strength and the sophistication of spells are far inferior to Su Chengyue, who was born and raised in this world.

To put it simply, the mana bar and level are high, but the skill proficiency is low.

Tracking is a technical job that is extremely risky. When one reaches this level, as long as the other party pays a little attention, any movement within a radius of several miles will be difficult to escape his spiritual perception.

To this end, Tang An and Chi Ying worked out a detailed surveillance plan overnight.

Core strategy: one bright and one dark, two parallel lines.

Tang An was responsible for stabilizing Su Chengyue from the front, and using his master status to suppress her when necessary.

Chi Yingze, with his more flexible use of spiritual power, was responsible for secretly following and investigating.

If Chi Ying is exposed, Tang An can come out in time to protect him, although it is not known whether it will be useful.

The tasks are assigned and the action begins.

Late one night half a month later.

Tang An was just about to take off his outer robe and rest when there was a gentle knock on the door.

He quickly put on his outer robe again, picked up a scroll of Taoist scriptures from the table, and put on an attitude as if he was reviewing it late at night. He cleared his throat and said, "Come in."

The door was pushed open, and it was indeed Su Chengyue.

A faint smell of alcohol drifted in with the night breeze.

Tang An looked up and saw that Su Chengyue didn't look drunk at all, he was still handsome, but his eyes seemed deeper than usual.

"What's the matter with you looking for me so late at night?" Tang An asked in Gu An's usual cold tone, but his heart was beating fast.

Over the past six months, in addition to cramming ancient melodramatic stories, he has been desperately imitating Gu An's words and deeds as described by Chi Ying, for fear of being exposed in front of Su Chengyue, the original disciple.

God bless you, but please don't ask questions related to cultivation.

Su Chengyue bowed respectfully and said, "I have disturbed Master's quiet cultivation so late at night. I deserve death. However, I have encountered a bottleneck in my cultivation recently, and my inner demons are overwhelming. I am at a loss for the answer, so I beg Master to help me resolve my confusion."

Tang An's heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained as calm as an old dog. He nodded slightly and said, "Tell me."

He roared madly inwardly.

Don’t ask technical questions! Don’t ask! I can talk about advanced mathematics, but I can’t even begin to explain the bottlenecks of cultivating immortality!

Su Chengyue lowered her eyes and spoke in a low voice, "My humble disciple, I would like to ask Master, why do those birds and beasts spend their entire lives striving to cultivate into human form? What are they really after?"

Tang An: “…”

What kind of question is this?! A philosophical trifecta? Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going?!

He was going crazy inside, but on the surface he maintained the calmness of a hermit, even revealing a smile of compassion for all living beings.

"As a teacher, I am not one of those people. It is difficult to understand his heart, but..." Tang An pondered for a moment, his mind frantically searching through his library of high school essay materials. "If I were just a fish confined to the shallows, what I would be thinking about would surely be the vast and boundless ocean."

Thank you Chinese teacher and thank you to all the philosophers.

Su Chengyue seemed slightly moved. After a moment of silence, he said, "Thank you, Master, for your guidance. I have one more question."

Tang An picked up the teacup beside him that had already gone cold, took a sip with a calm demeanor, and said, "Tell me."

Su Chengyue slowly raised her head, and in her eyes, which were always submissive, there was now a surge of indescribable complex emotions and a hint of desperate determination.

He took a step forward, and the distance between them suddenly shortened.

The smell of alcohol seemed to be stronger.

Tang An's heart was filled with alarm.

This guy definitely drank more than just a little!

Su Chengyue stared at Tang An intently, asking word by word, "If I were just an ordinary child without any spiritual roots back then, would Master still have taken me back to the mountain gate? Would he have accepted me as his disciple?"

Tang An was completely stuck.

He is not Gu An himself! God knows what Gu An was thinking at the time!

But according to the usual routine of appeasing disciples...

He gritted his teeth and tried hard to force out the gentle look he imagined Gu An would show, looking at Su Chengyue: "Master also came from the mortal world, and stepped into the immortal path step by step. Although whether or not one has spiritual roots is determined by heaven, but..."

He paused and used some chicken soup literature, "What the master valued back then was you as a person. Regardless of whether you have spiritual roots or not, the master will not give up on you."

Fighting! Boy! Go back to sleep! It's so scary in the middle of the night!

As Tang An spoke, he pretended to casually glance around at the beams and shadows.

Very good, I didn't see Ji Young.

Where did this guy go? Could he have really turned into a little earthworm and burrowed into the cracks in the wall?

“…Master?”

Su Chengyue's voice suddenly pulled Tang An's wandering thoughts back.

Su Chengyue had silently moved a few steps closer, almost standing in front of Tang An. He looked at Tang An deeply, and his eyes were so complicated that Tang An's scalp numbed.

In the end, Su Chengyue said nothing more, but just bowed respectfully.

"Thank you, Master, for clearing up my doubts. I will take my leave."

After saying that, he turned around, and his figure blended silently into the night outside the door.

Tang An had just breathed a sigh of relief when a white shadow flowed in from under the door like a ghost. The moment it landed on the ground, it expanded and turned into the human form of Chi Ying.

His face was ashen as he strode to the table, casually set up a soundproof barrier, then picked up the pot of cold tea that Tang An had just drunk from and gulped down most of the tea from the spout.

"Bang."

He slammed the teapot down on the table.

"Damn it!" Chi Ying wiped his mouth, his eyes frighteningly sharp, his chest heaving violently, "This little bastard surnamed Su is no ordinary guy!"

Seeing him like this, Tang An's heart started to lift. "What's wrong? What did you see?"

Chi Ying suddenly turned his head to look at Tang An, his eyes burning with anger. He spoke word by word, gritting his teeth and saying, "This brat! In the mortal world! He raised a little one!!!"

Tang An was stunned: "...Ah?"

Chi Ying recalled the scene he had just witnessed through the crack in the window of the second floor of the music hall. His voice was icy and piercing, "He's still a young boy! Judging by his stature, he must be only fifteen or sixteen at most! If this beast were in our place, he'd be a pedophile who would be shot eight hundred times!"

He became angrier as he spoke, veins popping out on his forehead. He pointed at Tang An's face, his voice trembling slightly with anger.

"The most fucking disgusting thing is! That kid... that kid looks so fucking similar to you... and Gu An's face...!!!"

Tang An was completely stunned: "...Substitute???"

Chi Ying slammed his fist on the table so hard that the teapot jumped up.

"That's right! This bastard is quite good at playing tricks!!!"