6: Too much firewood? Let the dog carry it! Humans can't carry it!

Young Master Qian's greasy and slick face froze at first, then instantly turned as red as a boiled crab, and immediately after that, it turned the color of a pig's liver!

His eyes widened as he looked at the Menial Worker opposite him, who was carrying a terrifying mountain of firewood and still wearing an "honest and obedient" smile on his face. He simply couldn't believe his ears!

"You... What did you say?!" Young Master Qian's voice was completely out of tune, sharp and piercing. "Say that again?! A dog can't bear your lousy firewood?!"

He pointed at the mountain of firewood on Jiang Linfeng's back, then pointed at Lackey A beside him, whose face was smeared with muddy water and who was still struggling to get up. His whole body of fat trembled with anger. "Rebellion! This is outright rebellion! A mere Menial Worker dares to speak to this young master like this?! And you even dare to curse my Taxue?! Do you know who I am?!"

"Calm your anger, Young Master Qian! Why bother arguing with a stinking Menial Worker like him!"

Seeing his companion fall flat on his face and noticing his master's expression looking like he wanted to eat someone, the other standing Lackey B was afraid of being implicated and immediately jumped out to show his loyalty.

He stepped forward, pointed at Jiang Linfeng's nose, and sternly reprimanded him with spittle flying everywhere. "You courting-death, worthless dog bone! Open your dog eyes and look closely! This is the direct grandson of Elder Qian from the inner Sect's 'Golden Cauldron Peak'! Young Master Qian Wanguan! If you know what's good for you, hurry up and kneel to kowtow and apologize to Young Master Qian! Then unload this lousy firewood and obediently deliver it to Qifeng Pavilion! Otherwise..."

Lackey B sneered, snapping the whip in his hand that flickered with weak electric light with a loud crack, bursting a blue-purple electric arc in the air. "The electric python whip in my hands will make you taste the feeling of your tendons and bones going numb!"

"Right, right, right! Unload the firewood quickly! Kneel and kowtow!" Finally crawling up from the muddy water and too busy to wipe his face, Lackey A also joined in the clamor, emboldened by his master's power.

Jiang Linfeng, carrying the mountain of firewood, still stood steadily, the smile on his face becoming even a bit more "honest".

Looking at these three clowns in front of him and feeling the faint yet firm pulse of life coming from that creature within his Bloodline, his heart remained completely untroubled, and he even found it a bit amusing.

"Young Master Qian's dog is extremely precious."

Jiang Linfeng spoke leisurely, his voice as calm as if stating a fact, "My firewood looks like wood, but it is indeed not light. Look here—"

As if to prove he wasn't lying, he gently shrugged the firewood ropes on his shoulders.

Clatter!

Along with this "slight" movement of his, the mountain of firewood bundled from twenty loads of green sandalwood immediately emitted a heavy sound of wood friction and squeezing!

Several heavy pieces of firewood as thick as a bowl were squeezed outward and slanted, almost crashing down!

The oppressive feeling rushing at them made the jumping Qian Wanguan subconsciously take half a step back! The faces of the two lackeys turned even paler!

"So you see, I am truly afraid of tiring your beloved dog."

Jiang Linfeng wore a face of "sincere" "dilemma", "In case something happens to it, the matter of Elder Situ waiting for the firewood to brew tea is trivial, but ruining Young Master Qian's refined taste for sightseeing would be bad. Don't you think this makes sense?"

Bringing out Elder Situ was not because he was afraid, but purely to add another layer of small "coincidence" protection.

"Bullshit!" Qian Wanguan was completely enraged!

His limited brain circuits couldn't tell whether the other party was showing weakness or making a deeper mockery; he only felt that his face was being rubbed against the ground by a humble Menial Worker! Especially since the other party even mentioned Elder Situ (who was a line behind his grandfather, but still a real-power Elder of the Sect), this made him even more furious from embarrassment!

"Refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit! Beat him! Beat him hard! Just leave him with one breath! This young master will take responsibility if anything happens!" Qian Wanguan roared hysterically!

"Brat! You're courting death!" Lackey B sneered, having long since lost his patience!

The cultivation of the First Layer of the Innate Realm in his body suddenly erupted, waving the electric python whip flickering with electric arcs, bringing a harsh cracking sound as he fiercely lashed toward Jiang Linfeng's legs!

Obviously, he wanted to beat him into kneeling on the ground first!

The other just-risen Lackey A also roared and pounced forward, waving a sand-bowl-sized fist directly targeting Jiang Linfeng's waist, preparing for a top-and-bottom pincer attack!

Seeing that the two attacks carrying strong winds and electric arcs were about to hit!

Jiang Linfeng seemed to be frightened silly, standing blankly on the spot without even making a dodging movement. It was just that his body, carrying the heavy mountain of firewood, seemed unable to bear it under the weak airflow stirred up by their pounced attack, and slightly staggered backward... by half a step?

[Ding! Passive: Doom Halo Lv1 is in effect... Locking onto targets: Lackey B (holding whip), Lackey A (punching).]

[Strong physical impact + low-tier lightning attribute energy attack detected... Generating the best "coincidence" scheme...]

At the critical moment when the electric python whip, carrying dazzling blue-purple electric light, was about to lash Jiang Linfeng's calves!

At the very instant when the sand-bowl-sized fist was less than three inches away from Jiang Linfeng's waist!

A sudden change occurred!

Jiang Linfeng's slightly staggering heel, neither too much nor too little, "extremely coincidently" stepped on a round and slippery pebble that was more than half-sunken into the soft soil!

Whoosh! Jiang Linfeng's foot slipped! His entire body tilted violently to the side! The heavy mountain of firewood also followed with huge inertia, violently tipping over in that direction!

The magnitude of this sudden imbalance movement was extremely small, but the speed was as fast as lightning!

The result was—

Swish!

That whizzing electric python whip, carrying electric arcs sufficient to paralyze an ordinary person's hands and feet and tear their skin open, whistled past the air on the outer side of Jiang Linfeng's calves by a hair's breadth! And at the same time...

Hoo!

That massive fist carrying the sound of breaking wind also narrowly missed Jiang Linfeng's clothes and hit nothing!

All attacks missed?!

This wasn't the end yet!

Because of this tilt by Jiang Linfeng, the direction happened to be... towards the direction Lackey A was pouncing from!

Thud!

Jiang Linfeng's body, along with the mountain of firewood on his back, solidly "crashed" into Lackey A's body, which was even sturdier than an ordinary person's!

Snap! Crack! Click!

Scalp-numbing bone-fracturing sounds rang out one after another!

"Wah ah—!!!"

A heart-rending scream exploded from the small woods, surpassing even the Iron-Backed Azure Bear from earlier!

Only to see Lackey A hit as if by a galloping wild buffalo, his entire body screaming and flying backward like a kite with a broken string!

While in mid-air, blood spewed wildly from his mouth! A large chunk of his chest visibly collapsed inward!

Who knows how many bones were broken! Finally, he crashed heavily into an old crooked-necked tree behind him, his head tilted to the side, and he passed out cold directly!

And almost at the same time!

The reverse reaction force generated by Jiang Linfeng because the mountain of firewood tipped over and "knocked away" Lackey A caused his body to slightly bounce toward the other side!

His hand, the hand behind his back supporting the firewood ropes, driven by the body's "bounce", gently swung forward...

Pat!

An extremely lightweight, even arguably "unintentional" movement!

But just such a small movement was incomparably "precise", hitting squarely... on a particularly lush cluster of foxtail grass covered with dew droplets nearby!

Whoosh—!

In an instant! Countless tiny fluffs mixed with cold water droplets, as if startled, suddenly shot out from that cluster of foxtail grass!

Overwhelming the sky and covering the earth! They shot toward the face of Lackey B, who had just missed with his whip and hadn't yet reacted to his companion's miserable state! Especially his eyes!

"Aow!! My eyes!!!"

Lackey B didn't see clearly what happened at all!

He only felt a vast white and furry "storm" hitting him full in the face!

Countless tiny and sharp grass fluffs pierced fiercely into his eyeballs like steel needles! The cold water droplets smeared all over his face!

Intense pain instantly engulfed him! He emitted a shrill, inhuman shriek!

His hands subconsciously dropped the electric python whip, clutching his painfully throbbing eyes for dear life! Stimulated by the intense pain, he jumped and struggled wildly like a headless fly!

[Ding! Passive: Doom Halo Lv1 is remarkably effective! Successfully triggered chain accidents!]

[Lackey A: Chest rib fractures * 6, severe concussion (fainting)!]

[Lackey B: Severe irritation injury to both eyes (temporary blindness), balance disorder!]

The whole process happened in a flash!

From Qian Wanguan ordering the attack to the two lackeys screaming and falling to the ground, it was no more than two or three breaths back and forth!

Qian Wanguan was completely dumbfounded!

His mouth wide open, as if someone had choked his neck, he could only emit a dry heaving sound of ho-ho.

Those small eyes were filled with endless bewilderment, fear, and disbelief!

He looked at the Menial Worker Jiang Linfeng who was still standing in place—he seemed to have been frightened quite a bit by this sudden "attack"?

He was trying with a face of "panic and bewilderment" to steady the tipping mountain of firewood behind him.

And kept muttering in his mouth: "Aiyoyo! Scared me to death! Scared me to death! I slipped a foot and almost broke the firewood! This road is too slippery! Why does this grass still prick people?!"

Qian Wanguan's gaze then moved with difficulty to both sides.

On one side was his Lackey A, whose sternum had collapsed and whose life or death was unknown.

On the other side was Lackey B, who was rolling all over the ground covering his eyes, shrieking like a slaughtered pig, and scratching bloody marks on his face.

Finally, his gaze fell on the electric python whip on the ground that was still slightly emitting blue-purple electric arcs.

A chill, like a cold venomous snake, suddenly darted up his spine to his crown! All the fat on his body shivered violently out of control!

Sinister!

Too damn sinister!

More sinister than the legendary ghosts and phantoms!

This fellow...

This fellow is definitely a disaster star entangled by some curse!

He just stepped back a step himself and almost slipped...

Then his body tilted a bit...

And "knocked away" his capable fighter?

With a wave of his hand...

He "swatted away" a bunch of lousy grass and blinded his other fighter?

The crucial point is that he still has an innocent face?!

How could there be such a coincidence in this world?!!

Qian Wanguan's mind was blank, leaving only boundless fear.

Looking at Jiang Linfeng's eyes, which still seemed to carry a bit of lingering fear and were at this moment looking "concernedly" at him, he felt that gaze was even more terrifying than the most ferocious Yao Beast!

He no longer dared to think about teaching the other party a lesson or wanting the firewood to pad a nest for his dog!

He even felt that his attempt to snatch this Menial Worker's firewood just now was simply having lived too long!

Now he only hated his parents for giving birth to him with two fewer legs! He just wanted to stay as far away from this plague god as possible!

"You... You..." Qian Wanguan's lips trembled, wanting to say a harsh word to boost his courage, but his throat tightened and he couldn't say anything out.

Right at this moment—

"Hmph? Where are this bloody smell and burnt odor coming from? And what's with this pig-slaughtering squeal?" A gruff, aged voice carrying a hint of sleepiness and dissatisfaction slowly drifted over from a deeper, secluded path through the woods nearby.

An old man wearing an inconspicuous gray coarse-cloth robe, with sparse, graying hair, thin and yellowish cheeks, and smudges of what looked like stove ash walked out with sleepy eyes.

In his hand, he was casually dangling a small purple-clay teapot, as if he was on his way to fetch mountain spring water to brew tea.

Seeing the scene before him, the old man blinked his murky eyes.

First, he looked at Jiang Linfeng, who was the only one still standing in the clearing, and the ridiculously massive stack of firewood on his back.

Then, he looked at Lackey A, who was lying on the ground unconscious of whether he was dead or alive, and Lackey B, who was clutching his eyes, screaming, and rolling around. Finally, he glanced at Young Master Qian, Qian Wanguan, whose face was uglier than the mud on the ground as he trembled like a sieve from fear.

The old man's eyebrows immediately knitted together, forming two deep vertical lines filled with impatience: "Such a racket! What kind of behavior is this? Since when did the woods of the Qingyun Sect become a shady arena for you little runts to gamble your lives in a duel?! You even pulled out a Magical Artifact like a whip?"

His hoarse voice carried an inexplicable penetrating power, causing even the screaming Lackey B to instinctively shrink his neck.

"It was this Menial Worker..." As if grasping at a straw, Qian Wanguan instinctively wanted to shift the blame.

He certainly recognized this old man! He was a weird old man surnamed Zhong who was specially responsible for managing the Sect's Medicine Garden and occasionally helping out in the Pill Room. His strength was unclear, but his seniority was shockingly high; even his grandfather, Elder Qian, had to treat him with a few points of courtesy.

"Shut up!" Old Man Zhong couldn't even be bothered to lift his eyelids as he impatiently interrupted him and picked his ear with his pinky. "This old man's eyes aren't blind yet! The one who wanted firewood is Old Man Situ! You little monkey from Golden Cauldron Peak, bringing two rascally servants to block a firewood-delivering Menial Worker here, shouting about killing and even unleashing a Magical Artifact whip? What? Do you think Old Man Situ drinks too much spiritual tea and it gets in the way of Golden Cauldron Peak making a fortune? Trying to cut off his firewood kindling?"

Qian Wanguan: "..." His fat face instantly turned pale! Cold sweat instantly soaked through his back! If these words reached Elder Situ's ears... even his grandfather wouldn't be able to hold up against it! That old fellow Situ Wufeng was famously foul-tempered and stubborn!

"Zhong... Elder Zhong, calm your anger! It's a misunderstanding! A huge misunderstanding!" Qian Wanguan was so frightened that his tongue was tied. "I... I saw that this Menial Worker was carrying too much firewood by himself and it was too hard... I wanted to help him share some of the burden... As a result... as a result, his own subordinate didn't stand steady... and fell... I'm leaving right now! Leaving right now!" He explained incoherently, wanting to crawl away and slip away in a panic.

"Hmph! Stop right there!" Old Man Zhong gave a cold huff and glanced at the electric python whip on the ground that was still emitting faint electric light. "Drag your scrap metal and these two pieces of trash away! If you dirty the entrance to this old man's Medicine Garden, watch out for Old Man Situ going to your grandfather to settle accounts!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" As if granted a pardon, Qian Wanguan no longer dared to linger and hurriedly called out to the only lackey who was still "conscious".

The two of them practically dragged and hauled the unconscious Lackey A and the whip away, fleeing the woods in extreme disgrace and not even bothering to pick up the overturned jade box on the ground that exuded a faint medicinal fragrance.

In the blink of an eye, at the bustling edge of the woods, only Jiang Linfeng, carrying his mountain of firewood, and Old Man Zhong, holding his purple-clay teapot, remained.

Jiang Linfeng immediately switched to an expression of utmost respect and slightly bowed toward Old Man Zhong: "Many thanks for Elder Zhong's helping hand! This subordinate is terrified..."

Old Man Zhong, however, did not look at him. His murky gaze fell upon the flat, elongated jade box that had tumbled out from his chest when knocked over by Lackey A, which was still faintly exuding medicinal fragrance.

The lid of the jade box had been knocked open, revealing three spiritual plants inside that still carried fresh spiritual soil, their leaves shimmering with a faint glow like fine gold foil!

"Eh? Shattered Gold Grass? The age is barely enough... Just right, this old man has been wanting to stir-fry a plate of clearing-heart mixed three-delicacy dish recently... but was missing a main ingredient..." Old Man Zhong's eyes lit up as if he had discovered some treasure, and he gave a distant hook with his withered fingers!

The jade box on the ground seemed to be pulled by an invisible thread, flying "swish" into his sleeve robe and disappearing from sight.

Only then did he lift his eyelids and slowly begin sizing up Jiang Linfeng in front of him.

His gaze lingered on the mountain of firewood on his back for a few seconds, then paused on his face for a moment. That gaze was calm and waveless, yet it carried an invisible penetrating power that seemed capable of seeing through everything.

"Kid, you've got quite some strength, huh?" Old Man Zhong's voice was hoarse, making it impossible to tell whether he was pleased or angry. "Twenty piculs of green sandalwood, and you tied it up quite securely."

Jiang Linfeng's heart tightened slightly! This old man's perceptiveness... seemed a bit too sharp?

However, his outward expression of panic remained unchanged as he replied even more "terrified and submissive": "Elder Zhong flatters me! This subordinate has no other skills, just... just this clumsy brute strength! I worked just like this back in my hometown..."

"Hmph! Clumsy strength?" Old Man Zhong sneered, a flash of knowing amusement in his small eyes as someone who saw through things without exposing them. He picked up his purple-clay teapot, took a sip, and slowly said: "No matter how great your strength is, you must know how to rein it in and let it out. When you need to be steady, even if the sky falls, you must stand straight. When you need to be slippery... you have to be slippery enough to look the part. Otherwise..."

He meaningfully glanced at the spot where Jiang Linfeng had stepped just a moment ago. "Next time, it won't be as easy as slipping and bumping into a piece of trash. Be careful not to slide and collapse the entire Firewood Courtyard, crushing this clumsy strength of yours flat."

Jiang Linfeng: "..." He felt a fine layer of sweat instantly seep across his back. This old man... his words had hidden meanings!

"Alright! Standing here like a pestle just to listen to this old man chatter?"

Old Man Zhong waved his hand as if shooing away a fly. "Old Man Situ's teapot has probably boiled dry seven or eight times by now! Hurry up and deliver this firewood to the Pine Listening Residence!"

"Yes! This subordinate obeys!" As if granted a pardon, Jiang Linfeng bowed respectfully once more, quickly loaded the mountain of firewood onto his back, and strode like flying along the forest path toward the Pine Listening Residence.

That movement was steady as a rock, without a single trace of slipping! That speed was almost catching up to an ordinary Outer Sect Disciple!

Watching Jiang Linfeng's figure rapidly disappear into the woods, Old Man Zhong leisurely took another sip of the cold water in his teapot.

"Tsk tsk tsk... Source Spirit Body... Or that kind of naturally affinity-enhanced one?"

Gazing in the direction of the Utility Section, he muttered softly. The cloudiness in his eyes had long since vanished, replaced by a clear-sightedness that saw through everything. "Firewood Courtyard... Heh... Old Man Situ's firewood... is getting more and more interesting..."

Right at this moment, as if sensing something, he snapped his head up. His murky gaze instantly turned as sharp as a falcon's, precisely casting itself toward the higher skies—that floating immortal peak permanently wreathed in clouds and mist, looking as though it existed in another dimension!

The direction of the Sea of Clouds Grand Hall, one of the highest peaks.

The Divine Thought of that white-bearded and white-haired old man swept silently across the lower levels of the Sect like an invisible tide.

When it touched the small woods near the Firewood Courtyard of the Utility Section, the Divine Thought paused for a fleeting instant.

On the old man's originally placid face, a rare and extremely subtle trace of astonishment appeared.

His gaze seemed to pierce through space, landing on that figure in the woods carrying a stack of firewood heavy as a mountain, yet running as steadily as a rabbit.

"That force just now... stirring the chaos in the spiritual plants' aura, and the Qi traction causing subtle fluctuations in the spatial force field... could it be this... firewood-carrying Menial Worker?"

The old man frowned slightly, his Divine Thought scanning Jiang Linfeng carefully once more, but he only sensed a faint True Qi fluctuation stabilized at the Quasi-Innate Realm Great Perfection, with no other anomalies.

"The Qi of Source Spirit gestation has already stabilized, and the triggering was indeed in the direction of the Cold Plum Courtyard... And this Menial Worker... just has a slightly greater strength?"

The old man fell silent for a few breaths, ultimately shaking his head, retracting his Divine Thought, and closing his eyes once again.

"...This child's conflict with the spiritual hound actually seems like a pure accident? Forget it, such minor matters are not worth this old man wasting mental energy."

But that trace of perception toward the direction of the Utility Section still left behind a tiny seed.

Jiang Linfeng, who was running wildly towards the Pine Listening Residence with his firewood, was completely oblivious to all of this.

Right now, his mind was entirely filled with that clear call from deep within his Bloodline just now!

He could sense it! That fluctuation was even clearer! It seemed to be cheering for his "safe firewood delivery"!

Cold Plum Courtyard.

Luo Yan, who had just settled into her independent courtyard, was holding a small jade bottle that Jiang Linfeng had secretly slipped to her last night—containing the "Physique Optimization Medicinal Liquid - Companion Edition"—feeling sweet in her heart.

A breeze swept past, bringing the cold fragrance of the cold plums in the courtyard, along with a strange throbbing sensation that made her feel warm all over.

She instinctively stroked her still flat lower abdomen, an unspeakable warm current surging into her heart, and a tender yet sacred smile appeared on her face.

She did not yet know that she was already nurturing a new life, but this connection and joy stemming from life's instinct made her incomparably at ease.

Right at this moment, a cold and pleasant voice rang out outside her courtyard gate:

"Is Junior Sister Luo Yan, the newly admitted disciple, present?"

Standing outside the gate was a tall woman, Senior Sister Yun, wearing the light blue cloud-patterned apparel of an Outer Sect Disciple, with a temperament as cold and frosty as snow.

She looked at Luo Yan, who had just pushed open the door, with a hint of scrutiny in her eyes. But when her gaze touched the trace of extremely pure and restrained medicinal Qi emanating from the exquisite jade bottle in Luo Yan's hand, a trace of imperceptible surprise flashed through her cold eyes.

"Junior Sister must be Luo Yan, right? I am Yun Shuang, in charge of the Cold Plum Courtyard." Yun Shuang's voice remained cold, yet it lacked a bit of alienation. "Your courtyard is not bad; the Spiritual Qi is somewhat richer than elsewhere. Only... your body seems to have some abnormal Qi fluctuations. If you feel any discomfort, you can inform me at any time."

Her gaze finally landed on Luo Yan's lower abdomen, her dark eyebrows furrowing slightly in an imperceptible manner, though she didn't say much more.

Amidst the lingering fragrance of the cold plums, the buds of new life quietly sprouted. In the Menial Workers' courtyard, the weird old man's whispers dissipated in the wind.

And at the peak of the clouds and mist, that sweeping Divine Thought returned to silence. Jiang Linfeng's "stable" child-rearing master plan finally seemed to have taken a solid first step?

Yet, deep within that highest palace, beneath the old man's lowered eyelids, a trace of doubt had not completely dissipated...