The Lay Flat Life: My Wife's Cultivation Makes Me Stronger - Chapter 7

Hearing Han Feng’s words, the little fox nestled in his arms grew even more suspicious.

“What do you mean by ‘we’re best friends’? We only met last night, and it hasn’t even been twelve hours yet. How can we be best friends already? Why are you saying such sweet words? Are you trying to trick me so you can sell me off?”

“You clever little thing. You must be pretty young to be so sharp. I was just saying something casually. Don’t overthink it. You haven’t sensed any bad intentions from me, have you?”

“Hmph, I’m the smartest fox around! Do you think I’d have survived this long under the pursuit of humans if I weren’t?”

“Humans have tons of powerful cultivators. You don’t even have any cultivation. How have you managed to survive?”

“I’m not telling you.”

The little fox looked around cautiously, its large eyes darting back and forth, wary of its surroundings.

Before long, Han Feng arrived at the top of Luoxia Peak, still carrying the little fox.

He had several things to take care of on this trip.

First, he needed to visit the Records Hall, where all the disciples of Luoxia Peak were registered and their information managed.

If a servant disciple wanted to be promoted to an outer disciple, they had to go through an assessment and register here.

When Han Feng entered the Records Hall, he saw a few young outer disciples behind the counter, busy writing. He approached one of them and asked:

“Senior Brother, greetings. May I ask where I can register for the assessment to become an outer disciple?”

The disciple, without looking up from his work, pointed to a sign at the entrance.

Han Feng turned to look and saw the sign read:

“On the first day of each month, all disciples who have broken through to the fifth layer of Qi Refining may come for a unified assessment and register to become outer disciples.”

Han Feng sighed, a bit exasperated. He’d laid flat for so long that he hadn’t even been aware of this. And Wang Mian hadn’t mentioned it either.

Since he couldn’t get promoted right now, there was no point in sticking around.

Just as he was about to leave, the disciple finally looked up and said:

“Wait a second. You seem kind of familiar. Where have I seen you before?”

Han Feng turned and asked, “You know me?”

“Oh, I just remembered! Aren’t you that lucky servant disciple who became Dao partners with Senior Sister Jiang yesterday? What was your name again? I forgot.

Right, you’ve been cultivating for a few years but are still useless, right? So why are you here for an assessment? Did you break through to the fifth layer overnight?”

Hearing this, Han Feng chuckled and replied, “Of course not. I’m no immortal. It’s just that a fellow servant disciple of mine is about to break through and is in seclusion right now. He asked me to come and inquire about the assessment date.”

Since he couldn’t take the assessment yet, it was better to keep his recent cultivation gains under wraps. No need to spread the news unnecessarily.

“First of the month. When your friend breaks through, just have him come then.”

“Thank you, Senior Brother.”

Han Feng was about to leave when he suddenly turned back and asked, “Oh, Senior Brother, do you know where Senior Sister Jiang lives?”

“You mean Senior Sister Jiang Surou? What do you need her for?”

Then the disciple burst into laughter and slapped his forehead. “Oh, right! I keep forgetting you’re her Dao partner now. Head out the door and turn left. Walk two miles downhill to the outer disciple residential area. At the highest point, there’s a two-story white pavilion—that’s where she lives.”

“Thanks, Senior Brother.”

Han Feng cupped his hands in thanks and turned to leave.

His original plan was to register as an outer disciple. There were more people in that area, and being closer to the Enforcement Hall would provide some added safety.

But now, it looked like he’d have to wait more than half a month before he could do that. During that time, Ye Longyuan would likely send more people to harass him.

Living alone in the servant disciples’ quarters wasn’t safe. If someone snuck in while he was asleep, he wouldn’t even know he was dead. He needed to strengthen the defenses around his herb garden.

The best way to do that was to buy a formation—one that could block intruders and provide some protection.

But formations were expensive. Han Feng had seen them in the marketplace before. Even the most basic Spirit Gathering Formation, which had no defensive or offensive capabilities, cost at least a hundred spirit stones.

And the kind of formation he needed would probably cost a thousand spirit stones or more.

Right now, his most valuable possession was the mutated Three-Needle Flower. A three-year-old herb could sell for two spirit stones. A thirty-year-old one, like his, would fetch at least three hundred spirit stones.

The older the herb, the better its medicinal properties, and the more valuable it became—its price increased exponentially with age.

But even three hundred spirit stones wouldn’t be enough for his needs. To get more, he’d have to maximize his benefits.

He would give the Three-Needle Flower to Jiang Surou, and with the Marriage Blessing, he would get a Three-Needle Flower with three hundred years of medicinal age in return.

Such a flower would sell for at least three to five thousand spirit stones at auction.

Many high-grade elixirs required herbs with at least a hundred years of medicinal age.

Once he sold the herb, he could buy a formation and live peacefully, lying flat at home.

So, finding Jiang Surou was his best bet.

Han Feng made his way down the mountain, arriving at a sunlit slope partway down. There, he saw a large residential area, with a white two-story pavilion standing atop a boulder at the highest point.

But standing in front of the pavilion was someone Han Feng least wanted to see.

Ye Longyuan!

Ye Longyuan stood at the entrance to the courtyard, talking with a maid stationed there.

“Master Ye, it’s not that I’m trying to keep you out. Miss Jiang has been in seclusion since last night. She said she’s not seeing anyone until she breaks through. She plans to push herself all the way through in one go. Please understand.”

The handsome Ye Longyuan frowned slightly, clearly frustrated at not being able to see the woman he admired.

“No problem. I’ll just wait here, then. I doubt it will take long for her to break through the seventh layer of Qi Refining.”

“Thank you for your understanding, Master Ye.”

Ye Longyuan nodded, turning to take in the view of the mountain. But as he glanced around, he spotted someone he absolutely despised.

Jiang Surou had gone straight into seclusion after returning yesterday, so he hadn’t seen her. Today, he had come to ask her why she had chosen someone like that useless servant disciple over him.

And now, as fate would have it, here stood his hated rival.

“You’re still alive?”

Ye Longyuan squinted his eyes and asked coldly.

Han Feng sighed. Ye Longyuan was all looks and no brains.

If Boss Ma hadn’t told him, Han Feng wouldn’t have known that Ye Longyuan had tried to kill him. But now, Ye Longyuan was practically admitting it himself.

Still, Han Feng couldn’t directly confront him about it. He couldn’t admit to knowing about the assassination attempt, because that would imply he had killed Boss Ma.

“Why wouldn’t I be alive, Senior Brother Ye? I’m doing well—eating, sleeping, living life. Why wouldn’t I still be alive?”