Chapter 44: The Scoundrel

Once again, Chen Yuyi felt a gentle elasticity and an intoxicating fragrance that swept him away, causing him to lose himself for a moment. In her daze, Shen Zhujun felt enveloped by a powerful aura, as if she were a lone boat drifting for ages, finally finding a tranquil harbor; her body and mind relaxed immensely.

Unconsciously, she lifted her gaze, and Chen Yuyi’s face, slightly tinged with the pleasure of the moment, appeared before her. Her hand rested upon his warm, solid chest, but beneath her something seemed to press against her. She instinctively glanced downward.

“Ah!”

A piercing scream tore through the air. She felt as though countless sharp needles had stabbed her, and she pushed Chen Yuyi away, her body springing back with agile speed. She turned around immediately, her heart ablaze with embarrassment.

Chen Yuyi sighed and climbed up from the bed, “My dear wife, this isn’t my fault!”

“Who’s your wife? Put your clothes on first!” Shen Zhujun snapped, her back to him.

Chen Yuyi could only acquiesce, dressing himself with resignation. He couldn’t understand how, despite locking the door, this delicate woman had managed to barge in. After he finished dressing, he glanced at the door and was stunned—the lock had been forcibly cracked open. For a normal person, that would require tremendous strength.

He looked at Shen Zhujun, who clearly possessed a frail, slender body—how could she possibly have such power? But now wasn’t the time to ponder those questions; he braced himself for the coming storm.

After some time, Shen Zhujun assumed that Chen Yuyi was dressed and turned around, her lovely face frosted with anger.

“Why did I tell you not to open the door?”

“I was changing clothes. Didn’t you see I wasn’t wearing anything?” Chen Yuyi argued.

Shen Zhujun blushed again, “Does changing take that long? Do you even want to stay here anymore?”

“This is my home, of course I do!” Chen Yuyi replied shamelessly.

“Then throw out all those things for me!” Shen Zhujun pointed furiously to the side, but suddenly her expression froze.

The trash bags she’d glimpsed earlier were gone. How could they have disappeared so suddenly?

Chen Yuyi was equally baffled. Those medicinal herbs—how could they vanish without a trace?

Shen Zhujun turned and cast a strange look at Chen Yuyi. “What happened? Where did those things go?”

Chen Yuyi rubbed his nose, “Maybe your period’s coming and you’re hallucinating. I didn’t bring anything in.”

“Chen Yuyi!” Shen Zhujun suddenly shouted.

Chen Yuyi was startled—he had never seen her in such a state.

“I don’t care how many secrets you keep from me. But in this house, you must respect me. Don’t treat me like an idiot!” Shen Zhujun’s chest heaved violently.

Chen Yuyi unconsciously breathed in rhythm with her, appearing indifferent to her words.

Shen Zhujun’s face went pale with anger. She shot him a fierce glare and declared in an irrefutable tone, “Come with me—I have something to say to you!”

She had nowhere left to vent her fury and kicked the door.

Bang!

The door collapsed.

Shen Zhujun froze, her lips twitching slightly.

“This is unbelievable—even the door is against me now!” she muttered, walking away.

Chen Yuyi’s mouth hung open. Perhaps the door had grown brittle from his frequent exertions, and that’s why it fell so easily. Closing his mouth, he ignored the door and instead wondered why Shen Zhujun seemed changed—she’d always been indifferent, but now she seemed to target him directly.

In the living room, Shen Zhujun sat with her slender legs crossed, hands resting gracefully on her knees, exuding an air of elegance and nobility.

Chen Yuyi snickered to himself; it was clearly a ploy to conceal her earlier violent outburst.

“Today, you met my mother and sister. That’s just the beginning—you need to prepare yourself. The members of the Shen family are not easy to deal with!” Shen Zhujun, not wasting words, got straight to the point.

“Understood. I’ll play my part when the time comes,” Chen Yuyi replied calmly.

Shen Zhujun glanced at him, “Aren’t you interested in knowing more about them so you can be prepared?”

“What’s there to ask? It’ll be the usual cold words and disdainful looks. I already got a taste.”

Shen Zhujun was silent for a moment, “It seems your tolerance far exceeds my expectations. Good, that saves me some worry.”

Then she asked, “How’s the birthday gift I asked you to prepare?”

“That... it’s almost ready.”

Shen Zhujun’s gaze shifted, “Don’t you have anything else to say to me?”

“Yes, I haven’t picked out the gift yet, but I promise I’ll settle it in the next few days,” Chen Yuyi shifted the topic.

Shen Zhujun’s eyes grew cold, “Fine. Since you have nothing more to say, neither do I.”

She stood, preparing to return to her room. As she lifted her foot, she hesitated, turned back, and said, “You’d better pick out two sets of clothes tomorrow. The day after tomorrow is the weekend—we’ll have dinner with my family. I’ll introduce you to them first.”

She explained, “Don’t misunderstand. I’m doing this so you can adapt ahead of time, so you won’t be confused about who’s who at my grandmother’s birthday banquet.”

With that, she went back to her room.

Chen Yuyi raised an eyebrow. A family dinner—he was about to endure another storm.

No matter, tomorrow’s worries can wait for tomorrow. For now, he needed to figure out how those medicinal herbs vanished.

Returning to his room, he looked at the collapsed door, feeling helpless. He propped it up and secured it as best he could.

“Dragon King, did you hide those herbs?”

A sinister laugh echoed. The Dragon King finally appeared, circling in the air, then presenting a pile of pills before Chen Yuyi.

There were dozens of pills, more varieties than last time. Most of them were the Biluo Pills he had previously taken.

“Dragon King, you’ve already refined all those herbs into pills so quickly? Which ones are the Baiyang Pills you mentioned?”

“There are no Baiyang Pills left!” The Dragon King exhaled a cloud of white vapor, looking more powerful than before.

“What? Didn’t you say you could make Baiyang Pills?” Chen Yuyi asked, puzzled.

“Yes, I did make them. I never said I didn’t,” the Dragon King replied slyly.

“So where are the Baiyang Pills?”

“I ate them!”

Chen Yuyi nearly coughed up blood. “You ate them?”

“Of course! What did you expect?” The Dragon King sounded lively and energetic.

Chen Yuyi’s lips twitched, “Didn’t you say you were refining them for me?”

“I was refining them for you!”

“Then why did you eat them yourself?” Chen Yuyi was about to explode.

“If I don’t eat them, how can I recover my strength? Without strength, how can I help you improve your cultivation? Refining them for you means helping you, doesn’t it? You think making these pills is effortless? Besides, you might not even be able to absorb the Baiyang Pills right now. If you accidentally took one and your body exploded, I’d vanish along with you. That’s not worth the risk, so it’s best I eat them first!”

“You swindler!” Chen Yuyi was speechless.

“Don’t be upset. I left you plenty of Biluo Pills, didn’t I? They’re enough to help you break through your current level. And you made a deal with An Susu, right? When you turn the Medicine King Sect upside down, I’ll make tons of Baiyang Pills for you!” The Dragon King cackled.

“These Biluo Pills are really enough to help me break through?” Chen Yuyi thought it best not to demand the Dragon King spit out the Baiyang Pills; besides, its reasoning made some sense.

“Of course. Biluo Pills are second only to Baiyang Pills. If you take them consecutively, you could break through in no time. Most importantly, you can fully absorb them—no risk at all!”

Chen Yuyi’s lips twitched again, feeling as though the Dragon King was advertising leftovers, making them sound so appealing.

“So, apart from the Biluo Pills, the rest are just dregs. By the way, how’s your recovery after eating those Baiyang Pills?”

“Now my strength has recovered a bit. I can use the storage space of the Dragon Subduing Map!” The Dragon King said smugly.

“What does that mean?”

“You’re slow. Storage space means I can store things, obviously!” The Dragon King scoffed.

“Anything can be stored?” Chen Yuyi couldn’t help but ask.

“Of course! The Dragon Subduing Map is a world unto itself. What can’t be stored? My power is still weak for now, so I can only store small items. Once I get enough Baiyang Pills and my strength grows, you’ll see how miraculous this map can be…”