Qin Ran executed a technique that opened a passageway in the direction the sound of Chasing the Wind was coming from. The fog parted from the inside out, and he casually asked, "Back so early today?"
Generally speaking, this silly tiger wouldn't come back unless he played until he was hungry.
"Roar..." Chasing the Wind responded from the other end.
As the fog parted, Chasing the Wind's figure was revealed. Qin Ran looked over and only then noticed that on his back, there was also a young girl in a plain colored dress sitting.
"Good for you, Chasing the Wind!" He hadn't even managed to speak before Li Shiyin, who had followed him over, spoke first, pointing at Chasing the Wind and scolding, "Learning nothing good every day, now you've learned to openly abduct young ladies?"
Qin Ran glanced at her and reminded, "Did you notice that girl looks familiar?"
"An acquaintance that was kidnapped?!" Li Shiyin was even more angry.
Qin Ran could only helplessly say, "That's Tian Wenjin!"
"Ah?" Li Shiyin was stunned, only then realizing it as she looked closely at the young girl on Chasing the Wind's back, "Wenjin?"
"What's happened to Wenjin?" Chasing the Wind lightly trotted over and asked, "What have you done to Wenjin?"
"Nothing..." Chasing the Wind responded robustly, "She's just like this."
(I haven't done anything to her, she's originally like this.)
"She'd turn out this way without you doing anything to her?" Li Shiyin reprimanded like a mother.
She helped Tian Wenjin down from Chasing the Wind's back, then was shocked to discover that Tian Wenjin was still conscious. Although Tian Wenjin had the look of utter despair, she was uninjured and indeed did not seem to be asleep or unconscious at all.
"I didn't do anything to her!" Chasing the Wind anxiously explained.
(I didn't do anything to her!)
"Alright alright, you didn't, I know..." Qin Ran hurriedly went over to pat his cat head and comforted, "This foolish child, though he's learned to speak, on one hand he's young, on the other he's a different race, his mouth structure is different, so when he speaks it's always muddled and he can't express himself clearly."
Only Qin Ran could fully understand his words for seamless communication.
After calming down the wronged big kitty, Qin Ran looked towards Tian Wenjin. Seeing her condition, he could roughly guess what had happened.
As he looked at her, he couldn't help sighing.
"Help her inside to sit," he said to Li Shiyin.
So Li Shiyin brought Tian Wenjin into the wooden house. She looked to Qin Ran and seeing his expression, asked, "Master, do you know what's happened to her?"
"If I haven't guessed wrong, Huang Feiyu should be on the road to Lingnan Immortal Sect by now," Qin Ran said.
"Ah?" Li Shiyin was stunned, then quickly understood many things. She couldn't help but curse, "How could he do this?!"
Back then, Huang Feiyu was gravely injured and on the verge of death, with no one to care for him. It was Tian Wenjin who never left his side, supporting him as they traveled everywhere seeking medical aid.
When Qin Ran said they needed a Mad Flame Crystal and demon core from a Lionheart Raging Flame Beast to save Huang Feiyu, it was Tian Wenjin who bought them for him. For this, she had sold her treasured sword and owed Qin Ran a massive sum that she still hadn't paid back.
Qin Ran's Immortal Spirit Scroll, Huang Feiyu knew Qin Ran wouldn't use it, so he had pleaded for a long time until Qin Ran finally gave it to Tian Wenjin. He had also obtained the scroll from Tian Wenjin.
She owed the girl such deep gratitude and affection, yet he heartlessly and ungratefully abandoned her without hesitation.
Li Shiyin couldn't comprehend this.
Yet Qin Ran saw it very clearly. He sighed, this was just how it is, this was the cultivation world.
Someone like Tian Wenjin who valued camaraderie and righteousness was the incomprehensible one. In fact, Huang Feiyu hadn't even been ruthless enough... At least he didn't deceive Tian Wenjin again before leaving, nor did he take her life.
"Cultivation is like this," Qin Ran said.
After helping Tian Wenjin sit on the long wooden chair in the living room (the sofa in front of the living room had been shredded by Chasing the Wind and Qin Ran still hadn't bought a new replacement), Li Shiyin went to pour a cup of water.
But Tian Wenjin didn't take the cup. She was wooden, as if her soul had left her and she had become a living corpse. Li Shiyin placed the water on the coffee table. Looking at the girl wounded by love, she thought for a long time but could only come up with words like "Someone like him isn't worth it."
Li Shiyin really wasn't good at comforting others, so she just silently sat by her side.
If even Li Shiyin didn't understand, then Chasing the Wind who had a species gap understood even less about the tragedy of a young girl's first love being deceived out of money and affection before being abandoned.
He squatted boredly by the side of the wooden chair, looking around. After a while, he looked back to the chair. Looking at the chair, he felt itchy in his paws and extended his claws to scratch at the chair, thinking about how to scratch it more smoothly...
And then Qin Ran kicked him.
He had tough skin and thick flesh, truly tough skin and thick flesh that feared neither blades nor fire. Qin Ran's kick was about the same as tickling him, he didn't feel pain. On the contrary, he moved closer to Qin Ran and softly said, "Dad, let's go out and play."
Good heavens, he had just gotten back and now wanted to go out again already? He couldn't even stay in this house for one second?!
Qin Ran was annoyed and kicked him again, saying, "You're not allowed to go out today!"
Chasing the Wind then went over to nuzzle Qin Ran's leg and bite his pants.
...He was throwing a tantrum. After all, he was just a baby that weighed several hundred pounds.
Not until Qin Ran glared at him did he settle down. Kicking and hitting didn't make him feel pain. Only scolding and glaring could make him understand the gravity of the situation.
Since he wasn't allowed to go out and play, Chasing the Wind felt sleepy. Not wanting to take even half a step, he lay down beside the chair in the living room and fell asleep.
And just like that, the big cat's ability to fall asleep as soon as he wanted to activated. Soon, snores sounded out in the living room.
On one side, Li Shiyin was half-heartedly comforting the heartbroken Tian Wenjin. On the other, a blob of white tiger was sprawled on the ground snoring... The atmosphere in the same living room was rather inconsistent.
The annoyed Li Shiyin went over and kicked Chasing the Wind awake, shouting, "Get out!"
"Huh?" Chasing the Wind dazedly woke up, then obediently left the living room under Li Shiyin's glare.
Seeing this, Qin Ran who had wanted to sneak away long ago timely followed Chasing the Wind out.
Like Chasing the Wind, Qin Ran's temperament didn't quite match this place either. Firstly, he was a man of few words. Secondly, he was their senior. He had wanted to leave long ago, but it would have been awkward for him to say it.
"Master..." Li Shiyin still tried to get Qin Ran to stay. She had only told Chasing the Wind to leave, not her master! But Qin Ran pretended not to hear and rushed out the door even faster.
"Dad, you got kicked out too?"
Chasing the Wind was very surprised and asked Qin Ran.
"Don't speak if you've got nothing to say!" Qin Ran glared at him.
Chasing the Wind felt very wronged. He had only been concerned for dad, so why was he also scolded? The cat didn't understand. He could only run to his cat tree, climbing to the very top to find the comfiest spot to sleep.
After looking at Chasing the Wind, Qin Ran dove into the storage room to look for materials to make a communication artifact.
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
