"That's a dangerous look you've got there, young man!"
Seeing Chen Che's eyes narrow, Master Wu chuckled and took a square box from his toolbox. He opened it right in front of him, revealing a Bronze Disc that resembled an Eight Trigrams Mirror, and placed it on the table.
"What I meant was, you can't break the Array bare-handed. You need a professional tool for the job. And this tool costs four hundred!"
Chen Che took it in his hand.
It was cool to the touch, and he could distinctly feel it was teeming with the Water Element. "What is this?"
"This is a single-use Explosive Array Disc. Use it, and it will instantly overload the Array's True Essence, forcing it to shut down. It's a brute-force method for breaking Arrays." As he spoke, Master Wu pulled out a sheet of paper from under the box.
"These are the instructions. Now, let me show you how to use it."
「Half an hour later.」
After questioning him on every detail of the process to make sure nothing was missed, Chen Che finally nodded.
"I understand."
"Let's add each other as friends. If you run into any trouble while breaking the Array, just give me a call."
They added each other as friends.
Just as he was about to leave, Chen Che suddenly realized something.
'Once I destroy the Array, the whole Cave Mansion will be completely defenseless.'
'And Yunzhou is a lawless place. What if another Cultivator finds it and takes it by force? What do I do if I can't beat them?'
So, he stopped and asked how to repair the Array.
But Master Wu told him straight up there was no point in repairing it. It was like a lock with a lost key; you either get a new key made or you replace the lock entirely. Chen Che thought about it. 'That makes sense.' So, he offered to buy a new Array Lock.
"So, a lock that can withstand attacks from a Foundation Establishment Cultivator and also needs to have a built-in Illusion Array that mimics the surroundings."
"Those are some high standards. The average person has no use for such a high-end Array Lock…"
Master Wu clicked his tongue.
"If you don't have one, forget it…"
Chen Che prepared to leave.
"Eight thousand!"
Master Wu shouted from behind him, pulling an exquisitely packaged box from under the counter.
"As it happens, I have an Array Lock right here from a well-known major company. Once you install it, you can come and go as you please just by holding this Jade Token. Even a professional like me would need more than an hour to get past this lock!"
"It comes with a set of three Jade Token keys. And even if you lose all of them, you can get a replacement made here as long as you have the Talisman Code from the box."
"Only eight thousand!"
Chen Che: "…"
…
'The buyer is never as cunning as the seller.'
Chen Che sighed to himself as he walked out of the lock shop.
'I haven't even stepped through the door yet, and I've already spent half the money I made from selling that Spiritual Sand.'
'Still, a place chosen by a Foundation Establishment Cultivator for their Cave Mansion must have Spiritual Qi even richer than the back hills. If I can cultivate there in the future, it'll be worth it!'
'Of course, if I find a treasure or two left behind by the Foundation Establishment Cultivator... even just half a Spirit Stone would make this a huge win.'
'I can't just go in there recklessly, though.'
To be on the safe side, Chen Che went to a mall and was drawn to a Talisman specialty shop celebrating its centennial anniversary.
On the shop assistant's recommendation, Chen Che ended up buying a Tier One High Grade 'Earth Armor Talisman,' renowned for its Defense Power. Once activated, this Talisman could block a three-minute assault from a Cultivator of the same tier.
It cost eighteen thousand.
And that was with an 80% discount.
He would have preferred a Tier Two Defense Talisman, but sadly, he was short on cash.
'Now I'm really going broke. It's true, poor bastards have no business with Cultivation!'
He muttered to himself as he walked out of the Talisman shop.
Suddenly, Chen Che froze. He had just spotted his class president, Huang Zhongfei.
Huang Zhongfei was dressed in a trendy T-shirt and shorts, with a pair of aviator sunglasses perched on his face. The Demon-Slaying Sword on his back gleamed incessantly, as if he were terrified someone might not notice he owned a Flying Sword.
In the middle of the crowded pedestrian street, his getup was incredibly eye-catching.
Chen Che had no desire to greet this show-off and was about to turn and walk away. But to his surprise, the guy had already spotted him and hurried over, whispering:
"Dad, help me out!"
"Can't. I'm busy this afternoon…" Chen Che refused flatly.
"Ying Lake Lodge!"
Huang Zhongfei said immediately.
Chen Che immediately stopped in his tracks. "Let's go. We'll lose our spot if we're late."
'The reason I agreed has nothing to do with it being a high-end establishment where the average bill is 1,800 per person. Nor is it because I've never been there before. And it's definitely not because it happens to be lunchtime. It's purely because classmates ought to help one another.'
On the way, Huang Zhongfei explained.
It turned out that after relentlessly pestering her, he'd finally scored a date with a girl from Class Four. He planned to confess his feelings today but was scared it wouldn't go well, so he wanted to bring a wingman.
"So my son is already moving on to Class Four?" Chen Che chuckled.
Huang Zhongfei was a hopeless romantic.
He'd confessed his feelings to Ye Youwei on the very first day of school and was, unsurprisingly, rejected.
Over the next half-semester, he confessed to every pretty girl in their class. When no one accepted, he set his sights on Class Two…
When that didn't work, he launched an offensive on the girls of Class Three. His main strategy was to cast a wide net.
"When we get there, just help me set the mood."
"Easy enough!"
You had to admit, the ambiance at Ying Lake Lodge was truly excellent.
Tucked between towering skyscrapers, it had a certain classical charm. There were even cute girls in historical costumes playing the ancient zither, making many first-time guests feel as if they'd been transported back in time.
After seeing the menu, Chen Che suddenly felt like Li Xiaoshuang must have taught his biology class, because not only could he not name most of the exotic delicacies, he hadn't even seen many of them before.
"She's here!"
Just then, Huang Zhongfei said quickly.
Chen Che looked up to see a somewhat familiar-looking girl being led in by a server. Her looks were average, but she was impressively well-endowed. She also seemed a bit taken aback when she saw Chen Che.
Obviously, she hadn't expected anyone else to be there.
Huang Zhongfei played the perfect gentleman, even pulling out her chair, before launching into some awkward small talk. "Was traffic bad today?" "The weather's a little muggy, isn't it…"
But she remained silent, making the atmosphere a little awkward.
"Ahem…"
Huang Zhongfei secretly kicked Chen Che under the table, signaling him not to forget his role as the wingman.
"GULP."
Chen Che took a sip of his juice before speaking. "By the way, Class President, the combat practicals are coming up. How confident are you feeling?"
"First in the whole class!"
"I hope you'll go easy on me then, Class President!"
Noticing the girl glancing his way, Huang Zhongfei was instantly elated, feeling a little full of himself.
While waiting for the food, Chen Che continued to help him brag for a bit. Then, he suddenly felt Huang Zhongfei secretly step on his foot under the table.
This was their secret signal. It meant the mood was set, and it was time for him to leave.
'I haven't even eaten yet, and you're already trying to kick me out?'
Chen Che glanced at the Demon-Slaying Sword on Huang Zhongfei's back and suddenly had an idea. "Class President, that's a pretty sweet sword you've got!"
Huang Zhongfei said, brimming with confidence, "This is the new 'Demon Suppressing Sword Plus 13.0' that just came out this year. You can't even buy it in the Six Continents. My dad had to get it for me from the provincial capital. There are fewer than ten people in all of the Six Continents who have this sword."
"Class President, can I borrow your Demon-Slaying Sword for a week?" Chen Che asked bluntly.
Huang Zhongfei hesitated, but with the girl watching, he couldn't afford to lose face. He nodded. "…Fine!"
"Thanks, Class President."
Chen Che was overjoyed and quickly took the Demon-Slaying Sword.
'I've been eyeing this sword for a long time.'
'With this sword, my trip to the Cave Mansion will be that much safer.'
After running off to the bathroom to study the Demon-Slaying Sword for a bit, Chen Che figured it was time to go. He was about to head back to say goodbye to the pair.
Just then, he heard Song Xiaoli suddenly speak up. "Huang Zhongfei, I'm sorry… I came today to tell you that I don't plan on dating before I get into college. Please stop harassing me."
With that, she walked out of Ying Lake Lodge, leaving Huang Zhongfei frozen in his seat, stunned.
Seeing this, Chen Che walked over and patted his shoulder. "Um…"
Huang Zhongfei waved his hand. "Don't comfort me. I'm fine. Every man has his low points. I won't lose heart over a single rejection."
"That's not it!"
Chen Che pointed at the untouched food on the table.
"What I mean is, they already brought out my order. It'd be a waste to leave it, so let me just get it packed to go."
…