Chà Chà Novel

“Master! There’s something I don’t understand. Please enlighten me.”

Every evening these past few days, Qin Du had knelt outside his hall, asking to see him.

Lin Huaiqing had turned him away each time. This was already the third day. If he continued refusing to see him, Qin Du would surely begin to overthink things.

Very well. After three days of rest, that unfamiliar discomfort had gradually faded from his mind.

The storm would come sooner or later. He could only hope Qin Du would not blame him.

“Come in…”

“Thank you, Master!”

“Close the door.”

Whatever they needed to discuss, no third person could be allowed to overhear it—not even Mu Yunting.

Although Qin Du did not understand, he obediently shut both the door and the windows.

“Sit down, and we’ll talk…”

Reclining on the cushioned couch, Lin Huaiqing gestured toward a nearby chair.

“I think I’d better… kneel…”

With that, Qin Du sank to his knees before him.

Startled, Lin Huaiqing immediately sat upright.

“What are you doing? Get up!”

Hadn’t Qin Du come to demand an explanation? Why did it suddenly seem to be the other way around?

“Master, please accept my gratitude for saving my life. I’m willing to serve you for the rest of my days, doing whatever you ask and remaining by your side!”

“?!?!”

Seeing his master’s bewilderment, Qin Du hurried to explain.

“When I suffered qi deviation that day, I would surely have exploded if you hadn’t saved me in time!”

That was true enough, but… wasn’t he forgetting a rather important detail?

“Xiao Du, what do you remember after your qi deviation began that day?”

“I only remember you arriving in time, Master. After that, I knew nothing. You must have been the one who saved me.”

At those words, all the awkwardness Lin Huaiqing had endured over the past few days suddenly felt like a joke.

Qin Du remembered nothing of what had happened afterward.

And here he had been, shutting himself away to avoid him. The other man had no idea at all.

Instantly relieved, Lin Huaiqing waved a hand lightly.

“Yes… it was a small matter. Hardly worth mentioning.”

Seeing him smile, Qin Du relaxed as well, though he still had another question.

“There’s one more thing I’m curious about. How did you manage to relieve my qi deviation so quickly, Master?”

“Well…”

Lin Huaiqing was momentarily lost for words.

“You don’t need to know that. In any case, it wasn’t difficult…”

Since Qin Du had forgotten, it would be best if he never remembered. Lin Huaiqing would simply treat that night as a dream and never speak of it again.

That would be the best outcome for them both.

Suddenly, something occurred to him.

“By the way, Xiao Du, what cultivation technique were you practicing that day? Why did you suddenly suffer qi deviation?”

Now it was Qin Du’s turn to grow nervous.

“I… my mind was unsettled while I was cultivating, and that’s why… I’m sorry to have troubled you, Master.”

“Is that so…”

Lin Huaiqing’s voice was quiet. In truth, he had already begun to suspect that Qin Du was practicing demonic cultivation.

But without evidence, he could not simply accuse the young villain.

If he angered him and drove him completely over to the dark side, wouldn’t all his efforts have been for nothing?

Although Lin Huaiqing said nothing outwardly, he quietly resolved to keep a closer watch.

For several days afterward, Qin Du once again remained shut away in secluded cultivation.

This time, Lin Huaiqing attached a tiny strand of his spiritual consciousness to a bee.

That way, even with his body remaining in the main hall, he could observe what was happening in Qin Du’s side hall.

After stubbornly squeezing through a gap in the window, Lin Huaiqing brushed down his fuzzy body and quietly flew into the inner room.

Qin Du was sitting upright on a meditation cushion. An open book lay on the floor before him, and he was practicing the cultivation method recorded in it.

The plump little bee fluttered over to the book and carefully read its contents with its round bee eyes.

It described how to convert demonic energy into spiritual energy and back again, thereby increasing one’s cultivation.

Was this what Qin Du had been practicing all along?!

Wasn’t this outright heresy?

Just one wall away, Lin Huaiqing was furious.

He had worked so hard to guide Qin Du toward the righteous path. Why had Qin Du insisted on taking this road anyway?

Cultivating the righteous path was indeed difficult for demons. But channeling one’s demonic energy and converting it into spiritual energy could hardly be considered orthodox.

Was that why Qin Du had been able to knock the Baqi Sect elder down a stage with one palm strike? Had converting his demonic energy into spiritual energy given him such power?

This Treatise on Immortals and Demons certainly did not belong to the Xuantian Sect’s Scripture Pavilion. Where had Qin Du gotten it?

So many questions crowded Lin Huaiqing’s mind that he failed to notice Qin Du suddenly opening his eyes.

“A bee? At this time of year?”

Seeing the plump little insect crawling on his book, Qin Du had a mischievous idea.

While the bee sat motionless between the pages, he quietly reached over and snapped the book shut.

The bee Lin Huaiqing had possessed instantly became a “bee pancake.” His strand of consciousness was squeezed out of its body and returned to his own.

It sustained a slight injury, but since it was only a tiny strand, the damage was negligible. At most, he would have a headache for a few days.

Still, this only confirmed that Qin Du had slipped beyond his control and was heading down the demonic path without looking back.

He had questioned Qin Du several times, and Qin Du had denied practicing demonic cultivation every single time. Was it because he did not trust him?

Outside the window, a crimson pillar of light shot into the sky.

It rose from the roof of the side hall.

Qin Du had broken through.

Mu Yunting noticed it too. He had not expected Qin Du to reach Golden Core so quickly.

All three stepped out of their rooms.

Qin Du called out in delight, “Master! Master! I’ve finally broken through! I’ve reached Golden Core!”

Had Lin Huaiqing not known the truth, he would certainly have been happy for him.

But after discovering that Qin Du had secretly been practicing demonic cultivation, he could not bring himself to feel pleased. He could not even pretend to look delighted.

He merely replied with a distant, “Mm.”

He had a temper too.

Clearly dissatisfied with that response, Qin Du tried to coax him in a softer voice.

“Master, won’t you praise me a little more?”

“Keep working hard.”

Lin Huaiqing left him with those cold words and turned back into his room.

“Master!”

Qin Du tried to follow, but Mu Yunting, who had been watching the entire exchange, stepped into his path.

“What do you want? A fight?”

“I’m merely offering some advice. It seems Master has grown tired of you. Leaving with some dignity might be a relief for everyone.”

“Leave?! You’re the one who should leave! The moment you came back, Master started treating me differently! Have you been whispering things about me behind my back?”

Why had Lin Huaiqing been so happy to hear of Mu Yunting’s breakthrough, yet given him nothing but an indifferent grunt?

Even those final words of encouragement had only come because he had asked for them.

Was he really so worthless compared to Mu Yunting?!