BB | Chapter 5

Can We Stop Saying ‘Brother’…

Who is older, him or Li Yaochen? With this thought, Shen Canglan posed a question. Li Yaochen paused. He was actually already 109 years old, but said, “I’m… I’m nineteen. How about you, brother?”

Shen Canglan replied, “I just turned seventeen.”

Li Yaochen made a sound of acknowledgment, raised his hand to pat Shen Canglan’s shoulder, and then squeezed his elbow.

Shen Canglan was puzzled. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

Li Yaochen said, “I just feel like you’re so young.”

As soon as he said this, memories flooded Shen Canglan’s mind like smoke. Since joining the Lovers Sect, he had heard this phrase no less than three times. It usually happened in scenarios like this:

“You’re so young.”

“You’re the young one!”

“I meant your age, what did you think I meant?”

“I didn’t misunderstand!”

“…Hey, want to compare?”

Then, those two would end up flying together like a pair of wings.

If Shen Canglan had a notebook recording dangerous phrases, the first would be “dangerous.” The second would definitely be “you’re so young.” The third, what would the third be?

“Don’t move, there’s a leaf in your hair,” or “Shidi, I dropped my soap.” However, Shen Canglan believed his brother had no such intentions. He smiled up at Li Yaochen, who ruffled his hair with a brotherly air. “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely have your back in the future.”

Shen Canglan, deeply moved, said, “I’ll have your back too.”

Li Yaochen chuckled.

Cultivators at the Qi Refining stage hadn’t completely shed their mortal needs and still required food and sleep. Li Yaochen said, “It’s late. You should rest. We can talk more tomorrow.”

Shen Canglan nodded. As Li Yaochen left, he bumped into the inn attendant again. Shen Canglan heard the attendant’s voice asking Li Yaochen, “Are you done, guests?”

Li Yaochen replied with a sound of acknowledgment.

The attendant’s voice sounded cheerful: “★☆~~~~”

Shen Canglan thought the attendant must have misunderstood something.

After sweating a bit during cultivation, Shen Canglan used the Purification Technique on himself and collapsed onto the bed. He bundled the quilt into a ball, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

Too much had happened today. He had descended the mountain, eaten meat buns, encountered his first wild monster, learned a better cultivation method, and made a good brother.

Before joining the Lovers Sect, his family and Shen Guanqi’s family lived not too far apart, and they saw each other every few days. But Shen Canglan was annoyed that Shen Guanqi always took him to catch and look at bugs, so he asked his mother, “Can you give me another brother?”

What did his mother say back then?

“Sure, let’s talk about it in a few years.”

Unexpectedly, he really did gain another brother now. His mother hadn’t lied to him.

The waist token under his pillow vibrated twice, glowing softly in the dark. Its function was vaguely similar to something called a phone from his past life memories. Holding the waist token, Shen Canglan infused it with spiritual energy to unlock it, revealing messages from Shen Guanqi, Qin Chun, Ye Xuezhu, and others.

The gist of their messages could be summed up in three points: Have you eaten? Do you have enough money? Have you met someone you like?

After replying, Shen Canglan accidentally touched something at the bottom, causing the screen to switch to a page he had never seen before.

The top text read: Lovers Plaza. Scrolling up, he saw other people’s notices.

[High price for childbirth pill]: 1

[Scumbag, you deceived me terribly]: Planning to confront the scum tomorrow, any fellow daoists want to join me?

[Flower of the Cultivation World]: Count me in

[Young Daoist Not Serious]: Where can I buy quality tools?

Shen Canglan: “…?”

What was this? An anonymous message board for buying, selling, finding people, gossip, and consultation. It seemed quite useful.

He posted a notice himself.

[Lovers 8814]: Encountered a monster with a good nature, what to do?

After posting, Shen Canglan waited for a long time, holding the waist token. But perhaps because it was too late, no one replied to his message.

However, Shen Canglan’s excitement dissipated considerably, and he began to feel sleepy. He tossed the waist token aside and fell asleep.

–

The next day, he woke up a quarter of an hour later than usual. The room wasn’t suitable for practicing swordsmanship, as damaging anything would cost money, so Shen Canglan simply meditated for a while and reinforced the cultivation method Li Yaochen taught him. Then he heard a knock at the door.

Opening it, he saw Li Yaochen standing there, looking spirited in the golden morning light.

“I heard movement, so I knew you were awake, brother,” Li Yaochen said. “Why not sleep a bit more?”

“Brother, you don’t know,” Shen Canglan said. “I never sleep in. If I don’t work hard for a day, I feel uncomfortable all over.”

Li Yaochen chuckled, looking at Shen Canglan with a sense of camaraderie: “I’m the same.”

He strode into the room, and Shen Canglan noticed he was carrying a paper-wrapped package.

Li Yaochen unfolded the package on the table, revealing a few greasy pancakes. He reached out to feel them, satisfied as he curled his lips: “It was worth running back; they’re still hot. Come eat, brother, before they get cold and greasy.”

Shen Canglan pulled up a chair to the table and shared the pancakes with Li Yaochen. These pancakes were even better than yesterday’s meat buns, fragrant and crispy, utterly delicious.

Life at the foot of the mountain was truly wonderful.

No wonder his shixiong and shijie loved coming down the mountain.

Content, Shen Canglan swallowed the last bite of pancake and reached for his money pouch: “How much was it? I’ll split it with you.”

Li Yaochen’s brow furrowed immediately: “What are you saying? Am I the kind of person who would charge a brother for a bite of pancake?”

Shen Canglan didn’t argue further. If it were him, he wouldn’t charge Li Yaochen either. Having just come down the mountain, he was inexperienced in social matters, but now he knew. He decided he’d buy lunch today.

As he thought this, he heard Li Yaochen say, “Today is a special occasion to celebrate our brotherhood. We can’t eat this well every day.”

“Why not?” Shen Canglan asked.

Li Yaochen smiled, showing a hint of white teeth: “I was just thinking of discussing this with you.”

Shen Canglan wiped his mouth: “Hmm? Discuss what?”

Li Yaochen said, “As cultivators, if we want to transcend our mortal bodies, we should eliminate desires, including the desire for food.”

As he spoke, Li Yaochen rummaged through the red pouch at his waist and took out an item.

Pinched between his thumb and forefinger was a round, black pill. Li Yaochen said, “This is a fasting pill. For cultivators like us at the initial stage, it’s best not to consume mortal food, or we’ll have to work to expel the impurities later.”

Shen Canglan stared at the pill.

Ye Xuezhu had taught him how to tie knots on others’ wrists, how to buy the best treasures from the bookstore, and how to pursue someone he liked with sincerity. But when it came to cultivation matters, he hadn’t mentioned a word!

How could this be!

Ye Xuezhu, as his shifu, shielded him from the wind and rain, but never asked where the wind and rain came from, nor why his shifu’s umbrella was leaking.

Li Yaochen said, “But I only have three fasting pills left. It might not be enough.”

“Then I won’t eat them,” Shen Canglan immediately said. “They’re for you, brother. You should keep them for yourself.”

Li Yaochen said, “Don’t rush, brother, I haven’t finished.”

[…]

The system’s voice sounded weak in Li Yaochen’s mind: [Can you stop saying ‘brother’? I think I’m allergic.]

“What’s wrong with the word?”

Li Yaochen snorted, disdainful of the system’s taste: “It’s a great word. Not blood-related, but connected by sinew.”

[Hiss—]

The system took a sharp breath, as if it had been hit by something extremely sour.

Ignoring the system, Li Yaochen continued to Shen Canglan: “Fifteen kilometers east is Yunjian City. It’s vast and populous, with guilds that post tasks seeking cultivators’ help.”

“The ingredients for fasting pills aren’t hard to find. We can earn some money first and then find that monster the squirrel mentioned, which hasn’t yet gained intelligence.”

Genius.

His brother was a genius!

Shen Canglan looked at Li Yaochen with admiration: “It’s settled then!!”

The two wasted no time and prepared to set off immediately.

Before leaving, Shen Canglan opened his waist token, searching for the anonymous message board he had found before. Several people had already responded to his question.

[Flower of the Cultivation World]: Make it a spirit pet. Maybe when it transforms, you can form a bond.

Shen Canglan immediately dismissed this suggestion. First, he had no interest in a spouse. Second, the squirrel had five ugly offspring, and he and Li Yaochen weren’t wealthy. They were busy cultivating and had no time to care for a spirit pet.

The next few messages also seemed unserious. The last one, however, was adopted by Shen Canglan—send the squirrel up the mountain to the Lovers Sect. As long as it could sweet-talk the gatekeeping shishu, it would endure hardship for a while, but enjoy prosperity for a lifetime.

So before heading to Yunjian City, Shen Canglan made a detour to tell the squirrel that if it got hungry, it could go to the Lovers Sect.

The squirrel wagged its bushy tail, its shiny black eyes looking at Shen Canglan with a moist gaze: “Young Daoist, you’re so kind. Do you want to be a father to my cubs?”

Shen Canglan was startled and stepped back: “Don’t repay kindness with enmity!”

“Alright,” the squirrel seemed relieved too: “I actually don’t like your type either.”

Shen Canglan: “…”

Well, thanks for that.

This squirrel seemed somewhat afraid of Li Yaochen. When it first saw him, the fur on its back bristled. So while Shen Canglan talked to it, Li Yaochen leaned against a tree, idly twirling a blade of foxtail grass.

Shen Canglan thought he wasn’t listening, but just as he and the aesthetically challenged squirrel were staring each other down, Li Yaochen suddenly burst out laughing.

Shen Canglan turned to look at him, but Li Yaochen had already turned away, hiding his expression, though his shoulders shook violently.

Shen Canglan: “…”

His brother, though older, had a surprisingly low threshold for humor.