TRWSB – Chapter 128 Civilian Life

Yun Hu pounced on Zhuang Hao, hugging him tightly while howling with joy, slapping Zhuang Hao’s back so hard it seemed like he might cough up blood.

Qi Shaorong watched Zhuang Hao’s pained expression and couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy.

“Brother, why are you crying so hard? Were you bullied?” Yun Que asked as she came out, hands on her hips.

“I wasn’t bullied,” Yun Hu said, wiping his tears and sniffling.

“If you weren’t bullied, then why are you crying?” Yun Que asked irritably.

Yun Hu raised his fists and shouted, “Sister, I’ve broken through! I’m now a Level Three Dou Qi Practitioner!”

Yun Que scolded him sternly, “Brother, you can’t just lie to scam food and drinks! If you keep this up, I’ll beat you!”

Qi Shaorong: “…”

Blushing, Yun Hu awkwardly said, “Sister, I’m not lying this time. It’s true!”

Yun Que glared at him, hands on her hips, and said, “When are you not saying this kind of thing?”

Yun Hu grew nervous, scratching his head anxiously. Suddenly, his face lit up with an idea. “Sister, wait here!”

Yun Hu ran to a tree in the courtyard, clenched his fist, and punched it. With a loud “bang,” the tree trunk shattered into pieces of wood.

Yun Que’s eyes sparkled at the sight. “Brother, this time you weren’t lying! You really broke through!”

Yun Hu scratched his head, shyly smiling. “See, I told you I wasn’t lying. I really broke through!”

Yun Que looked at him and said, “Brother, you’ve finally made it.”

Suddenly, something crossed Yun Que’s mind, and her face filled with alarm. She let out a piercing scream that startled Qi Shaorong so much he took two steps back. “Brother, you broke our only jujube tree! Now we’ll never have jujubes again!”

Qi Shaorong: “…”

Yun Ping, exhaling smoke leisurely, slowly emerged from the house with a smile. “It’s just a tree. We can always plant another one.”

Yun Ping looked at Yun Hu with gratification. “Well done, Ah Hu! You’ve finally achieved something!”

Yun Hu scratched the back of his head, grinning sheepishly.

“Brother, you’ve been stuck for so long. How did you suddenly manage to break through?” Yun Que asked curiously.

Yun Hu pushed Zhuang Hao forward and said, “He taught me! I couldn’t break through before, but when this little rascal corrected a few of my moves, I suddenly had a flash of insight and made it!”

Yun Que glanced at Zhuang Hao, her eyes filled with curiosity and a trace of guilt. “You…”

Zhuang Hao smiled and said, “I only happened to see my former young master practicing this same technique before. It was just a case of blind luck.”

Yun Ping chuckled indifferently. “It doesn’t matter how it happened. What matters is the result!”

Yun Ping reached out with his calloused hand, gripping Zhuang Hao’s tightly. “Thank you, young man.”

Zhuang Hao: “It’s nothing…” Looking at the grateful old man before him, Zhuang Hao felt a strange warmth in his heart.

At the Liguo Manor.

“Shen Yuan, is there any news about the young master?” Mu Tingxuan asked, his gaze sharp and focused.

Shen Yuan shook his head. “No, not yet.”

Being stared at by Mu Tingxuan’s clear, piercing eyes, Shen Yuan felt his scalp tingle. After Qi Shaorong’s disappearance, Mu Tingxuan had asked him this question at least a hundred times. He truly didn’t know anything.

Yi Fan frowned at Shen Yuan. “Doesn’t the Shen family specialize in gathering intelligence?”

Shen Yuan widened his eyes. “Hey, don’t make baseless accusations! When did the Shen family ever claim to specialize in intelligence gathering? Sure, we have some information sources, but this is Liguo! Our influence here is minuscule!”

Mu Tingxuan’s expression was filled with worry. “I wonder how the young master is doing now…”

Shen Yuan tried to reassure him. “Stay calm, stay calm.”

Mu Tingxuan glared at him. “The young master has been missing for days, and you’re telling me to stay calm?”

Shen Yuan closed his mouth awkwardly. He had only meant well.

Realizing his harsh tone, Mu Tingxuan softened. “I’m sorry. My words were a bit sharp.”

Shen Yuan smiled faintly. “No worries. I understand—you’re just worried about Qi Shaorong.”

At that moment, a knock sounded at the door.

Mu Tingxuan turned towards the door. “I’ll get it.”

When he opened the door, he saw Mu Xingzhi standing there. “Sorry, I’m not interested in talking about family matters right now.”

Mu Xingzhi gave a wry smile. “I’m not here to discuss family affairs. I heard you’re worried about Qi Shaorong’s safety. I happen to have some news.”

Mu Tingxuan immediately looked up, his eyes sharp.

Clenching his fists, he bowed his head and fell silent for a moment. Finally, he said, “Come in.”

Mu Xingzhi didn’t mince words. “Qi Shaorong and Zhuang Hao went to the outskirts that day. Their whereabouts were exposed, and they were intercepted by Fenghe.”

Mu Tingxuan nodded. “I already know that.

It had been several days, and Mu Tingxuan had finally managed to gather some information. For instance, after Feng Yuan recovered, he felt that Feng He had overstepped during his illness, making too many moves that seemed to challenge his authority. As a result, Feng Yuan began to suppress Feng He’s influence, both overtly and covertly.

Perhaps this provoked Feng He, who, in turn, took out his frustration on Qi Shaorong. He stole the Merchant Alliance’s Forbidden Spirit Ring and used it on Qi Shaorong and Zhuang Hao. Now, it seemed that Feng He had been detained.

“I heard that Feng He used the Forbidden Spirit Ring.”

Originally, Mu Tingxuan had great confidence in Zhuang Hao. However, the news of the Forbidden Spirit Ring gave him pause. Under its effects, anyone below the Saint level would be reduced to an ordinary person. Although Zhuang Hao was powerful, he was only at the eighth level. Without his strength, how could he possibly contend with Feng He?

Mu Tingxuan took a deep breath and said, “There’s one thing you can be certain of: Qi Shaorong and Zhuang Hao should still be alive.”

Yi Fan looked at Mu Xingzhi and asked, “Senior, do you have any evidence to support that?”

“I found out that after Feng He was captured, he admitted that Qi Shaorong and Zhuang Hao had been teleported away. The scene did show traces of a teleportation array being used. It seems that Zhuang Hao activated the array in a moment of crisis,” Mu Xingzhi replied.

Shen Yuan clapped his hands. “That’s it! That Zhuang Hao is a resourceful guy; he’s not someone who would die so easily.”

Mu Xingzhi looked at Mu Tingxuan and said, “While Qi Shaorong and Zhuang Hao are alive, their magic and combat energy have likely been sealed by the Forbidden Spirit Ring. Now, no one knows where they’ve been teleported to, and various factions are searching for them.”

Listening to Mu Xingzhi’s words, Mu Tingxuan’s expression gradually calmed. “If the young master has survived this ordeal, he’ll surely find a way to stay alive.”

Mu Xingzhi nodded in agreement, trying to reassure him. “With Qi Shaorong and Zhuang Hao’s abilities, they’ll definitely turn misfortune into fortune.”

After explaining the situation, Mu Xingzhi took his leave.

Shen Yuan glanced at Mu Tingxuan. “Tingxuan, your father does seem to care about you in his own way.”

Mu Tingxuan shot Shen Yuan a cold look, making him feel a bit awkward.

“The young master and Zhuang Hao have been teleported to who knows where. We can only imagine what their situation is like now.”

Shen Yuan scratched his head and added, “And who knows what Zhuang Hao will do without his magic and combat energy?”

In the forest.

Qi Shaorong and Zhuang Hao, each carrying a basket, followed Yun Que to gather wild vegetables.

Qi Shaorong exhaled deeply, feeling as though his life was regressing.

“Now, let me teach you both some tips for picking wild vegetables.”

Yun Hu’s voice boomed like thunder. “Listen carefully, both of you! Since you don’t have any strength or strong fists, you’ll need to put more effort into other areas.”

Qi Shaorong: “…”
Zhuang Hao: “…”

Yun Que cleared her throat and began speaking with pride, “When gathering wild vegetables, the first thing is to know what kind of vegetables to pick. Don’t pick ones that are too tender or too old—just the right maturity is best.”

“There are many poisonous plants in the wild, so you need to be able to distinguish them. The simplest rule is to avoid anything that looks too pretty. Brightly colored plants are often poisonous. Of course, that doesn’t mean dull-colored ones are always safe…”

“When picking wild vegetables, don’t gather too much from one spot, or the area might not grow more in the future…”

…

Once Yun Que opened her mouth, it was like an unstoppable flood. Qi Shaorong felt drowsy listening to her. Glancing at Zhuang Hao, he noticed the latter’s calm expression, as though he had resigned himself to his fate.

After enthusiastically explaining for over half an hour, Yun Que finally stopped.

Yun Hu straightened up, trying to look authoritative. “Did you both listen carefully?”

“We did,” Zhuang Hao replied calmly.

“Then repeat it back to me,” Yun Hu demanded, puffing out his chest.

Whenever Yun Que brought Yun Hu to gather wild vegetables, she’d often test him on the rules afterward. But Yun Hu, being a blockhead, could never remember and always got scolded. Now that Qi Shaorong and Zhuang Hao were here, Yun Hu finally felt a sense of superiority.

Zhuang Hao glanced at Yun Hu and repeated Yun Que’s words verbatim.

Yun Hu stared at him, wide-eyed. “You… You really listened carefully!”

“Not bad,” Zhuang Hao replied indifferently.

Yun Que looked at Zhuang Hao with surprise. “You have an excellent memory!” To repeat everything without missing a word wasn’t just about paying attention—it required remarkable recall.

“It’s okay,” Zhuang Hao said flatly.

Yun Hu sneaked a glance at Zhuang Hao, feeling deflated. He had hoped to see Zhuang Hao make a fool of himself, but Zhuang Hao’s competence left him feeling awkward.

Yun Que shot Yun Hu a sharp look. “You need to learn from him! He remembers everything after hearing it once, while you’ve heard it countless times and still don’t get it.”

Yun Hu laughed sheepishly. “Sister, you know I have dreams. I’m going to become a legendary hero one day. A hero like me won’t waste time picking wild vegetables, so it’s fine if I don’t know how.”

Yun Que snorted in mock anger. “Always boasting.”

Yun Hu suddenly turned to Zhuang Hao. “Hey, are you one of those people with photographic memory?”

Zhuang Hao paused briefly and replied, “You could say that.”

“Someone like you, with a photographic memory, ended up as a thief? If I were your father, I’d disown you!” Yun Hu declared self-righteously.

Qi Shaorong: “…” Yun Hu, this guy, sure has big ambitions—he even wants to act like Zhuang Hao’s father.