Chapter 129 Cangru Temple

Chapter 129: Cangru Temple

"Go back to Cangru Temple? Why go back to Cangru Temple?"

"Given our situation, people like us with no connections can't reach high-level 'clients,' so we can only make use of Cangru Temple's reputation."

The system had indeed been full of confidence before, but their "grand career plan" kept hitting roadblocks and stalling out, which couldn't help but make it anxious.

After all, its mission as a system attached to Yan Zhoubai was to help its host reach the "pinnacle of life." The most important part of the "pinnacle of life" was the host's career path. However, the current situation was that the host's career path was barely alive before it even started, while his love life was progressing quite steadily.

"How do we make use of Cangru Temple's reputation?" Yan Zhoubai still didn’t quite understand the system’s meaning.

"We select customers from among the people who go to Cangru Temple to offer incense and use the temple’s reputation to vouch for us. We can meet some important figures at Cangru Temple—didn’t we meet Zhan Jiayu there? Moreover, Cangru Temple is highly respected in Jing City. If we have Cangru Temple as our backing, things will definitely go more smoothly."

The system laid out its plan from start to finish.

"No, that won’t work!" Yan Zhoubai immediately objected. "Cangru Temple is a place for spiritual practice—how can we do such things? Master would never agree."

When Yan Zhoubai first set up his stall on Nantian Street, he had only slightly borrowed Cangru Temple’s name on his sign. After it caused a stir online, he immediately removed it. He didn’t want to bring any trouble to Cangru Temple because of his personal actions, so how could he agree to the system’s plan?

What difference was there between this and pulling these stunts directly at Cangru Temple, right in front of his Master? No, absolutely not.

"But, darling, I remember that Cangru Temple never explicitly forbade such actions, and your Master never said anything against it. I think we should ask."

What the system didn’t say was that it had recently felt as though a part of its lost database had been restored, meaning it seemed to have regained some memories. However, they were still somewhat vague, and it couldn’t fully recall what it had experienced before. But it suddenly became more urgent.

Urgent to complete the mission.

Before, it had always thought to take things slowly. Reaching the "pinnacle of life" wasn’t something that could be achieved overnight, and besides, its host was a laid-back person, so there was no need to push him.

But after vaguely recovering some memories, it felt as though a voice was urging it to complete the mission quickly, or else there would be bad consequences. This was why it insisted on carrying out this plan that Yan Zhoubai was unwilling to pursue.

"No need. Master would definitely not agree. Cangru Temple isn’t that kind of place."

Yan Zhoubai sat up straight, no longer leaning against the window, his expression serious as he firmly rejected the system’s plan.

"But this really is the fastest and possibly the most effective method at the moment..." The system refused to give up and tried to persuade him further.

"System, don’t be like this. You’re making things difficult for me."

Yan Zhoubai’s expression visibly wilted again.

He knew the system meant well, but Cangru Temple had always been like a utopia in his heart—a place where he had lived a pure and simple life for three years.

Telling fortunes and reading feng shui were ultimately just ways to make money, but he felt that Cangru Temple should never be associated with the smell of money. It should remain that earthly paradise.

"Darling, let me be honest with you. I’ve recently regained some memories, but they’re vague and unclear. All I know is that I need to complete the mission as soon as possible, or something bad will happen. That’s why I came up with this idea to urge you."

The system’s voice also grew somber, and its entire mood seemed to drop, giving off a palpable sense of loneliness.

"Something bad will happen? Will you be in danger?" Hearing this, Yan Zhoubai’s tone and expression immediately became anxious.

"I don’t know. I just have a feeling it will be something bad," the system replied truthfully.

Yan Zhoubai had known the system for almost four years. He didn’t have many friends, and although the system only existed in his mind without a physical form, Yan Zhoubai genuinely regarded it as a friend. Now that the system might be in trouble, how could he stand by and do nothing?

"Then I’ll go back to Cangru Temple first and ask Master for his opinion."

Gritting his teeth, Yan Zhoubai reluctantly accepted the system’s suggestion.

"Yay, darling, you’re the best!"

Yan Zhoubai had originally planned to take the bus back to school, but before he reached the campus, he received a call from Zhan Jiayu asking him to come home if he had no classes that day. When Yan Zhoubai asked why, Zhan Jiayu didn’t explain, only saying that he missed him.

Yan Zhoubai didn’t think too much of it. Since he had no classes in the afternoon, he decided to go back.

...

When Zhan Jiayu returned home a little after 6 p.m., he opened the door to see a figure in loungewear running barefoot around the living room.

"You’re back? Wait a moment, dinner will be ready soon." With that, Yan Zhoubai continued running back and forth between the living room and the kitchen.

The apartment had an open-plan kitchen and was spacious, so everything was visible as soon as the door opened. Zhan Jiayu watched Yan Zhoubai bustling around the large space like a busy little bee.

He didn’t know what Yan Zhoubai was busy with, but he just wanted to catch him, stop him from running around, and pull him into his arms for a hug first.

Zhan Jiayu took off his coat, changed into slippers, and walked to the dining table, where he saw three dishes already laid out: braised prawns, cola chicken wings, and Lotus Pond Moonlight (a vegetable stir-fry). They looked and smelled delicious, the aroma wafting toward him.

Zhan Jiayu raised an eyebrow. The cooking skills were impressive—this was the first time he’d seen Yan Zhoubai cook, and he’d never mentioned knowing how to cook before. He looked up to see what Yan Zhoubai was busy with at the stove. Scrambled eggs with tomatoes—that was the dish he was currently making.

To be honest, the series of events that had happened that day had left Zhan Jiayu feeling pretty lousy. But coming home to a delicious, hot meal and a cute figure bustling around in the kitchen—anyone would feel incredibly happy seeing such a scene.

Leaning against the grayish-white marble dining table, Zhan Jiayu smiled to himself, his tense nerves immediately relaxing.

But as he lowered his head, he happened to notice that the kitchen trash bin seemed full, and it was stuffed with what looked like plastic takeout containers. He understood in an instant.

Zhan Jiayu chuckled softly. So what if it was takeout? After all, there was still the scrambled eggs with tomatoes that he had made himself.

A few minutes later, Yan Zhoubai plated the scrambled eggs with tomatoes and brought it to the table, completing the meal.

"I had no idea you had such skills! It tastes great."

Zhan Jiayu picked up a cola chicken wing, took a bite, and looked at Yan Zhoubai with a meaningful smile.

"Actually, the cola chicken wings, braised prawns, and Lotus Pond Moonlight weren’t made by me. I ordered them from a hotel. Only this scrambled eggs with tomatoes is my doing—it’s the only dish I know how to make."

The best way to defeat sarcasm is to be straightforward. Of course, Zhan Jiayu wasn’t being sarcastic; he just wanted to tease Yan Zhoubai. But Yan Zhoubai was completely open and didn’t try to hide anything.

"The scrambled eggs with tomatoes are delicious too."

Zhan Jiayu picked up a portion with his chopsticks and smiled.

"It’s alright. I’m not very good at cooking. When I was at Cangru Temple, everyone took turns cooking, and that’s when I learned—but I only mastered this one dish. However, my senior brother is an amazing cook. He can make anything, and it’s super delicious."

Mentioning this, Yan Zhoubai’s eyes lit up as he recalled the happy times at Cangru Temple with everyone. He also remembered the meals Qin Hemeng used to make—they were truly delicious.

"Senior brother? The one who came down from the mountain specially to visit you in the hospital last time?"

Hearing the words "senior brother," Zhan Jiayu immediately went on alert. Since that hospital visit, Yan Zhoubai’s young senior brother had been on his watchlist—a person of key concern.

"Yeah, that’s Senior Qin. He’s tall, handsome, an excellent cook, and very reliable. The only flaw is that he likes to tease me."

Yan Zhoubai didn’t notice Zhan Jiayu’s subtle change in mood and continued singing Qin Hemeng's praises.

To be honest, distance made the heart grow fonder. It was only because Yan Zhoubai hadn’t seen Qin Hemeng for a long time that he could remember his good points. If he were still living at Cangru Temple, he’d probably think Qin Hemeng was the most annoying senior brother in the world.

"Does your Senior Qin have a partner? Your monastery doesn’t restrict that, right?"

Zhan Jiayu asked casually, referring to the fact that Cangru Temple likely didn’t forbid its members from marrying or having children.

"No, Senior Qin has always lived on the mountain and hardly ever goes home. He followed our master up the mountain when he was very young. It seems like he’s not interested in relationships."

Yan Zhoubai bit his spoon, looked up at the ceiling, and began carefully recalling details about Qin Hemeng.

"So he’s a serious Daoist practitioner?"

Zhan Jiayu raised an eyebrow, his tone clearly teasing.

"Yeah, although Senior Qin can be a bit unreliable, he really has the aura of a reclusive master. He actually knows how to..."

Yan Zhoubai thought of the talismans and how Qin Hemeng had made Bu Qiran fall asleep instantly during his last visit. He wanted to say that Qin Hemeng truly had remarkable abilities.

But halfway through his sentence, he remembered he couldn’t tell Zhan Jiayu about it and quickly shut his mouth. However, having already spoken half of it, he couldn’t just take it back. Abruptly stopping at this point seemed even more suspicious.

"He genuinely knows how to do what?"

Zhan Jiayu asked with a laugh, finding Yan Zhoubai’s guilty expression pretty amusing.

He didn’t take Yan Zhoubai’s words seriously—after all, there was no way he could actually believe Qin Hemeng had some kind of supernatural ability beyond his understanding.

"Nothing, nothing."

Yan Zhoubai wished he could put a zipper on his mouth and pull it tightly shut.

"He can’t actually do magic, can he?"

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Author’s note: Xiao Chuaner: Actually, he really can. [dog head]