Chapter 41 A Demon from the Mountains

Chapter 41: The Mountain-Born Demon

Su Zheng shot a sly grin: "Just some cheap tricks. Better you don't know, Chen Di."

Luo Yunchen tilted his head, catching on that Su Zheng was trying to hide something.

He didn't push it, but a thought hit him—could his brother be some kind of mountain demon?

Like, one day he failed a tribulation, stumbled into this body by accident, and got stuck, unable to escape.

All his demon powers were gone, so all he could do was some minor tricks that didn't take much effort?

So if his brother ever got his powers back, would he leave?

Panic flickered in Luo Yunchen's eyes. He suddenly grabbed Su Zheng's hand, holding back his desperation as he asked, "Brother, are you gonna leave?"

Su Zheng couldn't follow Luo Yunchen's train of thought and asked, confused, "Leave? Go where?"

"Don't go anywhere! Brother, promise me—even if you get super strong one day, don't ditch me, don't leave me, okay, brother?"

Get strong?

That's a thing?

But if he pulled off his mission and got a golden finger, he'd be way stronger than he is now.

But by then, it wouldn't be about whether he wanted to leave the kid.

It'd be that the kid didn't need him anymore, and instead got all suspicious and wary.

Luckily, for now, the kid's brotherly feelings for him seemed pretty strong.

When the time came, he'd be smart about it and step back on his own, never getting in the way.

Maybe he could even keep that brotherly bond, leaving them both with a rare, nice memory.

Su Zheng nodded: "Chen Di, don't worry. Whether I'm strong or not, if you need me, I'll do whatever I can to help."

Luo Yunchen pursed his lips. That's not what he wanted to hear!

He wanted him to stay forever, forever, forever where he could reach him!

He didn't want him to get strong, strong enough to fly off any second, out of his reach!

It's fine, it's fine!

Luo Yunchen dropped his gaze, hiding the darkness in his eyes.

He wouldn't let him fly off!

Before that, he'd break his wings and tie him to his side!

Lock him up! Own him! Make it so he can't leave!

That way, they'd be together forever!

Su Zheng took the paper and inkstone the shop assistant brought and spread them out.

Luo Yunchen had already buried all his feelings deep down, calmly grinding ink for Su Zheng.

After practicing for a while, Su Zheng's handwriting had gotten a lot better.

Writing slowly, he could make it readable, even if it wasn't pretty.

But the problem was speed—the second he wrote faster, the letters would fall apart.

After writing for a bit, Su Zheng flat-out gave up, shoving the paper toward Luo Yunchen and handing him the brush, saying without room for argument, "You write!"

Luo Yunchen let out a soft chuckle, his hand wrapping around Su Zheng's fingers on the brush.

He lightly brushed over the slender, cool, pale fingertips, smoothly taking the brush from Su Zheng's hand with a perfect grip, lifting it, ready to write.

Su Zheng's expression froze slightly, a strange, tingly feeling passing through a spot in his heart.

It was fleeting, hard to pin down.

He pulled his hand back and let it drop, his fingertips rubbing together gently.

For some reason, when Luo Yunchen's hand had grabbed his, it felt scorching hot, like he was being burned.

Luo Yunchen smiled all innocent and asked softly, "Brother? What do you want me to write?"

Su Zheng snapped out of it and replied, "Oh, I'll talk, you write."

He dictated a few recipes from the system, one by one, handing each sheet to the shop assistant, telling him to have the kitchen make them.

The shopkeeper and the kitchen were thrilled upon receiving the recipes Su Zheng provided, bustling about in the kitchen.

Meanwhile, the group who got their stomachs pumped came back, leaning on each other.

"Heaven's merciful. Your bad luck this time came from your own bad intentions. If you hadn't had those intentions, you wouldn't have taken that poison and almost died."

"Yes, yes, yes! Doctor, we know we were wrong!"

"Right, right! Thank you for saving our lives, Doctor. How much for the consultation and medicine?"

"Never mind. Saving a life is worth more than building a seven-story pagoda. Don't pay me the fees. Instead, compensate the shopkeeper for the wrong you've done. After you leave, clear up your bad karma by telling the truth about what happened here and refuting the slander against the establishment. Otherwise, these karmic retributions might even affect your descendants."

The group hesitated for a moment, exchanged glances, but ultimately gritted their teeth and agreed.

With that settled, they had no appetite to continue eating. They paid for their meals and left the shop, supporting each other.

In the original story, after the poison took effect, they caused a stir in the shop, then endured the pain and left shortly after.

Outside, there were people arranged to pose as ordinary folks who had heard the rumors.

Seeing the group clutching their stomachs in pain, they came up to ask if the food at the shop was tainted and if they had gotten sick from it.

The group naturally nodded in agreement.

The people outside pretended to be helpful, escorting them to a clinic while chatting with Da Niu and the others.

They made a huge racket along the way, spreading the reputation of Fubei Tavern as a harmful place far and wide.

In the end, they even called for officials to seal off Fubei Tavern.

The clueless townsfolk genuinely thought the owner had made dirty money and killed someone, so they turned on the owner and Fubei Tavern, calling for their heads.

Later, the Fifth Prince, Su Cheng, even used this to trash the Heir of Beiyuan's rep.

But now, the moment Da Niu and his guys stepped out, the crowd outside rushed up.

The folks outside were already fed up waiting, and as soon as they saw them, they started yelling before they even got close.

Da Niu and the others didn't even have a chance to shut them up.

People on the street heard the racket and stopped to gawk and gossip.

Some diners who came out with them figured this was their moment to shine.

They spilled everything that happened inside and told Da Niu's crew to face off with the people outside.

Da Niu and his guys told it like it was, one after another, and even warned the others to wise up before they got used for dirty work—or they'd make money but never live to spend it.

The people outside stood there, totally lost and dumbfounded.

The boss never taught them what to do when the script went off the rails!

Regular folks might not have all the facts, but that doesn't mean they're idiots.

After thinking it over for a second, everyone got the picture.

Someone was obviously badmouthing Fubei Tavern behind the scenes!

Even though the rumors were mostly squashed, the damage to the tavern didn't just disappear overnight.

Su Zheng told the owner to hand out the freshly cooked dishes and let everyone, inside and out, get a taste.

He said these were new dishes, only available here—don't walk past without trying them!

This implied he was selling the recipes to the tavern, which delighted the owner.

But since these were the young master's guests, the owner still glanced at Luo Yunchen, waiting for his say-so.