Chapter 70: If You Can't Speak Well, Say Less

“This old codger really doesn’t understand the ways of the world—couldn’t he at least leave his daughter to help clean up?” Su Jian secretly grumbled.

At that moment, Li Lingguang and his daughter hadn’t gone far.

Su Jian vaguely overheard, “That boy doesn’t look like a good person. My dear daughter, you’d better stay away from him in future…”

Su Jian’s expression darkened. Old man, if you’re going to badmouth someone, at least do it behind their back.

Zhao Qianxue gave a gentle smile. “He’s not wrong, you know.”

“…” Su Jian was speechless.

If you can’t say anything nice, just say less.

Cleaning up this little courtyard was no trouble for them. With a few purification spells, the room was spotless. The furniture was a little old, but they could replace it later—no need to fuss over such details.

Su Jian turned to Zhao Qianxue. “What do you think of Li Lingguang?”

She was curious if Zhao Qianxue had noticed anything strange about him.

If there really was something wrong with Li Lingguang, it would be wise to find another village as soon as possible. Walking into trouble knowingly would be foolish—especially when it didn’t concern them.

Zhao Qianxue pondered for a moment before speaking slowly, “He certainly doesn’t seem like a rustic fellow. In fact, compared to ordinary officials in the mundane world, he carries himself with more presence. But his background can’t be entirely without traces. If he really appeared in Lingxiu Village out of nowhere at a certain point in time, that would be very suspicious.”

Su Jian immediately understood. “Tomorrow I’ll sound out a few villagers.”

As long as Li Lingguang wasn’t born and raised in Lingxiu Village—or if there was a long period when he was out of contact—his suspicions would be all but confirmed.

As for Li Lingguang’s ancestral home, Su Jian had no intention of investigating it himself. Those with too much curiosity tended to die quickly. Besides, even if it had to be done, it shouldn’t be by his own hand. Otherwise, he might not even know how he ended up dead.

Suddenly, three options popped into Su Jian’s mind.

[Option One: Secretly investigate the Li family ancestral home.]
[Reward: Unlock the All-Seeing Insight Mode.]

[Option Two: Win Li Linger’s affections and have her take you to the ancestral home to pay respects, fair and square.]
[Reward: Little Jian will become extraordinary.]

[Option Three: Do nothing, ignore the Li family ancestral home.]
[Reward: Upgraded Dao Companion Link Mode.]

This time, the mangy system was finally being reasonable.

Su Jian decisively chose the third option.

He’d recently found the Dao Companion Link Mode rather lackluster—mainly because his own Dao companion wasn’t diligent, always thinking of descending to the lower realm. Who knew when she might meet an untimely end? If that happened, the Dao Companion Link would be useless.

Besides, being limited to just one Dao companion was far too restrictive. He urgently needed several more to share cultivation with—even a whole squadron wouldn’t be too many.

Su Jian sighed to himself, “I haven’t made any progress in cultivation for days.”

Still, he had no intention of cultivating on his own—the results were too meager. This wasn’t some blessed fairy mountain, after all. In short, rather than spending years in bitter practice, it was better to find a few shortcuts… Nothing was more enjoyable than slacking off.

[Mission completed. Upgraded Dao Companion Link Mode activated.]

[Upgraded Dao Companion Link Mode details: Dao companions can now use long-distance communication, and exchange abilities.]

Su Jian raised his eyebrows, skipping the first lackluster feature and checking the details of ability exchange.

[Ability Exchange: To enhance cooperation, Dao companions can trade any learned skills—including techniques, divine abilities, spells, and talents.]

This was great!

Su Jian couldn’t wait to try it out.

[Please select the abilities you wish to exchange with your Dao companion.]

Su Jian considered for a moment, then began editing in his mind.

[Ten Tang Poems.]

Why not the Three Hundred Tang Poems? Because, truthfully, he only knew ten.

He waited with anticipation.

…

At the same time, He Hansu also received the new feature notification.

The void was deathly silent, with only the occasional hurricane sweeping by.

[Your Dao companion is offering the Three Hundred Tang Poems for exchange. Please select the ability you wish to offer in return.]

Tang Poems?

What was that…?

He Hansu was baffled, but couldn’t help being curious. After a moment’s thought, inspiration struck and a rare smile appeared on her face.

[Heavenly Maiden Transformation.]

In the next instant, He Hansu had memorized all ten Tang poems.

“The bright sun sets behind the mountains…”

“Before my bed, the bright moonlight?”

Who was this Bright Moon…

The words rolled off her tongue, elegant and mysterious, but somehow she felt she’d been shortchanged. Even if the Heavenly Maiden Transformation was unimpressive, it was still an immortal art.

…

Su Jian savored his newfound mastery of the Mysterious Maiden Transformation and fell deep into thought.

Judging by the name, it was a divine art that let one transform into a maiden—enhancing one’s ethereal, cool, and unapproachable aura.

A cross-dressing… master!?

Su Jian’s mood was difficult to settle.

By rights, this divine power should only be cultivated by women, but the mangy system defied common sense…

Still, to him, this power was far from useless. It was far better than some shapeshifting pills.

Thank goodness it didn’t change him on a fundamental level, or using it would be unsettling. All the better, since he’d traded mere Tang poetry for it—he’d made a killing.

For now, though, he had no intention of trying it out. The cost was too high—it would require a lot of cultivation resources to recover. He wasn’t wealthy enough to squander so much.

As Su Jian was pondering, the Dao Companion Link buzzed again.

[Your Dao companion, He Hansu, requests a remote communication. Do you accept?]

[You may choose voice only, disabling video projection.]

Su Jian was surprised—he hadn’t expected his Dao companion to be so proactive. He wasn’t much interested in remote communication, but since she was eager, he would begrudgingly accept. It was a good opportunity to urge his Dao companion, who’d been slacking in her cultivation.

Still, Su Jian didn’t answer right away. Zhao Qianxue was nearby, and this wasn’t a convenient place to talk.

“I’m going out for some air,” Su Jian said.

He felt a bit guilty, but for the sake of advancing his cultivation, some compromise was inevitable.

He sighed, then quickly made his way to a secluded corner.

In his heart, he thought, “Voice only.”

He had no desire to let her see his appearance so easily.

As the saying goes, what is unattainable is most precious.