The moment Xu Le stepped out of the classroom, he became invisible. The power of the Rabbit Talisman was enhanced on his feet, and pedestrians on the road only felt a gust of wind pass by. Xu Le returned to the apartment building in no time.
Although Xu Le had divided the power of the twelve talismans, he had already restored the original essence of the God's Cube, albeit weakened considerably, and would require a significant amount of time to recover.
Xu Le walked down the street below the apartment building, using his divine sense to perceive the nearby zombies. Originally there were more than a dozen, but now only four remained guarding the area. It seemed that Liu Yanyan was increasingly inclined towards a mundane life.
Xu Le, who had brought all of this together, shook his head and muttered to himself, "This can't go on. It looks like we need to start planning soon."
When he opened the door, Liu Yanyan was already waiting there, wearing an apron and looking at him with a smile in her beautiful eyes.
Xu Le responded with a smile and asked, "Have you eaten? Why aren't you watching TV?"
"I can't stay idle. I was bored at home anyway, so I cleaned the room and cooked a meal."
Liu Yanyan bent down and handed the slippers to Xu Le, then put Xu Le's shoes into the shoe cabinet. Now she is virtuous, gentle and lovely.
A pang of reluctance flashed through Xu Le's mind, but he immediately put it aside. This was his first time playing chess, and it would be ridiculous if he let the pieces on the board affect his mind. How could he then compete with the great powers of the heavens?
Xu Le leaned back on the sofa and casually asked Liu Yanyan, who was still cooking, "Yanyan, have you cleaned all the rooms?"
Snap!
The sound of shattering ceramics came from the kitchen, as if something had been broken. Then Liu Yanyan's panicked voice rang out: "I accidentally broke a bowl, let me clean it up."
Xu Le shook his head in disappointment, expressionless. Liu Yanyan was still inexperienced. He had only asked a probing question, and she panicked like this before even asking if she had seen what he had prepared for her. Any normal person could see the problem.
Fortunately, it was originally prepared for her by Xu Le, since her strength was too weak to undertake one of the three side quests. However, it seems that Liu Yanyan's fighting spirit is getting weaker and weaker.
Xu Le got up and went back to his room. He opened the small box, and nothing was missing. Xu Le put the things back without expression and returned to the sofa.
A short while later, Liu Yanyan lowered her head, put the broken bowl into a plastic bag, threw it outside the door, and came back to see Xu Le sitting on the sofa watching TV, seemingly unaware of anything. She breathed a sigh of relief and said in a relaxed manner, "I cleaned all the rooms today, including yours, but I didn't touch anything."
Xu Le said with a smile, "Why wouldn't I trust you? Anyway, there's not much stuff. Just take whatever you like."
"Really?" Liu Yanyan exclaimed excitedly, then realized she was too excited and blushed as she declined, "Never mind, those are your things. I've already come here to eat and stay for free, it would be too much to take anything more."
Xu Le seemed indifferent, turned his head to stare into Liu Yanyan's eyes, and said seriously, "My things are yours. If you like them, you can take them yourself."
Liu Yanyan was stunned by these words, her face turning increasingly red as she thought: Is he confessing his love?
Then she thought of what was in the box, and a longing flashed through her mind, but she quickly dismissed it, because she had already decided to be an ordinary woman, and no matter how tempting that thing was, it was useless to her.
You have treated me with sincerity, and I will not let you down!
Liu Yanyan smiled sweetly, took off her apron, and sat on the sofa to watch TV with Xu Le. However, she subtly shifted her body until she was only a fist's width away from Xu Le. She stopped and slowly savored the happiness in the ordinary.
"very nice!"
Hearing Liu Yanyan's exclamation, Xu Le pretended not to have heard clearly and asked, "What?"
"It's nothing, just watch your TV!" Liu Yanyan smiled, her eyes narrowing into slits.
Xu Le watched TV until evening, and after eating the dinner prepared by Liu Yanyan, he said "Goodnight" and went back to his room.
Xu Le closed and locked the door, ordered several shadow warriors to hide in the shadows and keep watch, then sat down at his desk and tapped the air with his fingers.
A shadow appeared on the desk, and a notebook slowly emerged from the shadow.
Xu Le opened his notebook, picked up a ballpoint pen, and started writing rapidly. After a few minutes, Xu Le stopped writing and drew a broken heart next to the last paragraph of the article.
Xu Le threw the notebook back into the shadows and said in a low voice, "It's not time yet. We can start once all three storylines are ready."
Thinking of this, Xu Le had already learned through his senses that the Black Flag Clan now had six members and seemed to be looking for their seventh.
The totem represented by this seventh Black Flag Saint seems to be a mouse that transforms stillness into movement!
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Chapter 86: Only Through Great Ups and Downs Can One Understand the True Meaning of Life
(This part about the mouse is a bit long, so after I finish posting it, I'll ask you guys whether you want to continue with the main story and treat this as a side story, or insert it into the main story.)
The old street was deserted, with few pedestrians. On the walls on both sides of the road, the paint was peeling and a large "demolish" character was painted in red.
A wood carving shop quietly opened on this desolate street, with four characters on the plaque in a flamboyant style: Sansheng Wood Carving.
The shop owner, Zhuo Wen, dressed in a Zhongshan suit, had hair that was still black and shiny despite being over fifty. He took out a small stool and sat down at the shop entrance. He held a piece of toon wood in his hand and carefully carved it with a knife. After about half an hour, a lifelike lady was completed.
When Jin Pengkang saw the statue of the lady, there was no joy on his face. He sighed, put the statue in the glass display case, and put the price tag on it -5000.
In fact, Jin Pengkang did not think that the statue could be sold. It was a high-end work of art that ordinary people could not afford to enjoy. So when he was learning the craft from his father, his father told him: "It is better not to sell a single piece than to lower the price. That would be disrespectful to the statue and to our own craft."
Therefore, Jin Pengkang made a name for himself with his skills. A few years ago, he was a renowned master in the wood carving world, and countless people came to learn from him. His door was always crowded with visitors.
That period was Jin Pengkang's most glorious time. Almost everywhere he went, people would respectfully call him "Old Master Jin." He was very pleased to hear it. It was from that time that Jin Pengkang lost the essence of wood carving. He was busy with banquets all day long. At the same time, he neglected his family because he was too enjoying himself, which caused his wife to leave in anger and never return.
Jin Pengkang's skills, which he used to practice for two hours every day, were thus neglected. Before long, his wood carvings lost their essence and were no longer as lifelike as before. Originally, this was just a minor matter. After all, given his status, even without the essence, it was still a good piece of work, and with fame and fortune, he wouldn't have trouble finding a buyer.
However, his life changed after September 9th. His opponent's apprentice challenged him with a wood carving. He thought it would be a crushing defeat, but it turned out to be a crushing defeat, except that he was the one being crushed.
He truly hadn't expected that the young man in his twenties could carve such a spirited wood sculpture, while his own was devoid of any charm, resembling a pile of clay, utterly devoid of beauty.
In the world of crafts, reputation is paramount. Jin Pengkang's defeat at the hands of his rival's disciple spread throughout the country in just a few days. At the same time, his declining skills attracted many people who wanted to gain fame by imitating the old master, but without exception, he lost every time...
Since then, no one has come to him to commission wood carvings, and his wife has found a new family and divorced him.
Over the years, he experienced what it means to be pushed down when you're down on your luck, and what it means to have a deserted shop. He had suicidal thoughts several times, but he gave up in the end, not because he was afraid of death, but because he couldn't let go of this shop, this century-old shop that had been passed down from his grandfather, which carried his youth and had gone through all the ups and downs with him over the years.
It was after this thought arose that he started practicing wood carving again. Every day he would sit at the shop entrance and carve diligently. Since there were no customers, he would practice from morning until midnight.