Do you really think you can get me with just a banana?

Outside, a gentle drizzle of rain fell, tapping the ground with a clattering sound. The shop seemed unusually deserted, with few customers. The owner dozed off at the front desk while flipping through the account book, and the only two customers were silent to each other, leaving the entire place filled with a deep, serene atmosphere.

Guan Shanyu looked at Yan Ruchen in surprise, but he didn't dare to show it too clearly. He pretended to be calm and asked, "What does this mean..."

Yan Ruchen leaned back slightly, leaning against the back of his chair. He seemed hesitant, unsure whether to speak or not. He said slowly, "Do you still remember the secret technique the elders asked you to learn?"

Guan Shanyu's throat moved slightly, and he nodded gently. Yan Ruchen's eyes drooped slightly, as if he was lost in thought. He continued, "Besides what they told you about that secret technique, there are actually some hidden things that they haven't explained yet."

"Brother Ruchen," Guan Shanyu changed to a respectful title. Yan Ruchen looked up at him. Guan Shanyu said, "Since you came to me specifically to tell me this, then please speak frankly."

Yan Ruchen was slightly taken aback, then said bluntly: "I just learned about this too, and I'm telling you this because I hope you can be prepared."

Guan Shanyu clutched his trousers at his thighs and nodded. Yan Ruchen then continued, "The Council of Elders is concerned about the remnants of powerful demons causing trouble. Therefore, the secret technique is not only used to restrain the demons, but also, when necessary, disciples practicing this technique will be used to form formations to combat demons that even conventional techniques cannot defeat. The sect has selected many disciples for training. Therefore, no matter where you are, the sect will be able to track your whereabouts. Therefore... you are not allowed to leave the mountain."

Guan Shanyu stared at Yan Ruchen intently. After he finished speaking, he remained silent for a long moment. Then he pointed out sharply, "If it's just about restraining the demons, even if we ultimately destroy them, I should be able to leave the mountain. But you explicitly said I can't leave. Does that mean that in order to completely destroy the demons, the disciples who practice this secret technique must perish with them to prevent future troubles?"

After all, if we simply destroy them, the demons can still turn into evil spirits and cause chaos after death. However, to eliminate the trouble forever, the disciples need to offer sacrifices to the heavens.

This is a necessary routine in the immortal cultivation novels, but Guan Shanyu doesn’t quite believe that this thing will actually happen to him?

But Yan Ruchen looked at him calmly from the opposite side without saying a word, which showed his agreement.

Guan Shanyu closed his eyes.

Holy shit, fuck it! This kind of thing actually happened to me. What with transmigrating into a book and following the plot, and in the end, it all ended in death???

"You want me to be a death warrior? Don't you need to discuss it with me in advance?" Guan Shanyu asked unwillingly.

Yan Ruchen's gaze fell on the bowl on the table, and he spoke calmly, "When entering the sect, every disciple swore an oath to go through fire and water for the sect. Therefore, becoming a death warrior does not require our consent. The sect is in chaos right now, and everyone thinks that the demons are causing trouble. They may really need you one day, so I have been ordered to come and tell him to calm you down."

Stabilize emotions?

I'm trying to calm your mother down. You still want me to be emotionally stable when I'm about to die?

Guan Shanyu took a few deep breaths, gave a wry smile, and stared blankly at the ground for a while. His mood gradually calmed down, and he asked softly, "So you want to capture... oh no, take me back now?"

Seeing that his reaction was not intense, and even a little numb, Yan Ruchen looked deep for a moment and said, "The Elders' Council has approved your leave. You can still rest for a day and a half. You can go wherever you want during this day and a half."

The implication is that the Council of Elders knows everything you do.

Guan Shanyu smiled bitterly and shook his head again. He looked at Yan Ruchen with a dull expression and asked, "Do you have any money on you?"

"Huh?" Yan Ruchen was stunned by Guan Shanyu's unreasonable words.

"Do you have money?" Guan Shanyu repeated.

"I brought some."

"Are you in a hurry to go back?"

“…Don’t be in a hurry.” Yan Ruchen said.

Guan Shanyu actually smiled, looked at him, and said, "Well, I still have a day and a half, right? Lend me some money, I want to go shopping."

"...?" Yan Ruchen looked at him in disbelief. He had originally assumed Guan Shanyu would immediately throw a tantrum and beg for mercy, but the truth was, Guan Shanyu didn't do a single thing.

He was very calm and said he wanted to go out for a walk.

Is this...a normal reaction?

Yan Ruchen looked at Guan Shanyu with complicated eyes.

But Guan Shanyu was not normal. He glanced at Yan Ruchen, sighed, and asked, "Do you have to follow me?"

Yan Ruchen hesitantly withdrew his gaze, suddenly unsure whether he should nod or shake his head. Guan Shanyu smiled at this, looked back out the window, and said, "The rain has stopped, let's go."

"Hey, gentlemen, the steamed lotus root and Yujing rice you ordered is just ready. Don't you want it?" Seeing Guan Shanyu stand up, the waiter called him with a bowl in his hand.

Guan Shanyu pointed at Yan Ruchen expressionlessly and said, "I ordered this for him. Ask him if he wants more."

Yan Ruchen was stunned when the waiter handed the plate to him. The waiter asked, "Sir, this is already prepared. You can't return it."

Seeing Guan Shanyu walk out of the shop without looking back, Yan Ruchen quickly stood up and said, "Please help me wrap it up."

Walking down the long street, Guan Shanyu, feeling mixed emotions, continued walking alone, not intending to wait for Yan Ruchen. Seeing this, Yan Ruchen silently followed him. The two of them walked in silence, the atmosphere slightly dull. After walking for a while, Yan Ruchen finally couldn't help but break the silence: "Shanyu, where are you going?"

Guan Shanyu stopped, and Yan Ruchen stopped too. Guan Shanyu seemed to have just come out of his thoughts. After looking around, he suddenly pointed at a fried stinky tofu stall and said, "Here, can you buy me one?"

Yan Ruchen looked in the direction he pointed and saw a small stall selling stinky tofu. The stall owner, an old lady, saw the two handsome young men stop by and her eyes lit up. She enthusiastically started to sell her product, "Gentlemen, my stinky tofu is truly unique. It smells stinky but tastes delicious. Would you like to try it?"

Guan Shanyu nodded: "Yes."

The old lady asked, "How many do you want?"

Guan Shanyu glanced back at Yan Ruchen, then quickly turned back and held up a finger: "One serving."

"Okay." The old lady responded happily, and neatly wrapped a portion and handed it to Guan Shanyu, who took it and left. Yan Ruchen looked at his back, reluctantly took out some silver from his pocket and paid the bill. The old lady took the money and looked at Guan Shanyu's back as he walked away, sighing: "This young man is so handsome, I wonder if he is married yet. I have a distant niece who is still single..."

"Farewell."

Yan Ruchen interrupted the old lady's fantasy, turned around and left in a hurry. The old lady realized that she had said something wrong and quickly slapped her mouth lightly.

Guan Shanyu walked ahead, holding the stinky tofu. As he walked, he took a piece of tofu from the bowl and put it in his mouth to taste it. After chewing it for a moment, he gave his evaluation: "The skin is not crispy enough, the taste is too stinky and not tasty at all, and the soup is too salty." Then he turned around and handed the stinky tofu to Yan Ruchen, saying: "The taste is average, I give it to you."

"..." Yan Ruchen took it with some confusion, not knowing what to do with the bowl of stinky stuff. Guan Shanyu left without looking back.

Yan Ruchen looked at his back and realized belatedly that Guan Shanyu was not emotionally stable.

Along the way, Guan Shanyu would ask Yan Ruchen to buy anything new for him to try, but he would basically just take a bite or play with it for a while and then stuff it into Yan Ruchen's hands. Along the way, Yan Ruchen had a lot more things in his hands, and when he couldn't help but want to remind Guan Shanyu, Guan Shanyu stopped at the door of an inn again.

"Yan Ruchen, can I sleep here tonight? Do you have any money left?"

Yan Ruchen glanced at the inn, thought about the balance in his wallet, and said helplessly, "Okay. But what about these things?"

Guan Shanyu then noticed that Yan Ruchen was holding all the things he had just bought. He asked in confusion, "You're not going to eat them? Then throw them away."

Yan Ruchen raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "Throw them all away? That's a waste."

Guan Shanyu said "Oh" and seemed to be a little absent-minded. He smiled, turned his head away and said, "Let's just waste this time. Just think of it as my last meal."

Yan Ruchen was stunned for a moment, then hesitantly followed Guan Shanyu inside the inn. They each booked a room, and the landlady enthusiastically led them upstairs. As soon as they reached the door, Guan Shanyu walked in without looking back, closing the door with a snap.

Yan Ruchen paused slightly, and the landlady hurriedly said, "Sir, your room is in the front, not here. You have so many things in your hands, how about I help you with them?" Yan Ruchen came to his senses, politely declined, and walked towards his room with his things in his hands.

After entering the room and closing the door, Yan Ruchen waited until the proprietress left before putting down the things in his hands and sitting at the table.

His room was right next to Guan Shanyu's, but the wall was silent, and there seemed to be no movement over there. So, he found the steamed lotus root and jade rice from the pile of things Guan Shanyu bought.

I gently opened the food box and found that the food was still warm. The glutinous rice was soft and delicious, the lotus root slices were sticky and slippery, and the lotus seeds were fresh. The ingredients were of high quality, but the taste was indeed average.

Yan Ruchen put down his spoon and stared at the food box in front of him. Everything around him was quiet, even the next room was silent. Outside, the sky was quietly darkening. He sat there for an unknown amount of time, his eyes fixed on the food box. For some reason, he suddenly remembered the first time he met Guan Shanyu.

At that time, Yan Ruchen lived in a brothel in the town and lived with his foster mothers.

However, life in a brothel was not always easy. The madam was violent and would often beat or scold her if she was not satisfied, and she would also deduct her monthly salary. Even basic food was often hard to come by. As a result, Yan Ruchen often had no food to eat.

At that time, Guan Shanyu's family was still a wealthy family in the village. On the first and fifteenth day of every lunar month, his father would give out porridge at the village entrance to accumulate merit. So Yan Ruchen would always go there to queue up for porridge on the day when Guan Shanyu gave out porridge.

At that time, Guan Shanyu was about the same age as him, about six or seven years old. In winter, he wore a white coat and wrapped himself up like a snowball, imitating the adults in making porridge. Although the porridge was only for beggars and refugees, and Yan Ruchen did not meet the requirements, every time he went there, he would smear some dirt on his face and pretend to be struggling. Guan Shanyu would immediately feel pity for him and not only give him porridge, but also give this poor "little beggar" who was about the same age as himself a few more big steamed buns.

But most of the time, when Guan Shanyu tiptoed to get the steamed buns from the steamer, he would be immediately discovered by the adults. After the adults learned of his intention, they pulled him aside and whispered to Guan Shanyu that Yan Ruchen was the son of a prostitute, had a disease and was not clean, and that he had food in the brothel and came to deceive you to pass on the disease, etc.

But Guan Shanyu didn't care much, just felt that Yan Ruchen was pitiful, but the master was unwilling to give him alms. After pulling and tugging for a while, seeing that he couldn't get the steamed bun to Yan Ruchen, he sat on the ground and cried, vowing to give him the steamed bun or go on a hunger strike.

At that time, Yan Ruchen didn't know why, but every time Guan Shanyu threatened to go on a hunger strike, the adults would nod and agree as if facing a great enemy, and quickly give him the steamed buns. Later, when Guan Shanyu's family fell into poverty and moved to a dilapidated house in the village, Yan Ruchen repeatedly dug up the walls of his house and discovered that Guan Shanyu was extremely picky about food. He would rather starve than eat anything he didn't like, no matter how much others persuaded him.

For two years, Guan Shanyu sat in that dilapidated little courtyard, his family gradually passing away and his smile gradually fading. In the end, he somehow ended up hanging out with the idle youths in the village, and his love for helping others turned into bullying.

But after arriving in Tianxuan, Guan Shanyu went from not eating anything to becoming addicted to eating pancakes.

Yan Ruchen glanced to the side and picked up the stinky tofu, fried grasshoppers, and cilantro wraps Guan Shanyu had bought. Seeing Guan Shanyu's current preference, out of curiosity, he took a bite of the stinky tofu. The strong flavor instantly filled his mouth, and Yan Ruchen couldn't help but spit it out. He smiled bitterly and shook his head, pushing the food boxes aside, away from him.

The next room was still dead silent.

As night fell, it started raining again. The raindrops hit the tiles, making a crisp sound.

Yan Ruchen sat by the window. On the windowsill stood a small flowerpot, a small, unopened flower in it being blown hither and thither by the wind. Yan Ruchen placed his hand over the flower, letting the rain soak the back of his hand.

No sleep for one night.