Several days later.
Chen Mu’s cultivation was interrupted by a knock at the door.
Looking up at the window, the world outside had darkened. Unknowingly, he had immersed himself in grinding for experience all day again.
Of course, the results were very satisfying. Chen Mu looked at the grey wall.
Truthful Listening Technique: 6/10000/Fifth Rank;
Five Qi Primordial Technique: 196/10000/First Rank;
The Primordial Technique had already reached the beginner level. What surprised him was that the Truthful Listening Technique was not just Fourth Rank.
The skills he had trained before, such as the Void Cloak Technique and the Sand Containing Technique, were mostly only Fourth Rank.
“Seems like I’ve struck gold,” Chen Mu thought cheerfully.
The seven Wu brothers sure had a knack for choosing secret techniques.
“Then the other secret techniques…”
Chen Mu couldn’t help but feel excited about the Triple Yin Slaying Demon Technique.
He got up and opened the door, and it was the young man with the melon-seed face bringing the meal again.
The burly man with the dark face across the corridor had already gotten his meal box and was now opening the lid, tearing off a piece of roast chicken the size of half a watermelon and chewing it with the bones.
While eating, he complained to the melon-seed face, “You’re charging more and more money, but the stuff you give gets less and less.”
“Last month’s roast chicken was much bigger than this!”
The melon-seed face youth had a fully smiling face, “All sorts of materials at the Water Mansion have gone up in price, we can’t do anything about it.”
The dark-faced burly man glared and sneered contemptuously, “What do you mean ‘can’t do anything’? Tongtian Tower is already operated by the Water Mansion; you guys get your materials directly from outside the Water Mansion, and prices haven’t gone up out there!”
The melon-seed face could only reply with a helpless smile.
“I think the Water Mansion is just crazy about White Jade Coins. This young fellow, wouldn’t you agree?” The dark-faced burly man looked at Chen Mu for support with his argument.
Chen Mu smiled and nodded in agreement but didn’t want to say much, preparing to turn around and close the door.
But the man with the dark face suddenly spoke with a mysterious air, “Young fellow, do you know why the Water Mansion raised prices?”
Chen Mu paused mid-movement.
“Isn’t it to repair the Dragon Gate at the Water Mansion?”
Could there be another reason?
The dark-faced burly man stepped out of his room, approaching Chen Mu’s doorway.
“Repair the Dragon Gate? Heh! That’s just an excuse to fool people.”
He waved his hand to dismiss the eavesdropping melon-seed face youth, leaned in closer to Chen Mu and whispered, “I heard there’s a problem with the Jinzhu Dojo.”
“The dojo’s ability to draw Earth Spirit Vitality is insufficient, unable to maintain the Dragon Gate Talisman, and that’s what caused the Dragon Gate to collapse!”
“Why raise prices? Heh!”
“To save on expenses and drive people away, of course! The less people, the less consumption of Earth Spirit Vitality,” the dark-faced burly man gestured at Chen Mu with a wink.
Is this sort of news something you can just talk about openly?
Chen Mu couldn’t help but give a sideways glance.
Seeming to notice Chen Mu’s confusion, the dark-faced burly man didn’t seem to care and waved his hand dismissively.
“This matter is over a month old; it’s not really a big secret anymore.”
“Many staying in the Jinzhu Dojo are complaining about insufficient Vital Energy and increased fees.”
“Although it’s not explicitly stated, if one thinks about it, isn’t it obvious?” The dark-faced burly man leaned against the doorway of Chen Mu’s room, rattling off various speculations.
A thought struck Chen Mu.
The earliest news he heard was that Zhongshan Path’s Lower Courtyard couldn’t produce Yellow Bud Rice, forcing it to disband. This seemed to be related to the scarcity of Earth Spirit Vital Energy.
Now there’s also a problem with the Heavenly River Water Mansion…
Chen Mu couldn’t help but feel a sinking feeling in his heart.
Could it be that he had encountered some major disaster?
“Alright, I won’t disturb you from eating, I’m off,” the dark-faced burly man said as he shook his half-eaten chicken and waved goodbye.
Chen Mu also smiled and nodded, watching as the other man returned to his room and closed the door.
He saw another burly man with long arms in the other man’s room, standing at the door to greet him.
Chen Mu’s heart skipped a beat.
All the rooms along this corridor were supposed to be small single rooms.
Two burly men, crammed into a single room for seven or eight days?
The guys who eat Exotic Beast rainbow pheasants every day can’t be short of a few White Jade Coins, yet these two still squeezed together… Looks like I’ve stumbled upon a big secret!
A relationship of Dragon Yang?!
A dark-faced strong man with a beard, and another burly man with long arms… That’s quite some taste they have there!
Although I’d heard about things like this in my previous life, for this relatively conservative other world, isn’t that a bit too progressive? Plus, these are two rough men…
Can’t think about this, can’t think!
Hmm… I also wonder how they address each other in private. Like in the movies from my previous life? “Baby”?
Whoa…
Chen Mu couldn’t help but shudder.
No more curiosity! Time to eat and practice!
Chen Mu took the food box to the French window.
“Or maybe… listen in on their conversations?”
That… that wouldn’t be ethical, right?
Chen Mu’s face twisted with conflict as he activated the passive Truthful Listening Technique.
“I’m just testing a new Fifth Rank skill, definitely not eavesdropping! Yes, that’s it!”
Hum!
A hum buzzed in his ears.
The sounds of his stomach rumbling, the friction of the glowing algae sliding along the jade pipes on the walls making a rustling noise, the plink of water drops in the washroom.
Sounds from all directions slowly flowed into his mind.
Initially, it was just within Chen Mu’s room.
The next moment, all Chen Mu had to do was think about the hallway outside his room, and the sound of the wind passing through it reached his ears.
This sensation of being able to adjust his hearing range at will was quite marvelous.
It was like looking at a particular scene with the eyes – just naturally looking over there allowed him to see it.
Chen Mu focused on a direction he wanted to hear sounds from, and then he could hear them.
Chen Mu held firm onto his spirit, carefully inching the Truthful Listening skill toward the dark-faced strong man’s room.
He was wary lest the other man hit him with a sudden thunderbolt of revelation.
The next moment, the crunch of chewing on a chicken bone came through.
Chen Mu immediately let out a sigh of relief.
Yet, he couldn’t repress a feeling of disappointment welling up inside him.
Obviously, they were eating dinner at this moment; what else could be happening?
Chen Mu immediately scolded himself.
What was I looking forward to!
Ptui, ptui, ptui!
My mind’s too dirty!
Hmm…
Maybe I should listen in when they’re about to sleep.
…
“That young man with the pale face has a room layout similar to ours, with a French window at the very back.”