12 Little Cupid

Six months had come to pass since that time.

Chu Fan had replied to Huang Mudan and finally revealed to her the truth of Zhu Zhong's disappearance. He had come up with the excuse that he inherited the parchment paper alongside Zhu Zhong's other belongings. The part where he gained possession of Zhu Zhong's belongings was true; he just added a bit to it.

Huang Mudan and he had promised to keep contact through the parchment paper. They made an agreement to meet at the inter-sect tournament where he assured Huang Mudan that Zhu Zhong would make an appearance.

Huang Mudan herself chose to blindly accept his words as she was desperate for a reason to believe that Zhu Zhong was still alive.

Chu Fan could imagine her sad and crying face as it brought him great pain.

"Would she even cry a single teardrop if it had been me that was presumed dead?" he thought to himself.

He was reluctant to let go of his feelings for his first love and move on with his life. He was determined to get the, possible, harem ending in this story.

He had become closer to Yao Lingyan the past six months also. She had began to follow him around a lot more than usual. She would come and help him around the kitchen with whatever spare time she had.

But eventually rumors began to spread that the two boys seemed to have romantic feelings for each other.

Female students would flock to see the pair working together in the kitchen; they would swoon whenever they caught a glimpse of Chu Fan teasing Yao Lingyan, who would usually pout and stomp her feet before smiling.

Male disciples did not care much because it meant less future competitors in the matters of love.

Eventually the two would hear the rumors and arranged to see each other on weekends only as to lessen the amount of rumors flying around.

He had become a rumored existence in Stardrop City also as many disciples stopped frequenting the local restaurants for food that was edible. He had affected the economy by a lot. Not being a necessity anymore, local inns and restaurants were forced to lower their prices, lowering the overall living cost of Stardrop City. This allowed the citizens to spend more money improving the quality of their lives. To the lower and middle class of the city, he was revered as a lucky existence; although the rich didn't really care as they remained rich regardless of how he affected their profits.

Chu Fan had also started making a name for himself as a matchmaker in the sect among the students. He was dubbed "Little Cupid" by the first, direct disciple, pair he had put together. And he began to charge a fee for his services.

He had successfully put together a little over a dozen couples by this point. His rate of success was higher than the Unparalleled Love Guru of Forest Peak, Tian Hai, who was infuriated by this.

Tian Hai lost his bet to Chu Fan, but let Tian Hai keep his title in exchange for his friendship. Besides, he liked being called Little Cupid more.

Tian Hai had seen Chu Fan's method of matchmaking and was both impressed and flabbergasted by his tactics. He never thought this fatty could be so crafty. It was good that he became friends with such a person, as he couldn't imagine how torturous Chu Fan could have made his life.

Chu Fan would scheme and have Hun Lian act as his informant by talking to the female that any male disciple who sought his help had admired.

He had shamelessly employed her using desserts as an incentive and Hun Lian, with her innocent and naive nature, complied without hesitation.

After gaining enough information, he would teach the male disciple how to make the favorite dessert of the female crush in particular. And Chu Fan would personally invite her over to try the desserts he made. He would give to the female student the desserts made by the male disciple.

After she tasted the dessert he would simply tell her that he didn't make the dessert and reveal to her the hard work and devotion the male disciple put into making the dessert just for her. Then, the male disciple would appear and confess his feelings.

After a while, many female students began to anticipate his invitation and pray to the heavens that they may be next in line.

He would receive too many requests for help and started to teach cooking classes every other weekend. And doing this he formed a contract with Tian Hai, giving him a list of the female disciples attending. Tian Hai would inform the male disciples and they would bid for slots; which Chu Fan and Tian Hai would split evenly.

Chu Fan would put the disciples into male-female pairs and gave an excuse that it was needed to balance the yin and yang energies in the cooking process. He lied as that only applied to ingredients when cooking qi-infused foods.

They had made great profits from their business and had deepened their friendship with one another. Though the only person who didn't approve of their actions was Da Bao.

Da Bao came from a family that were descendants of princess of the Ancient Yellow River Dragon race. All the men in his family had many concubines as they always seemed to be, frankly put, horny.

He was the the second son of three children born from his father's first wife. He had grown up hating his father who seemed to neglect his mother in favor of the other four concubines. He himself was neglected by his father; which lead him to find solitude in collecting magical treasures.

Da Bao had made a pledge to only ever marry one woman in his lifetime and love her forever.

His eldest brother had became paralyzed after falling off his bed and injuring his spinal cord on the night of his wedding. Da Bao was then swiftly sent to the sect to cultivate and become the new inheritor of the family patriarch position.

Chu Fan had been continuously improving his kitchen with the help of Da Bao. He employed Da Bao to help him build a variety of magical treasures that would improve the cafeteria. He gave Da Bao the necessary sect points for the materials and labor.

The Chu Fan bonded with Da Bao while helping him build these magical treasures like: the time-incubator, ticket dispenser, vending machine, and mechanical delivery animal puppets.

Every morning, Chu Fan would get early and practice his kitchen knife skills, and his skills had considerably improved as he was close to mastering the first level of the Limitless Culinary Knife skill.

The Heaven Cleaver itself had remained untouched by Chu Fan as it stayed in its bracelet form. He understood that he needed to become stronger to be able to wield such a mystical treasure. The last and first time he used it, he nearly died from his lack of strength.

He noticed that he needed to do what some of the heroes from other xianxia did and attempt to simultaneously cultivate in different systems. And thus, he resolved himself to find and cultivate a body refinement manual.

To simultaneously cultivate two different systems was a difficult task indeed; as a person had limited time to cultivate and extend their lifeline. To cultivate two systems would require much money and materials as a person needed to consume many medicines and elixirs to accelerate their rate of cultivation growth.

Chu Fan had wanted to cultivate all three systems as they complimented each other; but their was a scarcity when it came down to mystical Soul Tempering skills. And he was content to stick with two at the moment as Soul Tempering could be started at any time. But it was unheard of to cultivate all of them at once as it seemed an impossible feat to accomplish.

All three systems complimented one another. Body Refinement allowed one to filter and become one with pure qi, heightening the quality and ferocity of Qi Formation cultivation arts. Qi Formation allowed one to create a vessel powerful enough to increase soul depth by leaps and bounds. And Soul Tempering allowed an cultivator to become immortal, being able to reform the body as long as one could retain a wisp of their soul.

Body Refinement itself had nine stages to its cultivation. It became harder and required more effort, the farther one progressed.

When it came to Body Refinement and dual cultivating, there was a deadline. A person had to reach the third stage of Body Refinement before they advanced to the third stage of Qi Formation, Mortal Transcendence. The cultivator in question had to have reached the third stage of Body Refinement, Gold Skeletal Form.

Chu Fan knew that there were only two people he could turn to for help in finding a suitable Body Refinement technique; he would have to seek out the hallmaster of Forest Peak, Chen Si, or the sect chief, Hun Xiao.

He knew that the latter would be too busy to help him in the matter and hand the task off to his direct disciple, Xin Hai. And seeing as Chu Fan and Xin Hai were already not on good terms, he could not put himself in the enemy's care. So he headed towards Forest Peak while thinking about Xin Hai.

Xin Hai had held a grudge on Chu Fan after finding out that he had played a big part in helping the direct disciples, Chu Shen and Zhong Chen, get together as a couple. He swore vengeance on Chu Fan in silence. He regretted not killing the little cupid four years ago.

Xin Hai, was renowned by students as a manipulative lecher. He would lure naive females in with his prestige and shower them with cheap trinkets and cultivation slips. After a female disciple had fulfilled their purpose in his eyes, he quickly cast them aside and set his eyes on a new target.

Chu Fan himself, was in possession of one of Xin Hai's copies of the Deity-Alluring Fist. In fact, the night Chu Fan had caught him peeking on Chu Shen, she had already sensed his presence. Hearing Chu Fan's footsteps approaching, she chose to speak up. For had she not have uttered a word, he would have been dead already.

Chu Shen herself was very observant in the matters and gossip of the sect. She knew of what Xin Hai had been doing in the sect and had investigated the many girls; who in turn, told the same story more or less. She chose to keep silent as it was not wise to openly accuse such an insolent bastard of his wrongdoings.

His witnesses were reluctant to expose Xin Hai as they felt themselves partly to blame for allowing themselves to be taken advantage of. Also, Xin Hai being the direct disciple of the sect chief only proved to further their purpose for not speaking up. They were afraid of being exiled for baseless slander of such a prominent figure with such powerful backing.

Chu Shen also knew that Zhong Chen and Xin Hai both sought her affection. Though she favored the more reserved and stoic Zhong Chen. He was one to protect the ones around him, even it meant losing his life; and she felt she could rely on him. Though she was a little frustrated with Zhong Chen as he would keep his true feelings hidden as he was afraid of rejection and heartache, two pains his cultivation did not prepare himself for.

And Chu Fan could not make a more appropriate appearance in their life leading to their happy life as it was now. They had planned to announce their engagement after the tournament was over.

Chu Fan finally found hallmaster Chen Si where he would usually be, sweeping the steps of Forest Peak. He thought of how he could gain a favor from hallmaster Chen Si.

Chu Fan knew hallmaster Chen Si's deepest thoughts as he was the same way in his past life. He was a person who was reserved when giving his opinions as he considered the feelings of others before speaking. He was a person who tended to stutter or pause for a ling amount of time as he second-guessed his every word and their possible consequences.

Hallmaster Chen Si displayed all the signs of a typical person with an INFJ, Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging, personality and/or having Type-A blood.

Chu Fan had forced himself to become different in this life. The hero in a story needed to be unafraid of offending others. He was done with censoring and babying people who couldn't accept that the world had bad and/or ignorant people in the world.

He believed such offensive and controversial things needed to be openly discussed to educate the masses and make people aware of issues in the world. He didn't like the coddling of people as it confined them to the thought that the world was but a disc whose length ended over the edge of the closest horizon that their eyes could lay upon.

Chu Fan was determined to transform hallmaster Chen Si, little by little; and hopefully gain a favor from him.

He had guessed that hallmaster Chen Si was infatuated by the neighboring Peak's hallmaster Bu Fu. He remembered the way hallmaster Chen Si reacted to the very mention of hallmaster Bu Fu's planned appearance at the event. One would not readily agree after declining an invitation.

Chu Fan thought on the matter a little more closely as it seemed that hallmaster Chen Si was a competitor for Bu Fu's affection, and his rival was the sect chief during their youthful days. The actions of Hun Xiao confirmed his apparent dislike of hallmaster Chen Si. It seemed that hallmaster Bu Fu did not return the affection to either Hun Xiao or Chen Si as neither of them bore the title of being her husband.

Chu Fan noticed that there seemed to be a recurring theme of love triangles in this world, making Chu Fan feel awkward as he himself seemed to be the third wheel when it came to his own love triangle between his childhood friends and himself.

"What a weird coincidence? Love is a crazy metaphysical bit**." he said as he shook his head.

Hallmaster Chen Si was puzzled when he heard Chu Fan's words. He had noticed Chu Fan's presence for a while now. He chose to observe the lovable fat and cheerful child as he seemed deep in thought as he closed in on hallmaster Chen Si.

"Why is this child talking about love at his age? He should be cultivating. Surely these rumors of him being the little cupid matchmaker can't be true, can they?" he thought to himself.

Chu Fan looked over to see that hallmaster Chen Si was deep in thought, currently he had stopped sweeping and looked like he was lost. Chu Fan quickly understood that hallmaster Chen Si had heard his words and was trying to figure out why he would mutter such words.

Chu Fan bowed and said, "Greetings hallmaster Chen Si. This disciple seeks your aid in certain matters."

Hallmaster Chen Si was brought back into reality as his thought was interrupted by Chu Fan.

Coughing to buy himself time, he nodded in reply.

"Ahem! Chu Fan, for what matters have you sought me out today?

Chu Fan looked at him and smiled.

"This disciple was wondering if the sect happens to carry any cultivation slips in Body Refinement?"

Hallmaster Chen Si understood the underlying meaning of Chu Fan's words and glared at the happily smiling child.

"Surely, you do not mean to dual cultivate in Qi Formation and Body Refinement? That is out of the question."

Chu Fan saw this coming and quickly refuted.

"I've thought about it long and hard, and it seems feasible. I just need a chance, just this once. Hallmaster Chen, I'll make a deal with you. I, the little cupid have helped countless amounts of my fellow male disciples in their struggles with love. Do you perhaps have any person you currently admire?"

His words echoed in hallmaster Chen Si's ears and the latter remained silent for a while as he seriously considered Chu Fan's proposal as a possible ray of hope.

Hallmaster Chen Si had hit a snag in his cultivation. He had developed a heart demon that had been with him since his youth. It was one born from his regret and untold feelings. Hun Xiao had confessed and gotten rejected; but at least he had the satisfaction of knowing he tried.

This heart demon tormented him day and night, not allowing him to sleep well or eat well. He was once known as a prodigy amongst the sect and was considered a candidate for the sect chief's position. But was beaten when Hun Xiao married the sect chief's daughter, Su Lin.

He felt his life's cultivation had proved to be fruitless as he had become a hermit, resolving himself to a one-sided love. Little did he know how fortunate he was to have met this little cupid before him.

"Ah! Disciple offers greetings to hallmaster Bu Fu!" Chu Fan said as he bowed to a person behind hallmaster Chen Si.

Hallmaster Chen Si's eyes widened in shock, like a cat seeing a cucumber lying next to it. And he turned around to see nothing.

He was fuming with anger that this little fat kid was messing with him while he was deep in his thoughts.

"Hallmaster, you think too much about the matter. I know that you have feelings for hallmaster Bu Fu. And this infatuation with her is also the cause for your decline in cultivation and possible heart demon."

Chu Fan criticized the hallmaster before him, and hallmaster Chen Si only remained silent.

"Your white hair and bags under your eyes tell me all I need to know. You need to conquer your fears and confess to hallmaster Bu Fu. Trust me, it's like peeling off a bandage to see if your wound will remain a scar or not. The faster you get this done with, the faster you'll recover."

Hallmaster Chen Si's pupils dilated and he opened his mouth as he was ready to agree; but he was interrupted by the ranting fat child standing before him.

"At least consider doing this for Zhong Chen, you are his master. And as the saying goes, 'A day as a teacher, a father for life.' He would not like to see you suffering like this."

Hallmaster chose to continue listening as he noticed the little fat child was full of tears at this moment.

At this point, he was loud enough that the disciples of Forest Peak started gathering around, even Zhong Chen and Chu Fan's dorm-mates made an appearance. They were curious as to what the ruckus at the foot of Forest Peak was about.

"Countless times, I've walked past these steps. And I know that you would like to offer your warmest greetings, but you hold yourself back. I know you are afraid of hurting others with your words and getting hurt in return, but you shouldn't hide your feelings like this. It's not healthy. You are the hallmaster of Forest Peak, the role model and one disciples should turn to in their time of need. Be brave and befriend the disciples who want to do the same to you. You have so much to show us as we have to show you. Let's all learn from each other and cultivate happily."

Chu Fan began to wipe his tears; and the others began to wipe their tears also. Chu Fan had spoke the very words that he had wanted to say to his past self.

Hallmaster Chen Si was also in tears as he understood and felt the same way that Chu Fan did. Hallmaster Chen Si fell to his knees and begged for forgiveness.

"I'm so sorry everyone, this pathetic excuse for a hallmaster has failed you disciples. And most of all, I've failed you my dearest direct disciple, Zhong Chen. I forced my duties upon you when you needed my help the most. I only hope to redeem myself in the future, if, you can find it in your hearts to forgive me."

He began to kowtow, but he was stopped by a teary-eyed Zhong Chen.

"Master, this disciple can never repay you for all you've done for me. You were the one to retrieve me from the clutches of the River-Grass Spider, I wouldn't be here today. I studied and cultivated my hardest as to not waste the life you've given me. This disciple will never be ashamed of his dearest master."

Zhong Chen began to wipe his tears as he began to sniffle.

"Right, hallmaster Chen Si is my idol. He always looked so cool, standing there like a stoic figure."

"Right, we only made it our duty to become as great as our hallmaster."

Everyone began to throw in their two cents.

They all laughed and cried together. When they were finished, the crowd had surrounded hallmaster Chen Si.

Hallmaster Chen Si, with his eyes all red and puffy from crying, approached Chu Fan with a smile.

"So, disciple Chu Fan. What's your plan? How are you going to help me win the woman of my dreams."

Chu Fan smiled greatly as a glint appeared in his eyes.

"Alright, I'm going to need the help of everyone here today. Especially you, Zhong Chen."

Chu Fan began to direct the various disciples as this would not be one of the regular female disciples he was helping someone conquer. His intended target was none other than the hallmaster of River-Flowing Peak.

He made all the disciples present except for Zhong Chen make a blood pact in case, their were any male disciples with a big mouth present. After they were done, he would burn the blood pact, freeing the disciples of its possible effects.

He would need Chu Shen to become an informant. And she readily agreed as she felt her master secretly yearned for worldly things like marriage and children herself.

The first piece of information that Chu Fan needed was how hallmaster Bu Fu felt about hallmaster Chen Si.

So he instructed Chu Shen to comb hallmaster Bu Fu's hair and talk of the past. And the next day, Chu Shen came with a reply.

"Junior disciple, according to master, she had many suitors in her youth. But she turned them all down, even the current sect chief could not help but fall for her also. Regarding hallmaster Chen Si, she's always seen him as heroic. But he seemed uninterested in her."

Hearing her words, Chu Fan felt like he wanted to tear his hair out. Hallmaster upon hearing Chu Shen's words, also acted exactly like Chu Fan. The two acted in very similar ways when their guards were lowered. If an outsider saw these things, they might have even mistaken the two for father and son.

Chu Fan understood what happened. He had prepared for these words. He just wanted to confirm his thoughts. He had purposefully instructed Chu Shen to comb hallmaster Bu Fu's to lower her guard and get the most truthful answers from her as she was more likely to tell the truth in a relaxed state.

He had guessed that hallmaster Chen Si was probably a high ranking disciple that had many admirers also, just that he was a very reserved man.

He was not one that was unaffected by Bu Fu's charm. He simply played it off like he didn't have feelings for her, choosing to love her from the shadows. But since Chen Si had been the only person who didn't hold any perverse thoughts or intentions towards her; Bu Fu found friendship in this man.

The other female disciples shunned her out of jealousy and the males welcomed her with perverted stares. The only one to view her as a person was the humble and reserved Chen Si, whom she felt she could confide in. Although when he was with her he seemed to come out of his shell.

They would talk forever in their youth, and Chen Si came to love her as a person. He loved her for her flaws, that despite her strength, the presence of a cockroach could send her travelling a li in an instant. And the fact that when she lied, her nose would itch.

Chu Fan felt like berating hallmaster Chen Si with knuckle sandwiches. He finally understood sect chief, Hun Xiao's rudeness when it came to Chen Si.

The reason why Hun Xiao was so bitter and mean towards hallmaster Chen Si is because he was maddened at how he was so oblivious to Bu Fu's feelings. She had been patiently waiting for years for Chen Si to finally take the initiative and confess to her.

Chu Fan just didn't know if she was patient enough to have waited this long. But he was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt; as she had not married yet.

Chu Fan quickly thought of the solution to all these problems: alcohol.

The day after that , Chu Fan set out to begin preparing to make a wine for the tragic pair of lovers. Cultivators of a higher stage of cultivation would build up a tolerance to alcohol, so they had to drink specially crafted wines made from magical plants. He would have to gather ingredients that made this a special wine he planned to make.

Getting these two drunk together while reminiscing about their past would get the truth out as they grew more intoxicated.

He had already made the time incubator machine and upgraded it twice using his tablet and new Dokimon Cards he had bought over the six months that had passed. It now fermented things at a rate of 20 years in the time it takes a week to go by.

Chu Fan pulled up his tablet interface and opened the item crafting page. Here, it detailed and cataloged the items he had invented as well as items he discovered. It also listed those items he had yet to encounter, including delicacies he had yet to taste.

Regardless, the system was willing to give him a full list of items he had yet to discover for a small fee of 50 silver coins. To which he quickly agreed to. His screen quickly flashed and it was full of the images and descriptions of all the items that could be found on this world.

He had no experience with making wine before, so he swiped over to the wine category and selected one of the wines most suitable for the mind-boggling pair of lovelorn hallmasters. The name of the wine is what drew Chu Fan to select it; it was called Spring's Breathe.

He pulled up the recipe and began compiling a list of it's ingredients. He inspected how long of a fermentation time was needed, which was a hundred years.

He began to consult his group about the ingredients he had listed. The sect had most of the ingredients in their sect store that the disciples could use their sect points to obtain. They had gathered all the ingredients except for one that the sect did not carry: a fully ripened Frost Plum.

The Frost Plum is one that can only grow in freezing cold conditions. It is a fruit coveted by many cultivators and battle beasts. It can be used to make a cultivation boosting elixir that had minimal impurities.

The disciples were stuck in a predicament as they didn't know how they might find such an item.

"The only place we can hope to find such an item is in the Northern Nation, where it is always cold." said Zhong Chen.

With that, every disciple in the group discussion turned towards to stare at Yao Lingyan.

"Lingyan, are you perhaps homesick?" asked Chu Fan.

Yao Lingyan felt goosebumps form on her skin as there was a hidden meaning to their words.

They discussed in detail, a plan to go back to their homes and visit their families. It was due time for the disciples to visit their parents and pay respects to their ancestors anyways. So they informed hallmaster Chen Si of their plans to go home for a time.

And shortly a week had gone by and hallmaster Chen Si allowed them all to leave for their homelands to visit their families for two months.

Yao Lingyan had sent a message to her royal family shortly after they planned their return home. And they swiftly sent an escort party to pick her up using a combat beast aptly named: Cloud-Striding Qilin.

Chu Fan made it a point to return to accompany her on her return to the Northern Nation.

Yao Lingyan was nervous when the escort group arrived, she feared what might happen to Chu Fan if her royal father found out that Chu Fan knew her secret.

"Let's go Lingyan. I have yet to offer my greetings to my future in-laws." he said teasingly as he rubbed his palms together.

Yao Lingyan was not pleased right now.

"This is no time to be kidding around right now. When we arrive don't mention any of the encounters we've had."

Chu Fan shook his head and waved his fingers.

"Lingyan, you should in now better than to doubt the abilities of this fatty. Don't fret, I've already got a plan."

As he finished his sentence the escort group had arrived.

They landed in a flashy manner, kicking up some dust which made people back away. The qilin itself had a lavish carriage miunted on it's back.

The two escorts riding on the back of the Cloud-Striding Qilin hopped off and quickly greeted Yao Lingyan.

"Your humble servants offer their greetings, your highness."

"Please stand up. We should depart as shortly as possible. I shall be bringing my friend along with me on this home visit."

The two escorts looked at each other with a confused and worried face before replying.

"Haha, your young master here has pitied me for being an orphan. We had made a bet that I could never go back to living a normal lifestyle after living so lavishly like royalty. I'm merely holding him up to his part of the bargain.

They assumed that Chu Fan really was just an idiot that hadn't found out Yao Lingyan's big secret.

"Yes, your highness. As you wish."

They had weighed the pros and cons of bringing Chu Fan. And ultimately they chose to comply with Yao Lingyan's wishes. They would be punished if they went against the princess' wishes. They agreed to Yao Lingyan's wishes because they could at least rely on her to protect them from the emperor's wrath.

Yao Lingyan and Chu Fan had just began to board when they were interrupted by hallmaster Chen Si.

"Chu Fan, you thought you could leave without properly bidding farewell to me?"

Chu Fan was surprised by his sudden words. He did not get what hallmaster Chen Si was getting at.

"As punishment for being unfilial, you are required to study this cultivation slip while on vacation. I'll be expecting to see the results of your cultivation when you return. Or you will be punished dearly."

Hallmaster threw a cultivation slip at Chu Fan; which the latter caught with both hands.

"This is- Thank you hallmaster Chen Si. I shall study it and show you my improvement in cultivation after I come back."

The two smiled at each other before Yao Lingyan and Chu Fan entered their carriage and set off on their mount.

"Alright! Northern Nation, here I come." said an excited Chu Fan.