Chapter 6: Seeking

Shen Luo gave the speaker a cold glare, but said nothing more.

The aptitude of these three wasn't much better than his. On normal days, they got by on their relationship with Ding Hua, which was why others were mostly polite to them. However, at this moment they found themselves at a loss when met with Shen Luo's demeanor.

"What are you guys doing here?" At this moment, a frosty voice unexpectedly resonated.

Shen Luo turned his head and saw a slim young man, dressed in a green robe, with a sallow complexion. He was standing with one hand behind his back, and was walking towards them with an icy expression.

"Brother Ding..."

Upon recognizing him, everyone bowed in respect, including Ding Yuan, whereby the young man was none other than Ding Hua.

Although they were brothers, their appearances and aptitude varied greatly. To anyone unaware of their kinship, these two would never be associated with each other.

Upon being asked, Shen Luo briefly described the situation without expressing any signs of dissatisfaction.

"Betting..." Ding Hua elongated his final word, slightly furrowing his brows.

Cold sweat instantly broke out on Ding Yuan's face. He was nervous, fearing reprimand.

Despite being the elder brother, in front of his younger brother, he dare not assert his authority or even mention the word "Brother". From a young age, he had learned not to provoke him.

"Bai Xiaotian is also quite bored to make such a bet with you." Commented Ding Hua, with an obvious tone of disdain.

Shen Luo narrowed his eyes.

Ding Hua, the favorite disciple of the Pavilion Master, didn't care about his disagreement with Ding Yuan. He was solely concerned with Bai Xiaotian, a fellow Inner Sect Disciple.

As for them, including Ding Yuan, none seemed capable enough to capture his attention.

Upon realizing this, Shen Luo excused himself and then walked away.

Before he went too far, he managed to catch Ding Hua's icy voice: "Aiming to compete with a waste, you've got big vision, but my face is thoroughly lost because of you..."

The word "waste" reached his ears, resulting in Shen Luo's eyes turning icy. However, he did not stop his steps.

Given the fact that he was a Registered Disciple who could cultivate the Small Transformation Yang Skill, he certainly wouldn't be among anyone's favorites.

The fact that he was the "rich kid" among disciples, the only "big, fat sheep" who entered the sect by relying on a wealth of gold and silver, made it no surprise if he was bad-mouthed behind his back.

Little did they know, what he was using was money, but what he was cultivating was not skill, but life.

He was open-minded about the issue of money. He would occasionally let these senior brothers benefit from him, hence his relationship with almost all the disciples was not bad.

However, besides Bai Xiaotian, Tian Tiesheng, who was also a disciple of Luo Shi, was the only one who he would actually consider a friend.

The thought that he might not have long to live made Shen Luo's mood take a turn for the worse. He felt a chill creeping up from within, involuntarily quickening his steps.

Exiting the Jade Emperor Hall and heading downhill, he encountered many of his senior brothers. Shen Luo always took the initiative to greet each one of them, occasionally even exchanging a few jokes with those he was familiar with.

About half a moment later, he arrived at the Qingchipo area, near the Lingguan Hall. His chamber was located there.

However, Shen Luo didn't return to his chamber immediately. Wiping the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve, he left Qingchipo and headed towards a cross mountain path in another direction.

The path leading this way was narrower than the rest of the paths on the mountain. On normal days, hardly anyone passed by, leaving it seldom cleaned. The road was littered with a considerable amount of dried leaves, some of which had already decomposed and softened, creating a soft underfoot. Occasionally, single-room houses, built either of stone or wood, could be spotted on either side of the road, most of which were in a decrepit state.

Shen Luo seemed to be quite familiar with this place. After a long walk, he finally saw an old house surrounded by wild grass, half a man's height, on the side of the road.

This old house had clearly been abandoned for a long time, unattended to for many years. The red paint on the wall had severely dried out, having peeled off in many places, giving it a mottled appearance. The white paper pasted on the doors and windows had also suffered significant damage, even the window frames bore traces of worm infestation.

Shen Luo looked at the house a few times, nodded, then parted the wild grass, walked under the veranda, and pushed open the drafty wooden door. Accompanied by a "squeaking" sound, a musty odor of dampness immediately hit his face.

He turned sideways, one hand covering his nose, the other waving in the air.

After acclimatizing for a moment, he shifted his gaze and began to scan the interior of the house.

The room was not big, and it was filled with all sorts of damaged, ragged furniture, as well as worn-out brooms, water buckets, etc. They were all haphazardly piled up in various corners of the room.

"Considering this mildew smell… I'm afraid… it would be impossible to read anything anymore." Shen Luo quietly muttered.

Although his words carried a hint of disgust, he didn't show any hesitation in his action.

Shen Luo stepped forward and removed the battered chairs and benches stacked on the desk one by one. He then neatly piled them up on the other side of the room.

About a quarter of an hour later, he finally managed to clear the majority of the decrepit tables and chairs to the other side.

Shen Luo was panting slightly. Seeing all the tables and counters that had been underneath the heap revealing themselves, he finally let out a long sigh of relief.

after stepping into the Small Transformation Yang Skill, he could feel that his physique had significantly strengthened compared to originally. However, just doing this bit of cleaning work, his back was already drenched in sweat.

It was only after he had taken a short break that Shen Luo finally approached and pulled out the drawers of the tables and counters, searching them one by one.

"Empty..." The first drawer was utterly devoid of anything.

"Empty..." The second one was similarly empty.

"Empty..."

...

After rummaging through seven or eight desks, just when Shen Luo was starting to feel frustrated, thinking that all his hard work had been in vain, he finally found something.

"Found it!"

The ninth tattered desk, which was left with only two legs, finally revealed an old book with a green cover in its drawer when opened.

He put in so much effort to clean up these worn-out desks and chairs not for just for the sake of tidying up the house, but to find these books left behind by the previous owner.

Aside from the basic Taoist classics like "Tao Te Ching" in the Spring and Autumn Pavilion, the collection of books wasn't extensive. Most of them were private collections of the senior disciple, which were not easily accessible.

Shen Luo had a fondness for reading all kinds of miscellaneous and anecdotal books since childhood. Afterward, in search of a self-cure, he read even more books. The incredible remedies available in his family pharmacy were a result of his extensive reading and critical review of the prescriptions from various sources.

This habit of his developed into reading late into the night for several years. With the Spring and Autumn Pavilion being closed for a long time, and not wishing for books to be delivered from home, he had to search for books in various corners of the Pavilion.

In the past, he had accidentally found some magazines and travel logs left in other abandoned houses, which were quite useful to him. This time, he thought he might try his luck again, and unexpectedly, it paid off as he found another book.

"Zhang Heavenly Master's Demon-Subduing Chronicle…" Shen Luo held up the old book which was a bit damp, carefully scanned the few vertical lines on the cover, and read it out loud.