Chapter 3: Playing Blind

Wen Xu touched his face and spoke in a weak voice, “Do I really look like a ghost?”

Bian Chunzhou patted his chest to calm his racing heart. Is my vigilance really this poor? he thought. I didn’t even notice someone getting this close. Sure, there are still about ten meters between us, but for a cultivator, that’s practically face-to-face. Those Nascent Soul ancestors can kill people from ten thousand miles away.

“Stop right there! Don’t get too close. Your face is as white as a ghost’s, and I’m worried you’re going to collapse on me again!” After saying this, Bian Chunzhou felt he might have been a bit too harsh, so he added, “What do you want with me anyway? I’m very busy.” Busy outwitting the Danxiang Grass, that was.

Hearing this, Wen Xu gave an apologetic smile. “My apologies. It was my fault for startling you, benefactor.”

Looking closely, this pale-faced fellow was actually quite handsome, easily on par with the campus heartthrob from the neighboring art academy in his past life. Oh, heavens, please grant me some good fortune today in exchange for saving such a handsome guy, Bian Chunzhou prayed silently, indulging in a bit of superstition. On the outside, however, he kept his composure. “You don’t need to call me benefactor. It feels weird.”

“But I do not know how to address you, benefactor. I…”

“Hey, hey, hey, hey! Don’t collapse on me! Two Blood Recovery Pills and your injuries still aren’t healed? Which big shot struck you with such viciousness? Wait, are you just fainting from hunger? How many days has it been since you last ate?”

No way. Do Qi Refining cultivators in the cultivation world not even have time to eat a Fasting Pill because they’re preparing for the sect entrance exams? Do they really have to be this competitive?

“Probably… two or three days.” It might have been even longer, but Wen Xu could not quite remember.

Good grief. Anyone who heard this would have to give him a thumbs-up. Bian Chunzhou glanced at the man’s waist and saw no storage pouch at all. He asked bluntly, “Where are your Fasting Pills?”

Wen Xu did not understand what he meant, but he knew how to make excuses. “My belongings were all stolen.”

“What kind of person is so desperate that they’d even steal Fasting Pills!” Bian Chunzhou said, filled with righteous indignation. But he quickly snapped out of it. “Wait, no. Something is very wrong with you. Anyone who dares to participate in the Yonglu Mountain selection would never steal another candidate’s Fasting Pills. What is your real purpose in seeking me out?”

Bian Chunzhou was inexperienced, not stupid. He drew the low-grade spiritual sword from his waist. “Speak!” Of course, he would never actually dare to kill anyone, but he could at least try to intimidate the man. After all, that was how they did it in TV dramas.

“I…” Wen Xu coughed softly, his face turning a shade paler. Lying on the ground, he exposed his vital areas directly to the weapon. “I did indeed approach you with a purpose, benefactor.”

Wow, I knew it. People in the cultivation world really can’t be trusted. “Go on.”

“I do not know where to begin, but as you said, benefactor, if I truly harbored ill intent, I would not have starved myself to the point of complete exhaustion. I… to tell you the truth, I do not know where this place is. I stumbled in by mistake.” After speaking, Wen Xu gave a shy smile. Though he could not recognize others’ faces, he knew he was good-looking.

“Stumbled in? That’s absolutely impossible. The Poyun Secret Realm is a spiritual herb realm belonging exclusively to Yonglu Mountain. There’s no way Yonglu Mountain wouldn’t be able to keep out a ordinary Qi Refining cultivator. Your story is getting more and more ridiculous.”

Wen Xu smiled bitterly. “To tell you the truth, seven days ago I was chased by three people for no reason. Today, I reached the end of my rope. Unwilling to die at their hands, I threw myself off a cliff in desperation. I never expected to land on you, benefactor, let alone survive. I, Wen Xu, will remember your life-saving grace to the depths of my soul.”

This really… doesn’t look like an act. But shouldn’t a trope like falling off a cliff into a secret realm be reserved for a transmigrated protagonist like me?

Bian Chunzhou remained skeptical, keeping his sword drawn. “Then what exactly is your purpose in seeking me out?”

“I am… hungry. But I have nothing to my name, and there are no animals here for me to hunt. I also have no way of knowing if the fruits on the trees are edible. So, I was wondering if you, benefactor, could…”

What a ridiculously simple goal. For a moment, Bian Chunzhou was actually left speechless. But he quickly shrieked, “What! There are fruits on the trees? What do they look like? Why didn’t I see any? That’s impossible!”

Hearing this, Wen Xu did not describe them directly. He only said, “Actually, I am not too sure either. I was so hungry that my vision was blurry, and I walked with my eyes closed. I just felt myself kicking quite a few fruits. But since the surroundings were excessively quiet and there were no animals around, I did not dare eat them.”

Bian Chunzhou: !!!!!!

If the other party had described the fruits in detail, Bian Chunzhou would have been skeptical. But looking at the state of this fellow-starved to such a degree-and knowing how proud cultivators usually were, it was highly unlikely he would use such a clumsy excuse to deceive someone.

He was starting to feel tempted.

“Hey, brother, how about we strike a deal? I’ll treat you to some Fasting Pills, and you take me to gather those fruits. What do you say?”

Wen Xu agreed without a second thought. “Alright.”

“That quick? You’re not setting a trap for me, are you?”

“No. I am but a common mortal. Besides, plotting against one’s benefactor invites the wrath of heaven.” Wen Xu considered himself to have some principles. Although his principles could be quite flexible at times, there was no need to lie about this.

Bian Chunzhou thought it over and decided to take the gamble. After all, if he didn’t gamble, he would end up at the bottom. If he did, he might still save himself. The preliminary trial of Yonglu Mountain prohibited killing. If he lost the bet, the worst-case scenario was being eliminated directly. If that happened, he would lock his heart away and never trust another handsome guy’s promise again.

Of course, the main reason was that Fasting Pills were cheap. Rounding it down, this was basically getting something for nothing.

“Wait, no. If someone like you is a common mortal, how are the rest of us ordinary people supposed to survive?” Handsome but unaware of it-even more trustworthy.

After taking the Fasting Pill, Wen Xu felt a warmth spread through his stomach. Before long, his hunger completely vanished. How magical, he thought. If this kind of pill were to spread to the mortal world, it would surely be highly sought after by those in mourning. Having eaten nothing but baby bok choy and cabbage for three years straight, Wen Xu felt he had a right to speak on the matter.

“No, I…”

Bian Chunzhou met the man’s lifeless eyes again. How strange. He couldn’t see his own reflection in them. “You-“

Wen Xu touched his face. “Did I scare you again, Benefactor?”

His eyes were still lifeless. Bian Chunzhou couldn’t help but wave a hand in front of them. “You can’t see?”

Wen Xu had originally planned to explain. After all, to prevent anyone from discovering that he couldn’t tell people apart, he had prepared ten thousand excuses in his head to explain his abnormality. But… maybe pretending to be blind wasn’t a bad idea.

He was no longer a beggar, he didn’t need to take the imperial examinations, and it was impossible for him to return to Bizhou Prefecture. Besides, a blind man would naturally lower other people’s guard. With a quick shift in his thoughts, Wen Xu nodded immediately. “My apologies. You figured it out after all, Benefactor. I thought I had hidden it well.”

As he spoke, he went so far as to close his eyes, tearing a strip of cloth from the hem of his robe to blindfold himself.

I’m such a jerk! Bian Chunzhou thought.

“Wait, that’s not right. Aren’t you a cultivator? How could a cultivator be blind?” As long as one had enough spirit stones, severed limbs could regrow on the spot and function just as well as the original, unless the issue lay in the heart, Dantian^[1], or spiritual roots.

Wen Xu was startled. No wonder he felt this man was overly wary of him; it turned out he had mistaken him for a fellow cultivator. After a quick calculation, he spoke. “I don’t understand what you mean, Benefactor. I am no cultivator.”

Although keeping up the pretense might have been more advantageous, he knew too little about this world, and the risk of being exposed was too high. In the end, Wen Xu decided to be honest. This man was kind-hearted. At least, for as long as he could remember, he had rarely received such unconditional kindness. Most things in his life had to be fought for.

Therefore, when facing someone like this, he did not want to show his overly calculating and shrewd side if he could help it.

“That’s impossible. You’ve clearly opened your Qi sea^[2]!”

Wen Xu didn’t even need to pretend to look surprised. “What is a Qi sea?”

“It’s in your Dantian! You can feel it, right? Those tiny vortexes. That’s the sign that you’ve entered the Qi Refining Stage. Don’t play dumb with me.”

“Is it here?” Wen Xu focused and sensed it. To his surprise, there really was something. Though tiny, a small vortex of Qi was indeed spinning there. “How is this possible?”

Did I just run into an idiot?! Bian Chunzhou thought.

“But before this, I really was just a mortal. If you hadn’t mentioned it, Benefactor, I probably wouldn’t have noticed this Qi sea even now.” Wen Xu couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy. If he had a Qi sea, did that mean he could become a cultivator too? Although he didn’t know what a cultivator truly was, judging by how his benefactor could bring someone back from the brink of death, it had to be far more interesting than taking the imperial examinations.

With this thought, the gloom in Wen Xu’s heart dissipated significantly.

“Really?” Bian Chunzhou was still skeptical. Although he was a transmigrator, he knew that opening a Qi sea was no simple matter for a mortal. If anyone could do it so easily, the cultivation world would have been overcrowded long ago.

“Of course it’s true. Aren’t you here to gather fruit for your exam, Benefactor? I promise I won’t take a single one. They are all yours.”

Bian Chunzhou grew even more suspicious. “You’re giving them all to me? What about you?”

“I only stumbled in here by accident and don’t understand the rules of this place at all. Besides, with my eyes like this, I’ll have to figure out my next steps after I get out. If you don’t believe me, Benefactor, I can swear an oath.”

Is this guy some kind of naive sweetheart? Having heard him say all this, Bian Chunzhou felt a twinge of guilt, feeling a bit like he was swindling an innocent young man. But the moment his eyes fell upon the branches laden with Red Pearl Fruits, he knew he was set!

Red Pearl Fruits! They were Grade Two spiritual fruits, and the high-quality ones could even reach Grade Three. With this many, he was going to be rich!

“Benefactor, did I manage to help you?”

“Oh, stop calling me Benefactor. My name is Bian Chunzhou, Chun as in spring rain, Zhou as in boat.”

“I am Wen Xu.”

Bian Chunzhou was currently packing the Red Pearl Fruits into a jade box. Fortunately, this jade box was provided by Yonglu Mountain; otherwise, with his meager assets, he could never afford a storage bag to hold so many Red Pearl Fruits. “I know. Your courtesy name is Bujing, right? Should I call you Wen Bujing?”

Wen Xu shook his head. “My adoptive father gave me that name on his deathbed, meaning to remain unswayed by honor or disgrace, calm and unhurried. I don’t really need it anymore.”

Since he wasn’t taking the imperial exams or entering government service, why should he bother with the tedious formalities of scholars? The name Wen Xu was enough.

“Oh? Alright then. Brother Wen Xu, are you sure you don’t want even one?”

Wen Xu shook his head. “Yes. Brother Bian, have you finished gathering them? I smelled a strange herbal fragrance earlier. It’s growing stronger now, almost to the point of blooming to the point of decay. Do you know what kind of spiritual plant would give off such a scent?”

Bian Chunzhou actually knew next to nothing about spiritual plants; he had only crammed and memorized most of the Spiritual Plant Manual before the exam. “Describe it in more detail. What kind of herbal fragrance?”

Wen Xu did his best to describe it. The more Bian Chunzhou listened, the more his excitement grew. He didn’t even care when he slipped and fell from the tree, simply patting off his clothes and running over. “Are you sure you didn’t smell it wrong?”

“I couldn’t be mistaken. My sense of smell has always been sharper than average.”

Bian Chunzhou thought to himself that he had truly hit the jackpot. Had the heavens actually heard his prayers? “Let’s go, let’s go! Before the preliminary exam ends, let’s go harvest the King Danxiang Grass!”