This Damned Thirst for Survival

Feng Li happened to shout, ” Jiang Luo .”

Jiang Luo took the handkerchief from the disciple and wiped the non-existent tears from his eyes, “Thank you, brother, brother is?”

The disciple said, “Just call me Senior Brother Qiao.”

Jiang Luo thanked Brother Qiao and went to Feng Li, “Mr. Feng.”

Feng Li looked at him with a look of sadness, and his brow furrowed as he said, “Do you wish to be my teacher?”

Feng Li as your teacher?

Jiang Luo, of course!

If the protagonist in the original article had become his master, he would have been the hardest card in the deck to save his life. Jiang Luo also understood why Chen Pi had brought him to Tian Shifu, but he did not immediately agree, “Mr. Feng, I already have a master.”

Chen Pi said, “It’s alright, don’t worry about Master, you’ve grown up and Master hasn’t taught you anything, so you haven’t done your duty as a Master. The Heavenly Master is your uncle, so I am relieved to have him teach you, and I am happy for you.”

Feng Li waited quietly for Chen Pi to finish.

Jiang Luo looked embarrassed, and Chen Pi, fearing that he might be reluctant, whispered a few more words to Jiang Luo. Feng Li had never had the experience of accepting an apprentice on his own initiative and having someone reluctant to do so.

After a few moments, Jiang Luo finally nodded, “Yes, I’ll take Mr Feng as my teacher.”

The process of accepting a disciple is complicated and simple. Jiang Luo followed the instructions step by step and finally poured a cup of tea for Feng Li.

Feng Li takes a small sip and the master-apprentice relationship is sealed.

After the idle people had left, Feng Li led Jiang Luo to the study, “You should already know the location of the third level.”

Jiang Luo nodded, “It only said it was in Xiangxi.”

Feng Li sat down and said, “I read your fortune yesterday and it was very bad.”

Jiang Luo’s smile falters.

Feng Li was flat, as if what he casually said was not something scary, “The third level, you will be in danger. These days, apart from school, you have to stay at Feng’s house for the rest of the day and strengthen your abilities properly.”

Jiang Luo nodded sharply, “I know.”

Feng Li said, “All the books on your left hand side are to be read within ten days.”

Jiang Luo turned his head to the left and saw a whole shelf of books, from the Shanhaijing to the I Ching, from the Qingwujing to the Book of Burials, and several turn-head-thick copies of Folkways and Customs of Various Places, a shelf of books that looked like a few dozen pounds at the very least.

“……” Jiang Luo , “Ten days to see it all?”

Feng Li nodded without changing his face, “Let’s start watching now.”

He finished and left the study.

Jiang Luo reasonably suspected that Feng Li was trying to get back at him for his hesitation in paying homage to him, but he couldn’t help but do what Feng Li said, so he grabbed two unread books from the top of the shelf and sat down on the carpet to read them.

Luckily there were some titles he had already made up before and overall the pressure was on, but not impossible to complete.

By the time Jiang Luo had finished reading a book, it was getting dark. The disciples of the Feng family had prepared a room for him, and Jiang Luo did not hesitate to stay in Tian Shifu for the night.

The next morning, before dawn, Jiang Luo was woken by a knock at the door. He got out of bed and answered the door, “Who is it?”

Outside stood Senior Brother Qiao, whom we had met before, wearing a loose daoist robe, “Senior Brother, it’s time to go for your morning training.”

Jiang Luo : “……”

Tian Shifu What a load of crap rules.

He reluctantly changed his clothes, pulled up his collar and followed Brother Qiao to start his morning exercise.

Senior Brother Qiao looked lean, but his breathing had not changed when he ran, and Jiang Luo’s strength had recovered well after days of training. While running, seemingly too bored, Senior Brother Qiao asked curiously again, “Senior Brother, why do you like an evil spirit?”

Jiang Luo, who already thought of Brother Qiao as a gossip-loving person like Ye Xun, said skilfully, “It’s a long story.”

Brother Joe said, “We’re going to run ten laps and we can take our time.”

After a five-minute lap, Jiang Luo told him the story of himself and Chi You. Brother Qiao listened with great interest and finally, with a slight twinkle in his eye, seemed moved by both of their stories and said with genuine affection, “It’s too bad for you.”

Jiang Luo sighed.

On the last lap, the two went from jogging to walking slowly, and as if he hadn’t heard enough stories, Brother Joe pointed with interest to the side of the artificial lake they were passing, “Did you guys date at the lake too?”

Jiang Luo nodded casually, “The lake would be full of little couples at night, and when he brought me here, he would make a point of finding a place where no one was around.”

“So,” Elder Brother Qiao’s smile deepened, “that’s romantic. The moonlight should be nice at night by the lake, right?”

“Who says it wasn’t?” Jiang Luo’s eyes showed memories and he let out a bitter laugh, “That’s the most beautiful image in my memory.”

Brother Qiao said in a warm voice, “One can imagine.”

The rest of the way, Brother Joe asked many more questions with undiminished interest, “What intimate things have you done with evil spirits?”

Wen Renlian had asked this question before. Jiang Luo hooked his lips nastily, “I’ve done everything I should and shouldn’t have done.”

His eyebrows were lush with laughter and the faintest hint of malice that drew fascination, “Though I do not value lust, how can a man wimp out when his other partner has that need? Even if he’s a ghost, doesn’t he have to fuck?”

A double-edged statement that implicitly indicates where you are above and subtly discredits Chi You.

Jiang Luo is extremely satisfied with his answer.

Brother Qiao suddenly burst out laughing, and when he met Jiang Luo’s puzzled gaze, he forced himself to shake his hand with a smile and said, “Nothing, nothing. Brother, look ahead, there seems to be someone who has trespassed into Tian Shifu.”

Jiang Luo looked in the direction he was pointing, and there was indeed a humanoid figure hiding behind the trees.

He and Brother Qiao looked at each other, and the two of them approached gingerly to find that hiding behind a tree was a woman with exquisite make-up, a woman whose face had often appeared in various TV dramas, a first-rate star who was now in the limelight, and Jiang Luo thought about it and remembered that this person seemed to be called Bai Qiu.

“Ma’am,” Brother Joe spoke up, “how did you end up in Tian Shifu?”

The actress was so taken aback that she almost screamed in shock. Luckily, her sanity overrode her physical reaction and she covered her mouth in time, turning her head away with a pale face.

Upon closer inspection, one can see the reality of the actress’ face amidst the make-up she wears. The under-eyes are green and black, and the blush on her face is extraordinarily unnatural, a cosmetic effect at first glance. Her lips are dry and cracked, her eyes are filled with red blood, and even heavy make-up cannot hide her tiredness.

Jiang Luo remembered that Bai Qiu seemed to have been so preoccupied since a while ago, and when he occasionally played with his phone, he could still see some unscrupulous media questioning whether Bai Qiu had taken drugs.

Senior Qiao didn’t seem to recognise who the woman in front of him was at all, “Madam, Tian Shifu is not allowed to trespass without permission.”

Bai Qiu’s tears fell at once and she cried in a low voice, “Master, please let me meet the Heavenly Master, please.”

I don’t know what kind of make-up she used, but even though she was crying so badly, her make-up didn’t get smudged, and she looked so pitiful that one couldn’t help but feel soft.

Jiang Luo originally thought that Senior Brother Qiao would be soft-hearted, but to his surprise, despite his kind tone, he refused without mercy, “If you want to see the Heavenly Master, please wait outside the door.”

Bai Qiu froze, then looked at Brother Qiao with a heartbreaking gaze, “Master, I really have something urgent to do, please be accommodating.”

She also wanted to give Senior Brother Qiao’s leg a hug for a cry, but she didn’t expect this ordinary-faced man to be much more heartless than she expected, and as her hand lifted slightly, Senior Brother Qiao took a step back in advance, “Sorry, this is our rule at Tian Shifu.”

She looked generous and her tone was polite, but Bai Qiu felt a bit cold and cold. She shuddered inexplicably and put away her sobs, forcing herself to say, “Master, I know that it is not easy to see the Heavenly Master, and in fact I do not want to see him. There are so many capable people in Tian Shifu, and I just want to find someone who can solve my problems. Master, can you solve my problem? I can give you a lot of money! I have money, I really have money!”

Senior Brother Qiao looked at this woman from a high position, his eyes not containing any half temperature. He was about to refuse, but he didn’t know what had occurred to him and suddenly smiled, “Why don’t we go and sit aside and talk? If I can help you, I will definitely try my best to help you.”

There was a gazebo nearby, and looking at the woman’s delighted expression, Jiang Luo couldn’t help but sigh at Brother Qiao’s kindness, “Brother Qiao, do you know what kind of trouble she’s in? Wouldn’t it be nice to agree to help without knowing anything?”

Brother Qiao: “It’s okay, if it’s beyond my capacity, I’ll just reject her, it’s just a listen, it won’t waste much of my time.”

Jiang Luo sighed in his heart that this man was too kind-hearted.

The three of them moved to the gazebo and the actress subconsciously looked around, then relaxed with a complicated look when she realised she was in Tian Shifu and there were no paparazzi here.

She clutched the bag in her hand with a look that looked like hate and intense love, “I …… fell in love with a man.”

“I love him so much. I loved him so much that when he asked me to retire from the industry, I wanted to nod my head in agreement without hesitation,” Bai Qiu murmured, looking down at her fingers, “I enrolled in classes to learn the cuisine he liked to eat. What style he liked me, I dressed closer towards that style, he didn’t like other people of the opposite sex in my phone, I cut off all my colleagues, male friends and precious contacts …… me …… ”

She suddenly looked up at Jiang Luo and Brother Qiao in despair, “I suspect that I am under a spell.”