"Because my mother owed that mad monk a favor."
"Mad monk?"
"Yes, that's what my mother called him. Crazy, disheveled, always muttering to himself, gesturing at the void. What else could he be but a mad monk?"
Yang Ruoyun raised an eyebrow at this, pondering when Feng Zhirun might have encountered him.
"My mother met him by the Mingshui Creek. He used the earth as his bed and lived by the stream, using branches as brushes and sand and stones as scrolls. He was often lost in his paintings, not eating or drinking..."
"My mother, seeing his plight, would sometimes share some of her hunted game with him, and they grew familiar over time."
"At first, my mother thought he was just an art fanatic. But one day, out of boredom, she perched on a large rock by the bank, looking down at the mad monk painting by the stream. Only then did she realize it was a remarkable cultivation method."
"So, my mother observed the mad monk painting every day. Unfortunately, despite being near treasure, she couldn't grasp its essence."
"Some more time passed like this. Then one day, the mad monk suddenly dropped the dead branch in his hand and laughed heartily as he left."
"My mother hurried over and looked at the sand. It wasn't a painting, but a cultivation method of the 'Great Evolution Spring and Autumn'."
"So, my mother picked up a dead branch, memorized the method, and then left the stream. Perhaps her aptitude was insufficient, or perhaps the technique simply wasn't suited for her. After practicing for over ten years, she gained nothing. By the time I was born, my mother passed this method to me. She didn't really expect me to practice it, just to broaden my horizons a bit. But to her surprise, I quickly mastered it..."
Hu Mengyao said this, raising the large brush in her hand with a hint of pride.
Yang Ruoyun also breathed a sigh of relief, almost thinking the man had another fox spirit.
"By the way, you mentioned knowing the origin of the Great Evolution Spring and Autumn. Do you know the origin of this mad monk?" Hu Mengyao asked with some curiosity.
But Yang Ruoyun didn't answer. Instead, she grabbed Hu Mengyao's arm and shouted, "Let's go."
Then, her entire form turned into a stream of light, pulling Hu Mengyao along with her, also becoming a stream of light. They then rapidly zipped through streets and alleys, their movements almost invisible to the naked eye.
This was one of the functions of the "Reverse Scale Armor."
The Reverse Scale Armor was an incredibly precious piece of protective gear that integrated defense, passive counter-attack, and evasion.
Back then, Feng Zhirun knew Yang Ruoyun's cultivation was not high, and she would have difficulty protecting herself against powerful individuals. That was why he gifted her this armor, which was also one of Yang Ruoyun's most treasured possessions.
The evasion technique of the Reverse Scale Armor was indeed superb. They quickly escaped the pursuit of the vampires and stopped in a park, both still shaken.
"I really owe you today. Otherwise, it would have been a real mess," Hu Mengyao said.
Yang Ruoyun didn't pay it much mind. "You should leave with me. The two of us are no match for them."
Hu Mengyao shook her head without hesitation. "I can't. My Fourth Sister showed me great kindness, and she showed kindness to our fox tribe. I can't abandon her in danger."
Yang Ruoyun's expression showed hesitation.
There was no such thing as love without reason. It was true that she and Hu Mengyao had met and were good friends.
But what connection did Hu Mengyao's Fourth Sister have with her? She wouldn't put herself in danger for someone she didn't know.
This wasn't about friendship or loyalty; it was about self-preservation.
"Don't worry, I won't rush in recklessly. I'll go back to my tribe and find some helpers first," Hu Mengyao said with a smile.
Yang Ruoyun breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't want to put herself in danger, nor did she want her new friend to be endangered.
What she didn't know was that this was entirely meant to comfort her. Her tribe had very few strong members, and even fewer who were more powerful than her.
Just then, two people approached them.
-----------------
"I recently took on a job to do the billing system for a hospital. It should be completed in a few more days," Zhan Dundun said, patting his belly.
"Oh? Isn't that system quite mature now? There are existing applications that can be used directly?" Chen Wenhui wasn't entirely clueless and immediately asked her question.
"Mm, it's not a private enterprise," Dundun said.
Chen Wenhui understood instantly. There were simple, mature applications available, but they insisted on hiring someone to customize it anew. It wasn't because the hospital system's procedures were too special to use standard modules, but because – those who know, know.
"Then this job, you must have earned quite a bit, right?" Chen Wenhui had heard before that programmers made a lot of money.
Of course, this referred to those who had independent development skills, the true tech gurus. Ordinary programmers weren't included in this. Ordinary programmers were just laborers, expending time and effort, with little technical content.
"Hehe, not too bad, not too bad," Zhan Dundun said, scratching his head bashfully.
"If you earned it, you earned it. If not, then not. I don't need your money. By the way, what do you like to buy with the money you earn? Games? Figurines?" Chen Wenhui asked curiously.
"Uh... nothing like that. I save it all. I'm saving it to buy a house and get married later," Zhan Dundun replied innocently.
Chen Wenhui rolled her eyes. She knew Dundun was bluffing. Dundun was simple, but not stupid. His words clearly had a hidden meaning.
Chen Wenhui naturally understood, so she lowered her head and started typing furiously on her phone.
"What are you doing? Are you chatting with someone?" Dundun asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
"No, I'm writing a diary."
"A diary?" Dundun was very surprised.
What serious person writes a diary? No, that's not what he meant. There's nothing wrong with writing a diary, but who writes a diary at this time?
"It's an observation diary," Chen Wenhui stated frankly.
She even held up her phone and waved it.
Dundun had excellent eyesight and instantly saw his various information recorded on the notepad app.
Name, age, weight, habits, and even the latest entry: "Disguises himself as honest and kind, but is actually cunning and deceitful..."
Zhan Dundun: ...
"Oh, it's you, the Panda Man," Hu Mengyao said, seeing Dundun and feeling very surprised.
"You... who are you?" Zhan Dundun felt a sudden pang of guilt.
He turned to look at Chen Wenhui beside him and saw her typing on her phone again.
"Don't you remember? We were just last night..." Hu Mengyao was about to say, but seeing Chen Wenhui beside her, she suddenly realized.
She quickly corrected herself, "We just had dinner together last night. I didn't expect you to forget so quickly. Haha, sorry, I must have mistaken you for someone else."
Saying this, she grabbed Yang Ruoyun beside her and prepared to leave.
However, Chen Wenhui looked up and asked Zhan Dundun with a suspicious expression, "Didn't you say you went out to dinner with Willow Branch last night?"
Dundun completely panicked.
As he was contemplating how to explain, several bats suddenly flew down from the sky.