Feng Shui Chapter 114: Ridiculous Luck

Even though Tong Nuonuo was notoriously bad with directions, he still had his pride. When he heard someone above him calling him an idiot, his first reaction was anger. He lifted his head and searched with his eyes, quickly spotting a petite girl perched on a tree branch. Surprised, he blurted out, “It’s you!”

His surprise momentarily drowned out his frustration. After all, this girl had helped him out once before. The embarrassment he felt from losing face faded considerably. His expression brightened as he waved and greeted her. “What a coincidence! Fancy running into you here!”

The girl replied impatiently, “Who's running into who? I’ve been here all along. You’re the one who just showed up.”

Realization dawned on Tong Nuonuo, and he immediately believed her without question. “Oh, so that’s how it is.”

How is he even easier to fool than me? Seeing that he believed her so readily, even though she had only stopped here out of curiosity after seeing his strange behavior, the girl felt a little awkward. Sitting on the tree branch, she asked, “Why aren’t you with your companions?”

Hugging a bundle of leaves, Tong Nuonuo answered sheepishly, “I accidentally got separated from them. I was just about to light a smoke signal so they could come find me.” Last night, he’d found a rare patch of flat ground to sleep on, with barely any trees nearby. But here, the trees were too dense, and lighting a signal fire beneath them would cause the smoke to scatter. The previous spot was better, open enough for the smoke to rise straight up and be seen.

Normally, he wouldn’t admit something so humiliating to a stranger. But she had already seen him wandering around in circles just now, so there was no use pretending. He decided to swallow his pride and ask for help directly. “Fellow cultivator, could you tell me where the fire pit is? I can’t find the one I dug earlier.” Tong Nuonuo was convinced she knew, after all, she had said something about it being "just a short distance."

The girl said, “We’ve met twice now, no need to be so formal with all this ‘fellow cultivator’ business. My name’s Tang Ru. You can call me Arou.”

Allowing someone to use your given name was a clear sign of goodwill among cultivators. Tong Nuonuo smiled and replied, “So it’s Miss Tang Ru. My name is Tong Nuonuo, feel free to call me by name too.”

“Just call me Arou." she insisted. Then she jumped down from the tree and pointed, “It’s over there.”

Tong Nuonuo thought for a moment. To avoid getting lost again, he decided to ask for a bit more help. “If it’s not too much trouble, would you mind taking me there?”

Tang Ru gave him a surprised look. “It’s really not that far.” She could see the spot he camped at last night clearly from the treetop.

Tong Nuonuo looked a little embarrassed. “I have a poor sense of direction. I tend to wander off my path very easily.”

Tang Ru glanced at him sideways. So that’s why he got separated from his group. To get this lost over such a short distance… honestly, it was kind of pitiful.

Meeting someone even easier to fool and more clueless than herself gave the small-statured Tang Ru a sudden sense of superiority. Maybe people from the Central Region weren’t all sly and cunning after all. Her compassion stirred, and she ended up leading Tong Nuonuo to the fire pit and helping him get a fire going.

When Chen Xiao and Xi Yunqing followed the smoke and found their way over, they were surprised to see that the once-distant girl was now sitting beside Tong Nuonuo, chatting like old friends.

“Nuonuo.” Chen Xiao looked between the two of them, a bit surprised. “And this cultivator is…?”

“You’re finally here!” Tong Nuonuo lit up as if seeing family. He waved Chen Xiao over enthusiastically. “Chen Xiao, let me introduce you. This is Tang Ru, she’s the one who helped me light the smoke signal.”

Chen Xiao gave her a respectful cupped-fist salute. “Greetings, Tang Ru. Thank you for looking after my companion. I’m Chen Xiao.”

Chen Xiao’s warmth softened Tang Ru’s attitude. Originally, she had intended to keep her distance, but seeing how this guy didn’t look down on someone as hopeless as Tong Nuonuo made her think, maybe he was a good person too.

Based on that logic, Tang Ru immediately labeled him a "good guy" and said cheerfully, “Nice to meet you, Chen Xiao. You can call me Arou.”

Arou? Did she just say “meat”? What an unusual nickname. Chen Xiao smiled. “Alright, Miss Arou.”

“Just Arou is fine." she emphasized again. Then her eyes moved to the person behind Chen Xiao, Xi Yunqing. His overwhelming presence and powerful aura made her instinctively furrowed her brow. “And who’s that?” A cultivator with such imposing pressure was not someone easily forgotten, she was sure she hadn’t seen him yesterday.

Chen Xiao smiled and introduced him, “This is my senior brother, Immortal Master Xi Yunqing.”

Xi Yunqing nodded slightly in greeting, his expression cool and distant. Tang Ru didn’t relax her brows but still managed a polite, if lukewarm, “So it’s Immortal Master Xi.”

After the introductions, Chen Xiao asked Tong Nuonuo how he’d ended up separated from them.

Tong Nuonuo looked aggrieved. “Everyone was busy over there, and I didn’t want to just stand around doing nothing. I tried to help search through the grass piles for that missing flute artifact. But somehow, when I looked up, everyone was gone. I tried to head back, but the more I walked, the further I went.” It didn’t help that it was getting dark. Even if he’d lit a signal then, it wouldn’t have been seen. That’s how he ended up spending a night alone out here.

Chen Xiao was both helpless and impressed. “Next time, don’t just bury your head and walk, pay more attention to your surroundings.” But he knew it was a waste of breath. If Tong Nuonuo could remember where he’d been, he wouldn’t have such a hopeless case of directional dyslexia in the first place.

Tong Nuonuo nodded obediently. “Then let’s head back. I won’t help them look for anything anymore. I’ll just quietly pick some White Spirit Fruit.”

“Is this the flute you were talking about?”

A voice interrupted them, and the three of them turned to look. In Tang Ru’s slender, outstretched palm lay a flute about the length of an adult’s hand.

Chen Xiao looked at the flute in Tang Ru’s hand, then up at her, startled. “Arou, where did you get this flute?” Could it really be such a coincidence?

Tang Ru replied, “After I split off from you, I wandered around a bit and ended up finding a few black-tailed bat monkeys fighting over this flute. So I snatched it from them.”

Tong Nuonuo stared in disbelief, then clapped his hands. “No wonder we practically turned the whole forest upside down and still couldn’t find it! So it was those bat monkeys who picked it up!”

Chen Xiao was momentarily at a loss for words. Tong Nuonuo’s luck was truly something else. Last time he got lost, not only did he avoid Wuyan Qing’s pursuit, he also stumbled across Wu Qing, on the brink of death, and learned the secret that Immortal Master Li was from the barbarian tribes. And on top of that, he found a prime feng shui site. Now, once again, after getting lost, they ended up finding the very flute everyone had been searching for fruitlessly.

“Talk about a fortunate accident." remarked Xi Yunqing, who had been silent and cold throughout.

Tang Ru glanced at him, then turned back to Chen Xiao. “Since it’s theirs, might as well return it to the rightful owner. Here, ” she held the flute out toward him.

Chen Xiao lifted his hand and gently pushed it back. “This was your doing, Arou. They should know who they ought to thank.”

Tang Ru curled her lips. “I don’t care to deal with them.”

Yesterday, that Li-ge had used her to go up against the Bat Monkey King. She wasn’t stupid, she could see right through him. Now that she understood his true nature, she had no interest in dealing with someone so cunning. If she hadn’t run into Tong Nuonuo and Chen Xiao, both of whom seemed like decent folks, she wouldn’t have bothered returning the flute at all.

Before Chen Xiao could respond, she shoved the flute into his hand and said bluntly, “If I hadn’t run into you, I wouldn’t be giving it back.”

Chen Xiao had no choice but to accept the flute. “Then I’ll thank you on their behalf.”

Tang Ru grinned slyly. “You’re heading back, right? I’ll go with you to collect my payment. If they try to back out, don’t forget to stand up for me.”

Chen Xiao chuckled. “Shi Ming wouldn’t dare go back on his word.” He glanced at Xi Yunqing, after all, with someone at the Golden Core stage around, Shi Ming wouldn’t dare break a promise.

Sensing Chen Xiao’s look, Xi Yunqing spoke in his deep voice, “I give my word as well. The demon core and White Spirit Fruit will be delivered in full.”

Tang Ru wanted to scoff but, after glancing at Tong Nuonuo and Chen Xiao, she merely curled her lip. “It better be. If not, I’ll make sure they learn that shortfolk are not to be trifled with!”

Tong Nuonuo perked up. “What, someone’s bullied you before, Arou?”

Tang Ru fell silent immediately. Her expression made it clear, even if she didn’t speak, it hadn’t been a pleasant experience. Since she didn’t want to talk about it, Tong Nuonuo didn’t press. He just sighed, “This world really is full of wicked hearts. No matter who you’re dealing with, you have to be on guard. I wasn’t cautious enough once and got tricked by a mortal into working in a black mine. In the end, I killed that black-hearted boss, so I came out of it okay, but I almost starved to death trying to find my way out of that winding mine.”

Hearing that Tong Nuonuo had such rotten luck too, Tang Ru instantly felt a sense of camaraderie. She nodded vigorously. “Exactly! Doesn’t matter if they’re mortals or cultivators, you have to be wary of bad people. Folks like us, the shortfolk, always get treated like half-grown kids. They trick and cheat us, get the better end of the deal, and then mock us behind our backs. It’s despicable!”

As she spoke, she clenched her fists and gave an angry swing, as if punching someone.

On the way back, the two of them exchanged stories and tips on how they stayed sharp and kept themselves safe. Chen Xiao found it both amusing and a little heart-wrenching. He recalled how, after being brought back by his master in his previous life, he’d also been given a thorough education on how to guard against bad people, and how to protect himself when danger came. Sometimes he wondered: if he’d known all that earlier, would he have been spared from getting separated from his parents so young and wandering through a life of hardship?

Xi Yunqing could sense the heaviness in Chen Xiao’s mood. But not knowing what had triggered it, he didn’t know how to offer comfort. He frowned, frustrated by the silence.

He wasn’t like Senior Brother Yin, able to lift spirits with a few smooth words. In moments like these, though he disliked the heavy quiet, he found himself helpless to change it.

Thankfully, their pace was brisk, and the White Spirit Fruit Forest soon came into view. Xi Yunqing leaned over slightly and said softly by Chen Xiao’s ear, “Brother Chen, we’re almost there.”

That simple sentence pulled Chen Xiao out of his thoughts. When he looked up and saw his reflection in Xi Yunqing’s eyes, a faint warmth stirred in his chest.