Chapter 244 - 137: Secret
The early morning sun pierced through the thin mist, casting its light upon a small village named Linxi Village. A few wisps of cooking smoke rose into the air as the diligent villagers, having finished their breakfast, prepared to start their day’s work.
There had been a huge fuss about ’demolition’ before, but it eventually fizzled out. Things like that are a matter of luck, not something you can force.
"Su Ran, up for a run so early?"
"Yep."
A villager exchanged a few words with Su Ran on the path between the fields, and then they both went about their business in the morning light.
Su Ran wasn’t much of a sports enthusiast, but he’d recently felt he wasn’t getting enough exercise. He had bought a basketball hoop to get some exercise at Chuyuan, and now that he was back in his old hometown, he took to jogging for a bit in the morning.
At first, Su Ran had thought that because he disliked exercise, the system would specifically grant him a Skill to improve all aspects of his physical fitness—something like muscle enhancement, faster reflexes, better motor skills, increased strength, and so on...
It didn’t.
Later, Su Ran came to understand. ’There’s no such thing as a free lunch.’ It was his body and his health, so it was up to him whether he cherished it or not. The system could provide some ’naughty Skills,’ but it wouldn’t interfere when it came to physical fitness. It was up to the host to strengthen his body through exercise.
After half an hour of exercise, he was drenched in sweat and panting from exhaustion. That’s just how it is for a homebody.
Back home, he GULPED down a can of "homebody happy water."
"BUUURP~ So refreshing!"
He crushed the can and tossed it into the trash, then checked himself out in the mirror, admiring his T-shirt, which was damp and clinging to his pecs and abs. He snapped a classic humblebrag photo and sent it to Xiao Wanqing.
Xiao Wanqing: [The Eddie Peng of Linxi Village, I see?]
Su Ran: [Wrong. This is Zun Long.]
Xiao Wanqing: [Oh, that’s right. Daniel said he’s only ever done makeup for two Chinese people in his entire life. One was Zun Long for *The Last Emperor*, and the other was you, Su Ran. Looking closely, you really do resemble Zun Long, especially your aura.]
Su Ran: [Aura?]
Xiao Wanqing: [Yes, your aura. When Zun Long filmed *The Last Emperor*, he had this noble air about him, and you have it too. It wasn’t as strong when I first met you, but after spending more time together, I feel that noble quality has become more and more apparent.]
The nurturing-style Divine Wealth System naturally placed the most importance on the host’s aura, and day by day, it was cultivating the noble air a Divine Rich person should possess.
Su Ran: [Our beloved consort speaks correctly. We are most pleased. There shall be a reward.]
Xiao Wanqing: [(Angry face) If I’m the beloved consort, doesn’t that make that little vixen Liu Jinyu the Empress? Su Ran, are you getting more and more promiscuous? What’s next, are you going to start flipping tablets to decide who serves you in bed?]
Su Ran: [Huh?]
Xiao Wanqing: [Don’t you ’huh?’ me! Don’t even think about it. How could you have two women serving you at the same time? Let me tell you, you can’t mess around with a harem. People could get killed.]
Su Ran: [I understand, Sister Wanqing.]
Xiao Wanqing: [Good boy.]
It was all just playful banter between them. Although they had slept together and done everything that implies, there was no psychological pressure. When the feelings are deep enough, things happen naturally. More than sex, they both preferred to just have fun together without a care in the world.
In short, as long as she was true to him, he would be true to her.
His phone was connected to the house’s sound system, so Su Ran continued chatting with Xiao Wanqing about trivial matters while he showered and made breakfast.
"Su Ran! Come out, quick! There’s a ’dry eel’!"
An older woman’s voice shouted from outside.
"What’s a ’dry eel’?"
"A snake!"
Su Ran replied, then hung up the phone and rushed out of the courtyard. "Where, where, where? I see it! It’s so big! And long!"
"Be careful."
"It’s okay, Auntie. Rat snakes aren’t venomous."
Su Ran slowly approached, squatted down, and extended his right hand. His index and middle fingers moved at high frequency, using Finger Technique Fragrance in an attempt to attract and pacify it.
"HOLY SHIT! It’s a male."
Finger Technique Fragrance was only effective on females. The snake, seeing this foolish human taunting it, twisted its head and lunged to bite. In mid-air, a hoe came down and sliced the rat snake’s head clean off.
"Sister Gao, you can go to the fields without worry. There are no venomous snakes within a ten-li radius. We’re having snake soup for lunch!"
Uncle Qin picked up the rat snake, shouldered his hoe, and called for Su Ran to come home with him to prepare the snake meat.
Rat snakes might not be venomous, but they still bite. Su Ran had been genuinely startled. Coming back to his senses, he dusted himself off and followed Uncle Qin back to his thatched-roof house.
Uncle Qin and Su Ran were neighbors, their courtyards right next to each other. He wasn’t a native of the village; he was an outsider with an unknown background.
Every village has a Village Guardian, and Linxi Village’s Village Guardian was Uncle Qin.
Village Guardians weren’t bad people, just a bit simple-minded, perhaps even a little crazy. They knew everything that happened in the village, big or small, and would voluntarily help out at weddings and funerals, asking only for a bite to eat. But they were rarely treated as normal people.
Uncle Qin was indeed not normal. There was something wrong with his head; he was lucid one moment and mad the next. However, if anyone asked for his help and he agreed, the job would be done perfectly. Every time Su Ran left, he would ask Uncle Qin to watch his courtyard to prevent break-ins. And Uncle Qin was extremely diligent—the slightest noise at night would have him out with a flashlight to check. Of course, Su Ran never treated him poorly. Whenever Su Ran was home, he would call him over for any good food, and before leaving, he would always buy him a lot of meat to put in his fridge.
"Uncle Qin, what did you mean earlier when you told Aunt Gao that there are no venomous snakes within a ten-li radius?"
Su Ran squatted by a moss-covered stone vat, watching Uncle Qin skillfully skin the snake.
"Have you heard the saying, ’Where there’s one rat snake, there are no venomous snakes for ten li’?"
"Oh, I have heard that the rat snake is the king of a hundred snakes, and that other snakes can’t defeat it."