Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 8 Who's the Trash Calling?
The lean meat soup is not bad.

But anyone who drinks this stuff for two meals in a row would find it unbearable.

Chang Ping'an usually only eats two meals a day. He drank twelve bowls of meat soup at noon, and he wasn't so hungry in the evening, so he only drank three bowls and then stopped.

Zhang Chengdao was initially worried that his cheap apprentice hadn't eaten enough, but when he checked the character interface and saw that there were no special negative statuses in the status bar, he was relieved.

"Now that you've eaten, get some rest and you can focus on your cultivation tomorrow."

Chang Ping'an, however, stood solemnly and said, "There are many wild boars in the mountains. This disciple should keep watch for Master and dare not mention rest!"

Zhang Chengdao was stunned for a moment upon hearing this.

What is "Shit Plus"?
What other unscientific and exotic creatures could there be in this cultivation world?
Zhang Chengdao didn't quite understand, but he was too embarrassed to ask, otherwise wouldn't it make him, as the master, seem ignorant?

Moreover, he simply couldn't bring himself to do something so unethical as to have a minor work as his night shift security guard, so he could only sigh and say, "It's alright, once we're inside, it'll be very difficult for outsiders to break in, unless they tear the house down! And forget about any 'shit'!"

"But……"

Chang Ping'an was still somewhat hesitant.

According to his values, a disciple should treat his master as his parents and serve him day and night—isn't that how the disciples of the elders in the Sword Forging Manor always behaved?

Zhang Chengdao waved his hand confidently and said, "There's no 'but'! Don't be fooled by the fact that this house of mine is just a wooden plank and thatched hut; it's actually very sturdy! It won't be easily damaged!"

How could he not be confident? These buildings in the game could withstand attacks from all sorts of monsters for hours! In a mere martial arts cultivation world, he really didn't believe that some "shit" could collapse a thatched hut!

As long as the thatched house isn't damaged, no one can enter without authorization!
Unable to dissuade Zhang Chengdao, Chang Ping'an had no choice but to obediently go into the room his master had designated for him to rest.

Although the thatched house looks simple, it has everything you need inside.

For example, the bed is made of wooden planks, and there are even blankets and quilts—who knows why there are cotton quilts and buckwheat pillows in a thatched house that is made of only wooden planks, weeds and stones!

If Zhang Chengdao couldn't understand it, Chang Ping'an would understand it even less.

To be precise, it wasn't that he couldn't understand, but rather that he was once again secretly amazed by the extraordinary abilities of his master, this "deity."

The things in this house were far more "luxurious" than the large communal bed he used to sleep in with others at the Sword Forging Manor!
That's right, it's "luxury"!
He had never seen such beautiful colors and such a soft, silky feel in his bedding!
It wasn't until he lay down on the bed that he suddenly realized the room didn't seem cold at all!

Even though there was no charcoal fire, there was none of the bone-chilling cold of midwinter; in fact, his arms, which had been numb from the cold, began to itch slightly.

Can immortals really make a house feel like spring all year round?!

Is my master... actually omnipotent?

Chang Ping'an recalled everything that had happened today, and even felt a strange sense of fear.

In the next room, Zhang Chengdao was equally shocked.

He wasn't surprised by the bedding and such; what surprised him was the room temperature, which seemed to have built-in underfloor heating, keeping the room at a slightly cool temperature, just right with the blankets on.

Are the buildings produced by Golden Hand really that amazing?
However, Zhang Chengdao soon remembered that, like the clothes, the houses and buildings in the game also had some special features, such as having two attributes: "weather mitigation" and "comfort".

In the game, these two attributes can extend villagers' lifespan to some extent, reduce their chances of getting sick, and mitigate the impact of severe weather on their health. Unexpectedly, in reality, these numerical attributes translate into a more livable experience; this function, like an intelligent central air conditioning system automatically adjusting indoor temperature, is roughly what's known as "weather mitigation."

After enjoying the novelty for a while, Zhang Chengdao quickly fell asleep.

The next morning, Zhang Chengdao was awakened by a quarrel.

Or rather, it was a one-sided barrage of insults.

"You son of a bitch, Chang Ping'an! You're a useless piece of trash! And you still dare to stay out all night? Who do you expect to do the work that Manager Li assigned you? If I hadn't run into you while mining in the mountains today, I really wouldn't have known that you, this piece of trash, were hiding here having a good time!"

Compared to the other party's booming accusations, Chang Ping'an's explanation, though simple, was very calm.

"I didn't dodge."

"Hmph! Didn't dodge? Bullshit! No wonder you were demoted from the outer disciples! You piece of trash, you offended Senior Brother Xie, and you still want things to turn out well? No wonder Senior Brother Xie crippled your true qi meridians back then! Cultivating martial arts, you piece of trash dare to challenge me?"

"You keep calling me trash, but who are you calling trash?"

Zhang Chengdao yawned, stepped out of the house, and asked lazily.

When I turned around, I finally saw who it was.

He was a somewhat pale-faced, chubby man with small, almost squinted eyes and an arrogant expression.

"Useless trash shouts..."

The pale-faced fat man was about to subconsciously reply when he realized he wasn't stupid enough to not react, and immediately stopped talking.

He sized Zhang Chengdao up and down, and although his expression was unfriendly, he still managed to ask in a reasonably polite manner, "Who are you? And why are you with that good-for-nothing?"

When Chang Ping'an saw Zhang Chengdao come out, he looked somewhat embarrassed, called out "Master" in a low voice, and did not dare to say anything more.

Unfortunately, the fat man with the pale face heard this cry of "Master".

He scrutinized Zhang Chengdao again before sneering, "Hmph, it seems any Tom, Dick, or Harry can take on disciples these days. Chang Ping'an, your master hasn't even mastered martial arts qi, what can he teach you? A little piece of trash looking for a big piece of trash to learn how to be a real piece of trash?"

As he spoke, he raised his chin again and said rudely to Zhang Chengdao, "Don't you know that this White Stone Mountain belongs to my Sword Casting Manor? How dare you build a hut here? If you know what's good for you, hand over some money, and I might put in a good word for you with the manager. Otherwise, you just wait and see—"

Before the pale-faced fat man could finish speaking, Chang Ping'an couldn't hold back any longer and shouted angrily, "How dare you insult my master!"

As he spoke, he circulated his true energy, and the light golden aura that Zhang Chengdao had seen before reappeared around his body. Then, he punched the white-faced fat man in the face.

The pale-faced fat man was startled to see that Chang Ping'an could actually use true qi. After quickly recovering, he also became fierce and drew his sword to meet the attack.

Although Chang Ping'an had protective qi, he still dared not take the fat man's knife bare-handed. Moreover, as a former outer disciple of the Sword Forging Manor, he knew the fat man's strength all too well—the peak of the ninth rank, just half a step away from the eighth rank. He was originally on par with him in his prime, let alone him now that his power had greatly declined!

The pale-faced fat man narrowed his eyes and said hatefully, "What a piece of trash! I have no idea what methods you used to start cultivating again! It seems I can no longer let you live!"

I'm still so excited! I actually received my first Alliance Leader title! I was so excited that I grabbed everyone I could to brag to, even my own edits! I even bragged about it on the forums, and I didn't expect so many kind-hearted big shots to come and support me. Sorry for the fuss, hehehe, I'm so pathetic, I was just too excited to see an Alliance Leader title for the first time, hehehehehehe…

It's harder to control than an AK-47 in your mouth.
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(End of this chapter)