“Jianjia! Look, you can relax now!”

He moved his foot away. Exposed to the scorching sun, the lump of mud immediately dissolved into a pool of foul water and evaporated, leaving only a small, dark red stain on the ground.

No longer smelling that distinctive scent, Yao Jianjia looked at Miao Haohao in astonishment and said, “Miao Haohao, you must have raised this creepy thing for quite some time! And you just crushed it like that?”

“If you don’t like something, Jianjia, then it has no reason to exist in this world! It was just a Spider Gu. It’s gone! I promise, you’ll never see anything you dislike in front of me ever again!” Miao Haohao declared, gazing at Yao Jianjia with deep affection.

Unfortunately, the Third Miss of the Yao family had no concept of what deep affection was.

“Alright, alright, I get it, you’re a good guy, Miao Haohao! Since you know I dislike these things, just make sure I don’t smell them next time! Anyway, I just finished registering, so I can’t chat. I’m going to find my dorm now!”

Yao Jianjia seemed to have no interest in catching up. She gave Miao Haohao a playful wave, tightened the straps of her backpack, and walked right past him.

To the simple and innocent Third Miss Jianjia, even the concept of money was foreign. Miao Haohao was merely an acquaintance, despite them having known each other since childhood.

The Miao Clan’s Gu.

Medicine Valley’s herbs.

They seemed destined to complement each other.

For decades, both families had entertained the idea of a marriage alliance, but various issues had always prevented it from happening.

Now, in Miao Haohao and Yao Jianjia’s generation, Miao Haohao had long considered the Third Miss of Medicine Valley to be his to claim. Given that this was common knowledge between their families, almost everyone assumed their marriage was a sure thing. After all, Miss Jianjia had never shown any dislike for Miao Haohao.

But they all subconsciously overlooked one thing: had anyone in her life ever managed to make her feel dislike?

No one.

Not even Qin Fan, who had stolen the Longevity Furnace from her, had managed to earn her aversion.

Watching Yao Jianjia’s departing figure, Miao Haohao smiled as if looking at a precious treasure. For years, he had adopted the mentality of boiling a frog in slowly warming water. He knew that no one could snatch Yao Jianjia away from him. At the first hint of any threat, he would immediately erase the person, making them vanish from the Human World.

He watched until her figure disappeared from sight. Miao Haohao didn’t follow or play any games. Hands in his pockets, he walked with a proud smile under the sun toward the distant area of private apartments. Miao Haohao disdained mingling with the common masses.

「Night fell.」

In Dorm 708, a chic sofa was tucked neatly into a corner. A sixty-inch LCD TV was mounted on the wall. On the coffee table in front of the sofa sat a spread of peanuts, beer, and barbecue skewers. The television was broadcasting the fierce action of the English Premier League’s Manchester Derby.

“Pass it wide! Damn it, Rashford, you bastard! Slip it to Ma Ta in the open space! A through-ball and Lukaku would’ve been one-on-one with the keeper! Fuck, can’t you be less of a ball hog?!” Li Qiuzhe, the big guy from the northeast, roared at the screen.

“Boss, be honest, how much did you bet tonight?” Wang Dalu asked, turning his head.

“My five-fold parlay just needs Manchester United to cover the spread! Damn that Rashford! You fucking idiot! Absolute fucking idiot!” Li Qiuzhe shouted, his face red with anger.

“No, really, Boss, how much did you bet on the parlay?” Zhu Houqing asked curiously.

“Ten yuan is still money! If this hits, it’s over four hundred!” Li Qiuzhe bellowed.

“Alright, alright! You do you, Boss. Carry on!” Wang Dalu and Zhu Houqing exchanged a look, then threw up their hands in a gesture of mock surrender.

Nearby, Qin Fan watched Li Qiuzhe’s outburst with an amused smile. He fondly recalled how Dorm 708 had been obsessed with soccer in his past life. He remembered clearly how the hysteria after the Chinese national team beat South Korea—which swept through Jinling University and then the entire country—had all started right here. That night, led by the occupants of Dorm 708, the national anthem had soared into the heavens above the campus. That night, led by them, national flags had waved everywhere. You could only imagine how crazy these rascals had been. It was probably a good thing the national team never made it to the World Cup. Otherwise, they might have torn the dormitory down in their excitement!

“Boss, take it easy! Don’t go smashing the TV, haha!” Qin Fan said, shaking his head with a laugh.

“If I’d bet a thousand, maybe I would. But for ten yuan, don’t worry, Qin Fan, don’t worr—SHIT! LUKAKU! GOOOOOOAL!!!”

Before he could finish his sentence, Lukaku headed the ball into the back of Manchester City’s net on the screen. With a triumphant roar, Li Qiuzhe shot up from the sofa, ripped off his shirt, and began swinging it wildly in the air.

“Man, I’m seriously tempted to give him the four hundred yuan myself just to get him to calm down!” Zhu Houqing lamented.

“He’s a die-hard United fan. We knew that coming in, right? Long live tolerance, my friend, long live tolerance! Haha!” Wang Dalu replied, shaking his head with a laugh.

Just then, several multi-legged worms squeezed through the crack under the dorm room door. Their pale, whitish bodies were difficult to spot against the floor unless one looked closely. Silently, they scurried forward, but their target wasn’t Li Qiuzhe or the others. Instead, they all rushed toward Qin Fan’s feet.

Interesting!

Qin Fan glanced down at the rapidly approaching worms, a playful, mocking smile spreading across his face. Before the indistinct creatures could reach him, he suddenly stood up. “You guys keep watching. I’ll be right back.”

“Damn, Qin Fan, are you going off to find Goddess Yinuo?” Li Qiuzhe yelled immediately.

“You have the right to think so! Haha, I’m out!”

As Qin Fan turned and walked towards the door, the worms instantly changed direction, scurrying to follow him.

CLICK.

He gently pulled the door closed behind him and paused. The True Qi in his Dantian instantly circulated throughout his body’s meridians. With a faint, wicked smile, Qin Fan opened his right hand. A nearly invisible white mist emanated from his palm. He turned his hand over, palm facing down.

The next moment, the scurrying worms let out a faint squeak as they were instantly sucked onto his palm.

The moment they were affixed to his palm, the worms seemed to sense a fatal threat. Forgetting to bite him, they squirmed frantically, trying to struggle free. But no matter how they writhed, they could not escape the confines of his palm.

“Gu insects? Tsk tsk… which unorthodox faction have I pissed off this time?” Qin Fan muttered to himself with a sneer.

He then extended his Divine Sense outward. After sensing a peculiar Qi Mechanism nearby, the corners of his mouth lifted into a smirk. With a jaunty smile on his face, he strode toward the staircase, following the source of the Qi Mechanism.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep