The male supporting character was actually myself.

The fluffy little thing jumped up happily, grabbed its owner's shiny black and soft fur, and started stroking and rubbing against it. "Yay! The virus wants to create wild fake owners to cause trouble, so let's use it as bait!"

Meow~ But thinking about it, these people who are just tools for the virus are really pitiful.

Why not just honestly cultivate your skills and live a simple life? You lack ability yet always dream of a windfall, only to find that good fortune is something you have to steal and ultimately pay for...

I wonder how the last wild pseudo-master is doing. The demon king possessed a useless body and is now under the supervision of the School Affairs Department. As long as he doesn't cause trouble, he should be able to die peacefully of old age, right?

"The settings of the School Affairs Department have not been changed by the virus. I think as long as Lu Fan can settle down, he can live a peaceful life."

Jiang Chen shook himself but couldn't get rid of the fluffy ball, so he had to drag it forward and whispered, "I told Ling Qiye before we set off. He's been reinstated and has a bright future, so even if his aura dims, he won't suffer. With him keeping an eye on things, there shouldn't be any major problems."

Gu Xingzhou woke up in a bad mood.

Although my beautiful master, who was tormented by the demon cat last night, did not leave, she was clearly somewhat cold towards me, unlike when we first met when we were chatting and laughing and being very friendly.

Adding to his troubles was the lack of rest, which made him feel very agitated. His father then woke him up for morning exercises, and he was practicing the boxing techniques he had just learned the day before with a sullen face and a gloomy expression.

Should we ask our father about Gu Qinglang's compensation claim?

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he dismissed it. What good would it do to ask?

If what the beautiful master said is true, that the father was sober and aware when Gu Qinglang gave him a huge amount of compensation, then why has he never mentioned it all these years?

Recalling the past, her father's most frequent complaints were about his inability to cultivate, followed by self-pity and hatred for Gu Qinglang, who had been so ruthless.

He only taught himself to cultivate diligently to avenge his father, but he didn't mention the huge wealth and various spiritual medicines that were beneficial to cultivation. In other words, his father didn't care about those material possessions at all.

But now the family of three is living a very difficult life. Even if he doesn't mind the poverty and hardship, he can't bear to see his wife, who has taken care of him for eighteen years, suffer such grievances and hardships as well.

Gu Xingzhou really couldn't understand it.

But he dared not ask. Some things are unclear, so he could pretend not to know and stand on the moral high ground to condemn the enemy. Once he understood, there would be no way out, and if he became more accomplished in the future, it would be difficult to vent his anger on the Gu family.

It's better to just let it drag on like this.

Anyway, with her beautiful master patiently guiding her, she will gradually change her feelings and become her strongest support over time.

Meanwhile, he would focus on refining medicine and cultivating to advance to the second level as quickly as possible. Once his realm was stable, he would persuade the beauty to secretly help him, using the newspaper that the demon cat had left here last night as evidence, to seek justice from the Gu family and reclaim what rightfully belonged to him!

By then, no matter how the father acts, it won't make a difference.

Even if he had some agreement with his grandfather, he had the power to veto the return of the property because he was the stronger one.

"Hoo..." Thinking of this, Gu Xingzhou exhaled a breath of turbid air and cultivated even more earnestly.

Hong Luo, who was secretly using her mind-reading ability to eavesdrop on others' thoughts, rolled her eyes. Then, sensing that the little demon cat's aura was nearby, she instantly disappeared into the ring's space.

"Little cat, you're absolutely right!" Her semi-transparent figure appeared in the forest, and upon seeing the little demon cat, she exclaimed, "I overheard his thoughts, and the thoughts of humans are truly terrifying!"

Jiang Chen licked his paws and corrected, "Not all humans are like that. Just like the demon race, there are good and bad people everywhere, but overall there are more good people. Senior was just unlucky and encountered an extremely eccentric person."

Hongluo sat on the ground, pouting as she rested her chin on her slender hand and said, "Little cat, why don't you go steal his ring and let's leave this place?"

He's always thinking about how to scheme against me.

After returning home last night, Gu Xingzhou, just as you said, apologized sincerely on the surface but harbored ill intentions. He even tried to use a fallacy to get me to stand up for him today and fight back against the Gu family to demand money. I reminded him that he should first find out the details of the huge sum of money and ask his father if he knew about it and what his plans were.

I thought he would actually ask him to find out the truth, but Gu Xingzhou still held the idea of ​​muddying things up and letting his fists do the talking, completely disregarding right and wrong.

This kind of person is absolutely detestable. Even at such a low level, they're already so malicious and selfish; they'll definitely become a menace when their cultivation level rises!"

Stealing the ring?

Jiang Chen was taken aback for a moment.

Could it be that the updated plot in the scroll is because Hong Luo had this idea, so she directly asked him to steal the ring and take her away?

"Given your character, senior, you should have left something for Gu Xingzhou as compensation for stealing the ring, right?" He went straight to the point and asked, "May I ask what you plan to give him?"

Honglu gently kicked at the wildflowers in the grass with her smooth, jade-like feet, and said helplessly, "The Great Dao I cultivate does not allow me to do things that violate morality."

Although Gu Xingzhou is a person of extremely poor character and cannot distinguish right from wrong, the kindness of waking him up still needs to be repaid.

If you help steal the ring and take me away, you'll have to compensate me for the loss of the ring. Last night I thought about it for a long time and decided to give him a Heaven-level cultivation technique and a method to control demonic beasts.

I thought that the cultivation technique could offset the debt of gratitude for being awakened;

"Take one of his magical rings and a beast-taming technique from him, so that he can move freely in the wilderness and gather medicinal herbs without worrying about being bothered by wild beasts in the future."

Sure enough, everything was unfolding according to the plot orchestrated by the virus.

In that case, saving the world will depend on my micro-management skills!

A smile appeared on Jiang Chen's round face as she shook her head and said, "No, no, senior, you're thinking too simply. When it comes to repaying a debt of gratitude, of course you should give your benefactor what they need most right now."

For example, if he is about to starve to death, giving him a big house that cannot be immediately converted into cash is not as practical as giving him a full meal; or if he is dying of illness, giving him a bottle of life-saving medicine is not as good as giving him a lot of gold.

In conclusion, to repay a debt of gratitude, you should give him something that he can immediately use.

If you give him a Heaven-level cultivation technique, it's questionable whether Gu Xingzhou, with his talent, can even master it. Besides, he doesn't know its value and certainly won't appreciate it; instead, he'll think you're just trying to appease him.

The method of controlling beasts is even less useful. After advancing to the second level of extraordinary beings, what dangers are there when traveling in the mountains and forests?

This world has few demonic beasts; on the contrary, it has many kind-hearted demons of considerable strength. What if a despicable person like Gu Xingzhou learned the art of beast control and used it on our fellow demons, manipulating them for evil? Wouldn't that be a recipe for disaster?

Upon hearing its analysis, Hongluo's expression immediately turned serious.

“That’s right, Little Cat, you’ve thought it through perfectly!” After a few moments of thought, she nodded in agreement, “The art of beast control must not fall into the hands of someone like him! Then…”

Jiang Chen waved his hand to signal her to calm down, "Besides, I don't think stealing the ring will work either. Senior is already a free agent, why would you want to leave secretly?"

We'll be demons with integrity, not do those sneaky things!

If you're going to leave, do it openly and honestly. Tell him that you two are on different paths and should sever your master-disciple relationship. Give him compensation for the awakening you received, then leave that low-level ring space with little spiritual energy and move into the magical artifact I found for my senior.

As he spoke, he took out two bottles of mixed elixirs that he had prepared in advance from his spatial storage and handed them over, "One bottle is for Senior to stabilize his strength; the other bottle is for Gu Xingzhou, which will definitely repay his kindness in awakening him."

This is far superior to all the spiritual herbs he currently has access to; if he conserves them, it'll be enough to reach level four.

"Well... once you find a treasure where you can stay, I'll give him this elixir and then leave openly and honestly!"

"Okay, meow! There's another small matter I need your help with, senior..."

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Moment of Decisive Break

The little demon cat whispered in Hong Luo's ear for a moment, and the expression on her face slowly changed from blank to expectant. Then she nodded in agreement and disappeared into the mountains and forests.

"Host, this so-called goddess seems to be a complete idiot." The fluffy little thing muttered under its breath, a blade of grass dangling from its mouth. "How can she trust people so easily? Doesn't she fear being kidnapped and sold?"

Jiang Chen lay down in the grass, exposing his belly to bask in the sun, and lazily said, "That's how the character is supposed to be. Otherwise, how could a remnant soul of a goddess who has lived for so many years be so easily manipulated by a wild pseudo-master? Hopefully, Hong Luo can step up her game, then we'll have a good show to watch."

Upon hearing the commotion, the little white cat immediately perked up. "Meow? Host, shall I go get a closer look at this juicy gossip? And maybe stake out another wave of viruses while I'm at it?"

Jiang Chen was happy not to be petted, waved his paws and nodded, saying, "Go, go, and while you're at it, help Hong Luo block the aura attack to avoid any unforeseen complications."

"Okay, meow~"

Only a fleeting white blur was seen before its excited cry drifted on the wind; the cat had long since vanished from the forest.

He scratched his fur with his hind paw, took a bag of delicious dried fish from the food maker, and leisurely ate his breakfast while basking in the sun.

Gu Xingzhou was also eating breakfast.

However, his breakfast was much simpler and more austere in comparison. His porridge contained only wild vegetables and hardly any rice. His dry food consisted of dumplings made by his mother from wild plant fruits that she had picked, which were ground into yellowish flour and mixed with some wild vegetables.

Apart from the fact that the family of three was in slightly better spirits due to his own ability to cultivate and the use of spiritual liquid to cleanse his marrow at night, both parents looked pale and sickly.

"Zhou'er, eat more. How can you train so hard every day without eating enough?" His mother took one of the few vegetable dumplings and stuffed it into his mouth, while she herself held her bowl and only drank porridge, unwilling to eat any dry food.

Gu Xingzhou hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and refused, saying, "Please eat. I'll be advancing to level two soon. Then I won't be afraid of any wild beasts in the wilderness, and I'll work hard to hunt and improve my family's meals!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Feiyue's face turned cold. He slammed the chopsticks he had carved from tree branches onto the table and scolded, "You're already eighteen and haven't even advanced to level two yet. Instead of thinking about how to improve your strength, you're thinking about hunting and eating meat. You're just like your mother—long hair, short brains!"

What does it matter if things are tough now?

"Once you succeed in your cultivation, how much wealth and glory won't you enjoy when you defeat Gu Qinglang and stand at the pinnacle of the Great Sui Dynasty?"

My mother, who looked haggard from working day and night, didn't lower her head and remain silent as usual.

With a courage that seemed to come from nowhere, she snatched the bowl from the other person's half-eaten bowl and angrily rebuked, "What do you mean by 'long hair, short wit'?"

We've been married for less than a year, and before our son was even born, you've already become a cripple. If it weren't for me, a woman with long hair and short brains, staying by your side through thick and thin, do you think you could be sitting here so cleanly, decisively, and confidently cursing people like this?

Back then, you proposed to me, who came from a poor background, and you even went against the opinions of others to shield me from a lot of gossip because I couldn't cultivate. I am always grateful whenever you mention it, but I have already repaid you with eighteen years of suffering and meticulous service!

I've only recently come to a realization: I, Xu Xueqing, am just an ordinary person who doesn't cultivate, hasn't stolen, robbed, or cheated. Why should I be considered inferior to you?

You were the one who asked me to marry you, not the other way around!

If it weren't for your high-profile marriage proposal in Junxi Town, which became the talk of the town and everyone praised you for being responsible and a real man, I would have been blinded by love and agreed to marry you. Back then, I could have married into an ordinary family and wouldn't have had to put up with my in-laws' attitudes and be bullied and ridiculed by my sisters-in-law every day!

Eighteen years have passed. You were so competitive that your martial arts were crippled and you're now paralyzed in bed. I've served my in-laws, cared for you and the children, and haven't had a single good day. And now you're still teaching our son like this. Aren't you worried he'll follow in your footsteps, be too arrogant, and get his martial arts crippled too?

As she spoke, grief welled up within her, and she covered her face, choking back tears as she said, "I've endured eighteen years of hardship, and finally, I feel hopeful that I've raised my child to adulthood."

If he could find a job in town or city, he would never have to worry about food, live in a drafty thatched hut, or be afraid of wild animals lurking nearby every night, and he would never have to sleep in fear!

You can't provide a decent life for your wife and children, yet you want to raise your son to follow in your footsteps. If something were to happen to him, how would I live the rest of my life?

"Do you know that we can barely get enough to eat now because there are trees and grass in the mountains, and I can pick wild fruits and dig for wild vegetables? What will we eat when there's nothing left in the mountains after autumn?"

The woman's tears dripped down her cheeks. "Zhou'er is eighteen years old now. For the past eighteen years, he has listened to you and only knows how to cultivate every day. He does nothing else. And you are paralyzed in bed, unable to move, waiting for me to take care of you."

You're so angry just because he mentioned wanting to hunt to improve our meals? Is the child greedy for wealth and luxury? He just wants his parents to eat well and suffer less!

"That's all because your son is useless!" Gu Feiyue slammed his hand on the table, his face as cold as ice. "If he had some talent and achieved success in cultivation earlier, the Gu family's resources would definitely have been poured into him!"

"If he hadn't fallen out with your father, how could you be living in this dilapidated house, eating meager rations every day?"

The usually taciturn mother lost control of her emotions and cried out her grievances of many years, while the father, in a fit of anger, shifted the blame onto himself.

Gu Xingzhou nearly crushed the chopsticks in his hand.

He hated his father for not being able to judge the situation. If only he had accepted the offer and stayed in the capital back then! He would have been born into a prosperous and wealthy place, and his father would have been so happy.

He resented that his mother was just an ordinary person who didn't know how to cultivate, and that she couldn't give him any cultivation talent to inherit.

For a moment, Gu Xingzhou thought of the huge sum of money Gu Qinglang had compensated him. If he could get his parents back, they could live a life of luxury, and he would have enough spiritual medicine to cultivate in peace.

Besides, that's the wealth that could support so many members of the Gu family in Lingxi Town to squander for years. If we take it back and use it on our own family, we can be like those gentlemen in the capital, with someone to serve us even when we're washing our faces and getting dressed.

But Father...

He glanced at it furtively, a surge of barely suppressed anger rising within him. Why didn't his father mention the huge compensation from back then?

“Xingzhou, I thought about it carefully last night.” Hongluo had seen all of this. She overheard Gu Xingzhou’s thoughts and found that he was very dissatisfied and extremely eager for wealth, but still chose not to find out the reason. Therefore, she secretly transmitted her voice and said, “You are right about one thing. The appearance of that little demon cat is indeed a bit strange.”