Forge a path to success

Chapter 265 The Heartless One is Practicing Repaying Kindness (Part 2)

fish……?

Mr. Chu likes... fish?

Qingye's mind went blank; her shock was no less than when she learned of Chongming's true identity. The overwhelming shock caused the shadow Qingye to instantly disintegrate and revert back to a shadow. She braced herself on the table and spoke with a glimmer of hope, "It's...it's a metaphor, isn't it? It's a metaphor, right?"

“Of course, it’s not one of those ‘decorative dishes’ that are all show and no substance.” Vande waved his tentacle. “It’s real fish, that is to say, fish.”

"Why did this happen?! Why?!"

Qingye covered her face with her hands, looking like a crazed ghost. Vande glanced at her and, seeing her miserable state, immediately drew a conclusion.

—The little girl's cooking skills aren't great; she immediately backed down when she heard she had to prepare raw fish.

Vande curled up his tentacles, thinking about the worrying cooking skills of young women today, and his words were filled with a hint of disappointment: "Xiao Ye, I really have to talk to you this time. You're planning to give a gift, can't you just stop being lazy? Everyone has their own preferences. Some people like red meat and some people like white meat, isn't that normal? You should go along with the other person's preferences."

"Why would someone have this kind of preference? That's what confuses me!" Xiaoye screamed.

Speaking of which, Xiaoye usually eats either rice or meat, and she doesn't like seafood, so it's no wonder she's so confused... Her habit of not eating fish because she's too lazy to even spit out the fish bones is really like that of a young lady from a wealthy family.

Van de clicked his tongue a few times, swirling his milk tea around, and said, "I can tell you don't know the benefits of seafood. I'll tell you the key points, so remember them."

"I don't want to know this kind of knowledge..." Qingye looked like a tragic girl who had fallen into the mire of the fallen.

“We always talk about ‘fresh seafood’ because it’s all about freshness when you’re enjoying it. Once the fishing rod is cast and the fish is hooked, do you know how to prepare it after it’s brought ashore?” Van der Perez continued tirelessly.

"You...you tell me."

Qingye clenched her fists, mentally preparing herself. To strengthen her resilience, she began to recall numerous classic cases from her past "Mental Pollution Defense" class—each a terrifying scene capable of stopping a child's nighttime crying, each a horrifying case that could make even the most mentally scarred tremble. Many students had broken down and skipped class during that lecture, but she, with her iron will, persevered from the beginning until the exam, never missing a single class.

No problem. She is the genius, the disabled, Guang Shi Qing Ye. Even if her fetish is slightly abnormal, it cannot shake her spirit!

Van der slammed his hand on the table: "Seafood, you have to cook it fresh to eat!"

"I can't take it anymore! This is too terrifying! It's not just a special hobby anymore, it's become an abnormal fetish, I really can't imagine it!!!" Qingye cried out in despair.

The psychological defenses built up by numerous bloody and horrific scenes were directly shattered by the phrase "made to order," triggering an imagination that caused the genius with a broken heart to collapse on the spot. Like a cat seeing a cucumber, she performed a violent backflip and slammed her head into the sofa.

Vande glanced sideways again, thinking to himself, "This girl doesn't even eat raw fish. Is this what you call a Shura Island person? How were they raised before?"

"You don't understand, do you? Seafood is only truly authentic when it's 'eaten and cooked fresh'," Van der instructed. "Freshly caught seafood has fresh, firm, and elastic flesh, so you should enjoy it while it's still fresh. If the fish dies, the flesh will naturally become loose and fall apart if left for too long, and then there's no enjoyment in it."

"Although I can understand it, it's even more terrifying now, and I want to give up."

"It's just a small matter of dealing with fish, how can you give up so easily?" Van der encouraged him. "Think about it, you've already prepared all this time, if you give up now, wouldn't you be wasting an entire afternoon? You'd be losing out!"

Qingye felt dizzy and disoriented, and for a moment thought that giving up on such a difficult task would be better for her. But as Fan De said, having already come to this point, wouldn't giving up halfway be a waste of mental energy? Besides, she had received so much help from the other party before; wouldn't giving up now be letting Mr. Chu down?

She forced herself to stand up and sit back down: "Vander, you're right, I'll stick to my guns... Mr. Chu, um, which type does he prefer?"

Van der thought for a moment and said, "In my opinion, he's not picky. If I had to say, he prefers eel."

"Is the taste really that strong?! Even that sticky stuff?!"

“The eel was amazing!” Vande recalled his experience in Yingshi Town. “Last time we caught a huge one, so plump and meaty it was a rare sight. We enjoyed it for three whole days.”

"You...you...all of you together?!" Qingye waved her hands frantically. "You...you can do this together?!"

“You’re being insensible. Good things should be shared,” Van Der said nostalgically. “In that godforsaken place with no entertainment and no hope, that eel helped us through a really tough time.”

Qingye's vision went black, realizing she had never truly known Chu Hengkong. Only now had she pierced through that flawless disguise and encountered the assassin's unknown true face. The perfect image of her senior shattered into shards of glass, each piece dancing and fluttering joyfully in the lake, shouting, "I want X fish! I want X fish!"

"My Lord, save me!" Qingye groaned.

Vande finished his milk tea and said dismissively, "You're already chickening out?"

"No, I will do it. I will do it!" Qingye repeated loudly as if hypnotizing herself, covering her face with her scarf. "I'm going to the seafood market right now..."

Van der nodded in satisfaction: "That's more like it. By the way, he has quite an appetite, so you'd better prepare double just to be safe. Also, remember to whip him with a hammer or something—"

"Please, please stop! Every word you say is shattering my common sense!"

Qingye unleashed a sword flash and leaped away, leaving the Eye Demon alone in the pitch-black room. Vande was utterly bewildered, wondering why this little girl was acting so strangely, even as a fish. It looked up at the doorknob, three times its own height, and the extremely distant window, and its eyes suddenly tightened.

"Xiaoye, take me out of here first! Ugh! You unlucky kid!"

Qingye had already left the dormitory building. Walking alone in the crowded streets, her solitary figure appeared particularly desolate. She couldn't understand why such an upright Mr. Chu would have such a perverse hobby. She even began to suspect that it was a prank, that Fan De was playing a trick on her.

However, the woman's keen intuition made it impossible for her to continue deceiving herself and escaping. Numerous details she observed in daily life corroborated Vande's statement.

Mr. Chu used to spend a lot of time by the sea.

He had close ties with sea creatures such as demons.

He was always inseparable from Van der.

Outside of battles, he always liked to be alone, and no one knew what he was doing in his room.

There were many beautiful girls around him, but he didn't seem to have any romantic feelings for them.

And that seemingly ordinary hobby that they already knew about.

Mr. Chu is very fond of fishing.

Now she knows why the other person likes fishing.

Even if she was unwilling and didn't want to admit it, she had no choice but to face the killer's true nature.

He is a fish-loving person.

He likes... seafood!

Qingye took a deep breath, and with a do-or-die mentality, walked towards the fishmonger, drawing out a large pearl with the force of drawing a sword.

“Give me the biggest fish you have here,” she said.

·

Evening, at the entrance of the dormitory building.

Chu Hengkong had just finished dinner and strolled back with a bag of books. He had just discussed the upcoming plans with Ji Qiufeng. He wouldn't be on duty at the military base for the time being, giving him large stretches of free time to pass the time. He planned to use this time to read; learning about the basics of the Submerged World couldn't hurt.

He stopped as he passed the mailbox. Inside the tin box, which hadn't received any mail since he moved in, lay a golden letter. He opened the envelope with interest and looked at the handwritten letter in vertical format.

"Since we met, I have received much care and attention. Today, I have prepared two gifts and placed them at your home as a small token of my appreciation. Please accept them with a smile."

Respectfully submitted by Guangshi Qingye.

Chu Hengkong put the envelope away, feeling a strange sense of comfort, as if his little sister had grown up and become sensible. He wondered what Qingye might send, given her peculiar way of thinking, but the thought itself was kind enough.

He deliberately avoided using his spiritual senses to maintain the sense of surprise, and looked expectantly into his home after going upstairs and opening the door.

"Let's see what you brought...?"

The room was dark, and the air was damp. Suspicious water droplets were splashed all over the floor, carrying a familiar fishy smell. Chu Hengkong squatted down, his nostrils flaring slightly.

(Eel, scallops, giant tuna... and lots of shrimp... a seafood platter?)

So it's sashimi after all? Did this girl bring the ingredients inside and slice them in the kitchen?

Chu Hengkong felt that this unfortunate child truly lacked common sense, yet at the same time, he felt that this was something she was capable of doing. Just then, the kitchen door creaked open, and he called out helplessly, "Qingye, who...who are you!?"

Chu Hengkong's muscles tensed up.

He saw a fish head.

A fish head twice the size of a human head.

The fish head slowly emerged from the kitchen, its pale eyes reflecting an eerie light. Not long ago, it must have been a live fish, red blood still dripping from its cut surface, flowing over its silvery body with a texture resembling fish scales. The monster's form was humanoid, yet it possessed an indescribable grotesqueness: its hands were octopus-like tentacles, and its legs were covered with dense clusters of tiny, sore-like fish heads, as if the resentment of countless seafood had coalesced together.

The monster clumsily and slowly turned its head, its bulging fish eyes looking at Chu Hengkong.

"Thank you so much……"

Chu Hengkong broke out in a cold sweat; the terrifying chill almost made him scream. He transformed his wicked wrist into a spear, forcing himself to stay focused: "Which sect are you from? Where is Qingye?!"

The fish head remained silent, simply watching his back, seemingly smiling. Chu Hengkong's clothes were soaked with cold sweat. He turned his head inch by inch, almost touching the shapely female body in a one-piece swimsuit. A fishy, ​​sticky substance dripped from the swimsuit fabric, like the ancient tears of a sea god. A huge shadow hung down from above, its shape indescribably bizarre.

Chu Hengkong stiffly looked up and saw an indescribable face formed by numerous eels entwined together.

A pair of pale eyes stared at her. The fish-headed woman and the eel-headed woman opened their arms at the same time, embracing each other gently like lovers.

"Do I look beautiful...?"

"Mr. Chu..."

For the first time since birth, Chu Hengkong let out a terrified scream.

·

"Guang Shiqingye, after you finish cleaning, you go down to the dormitory building and run a hundred laps. After you finish, come back up and eat my fish head. If you can't finish it, keep running. If you still can't finish it, keep running until you finish it!!" Chu Hengkong was furious.

"Yes, Mr. Chu!" Qingye cried out in despair.

"Why do I have to clean too?!" Vande screamed a second time.

The Heartbreaker and the Eye Demon, each carrying a large and a small rag, ran back and forth in the hall, vigorously scrubbing the floor. Piles of fish heads, bodies, shrimp shells, and other seafood remains lay in the kitchen, resembling the aftermath of an underwater battle.

Ji Huaisu and the rest of the group crowded in the corridor to watch the commotion. Chu Hengkong took a big bite of sashimi (which Qingye had cut in advance in the kitchen), growing angrier and angrier with each passing thought. He finished the entire plate of sashimi in one go, slammed his fist on the table, and yelled, "What the hell were you thinking?!"

Qingye pointed at Vande: "It was Vande who said it!"

"What does this have to do with me? I've been talking about fish the whole time!" Vande complained, feeling wronged.

“But you sound like you’re saying…” Qingye felt even more aggrieved.

Chu Hengkong took a deep breath, telling himself to stay calm and not to stoop to the level of a child...

He was utterly defeated, waving the plate and roaring, "Damn it, do I look like someone who would fuck fish?!"

Both of them fell silent at the same time. Qingye said cautiously, "It looks like..."

"Guang Shiqingye, you don't need to go running anymore. Tonight, we'll have intensive wrestling lessons. We'll stop when you successfully wrestle me once. Dinner will only be served when it's over!"

"No--"

"Change me into my training clothes now, go!"

"Sister Huaisu, please save me!!!"

In conclusion, Miss Qingye didn't get to eat her midnight snack until 2 a.m.

Incidentally, after repaying this debt of gratitude, Miss Qingye, having learned her lesson, finally regained her normal high school girl appearance thanks to the power of the Returning Dragon God. Truly a cause for celebration!

Chapter 266 Where to Go From Here (Part 1)

"Good morning, Chu Hengkong," Qingxia said with a smile.

Chu Hengkong opened his eyes and brushed aside the orange-red stray hairs in front of him. He propped himself up and looked around to confirm that this was his bedroom, and that the door and windows were still locked.

Qingxia stood obediently by the bed, letting him reach out and pinch her cheek: "Tell me honestly how you got in today?"

"Don't ask a girl's secrets, lalalala~"

Chu Hengkong pulled harder, and Qingxia started to cry fakely: "If you keep squeezing it, it'll turn into mochi."

Qingxia typed the emoticon QAQ on her combat suit and reluctantly let go. After upgrading to level 4, this girl became an absolute monster. Her face was so beautiful it was otherworldly, and her teary-eyed expression was incredibly captivating; even the most steely person would soften upon seeing her.

Even if you know she's faking it on purpose, what can you do? Being beautiful can, to a certain extent, allow you to do whatever you want.

"Qingxia, you should be careful not to wear too pretty clothes in the future, it's not good for those around you," Chu Hengkong sighed.

"Yes, yes, I'll only wear it for you to see!" Qingxia raised her hand.

"is not what it means."

"I'll change it in front of you."

"This has absolutely nothing to do with the original topic! Don't take your clothes off while we're talking!" Chu Hengkong had a headache. "You've made me forget why you even came here."

Qingxia conjured up a crumpled storybook, her face full of anticipation: "I want to hear the final chapter!"

Chu Hengkong tapped his head, thinking to himself, "No wonder this girl is causing trouble so early in the morning."

Last night we talked about how Jiang Wei abandoned his supplies and defeated the Wei army, leaving one last loose end. This morning we'll tell another part, and Qingxia's much-anticipated "first story" will be finished.

They had made a promise beforehand in the desolate wilderness, and neither of them had forgotten it after returning. Qingxia had been eagerly waiting since the second day after arriving in Huilong City, and Chu Hengkong spent the whole day urgently reviewing the events on his phone, and then spent an hour or two each day telling the girl stories from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Thankfully, he had a text saved on his phone, so he could at least fill in the gaps in the story and avoid having to rob Peter to pay Paul. Theoretically, he could just hand the phone to Qingxia to read herself, but since he had agreed to "tell" the story, he had to be a proper storyteller. It would be too disrespectful to break his promise to the young girl.

Fan De went to the library with Gu Libo early in the morning, leaving Chu Hengkong's little room unusually quiet. He took out two pieces of bread from the refrigerator, heated them up, and ate them while talking.

He had a very vague memory of the end of the Three Kingdoms period; to be honest, he hadn't read much about it since the Prime Minister's death. So, while recounting the story, he had to keep checking his phone, his head huddled together with Qingxia's.