The Thirteen Trials of the Deceptive Monk

Kukumu pulled another 3 magic coins from her pocket. She stared at another chocolate bar priced at 6 magic coins, lost in thought for a long time, her face displaying a pitiful expression that tugged at the heartstrings of onlookers…

"You're the one who spent all the money, so don't look at me like that, like I've been abandoned."

Ling Gong resolutely stood up: "I'll go and give her the money right now."

"Linggong, calm down! This is a crucial time for Grandma to learn to live independently. Don't spoil her now!"

"Wenjun, how could you say such a thing to your own grandmother?!"

Lu Wenjun remained unfazed: "Sure, when my grandma threw me into the river to learn to swim, she wasn't spoiling me at all. She told me back then, 'If you can't learn, you'll drown!'"

"Your Lu family is so strange!"

"Don't speak, someone's here! And they're a really difficult, unpleasant guest!"

The new guest entered, bringing with him a strong smell of alcohol. His shirt buttons were askew, and his scarf was wrapped around his head like a headband. Judging from his familiar silver hair, this man was undoubtedly the drunken senior, Chai Luo.

"Wow, that was fast. Faris only brought the alcohol back a short while ago, and this guy is already this drunk."

Chai Luo staggered to the counter, grinning foolishly for a moment: "Give me...more wine..."

“Man, you’ve already drunk a lot,” Jiu Jiu Mu said.

Chai Luo slammed his fist on the counter: "Only five cans of beer! Are you questioning my drinking capacity?!"

“His alcohol tolerance is terrible…” Ling Gong couldn’t help but say.

"Alright, alright~" Jiu Jiu Mu said gently.

Boom!Boom!

Jiu Jiu Mu raised both palms and struck Chai Luo's face violently, like striking a gong.

"you--"

dong dong dong dong!

Miss Kukuki unleashed a four-hit combo that flowed like water, and the two people in the distance could almost see the alcohol spraying from Chai Luo's head.

"How are things now?"

Chai Luo stammered, "I'm sober! I'm completely sober! Please, please put your hand down!"

Jiu Jiu Mu lowered his hand, maintaining his unchanging smile.

"You've been having some worries lately, haven't you?"

"What's with this opening line? Do we even know each other?"

"There was obvious signs of depression on his face."

"Those are handprints! They're from the slap you gave me!"

Chai Luo slammed her fist on the counter again, angrily saying, "What's there to be unhappy about? I'm doing great lately! My artistic inspiration is endless, and even that difficult vice president gave me a scarf as a gift to make up! Everything's going smoothly!"

“That is indeed very rare,” said Lü Wenjun.

"And the new recruits we've hired this year are not only incredibly talented artistically, but they're also amazing at creating a lively atmosphere. Everyone's ignoring me, the club president, and going to drink and chat with the newcomers, leaving me all alone in a corner drinking by myself! I don't mind at all!"

“I feel like he cares about it a lot,” Linggong said.

Chai Luo continued, "It's rare that this is a joint club party, and I was thinking of confiding in Lan Ting, hoping to exchange experiences as fellow victims who were tricked at the party... but she's completely fine! Her status in the club is even higher than before, and a bunch of people are begging her to teach them how to write erotica. Isn't that just too strange?!"

Lu Wenjun's lips twitched: "After all, President Lanting made 20 yuan by writing miscellaneous books... If I were in her shoes, I would also try to curry favor with her..."

"And you know, lately it's really, really..."

“Human, you’ve accumulated so many troubles,” Jiu Jiu Mu said.

Chai Luo leaned against the counter, looking distressed for a while, and said, "I don't know why I always get bumped into by the demon pig."

"Wow, this is the first time I've ever heard of such a problem in all my years of life."

"It's true! This morning, a magical boar was walking along the main road when it suddenly crashed into me. It happened at the lab building at noon too. And it happened again at the club in the evening..."

Chai Luo turned around: "Look, I feel really uncomfortable in my butt right now, it must be injured."

"Um……"

Jiu Jiumu stared intently at a conspicuous white object behind Chai Luo for a long time.

A long wild boar tusk was stuck in his crotch, the latter half broken off at the root, still stained with fresh blood.

"You are indeed injured, Demon Boar."

"It's not the Demon Pig, it's me! Can't you see? My butt still hurts!"

Jiu Jiu Mu closed his eyes: "You've already tried your best, Demon Pig."

"Are you even listening to me?!"

Ling Gong looked horrified: "What on earth did that pig go through?!"

"Seriously, what's wrong with that guy's ass? Is this all he feels? Is he got a diamond butt?!"

Chapter 70 Running on the Avenue of Art

Chai Luo touched his buttocks, his expression growing increasingly distressed.

"Whether it's by chance or bad luck, everything's been going wrong lately. Sometimes I think maybe I should just quit and go solo, since those bastards don't really care about me anyway..."

"You're not a bad person by nature, so why do you have trouble getting along with the people around you?" Jiu Jiu Mu asked curiously.

Chai Luo slumped in front of the counter for a while, then sighed and said, "Can't control your mouth, huh..."

Jiu Jiu Mu opened a can of beer for him and recalled for a moment: "I remember now, I saw on the forum that people were saying that the president of the styling club always makes scathing criticisms..."

“Of course I know… anyone would be unhappy if they were criticized…” Chai Luo muttered as he took his beer. “But if you want to work in an art-related industry, you have to face criticism! And most of the works in our club are, frankly speaking, a pile of crap!”

"Human, your mouth is so dirty."

"Do you know why this is?" Chai Luo said, getting angrier as she spoke. "It's because the former president was a nice guy who loved socializing. He was always talking about 'joyful creation' and 'interest-oriented,' and he would praise any work that the members submitted against his conscience. The activity room was filled with applause and praise every day, making it seem like some kind of social salon for geniuses..."

He slammed the beer can down on the counter, angrily saying, "As a result, the club's level hasn't improved at all! Most people can't even make charging magic tools, and all they produce every day is self-indulgent stuff. Forget about entering the industry after graduation, they can't even call themselves amateur artists. As the club president, how can I let the club degenerate like this!"

Outside the store, observing, Lü Wenjun muttered to himself, "This guy actually has a pretty good sense of responsibility..."

“Because the Magical Art Studio is a ‘real’ club,” Reiko explained softly. “Many of the club’s seniors went into the industry after graduation, so they have extensive networks. Most of the people who join this club are genuinely interested in pursuing a career in the arts, which is why the academy provides them with a lot of funding and resources…”

"No wonder. Semi-professional training combined with an entertainment-oriented atmosphere is indeed a headache."

Inside the magic shop, Chai Luo was still pouring out his grievances, becoming more and more distressed as he spoke.

"Of course I know that many people do art just to satisfy their own desires... but that's not an excuse for being complacent. 'Art,' in the end, is meant to be seen by others. No matter how satisfied you are with your work, if it receives a lot of negative reviews when it's shown to the outside world, then it can't be considered a success..."

Chai Luo said in a low voice, "Sigh, what's the point of talking to you about this... The more I talk, the more my head aches, and the less inspiration I have... If I go out, I'll just get run over by wild boars again. What kind of life is this... I don't want to live like this anymore..."

Jiujiu listened patiently, and when Chai Luo had a moment to drink, he asked, "Man, are you an artist?"

Chai Luo's expression turned serious: "Amateur art enthusiast! This level is far from professional!"

Jiujiu sniffed: "Really? No wonder you have an artistic temperament."

"Oh, oh! Can you feel it, my talent!"

"The Demon Pig is a very melancholic creature. Once it senses an artistic atmosphere, it will rush over in a hurry," Jiu Jiu Mu said with a smile.

Chai Luo's eyes lit up: "Could it be that this constitution that attracts demonic boars is precisely because of my overly strong artistic temperament?!"

“Is that so? Especially that scarf, it has such a strong artistic feel,” Jiu Jiu Mu explained. “Once the Demon Pig sees art, it can’t help but surge forward. And you, as the president of the artists’ club, are you going to abandon your responsibility to lead the artists forward and stop here?”

Chai Luo ripped off his scarf, his face flushed with excitement.

"Exactly... just as you said! If we're so easily discouraged by this little setback, how can we face the obstacles on the path of art? I've realized! I should take the Demon Pigs as my role models and lead them to gallop wildly on the road of art!"

"Hey, you've lost your scarf."

"I need to hurry back and tell everyone that tomorrow's creative theme is the Demon Pig!"

Chai Luo had already charged out with the tusks of the demonic boar protruding, and Miss Jiu Jiu Mu waved goodbye.

The two people in the distance put down the magical telescope that contained eavesdropping capabilities.

"Grandma handles these kinds of situations with absolutely no effort."

“I have so much life experience that I don’t panic…” Ling Gong picked up the binoculars again. “However, I’ve never heard of a demon pig liking artists.”

"Instead of wondering what this grandma is doing now, don't touch other people's personal belongings."

Miss Kukumu found a needle and thread somewhere and began to carefully unravel Chai Luo's scarf. Just as she was busy, another new customer came into the store.

A beautiful black-haired woman who looked tired and slightly drunk was none other than Ms. Lanting, the president of the Demon Theory Research Institute.

Lanting came to the counter with a stack of magazines: "Please give me these."

"Okay~ 'Passion! Gloomy Huge X Super Collection Photobook' 80 Magic Coins, 'dokidoki Happy Heaven November Issue' 96 Magic Coins."

"Please, please don't say your name."

"That is, 100 magic coins for a porn book with an average figure. 120 magic coins for a porn book with a very young age. 130 magic coins for a porn book with many wild animals. Plus a box of sleeping pills for 40 magic coins."

"..."

"..."

An eerie silence fell over the magic shop. Jiujiu Mu said gently, "Human, have you been under a lot of stress lately?"

"A desperate lack of inspiration..." Lanting covered her face. "I really want to write, but as soon as I pick up a pen, I can't write anything. I used to be able to draw inspiration from people around me, but after it was exposed, I'm too embarrassed to use the people in the club as material. It feels so painful..."

"She suddenly started pouring out her heart. Why? We just met for the first time. Did Grandma learn some kind of listening technique on her own?"

“Because Grandma… the deity is indeed a confessional, the most senior one in the world.” Ling Gong changed her words halfway through, “By the way, please don’t say ‘Grandma’ anymore, okay? You’ve led me astray, it’s very rude.”

Inside the shop, Lanting became increasingly animated as she spoke: "Not only that, recently some members have even volunteered to be sketching models... They clearly want to use this as an excuse to build closer relationships. But I don't see them that way at all, and I'm quite troubled by it too."

Kujiki pondered: "In other words, it's used as a reference for erotic works, but it lacks any eroticism."

"Exactly!" Lanting said excitedly. "I just see everyone as a convenient source of material for my fantasies! I don't like the person themselves, but rather the material I use to fantasize about them. That's the same behavior as writers looking for erotic images on the internet to aid their imaginations!"

Lu Wenjun slammed his binoculars down: "This woman's club is awful!!!"

"I'm increasingly reluctant to join any clubs..."

"After all, we were discovered before, so it wouldn't be good to use everyone as material anymore. That's why I was thinking of taking this opportunity to gather material from the Magical Arts Research Club. But..." Lanting held her head in her hands, "I don't know why, but every time I went, I was interrupted by the Magical Pig..."

"The Demon Pigs are appearing so frequently," Jiu Jiu Mu said.

"Seriously! It happened during sketching sessions, during club discussions, even at parties—every time, a demonic boar would suddenly appear out of nowhere!" Lan Ting's face was filled with disgust. "Tonight, I saw with my own eyes one of the boar's tusks pierce Chai Luo's butt, and then its horn broke off! It wasn't Chai Luo's butt that broke off, but the boar's horn!"

"Well, I believe you."

Lanting let out a pitiful groan and lay on the counter.

"And then I can't create anything at all... Now, every time I close my eyes, all I see are running monster boars and butts with tusks stuck in them, and no matter how I try to distract myself, these things just keep flashing before my eyes. How am I supposed to write like this?! I have no interest in beast-themed homoerotica!!"

Jiujiu Mu stroked Lanting's head like he was petting a puppy.

"Anyway, let's rest for a while first."

"No, creators will be forgotten once they stop producing!"

"That's still better than forcing yourself," Jiu Jiu Mu said with a smile. "Forcing yourself to write in a bad state will only produce works that you're not satisfied with. Damaging your reputation is worse than losing popularity, isn't it? Do your readers really want to see a lot of demonic pigs and diamond butts?"

“No, but…” Lanting hesitated, “I’ve been working every single day since my debut. If I take a break, I’ll become lazy…”

"I think that a person who is already diligent will not change his personality just because he takes a nap."

"...!"

Lanting suddenly understood and said gratefully, "Your words are truly insightful. Thank you so much!"

"Keep it up, I'm reading the serialized version too~" Jiujiu Mu piled up various miscellaneous books together, "Please take your yellow book and pay for it yourself."

After paying at the self-service counter, Lanting left, leaving the two people watching from afar with increasingly complicated emotions.

"The goddess actually reads this kind of serialized novel..."

"I've witnessed countless generations of life reproduce, so I guess I find this kind of thing quite normal," Lü Wenjun said expressionlessly. "I will absolutely never bring up this topic in front of Grandma again..."

Linggong asked quietly, "Is Wenjun watching too?"

"No. How could that be? Absolutely not."

Linggong chuckled, "Don't be shy, it's perfectly natural for college students to watch this kind of thing~"

"This isn't a matter of embarrassment, it's a matter of dignity," Lü Wenjun said sorrowfully. "You should still remember, I'm currently living with two terrifying humanoid creatures. If one of them discovers pornography in the Water Mirror Court, do you know how inhumane the ridicule I'll suffer?"