101. Parents in Shock

“Yes. These are the villa keys. And there’s an Audi in the garage for you to drive.”

Chen Fengyun had a talent for saying things that left people speechless.

“Son, how did you even get to know Mr. Qian? Why would he want us to help watch his house?” Chen Zhian was beginning to feel uneasy and hurriedly pressed him for an explanation.

“Dad, Mom, don’t worry. Didn’t I tell you before that I studied a kind of breathing cultivation with someone? Maybe I’ve got a gift for it. I’ve been practicing well enough that I’ve actually made something of it, and that’s how Mr. Qian ended up asking me to treat his father. After that, we got to know each other,” Chen Fengyun said briefly, leaving out a great deal.

“You little scamp, always making things up. What kind of success could you possibly have from practicing that?” his mother said, shaking her head.

Ever since he had begun cultivating not long ago, Chen Fengyun had been hinting to his parents here and there that he was learning breathing exercises from a teacher, though he had never gone into detail. His parents knew, but only in the vaguest sense.

“You don’t believe me? Then I’ll show you.” Since he wanted to persuade them today, he had no choice but to reveal a few things.

He noticed a cup of freshly poured hot water in front of his father. It was too hot to drink, so he held his hand about half a meter away from the cup and released a stream of spiritual energy that enveloped it. To make them believe him, he even conjured a thin wisp of white vapor.

In less than half a minute, the heat in the cup vanished. Chen Fengyun then stopped and said to his father, “Dad, try it now and see if it’s cool enough to drink.”

Chen Zhian picked up the cup and immediately felt a refreshing chill. He took a careful sip, then cried out, “Son, how did the water get cold all of a sudden? It isn’t hot at all! Son, have you really mastered this energy practice?”

“No way. Wasn’t that just boiled water a second ago?” His mother still looked doubtful. She took the cup, tasted it, and then widened her eyes as well. “Our son can really do this? That’s incredible. Son, I want some chilled watermelon. Can you make ice appear?”

“That’s easy.” Chen Fengyun laughed. “Wait here, Mom and Dad. I’ll make you some iced watermelon right now.”

He ran into the kitchen, quickly took out a watermelon, chilled it in no time at all, cut it up, and brought it to the table.

After selling off the excess watermelon and vegetables last time, Chen Fengyun had already cleared most of them away, leaving only a few kinds, just enough for his family to eat.

The remaining land in the miniature pocket realm had also been used over this period to acquire more fresh medicinal herbs, all of which had been planted. The original herbs were now basically mature, and some had even reached a hundred years of age.

What was worth mentioning was that the spiritual herbs had all grown successfully, and among the ordinary medicinal plants, mutations had actually appeared. A very small number had mutated into spiritual herbs. This gave Chen Fengyun confidence. He believed that one day, everything planted inside his miniature pocket realm would be spiritual herbs, and by then his alchemy skills would finally have a stage on which to shine.

Even so, the other medicinal plants in the realm, though not spiritual herbs, would become more and more valuable as their age increased. Chen Fengyun planned to continue cultivating them until they reached a thousand years or more before taking them out.

At present, there were already more than twenty spiritual herbs in the pocket realm, spread across seven or eight varieties. Although they grew slowly, he could see changes in them every day, and that alone was enough to keep him thrilled.

As for the other medicinal plants, there were roughly several dozen varieties. The reason he had planted so many was that he hoped some of them would mutate into spiritual herbs. As long as each variety produced even one spiritual herb, he would be able to cultivate an endless supply.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but the watermelon our son bought this year tastes unbelievably good,” his mother, Zhou Chunfeng, said as she ate.

“It’s not just the watermelon. I feel like the dishes our son cooks lately taste better too. And I’ve had much more energy these days, like I’ve got a spring in my step every day,” Chen Zhian added with a nod.

“Really? You feel that way too? I thought it was just my imagination. Come to think of it, my skin seems more radiant and elastic lately. Look at me—have I changed at all?” His mother immediately began discussing it with his father.

“Absolutely. The dark patches on your face have faded by more than half during this period, and you’ve been looking bright and well-rested every day. I thought you had started using some cosmetics, or maybe you were just happy because our son became the provincial top scholar,” Chen Zhian said.

“That could be it. They say that when good things happen, a person feels especially cheerful. My son became the province’s top scorer—shouldn’t I be happy every day?” Zhou Chunfeng said with a smile.

“Mom, Dad, isn’t your ability to change the subject a little too impressive? We’re talking about energy cultivation and the villa in Huanhua Creek Manor. So tell me—do you want to move there or not?” Chen Fengyun asked, feeling rather helpless.

“Strictly speaking, being able to live in a place like Huanhua Creek Manor ought to be something worth celebrating, but our status doesn’t really match a house like that. If we moved in, we’d feel uneasy,” Zhou Chunfeng said, looking at her husband.

“Your mother’s right. We’ve lived in this Jinjiang complex for more than ten years. We’ve been here since you were in kindergarten, and we know all the neighbors around us. If we moved to a place like Huanhua Creek Manor, I think we’d never get used to it. Still, staying there from time to time wouldn’t be a problem,” Chen Zhian said after some thought.

“In that case, it’s up to you. I’m starting school at the end of the month, and I’ll be away studying then. I’ll give you the keys at that time, and you can go stay there on weekends and keep an eye on the house,” Chen Fengyun said with a sigh.

For the moment, however, he did not hand over the keys. He still needed to go there and make some arrangements, to locate the faint spiritual vein hidden beneath the villa’s back garden. If it could be used for cultivation, that would be ideal. Even if it could not, he could still try to have the system absorb it and convert it into attribute points.

“That works too. After all, it isn’t our own house. Staying there occasionally is fine. Since they asked us to help watch the place, going once a week on the weekend is perfectly reasonable,” his parents said, both nodding in agreement.

The next day, Chen Fengyun went over. This time, the security guard at the front gate recognized him and did not stop him. Instead, he respectfully let him in.

“Brother Zhou, who was that kid? He didn’t look like much. He shouldn’t be anyone who lives in the manor, right?” asked a young guard who had only been on the job for two days.

“Xiao Liu, working as a guard in a place like Huanhua Creek Manor is your good fortune, but you still need to learn one thing: treat people with respect, especially the owners here. They’re the ones who put food in our mouths.

“And never judge people by appearances. The one you look down on might be one of the owners here, or a relative or friend of some owner who comes and goes here often.”