Zu An felt amazing when he saw the endless Rage points flow in. 

Looks like having a beauty at your side is always the best for drawing hate.

Wang Shuyang frowned. Even though he couldn’t see the Rage points, he could sense that his disciples’ attitudes weren’t quite right. He was worried that they might offend Zu An, so he had them withdraw for now. Then, he said apologetically to Zu An, “This humble Wang didn’t teach them well. They still don’t understand your respected self’s greatness.”

Zu An was embarrassed now, too. “You’re too courteous, Senior Wang; you can just call me Ah Zu. Furthermore, it’s people like you who really do the work that are worthy of respect. I was merely shooting my mouth off a bit.”

Wang Shuyang shook his head. “There are many people who can work in this world, but once we talk about the greater good, everyone becomes lost. Many strive to work hard their entire lives, yet everything they aim for is useless. On the contrary, if they can receive the correct principles from someone, that’s far more useful than endlessly, blindly trying to force their way through.”

Now, Zu An was really a bit embarrassed. “Actually, I wasn’t the one who came up with the hybridized paddy theory. I just happened to stumble upon a book that mentioned it in the past, that’s all! Also, I only understand the theory; I have no idea about the crossbreeding, the most suitable breeds, and all of that stuff. I’ll have to rely on your experience to test these things out.”

“Sir, please don’t worry. If I still can’t come up with the correct crossbred paddy crop after receiving your pointers, then I’ve lived this life of mine for nothing.” Wang Shuyang’s voice carried a bit of pride that clearly came from his many years of diligence in the field.

Inside, Zu An couldn’t help but think, 

Reality might not be so kind. It might not be so easy for you alone.

 After all, the scientists of his old world had spent endless amounts of time and effort before they managed to successfully crossbreed these crops.

Wang  Shuyang smiled and said, “Haha, you’re so young, yet you aren’t arrogant with your accomplishments. You really are a rare man of character. Eighth sister didn’t choose the wrong person after all.”

Jiang Luofu was speechless. Was there a misunderstanding here somewhere?

Wang Shuyang cupped his hands and said, “I need to return and study the hybridized paddy crops, so I won’t disturb the two of you anymore. I’ll visit sir again for guidance if I have a chance.” He left happily with a handful of sprouts. Each step took him several dozen zhang into the distance.

Zu An clicked his tongue in wonder. At first, he had thought that this was just an old farmer, but he actually had this level of cultivation! The core disciples of the libationer were all exceptional after all.

Jiang Luofu brought him further inside. She finally couldn't hold herself back and asked, “What’s going on? Why do you know that hybridized paddy stuff?”

Zu An said with a smile, “Didn’t I already say it earlier? I stumbled upon it in some book I found. I think the author was surnamed Yuan.”

Jiang Luofu didn’t question him anymore after hearing his reasonable explanation. She said with a sigh, “It seems ancient civilizations really were developed. I accidentally stumbled upon these stockings and clothes in a secret dungeon, and then tried to mimic their style. I really was curious as to what kind of civilization it was when I saw such pretty clothes.”

Zu An was extremely interested. “Can you describe to me what that dungeon was like? What kind of things were there?”

Jiang Luofu began to recall old memories. “It was a secret dungeon I accidentally stumbled into. I remember that apart from these clothes, there were some human models. Those people were similar to real people, even…” Her face suddenly became red, and she changed what she had intended to say. “There were also some strange things that seemed like human skins.”

“Human skins?” Zu An jumped in fright.

Jiang Luofu agreed. “The human skins were a bit strange. There were holes that seemed like air should be pumped into them. Then, they would become like a person. They even made some weird sounds… They reminded me of puppet arts, but there didn’t seem to be any ki around them.”

Zu An’s expression became strange. 

Doesn’t this sound like a blow-up doll? 

“Do you still have those human skins?” he quickly asked. He wanted to verify if those things from the dungeon were from his old world, to see if this world had any connection with his Earth.

Jiang Luofu shook her head and said, “I don’t. There were some others in the dungeon back then. We accidentally destroyed those human skins while fighting.”

Zu An was stunned. He asked, “Do you have anything else from that place?”

Jiang Luofu nodded. “I found a few flesh spiritual roots.”

“Flesh spiritual roots?” Zu An was stunned. 

What the hell is that? When did we ever have anything like this?

Jiang Luofu agreed. “They look like spiritual roots, but the material is like flesh, similar to human skin; and yet they aren’t. I asked many people about them, but I don’t know what kind of material they’re made of.”

“Can you give me a rough description of their shape?” Zu An's tone became stranger and stranger.

“Um, I think they were round cylinders, around this size…” Jiang Luofu gestured as she spoke.

Zu An’s expression became more and more conflicted the longer he listened. Why did this dungeon sound so indecent? Had she ended up barging into an adult toys store or something? No wonder the stuff she wore was just like the office ladies and teachers from those porn videos… 

Pah pah pah! Those girls are nothing but dirt compared to her! Forget it, I think it’s better if I don’t tell her what those things are, or else she might not be able to take it.

Zu An wanted to find out more about that world, but he heard a nearby laugh.

“Hah! You lost again.”

“Teacher, how can I possibly beat you?”

“It’s fine, I just wanted to bully you a bit for fun.”

“Teacher, is it too late to change courses?”

…

Both of them turned around when they heard a familiar voice. They saw that two men were currently playing Go in a gazebo. The younger one had pretty features, to the extent where he even seemed a bit androgynous. Who else could it be but Xie Xiu? He was currently playing Go with a miserable look on his face. 

Meanwhile, the middle-aged man across from him looked much more relaxed. He was dressed in a black and white checkered outfit. There was some gray hair around his temples, but it didn’t make him look old at all. He had a lean face. Together with his wide sleeves and robes that touched the floor, he had a graceful appearance. This man had clearly been quite the looker when he was younger. Even now, he had looks that would be fatal for many younger girls.

Zu An looked at those floor-length robes. He had only seen such clothes in dramas.

 With clothes this long, aren’t you basically sweeping the floor while you walk? Wouldn’t the bottom get really gross?

“This is my fifth brother Hei Baizi.” Jiang Luofu quietly introduced him to Zu An. “He’s the teacher Xie Xiu took on as his master.”

Zu An thought to himself, 

Looks like this Xie Xiu was still hiding quite a bit.

 He was always talking about how the Xie clan’s influence in the capital wasn’t great, how he was just a trifling governor’s son. Yet look at him now! Entering the academy was already a huge feat in itself, yet he had gone straight into the rear mountain. It seemed the Xie clan’s background was nothing to scoff at.

Just then, Xie Xiu saw them as well. He immediately sighed in relief, as if he had seen his saviors. “Ms. Jiang, Ah Zu!”

Jiang Luofu nodded slightly toward him, and then she stepped forward to give a respectful greeting. “I greet fifth senior.”

“So it was eighth sister.” Hei Baizi turned around to give the two of them a look. He gave a casual reply, and then his eyes fell upon Zu An. His eyes immediately became bright. “You’re that Zu An from the eastern palace who came up with that five-in-a-row game?”

Zu An subconsciously nodded. “It’s nothing but a small, unrefined game.”

Hei Baizi stroked his goatee and said with a serious expression, “How can it be called just a small game? Anyone who can reinvent a way for Go to be played, and furthermore greatly reduce the barrier of entry, is definitely someone of great achievement. After all, I’ve flaunted myself as a chess saint all these years, yet I’ve never been able to come up with a game myself. Your distinguished self’s five-in-a-row seems simple, but there are many intricacies behind it. It really has left me in admiration.”

Zu An said in embarrassment, “I don’t deserve such praise.” 

What the hell… It’s because I don’t know how to play Go that I learned five-in-a-row. How can I dare to boast before a true Go master?

Hei Baizi grabbed his hands and dragged him inside. “Come, come, come, let’s play a round. Xie Xiu, you trash, hurry and get out of the way. Watch carefully and see how true masters play.”

Zu An was alarmed. Even though he hadn’t been on his guard, the other party was able to immediately grab his hands, meaning that his grasp over timing and strength were both top notch. This person’s cultivation was definitely nothing to scoff at.

Xie Xiu wasn’t unhappy to hear those words at all, and instead moved aside excitedly. “Senior Zu, hurry and come sit over here!”

There was finally someone who could bring him out of this suffering. Even though he wasn’t great at cultivation, for the sake of chasing after girls, he had become quite good at the four arts of zither, Go, calligraphy, and painting. He didn’t dare to claim to be number one at Go in Brightmoon City, but he was definitely in the top five, maybe even the top three.

Unfortunately, he had ended up being dragged here to play Go every single day by Hei Baizi. He had been pretty happy at first, because he’d felt he could finally display some of his real strength. But who could have thought that even after this teacher gave him a few pieces as a handicap, he would still be easily crushed?

Losing to the famous Go Saint wasn’t that big of a deal. It was within his expectations. But he was dragged along day after day, and he would be abused in all kinds of ways each time, to the point where he began to question life itself. He began to develop PTSD over this stupid game.

There was finally someone here to save him from his suffering, so how could he not be happy?

Hei Baizhi shot him a look. “You cheeky brat, even your master has treated him as an equal. Hurry up and call him your uncle!”

Xie Xiu was speechless.