Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 115 - 35: Chen Chou Does Not Accept Handouts

Chapter 115: Chapter 35: Chen Chou Does Not Accept Handouts

Duan Mingyuan felt that "The New Compilation of Monsters" still had plenty of room for updates, such as adding some direct descriptions of the Fox Demon.

With a soft waist that was gently curvable, one could smell a faint body fragrance each morning upon waking up, and sometimes the fluffy tail would gently curl around his calf. When all these elements came together, Duan Mingyuan could somewhat understand why the ancients would write verses like "From then on, the king did not start his morning court early."

Sometimes, just getting out of bed required great willpower.

Jiuyue lay with her eyes closed, her brows unfurled, her ornate dress crumpled with many wrinkles, and the exquisite Phoenix Crown placed on the bedside table.

But Duan Mingyuan had to get up.

Today, although there were no classes, he had prepared a lesson plan to discuss the Blood Sacrifice Ritual in detail with Chen Chou.

After the identity of the traitor was exposed, it meant that the people from the Imperial Court would soon take direct action, and before that happened, he needed to complete the improvements to the Blood Sacrifice Ritual.

When he had finished washing up and reached the Ghost Prison, he once again encountered the Enforcement Team.

What was commendable was that these Enforcement Team members had corrected their previous errors after being criticized yesterday, starting to pay attention to personal hygiene and not patrolling around Qing Chi Peak in a stench of sweat and contaminating the environment.

Upon seeing Duan Mingyuan walking along the mountain road, the Enforcement Team Leader let out a sigh of relief and approached, saying, "Good morning, Teacher Mingyuan."

"What are you all doing here?"

"Chu Xingluo has escaped from jail."

They had learned the details of the jailbreak from the monsters guarding the Ghost Prison; the monsters said that just before dawn today, a sudden demonic wind burst out of the Ghost Prison, obscuring the sky and turning everything black, and when the demonic wind cleared, Chu Xingluo was nowhere to be seen.

As for who in the Ghost Prison had the power to stir up that demonic wind, it was now more than obvious.

But now Chen Chou, aside from being a prisoner, was also an assistant for the "Strange Gates and Devious Techniques" class and was very close to Duan Mingyuan, so for a while, the Enforcement Team didn’t know what to do.

"Teacher Mingyuan, why don’t you go and talk to the assistant?"

"Fine, you all go back. I was looking for him anyway."

After sending off the Enforcement Team, Duan Mingyuan walked along the Ghost Prison all the way inside and, when he arrived at the cabin, Chen Chou was already awake. He was sitting cross-legged alone in front of the Sealing Circle Array, and in front of him, a plate was filled with three ripe and plump peaches.

As Duan Mingyuan walked up, Chen Chou grabbed the plate and hid it behind him.

Seeing this, Duan Mingyuan asked, "Did Chu Xingluo bribe you with three peaches to let him go?"

"Quit your bullshit. How could I be bribed by a few peaches?"

Chen Chou stood his ground, his pride being not to lose face, even if he was beaten up, he would keep a tough attitude. So, if any uninformed bystander saw their conversation, they would get the impression that Duan Mingyuan and Chen Chou were equally matched.

He added, "The peaches were picked for me by the monsters guarding the Ghost Prison; do you have any?"

This was a tit-for-tat response. Yesterday, Duan Mingyuan had irritated him with Peach Wood Swords and osmanthus brew, and today he could get back at him with three peaches, showing off in front of Duan Mingyuan, which Chen Chou had especially saved for now.

After all, news of Chu Xingluo’s escape would soon spread back to the college, and Duan Mingyuan was bound to come to check the situation.

Duan Mingyuan sighed helplessly, "I don’t have any."

This old master, though he had lived for hundreds of years, was like a child who had never grown up.

As soon as Duan Mingyuan responded in this way, Chen Chou immediately picked up a peach, took a bite in front of him, and made a "crunch, crunch" chewing sound, showing off.

Duan Mingyuan was not annoyed; instead, he felt a sense of sadness permeate the air.

Perhaps Chen Chou had been isolated from the outside world for too long. Only a prisoner who had never set foot outside the Ghost Prison for hundreds of years would think that being able to eat a peach was such an incredible thing.

But...

"Can you eat your peach properly without smacking your lips? And, the juice is splattering all over you!"

"Crunch, crunch, crunch!"

Chen Chou let out a self-satisfied laugh, going even further.

However, his arrogance didn’t last long; while they were talking, a white-furred dog demon hurriedly ran over.

The dog demon was several meters long, with blood-red eyes and a shimmering five-star emblem on its head.

The last time he was at the Ghost Prison, Principal Mo Song had mentioned that this was a dog demon. Generation after generation, they lived at the foot of Qing Chi Peak, shouldering the responsibility of guarding the Ghost Prison.

Dog demons were willful, fond of tearing and fighting, classified as ferocious beasts, so the founders of the academy kept them away from the academy.

But in the mouth of this dog demon was a large fruit basket. The basket contained not only freshly picked peaches and other fruits but also many treats and beverages made from fruits by the mountain monsters.

The dog demon bowed its head, gently placed the basket at Duan Mingyuan’s feet, and then turned around and left with a swish.

This was a token of gratitude from the mountain’s monsters for saving the dapeng bird.

Overnight, news of Duan Mingyuan’s actions in the public hall had spread throughout the mountains, and now every monster was aware that such a kind-hearted and generous person had come to their mountain.

But through Chen Chou’s eyes, the scene appeared quite different.

The peach he was holding suddenly lost its fragrance, and with a tremor of his hand, the half-eaten peach fell to the ground.

He had gone through a lot of trouble to get these three peaches, having asked the dog demon clan to go up the mountain and pluck them for him, "Mingyuan, you child, you actually went out of your way to have them deliver this fruit basket just to spite me! Wahhhh!"

There was no sound more characteristic of powerless rage.

"I did not ask them to do that; this is the goodwill of the monsters on the mountain."

"You mean to say that they took the initiative to give you the fruit basket?"

"Mhm."

Duan Mingyuan watched as Chen Chou’s figure inflated like a balloon, the elder gentleman clenched his fists, and although his features were hidden in shadow, it wasn’t hard to guess that he was grinding his teeth fiercely.

Duan Mingyuan was very concerned for Chen Chou’s safety, worried that the gentleman might literally explode from anger.

The physical kind.

"Elder gentleman, if you don’t mind, let’s consider this fruit basket a meeting gift..."

"I mind!"

Chen Chou enunciated every word, "Nay—! A true man stands tall under heaven and does not live off the pity of others!"

This was truly infuriating.

Failing in a contest was one thing, but not even being able to enjoy a peach in peace!

Chen Chou glared at Duan Mingyuan hatefully, trying to figure out how he could make his opponent lose face. His craving for victory was no longer confined to the Strange Gates and Devious Techniques themselves; any domain would do, as long as he could win against Duan Mingyuan in one round.

"The Enforcement Team of the academy sent me to ask you, where has Director Chu gone?"

"Hmph."

Chen Chou huffed coldly, turned his back to Duan Mingyuan, and began disconsolately eating his peach.

This time, however, he did not smack his lips, nor did he let the juice splatter everywhere.

"How about this, if you’re not convinced, we’ll have a contest, how does that sound?"

"What kind of contest?"

"To see who can finish the fruits in this fruit basket first."

"Fine, but remember, you suggested this—if you lose, don’t cry about it!"

Chen Chou shouted, transforming into a stream of black smoke that swept toward the fruit basket at Duan Mingyuan’s feet.

In the face of the oncoming black smoke, Duan Mingyuan not only did not make a move, he even stepped back; in less than half a second, the fruits and snacks in the basket were swept into the smoke, leaving not even the basket behind.

"I won!"

These three words shook heaven and earth; the entire Ghost Prison trembled with them. The enthusiasm and pride felt as though he had just fiercely battled Duan Mingyuan for three days and nights within the Barrier, ultimately clinching victory with a superior move.

Chen Chou was exhilarated.

At this moment, he felt as if he had reached the pinnacle of life.

This moment had to be recorded!

In May of the year 371 Dingyuan, he had outwitted Duan Mingyuan in the "Fruit Eating Contest," bringing their head-to-head record to 1-2.

If he were to die for his cause in the future war against the Extraterrestrials, this tale must also be inscribed in his epitaph.

"You won."

Duan Mingyuan said, "Now can you tell me where Director Chu has gone?"

"He fled."

Chen Chou said, "He said that as the head of an institution, he couldn’t just rot in the Ghost Prison."