Chapter Eighty-One: Who Stole My Food

Xiao Cheng casually picked up a pill and placed it in his mouth, not paying it much mind. Yet as soon as the Spirit-Nurturing Pill entered, he felt a burning sensation in his mouth; a rich surge of spiritual energy quickly flooded into his inner palace, and his whole body was bathed in warmth, as if soaking in a hot spring.

Crunch! Xiao Cheng bit down, shattering the pill, and the spiritual energy in his mouth grew even more intense.

He had thought the Spirit-Nurturing Pill was merely a medicine containing spiritual energy—utterly useless to someone who possessed the Spirit-Seizing Technique. Now, after consuming one, he immediately sensed the difference.

Cultivating with the Spirit-Seizing Technique was a silent, gradual process. Though spiritual energy was abundant, the conversion rate to true energy was painfully slow, leading to much wasted potential. The Spirit-Nurturing Pill, however, was different. Once ingested, all the spiritual energy seemed to rush into his body, its purity astonishing, with nearly all of it transformed into true energy.

Xiao Cheng smiled with delight, quickly understanding the distinction between the two.

It was like the difference between internal and external application: internal remedies always worked faster. His Spirit-Seizing Technique converted energy through the skin, whereas ingesting the pill was far more direct, and the effects couldn’t be compared.

Seizing the opportunity, Xiao Cheng sat down at once, determined not to let it slip by. He circulated his celestial scripture for a full cycle, refining all the spiritual energy within.

After about ten minutes, Xiao Cheng opened his eyes and stretched his limbs, discovering his body was more supple than before. A quick internal check showed his true energy was purer, his cultivation had advanced again, and he was now on the verge of breaking through to the seventh stage of Foundation Building, with the eighth stage within reach.

Looking at the thirty-five Spirit-Nurturing Pills in his hand, Xiao Cheng was overjoyed. He’d thought these pills would be useless to him, but now realized they worked even better than his technique—a wholly unexpected delight.

Since a breakthrough was imminent, he decided to press forward relentlessly.

In the quiet forest, a few crunching sounds echoed, like someone chewing candy beans, before silence returned.

……

Early in the morning, the Xiao family’s courtyard was calm, with layers of mist drifting through the rear garden.

Xiao Fusheng rose with the dawn, as usual, carrying a watering can to his vegetable patch to water the radishes and cabbages.

He was a bit disappointed at failing to catch Xiao Cheng yesterday, but it didn’t bother him much; apprehending that rebellious child was only a matter of time. He was confident the boy could never escape his grasp.

After watering the vegetables, he moved to the wall, extended his spiritual senses to scan the surroundings, and, finding no outsiders, stealthily slipped into the patch of mugwort.

He had spent three years painstakingly cultivating his Jade Aloe. Thanks to his care, the plant thrived, and as the season of maturity approached, he came every morning to admire it. Each viewing brought him a sense of satisfaction.

Once the Jade Aloe matured, he could use it medicinally—not only to widen his meridians but also to delay aging.

Xiao Fusheng approached, his spirits high, expecting to see his flourishing Jade Aloe as he parted the mugwort.

But as he parted the leaves, there was no Jade Aloe. The mugwort encircled nothing but a patch of bare earth.

Gone? My aloe is gone!

Xiao Fusheng stood stunned for a long moment before realizing his precious aloe had been stolen!

Page 1/3

Page 2/3

“Who did this? Who did this?” Despite his excellent self-control and deep cunning—unflappable even if Mount Tai collapsed before him—he was now consumed by rage, his face dark as thunder. He hurled the watering can violently to the ground.

This was spiritual grass he had labored over for three years, now vanished without a trace. Not even knowing who the thief was, he could hardly remain calm.

His heart bled at the loss; years of painstaking effort wiped away in a single night.

He had cultivated the Jade Aloe meticulously, watering and fertilizing daily, even importing jade powder from Lantian to help it absorb more spiritual energy. Now, all that toil was wasted; not a single aloe remained, all stolen by some villain.

How could he accept this?

“I must find out who did this!” Xiao Fusheng muttered gravely.

……

After a long silence, Xiao Fusheng recovered from his fury, the wrinkles on his face deepened. He left the rear garden slowly, pondering who could have stolen his Jade Aloe.

Very few people knew of his cultivation; only Wang Qiyi, his mother, and himself. His mother was impossible—she would simply ask, and as her son, he would gladly give her the plant, no matter how reluctant.

Could it have been Wang Qiyi? Xiao Fusheng shook his head. Wang Qiyi was utterly loyal, his most trusted confidant. Knowing how much he valued the aloe, how could Wang Qiyi possibly steal it?

So then, who?

He kept asking himself, unable to think of anyone else who knew about the Jade Aloe in his rear garden.

He never once suspected Xiao Cheng—not out of trust, but because Xiao Cheng didn’t know about the aloe. In his previous life, Xiao Cheng only learned about it half a month later, during the grandmother’s birthday when Xiao Fusheng gifted her a plant. Having been reborn with memories of his past life, Xiao Cheng now knew all about the aloe, even its exact location.

Xiao Fusheng entered the front hall and saw Wang Qiyi waiting. Any lingering suspicion vanished; if Wang Qiyi had stolen the aloe, he wouldn’t dare show himself here.

But he noticed Wang Qiyi’s complexion was off—pale, spiritless, eyes bloodshot, clearly having suffered some heavy blow.

Meanwhile, Wang Qiyi observed the old master’s own foul mood, face dark with anger, brow tightly furrowed, wrinkles deeper than before.

“Qiyi, what happened to you?” Xiao Fusheng forced a concerned expression, asking gently.

“Last night, I suffered a mishap during cultivation—almost lost my life. But it’s nothing serious now, Master need not worry!” Wang Qiyi hurriedly explained.

He had actually gone to seize Xiao Cheng’s jade pendant last night—a fact he couldn’t admit, so he invented a lie.

Thinking of Xiao Cheng, he was filled with hatred: not only had Xiao Cheng tormented him miserably, but had even thrown his flying sword into the steel furnace, forcing him to spend the whole night with countless workers to retrieve it.

He had resolved that, if given another chance, he would show no mercy and tear Xiao Cheng limb from limb. Yet reflecting on Xiao Cheng’s performance last night, he shivered involuntarily; Xiao Cheng’s cultivation had reached the peak of Foundation Building, and he could even catch a flying sword bare-handed—a feat beyond imagination.

Page 2/3

Page 3/3

Fortunately, Xiao Cheng never discovered his identity. Thus, remaining in the shadows, it would be much easier to deal with him.

“Take care in future cultivation; don’t be too ambitious!” Xiao Fusheng admonished, still worried but not doubting Wang Qiyi’s explanation in the slightest.

Wang Qiyi adopted a humble posture, in stark contrast to his arrogance the previous night. He glanced at Xiao Fusheng and asked, “May I ask why Master is so angry?”

“Hmph!” At the question, Xiao Fusheng recalled the stolen Jade Aloe and snorted, his anger rising. “Sometime last night, my Jade Aloe was stolen. I went to the rear garden this morning and found it gone.”

Wang Qiyi was momentarily stunned. No wonder the old master was so upset—those aloe plants were his prized treasures. He’d thought he was the unluckiest one last night, but it seemed Xiao Fusheng had had his own misfortune, which made him feel much better.

Who could have stolen the old man’s aloe? Wang Qiyi pondered carefully, then suddenly had an idea: since the old man lost his aloe, could he shift blame eastward? With this thought, he already had a plan.

“Master, might it be that the old ancestor inadvertently mentioned the aloe, letting someone overhear?” Wang Qiyi suggested quietly.

He wanted to frame Xiao Cheng for the theft, but wouldn’t say so outright—that would lack subtlety. For a stubborn man like Xiao Fusheng, only ideas he came up with himself would be believed. Last time, he’d tricked the old man into suspecting Xiao Cheng of a crime using the same method.

Indirect hints always worked with the old man.

“Qiyi! How can you suspect the elder?” Xiao Fusheng feigned anger, but his brow furrowed more tightly, already following Wang Qiyi’s line of suspicion.

If his mother had inadvertently revealed the secret, who could have overheard? Who did she talk to most? She was closest to that rebellious child…

“Could it have been that brat?” Xiao Fusheng muttered, though he phrased it as a question, he already believed it, trembling with rage. That child had truly gone too far—daring even to steal his spiritual grass. Previously, defying authority and other crimes had been bad enough, but now he’d targeted his own master; it was utterly unforgivable.

Wang Qiyi was secretly delighted—the old man had fallen for the bait, and now Xiao Cheng was in real trouble. Unbeknownst to him, his guess was accidentally correct: Xiao Cheng really had taken the aloe.

“Go inform Jingzhe to mobilize the Scarlet Security team. Within three days, she must capture that brat. If he dares resist… hmph!” Xiao Fusheng snorted coldly, then said through gritted teeth, “Break his limbs if you must, but bring him back to me!”

Wang Qiyi accepted the order and left the manor, immediately breaking into a gloating smile. He sneered, “So, Young Master Xiao, this is what happens when you cross me. Let’s see who wins in the end!”

——————————————————————————————

[Rolling on the ground begging for recommendation votes! If you have any, don’t be stingy! Just click to vote—thank you! Your support is my motivation to keep updating!!]

Page 3/3