Chapter 104: A Truly Melodramatic Affair

At first, Chu Tianfeng was somewhat panicked and reckless; all he knew was to run out of the city, toward the outskirts. Later, seeing a large mountain ahead, he didn’t hesitate and plunged straight into the depths of the wilderness. Having just acquired over a hundred spirit stones, he was eager to cultivate his powers. There was no other way—in the face of numerous formidable enemies, only by continuously strengthening his cultivation could he ensure his survival.

He ran for more than an hour until he reached the edge of a cliff. There, on a whim, he carved five large characters into the stone cliff: “Home of Chu Tianfeng.” This home had no walls, no roof, but Chu Tianfeng still liked it very much.

By the next evening, he successfully broke through to the seventh layer of Qi Refinement, advancing into the late Qi Refinement stage. However, the cost was considerable—more than twenty spirit stones and four Yuan Nourishing Pills were consumed. His genuine energy doubled once again, and his divine sense expanded to over sixty meters.

His invisibility technique also became more refined; even in daylight, only a faint silhouette could be seen, and the duration of invisibility extended to more than half an hour. Additionally, he learned to conceal his cultivation, masking the energy around his body and the genuine energy within his dantian, making him appear as an ordinary person.

Beyond this, he began practicing the Five Elements Escape Technique inherited from the Five Elements Sect of his past life. Among the five elemental escape arts—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—the most practical and frequently used was naturally the Wind Escape Technique.

The Five Elements Wind Escape Technique differed greatly from the ordinary Wind Escape. While the latter required continuous genuine energy throughout its use, the Five Elements version only required an initial injection of genuine energy to activate; afterward, it drew directly from the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, hardly consuming his own energy.

Moreover, the speed of the Five Elements Wind Escape Technique was exceptionally fast, far surpassing other escape techniques! However, the initial energy needed to activate it was substantial, much greater than that of the ordinary Wind Escape, making the Five Elements technique more challenging to master. This applied similarly to the other four elemental escape arts.

Afterward, Chu Tianfeng remained in that place, training diligently day and night. Of course, he focused more on the fundamental Five Elements Technique rather than battle skills like escape arts, as what he needed most was to raise his cultivation level. With over ninety spirit stones, he had enough to absorb for seven or eight days. Barring any accidents, he believed he could safely reach the eighth layer of Qi Refinement.

He had previously undergone marrow cleansing and purified his spiritual roots, so he had no worries about unstable foundations caused by rapid cultivation. All he had to do was keep cultivating—unceasingly!

——————

A thousand miles away, at Tianhai Film Academy.

Xu Yan sat by the window, staring blankly outside. The sun had just set, leaving a streak of bright crimson across the horizon—fiery and unsettling.

A gentle knock sounded at the door. “Come in!” Xu Yan didn’t turn her head. She knew no one else would come but Jiang Ziyue.

The door opened, revealing a round face framed by a bun hairstyle.

“Heehee!” Jiang Ziyue entered holding a folder. “Another contract sealed! How about that, my big boss?” Her face beamed with a smile as she bounced over to Xu Yan.

“They agreed?” Xu Yan wiped her eyes and turned around.

Jiang Ziyue was now her agent, managing all external affairs for her. Recently, a production team of “The Sword of Immortality: Three Thousand Destinies” had expressed interest in casting Xu Yan as the female lead, a project Xu Yan herself found intriguing.

The two sides had negotiated several times; most terms were settled except for some scheduling conflicts.

“Of course! With me on the job, how could they say no?” Jiang Ziyue paid no mind to Xu Yan’s expression and plopped down on the bed’s edge. “I told them you’ve already signed with He and will be the female lead. If they want you, they have to accommodate our schedule.”

Xu Yan forced a smile. “Ziyue, thank you.”

Recently, Xu Yan had landed several big roles in “Celestial Flying Fairy” and “Ganjiang and Moye,” largely thanks to Jiang Ziyue. She hardly believed that the superwoman before her was once the little girl who just loved eating and sleeping.

“No problem, we’re practically family!” Jiang Ziyue handed over the folder. “Here’s the contract. Take a look when you have time. I’ll try to finalize the schedule by tomorrow.”

“Thanks for your hard work.” Xu Yan accepted the contract and set it gently on her desk. “Take care and rest well.”

She trusted Jiang Ziyue’s handling of things. Besides, she really had no heart to read such dry contracts.

“I’m not the one working hard—it’s you. Filming three big dramas at once, you’re going to be exhausted soon.” Jiang Ziyue wiggled her hips playfully. “If you can’t handle it, just tell me. We’re still young; there’ll be more chances.”

“Mm.” Xu Yan nodded and turned away.

“Oh, the crew is preparing for the opening ceremony; we’ll have to go to An City.” Jiang Ziyue flopped back on the bed. “Ah, so comfortable!”

Xu Yan silently gazed out the window without a word.

“Didn’t expect fame to bring such busyness—never enough sleep.” Jiang Ziyue hugged a pillow, mumbling.

Xu Yan smiled bitterly. “Any news of him?”

“Who?” Jiang Ziyue sat up suddenly. “Chu Tianfeng?”

Xu Yan nodded, her eyes glistening slightly.

Jiang Ziyue noticed Xu Yan’s change in expression, her foot trembling a bit. “Don’t worry. As I said, good people don’t live long, troublemakers live forever. He won’t die.”

Xu Yan frowned slightly.

“Okay, okay, I’m scared of you.” Jiang Ziyue raised her hands in surrender. “Today I ran into Teacher Tang and casually mentioned Chu Tianfeng. Turns out, she really met him.”

Xu Yan turned to look at Jiang Ziyue.

“Teacher Tang said Chu Tianfeng recently came back for the English proficiency exam. He disguised himself as Qian Ling and even stayed at Teacher Tang’s place at night.” Jiang Ziyue chuckled. “The guy’s such a weirdo—dressed as a woman so convincingly, he fooled us all.”

Evidently, Chu Tianfeng’s masquerade as Qian Ling was already widely known—everyone who should know did, and even those who shouldn’t.

Xu Yan rolled her eyes. “What did he fool you about?”

“Heehee!” Jiang Ziyue saw Xu Yan’s mood lighten and continued teasing, “Look at the way he walks—more graceful than any of us.”

She stood and swayed her hips around the room: “His moves are even more exaggerated than mine. And those eyes—so flirtatious, I can’t describe it. Heehee!”

Xu Yan looked at Jiang Ziyue with a hint of grievance, then turned away.

“You knew he was cross-dressing all along, didn’t you?” Jiang Ziyue sat back down.

Xu Yan nodded, then shook her head.

“When did you find out?” Jiang Ziyue’s curiosity was piqued.

“That day we both fell down the cliff,” Xu Yan drifted into deep memory. “I saw a mole below his neck. You know I once saved him; I knew he had a mole in exactly that spot.”

Thinking back to that moment, Xu Yan became somewhat distracted. That arm, that voice—everything about him was captivating.

“Wow, so touching!” Jiang Ziyue clasped her hands dreamily.

“But I still wasn’t sure. They’re so different—even though I often dreamed of him, and in my dreams, he smiled at me and said he was Chu Tianfeng, I still couldn’t believe it.” Xu Yan’s voice grew softer.

“Heehee! Your story is seriously soap-opera material.” Jiang Ziyue pouted. “But I advise you to forget him quickly—we all know he’s engaged, has a fiancée.”

Xu Yan remained silent.

“Also, Du Jingjing told me he’s a martial artist, from a completely different world than us.” Jiang Ziyue urged again.

Xu Yan lowered her head, eyes moistening once more.

“Du Jingjing said everyone’s searching for him now, many martial artists among them—they want to kill Chu Tianfeng and seize his treasures.” Jiang Ziyue grabbed Xu Yan’s hands.

Finally, Xu Yan lifted her gaze, tears streaming down. “I wonder where he is now?”

“He’ll be fine.” Jiang Ziyue felt a chill and had to comfort her. “Teacher Tang said he left lively and well, healthier than anyone.”

At that moment, a soft knocking sounded at the door again.

“I’ll see who it is.” Jiang Ziyue released Xu Yan’s hands and went to open the door.

Outside stood a gentle figure with a beautiful face.

“It’s you!” Jiang Ziyue was shocked to see it was Hua Wu, Chu Tianfeng’s fiancée.

“Hello!” Hua Wu looked a bit weary but smiled sincerely.

“Please come in!” Jiang Ziyue quickly stepped aside.

Hearing the movement, Xu Yan also stood up.

“Hello!” Hua Wu nodded slightly to Xu Yan.

“Hello!” Xu Yan’s expression was awkward; she hadn’t expected Chu Tianfeng’s fiancée to show up while they were just talking about him. Although she hadn’t done anything, she still felt like a thief caught in the act.

“Please sit.” Jiang Ziyue closed the door and pulled out a stool for Hua Wu.

“Thank you!” Hua Wu accepted and sat down. “I’m here on business in Tianhai, thought I’d visit you both.”

Jiang Ziyue went to pour water, taking Hua Wu’s words as a joke. They weren’t related, barely acquainted—if not for Chu Tianfeng, Hua Wu wouldn’t bother visiting.

Sure enough, Hua Wu’s bright eyes scanned Xu and Jiang’s faces before getting to the point: “Have you seen Chu Tianfeng recently?”

Jiang Ziyue handed Hua Wu the water, her tone tinged with sarcasm: “Young Master Chu is elusive; last we saw him was at the Liu residence, then…”

Xu Yan shot Jiang Ziyue a slight glare and continued, “Since parting ways at the Liu estate, we haven’t seen him again.”

Hua Wu pondered briefly, then asked, “Did you know at the time that he was Chu Tianfeng?”

Xu Yan was at a loss for words. Saying yes might upset Hua Wu; saying no seemed dishonest.

“Who knows? He looked more delicate than any woman.” Luckily, Jiang Ziyue quickly eased the tension.

Hua Wu’s face showed a trace of embarrassment. “You’re all actors—you can imitate anything. It’s no surprise.”

“Why are you looking for him?” Xu Yan asked softly.

“I’m sure you know our engagement was a farce.” Hua Wu sipped water and continued, “I came this time to find him to end it as soon as possible.”

“Heh, his reaction that day was quite something; I even thought you were his girlfriend.” Jiang Ziyue stretched and yawned.

Sensing Jiang Ziyue’s impatience, Hua Wu stood to leave. “If you see him, please tell him to come find me or his sister.”

Xu and Jiang stood, escorting her to the door.

“Actually, I heard his homeroom teacher recently saw him. You might want to ask.” Xu Yan suggested softly.