Chapter 85: Until We Meet Again

"If it is a living person, it can devour his magical power. If it is an object, then it will devour its properties. In other words, anything connected to the way of magic can be swallowed by it. Only after it has devoured enough can it grow or awaken even greater abilities. And once it has absorbed a certain amount, with sufficient nourishment, it can even give rise to an artifact spirit. By then, it will no longer be merely a treasure. It will possess thought, and will be able to aid its master."

Everything said by the Dragon King of the Flood left Chen Yuyi in silence. The realm he was being led into now kept surpassing his imagination. Perhaps these were only a few scattered feathers from the Dragon King’s wings; perhaps there were still countless unknown things waiting for him to discover.

At that moment, the room suddenly began to brighten, and the starlight on the Great Luo Star Disk gradually faded away.

Before long, the room was as bright as before. The Great Luo Star Disk also shifted from black back to white, returning to its former luminous and crystalline brilliance, though now it bore a faint blush of red.

"Now it has already recognized you as its master. Try controlling it with your mind," the Dragon King of the Flood reminded him.

Chen Yuyi nodded and gave the Great Luo Star Disk a soft command: "Come!"

At once, the Great Luo Star Disk sprang up like a beam of white light and floated before him.

Chen Yuyi tested it a few more times, moving it left and right, and smiled in satisfaction. "The feeling of having a magical treasure really is different."

The Dragon King of the Flood snorted. "One magical treasure and you’re already delighted like this? There will be plenty more things to please you in the future. You should be thinking about how to nourish it. Let me tell you, a magical treasure has a temper too. If you fail to feed it for a long time, it will ignore you. It may even refuse to acknowledge you as its master."

"Ah? There’s such a thing?" Chen Yuyi found it rather unbelievable, but soon he gave a wry laugh. By now he had already learned so much that this was hardly strange, and he no longer found it surprising.

"All right, I’ve told you more or less everything you need to know. If there’s anything you still don’t understand later, we’ll talk then. Remember, I need nourishment too. Since there’s nothing to eat right now, I can only sleep."

With that, the Dragon King of the Flood fell silent.

The corner of Chen Yuyi’s mouth twitched twice. What was this supposed to mean? Was it sulking at him, blaming him for not having anything to feed it?

He could only shake his head with a bitter smile. It seemed he would be busy from now on.

After that, he held the Great Luo Star Disk and practiced with it in conjunction with the Spirit Transformation Mind Arts for a while.

When he opened his eyes again, he felt refreshed and invigorated. The strength of his sea of consciousness had advanced greatly, and his spiritual power had become much more refined.

For a moment, he found himself reluctant to put the Great Luo Star Disk down.

Suddenly, he heard that the Shen household seemed to have a visitor. With a flip of his hand, he stored the Great Luo Star Disk away in his spatial storage.

Then he left the room.

The visitor turned out to be Zhao Lan.

She was chatting with Shen Youlin, and it was obvious that the little girl seemed quite warm toward her.

However, Chen Yuyi noticed that Shen Youlin was now hugging an LV bag and looked utterly fond of it. He immediately understood why she was being so cordial toward Zhao Lan.

"Young Master-in-Law of the Shen family, truly a man of leisure, aren’t you? Hiding in your room and sleeping away the daylight?" Zhao Lan said when she spotted Chen Yuyi, the corners of her lips lifting in a teasing smile.

Shen Youlin also cast him an annoyed glance, ignored him, and went on tugging at Zhao Lan as she asked, "Will it really be such a big spectacle tomorrow?"

Seeing that Chen Yuyi was ignoring her, Zhao Lan did not lose her temper. Still smiling, she said to Shen Youlin, "Of course. And it’s a very large luxury cruise ship too. You’d hardly ever see something like that except on the sea."

"Then I have to go and see it for myself!" Shen Youlin propped up her little chin, her face full of excitement. After all, she had never been on such a luxury cruise ship in all her life.

Besides, such ships were rare on the great river, which only added to her interest.

Zhao Lan laughed softly. "I’m only afraid your family won’t let you go."

"It’s fine. I’ll tell my mother. If she’s worried, she can go with me. But if we do go, will we even be able to board the ship?"

"Don’t worry about that, Youlin. As long as you want to go, I can make the arrangements."

"Lan, you’re so nice. Unlike someone else, who’s become family and still doesn’t even think to give me a gift or take me out for some fun." As she spoke, Shen Youlin puffed out her cheeks, clearly bored to tears at home, and in her idleness she began to grumble over all of someone’s faults.

Zhao Lan smiled lightly. Of course she knew whom Shen Youlin meant, so she deliberately said, "Then you really should let that someone keep you company properly and have him fulfill his duty to look after you."

"No need for that," Shen Youlin said with a wave of her hand. "I don’t want him looking after me. It’s enough if I go with my mother. Besides, isn’t there you, Lan?"

"But aren’t you being a little too kind to that someone? You’d just be letting him lounge around at home, sleeping soundly without a care."

Shen Youlin froze for a moment, thinking it over. "You know, that’s true. We can’t let him have it so easy. He should serve this young lady a little, or I won’t be able to get this anger off my chest."

As she said that, she turned to Chen Yuyi and said crossly, "You. Come with me on the cruise tomorrow. You’re not allowed to refuse!"

Her tone brooked no argument, and before Chen Yuyi could answer, she turned back again and resumed chatting and laughing with Zhao Lan.

Chen Yuyi rubbed his nose. It seemed Zhao Lan still had not given up on the jade disk of the Shen family. He was genuinely afraid she might use some trick on Shen Youlin, so accompanying her onto the cruise would not matter much.

In any case, that Master Zhong was also waiting for him to appear.

After chatting with Shen Youlin for a while, Zhao Lan glanced at Chen Yuyi and said casually, "Young Master-in-Law of the Shen family, even Youlin has said it. As her brother-in-law, you can’t be lazy."

"If you don’t go, I’ll have my sister divorce you!" Shen Youlin huffed. After what had happened yesterday, even though she intended to have her mother accompany her, she was still rather afraid. So she did want a man by her side. Chen Yuyi was not her ideal choice, of course, but she had no better option. It was impossible to ask an old man like Uncle Zhong to go with her.

Zhao Lan was very nearly laughing out loud, but she forcefully held it back. It seemed she greatly enjoyed seeing Chen Yuyi made to lose face; only then did she feel satisfied. So she was determined to make sure he would embarrass himself on the cruise.

Chen Yuyi smiled faintly. "Then have your sister divorce me."

He had intended to accompany Shen Youlin, but if this little girl dared to threaten him, then he did not mind teasing her a little.

Then he plopped down onto the sofa, picked up a magazine, and began to read as though the two of them did not exist.

"You!" Shen Youlin sprang up, pointing at Chen Yuyi, but for a long while she could not get the words out. At last she gave a cold laugh. "Fine, you dare not listen to me? Then when my sister comes back, I’ll tell her that you molested me!"

It was as if she had suddenly thought of a brilliant idea, and a triumphant smile appeared on her face.

Zhao Lan was even more eager to cover her mouth and laugh in secret. Struggling to keep her amusement down, she said, "Young Master-in-Law, no matter what, Youlin is still your younger sister. She wants so much to visit the cruise ship. Zhuyun doesn’t have the time. As a grown man, shouldn’t you show a little grace and look after your sister?"

She was truly afraid Chen Yuyi would refuse to go, so her words carried the tone of a goad.

Chen Yuyi set the magazine down. "You all want me to go that badly?"

Then he smiled lightly. "All right, then. I’ll go with you."

Zhao Lan hid the delight on her face. "Then it’s settled. See you tomorrow on the cruise."

After saying that, she rose and took her leave.

Once Zhao Lan was gone, Shen Youlin lifted her chin. "Don’t think you’re such a big deal. If it weren’t for the fact that there aren’t any men at home, I wouldn’t want you to accompany me at all."

Then she arched an eyebrow.

"Remember this: tomorrow, you do whatever I tell you. Otherwise, I’ll really tell my sister that you molested me!"

After saying that, Shen Youlin went back to her room with a look of smug delight, intent on admiring the LV bag to her heart’s content.

Chen Yuyi could not help shaking his head. Since the old lady Shen had given him the Great Luo Star Disk, he might as well take care of the girl for a day.

The cruise ship called the True Lord was one of the most luxurious private vessels on the great river.

It could hold more than two hundred people, and its facilities rivaled those of a five-star hotel.

Early that morning, it lay quietly on the water, ready at any moment to receive its guests.

The invited guests had already arrived one after another at the dock, waiting only for the True Lord to open its cabin and welcome them aboard.

After some time, the True Lord finally began receiving passengers.

Chen Yuyi followed behind Shen Youlin and her mother, looking at the cruise ship, a faint smile rising at the corner of his lips.