Before he knew it, Yan Junyu had been following Qi Ze for half a month. They attended classes together, rested together, almost inseparable.
Every night, Qi Ze would take out nine transparent stones, arranging them in a circle on the ground, while he sat within it to meditate. This was the time he was most focused, also the time Yan Junyu enjoyed the most. He had become addicted to the sensation of being washed over by countless points of light. After each session, he would feel that his spiritual body had become more solid and powerful, immune to the electromagnetic storms that permeated the air.
He had a premonition that as long as he didn't leave Qi Ze, he could continue to exist for a long time. Whether his body could be revived was something he didn't dare to think about for now, but his disdainful attitude had been replaced by a faint hope. He wasn't an ungrateful person. Over these days, he had gradually dispelled his suspicions and ill feelings towards Qi Ze, and was now able to view him with a more peaceful and fair perspective.
One morning, the human and the soul woke up from their meditation as usual, full of energy and ready to attend classes. As they passed the cafeteria, Ouyang Ye spoke habitually, opening his smartbrain and saying, "Young Master Qi, it's the end of the month. I'll transfer your living expenses."
"We're even now. There's no need for living expenses in the future. I can earn my own money," Qi Ze said, picking up a piece of bread and eating it slowly.
"How are you going to make money? Selling attribute weapons?" Ouyang Ye showed a look of concern. He certainly didn't want everyone to have a superconducting weapon, because then he would be just as useless.
Qi Ze gave him a half-smile, "Rest assured, you're my only client for now." This was the reason he was willing to collaborate with Ouyang Ye. He never asked questions he shouldn't, was generous when it came to spending, and knew how to maintain the interests of both parties.
He understood the principle that possession of something precious could lead to trouble. If Ouyang Ye was really as careless and easy-going as he appeared on the surface, Qi Ze wouldn't dare to expose his secrets. Spirit weapons could turn ordinary people into ability users. If this information leaked, he might gain huge benefits in the short term, but he would also attract the attention of people with ill intentions, possibly leading to control by them.
He currently didn't have the ability to protect himself, and Ouyang Ye, who was both shrewd and not overly greedy, was a good business partner for the time being. When his cultivation improved or even advanced further in the future, he wouldn't have to fear anyone. While an artificer might not have high combat power, they had top-notch means to gather people's hearts. As long as he could forge high-quality spirit weapons, he wouldn't lack powerful cultivators to command. Privately, Qi Ze planned to properly train Ouyang Ye to become his enforcer.
Thinking of this, he looked up and down at Ouyang Ye several times.
Ouyang Ye felt a little intimidated, subconsciously hugging his chest before quickly letting go. But what he cared about the most was the matter of the attribute weapons. He immediately forgot the feeling of his hair standing on end and tried to persuade Qi Ze, "Young Master Qi, you aren't going to sell the weapons to others, are you? If superconducting weapons become common, they won't be valuable anymore!"
"Do you think it's easy to forge a spirit weapon?" Qi Ze finished his bread, took out a tissue to wipe his mouth and hands clean, and said in a calm tone, "Opportunities are hard to come by. Lucky people like you are after all, the minority." After his words, he calmly climbed into the flying car and headed for the teaching area.
Ouyang Ye's sigh of relief passed by through the car window. Yan Junyu looked back and said, "Are you saying that meeting you is the luckiest thing that could happen to him?"
Qi Ze was currently opening his smartbrain to browse the exploration section, and couldn't hear his words.
Yan Junyu was long used to this. He understood that he was already dead, so he yearned to express something, and continued, "You're right, meeting you is indeed very lucky. It's true for Ouyang Ye, and for me as well. Without you, I would have disappeared by now. What are you looking at?"
He looked down at the boy's smartbrain, his tone tinged with regret, "Still no news of Qianyuan planet? With the current space travel technology of the empire, this is the largest range we can detect. To find your homeland, we would need volunteers to sign a death waiver and search one wormhole after another. But no one would do that."
He hesitated for a moment, finally reaching out to gently pat the boy's fluffy hair, and softly comforted him, "Don't be sad, live well on Neptune."
Qi Ze closed the page, not feeling too disappointed in his heart. He had long given up on the idea of returning to the Qianyuan Continent. There was no more Great Mystical Divine Creation Sect, only crazy cultivators who were hunting him. Instead of going back to die, he might as well stay in the Black Eye Galaxy. But before that, he had to learn more about the artificing standards here, as well as the weapon categories and so on. There was still a lot to learn.
As he pondered, the flying car arrived at the art department's teaching building. Qi Ze slowly walked into the classroom and sat down in the secluded corner, his originally carefree expression naturally replaced by one of timidity and fear.
Yan Junyu watched as the boy's straight back hunched over; his healthy, ruddy complexion turned sickly pale; and the brightness in his eyes dimmed, glancing around furtively and without confidence. He couldn't help but marvel at the boy's acting skills.
Coincidentally, the first class today was acting class. The instructor had each student perform the speech of a founding emperor at his inauguration ceremony, and gave comments one by one. Some were passionate and eloquent, others had a grand and outstanding demeanor; in short, they all seized on one shining point of the great man. Only Qi Ze, except for the fact that his voice was loud enough, had almost no redeeming qualities. After he got off the stage, he cowered behind the desk, his face flushed with embarrassment and his eyes filled with tears, as if he had been frightened.
The instructor was very dissatisfied with him, pointing out twenty-six shortcomings and using him as a negative example for a comprehensive critique. The students laughed out loud, and one after another, disdainful gazes were cast at him, making Qi Ze lower his head even more, wishing he could hide under the desk.
From Yan Junyu's perspective, all he could see were the boy's two bright red ears and a section of a long, graceful neck that was also tinted a light pink. On the first day the boy came to class, he had felt sorry for his situation, and even tried to comfort him, but now, he wouldn't be fooled anymore.
He bent over and looked down, and surely enough, the boy was playing a single-player game under the desk. Apart from his ears and neck, his skin color was very normal in other places. The corners of his mouth were slightly curled upward, his expression appearing very cheerful. That ridicule, disdain, and abuse meant nothing to him. When necessary, his world could only accommodate himself.
Yan Junyu couldn't help but laugh. When he was alive, he only knew about cultivation, becoming stronger, and fighting. After death, he instead understood what it meant to enjoy life. He enjoyed the comfort of meditating with the boy at night, and he also enjoyed the pleasure of observing his actions.
Before this, he had no knowledge of the entertainment industry, but now, he felt that this circle was very interesting. He liked accompanying the boy to classes, and he also liked watching him deceive the people around him with his exquisite acting skills. Only he knew the boy's truest appearance, and that was very gratifying.
"Objectively speaking, your acting is the best," he said in approval. "Every hair on your head is soaked in acting. Acting has already merged with your life, otherwise, neither I nor Xu Qi would have been deceived by your appearance."
He paused, emphasizing again, "You're great, I have to let you know that."
But Qi Ze didn't need anyone's approval. He pretended to be hurt in his self-respect and buried his head in his desk for the entire morning. The instructor and students were too lazy to bother with him, allowing him to happily play through four classes.
"I think you can't continue like this. You have excellent talents," Yan Junyu stared at the boy's charming side face for a while and affirmed, "and you also have a delicate appearance. If you study professional knowledge well and achieve excellent grades, you should be able to sign with a first-rate entertainment company. You're very suitable for acting, really."
They were on their way to the cafeteria, and many people passed by Qi Ze, while even more people passed through Yan Junyu's body, causing him to feel very uncomfortable.
Finally arriving at Ouyang Ye's exclusive private room, Yan Junyu couldn't help but let out a breath of relief. A service robot came over to greet them, and the display screen on its chest listed a long menu, but Qi Ze only ordered a piece of bread, a vegetable salad, and a glass of water, not wanting anything else.
Yan Junyu wasn't a talkative person, but in front of the boy, he was unusually loquacious, "No wonder you are only 183 centimeters tall, it should be due to insufficient nutrition. Eat more, it helps in growing taller."
Qi Ze ate half a piece of bread with a look of endurance, then stuffed two pieces of lettuce leaves in, and then picked up the cup to drink water, as if eating was a torture.
Yan Junyu watched anxiously, really wanting to pry open his mouth and pour the food on the plate in. Just then, Ouyang Ye arrived, his arms around a beautiful girl. The girl's eyes held arrogance and provocation, but unfortunately, the object of her provocation didn't even notice her existence.
"Honey, you're not eating enough, do you want anything else?" In front of outsiders, Ouyang Ye acted like a suave and caring sugar daddy, but his hand was on the back of the boy's chair, not daring to touch a single hair on his head.
The boy lifted his head and smiled at him, his eyes reddening when he saw the girl, but he didn't dare to say any accusatory words. As if to ease his own awkward situation, he opened his smartbrain and looked at it seriously, but he always occupied the position next to Master Ouyang without leaving.
The girl pouted and tugged at Ouyang Ye, who glared at her fiercely, making her immediately fall in line.
Yan Junyu felt amused and sighed, "You two are really good actors, the entire school has been deceived by you." He sat on the other side of the boy and watched him shop online with interest. He bought a lot of metals, all kinds of textures, and also bought many energy stones and minerals. In a short while, he had spent all the credit points in his account.
"Sorry, your balance is insufficient. Sorry, your balance is insufficient..." The boy wanted to buy a piece of meteorite, but after pressing the confirm button several times, he only received this response, a frustrated expression appearing on his face. He banged his forehead against the table, then called up the search engine, slowly typing in a sentenceâWhat is the fastest way to make money?
"Out of money, huh?" The boy always had a confident and relaxed demeanor. Seeing the frustrated expression on his face, even if it was just occasionally, was enough to make Yan Junyu laugh.