Chapter 174 - The Scum Is A Tsundere

"AH! I'm so lucky I can draw teleportation arrays inside the secret realm!" Cheng Sheng exclaimed as he burned the Sundry Branches. "Maybe because it's intraspacial, thus I succeeded? Ah! I'm so smart and lucky!" he grinned.

Yeah… so lucky unlike us… the Huakai Sect disciples thought as they blankly stared at the fire.

"Thank you for saving me before." Shan Lu told Cheng Sheng as they dried themselves by the fire coming from the Sundry Branches. He had never properly thanked Cheng Sheng for curing the Fog Kelp poison in his body.

Cheng Sheng raised his browed as he looked at Shan Lu. "What are you saying?" he asked. "I was looking for someone to taste test the Sundry Leaf juice, and you happen to need it." He explained as he continued burning the Sundry Branches.

His teammates who knew he was brewing all kinds of potions for them in case they were poisoned. "…" He's hardworking, yet he doesn't want to admit it. They thought and smiled. Such a tsundere. 

"Still, you saved my life." Shan Lu said. His gaze is sincere. "I'll repay you in the future – " he said.

Cheng Sheng cut him off. "Yayayaya~" he said as he rested his elbow on his thigh while his cheek rested on his hand. "There's no need to, really." He told him. "I just happen to make a poison… ehem, potion, to try on someone and see its effects…" he muttered.

"…" he said 'poison', didn't he? He said it, didn't he? The Huakai Sect disciples thought as their face was covered with dark lines. Was he trying to reject Shan Lu's gratitude, or purposefully trying to infuriate them? 

Chen Han and the others. "…" Fortunately, Shan Lu had tested it or we can say goodbye to our taste buds… they thought.

Finally, the Zunjingde Sect and the Shanliangde Sect disciples arrived. "… thank you for drawing an array around the area…" they said through their gritted teeth. If not for the array, the monsters would've continued to chase them. However, this is still Cheng Sheng's fault, right? They thought.

"You're welcome!" Cheng Sheng said as he kindly smiled at them.

"…" endure. Endure. They thought, silently enduring the itch on their fists. How they wanted to beat him up.

Fei Yin noticed the hostile gazes from them. "If you still want to blame my shidi, I'll fight you." He said, which surprised them all.

Yu Sheng also saw it. "Let's be clear here." He said as he crossed his arms and coolly leaned on the tree. "The Fallen Pollens in the magic herbs are an accident. His Hi –... Cheng Sheng hasn't noticed it since it's close to impossible to see it." He said. "However, indeed, he has a fault for not inspecting clearly the magic herbs." He paused. "Who would at his situation? He was chased by a demonic cultivator yet he still can lower his guard just to make magic pills for everyone." He said and frowned as he sharply looked at them.

They fell silent. Indeed, Cheng Sheng doesn't need to make magic pills for their share. Even if they bought them, but still, Cheng Sheng may not sell it to them. Yet he still did.

How can Yu Sheng not know what they're thinking? "Still, he sold it to you in exchange of money." He continued. "However, didn't he repay you by casting the Healing Array? At the expense of all the qi he has left." He said, his expression scary.

They lowered their head. They really took it for granted.

Yu Sheng continued. "This matter of the Stinky Pill. You can't blame this on him again." He said and glared at them.

"My shidi already resolved the matter of the Fallen Pollen by teaching you how to remove it from your body. That's his compensation to you." Fei Yin said. "However, the Stinky Pill is your teammate's choice." He told them. "Or should I say, it's their selfishness?" he asked and looked at Zheng Yi. "Now you come running to him again to resolve your own problems, in which he kindheartedly help you – again." He said, speaking the last word through his gritted teeth. His fists clenched on his side. "Yet, you… you all still blame him?!" he asked as his eyes narrowed and his sword in his sheath shook.

"Enough." Cheng Sheng said.

"Cheng Sheng…" they said.

"Cheng-shidi – " Fei Yin called as he turned to him.

Cheng Sheng sighed as he stoked the fire. Suddenly, they all felt warm. "Everybody is tired. That's enough fighting for today." He told them. "The Sundry Fire is large enough to accommodate fifty people. We're only nine people. We don't need to hog it all for ourselves." He explained before he turned to them and smiled. "We can all share, right?" he asked.

"Cheng Sheng…" they called and suddenly felt a pang of guilt.

Outside the secret realm, everyone felt their eyes stung because of tears. "Huh…? Why do I feel like crying…?" they asked as they wiped their tears.

"Cheng-shidi…" Lei Qing cried.

"Cheng-shixiong!" Lei Ling and You Rou wailed. "How dare they wrong you! You're the kindest person!" they said.

Zuo Zhe sniffed as he wiped the tears off his face. Finally… he thought as he stared at Cheng Sheng brightly smiling like an angel. The Mary Sue protagonist I wrote is back! It's just sleeping inside the shell of the scum! He thought and celebrated inside his mind.

System: how idiotic.

Zuo Zhe just ignored it since he's very happy.

Inside the secret realm, it's silent since they all felt shame. Fei Yin scoffed while Yu Sheng just rolled his eyes at them.

"Everyone." Cheng Sheng called. "Just dry yourselves and your clothes and the odor of the Stinky Pill will disappear." He said before he paused. "It particularly dries the Lotus Dew. In short, the Sundry Fire is the Lotus Dew's bane." He explained. "As for Xin Xin – " he looked at the female Alliance's disciple. " – I'll gather the smoke for you to use as a perfume." He told her and smiled before he cast a spell and the smoke coming from the fire became a sphere. Then, the sphere of smoke flew towards Cheng Sheng and Cheng Sheng placed it inside a vial. "Here." He told her as he gave the vial to her.

"T-t-t-t-hank… t-t-t-t-thank… thank y-y-y-you…" she said before she ran behind a boulder and opened the vial. The smoke came out before surrounding her. However, there wasn't a burnt smell. Instead, it smelled like sunshine.

Cheng Sheng did the same for Wu Xi and gave him a vial of Sundry Smoke. He hid in another boulder and bathed the smoke. "When the moon reached its peak, everyone can stop drying themselves by the bonfire." He said. "However, the Sundry fire can fend off the monsters." He told them. He meant, they'll be secured with the Sundry fire with them.

Nobody moved, and Yu Sheng snorted. "Now you're trying to leech off." He said and laughed when he saw them glaring at him.

"Where did you get the Sundry Branches?" Xi Xing asked as he curiously looked at the burning branches. Surprisingly, they aren't charred despite burning.

"I bought them from Baixiangdian in Dongxin." Cheng Sheng answered. "It is a shop with lots of items you can choose from." He explained. "I bought the Sundry Leaves and Sundry Branches there. A pity there are no Sundry Seeds sold." He said.

"Why?" Qian Lin asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Because even if there is, but a Sundry Tree can only grow in a place that is summer always." Cheng Sheng answered. "It'll just rot if there's not enough sunshine." He explained.

"Oh." Xi Xing, Shan Lu, Gong Xian and Qian Lin nodded as if they're enlightened.

"…" hey. Don't tell me you've become addicted to the Sundry things? They thought.

As if perceiving their thought, they heard Cheng Sheng spoke. "Actually, there's another useful way to use the Sundry Tree." He said.

"Aside from using its leaf as a spice and as a juice, and its branch as a fire to dry us, what other thing could there be?" Tang Zhe asked in wonder.

"Well, because of the high temperature of the Sundry Branches after being lit, we can use it in cooking!" Cheng Sheng answered.

"…" isn't that obvious? They thought and felt they were tricked.

Cheng Sheng laughed seeing their expression. "That's not entirely what I meant." He told them. "The specific heat can enhance the food's flavor!" he told them.

"Really?" Xi Ming was surprised. "But, why didn't you use the Sundry Branches yesterday?" he asked.

"How can we? It's just a waste." Cheng Sheng said. "Da shixiong's foods are already very delicious." He told them.

Ah. They thought and nodded. That's right. They are. They thought and looked at Fei Yin who just coldly looked at them. They immediately looked away from his sharp gaze. He blacklisted us… we cannot eat the foods he made again! They cried.

"Huh?" Jing Hei said when he noticed something. "Cheng Sheng. How do you know the foods will be delicious if cooked with the Sundry Fire?" he asked.

Their eyes widened when they realized it. As if confirming their thought, Cheng Sheng laughed. "Of course. I cooked using it." He answered.