BXBX NOVEL Chapter 18 Conundrum
As the first rays of sunshine shone on his face, Ikasa opened his eyes to a new day. He washed his face and immediately connected to the printer.
He happily noted the increased number of Cultivation Points and Battle Points.
His CP was at 71 points. He scratched his head in confusion. He could account for seventy points. He initially had 50 points and then he sold 14 Cultivation manuals through auction and Lucky Draws.
The rest 6 were used by Xin Ruo and the kids. So where did that extra manual come from? Think as hard he might, he couldn\'t remember.
"Let it be. Anyways, an extra point is a good thing."
He looked at the BP. 67. He could account for twelve. But the other 5 were mysteries.
Just as Ikasa was pondering the case of extra points, Yan Xiao knocked on his door.
"Brother Ikasa, are you ready? Everyone is waiting for you for breakfast."
"You guys start, I\'ll be down in a minute."
He disconnected and hurriedly put on some clothes. After trying to tame his crazy bed hair with some water, he gave up and went downstairs with an ahoge sticking up.
As usual, the kids were bursting with energy. They used their excess energy to chomp down even more food.
When Ikasa took his seat, Xin Ruo passed him a plate. She noticed his still sleepy eyes. With a hint of concern she asked,
"Did you not sleep well last night? We can postpone our schedule if you want to rest more."
He suppressed the yawn that was trying to escape on hearing her question.
"No need. I just need a bath to wake me up. We don\'t have to change our schedule for that."
Waving away Xin Ruo\'s concerns, he dug into the food. She looked at him skeptically but didn\'t comment further.
As if remembering something, Ikasa stopped eating and turned to Xin Ruo.
"By the way, did you send the Battle Technique Manuals to your father?"
"Yes, I did. He asked us to meet near the West Gate of the City at noon."
He slowly resumed eating. He was remembering the interaction he had with Feng Yan and the events leading to it.
A few days ago, Ikasa had proposed a training expedition to Xin Ruo. He had told her of his worries and asked if she could invite her father along.
Surprisingly, Feng Yan had agreed immediately. He just had two conditions, he will pick the place to train and follow all of his instructions.
The instant approval from Feng Yan caused alarm bells to ring in Ikasa\'s head. Feng Yan he knew was a greedy person. He wouldn\'t just agree without seeking any profits. He had to have an ulterior motive.
Even Xin Ruo, the blood daughter of the man himself, couldn\'t believe he would agree so easily. Ikasa and Xin Ruo both gathered their wits together and finally accepted the reality.
A big smile crept onto their lips. Feng Yan who was observing them both hid his smile behind the cup of tea. They immediately started to plan their itinerary. Once they had decided on the date and time of departure, Ikasa and Xin Ruo stood up to leave.
When they were just out of the door, they heard Feng Yan\'s voice.
"Send me the Battle Technique Manuals you have taught the Kids."
A smile bloomed on Ikasa\'s face while Xin Ruo fumed. Now, this was the Feng Yan he knew.
"Dad, how can you be so unreasonable? Do you know how coveted those manuals are?"
Feng Yan threw her an annoyed look and proceeded to ignore her. He looked intently at Ikasa, awaiting his answer.
"Three. I can give you three Battle Technique Manuals."
"You are misunderstanding something. I don\'t want them for my own benefit. If I don\'t know what the kids are training in, how can I choose the best training spots for them?"
Ikasa\'s lips twitched. Xin Ruo covered her face in embarrassment. How can a man act so greedy and shamelessly and still threaten in a righteous tone?
\'This old coot is quite difficult to deal with. There is no problem in giving him the manuals. But if I agree too easily, it will raise some uncomfortable questions I don\'t want to answer right now.\'
After some back and forth and plenty of hemming and hawing, Ikasa acquiesced to Feng Yan\'s request.
"Old man, I am only agreeing because we will be family. You have decided to give me your precious daughter. How can I be stingy?"
Seeing the color change on Feng Yan\'s face gave him immense satisfaction. Thankfully, she had left earlier, or even if Ikasa had ten more lives he wouldn\'t dare to posture in front of Feng Yan, especially using Xin Ruo\'s name.
"Father-In-Law, I\'ll leave first. I\'ll have Xin Ruo send over the manuals by tomorrow."
And Ikasa fled from the room before Feng Yan could inflict bodily harm on him.
"This Kid! He has the strength of an ant but a tiger\'s courage. Anyways, it\'s a good thing I found some laborers. It will be easier to look for it now with more manpower."
On the way back Ikasa still thought, that Feng Yan had agreed to their proposal a bit too easily. He had noticed the old man\'s glee the moment Xin Ruo had mentioned the training trip.
\'Maybe I am overthinking things. After all, that bastard did extort five Battle Technique Manuals from me.\'
But that doubt was persistently troubling Ikasa. Even now, when a day and night had passed since Feng Yan promised to bring everyone on a training expedition, he had been unable to solve this conundrum.
He couldn\'t focus on his breakfast because of it. All things considered, he was entrusting the safety of himself and the kids to that man.
\'I need to stop being so paranoid. So what if this is a Cultivation world. People are still people. It\'s not like I am disabled who can\'t run away if Feng Yan has something nefarious planned! Buck Up, Ikasa! Buck Up!\'
The breakfast ended and everyone went back to prepare all their necessities for the journey. When everyone came back down, Ikasa could see the positive excitement on the faces of the kids. Their enthusiasm infected him.
And he decided to take a leap of faith and boarded the carriage with them.
"Coachman, head south from here!"
Feng Yan had boarded the carriage at the West Gate as promised. He had immediately taken the reins over, directing the coachman while keeping others in suspense.
Xin Ruo finally couldn\'t bear it. She voiced the question on everyone\'s mind.
"Dad, where are we going?"
"Be patient. You\'ll see it soon. We are almost there!" Feng Yan shouted from beside the Coachman.
"You said the same an hour ago!"
Luo Qiqi grumpily voiced her opinion. Feng Yan opened the small window from which only his eyes were visible. As their eyes met, Luo Qiqi shrunk back into her seat. Then Feng Yan\'s forceful voice resounded through the carriage.
"I said, BE PATIENT" and he slammed the window shut.
Ikasa was once again doubting the sanity of this man.
\'Was entrusting our safety to him really a good decision?\'