Chapter 528 - 527: Jiang Zuo, Feared Even by Sweet Potato

Chapter 528: Chapter 527: Jiang Zuo, Feared Even by Sweet Potato

Jiang Zuo walked down the road, constantly rubbing his face.

He had just checked his reflection and found a sinister grin still lingering at the corners of his mouth. It didn’t look entirely normal.

Jiang Zuo glanced at Sweet Potato. Sweet Potato looked back at Jiang Zuo in confusion, then got such a fright that it dropped the apple in its hands.

’Master is a little scary today.’

Jiang Zuo then offered Sweet Potato another piece of apple, but for the first time ever, it didn’t dare to take it.

Jiang Zuo: "..."

What could he say? Jiang Zuo felt helpless. He had been training it for so long, and it had never been afraid of him before. It was just a smile on his face.

’Was it necessary to be this scared?’

In the end, Jiang Zuo stopped paying attention to Sweet Potato.

Duan Qiao, on the other hand, was acting more normal, showing no particular reaction to Jiang Zuo’s "smile."

In reality, Duan Qiao had already pissed itself in fear.

Jiang Zuo also knew he wasn’t quite normal right now, but this was just the onset of madness. His expression would return to normal later.

Of course, Jiang Zuo had no desire to lose his mind.

This forging session had actually been very dangerous. If not for the constant thought of Su Qi, and the realization that if he went mad and she found out, he would most likely die a miserable death, Jiang Zuo might have truly lost control.

After all, he’d had a very pleasant time smithing.

’Sigh, it was all thanks to Su Qi’s deterrent effect.’

Still, Jiang Zuo was rather curious. For example, if his mad self were to be beaten back to his senses by Su Qi, what kind of consequences would he have to face?

’He was genuinely curious.’

While it was highly likely he would just make Su Qi angry, there was also a chance she would be scared—scared of losing him.

And then get angry?

And when she gets angry, she wants to hit people?

’Seems like the result would be the same either way.’

Jiang Zuo shook his head and didn’t dwell on it. In any case, it was better to stay lucid.

From start to finish, Jiang Zuo never once thought his mad, unhinged self would ever harm Su Qi. He had absolute faith in his instincts.

When he was with Su Qi, he would never raise a hand to her. He would let her do what she would until he was lucid again.

This instinct was like the one that made him counterattack when facing danger; upon encountering Su Qi, he would drop all his defenses, all his harmful methods.

And then...

Then he would probably wake up.

Jiang Zuo worked on his face for a long time, almost rubbing his skin raw, before it finally looked a little more normal.

But there was still a faint, barely-there smile. Was it a smirk?

In any case, Jiang Zuo felt it wasn’t a normal smile.

He then glanced at Sweet Potato and Duan Qiao again.

The former stared at Jiang Zuo, not daring to move, while the latter lowered its head and fiddled with its hands.

’Am I still that scary?’

Jiang Zuo then took out a piece of apple for Sweet Potato. Faced with the apple, Sweet Potato glanced at Jiang Zuo and then let out a strained sound, "QUACK."

It had the look of someone saying ’I’m not hungry.’

Jiang Zuo withdrew the apple, turned his head to the side, and then placed the apple in front of Sweet Potato.

Sure enough, this time Sweet Potato took the apple.

It even gave two happy quacks.

Jiang Zuo: "..."

Alright, Jiang Zuo got the message. He was still a bit frightening in his current state.

But he’d checked; there was only a very slight change to his appearance, at most.

Fine, he might as well investigate the situation at the Spiritual Control Sect.

As Jiang Zuo walked through the territory of the Spiritual Control Sect, he could naturally see that many Spirit Beasts had grown weak.

He then walked over to a Duoling Dog. This Duoling Dog seemed quite at ease. Although it was as weak as an ordinary dog, it didn’t seem worried at all.

The dog was missing a leg, but it didn’t seem to mind much.

Hmm, Jiang Zuo recognized this dog. It was Ximen Chuihuo’s Da Bai.

When Jiang Zuo approached Da Bai, Da Bai naturally saw him as well.

Da Bai, which had been lazing about, immediately got up and became vigilant the moment it saw Jiang Zuo.

But there was also a faint sense of submission.

It didn’t dare to show the slightest bit of impertinence.

Jiang Zuo didn’t mind this; after all, even Sweet Potato was afraid of him now.

No matter how fierce he had been with Sweet Potato in the past, it had never been afraid. Only now. It went without saying for other Spirit Beasts.

In Duan Qiao’s eyes, it wasn’t fear.

It was an aura, an aura they absolutely could not ignore, an aura they dared not resist.

Even Sweet Potato, who was like his own son, had chickened out, let alone Duan Qiao itself.

’The pressure from just standing here is immense.’

This was the first time it wanted to retreat back into the Duan Qiao itself.

Jiang Zuo looked at Da Bai and asked, "Why haven’t you all left the Spiritual Control Sect?"

Da Bai couldn’t speak, so it wrote directly on the ground: We get weak even if we leave.

Jiang Zuo walked over to Da Bai, placed a hand on its body, and a surge of Innate Two Qi instantly flowed into it.

Da Bai was worried but didn’t dare to resist.

There was an invisible pressure emanating from the person before it, making it hard to breathe.

Soon, Jiang Zuo withdrew the Innate Two Qi.

He then frowned. "Such a subtle technique. But this kind of imprint couldn’t have been spread instantly, could it?"

Jiang Zuo knew the culprit must have been lying in wait here for a long time.

And by "a long time," he meant about a month or so.

If the person was powerful enough, it wouldn’t even take a month to make a single tour of the Spiritual Control Sect.

After figuring things out, Jiang Zuo glanced at Da Bai’s hind leg and finally shook his head.

’It’s not time yet. I must learn to be patient.’

’I can’t make the same mistake I made last time.’

Then, Jiang Zuo left.

After Jiang Zuo was gone, Da Bai let out a breath and collapsed on the ground.

It suddenly felt that just managing to stay standing for that long was already an incredible feat.

It wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but despite being weakened, it felt like it was on the verge of a breakthrough after enduring that person’s presence.

It had never felt this way when seeing him before.

After leaving, Jiang Zuo took out his phone and @’d Blade Master Hai Bian in the group chat: "Where are you right now? I want to know if a Spirit Beast that looks like a loach has appeared in the Spiritual Control Sect recently?"

Blade Master Hai Bian replied instantly: "Fellow Daoist Po Xiao, are you alright? The Forging Peak collapsed, and they couldn’t find you."

Po Xiao: "I’m fine."

Only then did Blade Master Hai Bian answer the original question: "I’ll ask around. Does it just look like a loach?"

Po Xiao: "It has a name. It’s called the Jinling Loach."

After that, Blade Master Hai Bian went silent, probably off to ask.

Chu Qing: "Elder Po Xiao, my father wants to know if you’re accepting disciples?"

Po Xiao: "No."

Jiang Zuo knew with a single thought that this was about him taking Chu Qing as a disciple. Was that even possible?

’Impossible. Absolutely impossible.’

Putting aside the fact that Chu Qing was a girl, the forging alone made it impossible.

He wouldn’t forge recklessly; he wasn’t sure if he could remain lucid every single time.

If he lost control and Su Qi couldn’t find him, things would get out of hand.

Besides, what if something happened to Su Qi while he was unhinged and mad?

He would truly never be able to forgive himself.

Xiao Xiaomo suddenly sent a message: "Boss Po Xiao, Chu Qing’s father wants you to take Chu Qing as your disciple."

Po Xiao: "Not interested."

Taking Chu Qing as a disciple was also out of the question; he was never going to accept one.

Somewhere in the Spiritual Control Sect, Chu Qing looked at his father and said, "Elder Po Xiao refused. It was no use even with Sister Xiao speaking up."

Chu Qing’s father sighed. He hadn’t held out much hope for his daughter, but he didn’t expect his son to fail to latch onto this big shot either.

Chu Qing’s father could naturally tell that this Po Xiao was even more extraordinary than he had imagined.

If his son could receive guidance from such a person, his future path would undoubtedly be wide and clear.

Unfortunately, the man was completely unyielding, impervious to persuasion of any kind. There was simply no way to convince him.