Chapter 23: Wash and Cut for Twenty-Eight, Wash, Cut, and Blow-Dry for Two Hundred Ninety-Eight

After fiddling with his phone for a while, drowsiness crept in, and Lin Xiao drifted into slumber.

Early the next morning, Sun Zhiyuan roused him from sleep. Lin Xiao got up quickly, feeling eager for the journey into the secret realm that awaited him today. The original owner of this body had only ever seen spirit beasts in videos on his phone, never in person. Lin Xiao remained deeply curious about the spirit beasts of this world.

He swiftly took care of his bodily needs, washed up, and then sat quietly, watching Sun Zhiyuan.

"Don't rush. The assembly is at noon. Eat breakfast in peace—you don’t need to gather at the school. When the time comes, I’ll take you directly," Sun Zhiyuan assured him.

Lin Xiao couldn’t help rolling his eyes. Noon? Why couldn’t he have let him sleep in? What was the point of waking him up so early? Of course, he wouldn’t say any of this aloud; if he did, Sun Zhiyuan would surely give him a beating.

This morning, Xu Qing hadn’t brought breakfast; they were to eat in the canteen together. In truth, this was the normal life of the retirement home: everyone went to the canteen for their meals. There were no hired cooks—the food was prepared by one of the elderly residents. Lin Xiao couldn’t speak to the old man's culinary skills, but he knew he’d never tasted anything so delicious in his life.

It was his first time truly dining in the canteen. Only then did Lin Xiao realize he had been tricked by Sun Zhiyuan all along. The food here wasn’t limited to premium spirit beast meat; there were first- and second-grade meats, and plenty of ordinary fare as well.

But he couldn’t be bothered to complain any longer; it was pointless. He ate some simple dishes and low-grade spirit beast meat, feeling no discomfort at all. Having already tasted seventh-grade spirit beast meat, these lesser cuts held no allure for him.

After breakfast, it was still early. Lin Xiao considered whether he should exercise a bit.

Sun Zhiyuan clearly sensed his intentions.

"Lin, skip the training today. You’ve got half a day off—go tidy yourself up, get a haircut or something. After all, once you enter the secret realm, you might never return."

Lin Xiao was at a loss for words. Crude as it was, the advice made sense. There really could be danger in the secret realm, and he hadn’t had a haircut in ages. He should get cleaned up.

"Come on, brother, can’t you wish me well? Why all this talk about never coming back? Bah! Bad luck. Are you really giving me time off?"

"Go ahead. Just be back before eleven."

Lin Xiao was delighted—he could finally go out and relax.

"Alright! I’ll head out, brother. I’ll definitely be back before eleven."

With that, Lin Xiao departed. Besides tidying himself up, he planned to buy supplies. Who knew what awaited him in the secret realm? Better to be prepared.

After Lin Xiao left, a few elders approached Sun Zhiyuan.

"Sun, are all preparations ready?"

"Everything’s set. Now it’s up to the boy himself. Whether he can truly stay depends on his performance. He’s a promising seedling."

"Are you sure nothing unexpected will happen?"

"Come on, what could go wrong in a first-level secret realm? I’ll be going in with him. You just sit here and watch the live broadcast."

...

Lin Xiao was oblivious—he had already been drawn into their plans.

He arrived at the gate of the retirement home. The gatekeeper, Old Zhang, saw Lin Xiao and greeted him warmly.

"Lin, heading out?"

Lin Xiao nodded. He had a good impression of Old Zhang; if Zhang hadn’t let him in before, he’d still be clueless about everything.

"Zhang, I just have a few errands. I’ll be back soon."

"Go ahead, be careful. Those youngsters who followed you last time—they’ve been hanging around here lately."

Lin Xiao paused, realizing that Old Zhang was referring to the thugs recruited by Ji Boxiao. He hadn’t expected them to still be so persistent, so eager to cause trouble for him.

Now Lin Xiao wasn’t afraid of these thugs. The fact that they were reduced to such roles meant their abilities were ordinary at best.

He’d only been cultivating for a week, but he knew he had changed. Dealing with a few thugs would be no trouble. In fact, he looked forward to meeting them—it would give him a chance to test his strength and see how far he’d come.

"Got it, Zhang. I can handle a few thugs."

"Okay. If you can’t beat them, run back here. I’ll deal with them for you."

Lin Xiao chuckled and didn’t stand on ceremony.

"Of course. The world’s a dangerous place; if things go south, I’ll retreat. I’m not that stubborn."

After some friendly banter with Old Zhang, Lin Xiao left the retirement home. Not far away, a man with dark circles under his eyes spotted him and looked excited.

Heaven above! The kid finally came out. If he hadn't, I couldn't have held on much longer.

He shouted to those behind him, "Boss, wake up! The kid’s out!"

The gang leader and a few others had been napping. Hearing his subordinate, they sprang up.

"Ha! The kid’s finally out. Our stakeout wasn’t in vain. Damn it, that’s five million. We can’t let him escape this time!"

Lin Xiao had noticed these thugs, but he wasn’t in a hurry. If they didn’t make a move, he’d just let them wear themselves out. He doubted they could hold out for long.

At that moment, Lin Xiao suddenly remembered an important issue: he’d come out to get a haircut and shop for supplies. But his money was running low. The funds he’d received from Ji Boxiao had all been handed over to the retirement home.

If he’d known, he’d have borrowed some from Sun Zhiyuan. Now it was too late to go back. He still had a little money—hopefully enough for what he needed.

First, he’d tidy himself up.

Lin Xiao was unfamiliar with the area. He decided to use his phone to navigate to the nearest barber shop. Even the closest was several kilometers away. Taking a taxi was out of the question—it would waste money.

He’d run there instead—it would double as exercise.

With that thought, Lin Xiao set off at a jog.

The thugs behind him saw Lin Xiao pick up speed and followed suit.

"Boss, he’s running!"

"I’m not blind—chase him! We can’t let this prize slip away!"

Lin Xiao knew they were on his tail, but he wasn’t eager to deal with them yet. He’d let them sweat for a while.

He still carried weights, a habit he’d grown accustomed to thanks to Sun Zhiyuan’s training.

No matter how the thugs tried, they couldn’t close the distance. Whenever they slowed, Lin Xiao would slow down too, as if waiting for them.

"Boss, this kid’s a hell of a runner. I feel like he’s playing with us!"

"Enough chatter. Once we catch him, we’ll teach him a lesson."

Soon, Lin Xiao arrived at a barber shop, following the directions on his phone.

Inside sat two women, dressed flamboyantly.

Lin Xiao didn’t think much of it and walked straight in.

Seeing him enter, the two women’s eyes lit up. Young men as handsome as him were rare in their shop.

"Handsome, a wash and cut is twenty-eight, a wash, cut, and blow-dry two hundred ninety-eight. What service would you like?"