Chapter 35: CH-35: Given on a silver platter?!

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! I am sorryyy!!!"

The small argument between the couple made Jian Yulan’s smile grow slightly wider, and the heavy atmosphere that had surrounded the table earlier finally became somewhat lighter.

After a short while, Jian Yulan seemed to remember something, and she suddenly stood up from her seat.

Gu Changsheng and Dong Mulan both looked towards her with confusion.

She told them to wait, then turned around and walked towards one of the rooms within her residence.

Gu Changsheng’s expression changed slightly.

His eyes followed her movements carefully, and when he saw the direction she was heading towards, his heart immediately skipped a beat.

Don’t tell him...

A moment later, Jian Yulan returned.

And in her hand was something Gu Changsheng recognized immediately.

The broken metal staff!!

His expression quickly returned to normal, though inwardly, his mind was already in complete chaos.

It was the exact staff he had secretly entered her room to find earlier.

The same staff that contained the Fortuitous Encounter shown by his system, the same staff that had completely ignored him when he touched it.

And now...

Jian Yulan was carrying it out as if it were nothing special.

"This is for you, as a gift."

She calmly placed the broken staff in front of Dong Mulan.

Dong Mulan stared at it blankly. Gu Changsheng also looked towards Jian Yulan, his heart filled with confusion, but he didn’t ask her anything, a bit afraid she might find out about the earlier ordeal.

Jian Yulan looked towards Dong Mulan before answering calmly, her gaze softening ever so slightly.

"I just want to thank you, for this meal and for comforting me, though that is something you two aren’t good at."

"She reminded me of my sister tonight, and although I cannot change what happened in the past, I can at least give something to someone who reminded me of her."

Gu Changsheng’s mouth twitched slightly.

Something? Lady, do you even know what you’re giving away? This was not some ordinary broken piece of metal.

Truly the case of a beggar casting away a diamond, mistaking it for a stone.

According to his system, this thing contained insights capable of bestowing its user with Sword Intent enlightenment.

And he had tried to obtain it himself... He had even sneaked into her bedroom like a thief, only to receive absolutely nothing from it.

Meanwhile... his wife was now sitting right in front of it, getting the cake on a plate.

Dong Mulan cautiously extended her hand towards the broken staff, apparently unsure whether she should really accept it, her eyes asking if she was sure.

Jian Yulan nodded calmly. However, whether the staff remained with her or not, it was all the same.

Dong Mulan finally reached out and touched the staff. The instant her fingers came into contact with it, a strange energy suddenly erupted from within the broken metal.

*Buzz**Zing*

The staff trembled violently, and a faint golden radiance instantly spread throughout the room.

"Huh!?" ×3

Dong Mulan’s eyes widened in surprise.

Gu Changsheng immediately stood up from his seat, while Jian Yulan’s expression also changed as she looked towards the strange phenomenon taking place before her.

Countless strands of mysterious energy began flowing out from the staff, directly entering Dong Mulan’s body, and the aura around her started changing rapidly.

The insights contained within the staff began unfolding inside Dong Mulan’s mind.

Sword techniques, comprehension, experiences, and countless mysterious understandings that had been sealed inside the broken staff were all released at once.

Yet Dong Mulan did not immediately absorb them.

Instead, the moment those insights entered her body, the Nine-elemental Physique she possessed reacted on instinct.

The entire process happened so naturally that Dong Mulan herself barely noticed it.

From Jian Yulan and Gu Changsheng’s perspective, however, it simply looked as though Dong Mulan had entered a state of deep enlightenment.

"She is undergoing enlightenment!"

Jian Yulan said with a hint of surprise in her voice. Gu Changsheng’s eyes widened as he looked at his wife.

He had initially been worried that the staff would once again reject its recipient, just like it had rejected him, but now that he saw the reaction, he finally understood that the problem had never been with the staff itself.

It was him. The staff simply didn’t want him. The All-Father really did him dirty...

But Gu Changsheng couldn’t help but feel excited, jubilant that his Mulan had cracked the code.

He had spent so much effort trying to obtain this opportunity, and after failing, he had completely given up on it.

Yet somehow, without even trying, Mulan had received it simply by touching the thing.

Life really was unfair...

[A/N: Same homie... Same... (ಠ﹏ಠ)]

For the next few hours, the room remained completely silent as Dong Mulan continued sitting there, her eyes closed while golden light occasionally flickered around her body.

Jian Yulan remained nearby, carefully observing her condition, while Gu Changsheng also stayed there, though his attention gradually began drifting towards the empty dishes on the table.

He had eaten quite a lot earlier.

But watching someone’s enlightenment for several hours was surprisingly tiring.

After what seemed like several hours, the golden light surrounding Dong Mulan slowly faded away, and the mysterious aura surrounding her also gradually returned to normal.

Her eyelashes trembled slightly before her eyes finally opened.

"...Haaaa~"

Dong Mulan released a long breath, and the first thing she did after waking up was rub her stomach.

Gu Changsheng’s expression immediately became strange, understanding that she was probably hungry.

Jian Yulan, however, was more concerned about the enlightenment.

"How do you feel?"

"It feels like I slept for three days straight without having anything to eat. I am starving!!"

Dong Mulan blinked several times before thinking about it, eliciting a low chuckle from Jian Yulan while Gu Changsheng looked deadpan.

Jian Yulan also seemed slightly helpless, but after examining her carefully, she nodded in relief.

"You should have gained something from the staff."

Dong Mulan looked down towards the broken metal staff in her hand and nodded.