The female Biyi Bird chirped twice, seemingly mocking Kevin for being a coward. The male bird, on the other hand, flapped its wings at Su Mu, signaling him to get on quickly.
Once on the Biyi Bird, there was no need to give directions—the spiritual bird had an excellent memory for routes. No matter how long it had been since it last traveled a path, it never forgot.
Kevin also mounted his broomstick, flying alongside the Biyi Bird, his mouth never resting along the way.
Su Mu was already used to this, and the Biyi Bird had experienced Kevin’s chatter before, so it was not surprised.
Upon arriving in Yongfang City, Su Mu had the Biyi Bird take him directly back to his residential community.
The Biyi Bird clearly remembered the previous encounter when picking up Su Mu. Seeing the elderly folks in the community gathering again, it appeared somewhat flustered and was trembling slightly.
“So, you are afraid of something, huh?” Kevin clicked his tongue in amazement, earning a glare from both heads of the Biyi Bird.
Su Mu chuckled silently, patted the bird’s head, and said, “Alright, you two find a safe place to rest for now. When I need to leave, I’ll message you, and you can come pick me up.”
The Biyi Bird was all too happy to comply, nodding repeatedly and chirping “Chirp chirp,” as if saying, “Okay, okay, let’s do that.” Then, with a flap of its wings, it flew off before the elderly folks could get close.
“Is that you, Su Mu?” An elderly lady asked after taking a closer look.
Su Mu smiled and responded, “Yes, it’s me. Hello, Grandma Chen. Why didn’t you bring your grandson today?”
“My grandson was taken to the zoo by his parents,” Grandma Chen replied. She then looked up at the distant Biyi Bird and asked, “Is that bird yours?”
“No, it belongs to the school. It just brought me back and doesn’t take my orders,” Su Mu answered carefully.
“What a pity,” Grandma Chen said. The gathering elderly folks also looked disappointed.
If Su Mu had said the Biyi Bird was his, or that it listened to him, these elderly folks would definitely have made him call the bird down to pluck a few feathers. After all, they were from the same community. What’s the harm in plucking a few feathers? Did getting into a cultivation university make him look down on his old neighbors? It’s not like they were asking for money, just a few feathers. How stingy could he be?
Su Mu observed the scene and thought it would be best to call the Biyi Bird later, preferably outside the residential community to avoid any hassle.
Unable to get any feathers from the bird, the elderly residents turned their attention to Su Mu, curiously asking about life at the cultivation university.
After chatting with them for a bit and seeing their growing enthusiasm, Su Mu quickly pulled Kevin over to use him as a shield.
Although Kevin had bought an apartment in this residential community, he hadn’t lived there long and usually stayed with Su Mu and Su Ye, so the elderly folks didn’t recognize him.
At first, they were worried about communicating with a foreigner, but once they started talking, they realized Kevin spoke fluent Chinese. Immediately, they left Su Mu and surrounded Kevin, bombarding him with questions.
Kevin, far from being fazed, was actually excited. He felt like he had met his match.
“I’ll head back first. You handle them for a while,” Su Mu whispered to Kevin before squeezing through the crowd and entering the apartment building. As soon as he stepped into the hallway, he noticed a new runic poster had been put up.
Another one? Aren’t they worried about complaints from the first-floor residents?
Su Mu was puzzled until he saw the figure on the poster quickly stand up without saying a word. The figure held up a series of signs, each with an advertisement message written on it, one after the other.
It seemed the advertising company had finally compromised. This method of holding up signs to ‘read’ the ads was quite unique. Those encountering it for the first time would likely take a closer look, making the advertisement quite effective.
He headed upstairs and took out his keys to unlock the door.
Since the windows and doors had been closed, there wasn’t much dust inside, though the air was a bit stale.
Su Mu opened the windows and cast a cleaning spell. Immediately, the broom, mop, and other cleaning tools sprang to life and started tidying up. They were much more effective than any cleaning robot but still couldn’t compare to runic figurines.
This spell was the first one Su Mu had learned after entering the university. Though it was a basic life skill, it was incredibly useful.
However, because he had runic figurines, this spell had never been put to use until now. Even without upgrading it through pay-to-win methods, it was more than sufficient for regular cleaning tasks.
A cloth floated over, aiming to wipe the two photo frames in front of Su Mu.
He quickly grabbed the frames before the cloth could reach them, and it immediately moved on to clean other items.
Su Mu opened a drawer and took out a special towel to gently dust off the photo frames.
The photos in these frames were of his parents in this world.
Although they had already passed away when he crossed over, leaving no real emotional connection, they were still the parents of this body and of Su Ye. There were things Su Mu couldn’t do for them, but dusting their photos and offering incense was something he could manage.
In fact, he wasn’t just offering incense to these two; he was also commemorating his past life.
After carefully dusting off the frames, Su Mu placed them back in their original positions. He then lit six sticks of incense, bowed, and placed three in each holder, whispering, “I’ve been admitted to the cultivation university, and Xiao Yezi’s illness is under control. If you have any awareness in the afterlife, you can rest in peace…”
As he was speaking, Kevin pushed the door open and walked in.
Having been to Su Mu’s place before, Kevin was quite familiar with it.
Su Mu was a bit surprised, “Hey, how did you get up here? Did the old folks let you go that quickly?”
In his memory, the elderly residents could be quite terrifying when gossiping, sometimes holding you up for one or two hours. How had Kevin managed to escape their ‘siege’ in just a matter of minutes?
“Don’t mention it. I thought they were chatty, but after a short while, they said I talked too much and scattered,” Kevin said, with an air of ‘Invincible and Unmatched,’ as if lamenting, ‘Not a single worthy opponent.’
Upon further questioning, Su Mu learned that after the first few minutes of answering the elderly residents’ questions, Kevin had turned the tables. He started asking them all sorts of questions—from retirement pensions to their children’s jobs, from family disputes to neighborly relations, from their children’s relationships to their grandchildren’s education…
Kevin not only asked a lot of questions but also talked incessantly. The elderly residents were completely bewildered by his approach—were they gossiping about him, or was he gossiping about them? Several times they tried to regain control of the conversation, but failed. Annoyed, they simply dispersed.
A group of elderly residents losing in a battle of chatter to a foreigner… that’s quite embarrassing.
After a while, with the help of the cleaning spell, the house was spotless. The air inside had also become much fresher after being ventilated.
Su Mu closed the windows and called out to Kevin, “Let’s go. We’re heading to the house-cleaning company.”
Kevin asked, “Why are we going to a house-cleaning company?”
Su Mu replied, “To hire someone to come regularly and clean the house.”
Kevin suggested, “Instead of hiring someone, why not buy an automatic cleaning magical tool? It can clean the house daily, and you only need to replace the spirit crystal every six months.”
Su Mu had considered this, but with no one at home, having such a cleaning tool could easily attract thieves. Otherwise, leaving a runic figurine at home would be even better.
For now, hiring someone from a house-cleaning company seemed like the best option. Later, once he could upgrade the runic figurine, he might consider getting one for home security, depending on the new features it might offer.
There were several house-cleaning companies just outside the residential community. Su Mu chose a chain company, explained his needs, negotiated the price, and signed the contract and payment without hesitation.
Upon learning of his official status as a cultivator, the company didn’t dare slack off. The manager personally accompanied him for a walkthrough, noting down the layout and inventory of the house.
After bustling around for a while, everything was finally sorted out.
Taking the spare key Su Mu handed over, the manager patted his chest and assured, “It’s an honor for us that you chose our company. Our service will definitely satisfy you. After each cleaning, we’ll take photos and record videos to send you for inspection. If you need anything, just let us know anytime.”
Su Mu nodded, “Alright, thank you for your hard work.”
“No trouble at all,” the manager replied with a cheerful smile.
He was genuinely happy, not just because he secured the business, but also because he could use this as a marketing point-if even a cultivator chose their house-cleaning company, how could their service not be good? How could their prestige not be high? “You ordinary folks, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and choose us!”
After seeing off the house-cleaning company employees, Su Mu and Kevin were ready to leave the residential community.
As they walked out, they encountered someone coming their way.
This person looked quite young, about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with an average appearance and slightly dark complexion.
Upon seeing him, both Su Mu and Kevin frowned simultaneously.
The man also noticed the two of them.
He didn’t recognize Kevin and only gave him a second glance because he was a foreigner. But he was very familiar with Su Mu.
Back when Su Mu was looking for part-time jobs to support himself through school, this man had often helped him. He was known to be a warm-hearted person.
With a smile, he greeted, “Hey, Su Mu! I thought you got into the cultivation university and went to study? Why are you back? Is it vacation time? And where’s Xiao Yezi?”
Kevin opened his mouth to say something, but Su Mu quickly pulled him back, stopping him.
At the same time, Su Mu smiled and replied, “It’s not vacation. I just took some time to come back and handle a few things. Brother Liang, I remember you don’t cook. Why did you buy so many groceries? Are your parents visiting?”
“My parents aren’t here.”
Liang Yi’s smile widened, and a look of happiness spread across his face.
“Your Brother Liang has a girlfriend now. She’s not only beautiful but also a great cook. We’re getting married next month.”
He then added proudly, “She’s also pregnant with my child. How about that? Pretty quick, right?”
Su Mu raised his eyebrows slightly but maintained his smile, giving a thumbs up, “That’s impressive, Brother Liang! Congratulations!”
“Hey, are you in a hurry? If not, come over for a meal and meet your future sister-in-law. Maybe she can even introduce you to someone,” Liang Yi invited enthusiastically.