Chapter 67

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Chapter 67: Strawberry Mark

Xu Fan looked up at the sky with a touch of sadness. The moment he slipped the ring onto Zhang Weiyun’s finger, he became a married man.

"I’m a married man now," Xu Fan muttered to himself.

The siblings next to him exchanged confused looks, not understanding why he was so sentimental.

"Master, could you tell me what kind of food your wife likes? I want to learn how to cook it beforehand."

"I want to show my respect to her when she arrives," Xu Yuexian said.

"Your master’s wife probably has a sweet tooth now," Xu Fan recalled. He remembered using a homemade lollipop to win her over, never thinking it would actually lead to marriage.

"Alright, everyone, get going. It’s time to focus on your cultivation and tasks," Xu Fan said, waving his hand. He had important matters to attend to.

"Goodbye, Master~~"

The two siblings said their farewells and went about their own business. Xu Fan turned and entered the artifact crafting room, eager to plan how to use the soul iron he had acquired.

Inside the artifact crafting room, Xu Fan alternated between examining the Spirit Heart Ore and the soul iron ore, slowly forming an idea.

He planned to create a precious artifact with a spirit, specifically designed for controlling puppets.

A small bird made of spiritual energy flew toward the headquarters of the Pang Fu merchant group.

"A queen bug’s soul and Nascent Soul, along with over a thousand Heart Jade, soul iron, and Spirit Heart Ore—this should be enough."

Looking at the Spirit Heart Ore, Xu Fan felt a twinge of regret. Although the large amount of soul iron could reduce the need for Spirit Heart Ore, he would still need to use a quarter of a whole piece.

Just then, as Xu Fan was thinking about the Spirit Heart Ore, he suddenly froze. He noticed a pattern: whenever he did Wang Yulun a favor, the young man would soon reward him with something valuable. Soul iron was like this, and so was the Spirit Heart Ore.

Over two months ago, he had given Wang Yulun a set of Spiritual Energy Armor at the precious artifact level. He wondered what good item would come this time. It was just about time for that young man to return, perfectly coinciding with his theory.

Five days later, after Xu Fan forged a precious artifact named Heart of the Puppet, a shadow quietly hid outside the protective barrier. When Xu Fan sensed it, he smiled and waved his hand. A small door in the protective barrier opened silently, and the figure crept in stealthily.

Xu Fan looked at Wang Yulun’s silhouette and chuckled, "Why are you wearing a scarf on such a hot day? You look strange."

"Big Brother Xu, you have to help me. I came back without doing anything wrong," Wang Yulun said as he slowly unwrapped his scarf.

Seeing the sexy lipstick mark on one side of Wang Yulun’s neck, Xu Fan gave him a look that said, "Don’t treat me like a fool."

"Your excuse isn’t very convincing," Xu Fan replied. Yet, he already believed at least half of it; he had been quite interested in fortune-telling and reading faces for a while.

According to Xu Fan’s conclusion from reading Wang Yulun’s face, it was fascinating. Xu Fan had even given it a name: the Flower Sea Countenance. Once this guy left home, trouble with romantic entanglements was sure to follow.

"Big Brother Xu, I won’t let you help me for free." Wang Yulun mysteriously pulled out a thick iron plate, about the size of A4 paper, from his space ring.

"I found this at a market in a fairy city. I don’t know why, but I felt it should belong to you, Big Brother Xu."

"So, I spent ten thousand spirit stones to buy it." Wang Yulun said, presenting it proudly.

Xu Fan studied the iron plate, noting the nearly rusted runes on it. He began to ponder if Wang Yulun’s setting was a reverse black hole, where tossing in something would return ten or a hundred times its value.

He wondered what surprise awaited him this time.

“Brother, I believe you’re innocent.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got your back.” Xu Fan casually slipped the iron plate into his space ring.

Once the plate was safely stored, Xu Fan turned his attention to the strawberry mark on Wang Yulun’s body.

The more he examined it, the more fascinated he became. It was as if the strawberry mark had been etched into Wang Yulun’s very soul. Even if he were to possess someone else’s body, the same mark would reappear.

“Whoever gave you this strawberry mark must really love you. A mark like this can only be imprinted once in a lifetime,” Xu Fan said with a sly grin.

“Big Brother Xu, do you have a way to fix this?” Wang Yulun asked urgently, knowing that going home with this mark would spell disaster.

“Removing it now is impossible. It’s fused with your soul. The only way it’ll disappear is if you reach the Nascent Soul Stage and your soul undergoes purification.”

Wang Yulun’s face fell.

“But…”

Xu Fan pulled out a black soul knife, a tool he’d crafted during a bout of boredom. It had a burning effect on souls, perfect for his current plan.

“But what?” Wang Yulun pressed.

“Since we can’t remove it, we’ll just cover it up.”

Xu Fan’s demeanor shifted as he raised the black soul knife and brought it down hard on Wang Yulun.

It looked brutal, but Xu Fan only used the blunt side of the blade.

“Ah!!”

Wang Yulun was sent flying, slamming into the protective barrier before coming to a stop.

“Big Brother Xu, are you trying to kill me?” Wang Yulun stared at him in disbelief, his soul feeling like it was on fire.

A healing pill flew into Wang Yulun’s mouth, easing some of the pain.

“If I’d told you beforehand, you’d have panicked. So, I just went ahead with it.”

“See? Now you’ve saved some prep time.”

Xu Fan waved his hand, and a dark ice mirror appeared in front of Wang Yulun.

The strawberry mark was now hidden beneath a black scar from the knife.

“A scar’s easier to explain than a strawberry mark. As your big brother, this is the best I can do,” Xu Fan said, watching Wang Yulun inspect himself in the mirror.

“Thanks, Big Brother Xu,” Wang Yulun sighed, resigned to his fate for now.

“Don’t sweat it. The scar will vanish along with the strawberry mark once you hit the Nascent Soul Stage,” Xu Fan said with a chuckle, thinking this kid would probably end up with more marks like this in the future.

“Well, Big Brother Xu, I’m heading home to check on my wife and kids,” Wang Yulun said.

Xu Fan gave a dismissive wave and turned back to his artifact crafting room, eager to uncover the secrets of the iron plate.

He pulled out the iron plate and tried the simplest method—infusing it with spiritual energy. Nothing happened.

Next, he tried refining it with spirit fire. Still no reaction.

Staring at the stubborn rust that even the spirit fire couldn’t remove, Xu Fan scratched his head. He quickly fashioned an iron brush from spirit iron scraps and started scrubbing the plate.

“I refuse to believe I can’t crack this thing,” he muttered.

When the brush didn’t work, Xu Fan crafted a treasure-level brush and went at the plate with renewed vigor.

Half an hour later, the plate had only a little less rust. Frustrated, Xu Fan tossed the artifact brush to the ground.

“I’m not giving up.”

This time, he refined the plate while scrubbing it with the artifact brush.