Her Cultivation Diary
Chapter 634 - Chapter 634 634. Hidden away_1

Chapter 634: 634. Hidden away_1 Chapter 634: 634. Hidden away_1 On the hills of the outskirts of Imperial City.

The guard who had just tidied up and was preparing to change shifts checked the time — there were still ten minutes before his shift ended. Just enough time to catch up on an update.

However, upon opening the APP, he realized that the three books he had been following didn’t show any updates… Could there be a connectivity issue?

His heart filled with unease, he subconsciously clicked into them, and then became desperate upon discovering: these three books truly hadn’t updated!

— How could this be?!!

Today wasn’t a holiday, nor was there any special event. These authors didn’t even post a leave notice and just directly ditched? Is this logical? They don’t even have their readers in mind at all!

Scrolling through the comments section, as expected, was a chorus of complaints and cursing:

[Scoundrels! You ditch, but don’t even take the time to ask for leave.]

[@SoAndSo, you’ve always updated daily without fail, why is there no movement today?]

[I knew it, once Qing Yun sold the rights, they’d become lazy.]

How infuriating!

The saddened reader cursed each book in turn, then begrudgingly went to change shifts.

But just as he exited the APP, all three books published new chapters at the same time:

“Sorry, I was drunk yesterday”

…

At this inconspicuous guard post, the guard stood erect and solemn, but his soul had yet to recover from his emotions when he saw the familiar delivery guy drive up again, swiftly carrying several parcels down.

Once the young guard checked them one by one, his heart couldn’t help but skip a beat.

It was none other than one of the parcels addressed to Old Master Zhu, dispatched from Yun City, Qingxi Town.

Lucky break!

He swiftly cast his gaze into the neighborhood and, sure enough, saw Xiaodu’s familiar face rushing over, calling out from a distance:

“Do you have a parcel for our Old Master? He’s been keeping an eye out for it since early morning, saw it was signed for.”

What it was for went without saying.

Sure enough, as soon as Xiaodu rummaged through the parcels and saw the one from Qingxi Town, Yun City, he snatched it up without a word and bolted away.

Watching his retreating figure, the guard quickly dialed numbers one after another:

“Old Master Zhou, there’s another parcel from Qingxi Town today…”

…

Old Zhu had now learned to be patient.

After all, harsh lessons had taught him, with his old age and slow feet, if he were intercepted along the way, a scuffle would inevitably result in goods missing or damaged.

Better to rely on Xiaodu; he’d just wait at home.

But waiting wasn’t reassuring — because if those old geezers got the news early and shamelessly blocked the way, Xiaodu wouldn’t dare to confront them head-on!

At this moment, he paced back and forth in the yard, full of anxiety.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before Xiaodu came running in, gasping for breath, and then, standing up straight, he handed the parcel box into Old Zhu’s trembling hands.

The next moment, the old and the young exchanged glances and quickly entered the house–

“Snap!” The door was shut and locked smoothly.

Old Zhu expertly opened the box, to find twenty spice packets wrapped inside, with a mineral water bottle wrapped in the center.

Although the packaging was shoddy, he didn’t mind in the slightest, his eyes fixed on the clear liquid inside. He gave it a slight shake, thought of a possibility, and his heart instantly trembled with excitement!

Could it be…

Without saying another word, he unscrewed the cap.

In a flash, a strong fragrance filled the air, agitating the worm in his stomach that had longed for alcohol to roll over and over, prompting every cell in his body to say:

[Just take a sip first.]

There was no one else in the room. Under Xiaodu’s burning gaze, Old Zhu, feeling guilty, said:

“I’ll just taste a tiny bit. Don’t tell the doctor. What do they know anyway?”

Without waiting for Xiaodu to retort, he swiftly took his own little liquor cup from the cupboard and carefully poured himself more than half a cup.

How could an old alcoholic resist the rich aroma of the wine?

At that moment, holding the cup, he suppressed his eagerness and finally took a small sip.

“Good stuff!”

With one sip, it felt as if his heart and liver both quivered, that cold and rich tantalization…

“Zing,” Old Zhu’s eyes lit up!

He hurriedly put down his cup and tightened the cap on the mineral water bottle, then started pacing around the room:

“Xiaodu! Quick, quick, quick, find somewhere nobody can find it and hide it.”

Xiaodu paused for a moment before picking up the bottle of liquor and going into the back room.

It wasn’t long before he came back, which made Old Zhu startled and cautious: “Where did you hide it? You’re not planning to keep it from me forever, are you?”

Xiaodu smiled: “Old sir, the doctor said, you really shouldn’t drink. Your family has also warned you over and over…”

“I don’t believe it!” Old Zhu shouted loudly. “I’ve never heard the doctor say that!”

However, just as his voice faded, he heard the familiar noise coming from the yard again.

His heart skipped a beat, thinking about his precious tobacco. Without another word, he downed the rest of the wine in his cup, then quickly instructed:

“Hurry, clean it and put it away. I’ll go open the door.”

These old coots, nowadays they cling like burrs, you can’t stop them; better to open the door early and seem casual, as if just accepting some seasoning packets, no guilt at all.

Alas, his granddaughter was considerate, sending twenty seasoning packets, obviously a diversion. Afraid someone would snatch his liquor, she used it to distract the others…

What a good granddaughter!

His mind wandered with these thoughts, his hands busy, and by the time he opened the door, sure enough, it was that same gang of robbers.

The leader, Old Master Zhou, smiled warmly: “Old Zhu, we’ve been brothers for so many years, you don’t need to make me say it, do you?”

Old Zhu hummed in feigned agreement: “The moment there’s something to grab, you all run faster than rabbits–what, the stuff my granddaughter sent as a gift? Can’t I keep it all to myself for once?”

While speaking, he huffily brought the delivery box over, revealing the twenty simply wrapped seasoning packets inside.

“For making tea eggs. Everyone gets two; a pot of these will last several meals in the fridge.”

The others glanced at him with an odd expression, then quietly pocketed their seasoning packets.

By the time there were only two packets left in the box, Old Zhu, though in pain, heaved a huge sigh of relief.

But the next moment, he saw Old Master Zhou in front of him smiling like a fox:

“Old Zhu, next time you want to deceive someone, go rinse your mouth first. You reek of alcohol!”

“And the scent of liquor in this room, I can’t even pretend if I wanted to–where’s Xiaodu? Xiaodu, come on, tell us where he hid the liquor!”

Old Zhu’s vision went dark.

His granddaughter had only sent one bottle this time, and with their drinking capacity, how many sips would a single bottle last?

Therefore, Old Zhu refused to give in under duress, guarding his secret so staunchly that, after much hassle, everyone else could only walk away disgruntled.

And when they had left, Old Zhu gave Xiaodu a firm pat on the shoulder:

“Well done! I knew they weren’t being honest. While some distracted me here, others must have been planning to play robbers…”

“Alright, alright, they’re gone. Hurry up and get the wine down for me, I need to put it in a better bottle.”

However, as the words fell, he saw no movement from Xiaodu in front of him. Looking at him suspiciously, Old Zhu saw a trace of apology on the young man’s simple face:

“Old sir, the doctor really did say you shouldn’t drink. So I actually hid it… Maybe you should look for it yourself?”

Old Zhu: …