Chapter 36: Master of Emotional Management
Chapter 36: Master of Emotional Management
When Li Si saw that small mushroom with its purple body, golden edges, and faintly shifting patterns, his expression became very strange. As a mushroom expert, he recognized at a glance that this was a new variety he had not yet encountered.
Moreover, since it had not been harvested by him daily, this type of mushroom had grown in astonishing quantity. The moment it was triggered by Xu Shen’s negative emotions, it mutated.
As a professional mushroom knight, Li Si could even foresee all the mutation patterns of this purple little mushroom in the next five seconds…
But the current situation gave him no chance to react. According to his persona as the future top expert of the Floating Cloud Sect, he should not have encountered this kind of thing yet.
He did not want to disappoint Old Madam…
Nor did he want to outshine Senior Brother Ji Chang and Senior Sister Jiang Ying, because, after all, he was a humble person.
So he turned and looked toward Ji Chang, only to see that guy press a Heart-Calming Talisman directly onto his own forehead, sit cross-legged, close his eyes, introspect, and do nothing further. That whole series of actions was absolutely perfect!
Was that even allowed? He hadn’t read enough books!
Li Si was shocked. He quickly turned to look at Senior Sister Jiang Ying. Senior Sister Jiang, however, was very responsible. After taking several steps back, she quickly pulled out one Heart-Calming Talisman and two Evil-Warding Talismans, throwing them at Xu Shen. In theory, this was a very effective, textbook-standard routine approach. Unfortunately, this was not the most common Blissful Mushroom, but an unknown new variety—an incomplete form of the Seven Emotions Mushroom.
So those three talisman papers turned into gray ashes before they even got within one meter of Xu Shen. They were completely outmatched.
Seeing this, Senior Sister Jiang turned pale with fright. She immediately rushed into the stone house, shielding the few little ones who were curiously looking over, while urgently whispering, “Master, what should we do?”
Li Si was also shouting inwardly, Old Madam, please take action! Today’s the day for you to show your power in front of everyone. If I miss harvesting one purple little mushroom tomorrow, I won’t go by the name Li—I’ll change it to Mu Zi Si!
But Old Madam seemed to be in an uncontrollable state—as if the signal was bad, she couldn’t hear what was being said, she was too busy, she wasn’t on the scene, or she didn’t know who she was. She just slightly narrowed her eyes, appearing both close and yet very distant…
So Li Si understood. He had no choice but to understand!
Because in just three seconds, the purple little mushroom on Xu Shen’s head had already shown three changes. The incomplete form of the Seven Emotions Mushroom was evolving!
If Li Si hadn’t already cleared out all the Joyous Mushrooms, Sorrowful Mushrooms, Anger Mushrooms, Longing Mushrooms, and Terror Mushrooms in this area this morning, it wouldn’t have taken three seconds.
In just an instant, this Seven Emotions Mushroom would evolve into its complete form!
That meant Old Madam’s tribulation would automatically arrive.
In the blink of an eye, Li Si dashed forward. But as soon as he reached Xu Shen, he felt trapped by a thick, almost tangible layer of negative emotions. These emotions were complex—there was guilt, shame, grievance, exhaustion, confusion, cowardice, fear, as well as the rage of embarrassment and the destructive urge of one who, in anger, decides to smash the pot since it’s already cracked…
Honestly, Li Si immediately understood: our Senior Brother Xu was truly the master of emotional management.
Li Si had thought his understanding of emotions had reached the third level, but who knew Xu Shen’s emotional richness was at least on the twelfth level!
It was precisely this rich, intricate burst of emotions that attracted this special variety of little mushroom.
In comparison, the Joyous Mushrooms, Sorrowful Mushrooms, Anger Mushrooms, Longing Mushrooms, and Terror Mushrooms Li Si had drawn before were too crude. No wonder there was one that slipped through the net.
He was wrong!
He had thought the Seven Emotions Mushrooms only encompassed seven emotions. He hadn’t known emotions could have variants, nor that emotional changes could be broken down into such delicate degrees. Just negative emotions alone had over a dozen variations!
In that moment, a flash of enlightenment shone in Li Si’s eyes. At the same time, his Steadfast Mountain Seal shattered, but it also exempted him from the control of these intense negative emotions. Even though the control would still come, it was delayed by 0.1 seconds.
But that was enough for him.
With a lightning-fast move, Li Si forcefully plucked the purple-gold little mushroom from Xu Shen’s head!
At the same time, an Evil-Warding Aura exploded on Xu Shen’s forehead. As waves of demon-dispelling lightning raged, Li Si quickly cast a Heart Cleansing Curse and a Calamity-Dispelling Curse on Xu Shen.
There was no time to hold back. If he didn’t go all out, Xu Shen’s negative emotions would completely explode, and he would fall and become a demon!
Yes, the purple little mushroom was only the trigger. If it were someone naturally optimistic, even if targeted by the incomplete form of the Seven Emotions Mushroom, there would still be room for rescue. But Xu Shen’s negative emotions had probably been accumulating in his heart for who knows how many years. Once ignited, he would definitely become a brand-new Fallen Demon!
Although Li Si looked down on Xu Shen, the Floating Cloud Sect only had these few small fries left. If they all died, what would become of the Four Heroes of Floating Cloud?
And now, with his actions, Xu Shen had broken free from the abyss of negative emotions. For Xu Shen, this was a calamity, but also an opportunity.
Because when negative emotions strike, not a single emotion is innocent. All past joys, sorrows, and even beautiful memories could become bricks that crush you under the weight of negativity.
Because of love, there is sadness.
Because of hatred, there is pain.
Because of anger, there is helplessness.
And then comes collapse!
At such times, either great love is needed to redeem, or… there must be a junior brother named Li Si…
Now, all of Xu Shen’s negative emotions had been transferred to Li Si. Li Si carefully experienced them, watching the purple little mushroom pulsing on his own head, as if savoring a feast of negative emotions.
Really, it was amazing!
He recognized every type of emotion, but the flavor was completely different.
It was like the same home-cooked dish made by an ordinary person versus a five-star chef—the gap could be as big as a mountain.
Look, guilt could be expressed in such a way.
Oh, there were several types of shame? The shame of social death, the shame of a guilty conscience, the shame of betrayal…
Ouch, there was grievance too—the grievance of unfair treatment, the grievance of being misunderstood, the grievance of failing no matter how hard you try…
So tired!
Wait, damn, mental exhaustion is an emotion too?
Confusion—the confusion of not seeing hope, the confusion of not finding a home, the confusion of losing a backbone, the confusion of being betrayed by the master?
The more he experienced, the more Li Si savored the thrill. But the constantly updating notifications pulled him back from this extreme experience. Okay, he almost forgot the main task!
In fact, only three seconds had passed since he plucked that purple little mushroom from Xu Shen’s head.
Xu Shen stumbled and fell to the ground. Frightened, Ji Chang stopped his introspection and flipped into the stone house. With a bang, a spare wooden door blocked the entrance, and two Demon Sealing Talismans were slapped on it…
It wasn’t that he was heartless, but at this stage, Xu Shen was highly likely to have fallen into a Demon Man, and Old Madam’s tribulation had probably arrived too. Everyone, don’t hesitate—let’s split the luggage! We Four Heroes of Floating Cloud, see you in the next life~
Faced with such a “godly” assist, Li Si naturally wouldn’t miss the chance. First, he cast a Heart Cleansing Curse on himself to dispel the negative emotions, then followed with three Evil-Warding Curses. The purple little mushroom, which had already grown five sprouts, was directly turned to gray ashes. Well, time to clean up the battlefield…
“Alienation Contamination Degree +10%!”
“Because your Bloodline and Bone Evolution Progress broke through 30%, 8% was resolved.”
“Because of your Heart Cleansing Curse, 1% was resolved.”
“Slayed special evil entity—incomplete Dark Mushroom5, obtained 50 portions of Black Fate Fuel, obtained Dark Mushroom Remnant Husk3.”
Looking at the information that appeared, Li Si felt extremely satisfied inside, but he also pretended to be weak and collapsed on the ground. Joking—if he were still full of energy now, wouldn’t that be a confession?
But as soon as he lay down, he saw Xu Shen get up, pale-faced, and give him a cold laugh.
“Stop pretending. Get up. I’m not some monster. I know you saved my life. It’s just that I’ve been cautious and calculating all my life, but in the end, it was a kid like you who saved me.”
“What do you mean? You’re still not convinced?”
Li Si stood up. This guy’s attitude made him very unhappy.
“I’ve just figured out a lot of things. I understand why Master was so thoroughly disappointed in us, and I see how insignificant my past actions were.”
“You probably can’t understand this feeling of dying and then coming back to life.”
“Many things you once cared about, that you nitpicked over, suddenly vanish like a dark cloud clearing away. What remains in your heart now is what you truly care about.”
Xu Shen spoke to himself, not even looking at Ji Chang’s wary eyes behind the wooden door. He just put his hands behind his back and walked into the distance. That calm, show-off attitude really made people want to punch him!
“Junior Brother Li, do you want to learn Formation Array?”
“Of course!”
Li Si immediately beamed and followed.