Spiritual Energy Revival (7): 

Knowing that Zhou Qinghao wasn’t injured, Gu Juntian felt relieved.

But Zhou Qinghao had just finished dealing with a powerful ghost and rushed back right away, so he must be tired. Gu Juntian told him to hurry back and rest.

“Godfather, I’m not tired,” Zhou Qinghao said. “I brought some specialties from Shennongjia for you. Please accept them.”

After speaking, Zhou Qinghao wanted to hand over the rare treasures of heaven and earth he had brought back.

Only then did Gu Juntian notice them. “Qinghao, I’ve already told you, these things are useless to me. You should keep them for yourself.”

“They’re useless to me too,” Zhou Qinghao replied, glancing at Doctor Liu as he spoke.

Doctor Liu immediately said, “Director, how’s your health? Do you need a checkup?”

Gu Juntian refused. “No need, I’m fine.”

He had no intention of being examined. Over the past two years, the original body’s owner had toyed with all kinds of demonic cultivation methods. If Doctor Liu were to examine him now, he might discover problems with this body.

It would be better to let him repair the body first, then have Doctor Liu check him later.

Still, seeing Zhou Qinghao bring back so many treasures of heaven and earth, he instantly realized Zhou Qinghao was worried about him.

Zhou Qinghao truly was a good child. The original owner had treated him terribly, yet he still worked tirelessly, even braving Shennongjia to find treasures for him.

Thinking of this, Gu Juntian said to Zhou Qinghao, “Qinghao, I said these treasures are useless to me because I’ve already found a way to repair my body. I don’t need these things anymore.”

“Is that true?” Zhou Qinghao looked at him.

“Of course it’s true. When have I ever lied to you?”

Zhou Qinghao said nothing.

His godfather had lied to him more than once.

But he still wanted to believe him.

Gu Juntian urged him to go rest, and in the end, Zhou Qinghao agreed.

He had been running around nonstop. Though uninjured, his spiritual power was drained and he needed meditation to recover.

The two walked back to the dormitory together. On the way, Gu Juntian again told Zhou Qinghao to keep the treasures for himself.

Zhou Qinghao refused. “If you don’t need them, then put them in the storage vault. I absorb spiritual power quickly, I don’t need to consume them.”

That made sense. Zhou Qinghao’s absorption rate was so fast that he didn’t need to rely on spiritual herbs at all.

Gu Juntian agreed. After some thought, he placed both the treasures Zhou Qinghao had just brought back and those the original owner had taken but not yet used, back into the Bureau’s vault.

The original owner had nearly emptied the vault of good items—it was only right to return some.

After finishing, Gu Juntian logged everything in the vault ledger.

Even when the original owner took from the vault, he had to leave a record. He couldn’t just take things without reason.

But as the Bureau Director, he had certain authority to use such resources.

Moreover, many of these treasures had been brought back by Zhou Qinghao, so he had the right to use them. In fact, the original owner often took them under Zhou Qinghao’s name.

That way, the accounts were in order and didn’t require falsification.

Returning treasures was simple. But the harmful forbidden items the original owner had smuggled out were much harder to put back.

Gu Juntian had been here several days and still hadn’t found the chance to return the contraband stored in the original owner’s room.

Those items had originally been kept in the Bureau’s “High-Risk” warehouse, guarded and restricted. Few people had permission to enter.

The original owner had always tricked the guards into leaving before sneaking in. But now, the current guard was harder to fool.

Forget it. In the original story, the original owner’s actions had never been exposed. If he returned the items a few days later, it would still be fine.

Even if he didn’t return them, it wasn’t a big deal.

As long as he hadn’t used them to harm people, the Bureau wouldn’t punish its own director.

The original owner still had many loyal followers in the Bureau. Especially the veterans who had joined seven years ago, who respected him greatly.

As long as he didn’t commit atrocities, his position as Director was secure.

Gu Juntian returned to his room and continued cultivating.

The process of refining his body with spiritual power was painfully slow. It might take years to fully repair it.

Until then, he would have to keep living with this old face.

At the thought, Gu Juntian let out a long sigh.

Meanwhile, Zhou Qinghao was meditating to restore his spiritual power.

But he couldn’t calm his mind. After a while, he gave up, lay down on the bed—

—and the moment he did, his head filled with his godfather’s face.

Zhou Qinghao’s heart grew uneasy.

He hadn’t expected the forbidden feelings he once had for his godfather to resurface.

He had been twelve when his godfather rescued him and brought him to the Bureau. Back then, he was still young, innocent, simply fond of Gu Juntian without thinking too deeply. Urged on by others, he had started calling him godfather.

But three years later, at fifteen, he suddenly realized he harbored improper thoughts about his godfather.

He liked him.

Yet before he could sort out his feelings, his godfather was gravely injured, began aging rapidly, and treated him more coldly.

In the years since, he had been busy with missions, rarely spending time together.

Naturally, he buried those feelings, planning to treat Gu Juntian only as a father figure for the rest of his life.

As time passed, he forgot those stirrings, even believing he had simply been too young, confusing his affection for something else.

But now, he realized he hadn’t been mistaken.

Back then, he liked Gu Juntian. And now…

Since Gu Juntian had been treating him a little better recently, his feelings had rekindled.

Zhou Qinghao didn’t know why he liked him.

Gu Juntian was much older. Outwardly, he was just an old man now.

Yet even so, Zhou Qinghao still wanted to kiss him, still couldn’t bear the thought of him dying.

Was there any way to save him?

Zhou Qinghao knew Gu Juntian liked women, that before his injury he had even planned to marry and have children.

He knew his feelings would never be returned.

But he still wanted to save him.

Taking a deep breath, Zhou Qinghao got up late at night and went to the Bureau’s vault that stored demonic cultivation techniques.

Ordinary staff couldn’t enter there, but he could.

He entered and began flipping through the manuals.

Most of them were ones he himself had brought back. He was already familiar with them.

But none offered a way to preserve Gu Juntian’s life.

The only possible method was to let him become a ghost after death and then sign a contract with his spirit.

But to live on like that, bound and driven by him—his godfather would never agree.

As he flipped through, Zhou Qinghao stopped before one manual.

It was a dual cultivation technique devised by a demonic cultivator, stealing the partner’s power through intimacy.

He had the Heavenly Spirit Body, making him not only a prime target for demons but also the best possible partner for dual cultivation.

If he and Gu Juntian practiced it together, could his godfather’s body recover?

Even if it didn’t restore him fully, just halting the decline would be worth it.

Various thoughts flashed through his mind, but in the end, he memorized the manual and left.

As soon as he exited, he ran into the guard of the neighboring high-risk warehouse.

The man was a Bureau veteran who, after being injured, was no longer fit for fieldwork and was assigned to gatekeeping.

Seeing him, the man said, “Captain Zhou, why are you also coming to read techniques at midnight?”

Hearing this, Zhou Qinghao felt something was wrong. “Who else has come here at night?”

“I’ve seen the Director come,” the man said. “Not just at night, he comes during the day too. He said he wanted to study them, improve cultivation methods.”

So it was his godfather.

Zhou Qinghao understood that his godfather must have been searching for a way to heal himself.

Seeking longevity through demonic techniques was something righteous cultivators shouldn’t do.

But since even he couldn’t resist coming here, it was no surprise his godfather did too.

Zhou Qinghao didn’t find it wrong—if anything, he only felt distressed for him.

He soon left.

After he departed, a flash of resentment appeared in the guard’s eyes.

Zhou Qinghao didn’t take his godfather’s visits seriously.

In his eyes, those who forbid others from doing things while committing sins themselves were the real hypocrites.