Mu Qingying thought she must have seen wrong. Ye Tong staying quiet she could understand—after all, Ye Yu was joking.
But nodding? That was a bit much.
"Ye Yu! Looking for a spanking? How dare you joke about your teacher."
Xu Mu could hear the mockery in Ye Yu's tone.
He then said to Mu Qingying, "If the Xu family really runs into trouble someday, I'll come to you. For now, don't borrow worries that aren't here."
Mu Qingying dabbed at her eyes with her sleeve and nodded lightly.
"If there's nothing else, I'll head back first," she said, rising.
"Miss Mu, it's late—why not stay for dinner?" Ye Tong invited with a smile.
"No need, I won't impose."
"Don't go. Just in time to try my cooking," Xu Mu stood up.
Mu Qingying was stunned. "Xu Mu, you can cook?"
"Of course. If Miss Mu hadn't come, we wouldn't be getting Brother-in-law's good food tonight," Ye Yu said, rolling her eyes at Xu Mu.
Xu Mu gave Ye Yu a helpless look.
What's with this girl—feeling sour seeing me and Mu Qingying like this?
"Don't listen to her nonsense," Xu Mu said, then headed to the kitchen to get busy.
Listening to the rhythm of chopping, Mu Qingying felt her heart ripple. Just by the sound, she could tell he wasn't ordinary.
Before long, Xu Mu had Ye Yu carry the dishes out.
The delicious spread before her was mouthwatering even to look at: honey-glazed char siu, sweet-and-sour carp, oil-braised prawns, mushrooms with greens, and a bowl of West Lake beef soup.
"Just some home-style dishes—please, help yourself," Xu Mu said calmly as he sat.
The four sat around the table. Mu Qingying took a bite of char siu—divine flavor bloomed the instant it entered her mouth.
"Delicious! So, so good!"
She'd been to plenty of fancy restaurants, but never had char siu this good.
[Favorability +20]
She'd thought Xu Mu could only handle simple fare; now it seemed he outclassed many Master Grade chefs.
"If the Xu family ever really falls on hard times, we'll just have Brother-in-law be a chef and feed us," Ye Yu snickered at Xu Mu.
Mu Qingying secretly nodded. She tried the other dishes—every single one was superb.
…
After the meal, the family walked Mu Qingying to the door and returned inside.
Ye Tong went to tidy up in the kitchen; Ye Yu and Xu Mu sat on the sofa.
"Brother-in-law, see how good I am to you? I'll try to find you another wife," Ye Yu nudged him with her elbow.
"Getting a little full of yourself, huh? Always taking digs at me?"
Xu Mu hooked an arm around her neck with one hand and tickled her waist with the other.
"Ah—haha! Stop! Brother-in-law, I was wrong!"
Ye Yu wriggled and squirmed, overwhelmed with laughter.
But how could she be a match for Xu Mu?
She struggled and struggled until she went limp and flopped about right on Xu Mu's lap.
Suddenly, both of them froze.
Ye Yu, now sitting on his thighs, had—quite accidentally—ended up brushing a very sensitive spot with him.
Whoosh!
Her cute face turned scarlet. "I—I'm going to bed!" she squeaked, and bolted upstairs.
Xu Mu felt awkward too. He'd only meant to tease her a bit—he hadn't expected it to turn into that.
"What happened? Why did Xiao Yu run upstairs?" Ye Tong came out of the kitchen, smiling.
"She's scared of me," Xu Mu said, stepping forward to take Ye Tong's hand. "Let's go to bed."
Ye Tong lowered her head, shy. At times like this, she always felt like finding someone to help share the load.
That night—
Xu Mu and Ye Tong held an in-depth yet easy-to-follow "discussion" on current international affairs.
Both seemed very interested in the topic, and in the end, they couldn't stop "exchanging views."
…
Xu Mu checked his Fate Points and found he could do two more sets of ten-draws in a row.
He tapped the wheel to start the draw—he wasn't sleepy anyway.
As the wheel spun, the rewards popped up:
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining 20 Cultivation Points]
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining the title: Junior Alchemist]
Whoa!
Xu Mu sat up straight. Alchemy, of all things.
This ability was also mentioned in the original plot—the Dragon King only mastered it much later.
For Xu Mu, this was a powerful trump card.
He already had Pharmaceutical Mastery, so he could analyze pills—but even knowing how to make them, he'd lacked the means.
In other words, his brain and eyes "got it," but his hands couldn't execute.
Until now, he'd been making "pills" by steaming and boiling—losing a lot of medicinal potency.
But with alchemy, it was different—he could draw out the maximum effect from heavenly materials and earthly treasures.
This time he'd only gotten Junior Alchemy; presumably higher tiers lay ahead.
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining a 4th-grade heavenly material: Black Vine]
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining a 3rd-grade Heavenly Materials Gift Box]
"What's going on?"
He frowned. The 4th-grade came alone, but the 3rd-grade arrived as a gift box.
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining a 3rd-grade Heavenly Materials Gift Box]
Another one?
If he remembered right, this was his first time pulling two of the same item back-to-back.
At least with techniques and manuals, there had been differences.
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining 20 Attribute Points]
…
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining a 2nd-grade Heavenly Materials Gift Box]
…
When the ten-draw ended, Xu Mu couldn't help sighing. Maybe because of the alchemist title, there were so many heavenly materials this time.
Across eleven pulls, the guaranteed Cultivation Points totaled only 70, and Attribute Points just 50.
He checked the Junior Alchemist memories—knowledge streamed into his mind.
He'd already mastered the basics of refining several introductory pills.
Opening his storage space, he found several wash-basin-sized gift boxes inside.
He took them out—each packed with different heavenly materials and earthly treasures.
He peeked into the 2nd- and 3rd-grade boxes; most items replenished one's inner strength.
A smile crept across his face as two pill names surfaced in his mind:
Marrow-Cleansing Pill and Qi-Gathering Pill.
At last, without using Fate Power, he could raise the people around him into the ranks of ancient martial artists.
He packed everything away and started another ten-draw.
The wheel spun; more rewards appeared:
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining 30 Cultivation Points]
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining 10 Attribute Points]
…
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining a 3rd-grade Heavenly Materials Gift Box]
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining a 2nd-grade Heavenly Materials Gift Box]
Come on! It never ends!
Today he and heavenly materials were clearly fated.
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining 20 Cultivation Points]
…
When the draws finished, Xu Mu shook his head slightly. With this many treasures, besides his family, he ought to empower some others—otherwise it'd be a waste.
He already had candidates in mind.
Across the two ten-draws, he'd gained 180 Cultivation Points and 120 Attribute Points, which he allocated to himself.
After everything, he pulled up his status panel:
Name: Xu Mu
Role: Villain's Sacred Body; HR Manager, Xu Group
Realm:Gangqi, Late Stage
Physique: 570
Spirit: 570
Cultivation Points: 360 (max 400)
Fate Power: 177
Xu Mu nodded to himself. Time for a good sleep—tomorrow he had work to do.
He would start raising the people around him.