Su Wen headed to the farms. First, he took care of all the chores like watering, checking the soil, trimming the plants, the usual stuff. Once everything was in order, he picked the ingredients he needed and made his way to the Herb Garden.
Just like before, he handled all the small, menial tasks the garden required. Only after finishing did he start gathering the herbs he needed. He didn't pluck the Spirit Vine leaf this time because they both already had tea in the morning. On top of that, Du Yue had also taken one pill in the morning, and the second one, which she will take after lunch, is still with her.
Su Wen cooked lunch for everyone and set the dishes on the table. As he sat down, he noticed something weird… his grandparents and the Little Sparrow were unusually quiet… and all three of them were wearing the same creepy wide grin.
He narrowed his eyes.
He reached over and pinched Little Sparrow's nose, "You little bird, why aren't you bouncing around today?"
She let out a tiny evil laugh, "-Chirp hehe. Nothing~ I was just enjoying the morning. It was so romantic, hehe… -chirp."
After saying that, she burst into giggles and immediately started stuffing her beak with food.
Du Yue's face turned pink, and Su Wen instantly understood what the three troublemakers were thinking. He served food to his grandparents, then walked over to his grandma, kissed her cheek, and said righteously,
"How could it be romantic when I didn't even see my love this morning? My lovely lady doesn't care about me anymore."
Grandma looked at him, put her hands on either side of his cheeks, and smirked, "Is that so? How will my handsome man see his 'old' love when he's already got someone new, and she's already started caring for him?" Grandma glanced at Du Yue and smiled lightly.
Su Wen's eye twitched. 'Grandma just says whatever she has in her mind,' he thought to himself, failing to notice the expression of the girl sitting next to him.
He said righteously, "What are you saying, my lady? You are the only one I have in my heart."
Grandma was about to reply, but Su Wen immediately put a spoonful of curry in her mouth.
Grandpa saw his chance and cleared his throat dramatically and lifted his cup like a poet about to recite a sacred verse. "let this old man educate you with poetry!"
Su Wen instantly felt danger.
"Grandpa, no..."
But the old man began anyway, voice loud, proud, and smug:
"Morning sun meets gentle snow, two hearts beat but neither shows.
Boy swings sword, girl quietly glows… and both pretend nobody knows!"
He finished with a satisfied "hmph," nodding like he had just delivered the greatest masterpiece of the century.
Little Sparrow clapped her wings frantically.
"Chirp! Grandpa, more! More!"
Du Yue stared straight down at her bowl, eating in tiny, embarrassed bites. She didn't dare look up again… not at Su Wen, not at Grandma, and definitely… not at Grandpa.
Su Wen wished a hole would open in the floor.
But seeing the genuine happiness in their faces, he didn't say much. He just gave a fake snort, sat down in his chair, and started eating with a smile on his face.
Then, as if remembering something, his mood fell again, though he didn't show it. He muttered inwardly: 'I've tried my best for a long time, but I think this is their limit. No matter the ingredients, mortals are still mortals after all... The only thing I can do is make them as happy as I can.'
They bickered back and forth until they finally finished eating.
Du Yue felt the medicinal energy flood her body and quickly guided it toward her injuries. Since the injuries weren't caused by the Heavenly Tribulation and weren't deep, they healed quickly, disappearing within an hour. She now looked rosier and the aura of a cultivator was clearly returning to her.
Su Wen then instructed her to take the second pill, which was concocted using the Spirit Vine herb, and circulate its properties through her recently healed meridians.
She nodded, took the pill as told, and began refining the medicine in her meridians.
Su Wen considered going to practice but decided against it, wanting to spend more time with his grandparents instead. Su Wen and Grandpa started playing chess, but they didn't stop bickering.
Sparrow and Grandma sat nearby, occasionally chiming in or teasing one of them, adding to the lively chaos of the afternoon.
In a dark underground room of a sprawling mansion in Moon City, a young man sat cross-legged on his bed, completely naked. Behind him lay five young girls, also naked, their eyes lifeless and empty.
"That bastard, Du Yufeng," Lu Tang muttered to himself. "I gave him four men, all Final-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. Including him, that made five people, and she's just one girl! I even gave him the Clearveil Toxin to disrupt the Spiritual Qi in her body, but they all died, and that bastard somehow managed to survive."
"I never thought she would go as far as to invite the Heavenly Tribulation... Damn it."
The young man was Lu Tang, son of the city lord of Moon City, and fury burned in his eyes.
"Not only did she become a cripple, but she also managed to run away! It's been more than a week, and no one has found even a trace of her... She has the precious Pure Yin Immortal Body physique, which can be used as a Pure Yin Furnace… perfect for Dual Cultivation.
Even the bastards from the Dark Pleasure Sect would fight for that!" His devil-like eyes were completely red with anger. "If I had known earlier about her physique, I would have sent all the forces of the city just to capture her, but that bastard, Du Yufeng, didn't tell me earlier."
The young man took a deep breath to calm himself and took out a jade token.
"Raise the reward for her whereabouts to 200 mid-grade spirit stones. And you, worthless trash…," he snarled, eyes blazing with fury, "make sure your daughter ends up in my hands, no matter what. Fail me, and I will show you the darkest depths of hell…"
He thought, 'Even if she is a cripple, if I can at least devour her Primordial Yin, it would boost my cultivation a lot.' The young man looked at the young girls behind him and licked his lips. 'This Yin Devouring Art cultivation technique sure is amazing and cruel. No wonder they are called the Dark Pleasure Sect.'
Somewhere else in a room, a middle-aged man with a short black beard and a pale, worn face sat cross-legged. His eyes suddenly landed on a message on the jade token, and his brow furrowed.
This was Du Yue's father, Du Yufeng, his face and arms marked with deep sword scars. Rage and frustration twisted his features. "That bitch! he thought. If I'd known about her physique sooner, I would have been far more careful. Not only did she master Grade 2 Sword and Snow Intent, she also possessed overwhelming combat power. Even with the poison, she killed four of us and managed to escape under the cover of Heavenly Tribulation…
He ground his teeth, the weight of regret heavy on him. "After she escaped, I was the one who told that trash Young Master Lu about her physique… but I never imagined he knew its true value, or that he'd raise the reward this high."
Regret quickly gave way to greed. His eyes darkened with determination.
"She's crippled and practically useless now.. but 200 mid-grade spirit stones is nothing to scoff at. I have to hurry, now that everyone knows about her physique, there may be trouble… I must put every ounce of effort into finding her before anyone else does."