I long to return home!

"That's about it. After that, I became the head chef of Ruyi Restaurant. I was planning to go back early, but I forgot about cooking..." Xue Wu scratched his head awkwardly.

"You fell into the Red Water and weren't completely devoured, yet you discovered a spiritual vein, and you even broke through to the fourteenth level of Qi Refining?!" Su Yifeng stared at Xue Wu in disbelief, still chewing on his food.

Discovering a spiritual vein is already a momentous event, but compared to the fourteenth level of Qi Refining, it is still slightly inferior. Although there are people in the world who have reached the fourteenth level of Qi Refining, those are all recorded as people who ascended to godhood.

Once you reach the fourteenth level of Qi Refining, your foundation in Qi Refining will be incomparable to that of ordinary Qi Refining cultivators, and it will play a crucial role in your future Foundation Establishment.

"Even those at the Golden Core stage would have a hard time surviving if they didn't fight with all their might in the Chishui River, yet you actually survived?" Mo Yuchen said as he picked up a chicken leg from the stewed chicken soup.

"Old Mo, put the chicken leg down!" Su Yifeng said, snatching the chicken leg with his chopsticks and stuffing it into his mouth.

"You!" Mo Yuchen glared at him, then picked up a piece of beef and started eating.

Su Yifeng asked with a grin, "Little Xue, where is that spiritual vein?"

Xue Wu was about to speak when Lin Mubai stopped him, saying irritably, "Why should my disciple tell you the location of the spiritual vein? If you want to find it, go find it yourself."

"You're so stingy, but Xiao Xue, your cooking is really delicious."

"It's alright, just something I made casually," Xue Wu replied modestly, feeling very satisfied.

Jin Lingjiao and Xu Tao felt they couldn't get a word in edgewise, so they started eating on their own. Soon, with everyone's efforts, the table full of delicious food was devoured, and the plates were as clean as if a dog had chewed them up.

"I think we've eaten enough, and we should head back. By the way, Wu'er, the Hundred Weapons Valley will open in a few days. You need to rest well these next few days and find a suitable weapon in the valley so you can save your life in the future." After instructing Xue Wu, Lin Mubai took out ten taels of silver from his storage bag and placed it on the table.

"You're too kind, Taoist priest. Xiao Xue has built up half of our business, so this meal is on you. There's no need for you to spend any more money," Manager Yu hurriedly said.

"Manager Yu, this is the recipe I wrote. I knew I would leave sooner or later, so I wrote it down a long time ago. I wrote down the proportions of ingredients and cooking time clearly. I believe the chefs can all make it." To avoid an awkward situation, Xue Wu took out the Xue Family Recipe, which he had written in advance, from his storage bag and handed it to Manager Yu.

Manager Yu didn't refuse and was as happy as a child. He had originally worried that business would plummet after Xue Wu left, but now those worries were unnecessary. He respectfully saw Xue Wu and the others off.

When Xue Wu returned to his room, it was already evening. After exchanging a few words with Lin Mubai and Xu Tao, he returned to his cave to rest.

He pushed open the door with hope. The room was brand new, spotless, just as it was when he left. He was moved to tears. It was clear that Lin Mubai had been cleaning the house frequently since he left.

He closed the door, comfortably lay down on the cozy little bed and rolled around. This place was like his second home; only here did he feel at home. He missed it all year.

Boom boom boom!

A rapid knocking sound came from the door, like the rapid beat of a drum, followed by Jin Lingjiao's sweet voice.

"Open the door quickly, open the door quickly."

Ling Jiao? Why is she here at this hour instead of sleeping? Xue Wu reluctantly got out of bed and lazily opened the door. Behind the door, Jin Ling Jiao had already changed into her previous gorgeous outfit, shyly tilting her head, holding Xue Wu's Ruogu in her hand.

"Why are you here instead of sleeping at night?" Xue Wu leaned against the door, blocking Jin Lingjiao's steps as she tried to enter.

"I've come to return your clothes." Jin Lingjiao handed the clothes to Xue Wu and darted in from the side, plopping down on Xue Wu's bed.

"I got the clothes, so what's the meaning of you sitting on my bed?" Xue Wu frowned slightly, looking at the shy Jin Lingjiao, and his mind raced as he thought of the worst possible outcome.

He slammed the door shut with a smile, walked up to Jin Lingjiao with ill intent, flopped down on the bed, pushed Jin Lingjiao to the floor, closed his eyes and said, "There's no room for you on my bed."

"you!"

Jin Lingjiao frowned, glaring at Xue Wu through gritted teeth. Then she grabbed his right hand and dragged him to the ground before lying down on it herself.

"You sleep on the floor." She said, turning to lie on her side on the bed.

"Why should I?" Xue Wu asked.

"I want to sleep in the bed," Jin Lingjiao said.

"Don't you have your own house? Why are you sleeping in my bed?" Xue Wu said.

"I don't care?" Jin Ling said cheekily.

You don't care? Fine, you forced me to do this. Xue Wu leaped onto the bed, intending to push Jin Lingjiao off, but as he landed, he lost his balance and fell, pinning Jin Lingjiao beneath him.

The room fell silent instantly, with only the faint candlelight flickering in the breeze. Xue Wu and Jin Lingjiao stood about a fist's distance apart, their eyes locked. Just as the weight was about to fall, Xue Wu braced himself with his hand to avoid crashing down.

They were so close they could hear each other's breathing and heartbeats clearly. Jin Lingjiao blushed, turned her head, pursed her lips, and said sweetly, "If you want to sleep in the bed, that's fine, but we have to agree on three rules: no touching..."

"I don't care about you." With that, Xue Wu turned over and lay down on the bed to sleep.

Jin Lingjiao's heart was already pounding. She shyly covered her face. Why was her heart beating so fast? We hadn't even met yet... I'm so shy.

It took Jin Lingjiao a long time to calm down from her agitated emotions. She turned around and nudged Xue Wu to talk to him, only to find that he was already asleep. She felt extremely embarrassed, but still snuggled up to Xue Wu and fell asleep.

The first rays of dawn gradually pierced through the clouds, bathing the earth in a serene light. Sunlight streamed through the window and fell on the headboard, with the occasional chirping of birds outside the window.

Xue Wu raised his eyebrows slightly, stretching his body on the bed like a bird spreading its wings to take flight, feeling relaxed and carefree. He hadn't had such a leisurely and restful sleep in a long time.

He turned around, his face slightly startled, then a smile appeared in his eyes, radiating a tenderness he himself was unaware of.

She revealed an undisguised joy, her clear, watery eyes concealing a silent affection for him, turning her pretty figure into a beautiful scene, deeply etched in his eyes.

Suddenly, Jin Lingjiao slowly opened her phoenix eyes and saw Xue Wu looking at her with deep affection. Her mind went blank for a moment, and then she asked shyly, "What are you looking at?"

"Look at you," Xue Wu said calmly, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Why are you looking at me? Am I that pretty?" Jin Ling's small face turned red, and she lowered her head.

Xue Wu chuckled a few times and said, "Let's see when you're going to take your legs off me."

"You can't even sleep properly..."

Jin Lingjiao was startled, her flushed face quickly lost its color, and she abruptly pulled her foot back from Xue Wu, then shouted, "Mind your own business!"

Jin Lingjiao got out of bed, straightened her clothes, and stormed out, slamming the door behind her. In her mind, she cursed, "You blockhead, you heartless animal..."