Delicious yet not filling

Well, just kidding. Little Li still has his place in this family.

After all, if he didn't come home, where would we get our little ice block and little childish devil?

"Was the journey back smooth?"

Gu Xueqin inspected her son from head to toe, finding not a single injury on him, not even the look of someone who had traveled a long, dusty road.

"Nothing happened. I just bought some things and came back."

Li Mo decided not to tell his parents about the affair with the Lingxi Sect.

He hadn't suffered any losses and had even used the opportunity to temper his mystic arts. Although the Lingxi Sect probably wouldn't let the matter rest, telling his parents would only make them worry.

"Safe and sound is good, safe and sound is good. Things are unsettled over in the East Sea. Your mother may not say it, but she's been worrying about you all day."

Li Dalong said this, then cupped his hands respectfully towards Qian Bufan.

"I told your mother that Elder Qian is a steady and reliable man. With such a senior accompanying you, what trouble could possibly occur?"

"You flatter me, you flatter me..."

Qian Bufan's old face felt a bit warm.

So, Old Qian could only comfort himself by thinking that he wasn't completely useless on this trip with Little Mo. At the very least, he could help put the Li parents' minds at ease...

"Dad, how do you even know about the news from the East Sea?"

"Heard it from a storyteller. He said there are many swindlers there."

"Indeed."

Qian Bufan looked at Li Mo's sunny, cheerful face and nodded deeply in agreement.

"He also said the place is a mixed bag, with bandits often taking advantage of the end of the Rare Treasure Sea Market to plunder, and even members of demonic sects mingling among the crowds. Some say the Lingxi Sect suffered a great loss because of this."

"...Well, isn't that the truth."

Qian Bufan glanced again at Li Mo, who was licking an ice pop there like he hadn't grown up, and nodded once more.

The Inner Landscape Realm, chasing after over a thousand people single-handedly, even worrying that the opponents weren't hitting hard enough, resorting to acting...

Li Mo: "?"

Seeing this, Gu Xueqin was taken aback: "Elder Qian, did you and Mo'er encounter bandits on your way back?"

"Not exactly." Qian Bufan waved his hand.

"Then did you meet people from a demonic sect?"

Li Dalong's expression turned serious.

"Uh..."

Just as Elder Qian was about to nod again, a hand patted his shoulder. He turned his head and saw Little Li's sunny smile.

Old Qian leaned back slightly:

"No, the Lingxi Sect is a big tree that catches the wind. Perhaps the demonic sect members and bandits all went after them. Our journey was completely peaceful the whole way."

"Really?"

"Mom, Dad, look at the things I bought."

Li Mo took out a spatial storage artifact and handed it to Li Dalong.

Then he watched as his old father nodded, took it, and while sipping tea, extended his consciousness to check inside. His body jolted violently, spilling tea all over his lap.

As everyone knows, Little Li's spatial storage artifact has a miraculous effect on curing trypophobia.

But Old Li does not have trypophobia.

Administering such a strong medicine to someone without the illness, this reaction is only to be expected...

Actually, Li Mo had held back. What was inside was only a small portion. More precious items, like three-thousand-year-old sea silk, were all stored in his system space, afraid that his parents wouldn't be able to accept it all at once.

But even upon seeing just a fraction of Li Mo's assets, Old Li's head was still buzzing, his knees went weak, and it took him a long moment to process it.

After a long silence, Li Dalong asked in a trembling voice:

"Son, when you went to the Imperial Capital, you didn't do anything illegal, did you? If you did, your old man won't be able to cover for you this time."

When he was younger, Old Li had often cleaned up after the little troublemaker of Qinghe County. After all, he was the county captain, and his face carried some weight in the county.

Li Mo coughed lightly and took the ice block's small hand:

"It's mainly returns on investments. The ice block's help was indispensable."

"?"

Ying Bing's phoenix eyes widened in confusion. She wasn't very knowledgeable about such things. Did investment mean doing business?

Indispensable... did that mean her merit as the childish devil's shopkeeper?

"Mhm, that's how it is."

The ice block narrowed her eyes and nodded slowly and earnestly.

"So that's how it is."

Gu Xueqin breathed a sigh of relief. If Little Bing'er nodded, then it should be fine.

The rascal might talk nonsense, but Little Bing'er had never been one to lie since she was a child. She was trustworthy.

"..."

Qian Bufan opened his mouth, then closed it again.

Wait, are you all talking about the same thing?

"We're not as capable as we used to be. It's wonderful that you two can establish your own home and career by yourselves." Gu Xueqin said with some emotion.

"I remember Old Liu's child got together with the Cui Family's young lady. Old Liu almost had to sell the pots and pans to pay for the wedding. With our two little ones here, even if we wanted to help, we probably couldn't..."

Li Dalong wiped the tea from his lap, his expression complex:

"Son, your father is unfilial."

"??"

Qian Bufan, who was already struggling to keep a straight face, completely lost his composure. Where on earth did you two get that from?

"There are ways to manage when you have the means, and different ways when you don't."

Li Mo comforted his parents: "Even common folks have to get married. The most important thing is putting people first. As long as everyone in our big family is happy and comfortable, that's what matters."

"Our son is right."

"Should we make some dumplings to eat today?"

"Sounds good. I'll prepare some fine ingredients for the filling."

"Great, great, let's do it together..."

"???"

Qian Bufan was almost despairing. How did everyone become so happy the moment he let his guard down?

How did you all get to making dumplings?

Elder Qian was bursting with unspoken complaints, probably enough that not even dumplings could stop them.

He stood up to take his leave, not even in the mood to mooch a meal anymore.

"Elder Qian, you're leaving already?"

Li Mo looked at him with some surprise.

"Mhm. We procured so many things, I need to discuss with everyone how to handle them. And there's so much to do for the promotion ceremony. I have to go attend to it all."

Qian Bufan wore an expression of complete dedication to public duty, not a bit of freeloading possible.

"That's a pity."

No pity. I can mooch a meal another time...

"Alright then. Take care on your way."

Li Mo waved at him, then took out a piece of Deep Sea Primordial Breath Shark from his spatial storage. This type of shark doesn't eat meat but feeds on natural treasures. This one was extremely old, having clearly consumed many good things, its body surface condensed a layer of pink crystal jelly that exuded a refreshing, heart-soothing fragrance.

For quality like this, one shark would cost several mystic crystals at least.

Just as Li Mo raised the Red Sky Sword to chop the dumpling filling, he saw Qian Bufan's footsteps freeze.

"Weren't you going to be busy?"

“How can you make dumplings without me? Who in the entire Qingyuan Sect doesn't know that this old man is the best at rolling out dumpling wrappers? The mood is set now. I'll help you all finish wrapping them before I leave.”

Huh?

Elder Qian was clearly facing away from him.

How did it feel that in the span of two sentences, his silhouette hadn't moved farther away, but had actually gotten closer?

Is this the masterful art of reverse parking?