Suddenly it dawned on me

Wang Weiliang was speaking, moved to the point of tears.

His wife was about ten years younger than him. Once upon a time, Wang Weiliang had even been her mentor.

Later, he joined the Ye family company and worked hard for ten years.

By a twist of fate, his wife also got hired by the Ye family.

Because of this connection, the two became husband and wife, and their relationship had always been good.

That was until Wang Weiliang grew old and frail, while his wife was still as fierce as ever.

Their relationship began to deteriorate.

He knew the reason, of course, but he was too old and weak to do anything about it.

The medicine from last night had restored his vigor.

Xu Mu’s prescription — he had examined all the ingredients, each one a harmless traditional Chinese herb.

Yet, through a special preparation method, they produced such powerful effects.

A genius!

Xu Mu standing before him was absolutely a genius!

“Mr. Wang, it must have been tough these past years,” Xu Mu said with genuine concern, looking at Wang Weiliang’s expression.

“Yes, yes!” Wang Weiliang nodded heavily. The reason he spent so much time holed up in the lab was to avoid going home.

At thirty, men are like wolves; at forty, like tigers; at fifty, they’re just like soil absorbing the ground.

His wife was exactly at that ‘soil-absorbing’ age.

“All right, Old Wang, even if it works, we still need to run more tests. Better safe than sorry,” Xu Shou said with a smile from behind the desk.

“Chairman, I understand,” Wang Weiliang replied, turning to look at Xu Shou. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back to the lab.”

“Okay.”

Xu Shou nodded.

After Wang Weiliang left, only three members of the Xu family remained.

Xu Mu slumped on the sofa and suddenly asked, “Is Ye Tong going to the banquet tonight?”

“No need. The Ye family fell precisely because they were a hidden clan. It’s best not to attract too much attention right now,” Xu Shou said, stroking his stubble thoughtfully.

“Could drag us into it,” he added.

Xu Mu nodded lightly, agreeing it made sense.

Enemies had to be dealt with one by one. The fight against the Ye family’s hidden clan wasn’t just about Yang City.

For now, the best strategy was to avoid direct confrontation.

“I sent out the invitations last night. Let’s prepare and head straight to Yang City,” Xu Shou said, looking at Xu Mu. “I have a tough task for you.”

“What’s that?”

Xu Mu scratched his head.

“Invite Wei Jingzhi,” Xu Shou said with a smile. “If he shows up at tonight’s banquet, the two hidden clans in Yang City will think twice before messing with us.”

Xu Mu crossed his arms confidently.

A high-level cleaner like him — what were those hidden clans to him?

Still, he wasn’t confident about getting the invitation accepted.

From what he knew of the situation, it was usually impossible for ordinary people to get Wei Jingzhi’s attention.

“I probably won’t be able to invite him,” Xu Mu shrugged.

“I know. Whether he comes or not, we have to invite him — it’s a matter of etiquette,” Xu Shou said.

“I’ll go over after ten o’clock. It’s a bit early now,” Xu Mu stretched and got up, preparing to leave.

“After the invitation, you can head straight to the Yang City branch,” Xu Shou reminded him.

Xu Mu agreed and left.

Back in his office, Xu Mu lay down on the sofa and first sent a message to Ye Tong.

He told her about Xu Shou’s plan. Ye Tong didn’t respond immediately — she was probably still busy.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Xu Mu checked through his perception and saw it was Meng Wanyue. He said, "Come in!"

Meng Wanyue pushed the door open and entered. "President Xu, I see you have a trip to Yang City on your schedule today?"

"That's right. Tonight, we're hosting a banquet. This time, some local enterprises might try to intimidate us."

Xu Mu smiled as he sat up from the sofa. "Wanyue, you’re coming with me today."

"Alright."

Meng Wanyue nodded gently, a faint smile appearing on her face.

"How’s your cultivation of the technique going?" Xu Mu suddenly asked.

"As expected of an Xuan-level technique, I haven’t mastered it yet. I still need to work harder."

Meng Wanyue lowered her head slightly, a bit embarrassed.

"No worries, take your time."

Xu Mu wasn’t quite sure how difficult the technique was. After all, whenever he drew one, he would master it immediately on the spot.

Meng Wanyue nodded softly.

...

After chatting with Meng Wanyue for a while, Xu Mu drove and picked her up, and together they headed to the Wei Family.

Someone like Wei Jingzhi, a big shot, would surely look down on ordinary people.

Xu Mu didn’t bother to be picky either; he simply bought some fruit and went to the Wei Family’s estate.

Parking the car at the entrance, Xu Mu and Meng Wanyue got out together.

"Hello, I’m Xu Mu. I’m here to pay a visit."

Xu Mu looked at the few security guards outside the estate.

"Please wait a moment."

One of the middle-aged men said this and immediately walked into the estate.

Through his perception, Xu Mu noticed Wei Jingzhi was in the courtyard, and besides him was Jiang Huihui.

Before long, the middle-aged man returned the same way. "Please come in."

Xu Mu nodded and, together with Meng Wanyue, walked into the estate.

From a distance, he saw Wei Jingzhi standing in front of a bamboo grove, painting bamboo.

Jiang Huihui stood nearby with her hands in her pockets, occasionally blowing bubbles.

"Mr. Wei."

Xu Mu greeted from afar, then looked at Jiang Huihui. "Huihui, you’re here too."

Jiang Huihui glanced at Xu Mu. She originally wanted to say they weren’t that close yet, but then decided against it. After all, she had something to discuss with him shortly.

"Hehe, you’ve come at just the right time."

Wei Jingzhi waved to Xu Mu. "Come take a look at my bamboo painting. What do you think?"

Xu Mu walked over and looked down at the bamboo in the painting, nodding silently. "Mr. Wei, the lines you’ve drawn are truly bold and powerful!"

Hearing this, Wei Jingzhi picked up a thermos cup beside him with a smile. "Don’t flatter me. Point out the flaws."

"Your skill is strong, Mr. Wei. The only shortcoming is the lack of qi yun—spirit and rhythm. The bamboo, leaves, and stones are all well painted, but the painting lacks coherence."

Xu Mu pointed at the painting. "Traditional Chinese painting emphasizes qi yun—spirit and rhythm flowing through the work, blending everything into one."

Wei Jingzhi’s eyes lit up. "An epiphany! An epiphany!"

He immediately put the thermos down on the table and studied his bamboo painting again, realizing it did look like a patchwork.

"Hey! Xu Mu."

Jiang Huihui walked over and said lightly, "My grandfather wants to see you. Do you have time?"

"I’ve been quite busy lately. I actually came today to invite Mr. Wei to attend the banquet in Yang City."

Xu Mu said with a smile.

"Yang City? I’m not going. If it were local, I might consider going, but I’m getting too old to travel around."

Wei Jingzhi shook his head gently.

Xu Mu wasn’t surprised and nodded slightly. "Alright then."

"But Huihui can go instead of me."

Wei Jingzhi smiled and looked at Jiang Huihui.

"What would I be going for?"

Jiang Huihui said, blowing a bubble.

Wei Jingzhi chuckled, "Anyway, aren’t you heading back to Yang City today?"

Jiang Huihui glanced at Xu Mu and shrugged. "Fine, I’ll go. It’ll save me a meal."

"Mr. Xu, here’s some fruit."

Meng Wanyue, standing nearby, held out a basket of fruit.

"Oh, I completely forgot."

Xu Mu took the basket with a smile and placed it on a nearby chair.

At that moment, Jiang Huihui had her hands in her pockets, studying Meng Wanyue with an increasingly strange look in her eyes.

Meng Wanyue lowered her head slightly, avoiding Jiang Huihui’s gaze.

Meanwhile, Wei Jingzhi picked up his thermos cup and smiled warmly.