Just as Meng Wanyue was about to touch Xu Mu's cheek, she suddenly stopped.
She didn’t even know what she was doing.
Was this really her?
Meng Wanyue decided to give up, but just as she was about to leave—
Xu Mu suddenly wrapped his arm around her neck, pulled her into his embrace, and then shifted to pin her down.
Meng Wanyue froze on the spot. She tried to move slightly but found Xu Mu holding her so tightly that she couldn’t break free.
In the end, she had no choice but to relent.
"Wife..."
Xu Mu’s drowsy murmur reached her faintly.
Only then did Meng Wanyue realize—he had mistaken her for Ye Tong.
What could she do? She was just as helpless.
……
Xu Mu opened his eyes, having slept deeply.
His nerves had been on edge earlier in the ruins, but back at home, the relaxation had knocked him out completely.
"Wife... Wait, no."
Xu Mu paused mid-sentence, suddenly stiffening.
It finally hit him—since when did he have a wife?
Wasn’t Ye Tong still at work, not back yet?
He bolted upright and only then noticed Meng Wanyue beside him—he’d been holding her while asleep.
Her face was now as red as a steamed crab, flushed to the point of seeming ready to drip water.
Xu Mu immediately sat up, his expression grave. "Meng Wanyue, I treat you like family, and this is how you repay me? Trying to take advantage of me?"
"I—"
Meng Wanyue was stunned. How could he twist things like that?
Was that even something a person would say?
But she couldn’t refute it either—after all, she had initially intended to kiss him.
"Just kidding, Wanyue. My bad."
Seeing Meng Wanyue lower her head, Xu Mu thought she was upset and quickly grabbed her shoulders.
He genuinely hadn’t noticed—being at home with Meng Wanyue guarding him, his guard instinctively dropped.
"It’s all a misunderstanding."
Meng Wanyue hurriedly stood up, straightening her collar. "Boss Xu, please don’t let Sister Ye know about this."
"Something’s off."
Xu Mu rubbed his nose, lost in thought.
Meng Wanyue felt her head spin when she saw that—he was rubbing his nose now?
"What... is it?" she asked, her voice uneasy.
"Nothing."
Xu Mu smiled, choosing not to press further.
He’d been wondering—since he’d fallen asleep face down, how had he ended up holding Meng Wanyue like that?
But since it had already happened, there was no point dwelling on it.
Xu Mu checked his phone and saw that Ye Tong would be off work soon.
He and Meng Wanyue headed downstairs together.
Handing her an Earth-grade cultivation manual, he grinned. "Wanyue, you can’t refuse this now, can you?"
"But..."
Meng Wanyue still hesitated. This was an Earth-grade manual.
Even if she gave everything—herself included—it wouldn’t compare to such a treasure.
"Wanyue, let me ask you something seriously."
Xu Mu’s expression turned calm. "Whose person are you?"
"I’m yours, Boss Xu."
If asked before, she might have hesitated.
But now, she answered without a second thought.
Xu Mu had given her too much—though the most important thing wasn’t the manual.
It was the sense of security, or rather, the care she felt from him.
Before meeting Xu Mu, she’d never experienced anything like it in her life.
She knew his care wasn’t romantic—it was more like familial warmth.
Even so, no one could shake his place in her heart.
She’d already decided to follow him for life.
"If you’re mine, what’s wrong with me making you stronger?"
Xu Mu handed her the black metal plate. "I want you to grow powerful—free and unconstrained, even by me."
[Affection +20]
Black text floated above Meng Wanyue’s head as her eyes reddened.
She took the manual with both hands and nodded firmly. "Boss Xu, I won’t let you down."
"Go. Earth-grade techniques are tough. Take the next few days off—I’ll call if I need you."
Xu Mu waved her off.
Meng Wanyue nodded and left.
Stretching, Xu Mu suddenly noticed his hand.
When had he started rubbing it? There was a faint fragrance lingering on his fingers.
Lying on the sofa, he opened his system to check his stats—and immediately shot upright in shock.
Name: Xu Mu
Identity: Villain Saint Body, HR Manager of Xu Corporation
Realm: Early Divine Ability Stage
Physique: 640
Spirit: 640
Cultivation Points: 195/800
Fate Energy: 1032
With over a thousand Fate Energy, Xu Mu estimated he’d reached Tier 10 Fate.
Still, he was far from matching the Dragon King.
For now, steady progress suited him fine.
He shuddered to think what would’ve happened if the original "villain Xu Mu" had crossed paths with Lin Yang.
Clicking the lottery, the wheel began spinning.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on obtaining a 7th-grade pill: Qi Sea Pill.]
Xu Mu sighed. He’d just given one to Meng Wanyue, and now another dropped.
Why hadn’t they been this plentiful before?
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on obtaining 30 Cultivation Points.]
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on obtaining 20 Attribute Points.]
……
Xu Mu nodded to himself. He’d take these modest rewards any day.
One boosted his progress; the other strengthened his body.
Like during his fight with Lin Yang—when the latter used a pill to amplify his strength and sent Xu Mu flying, smashing through a tree before he stabilized.
Yet apart from the initial impact, Xu Mu had shrugged it off like nothing.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on obtaining the title: Intermediate Alchemist.]
Xu Mu clenched his fist.
Now we’re talking.
This 10-draw had been generous—not just the Qi Sea Pill, but also Intermediate Alchemist.
With this, when he gathered the ingredients to refine Qi Sea Pills himself, the results would be even better.
Allocating his new points, he felt his body strengthen further before checking his updated stats.
Name: Xu Mu
Identity: Villain Saint Body, HR Manager of Xu Corporation
Realm: Early Divine Ability Stage
Physique: 680
Spirit: 680
Cultivation Points: 335/800
Fate Energy: 1032
Xu Mu smiled. His panel was looking more impressive by the day.
Just then, he heard movement. Extending his senses, he confirmed it was Ye Tong returning.
Ye Tong spotted Xu Mu in the living room the moment she entered. "You’re home early today."
"You seem happy. Good news?" Xu Mu beckoned her over.
"My brother called. He’s back in the country." Ye Tong sat beside him.
"Ye Chen?" Xu Mu’s eyes narrowed. Seeing Ye Tong’s delight, he knew this hidden rival was trouble.
He understood Ye Tong saw Ye Chen only as a younger brother—but Ye Chen’s feelings weren’t so pure.
"Yes, him." Ye Tong smiled.
"What did he want?" Xu Mu asked.
igrating to the cultivation world for two hundred years, I've managed to lie low and reach the Nascent Soul stage. Only now does my golden finger arrive? ...
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
