Xu Mu frowned deeply at what he heard.
Jiang Huihui had already reached the Divine Ability realm—who could possibly harm her?
Even if she encountered a formidable opponent she couldn’t defeat, she should be able to escape unscathed.
“Who is it?” Xu Mu asked in a low voice.
“It should be... the Eternal Life Research Institute,” Jiang Huihui said weakly.
“Just wait!” Xu Mu said, then turned to Nangong Ping. “If you want to discuss business, go find my father. I have other matters to attend to. I’ll take my leave first.”
“All right, you go ahead,” Nangong Ping nodded.
...
Xu Mu didn’t bother explaining anything to Xu Shou and the others. Instead, he took another path down the mountain.
From the phone call, he had a rough idea of Jiang Huihui’s location, so he extended his perception and began searching.
Finally, halfway down the mountain, he spotted Jiang Huihui hiding behind a rock.
“Huihui!”
Xu Mu immediately jogged over and crouched beside her.
He noticed blood smeared across her chin, her eyelids drooping so heavily she couldn’t open her eyes.
Grasping her wrist, he carefully felt her pulse.
“What happened? It seems you’ve been poisoned,” Xu Mu said, frowning.
“I spotted a few men in black robes and gave chase. That’s when I realized they were from the Eternal Life Research Institute,” Jiang Huihui said weakly. “You probably don’t know much about this organization...”
“Enough, I know about them,” Xu Mu interrupted.
He began pulling off Jiang Huihui’s casual jacket, then tore open the black short-sleeved shirt underneath.
Instinctively, Jiang Huihui grabbed his wrist.
“I know a bit about medicine. If you don’t want me to treat you, fine, but I’m only somewhat knowledgeable,” Xu Mu said, looking into her eyes.
After a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Huihui relaxed her grip. Xu Mu was no ordinary person.
Just from taking her pulse, he knew she was poisoned—he clearly had some medical expertise.
[Affinity +10]
Xu Mu continued tearing open the short sleeves, revealing Jiang Huihui’s fair skin and the white ‘Thunder Binding’ items beneath.
But the white fabric was already stained with black blood.
He loosened them further, and suddenly, the two objects jumped right in front of Xu Mu’s eyes.
Jiang Huihui’s face flushed deeply, her breathing quickened, and she tightly shut her eyes.
“Don’t worry. I’m not interested in these things. To put it bluntly, they’re just a bunch of fatty tissue,” Xu Mu said seriously.
After his professional assessment, the items were roughly at the B level.
This was normal—after all, in the Dragon Nation, B-level sizes accounted for more than 40% of underwear sales.
Jiang Huihui’s condition was perfectly normal.
At that moment, Xu Mu noticed two claw marks on her left side. The wounds weren’t deep, but the fresh blood oozing out was a dark red, almost black.
“The one who attacked me was a woman, wearing a sword tassel on her ear,” Jiang Huihui whispered.
“Could it be her?” Xu Mu thought of Liang Yi—no wonder she was a team captain-level member of the Eternal Life Research Institute.
He wiped the blood with his finger and brought it under his nose to sniff.
“This isn’t a simple herbal poison. It’s synthetic toxin,” Xu Mu said, then opened his storage space and took out silver needles. He carefully inserted them into various points on her body to block the poison.
“What should I do now? Am I going to die?” Jiang Huihui’s discomfort grew; her head buzzed as if she were intoxicated.
“Don’t worry. I’ll suck the poison out of you.”
As Xu Mu spoke, he began to take action.
With his expertise in pharmaceuticals, many poisons couldn’t be identified by smell alone.
That’s why, whenever he analyzed pills, he had to place them in his mouth.
At this moment, Jiang Huihui felt even more dizzy.
She kept reminding herself that this was healing—that he was saving her.
“Pfft!”
Xu Mu spat out the toxic blood. “No wonder it’s from the Eternal Life Research Institute.”
From the taste, he had already successfully deciphered the poison.
This toxin was made from two kinds of rare and deadly natural ingredients, combined with synthetic chemical poisons.
Besides that, he also detected a milky fragrance, but that shouldn’t be part of the poison.
No wonder a single small wound could have such a severe effect on someone at the Divine Realm.
But now that he knew the toxin, Xu Mu could treat it accordingly.
“Wait a moment.”
He rummaged through his storage space, which held many rare herbs and treasures—perfect for countering this poison.
There was no time to refine a pill now, so he took out several precious ingredients.
He crushed them directly, dripping the juice into the wound and using the residue to seal it.
He kept a little in his own mouth to prevent accidental poisoning.
Xu Mu used his undershirt to bandage the wound, then helped Jiang Huihui put on her casual clothes.
“Let’s go.”
He lifted Jiang Huihui into his arms, holding her in front since the wound wasn’t suitable for carrying her on his back.
[Affinity +10]
Jiang Huihui tightly closed her eyes, too embarrassed to look at Xu Mu.
But his treatment seemed to be working.
The fiery pain from the wound had already dulled considerably.
“Xu Mu, thank you.”
Jiang Huihui whispered softly.
“For what? We’re on the same side.”
Xu Mu smiled. “You’re officially working for me now. If something happened to you, who would help me get things done?”
“If my grandfather really holds a martial contest for marriage, I hope you’ll participate.”
Jiang Huihui kept her eyes shut tight.
“Just like before, if I win, we’ll have a fake marriage?”
Xu Mu glanced at Jiang Huihui’s pretty face.
But she didn’t answer, just letting him carry her like that.
...
Instead of returning to the mountaintop, Xu Mu and Jiang Huihui got into his car, with her lying in the back seat.
He had originally planned to head up the mountain but received a message from Meng Wanyue.
The banquet had already ended, and everyone had come down.
Xu Mu sat quietly in the driver’s seat, waiting.
In about ten minutes, Xu Shou and the others appeared within Xu Mu’s senses.
He stepped out of the car and looked toward the group.
Xu Shou was beaming with joy, and Dai Xingluo stood nearby with a gentle smile.
Compared to them, Xu Ningbing and Meng Wanyue seemed less cheerful.
Chen Xuan was carrying two plastic bags, packed with food.
He spotted Xu Mu from afar and greeted first, “Brother Mu!”
Xu Mu smiled and nodded. Chen Xuan had genuinely come just to eat this time.
He had originally wanted to see Chen Xuan’s skills in action.
But plans changed, and unexpectedly Zhang Que was here as well—and had helped him.
“Kid, this time we really owe you one. If it weren’t for you knowing that expert, we’d have been in serious trouble.”
Xu Shou patted Xu Mu on the shoulder and gave him a knowing look. "Put in some extra effort, get it done."
Xu Mu scratched his head awkwardly.
For now, it seemed that many people had actually taken his offhand mention of a sect seriously.
Even an ordinary secluded family would have to think twice before messing with him.
Xu Shou and Xu Ningbing left the place first.
Only after Xu Shou left did Dai Xingluo step forward and link arms with Xu Mu. "Brother, it seems Uncle really likes me."
Meng Wanyue clenched her fists nearby. Sometimes, she truly envied women like Dai Xingluo—those shameless types.
As for Meng Wanyue, she could never pull that off.
"Xingluo, thanks a lot for today. You can go home and wait for news."
Xu Mu smiled as he gently withdrew his arm.
"Then I’ll head off."
Dai Xingluo turned and walked toward her car.
The smile on her face never faded. She hadn’t expected Xu Mu to be a disciple of a sect as well.
The fact that he could produce a Qi Sea Pill and a Dao-level cultivation technique for her proved he was definitely not an outer disciple.

reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?

world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...

Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"

ither go to a cultivation world where a single sword strike can defeat ten thousand enemies. Or they travel back to historical dynasties to alter history and wield imperial power. At the very least, they'd go back a few decades to get rich using their future knowledge and build a harem. Who the hell would transmigrate here!