Earlier, when Xu Mu realized the man didn't recognize him, he had assumed he was just another company driver.
The big-shot businessmen who attended the banquet always brought chauffeurs, who naturally weren't allowed inside and had to wait outside the venue.
But to think the man was actually someone from his own company.
According to his memory, after the Ye family's downfall, the Xu family's branch office in Yang City also took heavy damage.
In recent years, Xu Shou had invested heavily to keep the branch afloat—but to no avail.
Clearly, there were rats among the ranks.
"Xiao Xu, I can't possibly let you go to such trouble for me…"
"Auntie, are you afraid I'm another bad guy? Do I need to set conditions just to recommend you for a job?" Xu Mu interrupted her with a grin.
"Stop teasing your auntie," Li Yun said, moved to the core. "Alright—I'll listen to you."
She truly owed Xu Mu far too much already. From now on, she decided to work hard and repay his kindness bit by bit.
…
After dropping Li Yun off, Xu Mu drove away.
With Zhao Yingying away at school, Li Yun was alone, so he didn't feel right lingering.
Meng Wanyue parked at her own complex and went home, while Xu Mu continued on to his villa.
Inside, Ye Tong and Ye Yu were on the sofa watching TV.
"You're back—have you eaten?"
Ye Tong smiled warmly when she saw him.
"Yeah, already."
Xu Mu sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "A lot happened today."
"What happened?" Ye Tong asked curiously.
"Nothing major. I can handle it."
He didn't want to worry her—especially since when it came to the Dai family, he knew plenty of their secrets. They wouldn't be hard to deal with.
…
Outside Yang City stood a mountain dotted with small villas, complete with gardens and lawns.
To outsiders, this place was known as Nangong Village.
But those who knew the truth understood—it was the private domain of the hidden-world Nangong Family.
The entire mountain belonged to them.
At the center of the villas stood a vast manor, surrounded by tall walls.
People believed it was the village ancestral hall, but in truth, this was where the Nangong family resided.
Deep within the hall sat an elderly man with a short goatee. His slightly plump face bore a constant, genial smile, much like a laughing Buddha.
He was none other than Nangong Ping, the patriarch of the Nangong family.
"The battery on my scooter should be about full—if there's nothing else, I'll be going," Jiang Huihui said coolly, hands in her pockets.
"Huihui-sis, don't go! Please take me as your disciple!"
Nangong Yao threw herself at her, hugging her legs, looking up with a pitifully cute expression.
"I'm busy."
Jiang Huihui lowered her gaze. "Let go—or I'll make you let go."
"Huihui, I heard from Fuhai that you're on good terms with Xu Mu from the Xu family?" Nangong Ping asked with a kind smile.
"What are you asking that for?" Jiang Huihui looked at him flatly.
"Earlier, Mr. Wei called and asked me to look after the Xu family. I was wondering—was that because of Xu Mu?"
Nangong Ping's tone was mild but probing.
"That's right. Because of him," Jiang Huihui replied simply.
"My kindred spirit is that amazing?" Nangong Yao said in awe.
Nangong Ping drummed his fingers on the armrest. "Rumor had it he was a useless dandy… Seems he's been hiding quite a bit."
Jiang Huihui thought for a moment—indeed, Xu Mu was not as simple as her previous investigation had shown.
"I'm leaving."
With that, Jiang Huihui turned and strode off.
"I'll see you out, Huihui-sis!" Nangong Yao said, hurrying after her.
Not long after the two left, Ren Fuhai entered the hall.
Softly, he asked, "Father, what should we do about the Xu family? Based on Dai Xiao's personality, he'll definitely retaliate."
Nangong Ping smiled faintly. "Retaliate against whom?"
"If anything, he'll target Xu Mu himself," Ren Fuhai said after a pause.
"Then it has nothing to do with us. The Dai family is at its peak right now—I hear their old patriarch recently made another breakthrough."
Nangong Ping exhaled slowly. "Wei Jingzhi may have asked me to keep an eye out, but he's just a retired sanitation officer. He has connections, not power. There's no reason for us to risk the Nangong family over one man's request."
"I understand," Ren Fuhai nodded. "Then what should we do next?"
"Wait and see," Nangong Ping said, closing his eyes.
…
Meanwhile, Xu Mu was "battling" Ye Tong—both sides evenly matched, back and forth in fierce exchange.
He'd earned quite a lot of Fate Points today—enough for two rounds of ten-draws.
After Ye Tong fell asleep, he decided to use them.
He wasn't one for superstition—these draws were clearly pure RNG.
Usually, the guaranteed rewards favored cultivation points over attribute points. Each ten-draw typically produced one or two bonus results beyond the guaranteed ones.
That was the pattern—it had nothing to do with timing or location.
Opening the system interface, Xu Mu started the draw. The roulette began to spin.
[Ding! Congratulations, host has received 20 Cultivation Points.]
[Ding! Congratulations, host has received 20 Attribute Points.]
…
[Ding! Congratulations, host has received a Grade-7 Pill: Qi Sea Pill.]
Seeing the name, Xu Mu's eyes lit up—finally, something valuable!
He didn't even need to check the description; he already knew what it was.
In the novel's storyline, this pill appeared frequently—a super-enhanced version of the Blood Mountain Pill.
Its effect was simple and direct: to rapidly increase one's qi.
A person's cultivation realm rose because, through long-term training, their internal qi accumulated.
When one's realm could no longer contain the rising qi, the bottleneck broke—and they advanced to the next level.
The Qi Sea Pill was powerful enough that just a single one could help someone at Initial Internal Force break through directly into Hidden Force.
It was a Grade-7 pill—second only to divine elixirs, as this world's strongest went up to Grade-9.
A high-grade treasure indeed.
In the middle arcs, the Dragon King had many of these pills, using them to raise the women around him into masters—Ye Tong and Mu Qingying among them.
Prodigies like Xu Ningbing didn't rely on such aids.
With his Pharmaceutical Mastery, Xu Mu planned to examine what ingredients it required later—but for now, he let the draw finish.
[Ding! Congratulations, host has received 30 Cultivation Points.]
[Ding! Congratulations, host has received 10 Attribute Points.]
…
The first ten-draw ended without further surprises, but that pill alone was already a huge gain.
With it, someone like Ye Tong could become strong without ever stepping into a fight—no more need for bodyguards; she'd be able to protect herself.
Xu Mu still had one more ten-draw left. He clicked again.
[Ding! Congratulations, host has received 30 Cultivation Points.]
[Ding! Congratulations, host has received a Grade-6 Spiritual Herb: Blackleaf Clover.]
Xu Mu nodded in satisfaction. A Grade-6 treasure was quite good—even if he didn't need it, it could be traded for other valuables later.
[Ding! Congratulations, host has received an Earth-rank Technique: Shadow-Slaying Mind Technique.]
Xu Mu froze. An Earth-rank mental technique!
That meant it could be cultivated by others.
If word of this leaked out, even the top sects would fight to the death for it.