Chapter Twenty-Six: Truly an Auspicious Number

“Not hungry. If you need anything, just say it. Whatever the Lu family has, you can use.” Old Master Lu’s face betrayed a trace of awkwardness. Having said this, he turned and left the kitchen.

The moment he turned away, the smile vanished from his face, replaced instead by a look of deep contemplation.

This girl Li—she was becoming less and less like the person he once knew, as if she’d transformed into someone entirely new.

Judging by her handling of the medicinal herbs just now, she clearly understood them well. Could it be that she’d always been hiding her abilities?

Thinking of Lu Ziyi and Shen Jingrong, a thoughtful glint appeared in his eyes.

After all, Xie Jinchuan was not his biological grandson, which made him hard to control. If Shen Qingli had truly been hiding her talents all this time, then in the future, there might be no place in the Lu family for Lu Ziyi…

With that thought, Old Master Lu began plotting in his mind.

Meanwhile, once she was certain he had left, Shen Qingli resumed working with the herbs in front of her.

“Cai Cai, switch to the Spirit Elixir.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than there was a bottle of spirit infusion by her right hand. Without hesitation, she poured it all into the medicine pot.

Then she resumed grinding the herbs.

With the spirit infusion, she could ensure the spiritual energy within the herbs wouldn’t dissipate.

All she needed now was to grind the ingredients to a consistency that Xie Jinchuan could swallow.

Half an hour later, her arms aching from the effort, Shen Qingli looked at the small, carefully molded pill she had made, let out a long breath, and wiped the sweat from her brow.

Seeing the pill in her hand, a hint of satisfaction appeared on her face.

“At last, heaven rewards the diligent. I’ve finally succeeded in making this thing.”

[Congratulations, Host. Special mission completed. You have received five hundred face-slapping points as a reward.]

Startled by the system’s voice, Shen Qingli paused.

“How many face-slapping points do I have now?”

[Host, you currently have 538!]

Hearing such a “lucky” number, Shen Qingli rolled her eyes.

She smiled, thinking that with more points, she’d have a real chance to challenge that giant eagle in three days!

But—538. It sounded a bit too auspicious, almost like a joke on her.

[Host, maybe you shouldn’t…]

The system was just about to comfort its host when Shen Qingli abruptly muted it, even if only temporarily.

System: Weeping quietly, the host actually silenced me!

Hurrying upstairs, Shen Qingli opened the door to her room and saw Xie Jinchuan lying there, looking exactly as he did when she left him. She felt a sense of relief.

It seemed that nothing had happened to him while she was away.

Recalling the special mission, she unmuted the system.

“Cai Cai, if I manage to save Xie Jinchuan, will there be any other rewards?”

At this, the system wiped away a bead of cold sweat.

It glanced at the newly added, mysterious task on the mission list and replied uncertainly, [Perhaps… maybe… there could be a reward…]

But Shen Qingli didn’t notice the hesitation in the system’s words. Her mind was wholly occupied by the thought of another reward.

“Then I absolutely must save Xie Jinchuan!”

Without further ado, she pressed the pill to the man’s lips.

[Host, why don’t you try using your mouth?] the system suggested kindly, seeing Xie Jinchuan’s lips turn red from being forced open.

Shen Qingli frowned. “Men are so troublesome.”

Shaking her head, she held the pill between her lips and kissed Xie Jinchuan, using her tongue to feed him the medicine.

The pill dissolved instantly.

Glancing at the time and the dark sky outside, Shen Qingli couldn’t help but yawn. She leaned on the bedside and fell asleep.

Two hours later, she woke from a nightmare—a vivid memory of being killed by that hateful Celestial Lord. In her heart, she swore that if she ever met him again, she would bite him to death if nothing else.

She glanced at Xie Jinchuan on the bed. The more she looked, the more she felt the two of them could have been carved from the same mold.

Narrowing her eyes, Shen Qingli reached out a hand toward him…

“It seems the fever’s gone down.”

Just as the system thought she was about to strangle him, Shen Qingli made this calm observation and withdrew her hand.

“Xie Jinchuan? Wake up!”

Feeling his temperature had returned to normal, Shen Qingli shook him, but he didn’t react in the slightest—still unconscious.

“What’s going on?” she muttered, frowning at Xie Jinchuan’s lack of response, then addressed the system.

“Is it that there’s not enough spiritual energy?”

The system nodded. [Host, once you get the spiritual herb in three days, I’m sure Xie Jinchuan will wake up.]

Looking at the unconscious man, Shen Qingli sighed. “So the wheel of fortune turns, after all.”

She thought of how he had cared for her previously, and now their roles had reversed.

“At least his fever is gone, but to think his illness was really caused by spiritual energy…”

As she spoke, her gaze lingered on Xie Jinchuan, clearly calculating something in her mind.

The system grew anxious, afraid its clever host might start overthinking things, and hurriedly advised, [Host, it’s late. Why don’t you get some rest? After all, you nearly drowned today—your health comes first.]

At the reminder, Shen Qingli felt a chill run through her and sneezed.

“You’re right. I’d better take a hot shower before I catch a cold.”

She grabbed some clothes, gave one last glance at the still-unmoving Xie Jinchuan, and headed into the bathroom.

The system let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness her host hadn’t overthought things, or else Mr. Lu’s identity might have been exposed.

With Xie Jinchuan ill, no one was currently managing the affairs of Lu Corporation.

In the secretarial office at Lu Corporation, the mountain of paperwork was growing by the minute. After much deliberation, the secretary finally took out her phone.

At the Moonlit Club, pulsating music made the air itself throb, and on the neon-lit stage, a wild crowd danced with abandon.

In a corner booth facing the stage, Lu Ziyi lounged with a wicked grin, his arm around a beautiful woman, clearly reveling in the pleasure.

When his phone vibrated on the table, Lu Ziyi frowned, pushed the woman aside, and walked out.

Outside, he climbed into a waiting van.

“Back in there again, are you?” Shen Jingrong opened the door, her tone tinged with annoyance, though her expression suggested she was getting used to it.

Seeing Lu Ziyi board, the driver tactfully exited the vehicle.

“You promised you wouldn’t come here anymore. Why are you back?” Shen Jingrong pouted pitifully, her eyes red as a rabbit’s—an image that was hard not to pity.