This Is an Investment in You

Murong cracked sunflower seeds as she looked out the window, just in time to spot Zhou Yuanbao and the others. She immediately sent them a voice transmission, telling them to come back.

The moment Zhou Yuanbao and Mu Jinyin heard Murong's voice, they hurried back, bringing Yezi with them.

Seeing that Yezi was coming too, Zhou Hao turned to Murong and asked, "Do you want to hide?"

Murong looked at him as if he were an idiot. "Are we not fit to be seen? Or am I not fit to be seen?"

Zhou Hao froze for a moment. On second thought, that seemed right. They were husband and wife, not sneaking around doing something shady. What the hell were they afraid of?

By then, Zhou Yuanbao and Mu Jinyin had already arrived, with Yezi following close behind.

The instant he saw Murong, he froze. What a beautiful auntie!

Who knew whether Murong would beat him up if she learned what he was thinking.

"Mom, you're here." Zhou Yuanbao said excitedly.

Mu Jinyin also flew over to Murong's side and landed on her arm.

Murong gently tapped the heads of the two little ones and asked with a smile, "How did you end up like this?"

"Dad made us do it. He said we had to keep a low profile." Zhou Yuanbao pointed at Zhou Hao, accusing him.

Murong shifted her gaze to Zhou Hao.

Zhou Hao gave an awkward smile and explained, "When you're out and about, it's best not to draw attention."

Murong nodded, flicked Zhou Yuanbao on the head, and said, "Stay in this form from now on! Your father is right. When traveling outside, the greatest taboo is flaunting yourselves through the streets."

"Ooh..." Zhou Yuanbao clutched its head and answered dejectedly.

It had thought Murong would stand up for it! Looks like it had overthought things.

Zhou Hao smugly flashed Zhou Yuanbao a V sign.

Zhou Yuanbao rolled its eyes, but there was nothing it could do. Its mother was not on its side.

Murong turned her gaze toward Yezi and asked softly, "What's your name?"

Yezi shyly hid behind Zhou Hao, both hands tightly clutching Zhou Hao's clothes.

Zhou Hao patted his back and said with a smile, "Go ahead. It's fine."

Yezi said softly, "My name is Yezi."

Murong raised an eyebrow slightly. Then, an emerald-green leaf appeared in her hand. Smiling, she said, "This is for you."

The corners of Zhou Hao's mouth twitched. He had noticed a major issue: Murong seemed to really enjoy giving people things. Leaving aside what she had given him, she had handed Zhou Yuanbao and Mu Jinyin a pile of divine crystals the moment she saw them. Now she had met a child and was giving him something too.

Of course, Murong was rich enough to afford it.

Yezi did not dare accept it. He raised his head and glanced at Zhou Hao, as if asking for his opinion.

Zhou Hao smiled, patted his back, and said, "Take it."

After hesitating for a moment, Yezi accepted the jade leaf. "Thank you, Auntie."

As soon as he said that, both Zhou Hao and Murong froze.

Zhou Hao froze because he felt that being called "Auntie" might be hurtful to Murong.

Murong froze because she truly had not expected that she would one day become an auntie. But at her age, she was old enough to be someone's ancestor, so she did not dwell on it. She was merely a little taken aback.

She rubbed Yezi's head and said, "Keep this jade leaf on you. It will benefit you."

"Okay, hehe." Yezi beamed happily.

Murong nodded faintly and waved her hand before Yezi. A drop of blood appeared, then fell onto the jade leaf. The leaf flashed briefly, signifying that Yezi had successfully bound it as its master.

Then Murong lightly tapped the jade leaf with a finger, and it immediately became utterly ordinary-looking.

She had cast a little concealment spell. No one in this plane should be able to see through it, so naturally it would not draw anyone's covetous eyes.

Zhou Hao nodded to himself. As expected of the Empress—she had considered everything thoroughly.

"Go play." Murong said with a smile.

Yezi looked at Zhou Hao, then at Murong, and tactfully left.

Though he was young, he still understood a little about reading the room. He should not disturb Uncle and Auntie at a time like this, so he obediently bade them farewell and left.

Watching Yezi disappear through the doorway, Zhou Hao turned to Murong and asked with a grin, "Do you have a habit of giving gifts?"

"Hm?" Murong paused slightly, asking in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Zhou Hao said with amusement, "Every time you meet someone, you give them something. The first time we met, you gave me a divine crystal. After that, there were all sorts of things. You gave things to Yuanbao and Jinyin when they were born, and now you've given something to Yezi too.

All the signs make me suspect that you have a habit of giving gifts."

Murong looked at him speechlessly and said, "You and Yuanbao are my people, so it's perfectly normal for me to give you things. It's different with Yezi.

I gave Yezi something as a casual investment. There is immense bloodline power hidden within him, and he has considerable potential for growth."

Zhou Hao paused slightly, then suddenly understood. "So that's how it is."

When he had heard that Yezi had been picked up by Shi Po, he had vaguely sensed that Yezi might have an extraordinary background. Generally speaking, those abandoned in a Mysterious Fantasy world like this were quite likely to have unusual origins.

Murong looked at Zhou Hao meaningfully and slowly said, "A faction cannot accomplish anything with just one person. You need to uncover talented people and bring them in. Back then, how many people did I trick... invite into the Ice and Snow Divine Realm with this very tactic of 'giving gifts'?"

As she spoke, she smiled rather proudly.

The corners of Zhou Hao's mouth twitched. So this was how her gift-giving habit had developed.

After pondering for a moment, he asked, "So you want Yezi to join your Ice and Snow Divine Realm?"

"No." Murong shook her head and looked up at Zhou Hao. "I'm paving the way for you."

"Huh?" Zhou Hao looked utterly bewildered. Why did he not quite understand that?

Murong knew he was confused, so she continued explaining, "Once your cultivation reaches a certain level, you'll need to establish your own faction. This is an advance investment in you."

With Yezi's aptitude, he was not qualified to be recruited into the Ice and Snow Divine Realm. If it had been during the Ice and Snow Divine Realm's early development, they might have invested resources in nurturing him. But the current Ice and Snow Divine Realm would never do so.

Zhou Hao said awkwardly, "But I never said I wanted to create a faction."

Murong raised an eyebrow slightly. "It doesn't matter if you don't establish one. Consider it a favor for someone. Still, I recommend that you build a faction once you reach a certain level. When the time comes, doing anything will be much more convenient."

In her view, although Rogue Cultivators had a great deal of freedom, when comparing people of equal strength, the side with a faction would definitely be stronger than a Rogue Cultivator.

There were far too many powerful people in this world. No one dared claim they could suppress all worlds by themselves. Even someone as strong as Murong had ultimately ended up with only a thousand years of life remaining, and that was with the Ice and Snow Divine Realm at her back.

If she had been a Rogue Cultivator, the grass on her grave might already be several meters tall.

Zhou Hao thought it over carefully. Murong's words were not without reason. More importantly, he also felt that he needed a faction. Otherwise, compared to Murong, the Empress, his standing would instantly drop several levels. He did not want that.

A man still needed a career of his own!

All things considered, Zhou Hao felt it would be better to establish a faction in the future.

Zhou Hao nodded. "I'll see how things go first. If there's an opportunity, I'll create one."

"Mm." Murong wore the expression of someone seeing a teachable child and patted her chest. "If you have any problems, come ask me. I have experience."

The Ice and Snow Divine Realm had been founded by her own hand.

Zhou Hao nodded. "Alright."

But he had no desire to build a nation. That would make him the same as Murong. If he was going to do it, he wanted to do something different, so he wanted to take the elite route.

The kind where any one of them could fight a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand enemies alone. If everyone in an organization were that kind of person, its imposing grandeur would be beyond words.

The vision was beautiful, but putting it into practice would not be so easy. After all, many factors had to be considered. Still, that could wait until later. At present, there was not even the first stroke of the character eight.