Dawn had come, but the night was still heavy.
Inside the Congee Shop on the Tianyun Plateau, Xian He gripped a large ladle and stirred a huge pot, cooking Wood Powder Porridge.
As he stirred, the wood powder's distinctive sweet aroma gradually wafted through the air.
Old Man Yun sat on the steps by the entrance, holding a Crystal Pomegranate and nibbling at it leisurely. His movements were more graceful than a young woman's.
He had a leopard-like head, round eyes, and a face full of stubble. He stood over eight feet tall and was as strong as a giant bear, yet he ate like a shy little girl.
"Not bad. Once the Wood Powder Porridge starts giving off its fragrance, it's halfway done," Old Man Yun remarked, his nostrils twitching.
He turned to look at his son-in-law, his cloudy old eyes full of satisfaction. With his son-in-law's skill at making Wood Powder Porridge, at least his daughter wouldn't have to go hungry.
Truth was, Old Man Yun had never thought much of Xian He. He had no power, no money, and pitifully poor cultivation talent. If Yun Ling hadn't threatened to kill herself, he would never have agreed to the marriage.
But what was done was done, and it was too late for regrets. He could only hope Xian He would make something of himself and give Yun Ling a good life.
Old Man Yun turned back to his Crystal Pomegranate and continued eating. As he munched, he muttered, "I wonder where Xian He picked this fruit. It's not only delicious, it fills you up, too."
Even stranger, the old injury in his leg had always ached faintly, but after eating this fruit, the pain had eased.
And he seemed to have gotten stronger, too—almost as strong as a Yellow Obsidian One-star. He wondered if it was just his imagination.
"Could that brat have gone to Black Spring to pick this fruit? No, once he's done cooking, I'll have to ask him about it." Old Man Yun's expression darkened.
Black Spring was a forbidden place of the Sky Fortune Tribe, located at the edge of the Tianyun Plateau. It was full of miasma and home to terrifying venomous monsters. Even the chief, a Black Obsidian level powerhouse, wouldn't dare enter. How could Xian He have dared?
Then again, that brat was usually terrified of dying. He probably wouldn't have gone to Black Spring to get himself killed. Could he have picked the fruit somewhere else?
That couldn't be. He'd lived on the Tianyun Plateau for most of his life and had never seen a tree that grew fruit like this.
Meanwhile, Xian He stirred the ladle mechanically, worrying about Yun Ling.
He'd been back in the Real World for almost an hour, while roughly two weeks had passed in the Inner World.
He wondered if she was eating well.
"But she must be sleeping well," Xian He said with a faint smile.
He and Yun Ling had spent two months together in the Inner World, playing games every day.
Yun Ling hadn't let him down. She'd gotten pregnant after just over a month.
At the thought, Xian He sighed, his expression turning despondent.
"Other men's wives get chicken, duck, and fish every day when they're pregnant, while my wife can only eat pomegranates. That's just too miserable."
He didn't know if there were pheasants or rabbits in the forest on the outskirts, but he was certain there were wolves.
That pack of lechers howled a couple of times every night, cheering him and Yun Ling on.
He had no idea what level those lechers were, but since they lived in the Primordial World, they had to be pretty powerful.
"I'm only Two-star Azure Obsidian. I'd better not take any risks for now." Xian He didn't think he was being a coward. He was simply being extremely responsible with his life.
If he died, Yun Ling would be a widow.
So he absolutely couldn't die!
Which meant he wouldn't do anything risky.
After cooking for over half an hour, the perfect Wood Powder Porridge was finally ready.
Wood Powder Porridge wasn't even a low-grade dish, so for a Grandmaster Chef like him, making it was as easy as drinking plain water.
"Let me try it!"
Though Old Man Yun was already so full he kept burping, he still grabbed the large ladle and scooped out some porridge. He blew on the steam, then took a small taste.
"Good! Good!! Good!!!" Old Man Yun said, repeating the word three times.
He set the ladle on the stove, patted Xian He on the shoulder, and said with a laugh, "Not bad. You've surpassed your teacher. From now on, stay here and run the Congee Shop with me. Stop messing around with all that useless junk of yours."
"Okay." Xian He didn't refuse.
With Old Man Yun's temper, if he dared say no, the old man would pin him over his thigh and spank him.
He was already a grown man, married with a child on the way. He didn't want to make a fool of himself in public.
"Where did you pick those Big Red Fruits?" Old Man Yun licked his lips, still craving more.
Xian He's eyes darted around a few times, then he chuckled. "I grew them myself. If you want some, I'll bring you more tomorrow."
He'd picked every pomegranate from the tree, one by one—over nine hundred in total, or a full thousand if he counted the ones he'd eaten.
He'd stored all the picked fruit in the Cold Storage east of the north building. If he left it outside, it would spoil.
Based on how quickly the tree had grown over the past two months, he estimated it would take about a year for the Crystal Pomegranate Tree to bear fruit again.
A year in the Inner World was one day in the Real World. He hadn't just been saying it when he promised to bring Old Man Yun pomegranates tomorrow.
"You grew them?" Old Man Yun's big blue eyes widened in disbelief. "You have a knack for that, too?"
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