Parting and Promises!

Su Mei's acquisition—ahem, joining—was the greatest harvest, and the rewards of 3 random attribute points and 1 free attribute point were not to be underestimated.

For Reincarnators, the five main attributes are the foundation of foundations. Whether it is combat technique or special skills, none can function without the support of these attributes. Just like Dongmei's sword dance earlier; without the coordination of a good physique, even the most exquisite swordplay would become riddled with flaws!

As the name suggests, random attribute points are distributed by the Space, assigned randomly to the five main attributes. Everything depends on luck. Free attribute points, of course, are distributed by the Reincarnator themselves and can be added reasonably according to the situation.

Gao Xu saved the free attribute point for now. Once he returned to the Space, he planned to browse the market; he might purchase some desirable equipment or skills, and if the attribute requirements weren't met, he could add it then.

As for the random attribute points, since they were random by nature, Gao Xu chose to use them immediately. The result left him laughing and crying: only 1 point went into Strength, while the other 2 points actually went into Insight!

Gao Xu's Insight was already high enough; what he urgently needed were Strength, Agility, and Constitution, which were closely related to combat!

Fortunately, his Strength reached 8 points, meaning he could finally equip the Black Iron Scale Armor. After changing his gear, Gao Xu's main attributes became:

Strength 9, Agility 7, Constitution 9, Spirit 9, Insight 14, HP: 90, Defense 9.5.

After roughly organizing his gains, Gao Xu stepped out of the house, solemnly expressed his gratitude to Doctor Han and his daughter, and took Lin Yueru back toward Suzhou City.

On the way, Su Mei learned that Lin Yueru had contributed significantly during the herb-gathering process. Under Gao Xu's encouragement, she overcame her inner fear and gradually began to laugh and chat with Lin Yueru.

Lin Yueru stroked her chubby little face, finding her incredibly adorable. Imperceptibly, her disgust toward the Snake Demon and Fox Demon also diminished significantly, and she felt even more reluctant to part with Gao Xu.

Although she hadn't been able to go to the General's Tomb to see the so-called Red Ghost King, Lin Yueru was very satisfied with the experiences of the past two days. Compared to the petty squabbles in Suzhou City, bullying those unreliable young masters who came to propose marriage, dealing with mountain bandits, high monks, and demons was undoubtedly much more attractive to the young mistress of the Lin family!

Therefore, the closer they got to Suzhou City, the slower Lin Yueru walked. In the end, Xiao Jun, who was hiding in the shadows to protect her, couldn't watch anymore and appeared directly to call out to Lin Yueru, who was chasing butterflies with Su Mei. Only then did she reluctantly quicken her pace.

"There is no banquet in the world that doesn't end. Miss Lin, we shall part ways here. I hope you will inform her parents of the news of Su Mei's recovery in time!" When the three arrived in Suzhou City and looked at the Lin Family Fort from afar, Gao Xu finally spoke the words of parting.

Lin Yueru gave a muffled "en," held Su Mei's small hand, and shook it. Su Mei then threw herself into her arms with teary eyes, crying, "Sister Yueru, Mei'er really doesn't want you to leave!"

"Be good, Mei'er. You must come to see sister often. It's very boring for sister at home..."

Gao Xu watched their tearful farewell, rubbed his nose, and couldn't get a word in. He had originally thought that with his 75-point favorability with Lin Yueru, some special plot would occur when they parted. Who knew reality would be so cruel? The spotlight was completely stolen by this cute little girl, Su Mei.

Fortunately, Lin Yueru hadn't completely forgotten him. Of course, if it were Gao Xu, there wouldn't be any such hugging and holding. She just stared at him for a moment and then whispered, "Zhong Bo, are you there?"

An old man with a youthful face and white hair flashed out from nowhere. He looked at Lin Yueru kindly, handed her something, and said happily, "Miss, you finally took the initiative once. If the Fort Master knew, how happy he would be~"

"Don't you dare tell him!" Lin Yueru's pretty face flushed. She stomped her foot, threw the item into Gao Xu's hand, and turned to leave. Only when she was far away did her crisp voice drift back, "Kid, if you don't have time, don't come. But if you do come, don't let me down!"

It was the first time Gao Xu had seen Lin Yueru's shy appearance. The spirited young girl, blushing and embarrassed, truly had a unique charm. He looked curiously at what was in his hand and realized it was an invitation.

Martial Arts Tournament Invitation: Special Item. The Southern Martial Arts Alliance Leader Lin Tiannan holds a martial arts tournament in Suzhou City every year to recruit a son-in-law, and several sessions have been held to date. Using this invitation in the Space allows one to enter the Chinese Paladin world, and the main quest will be related to the martial arts tournament. Maximum number of entrants: 1.

Note: Because this invitation was personally gifted by the plot character Lin Yueru, it implicitly carries high expectations. The main quest is fixed as defeating all other competitors to win the final victory in the martial arts tournament. Success will directly raise the Lin Family Fort reputation to Revered and significantly increase Lin Yueru's favorability; failure will reduce Lin Yueru's favorability to 0. This quest is extremely difficult; please consider carefully before entering.

"Don't let you down...?" Gao Xu pondered Lin Yueru's final farewell in his heart. Her usual toughness carried a hint of imperceptible tenderness, which was heart-stirring. A promise from a beauty, deep affection—how could he shrink back and flee because of mere difficulty?

"The son-in-law of the Lin Family Fort, that doesn't sound too bad... First of all, that Longquan Sword is a dark-gold grade treasure, which just happens to suit my Sword Control Technique!"

"Big Brother, you're smiling so strangely. Are you thinking about something delicious?" Just as Gao Xu was lost in his fantasies, unable to extricate himself, Su Mei poked her head over curiously with her big eyes wide open.

After becoming a spirit pet, her address for Gao Xu hadn't changed at all. He didn't know if it was because her intelligence was too high, or if the Space intentionally prevented Reincarnators from enjoying the joy of a cute loli calling them "Master~"

"Eat, you only know how to eat! Do you think Big Brother is such a shallow person?" Gao Xu looked embarrassed and lectured the little fox, "I was considering what we should do in the next few hours!"

Su Mei nodded as if she understood, sniffed her little nose, and said excitedly, "Then let's go taste the food in the city! Mother once brought me here once. It was so delicious, I've been thinking about it ever since!"

Gao Xu looked at the little loli who couldn't go three sentences without mentioning food and didn't know what to say. However, on second thought, there really wasn't enough time left to dig for side quests, and he had some spare money in his pocket, so it might be better to improve the little girl's loyalty.

After transforming into a spirit pet, the original favorability, which had reached its maximum, had turned into zero loyalty. This was a fixed setting of the Space; no matter how good the relationship was before, it had to start from scratch.

This was because loyalty was not only related to whether the spirit pet would betray or flee from its master, but also to its innate skills. Although Gao Xu hadn't obtained a spirit pet in his previous life, he knew quite a bit of relevant information.

As long as loyalty reaches 50 points, the spirit pet will unlock a companion skill. Such skills are usually related to the master's abilities, complementing each other and greatly improving combat effectiveness. Every 10 points thereafter—at 60, 70, and 80—there is a chance to learn another companion skill.

When loyalty reaches 90 points, the spirit pet learns the Life and Spirit Sharing skill, which can input its own HP and Spirit into the master's body, increasing the master's combat endurance.

When loyalty reaches 100 points, the spirit pet gains the permanent buff "Unwavering Loyalty," significantly increasing HP and Spirit. In critical moments, it possesses corresponding innate abilities to protect the master's safety and can gain a chance at rebirth!

From this, one can see the benefits brought by loyalty. However, precisely because of this, loyalty is more difficult to improve than favorability. The first 50 points are fine, but once it goes above 50, it is said that every point requires a significant price to be paid.

Gao Xu didn't know the specific details, but in his opinion, this thing definitely had something in common with favorability. Catering to her preferences was definitely one of the feasible shortcuts. So, taking Su Mei to enjoy a good meal was the right thing to do!