My Savage, Blood-Drinking Father

Holding her in his arms, holding her in his arms...

Qin Muye was getting all tangled up. To him, beautiful women fell into just three categories.

The first were women who made him feel desire at first sight. For them, it came down to their figure.

The second were women who made him want to fall in love at first sight. For them, it came down to their face and temperament.

And the third were women who made him want to marry them and have children at first sight. He couldn't say what made them fit that category. It was all rather mysterious.

Bai Yuji was at least the first two kinds. Holding such a stunning beauty, he couldn't possibly feel nothing.

If the Qin Family weren't his biggest backer, and if he knew what would happen once they were done using him, he would've put all his attribute points into physique and helped Bai Yuji take revenge again and again.

"Qin Muye?"

"What is it?"

"If you've recovered, hurry up and let go!"

"What makes you think I've recovered?"

"You're already in the mood to feel my waist, and you're telling me you haven't recovered? I'm counting to three. If you don't let go, I'll make you regret it."

"..."

Qin Muye let go sheepishly, but his tone was utterly sincere. "Thank you! I really like this birthday present."

Bai Yuji rolled her eyes at him, but didn't retort.

She'd thought she would hate being touched by him, just as she had before.

But today, to her surprise, she hadn't—not at least until he touched her waist.

Maybe it was because he'd lost quite a bit of weight these past few days and looked better?

Or maybe she just felt sorry for him.

She chuckled. "I'd actually prepared something else for you, but since you're happy with this birthday present, I'll keep it for myself."

"Don't!"

Qin Muye perked up. "Bring it out. I'll take it all."

"Then wait here!"

Bai Yuji rose with a smile and walked right out of the bedroom.

About the time it took to burn one incense stick later, she returned with a bowl in her hands.

Before he even took the bowl, Qin Muye caught a rich, savory aroma.

"What's this?"

"Fried bugs."

"..."

Qin Muye took the bowl and saw a variety of insects, all fried to a golden brown. The corner of his mouth twitched.

Bai Yuji raised a delicate brow. "Dare to eat them?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

Qin Muye shut his eyes, picked one up, and popped it into his mouth.

The moment it touched his tongue, his eyes flew open. The aroma of meat and fat exploded across his taste buds, taking him back to the summer when he'd first eaten fried cicada pupae as a child.

When he grew up, he'd come across them at roadside stalls. They cost a fortune, but he'd steeled himself and bought a skewer. Yet the taste had never again seemed so astonishing.

He hadn't expected to find that same mind-blowing flavor here.

He didn't pause for a second. In no time, he'd polished off the whole bowl of fried bugs.

"Tasty, right?"

"Delicious!"

"Worth a folk song, then?"

"Absolutely!"

Qin Muye nodded again and again. "I didn't know you had a skill like this. Where'd you learn it?"

The smile on Bai Yuji's face froze. She was silent for a while before answering, "In the days just after Nanzhao was destroyed, we hid in the mountains. There were all kinds of great demons and vicious beasts there, so we could only raise insects as our staple food."

Qin Muye: "..."

The atmosphere fell silent.

After a long while, Bai Yuji stood with the empty bowl. Only when she reached the door did she speak. "Give me the ten thousand taels you promised as soon as you can!"

With that,

she turned and left.

After closing the door, she stood in the courtyard for a long time.

She'd pulled off today's act beautifully. She'd even felt that Qin Muye had been moved.

But she couldn't bring herself to smile.

Because she'd suddenly realized that she hated acting. Coming back to her senses after a performance always hurt so much.

Inside,

Qin Muye leaned against the headboard with his hands behind his head, savoring the meaty aftertaste as he muttered, "Damn it! Acting isn't fun at all."

He shook his head, then opened his status panel again.

[Name]: Qin Muye

[Physique]: Eighth Rank (-79/40)

[Soul]: Seventh Rank (22.7/80)

[Fate Skill]: Thread-Crafter

[Available Attribute Points]: 23.63

Bai Yuji really knew her stuff. He hadn't put a single attribute point into his physique. He'd regained his strength entirely through her new treatment plan.

Still, he was a long way from a full recovery.

On the first day of treatment, he'd recovered 10 points; on the second, 5; on the third, 3; after that, only 1 each day—and some days, it took several days to regain even 1. At this rate, he didn't have much hope of making a full recovery.

He wondered how Bai Yuji would react when she learned what the consequences would be.

Whatever.

He'd take a nap first.

The meal was making him sleepy.

The inner river.

Aboard the Flower Boat.

Wang Li's voice brimmed with agitation. "Cousin! We can't just let this go!"

"Of course we can't!"

Shen Jin said in a low voice, "My cousin was humiliated today, and it was a slap in my face too. We'll make them pay double for this someday. But things are tense right now. Let's wait until the real culprit behind the attack on that good-for-nothing is caught."

Wang Li was reluctant, but he could only nod.

Noble scions in the capital often clashed with one another, but they all cared about saving face, so none of them took things too far. Besides, with Shen Jin backing his family, the worst they'd ever suffered was a few bruises to the face.

But today, someone had grabbed Wang Xuan by the hair and slapped her, then torn her clothes.

What kind of backwater peasant woman's tactics were those?

After suffering such a grave humiliation, how was his sister supposed to show her face in public again?

When he'd made threats, he'd invoked the Langya Wang Clan, but the clan had too many branches. His own was nothing special. Who would go out of their way to stand up for Wang Xuan?

All they could do was wait for Shen Jin.

"Wang, don't get worked up!"

The burly young man beside them was panting heavily. "At least Qin Muye got what was coming to him today. If he brings the Brocade Guard to your house again, he'll be the one in the wrong, and you'll have grounds to raise a fuss. Unlike me—I lost a top-grade demon beast core. I was planning to use it to break through to the Sixth Rank!"

Shen Jin chuckled. "Yu Shanjun, don't act like you're the one who got robbed. Aren't you breaking through to the Sixth Rank right now?"

Yu Shanjun glanced down. The woman's eyes were unfocused, her cheeks flushed, and her body swayed in rhythm with his.

She was indeed Sixth Rank.

He burst out laughing. As he kept working on his breakthrough, he asked, "Does tiger whip really work? I'm asking you—does it work?"

After quite a while,

the sounds of his breakthrough finally stopped.

The woman got dressed, still hoping to have a little more fun with Yu Shanjun.

But he merely waved her away, already bored.

He sighed and sank back into his earlier emptiness. "Brother Shen, can you help me get my hands on a good core?"

Shen Jin couldn't help cursing him out. "I've got so many fine things on this boat, and none of them are more fun than cultivation? You're still fixated on that lousy cultivation base. What future is there in that?"

He was at his wit's end.

This Flower Boat offered the finest pleasures in all of Great Gan.

Even the beautiful, chivalrous women admired by common martial artists were treated as nothing more than playthings aboard this ship.

Only when Qin Muye had come aboard had things been a little tame.

At any other time, this boat was a paradise on earth.

And yet these guys still weren't satisfied. They were still thinking about cultivation!

Yu Shanjun grimaced. "You think I want to cultivate? The Ten Thousand Races Imperial Examination is at the end of the year, and my savage, blood-drinking father is coming. If he sees that I haven't broken through to the Sixth Rank, he'll beat my tiger backside clean through!"

Shen Jin rubbed his temples. "Fair enough! There's an auction today, and the others seem to have spent big too. We can all make back some of what we lost. My father sent me over a thousand spirit stones yesterday, so today's expenses are on me. But don't get your hopes up. A leopard demon core of that quality is truly rare."

"Brother Shen, you're a generous man!"

"Help me introduce a few more demon geniuses in a few days, will you? We haven't had any new members on the boat in ages."

"No problem. Consider it done!"

Night fell.

In a private room at the auction house,

the group ate and drank while waiting for their lot.

At last,

"Lot seven: a Sixth-Rank leopard demon core, with its demonic energy intact and its vitality abundant. Appraised as top-grade. The bidding starts at one hundred spirit stones, with minimum increments of ten."

"Hey!"

Yu Shanjun perked up at once. "Isn't this a stroke of luck? Just what I needed! Same kind of demon core as mine, same rank, same quality, and it even looks..."

He suddenly sensed something was off. He stared at it for a long moment, then cursed, "Motherfucker, that's my core! Brother Shen, that good-for-nothing Qin Muye is here too!"

Shen Jin: "..."

That was downright shameless!

He'd only handed over the gift at noon, and it was already up for auction that evening.

Who was he trying to disgust?

In another private room,

Li Xingluo had been watching the auction quietly when she suddenly let out a surprised sound.

"Hm?"

The beautiful woman beside her reclined against a couch and smiled lazily. "Xingluo, what is it?"

Li Xingluo pointed out the window, her lips curving slightly. "Auntie, Qin Muye just got that gift at noon, and now he's put it up for auction."

"Qin Muye..."

The beautiful woman's smile remained, but her eyes turned icy.