Yu Gong Moves Mountains, Super Chicken Soup

Xue Mu turned his head to look out the window, only to realize it was already past noon—likely well after one o'clock... He hadn't even been offered a bite of lunch, and they were talking about rewards? What a joke.

A knock sounded at the door, followed by Yue Xiaochan's voice: "Master."

Xue Qingqiu waved her hand, and the door swung open automatically. Yue Xiaochan skipped in, cast a curious glance at the teacup on the table, and chuckled, "To think you'd let Master serve tea herself? It seems the conversation went quite well."

Knowing full well that Yue Xiaochan had heard every word of their earlier exchange, Xue Mu felt a bit awkward. Yet, Yue Xiaochan seemed completely indifferent, maintaining that same bright, smiling expression.

Xue Mu couldn't discern any changes in Yue Xiaochan, but Xue Qingqiu was ecstatic the moment she saw her. She could tell at a glance that Yue Xiaochan's spirit had reached the Hua Yun Realm; she had broken through a major bottleneck in her cultivation! This was a hurdle that had stumped countless geniuses, and even Xue Qingqiu herself hadn't reached this stage until she was fifteen. For Chan'er to break through at a mere thirteen was an achievement unprecedented in the history of the Star Moon Sect! No, not just the Star Moon Sect—it was unheard of in the entire world.

It was enough to go down in history and shine for a thousand generations!

In the midst of her joy, Xue Qingqiu suddenly remembered something and paused. There had been no signs of a breakthrough earlier; why now? She pursed her lips, a trace of worry dampening her excitement, and asked, "Why did you come running here?"

Yue Xiaochan stuck out the tip of her tongue. "Master might not fear hunger, but I was worried you'd starve Uncle to death, so I came to call you for lunch."

Xue Qingqiu and Xue Mu exclaimed in unison, "Uncle?"

"Everyone, from the sect disciples to outsiders, already thinks Xue Mu is Master's brother, and Master didn't deny it..." Yue Xiaochan smiled faintly. "Since I'm still young... if he isn't an uncle, then what should he be?"

Watching her smile, the two Xues looked at each other in astonishment, momentarily at a loss for how to respond.

After a long silence, Xue Qingqiu said indifferently, "Then an uncle it is... Chan'er, have them bring the food. You can eat with your uncle."

Xue Mu's mouth twitched. Instead of the joy of having secured a powerful backer, he felt like crying. So much for the hope that she'd grow up... what's the point if I'm stuck as an uncle?

Yue Xiaochan bit her nail, eyeing them both, and giggled, "Are Master and Uncle finding it a case of meeting too late? Do you want to have a heart-to-heart talk tonight? Actually, I think Master really should consider it..."

Xue Qingqiu made a move to strike her. "I'll beat you, you shameless brat."

Yue Xiaochan laughed and ran off.

Xue Mu lowered his head to drink his tea.

Xue Qingqiu stood up and walked to the window, watching Yue Xiaochan's retreating figure. Suddenly, she asked, "How old are you this year, sir?"

"Twenty-seven."

"One year younger than me." Xue Qingqiu was silent for a moment before continuing, "I had considered giving you a position, but if you don't join our sect, it's hard to make it official. And our sect hasn't taken in male disciples for years; I'm not willing to break that precedent just yet. So... you can indeed act under the guise of my sworn brother."

Xue Mu smiled. "Judging by your tone, Sect Master, you seem rather reluctant."

Xue Qingqiu laughed in spite of herself. "Granting you the status of a brother has unpredictable consequences for the Star Moon Sect; I must be cautious. Do you truly think This Seat hands out family titles so casually?"

Xue Mu said, appearing nonchalant, "Then let's forget it. If you aren't sincere about it, why force the issue?"

"It sounds like you aren't exactly eager either?" Xue Qingqiu asked, intrigued. "Do you have any idea how many people..."

She stopped mid-sentence, a strange light flashing in her eyes. She seemed to have grasped something of Xue Mu's intent.

Was it pride? Or did he have other thoughts?

If he had other thoughts, were they aimed at the future, grown-up Yue Xiaochan? Or were they aimed at... Xue Qingqiu herself?

He hadn't said it outright, so it could be interpreted in any number of ways.

She found it truly interesting.

Just then, the servants brought in the meal, with Yue Xiaochan following behind. She smiled, "The imperial court is in total chaos today."

Xue Qingqiu, still preoccupied with thoughts of Xue Mu, asked offhandedly, "Oh?"

"We set a good example, and the Joyous Union Sect followed suit, hunting down orthodox female disciples to strip their clothes. Even the wealthy elites in the Capital who run restaurants and casinos have caught the bug. Though they aren't as ruthless as us in grabbing people, they've secretly commissioned custom clothing." Yue Xiaochan looked gleeful. "The major sects don't have much strength stationed in the Capital, and after suffering heavy losses when they tried to use force against us, they didn't dare act rashly. So they went to the officials they're close with for help, and now the court is in an uproar."

Xue Mu shoveled rice into his mouth and said casually, "The court won't reach a resolution. I suspect they'll just summon Xiahou Di for a symbolic scolding and then let it drop."

Yue Xiaochan rested her chin on her hand, watching him wolf down his food. A flicker of unreadable emotion crossed her eyes before she quickly suppressed it, smiling, "Uncle is truly brilliant; you guessed it exactly."

Xue Mu blurted out, "I am not an un—"

"You are an uncle," Xue Qingqiu interrupted before he could finish.

"..." Watching Xue Qingqiu calmly sipping tea as if nothing had happened, Xue Mu felt powerless to argue.

Damn it, I've seen people steal brides, but I've never seen someone force a man to be their brother. Do you really think this solves the problem? Too bad you probably don't know about a certain thrilling field of study called 'German Orthopedics'...

Yue Xiaochan's eyes darted around, and she said in a syrupy voice, "Uncle..."

Xue Mu nearly shuddered. "What?"

"There were no guests this morning, and the girls are already copying and circulating your little stories... When is the next installment coming out?"

Speaking of these erotic stories, while it seemed like a trivial amusement, it actually carried a significant portion of Xue Mu's ambition. It was a probing attack on the social patterns of this world, and he took it very seriously. He thought for a moment before saying, "Let's see how this one is received tonight. The stories can be written anytime; it's no rush."

Yue Xiaochan began to act spoiled. "Then I want to hear Uncle tell a story first."

"...If you can speak properly, we can tell a story..."

"Okay, okay!" Yue Xiaochan immediately sat up straight.

Though she was teasing him with complex and strange intentions, when it came to actually hearing a story, the little girl finally revealed her naturally explosive curiosity. In truth, Xue Qingqiu was also quite curious. Back in the carriage, Xue Mu had told a small story that had left an impression on her, and she was somewhat looking forward to his tales. Hearing them mention the girls circulating these stories, she still had no idea what they were talking about.

Xue Mu ate his meal, speaking slowly, "In ancient times, there was a man named Yu Gong. There were two great mountains blocking the path in front of his house, making travel inconvenient, so he resolved to dig them flat."

Yue Xiaochan smiled. "The power to shatter mountains? I'm still far from that. Was he a Void-Refining expert like Master?"

"Break your ass," Xue Mu nearly choked on a grain of rice, coughing for a long time before managing to say, "In this unscientific world, can you actually shatter mountains? He was just an ordinary man, as powerless as I am."

Xue Qingqiu sneered, "A mortal moving a mountain—overestimating his own strength."

Xue Mu nodded, "Another clever man, the Wise Old Man, laughed at him for being foolish, believing it impossible to achieve. Yu Gong said: 'When I die, I have my sons; when they die, they have grandsons. My descendants are endless, so why worry about not being able to level the mountain?'"

The master and disciple were visibly moved, exchanging a glance before falling into a collective silence.

Their Demon Sect had struggled through a thousand years of hiding and hardship, passing the torch down to the fiftieth generation without ever letting the flame die out. Seeing the sect now on the rise, with Xue Qingqiu carrying the banner and Yue Xiaochan inheriting the legacy, was this not the very embodiment of Yu Gong's story?

Xue Qingqiu sighed softly, "I was shallow. Later... did this Yu Gong succeed?"

Xue Mu improvised, swapping out the immortals and deities for his own version, "Later, a few passing experts at the Void-Piercing stage were moved by Yu Gong's spirit and stepped in to help. Naturally, it ended happily for everyone."

The master and disciple were clearly deeply immersed in the story; hearing this, they both revealed smiles of relief, saying, "Indeed, if we had seen it, we would have lent a hand as well."

Xue Mu smiled and went back to his meal. He had, of course, intentionally chosen a story to strike a chord in their hearts. Inspirational chicken soup like this resonated with everyone, and even in an era of information overload, wasn't the most popular content on social media always the same old chicken soup? Not to mention this primordial version—for a master and disciple who constantly carried the weight of their sect, no story could be more resonant or immersive.

Yue Xiaochan savored the thought for a moment, though a hint of melancholy still lingered on her small face as she muttered, "Yu Gong was lucky to have passing experts help him. But us..."

Xue Mu interjected at the perfect moment, "You have me."

The master and disciple both tilted their heads to look at him, their expressions identical—a mix of amusement and skepticism. They knew full well he had ulterior motives for saying such a thing, but at that moment, they found it quite agreeable. Xue Qingqiu simply laughed, teasing, "I wonder who is the Yu Gong and who is the Void-Piercing expert."

Xue Mu muttered under his breath, "I know you're Void-Piercing." He placed a subtle, inconspicuous pause and emphasis on "Void" and "Piercing," the true meaning being incredibly lewd.

The two were so accustomed to hearing the name of this cultivation rank that they naturally didn't think anything of it. No matter how clever they were, they couldn't detect his vulgar intent, and instead laughed, "It's good that you know."

Xue Mu finished his last bite of rice, feeling excellent.

He had finally established a firm footing in this world. Xue Qingqiu might appear to be the ruthless Demon Empress of the Demon Sect, but in reality, as long as one understood her psychology and kept a sense of proportion, she wasn't hard to get along with at all—perhaps even easier than those rigid, rule-bound righteous sects.

Even if he wanted to woo her, it didn't seem entirely hopeless... after all, she really was quite "void-piercing."