A Budding Fondness

"Chicken soup's here~"

Huo Yun'er emerged from the kitchen carrying a steaming bowl of chicken soup.

She explained with a smile,

"This was made from the Millennium Jade-Treasure Chicken Duke Chen sent over."

"It simmered for an entire day and night. It's both nourishing and delicious."

Duke Chen was another of the many nobles Bai Luo had treated.

His territory was rather remote.

It was famous for all manner of rare delicacies.

Back then, while entering the soul beast forest, he had been attacked by a powerful soul beast and gravely wounded, left on the brink of death.

He had been poisoned by a peculiar and deadly toxin.

He had sought out countless healing-type soul masters, but none had been able to do anything.

They had declared his case beyond saving.

They said he had, at most, three months left to live.

Duke Chen had long since given up hope and begun arranging his affairs.

But then he happened to encounter Bai Luo, who was traveling through the area as a physician.

At the time, Bai Luo had already gained a modest reputation across the continent.

Duke Chen had treated a dead horse as if it were alive and invited him over.

Then, a miracle occurred.

That supreme poison which had left countless healing-type soul masters helpless

was effortlessly neutralized by Bai Luo using the Abundance Authority.

He even pulled Duke Chen back from the brink of death.

Restoring him to his peak condition.

For that reason,

Duke Chen believed Bai Luo had given him a new life.

So every so often, he would have people send over local specialties.

This Millennium Jade-Treasure Chicken was one of them.

Out in the wider world, it would absolutely be considered a priceless treasure.

Huo Yun'er placed the chicken soup on the table.

Then she brought out several more steaming dishes from the kitchen one after another.

"Grrr~"

An untimely sound suddenly rang out.

Bai Luo and Huo Yun'er both looked over at once.

Wang Dong blushed, clutching her stomach.

She wished she could dig a hole and crawl straight into it.

She had never expected her stomach to betray her so badly.

To actually protest at a time like this.

It was not really Wang Dong's fault.

After all, she had skipped dinner.

Then Bai Luo had beaten her up.

Even crying had taken quite a bit of energy.

Now that she saw the fragrant, delicious-looking dishes Huo Yun'er had made, it was only natural that her appetite had been stirred.

Huo Yun'er covered her lips and smiled.

Wang Dong was quite lovely on the outside.

It was easy for people to take a liking to her.

Otherwise, in the original story, she could not possibly have attracted so many infatuated admirers.

Though Huo Yun'er did not feel that sort of affection for Wang Dong,

she could not help developing the fondness an elder felt toward a junior.

After all, in front of Bai Luo, Wang Dong had no chance to display her little devilish personality.

She seemed rather obedient instead.

Huo Yun'er comforted her gently,

"Don't be embarrassed. If you're hungry, then eat."

"Come taste Auntie's cooking."

Bai Luo spoke up as well, though he did not rub salt in the wound.

"Yeah, give it a try."

"Wasn't mooching a meal what you came here for anyway?"

Wang Dong's face reddened even more at Bai Luo's words.

She shot him a vicious glare.

But since there was nothing she could do to him, she could only clench her fists, simmering with frustration.

In the end, she turned all her indignation and resentment into appetite.

Picking up her chopsticks, she began to feast.

The moment Wang Dong put the first bite of food into her mouth, her eyes widened.

So delicious!

She was amazed by the flavor of the dishes before her.

They were different from the carefully prepared dishes she ate at the Haotian Sect.

Though they lacked that much ceremony, they carried more flavor and the warmth of everyday life.

She even felt a little envious that that bastard Bai Luo got to eat such delicious food every day.

Watching Wang Dong eat with gusto, Huo Yun'er's smile grew brighter still.

For a cook, having others sincerely acknowledge the food she had made was undoubtedly the greatest encouragement.

In comparison, Bai Luo, who had been eating Huo Yun'er's cooking for years, did not react with such excitement.

He picked up a chicken wing and placed it in his bowl, then took a light bite.

The perfectly controlled heat and timing had made the meat exceptionally tender.

It was savory and delicious the moment it entered his mouth.

"Yun'er, your cooking is getting better and better."

Bai Luo praised her aloud.

"As long as the boss likes it."

Huo Yun'er chuckled.

She had already decided that she would cook for Bai Luo for the rest of her life.

As for the White Tiger Duke's Estate?

Huo Yun'er felt nothing for it.

After she and her son had suffered hunger and cold, enduring the servants' abuse due to the Duchess's deliberate targeting,

and after she had nearly walked the line between life and death,

Huo Yun'er no longer held any hope for that man.

Now, all she wanted was to stay by Bai Luo's side and cook for him, repaying him for saving her life and for the immense kindness of pulling both mother and son out of darkness.

Those debts of gratitude were far too great, impossible to repay in full.

All she could do was spend the rest of her life repaying them little by little.

Though Bai Luo himself had never once asked her to do so.

"Is Yuhao not coming back to eat?"

Bai Luo suddenly thought of something.

"No."

"He said he could just eat at the academy."

Huo Yun'er shook her head.

Though the clinic was located in a bustling area of Shrek City, it was still some distance from Shrek Academy.

Running back and forth was indeed quite troublesome.

Other than during short breaks, Huo Yuhao would likely spend most of his time at the academy.

"I see. That's fine too."

"He should enjoy his student days while he can. He might not get another chance in the future."

Bai Luo said softly.

"Boss, did you never plan on going to school?"

Resting her cheek on her hand, Huo Yun'er asked curiously.

Though he behaved with great maturity and had even made quite a name for himself on the continent,

Bai Luo was actually not much older than Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yun'er did not understand why Bai Luo had not attended a soul master academy.

With the boss's talent, any soul master academy would probably welcome him with open arms, wouldn't it?

"There's no need."

"For me, attending some soul master academy would be less worthwhile than treating illnesses and saving people at the clinic."

Bai Luo shook his head.

He had no intention of studying at any soul master academy.

There was simply no need.

Those people had nothing to teach him, nor could they provide the resources he needed.

He was far more at ease treating illnesses and saving people at the clinic.

For someone with the Aeon of Abundance martial soul, treating illnesses and saving lives was the best way to improve himself.

As for enjoying academy life...

Bai Luo had already experienced it in his previous life, so he had no regrets.

And academy life on the Douluo Continent

was not really anything special.

There were merely a few more practical combat classes.

"That's true."

Huo Yun'er nodded.

She did not know about Bai Luo's previous life.

She only vaguely felt that if Bai Luo went to study at the same soul master academy as those young soul masters, he would seem strangely out of place.

Perhaps that was what it meant to be a top genius.

They were clearly around the same age, yet he had already left his peers behind and stood on a completely different level.

Treating illnesses and saving lives.

What a simple and wonderful wish the boss had!

Huo Yun'er's admiration for Bai Luo grew even deeper.

She even felt that Bai Luo faintly possessed a touch of divinity.

It was a nobility that simply should not exist in the mortal world.

But Huo Yun'er did not know

that Bai Luo was not as lofty as she imagined.

He merely had some basic moral principles.

He was not some great saint devoted to saving the world.

Everything he did had his own purposes behind it.

Still, actions mattered more than intentions. Considering what Bai Luo had done over the years, calling him a godly physician would not be an exaggeration.

Ordinary doctors could not cure serious illnesses.

Top healing-type soul masters who could cure serious illnesses would not treat ordinary people.

Only Bai Luo

possessed medical skills comparable to, or even surpassing, those of top healing-type soul masters.

And he did not care much about differences in status.

He would treat and heal ordinary people.

Perhaps this was also influenced by the worldview he had developed in his previous life.

He could not divide soul masters and commoners into two sharply separate classes.

To him, they had one thing in common:

They were both human.

He did not treat soul masters, nobles, or commoners.

All he had ever treated were patients.

Listening to the conversation between the two,

Wang Dong could not help turning her gaze toward Bai Luo.

Looking at that calm, handsome face,

Wang Dong suddenly felt that Bai Luo possessed an indescribable maturity.

Why?

He was clearly about the same age as her, so why did he give off this feeling?

Wang Dong did not understand.

Still, she could not help feeling a little curious about Bai Luo.

"Aunt Yun, has this guy saved a lot of people?"

Wang Dong asked as casually as she could.

"Of course."

A proud expression appeared on Huo Yun'er's face.

"Just during the time I've been with the boss, he's already pulled no fewer than a thousand people back from death's door."

"As for all sorts of other difficult and complicated illnesses, they were as countless as the stars in the sky."

Listening to Huo Yun'er, Wang Dong's opinion of Bai Luo gradually began to change.

She looked at Bai Luo, who ate calmly, as though everything Huo Yun'er had described were merely trivial matters.

A different emotion appeared in Wang Dong's eyes.

Fine, she admitted that this guy really was a good person.

Of course, that did not change the fact that he was a bastard!

At most, he was a kind-hearted bastard!

The young lady thought haughtily to herself.

Yet even she had not noticed that the first faint buds of affection had already begun to sprout in her heart.