Someone Who Knows His Pots

Lu Yuan already knew that True Essence gradually recovered with rest.

Last night, after he raised his maximum True Essence, he had 111 ling of it. He couldn't bear to spend Merit Points to replenish it, and after a night's rest, he woke up this morning with 114 ling.

After a full day, not only had his True Essence failed to recover, it had dropped by four points.

I was busy nonstop today from the moment I went out this morning, and Zhang Baocheng even knocked me out with one punch. Yet I don't feel all that tired now. Looks like that's because I consumed some True Essence.

As he was thinking, the True Essence number on the system changed again, dropping to 109 points.

Looks like I can also consume True Essence to replenish some of my stamina.

Although he had added True Essence through the system, Lu Yuan had never figured out how to use it, and he was still a little disappointed.

Now it seemed that True Essence could replenish his stamina on its own, which was a pretty good ability. As for great abilities like punching through a wall or leaping a hundred meters in a single bound like Ji Yin, those were probably advanced uses of True Essence.

He figured Ji Yin wouldn't teach him even if he asked, so he would wait until he got into Cultivator University.

Besides his True Essence, the change in his Merit Value also surprised Lu Yuan.

His Merit Value had originally been 999 points, but now it had somehow increased by 500 points without his noticing. He didn't know why.

After successfully negotiating with Jia Shengnan that morning, Lu Yuan had specifically glanced at the system, and his Merit Value hadn't changed then. Evidently, Merit Value had little to do with making money.

Later, he had been fighting all afternoon and hadn't paid attention, but now that he looked, he had 500 more points.

That Merit Value was probably related to his participation in wiping out the cult's stronghold. If Lu Yuan hadn't used himself as bait today, Ji Yin would have had a headache over the cult for a long time yet.

Merit Points really do have something to do with merit.

That was what Lu Yuan thought.

But how did making zongzi count as a meritorious deed?

Judging by the Merit Value, making zongzi was a greater accomplishment than wiping out the cult.

He couldn't figure it out for now, so he would wait and see.

Lu Yuan walked on in silence, thinking about Merit Value. Xiao Bing watched her brother's profile from his back, the midnight streetlights casting a dim yellow glow over his face.

"Bro, I was so scared today."

"Don't be scared. It's over now."

"I knew you'd come save me. I didn't think you'd really come save me."

"Heh." Lu Yuan smiled without pointing out the contradiction in his sister's words.

A little while later, he said, "Xiao Bing, give me your hand."

Xiao Bing reached out to her brother from behind.

Lu Yuan took her hand, their fingers interlocking tightly.

"This time, I finally caught hold of you," he murmured. "And Mom and Dad, I'll hold on to you both tightly too."

Xiao Bing was puzzled. "Bro, what are you talking about?"

Lu Yuan had no intention of explaining.

The two returned home in the early hours of the morning.

It had been a perilous and thrilling day. Both were in a sorry state, exhausted in body and mind, and only wanted to go straight to sleep after bathing.

Xiao Bing went into the bathroom first, while Lu Yuan took out his phone to charge it. He had used it for many years, and it would run out of power after only a little use. He also needed to check his online banking to see whether Jia Shengnan's money had come through.

Not long after he plugged it in, the phone turned on automatically. Shortly afterward, several text messages came in. When Lu Yuan saw the long string of numbers in the transfer notification, he sighed in satisfaction.

He had finally gotten the money for Mom's treatment!

Besides the transfer notification, there were several missed-call alerts. Lu Yuan saw that they were from Jia Xuanxuan's number. Judging by the time, it should have been a call from Jia Shengnan's side to let him know the money had arrived.

Jia Shengnan was a fairly decent fellow, except that he was a little too fond of selling off his daughter. It was just a simple phone call, yet he had insisted on having his daughter make it.

Lu Yuan thought it over and decided not to call back. At this hour, calling back would only annoy them.

Just as he was about to put down the phone, a call came in from an unfamiliar number. Lu Yuan answered, and Ji Yin's voice came from the other end.

"Hey, student, made it home yet?" Ji Yin didn't sound the least bit guilty.

"Well, thank you so much, Lord Ji Yin!"

"You're welcome, haha!"

"How did you get my number?"

"Would it be hard for the Internal Affairs Bureau to find your number?"

"...What is it?"

"I've got some good news for you..."

"Wait." Lu Yuan cut Ji Yin off. "First, there's something very important!"

"Go ahead."

"There was a big pot at the cult's stronghold. The cultists stole it from my house, and you have to give it back!"

Ji Yin nearly choked. He had thought it was something important.

"A pot? That's all you aspire to, thinking about a pot all day!"

"That's a good pot!" Lu Yuan explained earnestly. "It has a thick bottom, so it's especially good for cooking congee without it sticking to the bottom. And it's big enough to cook a whole lot of congee at once!

"If it were an ordinary pot, I wouldn't bother."

Ji Yin was struck speechless. After a long silence, he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence:

"You're someone who knows his pots."

"I'll send someone to deliver the pot to your house."

"Thanks. By the way, what's the good news?"

"Well, it's about your college entrance exam." Ji Yin kept him in suspense.

"What is it?"

"You made quite a contribution today. I just reported the details of today's operation to headquarters, and I put in a request for a reward for you while I was at it."

"What reward?"

"Ten extra points on the written college entrance exam. The official commendation notice should reach the admissions office in about a week." There was a note of pride in Ji Yin's voice. "Excited?"

"Not bad."

Lu Yuan didn't say it aloud, but he thought that what he was missing was a lot more than ten points!

Still, he had gotten a clue: there was a policy for bonus points on the college entrance exam here. Tomorrow, he would study the application guide and see what else could earn him extra points.

If only cooking could earn him extra points.

The two chatted about a few other things before ending the call.

By then, Xiao Bing had finished bathing and came out in her pajamas to dry her hair. Lu Yuan went to bathe next.

After Lu Yuan finished bathing, he checked the time and saw that it was already one in the morning. He hurriedly turned off the lights and went to sleep.

But he had only just lain down when Xiao Bing pushed the door open, hugging a pillow.

"Bro, I'm scared... Can I sleep with you? Just tonight."

Her face was full of grievance.

She was, after all, only a girl in her first year of high school. Being kidnapped today had truly been more than someone her age could bear.

The two of them had always slept together when they were little, but after they turned ten, her brother had stopped allowing it. Xiao Bing worried that he would refuse her again today.

"You sleep on the bed."

Lu Yuan took a quilt and made a bed on the floor, while Xiao Bing rolled around happily on her brother's bed.