CHAPTER 462: CHAPTER 462 YOU ALMOST SCARED ME TO DEATH_1

"You guys definitely aren’t my real parents!" Qian Xiao sobbed uncontrollably.

Although he was a cultivator and the cultivation technique he practiced was obtained by Xu Lai from the Immortal Domain, he was still quite weak and no match for his parents. After all, Luo Chu and Qian Song were both Ninth Grade cultivators, and disciplining him was as easy as disciplining their own son. That’s not right... Qian Xiao was, in fact, their son.

"You dare talk back!?" Qian Song’s hands trembled with anger. "Qian Xiao, you’ve gotten a big head lately! Stealing things from home is one thing, but taking them outside? You tell me if you don’t deserve a spanking!"

"Huh?" Qian Xiao’s eyes brimmed with tears. "It was just a horror movie DVD. I can use my allowance to buy you a new one."

In the middle of his beating, Qian Xiao had completely forgotten to wonder how his parents had found out, and he blurted out the secret.

"You little rascal!" Qian Song grew even angrier. How could his own son offer to buy that kind of thing for his father?

He was starting to have regrets. He never should have kept that DVD, even if the movie was a certain actress’s retirement work. How could he have the face to go to Haitang Court for a free meal now? Of course, he also felt a pang of loss for the DVD itself... It wasn’t easy to find on the market anymore.

Luo Chu, who had been embarrassed in front of her best friend, also joined in on punishing their son. The husband and wife duo delivered a flurry of hits, and Qian Xiao’s miserable cries filled the air.

* * *

"Phew, the quality is certainly impressive," Xu Lai remarked, closing the laptop and exhaling a long breath. He had watched it from beginning to end with a studious attitude and felt he had benefited greatly.

Ruan Tang’s face flushed crimson. "Alright, that’s enough. It’s time to rest," she chided.

That jerk. He just had to drag me into watching a movie with him, and to top it off, he couldn’t keep his hands to himself, constantly doodling little turtles...

"Mmm," Xu Lai hummed, placing the laptop on the nightstand. He wrapped his arms around Ruan Tang’s soft, fragrant body, and they drifted off to sleep.

* * *

「In the blink of an eye, it was the next morning.」

After making breakfast, Xu Lai brought the food to the table and instructed, "Continue your cultivation after you finish eating. And if Qian Xiao brings another DVD over, break his leg."

"Which one?" Yun Jin asked seriously, blinking. "His left leg or his right? That is the question."

Xu Lai raised an eyebrow. He suspected Little Glutton was teasing him, but he had no proof. Seeing the innocent look in her eyes, however, he began to doubt himself, wondering if he was overthinking things.

"This is all Liu Nanwei’s fault," Xu Lai lamented, his face a mask of sincerity. "Venerable Qingfeng used to be as pure as a blank sheet of paper. Ever since coming to Earth, he’s been corrupted by his company."

Meanwhile, Liu Nanwei, who was gleefully watching soap operas at home, had no idea she had just been made a scapegoat for something massive.

Today, they were visiting Xu Yaoyao. Luo Chu and her husband were supposed to come as well, but as soon as they heard Xu Lai and Ruan Tang were going, they hurriedly claimed to be ill and stayed home.

"Are your two families fighting?" Xu Yaoyao asked curiously.

"Not at all," Ruan Tang replied, her expression growing strange. "It’s just a small misunderstanding. It’s nothing serious."

"Oh." Xu Yaoyao didn’t press the matter. She rarely concerned herself with other people’s affairs and went back to cracking sunflower seeds while chatting with Ruan Tang about the various inconveniences of pregnancy.

"You should eat fewer of those. Too many sunflower seeds aren’t good for the baby..." Ever since getting married, Liu Beiming, the quintessential dense and straightforward man, had been completely tamed by Xu Yaoyao. Even his reminders were offered with great caution.

He couldn’t help it. In their home, Liu Nanwei held the highest status, followed by the baby in Xu Yaoyao’s belly, and then, finally, him. Luo Chu and Ruan Tang had once regarded their good friend Xu Yaoyao as a goddess for this very reason. Before his marriage, Liu Beiming had been an impossibly stubborn man, yet now he had transformed into a doting and hard-working husband. The transformation was so drastic it was almost unbelievable to outsiders.

"Is the tea ready yet?" Xu Yaoyao asked, glaring at her husband.

"Ah, I forgot!" Liu Beiming exclaimed, scurrying off to the kitchen. That explained the nagging feeling that he’d been forgetting something.

"Impressive," Ruan Tang said sincerely.

"Hehe," Xu Yaoyao chuckled sheepishly. "It’s not really that I’m impressive. Liu Beiming is always working overtime and can only spend a few days a week with me, so he acts this way out of guilt."

"Oh?" Ruan Tang was surprised. She hadn’t expected that to be the reason.

"I don’t plan to be too hard on him," Xu Yaoyao whispered. "I’ll just give him a hard time for another day or two so he understands how tough things used to be for me, and then I’ll be nice to him. Being a doctor is exhausting. I can’t bear the thought of him working a long day at the hospital only to come home and have to wait on me."

Ruan Tang’s heart stirred, and she looked over at Xu Lai.

Xu Lai nodded in agreement. "Being a doctor is definitely exhausting!"

Ruan Tang held Xu Lai’s hand tenderly. "From now on, I’ll do more of the housework so you can relax more at home. I’ll also try my best to learn how to cook."

Xu Lai panicked. "No, no, no, please don’t! I’m really not that tired."

PFFT. Xu Yaoyao burst out laughing. "Xu Lai, so you also know your wife’s cooking is terrifying?"

"You little minx," Ruan Tang retorted, "if you weren’t pregnant, I’d teach you a lesson."

Xu Yaoyao just stuck her tongue out playfully, and the two women started to bicker.

Just then, Liu Beiming finally returned with the tea. He and Xu Lai sat by the window, each with a cup, looking at the cherry tree in the courtyard. The exclusive villa community, with houses costing fifty million each, had a very pleasant and tranquil environment, after all.

"Thank you, Director Xu, for taking care of my teacher," Liu Beiming said with a complex expression as he poured tea for Xu Lai.

When they first met, I was so arrogant, treating him like just another face in the crowd. But everything that happened after that has practically shattered my entire worldview. It’s not just my teacher; even medical titans like Li Shouzhong and Lin Qiu are incredibly respectful toward him. To say he’s the best in Hua Country’s medical field... no, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him the best in the entire world!

Xu Lai, however, didn’t pay it much mind and simply shook his head. "It’s nothing."

"Mhm." Liu Beiming, a man of few words, said no more.

They stayed at Liu Beiming’s home for the entire day, finally getting up to leave as dusk fell.

「At the foot of Mount Haitang.」

Tan Chang leaned against a tree, squinting at the setting sun, lost in thought.

"Honey, you go on back first," Xu Lai said to Ruan Tang.

"Okay." Ruan Tang nodded and started up the path on Mount Haitang that led back to Haitang Court—it was the shortest way home.

* * *

Are there any more Moon Clan members left on Earth...? Tan Chang furrowed his brow, deep in thought.

In recent months, they had managed to capture over a dozen members of the Moon Clan, a feat that would have been unimaginable in the past. Yet, aside from some trivial information, none of them had divulged anything of importance. Even under torture, they remained silent, their eyes filled with cold mockery as they looked upon the Human Race’s powerhouses.

「Ten minutes later.」

Tan Chang heaved a long sigh and decided to leave Mount Haitang. Just then, he realized a man was squatting beside him, though he had no idea when he’d arrived.

Not yet seeing the man’s face, Tan Chang’s pupils constricted. Could it be a member of the Moon Clan?

The man raised his head.

It was only then that Tan Chang realized it was Xu Lai.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Senior Xu, you scared me half to death!"