Bai Fei'er's attitude truly infuriated Mo Cheng.

He was the eldest young master of the Mo Family. Even if the Mo Family was not as prestigious as the Bai Family, Bai Fei'er was nothing special now, yet she couldn't see it herself. Her arrogant demeanor made Mo Cheng's face turn as red as a pig's liver.

"Hmph!"

That damned woman, once I'm done playing with her.. Mo Cheng gritted his teeth in hatred.

At this moment, an elderly figure descended outside the main hall. The old man wore a white robe, his hair and beard as silver as his aura was ethereal, but his eyes held a hidden sharpness. As soon as he entered, he saw Mo Cheng's twisted, ugly expression and frowned, speaking in a deep voice, "Why do you look so displeased at a time like this?"

"Grandfather..."

Seeing that it was the Mo Family Ancestor, Mo Cheng immediately put on a flattering smile and intended to pin the blame on Bai Fei'er for being ungrateful: "It's all that Bai Fei'er, she doesn't know her place..."

"Silence!"

The Mo Family Ancestor reprimanded him, his gaze sharp as he stared at Mo Cheng, his tone severe: "Even if Bai Fei'er is a waste now, until this marriage is settled, you must not be so disdainful! The elders of the Bai Family will arrive soon, and if they see you like this, they might think our Mo Family's younger generation is useless and incapable of great responsibilities. Even with this marriage alliance, it would be difficult for our Mo Family to leverage the Bai Family's name!"

His words were extremely stern, causing Mo Cheng's face to drain of color in fear.

He wasn't the most favored descendant of the Mo Family Ancestor; otherwise, marrying a useless woman wouldn't have fallen to him. But Bai Fei'er was still quite beautiful, and if he angered the Ancestor, he might end up with nothing.

Thinking of this, Mo Cheng quickly nodded and bowed, "Grandson knows his mistake, please punish me, Grandfather!"

"Hmph, I hope you remember this. Now leave, and don't embarrass the Mo Family at tonight's wedding!"

The Mo Family Ancestor waved his sleeve, dismissing the incompetent great-grandson. He sat in the main hall, his expression still unpleasant.

It wasn't that this marriage overly degraded the Mo Family, but the Mo Family Ancestor felt that the "treasure" he thought was within reach had slipped away!

Earlier, he had sensed the presence of a heavily injured demon outside Greenwood City and rushed over, only to encounter a Nine-Lives Demon Cat at the Tribulation Crossing stage!

The Mo Family Ancestor immediately felt that his old fate was turning around.

No matter how severely injured she was or how she ended up in such a state, as long as he could obtain her demon core, the Mo Family Ancestor could break through his stagnant cultivation of a hundred years, possibly even surpass the chasm of the Divided Spirit stage and enter the Body Fusion stage!

If he could advance to the Body Fusion stage, and under his leadership, the Mo Family would surely return to its peak!

Such temptation was irresistible to the Mo Family Ancestor.

Cultivators, without exception, all wished to become stronger and live longer, and the Mo Family Ancestor was no exception.

Of course, a Nine-Lives Demon Cat with such high cultivation surely held a significant position within her clan. Acting rashly could lead to future retaliation from the demon clan, but even so, he was determined to obtain that demon core.

The Mo Family Ancestor's plans were meticulous, yet...

He never dreamed that the critically injured and extremely weak Nine-Lives Demon Cat would escape using a magical artifact.

He didn't even manage to catch a single hair of that Nine-Lives Demon Cat.

The Mo Family Ancestor searched the dense forests within thousands of miles but couldn't find her!

This left him fuming!

But no matter what, she had escaped, and that demon cat surely wouldn't be foolish enough to return to Greenwood City to seek death. The Mo Family Ancestor, apart from venting his anger on his great-grandson, had no other options.

There were more important matters to attend to.

Tonight, the Mo Family and the Bai Family were to be wed. If he handled this marriage well, the Mo Family's reputation in the Sunflare Empire would once again rise.

***

As night fell, Gu Heng sat at the entrance of the Medicine Hall, holding a bowl of soup and sipping on sweetened water.

Today wasn't particularly idle. After he picked up that little stray cat, the rain stopped, and more patients came to the Medicine Hall, mostly common folk who had suffered minor accidents due to the heavy rain. Gu Heng had been busy until now, and there was no time to cook a meal, so he had to make do with some sweet medicinal herbs from the medicine cabinet, boiling them with sugar to make a bowl of sweetened water.

He drank the sweetened water, looking westward, where the Mo Family Residence was brightly lit and filled with joyous music. In the sky, cultivators flew through the night, all having received invitations from the Mo Family, traveling from afar to witness this wedding, making it quite lively.

"Sigh..."

With a sigh, Gu Heng placed the bowl of sweetened water on the stone table beside him.

Not being a cultivator, life was indeed plain. Although Gu Heng had accepted the fact that he couldn't become a cultivator, the Mysterious Heaven Realm was ultimately a world where strength was revered.

This System hadn't helped him become a strong cultivator, but at least it provided him with a means to make a living.

As an ordinary person, he could only guard his small piece of land for the rest of his life.

"......"

When Gu Heng wasn't paying attention, the little stray cat with silver fur all over its body leaped onto the stone table, looked at the bowl of sweetened water, and began to lap it up with its tongue.

Seeing that the stray cat had decided to stay at his Medicine Hall, Gu Heng considered it as taking her in. After all, he had no one to keep him company, and having a cat around could provide some amusement when he was feeling down.

"Little Xi, is the sweetened water good?"

Gu Heng watched the cat, and when she nodded, he couldn't help but smile.

The cat was smart; Gu Heng realized she understood human speech. When he found her today and fed her medicine, he pondered giving her a name. Initially, he thought of calling her "Little Silver," but she shook her tail and head vigorously, unwilling. Gu Heng then tried various names with pen and paper until she accepted "Little Xi."

"If you have nowhere else to go, you can stay with me. I promise you won't be mistreated."

Gu Heng stroked her fur, which was soft and felt particularly comforting.

Su Jinxi licked the sweetened water, feeling the pure and immense medicinal power flow into her body... To her astonishment, this hidden master had casually thrown Abyssal Snow Lotus Petals and Red Gold Demon Flower Petals into an iron pot to brew!

These two heavenly treasures, with conflicting attributes, were incredibly dangerous. A slight mistake by the alchemist could turn the surrounding area into ashes!

But his alchemy skills opened Su Jinxi's eyes. Without using any alchemy furnace, she didn't even see any true energy, yet he managed to blend these two medicines in a pot, adding sugar to make sweetened water.

She even jumped onto the medicine cabinet, pawing through the herbs. The dozens of medicinal herbs she saw were treasures that could cause bloodshed outside, yet here they were, casually displayed.

Moreover, his alchemy technique was unique. The medicinal power of these precious herbs was too immense, akin to poison for ordinary people, but he controlled it so well that much of the medicinal power dissipated, just enough to heal ordinary people.

What a waste of heavenly resources... But what could Su Jinxi do?

Hiding in this small, mundane place, using such treasures that countless cultivators would die for on ordinary people... A master has his own ways, perhaps this was just a game for him.

In any case, it was a boon for her, Su Jinxi.

Consuming more of these herbs, slowly refining the medicinal power, one day her demon body could evolve again.

Since this hidden master wanted to keep her, Su Jinxi didn't resist. Staying by his side, she could gain more than she ever could in the demon clan, even if she made great contributions, the King of Ten Thousand Demons might not reward her with such treasures.

She didn't even want to leave.

"Hmm... This Mo Family wedding is quite the spectacle. With the Marriage Proposal Scroll, I can go and enjoy the feast..."

Gu Heng took out the Marriage Proposal Scroll from his pocket, looking in the direction of the Mo Family Residence, contemplating. But before he could do anything, Little Xi jumped into his arms, her paws tapping the large "Mo" character on the scroll, wagging her tail.

He immediately understood.

"Alright, I know you're hungry. Let's go, we'll crash the feast!"

Gu Heng picked up Little Xi and leisurely walked toward the Mo Family Residence.

In his arms, Su Jinxi's eyes glinted with a cold light.

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Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan