Chapter 289: I’ll Give You a Kiss (4^th Update)

Qiao Ni looked slightly discontented, but sensing that Ye Wenxin’s words held more meaning, she couldn’t help but look up at Ye Wenxin, waiting for her to speak the next words.

“If I’m not mistaken, that person might be your real father,” Ye Wenxin joked, intending to tease Qiao Ni. But unexpectedly, Qiao Ni burst into tears upon hearing this.

While Ye Wenxin was a bit stunned, Madam Yu was already walking over aggressively, intending to interrogate Ye Wenxin.

“Little ancestor, I’ll give you a kiss, so please stop crying.”

Ye Wenxin, feeling flustered, resorted to using her charm. She thought this tactic wouldn’t work, but Qiao Ni actually stopped crying and looked at her expectantly.

Seeing this expression, Ye Wenxin realized that Qiao Ni had been fake crying all along.

Madam Yu approached at that moment, anxiously checking on Qiao Ni’s condition.

“What happened?”

“Nothing, Mother. You can go back to what you were doing,” Qiao Ni said, blinking innocently as she quickly sent Madam Yu away.

Ye Wenxin, sensing trouble, was about to leave when she felt Qiao Ni suddenly grab her clothes.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep my promise,” Ye Wenxin reassured her, thinking Qiao Ni was afraid she would back out. However, Ye Wenxin hadn’t specified a time, so it didn’t matter if it was a hundred years later.

“I wasn’t crying because I was shocked or upset, but because I think Mother is so pitiful, always waiting for someone who can’t respond. Meanwhile, I’m so happy every day,” Qiao Ni said, her words tinged with sadness.

She enjoyed the best food and the most loving, gentle mother every day, while Madam Yu had a place in her heart for someone who was never coming back.

Recalling some of Madam Yu’s words, Qiao Ni suddenly felt enlightened, but her resentment toward the father she had never met grew even stronger.

“That person is truly scum. If you ever meet him, just call me, and I’ll make sure to beat him up,” Ye Wenxin said softly, feeling a bit sympathetic.

At this point, a rough outline of the story began to emerge.

Years ago, Old Man Lü Dao had a falling out with Ye Wenxin, so Ye Wenxin and Long Qingyue broke his third leg. Old Man Lü Dao was resentful but couldn’t change his fate, so after being single for many years and worried that someone would discover his impotence, he married Madam Yu from the Liu family.

Soon after, Old Man Lü Dao allowed Madam Yu to do as she pleased, or perhaps even hinted at her to find a lover. This seemed to be the cause of Madam Yu’s disapproval of the idea.

Despite her initial resistance, Madam Yu eventually gave in one day and got pregnant with Qiao Ni. From that point on, no one ever found out about Old Man Lü Dao’s impotence.

Ye Wenxin sighed. Old Man Lü Dao and Madam Yu had maintained this superficial relationship for so many years despite their issues. Although she disliked Old Man Lü Dao, she had long forgotten the reasons for her animosity and had no intention of spreading their private matters.

Looking at Qiao Ni behind her, Ye Wenxin felt increasingly heartbroken. Regardless of what the parents did, the child was innocent and shouldn’t have to bear the burden of such a complex world.

She thought it over briefly before crouching down. As she was about to lift Qiao Ni in a princess carry, she saw Qiao Ni smile.

“Yes, beat him up thoroughly. I want to break his third leg and see if he can still enjoy his life!”

Ye Wenxin flinched a bit, marveling at Qiao Ni’s strong personality. She couldn’t help but wonder who on earth could have fathered such an extraordinary daughter with Madam Yu.

In any case, Ye Wenxin felt she couldn’t take advantage of Qiao Ni’s affections and was even more determined to discourage Qiao Ni from harboring any romantic feelings for her.

“The pill furnace and herbs are ready. Does Miss Wenxin need anything else?” In the other area, the required materials for Alchemy had been neatly arranged on a tray.

A crowd had gathered around, eager to witness an Alchemist at work. Ye Wenxin inspected the quality of the herbs and then checked the pill furnace.

“This pill furnace is of decent quality.”

“This is the best we have in town,” the young man responsible for transporting the furnace said, smiling brightly and showing off his white teeth. Ye Wenxin nodded and continued, “But it’s still lacking. A pill furnace is prone to exploding. Did you only prepare one?”

The young man’s bright smile faded, clearly disbelieving Ye Wenxin’s words. She understood their doubts; while this pill furnace might suffice for others, she intended to create ten pills at once. This required a pill furnace sturdy enough to handle the process, and this bronze pill furnace simply wouldn’t suffice.

After thinking for a moment, she pretended to search through her bag of holding, but actually touched her storage ring. From within it, she retrieved the golden pill furnace that Ling Jue had previously given her for Alchemy.

This golden pill furnace was only considered third-tier, with the order being bronze, silver, gold, king, spirit stone, and so on, ranked according to the material of the pill furnace. Naturally, a spirit stone furnace was made from the spirit stones used in daily expenses. Although this furnace required Qi to activate, it would provide excellent results. However, not everyone was willing to spend so much effort.

When listening to Ling Jue’s explanation, Ye Wenxin almost thought she was playing “Honor of Kings”¹.

Beyond the spirit stone tier, there were even more types of legendary furnaces, though Ye Wenxin hadn’t researched them and knew little about their specifics. Taking out the golden furnace already created a significant visual impact, making everyone believe in Ye Wenxin’s expertise a bit more.

Ye Wenxin took a deep breath and placed the golden pill furnace on the platform. The ground shook, indicating the immense weight of the furnace. Without breaking a sweat, Ye Wenxin expertly began to refine the most common type of Vitality Pill.

Vitality Pills had similar basic setups, but with each level increase, one more precious herb was needed, and the higher the level, the greater the failure rate. Having been away from the mountain for over a month without refining any pills, Ye Wenxin decided to start with herbs for a sixth-grade pill.

Ye Wenxin placed the herbs into the pill furnace, and as she catalyzed them, a pill began to form. After about the time it took for an incense stick to burn, the first pill was ready.

“It’s actually a fifth-grade pill, and the quality is excellent!” Among the merchants, there were pill connoiseurs who, upon seeing the first pill Ye Wenxin produced, were already impressed by her skill.

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Footnotes:

1. – “Honor of Kings”, “King of Glory, or “Strike of Kings”, is a MOBA game developed by TiMi Studio Group and published by Tencent Games for iOS and Android. It was first released in mainland China in 2015, and the global version just came out on June 20, 2024.
   
   Wenxin is referring to the player rankings in the game: Tough Bronze, Order of Silver, Glory of Gold, Noble Platinum, Eternal Diamond, etc., which is similar to the pill furnace tiers. ↩︎