「The next morning.」
After Xu Ke finished his meal, a large group of people bustled out, with Hu Deyao, Han Wang, and Ye Lang trailing behind him and Tang Yingchang.
Among them, Han Wang wore a melancholic expression, exuding a faint sadness.
"Yo, you stayed here last night?"
Just as they reached the parking lot, Xu Ke spotted Ye Feng coming downstairs.
At that moment, Ye Feng was rubbing his shiny, bald forehead. His face was still heavy with sleep, and a strong stench of alcohol wafted from him. Hearing Xu Ke, he yawned and nodded. "Yeah, I got drunk, so I just crashed in one of the guest rooms."
After getting carried away with the drinking yesterday, he'd had the idea to test Feng Wei by goading him into drinking more. As it turned out, that Feng Wei fellow was quite the drinker, despite not showing it. In the end, they both drank until they passed out, leaving Ye Feng with no choice but to sleep there.
"Alright, how many fingers am I holding up?" Xu Ke asked, holding up two fingers and wiggling them in front of Ye Feng's face.
"Get lost," Ye Feng cursed. "I've been sober for a while now."
Martial Artists not only have excellent physiques but can also flush out alcohol quickly. Otherwise, after passing out drunk, he wouldn't have been able to wake up in the middle of the night and find his way to a guest room.
Seeing Ye Feng's reaction, Xu Ke chuckled. "Looks like you really are sober. In that case, drive safely. I'll call a traffic cop to pull you over for fun."
"Beat it!"
***
"Why do you keep making that face?"
After saying goodbye to Ye Feng, Xu Ke got into the car and asked curiously when he noticed Han Wang still looked despondent.
"It's nothing!" Han Wang shook his head, unwilling to tell Xu Ke the real reason.
He had always assumed Xu Ke's claim about being able to solve the Poison Elder's toxic body problem was just a joke. But after dining at the Ghost and Poison Elders' home last night, Han Wang realized something was very wrong...
To be precise, Han Wang should have noticed the Poison Elder's aura had grown stronger at the gym yesterday morning. Unfortunately, everyone's attention had been stolen by the Fire Guard trio, so it wasn't until last night that he finally discovered it...
Xu Ke could actually cultivate the Poison Elder's toxic body to the state of Great Perfection!
Once he realized this, his mood soured completely... Doesn't this mean that from now on, we'll have to treat the Poison Elder as an equal, or perhaps even as a superior?
Watching a colleague he once looked down on grow so powerful, it would have been stranger if Han Wang wasn't upset.
Seeing that Han Wang didn't want to talk, Xu Ke didn't press the matter and simply closed his eyes to rest. After a full night of recuperation, his energy had gradually returned to normal.
Forcibly using the secret technique at the Ye Family's estate, and even deploying Dragon Essence against his enemies, had taken a heavy toll on Xu Ke. As a result, he had spent the entire previous night healing. Having neither cultivated nor slept, it was only natural that his mental energy was low.
And when you're tired, time spent resting always seems to fly by.
When Xu Ke opened his eyes again, they had arrived at Global Square.
After dropping off Han Wang, Ye Lang, and Hu Deyao nearby, Xu Ke took a detour to the clinic for a quick look. This time, Manager Xiao Qian was there delivering medicinal ingredients.
"Hello, long time no see." Xu Ke approached with a beaming smile and patted the man's shoulder.
Manager Xiao Qian jumped in fright. When he turned and saw it was Xu Ke, his bluster immediately melted into a forced, awkward smile. "Dr... Dr. Xu, you're here?"
Xu Ke waved his hand grandly. "Why so formal? I'm your boss now. Relax a little. You should be calling me Dad!"
"Ah??" Manager Xiao Qian was dumbfounded.
"Never mind, it's fine if you can't bring yourself to say it. I'll just pretend I don't have a son like you," Xu Ke continued, patting his shoulder again.
Manager Xiao Qian gave a dry laugh and wiped away imaginary sweat. "...Mister Xu, you certainly have a sense of humor."
"How much of one?" Xu Ke retorted.
Tang Yingchang could barely keep a straight face.
Manager Xiao Qian was close to tears. "..."
It wasn't until Manager Xiao Qian looked utterly devastated that Xu Ke decided to drop the act. He glanced at the medicinal ingredients and remarked critically, "How come these seem to be of a lower quality?"
"Dr. Xu, you must be joking. These are still top-quality medicinal ingredients," Manager Xiao Qian explained. "It's just that you're the boss now, so bringing them here is really just moving something from the left pocket to the right pocket."
Deep down, Manager Xiao Qian was overcome with panic and guilt. Zhou Qingyong had actually told him not to come today, but he had volunteered for the task. After all, he used to be one of Zhou Qingyong's men. If a serious investigation were to be conducted, he could be suspected of being an accomplice. Now, facing Xu Ke—the real boss and the owner of the Xiongfeng Pill formula—Manager Xiao Qian had scrambled to bring the ingredients over to see him. In truth, this batch had come straight out of his own pocket.
"Well, if it's just moving things from one pocket to another, why bother bringing them over at all?" Xu Ke asked.
"I, I... These are from my personal collection. I was hoping Dr. Xu would take a look." Manager Xiao Qian still spoke in a roundabout, bureaucratic way, not daring to admit he was offering them as a form of apology.
Luckily, Xu Ke understood the implication. A smile touched his lips, but he quickly grew tired of the sight. He had seen too many medicinal ingredients these past few days. I'm almost sick of it!
He waved his hand. "Alright, in that case, I understand. As for these ingredients of somewhat lesser quality, you can just..."
Hearing this, Manager Xiao Qian's head shot up, his expression one of joyous surprise. He was thrilled for two reasons. First, it sounded like Xu Ke wasn't planning to investigate his shady dealings with Zhou Qingyong. The second reason was that Xu Ke, by scorning their quality, seemed unwilling to accept the batch. This meant Manager Xiao Qian could take them back to storage, and he wouldn't be out the cost of the ingredients he had personally purchased.
But then Xu Ke's tone shifted, and he stated decisively, "You can just help Hai Ming store them in my warehouse."
After saying that, Xu Ke patted his shoulder and walked inside with casual elegance.
Manager Xiao Qian was on the verge of tears. Damn it, this guy is both picky and demanding, and now he wants me to do the hard work, too? Is he even human?
***
While Manager Xiao Qian was unloading the goods, Xu Ke happened to get a call from Wong Qifu.
"When are you planning to leave?" Xu Ke asked as soon as he answered.
"The plane is ready. The morning of the day after tomorrow." Wong Qifu's voice came through the phone, cool, clear, and a bit lazy. She was probably still in bed.
Hearing this, Xu Ke felt a great sense of relief.
The day after tomorrow was Friday night. The popular hotels will surely be packed. Oh, what terrible news! It means I'll have to inconvenience myself and share a room with Wong Qifu! Sigh. I'm so used to big houses, I'm not sure I can handle the awkwardness of two people crammed into one room, on one bed...
Xu Ke rejoiced inwardly but kept his voice serious as he asked, "Does Mister Mu know already?"
Wong Qifu let out a cute yawn. "He knows. I've already sent him a message. But even if Mister Mu is busy these next two days, we can still stay in Haojing for a few days and wait until he's free. There's nothing pressing at the moment anyway."
Hearing this, Xu Ke said cheerfully, "Tsk, if you wanted to travel alone with me, you should have just said so. No need to beat around the bush and use Mister Mu as an excuse."
There was a two-second silence on the other end.
Then, Wong Qifu's faint voice drifted over the line. "Have you misunderstood something? Who said it would be only the two of us?"
At her words, Xu Ke's smile froze on his face...
