Mu Jinyu heard Gu Xiyan's words and glanced at Jian Ruyan, who had an expressionless face but was emitting an icy chill, and chuckled:
"It's fine. Little Yanzi isn't someone who values external things. Besides, with her rich combat experience and the extraordinary sword she carries close, she naturally doesn't need my special care."
"Is that so?" Gu Xiyan and Wen Rou, having heard Mu Jinyu's words, cautiously looked at Jian Ruyan.
They noticed that although she was expressionless and seemed normal, with no excess emotion showing on her face, it seemed she truly had no objections to Mu Jinyu's arrangement. Yet, an increasingly cold aura kept emerging from her...
It seemed that she actually did have some objections!
"Hmm, I have no objections. My sword isn't a Magic Treasure, but it is a Superior Grade Magic Artifact. Using it against a few ferocious beasts is overkill."
Seeing Gu Xiyan and the others looking at her with fear, Jian Ruyan realized she had lost her composure. She quickly suppressed the dissatisfaction and grievance in her heart and said calmly.
Mu Hongchen, seeing this, said to Gu Xiyan with a self-mocking tone, "Haven't you noticed? After all, you are Dragon Master's women, and he adores you immensely. He wouldn't want you to receive even a slight injury. As for me and Ruyan, we are just outsiders; how could we receive the Dragon King's favor like you, haha..."
Gu Xiyan, Wen Rou, and Mei Yinxue, hearing Mu Hongchen's words, looked somewhat embarrassed on their faces but felt more sweetness and joy.
Mu Jinyu rolled his eyes at Mu Hongchen, saying grumpily, "Oh please, Aunt Mu, if you don't know what to say, then don't speak. How can you say you're just outsiders, which is why I favor Xiyan and the others more?"
"I already call you Aunt, do you still feel like an outsider? Besides, you don't need to go out and fight ferocious beasts, so giving you a Magic Treasure is meaningless."
Mu Hongchen cheerfully said, "I'm just standing up for Ruyan here."
Jian Ruyan didn't say a word and didn't interfere in their conversation, but she coldly said, "Dragon Master, tell me which ferocious beasts I need to deal with, and I'll set out now."
"Ah, how boring."
Mu Jinyu sighed, shaking his head and said, "Little Yanzi is Ah-Xiang's sister, do you think I'd mistreat her? Forget it, I'm not teasing you anymore."
With that, he took out an Iron Pellet from his pocket and tossed it to Jian Ruyan.
Jian Ruyan was momentarily startled and instinctively caught it.
"What is this?" Holding the Sword Pill, she could feel the mana fluctuations from it, indicating it was a Magic Treasure, and she asked curiously.
Mu Jinyu said, "Don't worry, it's not just any ball. Infuse it with True Yuan, and you'll see what it is."
Hearing this, Jian Ruyan infused the Sword Pill with True Yuan, and immediately a clanging sound of a sword rang out as the Leopard Gall Sword Pill unfolded into a sharp sword full of Sword Qi.
"Sword Pill?" Jian Ruyan immediately recognized what it was, examined the Leopard Gall Sword Pill for a moment, and looked at Mu Jinyu with a softer gaze.
"I don't want it; you can take it back." Jian Ruyan felt much better, but remembering what Mu Hongchen had just said, she was unwilling to accept Mu Jinyu's gift of a Magic Treasure. She withdrew her True Yuan, allowing the Leopard Gall Sword to revert to its Sword Pill form, and tossed it back to him.
Mu Jinyu flicked his hand, sending the Sword Pill flying back to her, and said, "Take it. Although it feels like you really don't need this Sword Pill Magic Treasure, to avoid accusations of favoritism, you should take it. It's of no use to me, anyway."
Jian Ruyan followed by flicking it back and said, "I don't want it."
Mu Hongchen watched them toss the Leopard Gall Sword Pill back and forth, saying grumpily, "Are you playing ping pong here?"
"Uh..."
Jian Ruyan felt a bit embarrassed when she heard Mu Hongchen's words. When Mu Jinyu tossed the Sword Pill back to her again, she caught it and didn't throw it back.
Mu Hongchen looked at Jian Ruyan and smiled, "Ruyan, if you don't want it, give it to me, I could use a weapon."
On hearing this, Jian Ruyan subconsciously said, "No."
Mu Jinyu looked at Mu Hongchen and said speechlessly, "Aunt Mu, why are you snatching the Sword Pill? You don't even need to fight, holding it is just a waste."
"Old me?" Mu Hongchen got a bit angry when she heard Mu Jinyu's words, she was upset but couldn't do anything since she couldn't beat Mu Jinyu. She just glared at him furiously and said, "I'm going to tell Sister Zijin later!"
"No, no, no!"
Mu Jinyu hurriedly pleaded for mercy and then turned to Jian Ruyan who was still hesitating about whether to give the Sword Pill to Mu Hongchen, "Little Yanzi, you go find which ferocious beast, Xiyan, you go look for which one…"
"Alright!"
Gu Xiyan and the other two girls nodded in agreement, looked at Mu Jinyu with both annoyance and amusement, and then left the office, pulling Jian Ruyan with them.
After leaving the office, Jian Ruyan came to her senses. She shouldn't have refused when Mu Hongchen asked for the Sword Pill; she should have just handed it over to Mu Hongchen. But why had she refused?
Finally, she hesitated and followed Gu Xiyan and the others out.
Once she calmed down, Jian Ruyan shook her head, looked down at the Sword Pill in her hand, her eyes filled with complex emotions, and sighed, "Oh well, I'll use it for now and return it to him later!"
...
In the office.
After Gu Xiyan and the other two girls dragged Jian Ruyan out,
Mu Hongchen's furious expression suddenly vanished, and she looked at Mu Jinyu with boredom, scolding as though he was hopeless,
"Oh, Dragon Master, you shouldn't have said that. You should have said: 'I just love my women, Ruyan, you are not my woman, unless you become my woman, why would I bother giving you a Magic Treasure?' That would have been right!"
As she spoke, she shook her head with a sigh and said, "There, I gave you a chance, but you are useless."
"What!" Mu Jinyu looked at Mu Hongchen incredulously and said, "Are you trying to get me killed, Aunt Mu? If I said that to Little Yanzi, wouldn't she chop me up?"
After a pause, he looked at Mu Hongchen very confused and said, "Besides, why would I want Little Yanzi to be my woman? I already have six wives who are causing me enough headaches, adding her would just be asking for more trouble!"
"Moreover, she is Ah-Xiang's sister, and I am Ah-Xiang's senior brother. Marrying Little Yanzi would make me her brother-in-law, I would be lowering myself, it's just not worth it!"
Mu Jinyu, imagining certain scenarios, shook his head in horror.
"Sigh…" Mu Hongchen sighed lightly and said, "I was initially trying to matchmake you two, seeing how Ruyan's attitude toward you isn't as cold as before, but it seems I was meddling too much."
"Yeah, you better meddle less from now on and think about your own lifelong issues," Mu Jinyu agreed, nodding.
"Sigh, it seems Aunt Mu really is getting old, needing you to remind me. Well, never mind, I don't fancy anyone. In the future, while you take care of Sister Zijin in her old age, you might as well take care of Aunt Mu too,"
Mu Hongchen said with a smile.