After everyone had dispersed,
Xiang Mantang still stood in his original place; then, he exhaled lightly, and a strand of bright red blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
Already seriously injured and not yet recovered, he had first defeated Shen Cangsheng, and then single-handedly faced off against the four Martial Arts Supremes. He was naturally very seriously injured.
Had the Yaoguang Hall Master Jian Ruyan made a move, he was sixty percent confident that he could still defeat her, but his injuries would likely be even more severe.
Fortunately, Jian Ruyan had no intention of taking action against him.
Which made things much easier for Xiang Mantang.
Xiang Mantang slowly walked back to the courtyard he resided in, entered his house, shut the door, and began to sit cross-legged on the ground. He took the healing medicine prepared by Mu Jinyu and started to nurse his injuries.
A few minutes later.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
A sudden knocking on the door echoed.
Xiang Mantang opened his eyes, but before he could say 'come in',
The door was pushed open directly.
The visitor wore a simple white long dress and had a cold beauty as she floated into the room.
It was Jian Ruyan.
Before Xiang Mantang could ask her what she needed, Jian Ruyan tossed the porcelain bottle she was holding to him, then left without a word.
Xiang Mantang caught the porcelain bottle and saw her leave without saying anything. He gave a bitter smile, reached out to pull out the cork, and then spread out his palm to pour out the contents.
Immediately, a dark and round pill rolled into his palm.
Upon seeing this, Xiang Mantang's expression changed slightly. He then pinched the pill, brought it to his nose for a light sniff, and his expression shifted again.
"Ancient Primordial Pills!"
In the current Martial Arts World, elixirs are extremely precious because the alchemists who know how to make them are, for the most part, long extinct, and their lineage cut off.
It can be said that with each pill used, one less remains; they simply can't be replenished!
One can imagine just how precious these pills are.
The Ancient Primordial Pill that Jian Ruyan gave him was a top-grade healing medicine for stabilizing and nourishing one's foundation. If sold, it could fetch at least five quadrangle dwellings in the Capital City!
And yet, Jian Ruyan had given it to him so freely…
Xiang Mantang gazed at the pill in his palm, his icy eyes gradually softening, and he sighed softly, "This girl…"
This wasn't the first time Jian Ruyan had sent him a pill, and he knew that even if he tried to return it to her, she wouldn't take it back. Instead, she would choose to throw it away!
Therefore, Xiang Mantang ultimately could only accept it reluctantly, and then make it up to her in other ways!
In this way, the personal relationship between the two was actually quite good!
With seven sub-halls in the Dragon King Hall, Xiang Mantang felt that the Hall Masters should support each other, but to his dismay, the only one who truly showed brotherhood was Jian Ruyan. The others spent their days only vying for power and profits, engaging in constant intrigue.
"Sigh..."
Xiang Mantang exhaled lightly, stopped dwelling on these thoughts, tossed the Ancient Primordial Pill into his mouth like a candy bean, chewed and ate it, then closed his eyes to cultivate, refine, and heal his injuries.
Soon, a light, white steam began to rise from the top of Xiang Mantang's head, and his pale complexion gradually regained a healthy flush.
…
Unaware of the events that had taken place in Capital City, Mu Jinyu had no clue.
After breaking up with Yu Linglong, he first went to see Mei Yinxue, whom he hadn't seen in a while, and spent the afternoon with her. After he was done, finding nothing else to do, he decided to pick up Gu Xiyan and Wen Rou from work.
It wasn't until he arrived at the company that he found out Gu Xiyan and Wen Rou, along with the person in charge from both Xu Group and Jiang Group, had gone to Lu City to scout out a location for a branch office.
They had tried to call him and had sent a text message after three in the afternoon, but at the time, he was with Mei Yinxue and simply didn't see them.
"A wasted trip, well, let's just go home for dinner."
After hanging up with Gu Xiyan, Mu Jinyu chuckled bitterly and greeted Xu Qingya and Lin Qiaoxia before preparing to head home for dinner.
Xu Qingya was still busy with many things, so she had Lin Qiaoxia take Mu Jinyu home.
Walking out of the office with her head down, Lin Qiaoxia struggled internally for a while. Finally, she gathered the courage to look up at Mu Jinyu's profile and said, "Young Master Mu, I... um... got my salary..."
"Oh, that's great. How many salaries did you get?" Mu Jinyu turned to look at her and asked with a smile.
Although he had made Lin Qiaoxia become Xu Qingya's secretary, he hadn't specifically asked how much they were paying her. He figured they would just follow the usual practice.
So he genuinely didn't know how much Lin Qiaoxia was making a month.
Lin Qiaoxia said, "Eighteen thousand."
"Eighteen thousand, huh..." Mu Jinyu casually responded, thinking that Lin Qiaoxia was suggesting her job was too demanding and the pay too low, and wanted a raise. After thinking for a moment, he said, "That is a bit low. I'll talk to President Xu later to give you a raise..."
"No, that's not it..." Lin Qiaoxia quickly shook her head, saying, "I mean, I got my salary, and I was wondering if I could treat you to dinner? Don't I owe you a meal?!"
After speaking, her beautiful eyes hidden beneath the black glasses stared directly at Mu Jinyu, filled with hope and nervousness.
It was only then that Mu Jinyu remembered there had been such an occasion. Realizing it, he smiled and said, "Sure, I was just wondering where to go for dinner later. Since you've just gotten paid, you can treat me to dinner!"
Seeing Mu Jinyu agree, Lin Qiaoxia finally felt relieved and said, "Okay, I'll go tell President Xu..."
After saying this, she was about to run back to Xu Qingya's office to ask for leave to take Mu Jinyu out for dinner.
Mu Jinyu called out, "No need to run back, I'll just make a call."
"Oh." Lin Qiaoxia obediently stopped.
Mu Jinyu made a call to Xu Qingya and, after hanging up, walked out of the company with Lin Qiaoxia.
Mu Jinyu had originally planned to casually find a small restaurant on the roadside to save Lin Qiaoxia some money.
Even though Lin Qiaoxia's father's uremia had been cured and she didn't really need to skimp and save, Mu Jinyu couldn't bring himself to fleece her for a meal.
However, his suggestion was rejected by Lin Qiaoxia.
Citing the reason that she owed him a meal and wanting to thank him for curing her father, Lin Qiaoxia decided to take him to an upscale restaurant in River City.
In reality, this restaurant was only considered upscale by ordinary people, but it wasn't actually high-end at all...
Having followed Mei Yinxue and Gu Xiyan to a few restaurants that were not open to the public, Mu Jinyu found those places which were once quite upscale to him no different than street stalls now.
Mu Jinyu felt there was no need to waste the money, as those restaurants were simply wasting ingredients, but Lin Qiaoxia insisted on going, so in the end, he had no choice but to go along with her!
Upon entering the restaurant, because the private rooms had all been booked in advance, they had to sit in the main dining hall.
"I'm sorry, I didn't expect it to be so busy," Lin Qiaoxia apologized to Mu Jinyu as she took her seat.
"It doesn't matter, it's all the same," Mu Jinyu said nonchalantly, waving his hand with indifference.
At that moment, a couple walked in and happened to see Mu Jinyu and Lin Qiaoxia sitting to the side. The young woman suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Hey, isn't that Lin Qiaoxia?"