Let our first child take your surname.

At the mere mention of being born with severed meridians, Dongmen Qianyun’s face immediately darkened. Xie Wuji was the first to step forward, ready to intervene, but suddenly Dongmen Qianyun beat him to it, striding up and stomping down on the fat dragon’s foot.

Fat Dragon was still in shock when he suddenly let out a howl, his whole body arching in pain. But Dongmen Qianyun grabbed his head—though petite, her leap was impressive—and delivered a sharp knee to his face. Blood spurted from Fat Dragon’s nose, shooting more than two meters high, as he reeled backward.

“Born with severed meridians, born with severed meridians! What’s wrong with you? So what if I was born with severed meridians? Did I eat your rice or drink your water? Even if I am, I can still crush you, you piece of trash!” Dongmen Qianyun erupted so suddenly that Xie Wuji was momentarily stunned—he hadn’t expected this girl’s temper to be so fierce.

Tossing her hair, Dongmen Qianyun declared, “Didn’t your mother ever teach you to be polite when you speak to people?”

“You, you…” Fat Dragon clutched his mouth, his two front teeth now missing, completely disheveled. Dongmen Qianyun said, “What? Still unconvinced?”

“All right, all right, you two brothers,” Xie Wuji stepped forward, winking at Dongmen Qianyun, “perhaps it’s time to turn over a new leaf. Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘trouble comes from the mouth’?”

Dongmen Qianyun immediately caught on that Xie Wuji was up to something, so she folded her arms and fell silent.

Xie Wuji continued, “Wow, incredible! I could see a spiritual glow shooting from the crowns of your heads. At your age, to possess such robust physiques—truly martial prodigies seen once in a century! If one day you manage to open your meridians, you’ll soar to the heavens. As the saying goes, ‘If I don’t descend into hell, who will?’ I have a project here—why don’t we collaborate and split the profits equally?”

Fat Dragon’s companion was his brother, Thin Tiger—one fat, one thin, and together they made a comical pair. Xie Wuji went on, “You know your current earnings from selling buns and steamed bread barely cover your own needs. But my noodles have a unique, proprietary recipe. You could open a shop on the other side of the market, source your ingredients from me, and we’ll split the profits fifty-fifty. What do you think?”

Who in the world would turn down more money? At this, Fat Dragon stood up, whistling through the gap in his teeth, “So tell me, how exactly do we split it half and half?”

“The cost of the noodles is three spirit stones each. You buy them from me at cost, and I have other good products too—all at cost price. Then, you sell them on your turf at five spirit stones each. One spirit stone is yours, one is mine. How does that sound?” Xie Wuji said, leaning in with a friendly tone.

Thin Tiger chimed in, “Brother, I think this deal’s a good one. We have to sell three buns just to make one spirit stone, and even then, we only make ten or so a day. But this brother is willing to let us make money off his goods…”

“There’s no such thing as a free meal. Tell us straight, what other conditions do you have?” Fat Dragon said, still bleeding from the nose.

Xie Wuji grinned, “There is one—the signboard. Our brand is Xie’s Noodle House. You’ll have to change your shop’s name to Xie’s Noodle House as well.”

“Just a name change? Isn’t that too easy?” Fat Dragon retorted.

“I can tell you both aren’t bad at heart. If you’re unwilling, that’s fine. If I want a business partner, there’s a line of people waiting,” Xie Wuji replied coolly.

The two brothers immediately came over. Fat Dragon said, “Second Miss, we truly apologize for our earlier words. Brother-in-law, your generosity has won our respect!”

“Brother-in-law?” Xie Wuji was dumbfounded.

Fat Dragon explained, “It’s all over the neighborhood. They say Second Miss brought home a man from outside, so isn’t that you—our brother-in-law?”

“Oh, stop it, speaking such truths!” Dongmen Qianyun’s cheeks flushed red, her earlier anger fading away.

Thin Tiger stammered, “Second Miss, the truth is, the Grand Elder came by earlier and told us not to let you have a spot in the market, so we said those awful things…”

“Grand Elder?” Xie Wuji asked, puzzled.

Dongmen Qianyun clenched her fists. “That’s Ding Desheng, my aunt’s brother. In Danxia Sect, besides my father, he holds the highest position. When my father won the sect leader’s seat, Elder Ding was greatly displeased, because the Three-Eyed Spirit Ape almost chose him. Whoever receives the spirit ape’s legacy becomes the sect leader.”

“So it’s a personal vendetta,” Xie Wuji snorted, thinking to himself how tangled the politics of Danxia Sect truly were.

Fat Dragon sighed, “Brother Xie, you don’t know. In Danxia Sect, the sect leader’s power isn’t as great as Elder Ding’s. The Law Enforcement Hall and the Training Hall are all under his control. If not for Senior Brother Dongmen Jianhao, Second Miss would have had an even harder time.”

At this, Dongmen Qianyun’s gaze dimmed; she bit her lip and fell silent.

Xie Wuji took it all in and said at once, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely find a cure for your congenital severed meridians.”

“Thank you.” Dongmen Qianyun’s heart warmed, as if she’d found a blazing fire in a frozen wasteland.

At that moment, Xie Wuji seemed more and more pleasing to Dongmen Qianyun’s eyes.

“Oh right, with all the spirit stones we earned today, you can visit the Treasure Pavilion. The pills and magical items there can be bought with spirit stones or exchanged for silver,” Dongmen Qianyun suggested.

Xie Wuji was overjoyed. “That’s wonderful! Fat Dragon, Thin Tiger, I’ll leave things here in your hands!”

“Wait, Brother Xie, what about these goods…” Fat Dragon asked hesitantly.

Xie Wuji handed the remaining instant noodles to Fat Dragon. With Fat Dragon and Thin Tiger helping, Xie Wuji was now effectively a silent partner, with others selling his wares for him.

Dongmen Qianyun stayed by his side, saying, “If you really need spirit stones urgently, I have some—why don’t you take them all?”

“No, no, I don’t want to spend your money. It’s better if I earn it myself,” Xie Wuji insisted.

Dongmen Qianyun smiled. “If you want to make money quickly, you could always take on bounties. Many people post tasks at Danxia Sect—complete them, and the employer pays spirit stones according to task difficulty.”

Xie Wuji thought, isn’t that just a bounty system? He asked, “Are there any requirements?”

“You have to be a member of Danxia Sect. Didn’t Senior Brother Yang Hongliu mention the sect before? I think, Brother Xie, you could start as an outer disciple.”

“If I can enter the inner sect, I will. If not, then the outer sect will do,” Xie Wuji replied, as time was running short for him.

He’d just met the Seventh Protector, only to find him dead. Who knew what had happened to the others? Song Zangsong, the old master, had died of illness more than a decade ago. The Immortal Longevity Sect had suffered terrible losses back then—no one knew how many had been wounded.

So finishing this matter sooner was not only for the Immortal Longevity Sect, but also for himself.

“It’s my fault for dragging you into this,” Dongmen Qianyun sighed softly.

Xie Wuji patted her head. “Nonsense. In fact, I quite like your fiery temper.”

In that instant, Dongmen Qianyun felt her whole body tremble, her hands shaking, her beautiful eyes suddenly round and wide.

“L-like?” A thousand wild horses seemed to gallop across her heart, and she felt as though wings had sprouted from her ribs, allowing her to soar freely in the clouds. “Did he just say he likes me? Is this a confession? But I’m not ready for this… If he likes me, and I like him, then we’ll get married, and if we’re married, we’ll have children, and if we have children, what will we name them?”

Dongmen Qianyun covered her face, so embarrassed she wanted to dig a hole to hide in.

Xie Wuji was perplexed. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

Dongmen Qianyun’s cheeks were rosy, and she replied bashfully, “The first child… let’s have it take your surname…”