Chapter 125| Chapter 126| Chapter 127
Chapter 125: Brothers and Sisters
Since Lu Yunxi was entirely alone in this instanced valley while Qiu Yan was offline, she didn’t bother maintaining her male disguise. She simply packed a generous supply of dry rations and threw herself into a relentless, round-the-clock grind inside the underground dungeon.
After several days of continuous clearing, she calculated that Qiu Yan’s malarial delirium debuff was finally nearing its expiration. She packed up her gear and hurried back to the compound.
By the time she emerged from the caverns, night had already fallen over the valley.
The sky was a canvas of twinkling stars, a crisp crescent moon hung high in the sky, and the ambient chirping of cicadas echoed through the trees.
As Lu Yunxi neared the base of the waterfall, she suddenly spotted a massive, formless dark shadow slumped on the riverbank ahead.
“A ghost!” she shrieked, nearly fainting on the spot.
Anyone would lose their composure stumbling across a sprawling black mass in the dead of night.
Slapping her chest to force her racing heart back into alignment, she swiftly retrieved her high-tier longbow from her spatial inventory. Nocking an arrow, she kept her sights locked onto the shadow, tentatively advancing a few paces to investigate.
However, once she breached the immediate perimeter, she realized the anomaly wasn’t a boss monster or a phantom at all. It was a human being.
An exceptionally dark human being.
With her master-tier perception, night vision was completely effortless; under normal circumstances, she would have recognized a traveler from a mile away.
But this specific individual was completely, uniformly black from head to toe. His skin, his hair, his robes, his boots… absolutely every variable on his character model was stained pitch-black.
It was the absolute first time she had ever encountered a native or player with this aesthetic, and she found it deeply bizarre.
Verifying that the stranger’s health bar was stable and free of trauma wounds, Lu Yunxi slung her bow over her shoulder and carried the uncoordinated traveler back to her brick-and-tile home.
Naturally, she dumped him onto the sloppy, unpolished wooden bed she had manufactured during her initial days in the valley.
However, the exact fraction of a second his body hit the mattress, she discovered the true nature of the anomaly.
The man hadn’t spawned with this pigmentation—he had been violently dyed!
Staring at the sudden, oily black smear ruining her bed linens, she gritted her teeth in absolute irritation.
Marching out to the well, she hauled back several heavy buckets of water, methodically scrubbing the stranger’s skin clean before replacing the soiled linens with a fresh, pristine set. She threw the ruined bedding straight onto the floorboards.
She certainly wasn’t going to spend her limited downtime washing a biological hazard.
The second the idiot woke up, he was going to scrub those sheets himself!
With the cleanup finally completed, Lu Yunxi finally had a moment to properly inspect the stranger’s facial features.
Her jaw dropped.
The charcoal casualty was none other than her first apprentice—Shen San!
As the evening deepened, the dry firewood crackling within the courtyard fireplace sent up small wisps of smoke, carrying the rich, mouth-watering aroma of roasting meat into the night air.
Shen San was operating like a man possessed, rhythmically turning the skewers of meat and seasoned vegetables over the grill grates.
A substantial pile of perfectly charred appetizers had already been plated on the central table.
Having spent the entire week clearing dungeons on a diet of dry rations, Lu Yunxi was thoroughly exhausted. She took a seat, reached out to pluck a skewer of grilled vegetables, and asked casually, “Do you require any assistance over there?”
Shen San shook his head, offering a warm, reassuring smile as he flipped another batch. “There’s absolutely no need to trouble yourself, Master. The smoke is far too thick over here anyway. Just sit back and enjoy. Most of the vegetables are fully cooked, and the meat skewers will be ready in a minute.”
Lu Yunxi offered an appreciative nod.
After enduring weeks of Qiu Yan’s toxic, high-hazard cooking, she was on the verge of literal tears of gratitude.
With Qiu Yan remaining offline for the past few days, she had been forced to fend for herself, wondering if her lifestyle student was facing an emergency back home… But now that Shen San had materialized in the valley, their culinary crisis was effectively resolved.
At the end of the day, Shen San had undergone months of rigorous, hands-on tutoring under her watch, and his culinary proficiency was exceptionally high. In contrast, Qiu Yan was an absolute amateur who required an immense amount of structural correction.
“By the way, how on earth did you manage to tumble into this valley?” Lu Yunxi inquired, recalling his horrific appearance upon arrival. “And what was the deal with being stained pitch-black from head to toe?”
Shen San’s eyelid gave a violent twitch, his posture stiffening as he desperately wished he could wipe the memory from his database.
“I caught wind of a rumor that a legendary treasure cache was hidden near the parameters of the gourd lake. The local data logs claimed it was buried deep underground, and players had to drop through a narrow cave shaft to access the chamber,” he recounted flatly, downplaying the humiliation. “Who could have predicted that the moment I cleared the threshold, I’d plunge straight into a subterranean pool of stagnant tar, completely dying my avatar black.”
“Did you at least manage to loot the treasure?” Lu Yunxi asked. If the drop quality was gold or orange-tier, enduring a cosmetic glitch was a perfectly reasonable trade.
“There was absolutely nothing inside that chamber except a pool of foul, pitch-black sludge. I stayed inside the cave for too long, and a severe dizziness debuff locked onto my system, forcing me to scramble back up the shaft at top speed,” he muttered, gnashing his teeth at the memory. “But the moment my boots cleared the cave mouth, the disorientation peaked, and I couldn’t maintain a steady walking animation. The gourd lake happened to be positioned directly adjacent to the path, and I accidentally tripped straight over the precipice.”
He had drifted helplessly across the currents for hours before the waterfall’s internal spatial matrix automatically deposited him at his master’s feet.
It was an absolute tragedy from start to finish.
He had shelled out a massive fortune in gold coins just to purchase the coordinates to that “treasure pool” from a local information broker!
To think a low-level NPC had successfully swindled him!
The underhanded bastard!
The exact second he found a way out of this valley, he was going to track down that vendor and deliver a severe, high-damage physical correction.
Catching the profound, murderous frown shifting across her apprentice’s face, Lu Yunxi secretly snickered.
Deciding to redirect his focus, she casually remarked, “Oh, by the way, I formally accepted a new disciple during your absence. You officially harbor a junior sister now. Are you pleased?”
Shen San froze mid-movement, his tongs hovering over the grill as a wave of genuine surprise crossed his features. “A junior sister?! She must possess an incredibly legendary talent for you to accept her, right?”
“Well… yes. The two of you must practice mutual cooperation from this moment forward,” Lu Yunxi coughed twice, her tone turning slightly evasive. She couldn’t exactly deny the talent metric; after all, Qiu Yan’s raw knife work was genuinely brilliant. “Make sure you take extra care of her whenever you have downtime. She’s an absolute beginner to the trade and lacks a lot of basic baseline knowledge regarding the fundamentals.”
“Understood,” Shen San nodded firmly. Since the newcomer was a direct disciple of his master, he was more than happy to maintain a harmonious relationship with her. “By the way, what is her character name?”
Even though he was mechanically locked inside this instanced valley for the foreseeable future, it was best to log the data in advance. That way, the moment they crossed paths, he could immediately identify her.
“Her name is Qiu Yan. She’s been dealing with a severe systemic ailment over the past few days and has been resting in her quarters. The moment she logs back in, I’ll introduce you properly,” Lu Yunxi explained with a warm smile.
“Qiu Yan?!” Shen San echoed, completely paralyzed.
The specific arrangement of syllables sounded horribly, terrifyingly familiar… Where on earth had he encountered that name before?
He crossed his arms over his chest, his brain rapidly running a database search.
Oh, hell no. The high-society predator his eldest brother had violently forced him to meet during that catastrophic blind date was named Qiu Yan! Could his new lifestyle junior sister actually be—
No. It’s mechanically impossible. The vast majority of the player population strictly utilized randomized aliases and custom handles within the server; almost no one was unhinged enough to register their legal Interstellar identity as a character name. This Qiu Yan was undoubtedly just a casual player who happened to share the same name.
After all, that real-world noble lady was incredibly arrogant and obsessed with corporate status; there was absolutely zero probability she would willingly drop her knees to perform a tea ceremony and accept a native lifestyle NPC as her master.
He aggressively shook his head, clearing the horrific nightmare from his thoughts.
Right at that second, the heavy wooden door of the adjoining bedroom creaked inward.
Lu Yunxi’s perception twitched, instantly realizing her second student had successfully reconnected to the server. She stood up and marched inside to welcome her.
“Qiu Yan! You’re finally awake,” she beamed, stepping forward to throw her arms around her lifestyle disciple. “You’ve been unconscious for so many server cycles that I was starting to harbor serious anxieties. I am so incredibly relieved to see your vitals are stable!”
Qiu Yan let out a long, silent breath of relief. Over the past few days in the real world, she had locked herself in her family’s training kitchens, relentlessly studying for her professional certification. She had successfully cleared the interstellar examination board, securing her Junior Chef license.
Though it was strictly an entry-level tier, the sudden influx of professional prestige had already drastically stabilized her adoptive parents’ corporate standing within the clan.
The breakthrough had only reinforced her absolute determination to master her mentor’s advanced techniques.
“Master, I am deeply sorry for causing you such immense anxiety.”
“There’s absolutely no need for apologies, child. More importantly, while you were resting, my eldest disciple—your senior brother—also managed to tumble down the waterfall. He’s currently managing a barbecue out in the courtyard. Come along, it’s the perfect opportunity to introduce you.” Lu Yunxi took her by the hand, subtly checking her pulse. Verifying that the malarial delirium debuff had left zero residual constraints on her system, her smile widened.
“My Senior Brother?! Understood.” Qiu Yan’s posture stiffened slightly, a wave of nervous anticipation hitting her.
Since he was Master’s firstborn disciple, his culinary and combat metrics had to be absolutely astronomical!
Faced with the prospect of meeting a legendary, high-tier senior, she took a series of deep, centering breaths to force a calm, dignified expression onto her face, smoothing down her robes as she followed her mentor out into the courtyard.
The two women advanced into the ambient light of the fire, warm smiles gracing their features.
Out by the grill, Shen San was also frantically running a series of internal calculations.
He had just caught the system chime indicating his lifestyle junior sister had returned to the server. As the senior representative of their lineage, traditional etiquette dictated he provide a proper welcoming gift.
He had meticulously prepared two separate options from his spatial bag: a piece of high-tier combat equipment and a luxury dish he had personally synthesized. If his junior sister proved to be a pure, lifestyle-focused casual player, he would present the gourmet food; if she possessed combat statistics, he would hand over the armor… Flawless preparation!
Both of the disciples were locked in a state of mutual excitement and intense nerves.
Until—
“Shen San, this is your junior sister, Qiu Yan,” Lu Yunxi announced, gesturing between the two. “Qiu Yan, this is the senior brother I spoke of, Shen San.”
“Why the hell is it you?!”
“You?!”
The exact fraction of a second their eyes locked, their real-world data files perfectly aligned, and they bellowed in identical shock.
An intense wave of profound, unadulterated disdain instantly manifested within the eyes of both individuals.
Qiu Yan thought: It’s actually that freelance contractor from the Fu family! Unbelievable! Master had clearly dropped his name back at the coastal inn… Dammit! How did I completely fail to connect the dots?!
Shen San thought: How on earth did this woman spawn in my zone?! Doesn’t she usually walk around with her nose pointed at the clouds?! To think she actually dropped her pride to become my junior sister… Ha! Tremendous!
“What’s wrong? Do the two of you already share an acquaintance?” Lu Yunxi inquired, having completely forgotten the minor crossing of paths back at the inn. She looked between them in genuine surprise. “Well, that’s absolutely marvelous! We can completely bypass the awkward introductory phase!”
The newly matched senior and junior disciples let out a pair of incredibly strained, bone-dry chuckles, forcing a set of skeletal, artificial smiles onto their faces as they muttered a few hollow agreements.
Suddenly, a sharp, bitter burning odor wafted up from the fireplace.
“Oh, crap! The barbecue!”
Chapter 126: Newcomer
Lu Yunxi looked at her two disciples. Their expressions were stiff, and they looked as though they had just swallowed a fly.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, a bit surprised. “Are you two not on good terms?”
“Of course not, haha!” Shen San forced a laugh.
“I’m just incredibly surprised!” Qiu Yan chimed in right away.
The two of them laughed dryly, answering in unison. Lu Yunxi noted their bizarre expressions but chose not to pry. As long as they can keep it together, she thought. After all, even if she forced them to get along, true harmony wasn’t something she could mandate.
With the addition of this senior-junior dynamic, Lu Yunxi no longer had to constantly hover over Qiu Yan to teach her. She smoothly resumed her monster-killing routines. Of course, her excuse to the disciples remained the same: she was going out to find fresh inspiration or hunt for rare ingredients.
These days, however, she wasn’t grinding day and night like before. She only cleared the underground dungeon once every one or two days. She spent the rest of her time practicing her various sub-professions—like music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—purely to unwind.
That evening, Lu Yunxi finished off the final monster in the cavern. She sorted through her spatial storage, sat down to drink a refreshing cup of water, and then dusted off her robes to head home. By now, the two apprentices should have dinner fully prepared. She walked back with a sense of pleasant anticipation, wondering what delicious spread awaited her.
However, as she neared the base of the waterfall, she spotted a figure lying entirely motionless on the rocky ground in the distance.
Lu Yunxi paused, a sense of familiarity washing over her. Wait, this scene feels incredibly familiar. Ah, right! Isn’t this exactly how my other two disciples arrived?
Fortunately, this new arrival wasn’t stained pitch-black, so the sight wasn’t nearly as alarming.
She carefully gripped her longbow, stepping forward with cautious precision while simultaneously casting an Appraisal spell over the body.
The person sprawled on the ground was a male player, level 69, clad in indigo robes. Though his clothes were tattered from the fall, the tears clearly revealed a highly defined, powerful eight-pack.
Lu Yunxi stowed her weapon, carefully helped the man sit up, and gave him a gentle shake. “Hello? Can you hear me? Are you okay?”
Only silence answered her.
The man possessed sharp, angular features. His brow was slightly furrowed, his narrow eyes were tightly shut, and his thin lips were pressed into a hard line. His face was quite pale from blood loss, his expression strained with latent pain.
Running a quick diagnostic scan, she found that the most severe wounds were concentrated across his chest and abdomen. While there were numerous smaller lacerations scoring his hands and feet, they were relatively superficial and could be easily managed with standard healing salves.
After a moment of deliberation, she decided against using her high-tier health restoration skills on him.
An ordinary man encounters trouble when he flaunts a treasure.
If this stranger woke up to find his catastrophic injuries instantly and miraculously cured, he might suspect something anomalous was at play and attempt to silence her to steal her skills. Wouldn’t that be inviting unnecessary trouble? On the world forums, she had seen countless threads where players aggressively hunted down unique NPCs the moment they discovered they possessed legendary abilities, purely to harvest those skills for themselves.
It would have been one thing if she were ignorant of player behavior, but now that she understood their mechanics, she certainly wasn’t going to flaunt her abilities recklessly.
Steeling her resolve, Lu Yunxi systematically cleansed his wounds and applied a topical hemostatic powder. Once the bleeding completely stopped, she hoisted him onto her back and carried him toward the house.
Inside the dining room, her two apprentices were already seated at the table. The rice and soup had been meticulously scooped into bowls, and they were merely waiting for her return to break their fast.
After sitting in silence for a short while, the sound of footsteps echoed from the threshold.
Both disciples instantly brightened and rose to welcome her, but their smiles froze when they saw their master hauling a strange man over her shoulder, heading directly toward the guest wing.
They were thoroughly shocked.
“Wait a minute! Who is that guy? Why are you bringing him inside?!” Shen San blurted out, instinctively stepping forward to block her path while trying to pull the stranger away from her shoulder.
“Master, this is far too dangerous. Let me carry him instead!” Qiu Yan insisted, her brow furrowing deeply.
Lu Yunxi relinquished her hold, easing the man down as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. “I happened to stumble across him at the base of the waterfall. He must have accidentally plummeted over the edge. Since I ran into him on my way back, I couldn’t just leave him there.”
“In that case, why don’t we move him to my quarters?” Shen San countered immediately. “After all, I’m a man. It will be infinitely more convenient for me to manage his care and look after him.”
Without waiting for an objection, he quickly hefted the stranger into his own bedroom, firmly locking the door behind him. A series of loud, chaotic rustling noises echoed through the wood paneling for several minutes.
When the door finally opened again, the stranger had been meticulously changed into a clean set of garments, lying quietly against the pillows with a pale, peaceful face.
A delicate, ambient fragrance drifted through the air.
The man on the bed sniffed the scent, his eyelids fluttering as he slowly returned to consciousness. Holding his throbbing, swollen forehead, he sat up and critically evaluated his surroundings.
Soft gray sheets, a sturdy yet simple wooden frame, a vase filled with vibrant blossoms resting atop a small nightstand, and an elegant cloth draped over a central table. The entire layout exuded a comfortable, cozy charm.
Luo Mingyi raised an eyebrow in silent amusement. Evaluating the refined interior design, he came to a swift conclusion: I must have survived the waterfall plunge and been rescued by a beautiful woman.
Naturally. Given his seemingly flawless, invincible countenance, what woman in this world would have the heart to leave him rotting in the dirt without stepping in to help?
With that comforting thought, his tense muscles relaxed entirely. He swung his legs out of bed, smoothed down his robes, and pulled the door open.
The moment the panel cleared, the rich, savory aroma of cooking blasted into his senses, turning exponentially more intoxicating. His stomach let out an involuntary rumble, and he subconsciously pressed a hand against his deflated midsection.
“Ah, you’re finally awake,” a gentle, melodic voice greeted him, accompanied by a soft chuckle. “How are you feeling? Your internal injuries haven’t fully mended yet, so please be careful with your movements.”
Luo Mingyi turned toward the source of the voice, finding a young woman watching him with a warm, caring smile.
Though she stood framed against the ambient light of the hallway, her skin appeared entirely fair and translucent. Her thick, ink-black hair was pinned up elegantly with a simple hairpin, revealing the slender, snow-white curve of her neck. A pair of luminous almond eyes regarded him from beneath beautifully arched brows. With her petite nose and rosy lips, she was the textbook definition of lovely and beautiful.
He instinctively turned on his signature, charming smile. “Were you the one who saved my life? Thank you. You are truly an exceptionally beautiful and kind-hearted girl. I honestly don’t know how I can ever repay your grace.”
Lu Yunxi blinked, the corners of her lips curling into an amused smile. “While it’s true I carried you back from the riverbank, Shen San was the one who meticulously managed your medical care over the past few days. If you wish to offer your gratitude, he is the one you should thank.”
“Shen San?” The name struck a familiar chord in his memory logs, though he couldn’t quite place it.
“Yes, he’s currently finishing up the dishes in the kitchen. Since you’ve just regained consciousness, please, take a seat and join us for a meal.” With a warm invitation, she pulled out a chair, gesturing toward the magnificent spread blanketing the table.
Only then did Luo Mingyi realize the incredible aroma was emanating directly from the dishes before him!
It smelled spectacular. Judging by the sheer aromatic complexity of the spread, he could wager a massive amount of gold that this ‘Shen San’ was a high-tier lifestyle casual player!
He instinctively picked up a pair of chopsticks, preparing to sample the food, when a sudden realization halted his hand mid-air. He quickly retracted his arm, looking sheepish. “My deepest apologies, my lady. I completely neglected my manners… It is incredibly rude of me to feast without even knowing the name of my savior!”
“Me? I am Lu Yunxi. And yours?”
“Lu… Yunxi?” Hearing the name, a sharp flash of profound astonishment crossed Luo Mingyi’s eyes, though he masked it instantly beneath a smooth, admiring smile. “What a spectacular name! It evokes the beauty of a traditional painting—elegant and serene. It suits your countenance perfectly!”
He lowered his gaze, his mind rapidly running through his internal databases. He was entirely certain he had heard someone mention the name Lu Yunxi before, but where?
As he remained trapped in deep thought, another figure stepped into the dining hall, rubbing a pair of sleepy, exhausted eyes.
Qiu Yan was thoroughly miserable.
She honestly hadn’t anticipated that her culinary clumsiness would progress to the point of literally cracking the kitchen’s iron wok! Because of the structural failure, she and her master had been forced to rely entirely on Shen San’s cooking for the past few days. Worse still, she couldn’t find the necessary high-tier metallurgy materials anywhere in the valley to repair the stove!
Letting out a heavy, silent sigh, she dropped into a chair, only to freeze in shock as she looked up.
The stranger her master had salvaged was actually awake and sitting at the table!
“Oh, you’re up?” Qiu Yan inquired politely, attempting to maintain her composure.
Luo Mingyi, however, felt his brain short-circuit as he processed her features.
Qiu Yan?!
He had personally interacted with the young mistress of the Qiu syndicate at multiple high-society banquets back in the Capital Planet. While she was fundamentally a capable woman, she was notoriously willful, elitist, and thoroughly spoiled. How on earth did she end up down here…?
Before his thoughts could arrive at a logical conclusion, the kitchen door swung open, and a man stepped into the room holding the final platters of food.
Luo Mingyi’s jaw nearly hit the floorboards.
The third son of the Fu family! Although the man had subtly altered his facial parameters via the character customization screen, the adjustments were minimal; anyone who interacted with him frequently in elite social circles could identify his baseline facial structure instantly!
But the absolute most mind-boggling detail was the dynamic: the reclusive third master of the Fu family was actually residing under the same roof as the spoiled daughter of the Qiu clan?!
He distinctly recalled the high-society rumors dictating that the two lineages shared an incredibly icy, hostile relationship. Had his intelligence network completely botched the data logs?!
Luo Mingyi lingered in his daze for a fraction of a second before smoothly forcing his signature, relaxed smile back onto his face. “Ah, I completely neglected to introduce myself. I am Luo Mingyi, a combat-oriented player. If the household ever encounters any hostile entities or mechanical hazards, you can always rely on my blade to protect you.”
The exact moment the name left his lips, both Shen San and Qiu Yan froze in unison, their heads snapping up to lock their gazes onto his face.
However, the countenance Luo Mingyi displayed to the room was entirely distinct from his real-world features.
Is it just a bizarre coincidence? they both wondered silently.
Lu Yunxi offered a small, knowing smile. Her gaze swept over Luo Mingyi’s face, tracking the edge of the flawless, high-tier illusion mask that remained perfectly intact over his skin. She asked casually, “Your face mask is remarkably crafted. Might I ask which merchant guild you purchased it from?”
Chapter 127: Another Guest Arrives
“I’m a combat-oriented player. If you ever run into any danger, you can always count on my blade to protect you.” Luo Mingyi’s voice was smooth and deep, carrying a subtle, lingering warmth that practically invited a person to lean closer.
Yet, absolutely no one in the room paid any attention to his flirtatious tone.
Lu Yunxi’s entire body went rigid.
A combat player?! Dammit! She was supposed to be a native NPC right now. Hearing that kind of modern gaming terminology meant she had only one viable option: play completely dumb! She simply had to pretend she didn’t understand a single word of his player jargon and brush it off without a second thought.
Deliberating for a fraction of a second, Lu Yunxi forced a slightly bewildered, innocent expression onto her face and smoothly pivoted the conversation. “The mask on your face is remarkably crafted.”
At her words, Shen San and Qiu Yan immediately turned their heads to zero in on Luo Mingyi. Both of them had already formed strong suspicions in their minds; it seemed this newcomer truly was an acquaintance from their real lives.
While the two apprentices hadn’t given the phrase “combat player” a second thought, the mention of a hidden mask caught their full attention. They inspected his face with sharp precision, yet their baseline perception stats failed to detect even a single seam.
Luo Mingyi didn’t offer a direct explanation, merely offering a relaxed, confident smile. “Miss Lu possesses exceptional eyesight.”
He then duplicated his offer, his gaze locking onto her. “You saved my life. If you encounter any mechanical hazards or hostile entities in the future, you need only call my name, and I will safeguard your perimeter.”
Shen San’s welcoming smile didn’t reach his eyes. “We appreciate your hospitality, but your blade is entirely useless to her here.” He was absolutely certain now; this was definitely the arrogant young master he knew from the Capital Planet. Even his tone was incredibly grating. Who was he looking down on? If they actually threw down in a proper PvP duel, this kid might not even be able to breach his defenses!
Qiu Yan’s expression also turned highly subtle. Luo Mingyi had been such a fragile, weak little thing when they were children, yet now he had the audacity to boast about his combat metrics in front of her!
Lu Yunxi kept her head down, methodically focusing on her breakfast while completely ignoring the tense, undercurrent geometry passing between the three of them.
Ever since Shen San had arrived in the valley, a bizarre, fierce rivalry had ignited between him and Qiu Yan. For instance:
“Master, I personally prepared this chilled wood-ear mushroom and cucumber salad for you, along with a glass of fresh watermelon juice. These are the exact cooling properties your body requires to counter the summer humidity. What is the point of consuming heavy, greasy dishes in this weather?”
“Master, please sample the Dongpo pork I synthesized. I promise the fat layer isn’t greasy at all… Can a spread truly be considered a proper meal without premium meat options?”
“Master, look at this floral wreath I spent the morning weaving for you. The moment you place it over your hair, you look exactly like a high-society princess!”
“Master, I extracted the pigment from fresh blossoms to craft a custom nail stain for you. I have bright crimson, soft peach, and vibrant tomato red… Which shade do you think coordinates best with your skin tone?”
Lu Yunxi: “…”
She felt entirely helpless, trapped directly in the crossfire of her two overachieving disciples. As the old proverb went, where there are talented people, a chaotic mini-society will inevitably form. Now that she harbored a second student, their mutual competitive drive had completely breached the safety margins. Whether it involved fetching her water for a evening foot soak or managing the kitchen rotation, absolutely every chore degenerated into a high-stakes competition.
Pulling her thoughts back to the present, Lu Yunxi chewed her food with slow deliberation.
Seeing her focus on the spread, Luo Mingyi also lowered his gaze, casually picking up a crystal dumpling with his chopsticks. However, the exact fraction of a second the flavors hit his tongue, he froze solid.
This… this texture… He belonged to an elite corporate syndicate and commanded an immense fortune back in reality. He had feasted on the most luxurious, Michelin-tier cuisine both in the real world and inside premium gaming servers, yet not a single dish he had ever consumed could match the staggering culinary heights of this single bite!
It was absolutely, undeniably legendary!
Bypassing his usual refined etiquette, his eating speed accelerated exponentially. He didn’t lower his chopsticks until his satiety bar was entirely maxed out and his stomach was visibly bulging beneath his robes, letting out a highly satisfied sigh.
The four of them concluded the morning meal in an eerily tense, absolute silence.
Once the table was cleared, Qiu Yan and Shen San escorted Luo Mingyi on a brief tour of the immediate territory, systematically laying out the Grandmaster-tier progression requirements to escape the valley before guiding him to a vacant plot to establish his quarters. After all, now that he was fully conscious, it was mechanically inappropriate for him to continue anchoring Shen San’s private bedroom.
“I prefer to construct my cabin on the plot directly adjacent to your perimeter, primarily because I possess zero culinary sub-professions,” Luo Mingyi proposed smoothly. “Moving forward, I will personally harvest and prep the raw ingredients for the household every morning, leaving Brother Shen to handle the actual stove work. Once dinner concludes, I will take full charge of washing the dishes. How does that arrangement sound?” Having experienced Brother Shen’s spectacular cooking, he was adamantly refused to default back to his own terrible lifestyle metrics. You see, his character sheet lacked a single point of cooking proficiency.
Shen San’s eyelid gave a violent twitch. This unearned title of “Brother” had materialized entirely out of nowhere.
…Nevertheless, Lu Yunxi ultimately granted her permission for him to join their daily dining rotation.
Although she hadn’t actively interrogated her students, she wasn’t a fool. Qiu Yan desperately required external allies to stabilize her real-world lineage, and Shen San was consistently short on premium game capital. Furthermore, judging by their behavioral micro-expressions, the three of them clearly moved in the same elite social circles back in the Interstellar world. Even if they shared an icy, distant relationship initially, wouldn’t a shared isolation naturally forge a solid bond over time?
Gratitude was a highly valuable variable. Down the line, if her two disciples encountered a severe crisis within the server or back home, having a high-tier combat powerhouse like Luo Mingyi in their debt would be an immense safety net. And even if he turned out to be a selfish leech who refused to back them up, the extra dining slots simply provided her two apprentices with more live targets to grind their culinary proficiency bars.
They stood to lose absolutely nothing.
The two disciples remained entirely oblivious to their master’s structural calculations. The moment she granted the stranger a seat at their table, a heavy wave of profound depression settled over their shoulders.
Later that evening, right during her scheduled foot soak rotation, Shen San and Qiu Yan materialized before her veranda once again, each hauling a steaming wooden basin.
“Master, I infused today’s foot bath with fresh rose petals. The ambient fragrance is exceptionally soothing. I truly hope it pleases you.”
“Master, I packed the water with premium mugwort. Didn’t you explicitly state last week that your meridians required an element to expel dampness?”
Lu Yunxi sighed. “Both formulations are highly exceptional. I am immensely fond of both.”
The senior and junior disciples locked eyes across her lap, literal sparks flying between their gazes.
Her eye twitched. Extending her legs, she methodically planted her left foot into the rose basin and her right foot into the mugwort basin, satisfying both parties.
“Master, what exactly was your reasoning for permitting Luo Mingyi to join our household? Do you… harbor a specific fondness for his character?” Qiu Yan inquired suddenly, her voice dropping to a cautious murmur.
“What?” Lu Yunxi blinked, caught completely off guard.
“Do you truly find his countenance appealing, Master?” Shen San pressed, his brow furrowing into a sharp, deeply worried line.
For once, this fiercely competitive pair of disciples displayed a flawless, terrifyingly unified front. They were completely, unalterably resolved on one point: They would rather delete their accounts than ever call Luo Mingyi their master-in-law! It was one thing for Lu Yunxi to remain a pure, single NPC mentor, but if that smooth-talking player managed to worm his way into her good graces… Hell no!
“Luo Mingyi?” Lu Yunxi stared at them for a stunned second before bursting into a bright, amused laugh. “Whatever gave you two such a ridiculous notion? He isn’t a malicious entity, certainly, but I harbor absolutely zero romantic interest in his character.”
“Master, you must exercise extreme mechanical caution when evaluating a prospective… husband,” Qiu Yan advised solemnly, leaning in close. “Luo Mingyi is a notoriously shallow sweet-talker and a certified playboy. He treats the world like his personal playground. He is an exceptionally poor choice for a companion.”
Lu Yunxi’s eyelid twitched violently. “Rest assured, I have zero baseline intentions of entering a marriage contract… But what about the two of you? He agreed to fund the ingredient capital; aren’t you both desperately running low on gold?”
“Since when did my account ever lack capital…” Shen San and Qiu Yan froze mid-sentence, suddenly wondering if they had fabricated some lie about being broke in the past and completely forgotten to track it in their data logs.
Lu Yunxi had merely dropped the comment casually to brush them off, far too lazy to explain her macro-level reasoning to her dense students. Catching her dismissive posture, both disciples spontaneously dropped the topic, pivoting to casual chatter as they watched her finish her soak.
Within forty-eight hours, however, Shen San and Qiu Yan’s internal alarms reached absolute maximum capacity. They discovered that Luo Mingyi had drastically altered his deployment strategy.
When he had first returned to consciousness, though his dialogue was smooth and laced with automated charm, he had maintained a strict, polite distance around Lu Yunxi’s coordinates. But now…
“Keep your position secured here. I’m going to run a manual recon on Master’s location,” Qiu Yan whispered sharply to her senior.
Gathering a bundle of freshly split firewood to serve as a cover prop, she crept silently toward the main pavilion window, peering through a narrow gap in the paneling to monitor the interior.
Inside the parlor, Luo Mingyi had breached Lu Yunxi’s personal safety margins, leaning down until his lips were positioned just inches from her ear as he murmured a smooth joke. Whatever he said caused Lu Yunxi to let out a soft, amused giggle. The physical distance between the two models had completely dissolved; they were a mere few centimeters away from triggering an intimate character animation!
Qiu Yan gritted her teeth so hard her jaw ached. That underhanded scoundrel!
Dammit! Was Luo Mingyi honestly planning to deploy the exact same trash-tier seduction routines he used on high-society debutantes against her own mentor? Did he truly believe a master-level native NPC was an entity he could treat with such casual disrespect?!
No way! She needed to sync data with Shen San immediately! They had an ironclad structural obligation to safeguard their mentor’s perimeter! Protecting the master from social predators was the absolute responsibility of the disciples!
On the other side of the room, Lu Yunxi—who had detected Qiu Yan’s stealth coordinates the exact fraction of a second she approached the window—maintained a flawless, gentle smile, her micro-expressions betraying absolutely zero spatial awareness.
She had no choice. She was currently navigating a massive, invisible multi-car pileup. To prevent any of these three hyper-analytical Interstellar players from deducing that she was a conscious transmigrator rather than a programmed NPC, she had to constantly run internal diagnostics on her facial animations. It was an immense, exhausting hassle!
Luo Mingyi was turning into a major systematic headache. She was genuinely beginning to regret granting him a dining slot at her table.
Initially, the man had operated under the standard assumption that she was just another player running an elite lifestyle build. But after monitoring her interactions over the past few days, his tracking metrics had correctly flagged her as a native NPC.
And the exact second that data point cleared, his behavior shifted into an aggressive courtship protocol.
From his perspective, since Miss Lu was merely a masterpiece of programmed faction data, he harbored zero real-world compliance constraints. If he could successfully max out her favorability metrics and lock down a formal romance option with a legendary, master-tier native beauty, his account prestige would skyrocket to the absolute zenith of the global server! He would be an overnight gaming legend!
Driven by pure mechanical ambition, he had mobilized his courtship routine without a single shred of hesitation.
However, the actual execution proved exponentially more punishing than his previous high-society conquests. While Miss Lu was consistently gentle, polite, and accommodating on the surface, her underlying affinity core remained entirely locked behind a wall of pure iron. She was impossibly difficult to sway.
Over the past few days, he had systematically exhausted every standard favorability guide on the forums. He had accompanied her on routine walks, managed her fishing lines, harvested rare mountain blossoms to fill her vases, and had even spent a massive amount of real-world fiat currency to purchase premium cosmetic fireworks from the cash shop to illuminate her courtyard. He had even offered to dump his entire inventory of high-tier dungeon loot at her feet—yet every single deployment hit a flat failure.
Miss Lu simply offered her standard, radiant NPC smile, completely unfazed by his material wealth, while systematically rejecting every single premium offering without a moment’s hesitation.
