Chapter 63: A Happy and Harmonious Family

When Zhao Yu turned his back, Little Wanzi couldn't help but glance at his waist, her gaze turning sinister.

Having already walked to the threshold of the kitchen, Zhao Yu had a lingering feeling that some monster was staring at him from behind.

He looked back—no monster, just his sister-in-law's abnormal gaze.

Subconsciously puzzled, he asked, "What are you looking at?"

Little Wanzi instantly shifted to looking innocent and aggrieved, saying, "Brother-in-law, I must be starving. I keep feeling like there's something extremely fragrant on you."

Zhao Yu looked down at himself; he only had his firewood chopper on him.

A firewood chopper wasn't food, so it definitely wouldn't smell fragrant.

Then it must be...

Zhao Yu slapped his forehead. "Look at my memory! Little Wanzi, see what I brought you..."

He trotted back to the table.

Reaching into his robe, he first pulled out several thick wooden sticks densely impaled with candied hawthorns.

Then he pulled out a large handful of sugar figurines, several large packages of steamed buns, and four or five rattle-drums...

In no time, a massive pile of items filled the table to the brim.

Little Wanzi stared in a daze. "Brother-in-law, did you go out and commit a robbery?"

Zhao Yu immediately looked unhappy. "What are you saying? Your brother-in-law is a man determined to turn dark; how could I engage in such petty crimes as robbery? I worked hard to earn the money to buy all of these."

Little Wanzi blinked and stayed silent.

Turn dark, so he couldn't rob—she understood the separate concepts, but strung together like this, she really didn't get it.

Yet Zhao Yu hesitated again. "Don't you like these?"

Little Wanzi desperately wanted to nod hard. What kind of useless junk was all this? It would have been better if he had just brought her a single pastry.

"Husband, you're so good..." Ying emerged from the room, her face full of emotion.

Her clothes were red.

Zhao Yu approached holding several more strings of candied hawthorns. "I figured since I finally went out, I should buy a bit more. Wife, eat up quickly. The books say these are delicious..."

The books all said that if a boy gave a girl candied hawthorns, the girl would be very happy, and their relationship would leap forward.

Given the relationship between him and his wife, his red-clad wife surely wouldn't think about eating him anymore after this.

The red-clad Ying ate several pieces and leaned her head against Zhao Yu's chest. "Delicious..."

Zhao Yu immediately became even happier.

His red-clad wife definitely wouldn't eat him now.

Seeing this, Little Wanzi silently unwrapped a sugar figurine as well, tears streaming down her face. "Brother-in-law, it's so delicious. I love it so much..."

Moved to tears? Were they really that delicious?

Zhao Yu was somewhat puzzled and subconsciously unwrapped one himself.

It was a bit sweet and a bit cloying; apart from that, there seemed to be nothing else.

After some thought, Zhao Yu understood. Little Wanzi wasn't this moved because the candied hawthorns tasted that good, but because the candied hawthorns carried his, Zhao Yu's, tender care and affection.

Zhao Yu felt even happier inside and called out toward the side room, "Little brother, I bought you some toys. Come and see if there's anything you like..."

He even secretly resolved to buy much more whenever he went out in the future.

When Mu Han came out, Zhao Yu offered candied hawthorns to her as well.

The family was gathered together in warmth and harmony.

...

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

During these three days, Zhao Yu experienced a rare period of relaxation without having to cook... If his family members were hungry, they would just eat the candied hawthorns and sugar figurines he had bought back.

At dawn.

Zhao Yu walked out of the bedroom, thinking, "As expected, my wife doesn't even think about eating me anymore."

For the past three days, the red-clad Ying hadn't bitten him once.

He was about to casually grab a string of candied hawthorns, only to discover that the purchased items were almost gone... leaving only four strings of candied hawthorns and a single sugar figurine.

It seemed he would have to start a fire and cook today.

He went to the study to read.

Walking slowly into the study with his hands behind his back, he sat at the desk and opened a book.

"Zhao Yu, Zhao Yu." The firewood chopper crawled onto Zhao Yu's shoulder.

Zhao Yu's face stiffened. "Don't speak when I'm reading."

The firewood chopper said very seriously, "You can't keep reading these vernacular novellas anymore. You need to read more supreme secret manuals and learn more spells. You are a Golden Core cultivator, yet whenever you fight, you only know how to use the Void Annihilation. That's no good."

"Let me tell you, I remember that normal cultivators learn everything—alchemy, artifact crafting, and array formations—otherwise, they easily get scammed. Also, the Five Elements Escape Techniques are essential survival movement methods that must be learned..."

"Learning is too troublesome, I won't learn," Zhao Yu replied lazily, continuing to read his book.

The firewood chopper was furious, glancing at the novella... Well, it had given the reminder today; it would remind him again tomorrow.

With blissful satisfaction, it went back to reading along with Zhao Yu.

After reading for quite a while, Zhao Yu suddenly closed the book.

The firewood chopper panicked. "Zhao Yu, I haven't finished reading yet, and it's right at the most exciting part. How can you just stop reading?"

Zhao Yu rubbed his chin. "Firewood Chopper, I suddenly thought of a question."

"What is it?" the firewood chopper asked blankly.

"The fellows in these novellas can easily break through after cultivating for just a few days."

Pausing for a moment, Zhao Yu asked doubtfully, "And it seems like I became a Golden Core cultivator... I don't remember how many days ago, but I remember it's been many days already. So why hasn't my cultivation realm broken through?"

His wife had told him that his Heaven-Sealing Art would cultivate on its own.

Here came the question: with the Heaven-Sealing Art cultivating automatically, paired with his unrivaled-in-heaven-and-earth talent, why hadn't his cultivation realm improved?

The firewood chopper was left speechless. "You haven't eaten any great nourishing treasures, so how could your cultivation realm break through? Besides, the magic power inside your body right now is already four or five times greater than when you first started, alright?"

With his cultivation having increased by this much, how could anyone say it hadn't improved?

Zhao Yu asked with curiosity, "Then why do I feel like there's no difference?"

The firewood chopper grew even more speechless. "Even if you break through to the Nascent Soul stage, I bet you still won't feel any major difference."

Zhao Yu curled his lips slightly and muttered, "I knew it, a blade like you doesn't understand cultivation at all. According to what the books say, once you reach the Nascent Soul stage, your strength undergoes a heaven-shaking, earth-even transformation..."

"As long as you're happy. Let's hurry back to reading our book." The firewood chopper stared longingly at the novella, its eyes full of yearning.

Zhao Yu opened the book and continued reading.

Immersed in the story, another good while passed.

"Rumble..."

Accompanied by a distant roar, Zhao Yu felt the ground shake slightly.

"Is this earth-dragon upheaval affecting my home again?" Zhao Yu was startled.

In such a short time, his home had already been affected twice...

Perhaps he should find a place to move house, though moving was such a hassle...

With these thoughts, Zhao Yu put down the book and ran outside.

He looked off into the distance.

Except for the courtyard, the entire Yin Mountain was continuously shaking.

Sure enough, it was another major earthquake sweeping across the entire Yin Mountain.

Zhao Yu's wife leaned against the doorframe, narrowing her eyes as she looked into the distance, though it was unclear what she was watching.

Little Wanzi and Mu Han wore playful expressions as they looked far away, seemingly sneering at something.

Since everyone in the family was acting like this...

To blend in and fit with the group, Zhao Yu immediately stared fixedly outward as well.

Since he didn't know what to look at either, he decided to just stare at the black fog.

After a good while, Zhao Yu suddenly clapped his hands. "That's not right."

"Husband?" Ying's voice became unusually tense.

Little Wanzi and Mu Han also spoke simultaneously, "Brother-in-law / Brother, what's wrong with you?"