With a full haul, on the way out of the Lemnian Hollow, Uncle Chen and the workers kept casting somewhat strange glances towards Arden Xu and Ju Fufu.
"..."
Ju Fufu clung to Arden's arm, hiding behind him as if too embarrassed to face anyone.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here!"
Arden, however, didn't care in the slightest, puffing out his chest proudly.
"Wah wah wah..."
"Hmm?"
Ju Fufu's tiger ears twitched. "Brother Arden!"
Having seemingly heard something, she poked Arden in the side.
"What's wrong?"
Pulling Ju Fufu in front of him, Arden asked with slight confusion.
"Did you hear that?"
Her tiger ears twitched a few more times, and Ju Fufu pointed in a direction. "It sounds like... a little girl crying?"
"A little girl?"
Arden pricked up his ears and listened carefully, then frowned. He couldn't hear anything.
However, he didn't think this was Fufu's imagination. After all, the hearing of Tiger Thirens was much more sensitive than that of ordinary humans; he trusted Fufu's ears.
[Ding! Temporary quest 'Save the Little Girl' has been issued. Completion will increase the success rate of passing the 'Disciple Assessment'.]
Sure enough, the system issued the quest right on time, proving that Fufu hadn't misheard.
"Let's go check it out."
After saying a quick word to Uncle Chen, Arden led Ju Fufu towards the direction of the crying.
Since there was a system quest, he had to go investigate, whether it was for the 'increased success rate' or the 'little girl'.
...
"Wah wah wah... Mommy, where are you? I'm so scared!"
Little Lan was curled up in a corner, crying her little heart out, her face streaked with tears.
She had been playing hide-and-seek with friends when a vicious dog chased her into the Hollow. She then accidentally fell through a spatial rift and ended up here.
"I have to be strong, I can't cry~!"
Little Lan wiped her tears.
She firmly remembered the 'Hollow Refuge Manual' taught at school: if you accidentally enter a Hollow, don't run around. Find a safe place and wait for rescue, and don't make too much noise to avoid attracting Ethereals.
But her crying had still attracted something.
"Little one, don't cry. Big brother is here to save you."
"Huh?"
Hearing the voice, Little Lan looked up in confusion, and her eyes met Arden's smiling gaze.
"Eek! An Ethereal!"
Little Lan turned and ran, only to bump right into a soft embrace.
"E-Ethereal?"
Arden pointed at himself, incredulous. "Have you ever seen an Ethereal as handsome as me?"
"Don't get cocky, you're scaring the child."
Ju Fufu held Little Lan in her arms and comforted her, "Don't be afraid. With big sister here, no Ethereal can hurt you."
"Wow~! A... an orange cat big sister? Is that you? Have you come to save me?"
Little Lan peeked her head out from Ju Fufu's embrace, her eyes shining as if she'd seen an adorable cat.
"Yes, little sister, you're safe now. But... big sister is a Tiger Thiren, not an orange cat!" Ju Fufu emphasized her species.
...
And so, the team, along with Arden, Ju Fufu, and the rescued little girl Little Lan, left the Hollow.
After bidding farewell to Uncle Chen, Arden and Ju Fufu took Little Lan to Public Security, where her anxious mother was waiting.
Following a round of heartfelt thanks from Little Lan's mother, Arden and Ju Fufu rode their sidecar motorcycle back to their own small courtyard.
"Whew~ Oh yeah~!"
Back home, Arden stretched and then began checking their recent finances. "We have a fair amount of Dennies left."
Combining their savings, the commission fee from this job, and the bonus red envelope, after deducting the registration fee and necessary expenses, they still had a decent sum of Dennies remaining.
"Then... let's have a feast tonight!"
Arden made the decision.
Bang-Bang Chicken. Take a marinated whole chicken, stuff it into an old-fashioned popcorn machine, add side dishes like potatoes and green peppers, then heat and pressurize it with charcoal fire. Control the pressure and time, and what 'pops' out is Bang-Bang Chicken.
Tender, juicy, with soft, crumbling bones, rich in flavor, and incredibly fragrant, Bang-Bang Chicken isn't too hard to cook; the key lies in the pressure and timing.
Arden still cringes thinking about his first attempt at Bang-Bang Chicken, where the result was just a skeleton and meat paste.
Of course, Arden was now a skilled chef and wouldn't make such a serious mistake again.
"Five minutes... about three atmospheres of pressure should do it!"
After setting the time and pressure, Arden went to the kitchen to prepare the other dishes.
Five minutes later.
"Ready, fire!"
Arden drew his longsword and hooked the popcorn machine's valve.
Boom~!
A loud bang, accompanied by billowing steam and wafting aroma.
When the steam cleared, a Bang-Bang Chicken lay in the pre-prepared stainless steel basin.
Yes, a whole chicken.
"Success!"
A satisfied smile on his face, Arden carried the stainless steel basin to the dining table. "Fufu, chicken leg for you!"
He tore off a plump chicken leg and placed it on Fufu's plate.
"Munch munch!"
Ju Fufu ate, but seemed somewhat uninterested.
"Hmm?"
Very familiar with Ju Fufu, Arden immediately sensed something was off. "Does it not taste good?"
Puzzled, Arden tore off the other chicken leg and took a bite.
"!!"
His eyes immediately lit up.
It was crispy on the outside, tender and soft inside, savory and delicious—absolutely perfect.
"Could it be... are you feeling unwell somewhere? Are you hurt?"
Since it wasn't the Bang-Bang Chicken, then something must be wrong with Ju Fufu herself.
"I'm not unwell anywhere, I'm fine! Sigh~~"
Ju Fufu shook her head and sighed. "I just..."
"Just what?"
Arden pressed on, his face full of concern, afraid that something might be wrong with Ju Fufu.
The enrollment assessment was approaching. If only Arden entered Yunkui Summit alone, it would be terribly dull, and he might even give up, waiting with Ju Fufu for the next opportunity.
Although his goal was to 'challenge the master,' becoming stronger would lose its meaning without Ju Fufu.
"Sigh~!"
Feeling Arden's sincere and concerned gaze, Ju Fufu sighed again. "I just... feel unsure, that's all."
"I'm so weak. Would Master Yixuan really accept me?"
"Oh, that's what you're worried about! You scared me!"
Arden breathed a sigh of relief, then began seriously considering Fufu's concern.
Based on his understanding, the disciples Yunkui Summit recruited were meant to become cultivators. Cultivators... cultivators! Naturally, they needed the aptitude to 'cultivate.' Otherwise, even if they passed the assessment, they could only remain outer sect disciples forever, unable to become a personal disciple and truly become Yixuan's student.
The aptitude required to join Yunkui Summit was mainly divided into two categories.
One was the main path, like martial cultivation, spell cultivation, talisman cultivation, dao cultivation, or true essence cultivation.
The second category was miscellaneous skills, commonly known as 'specialties.'
In terms of specialties, Ju Fufu's great strength should suffice. But for the main path... looking at this silly girl, spell, talisman, and dao cultivation clearly didn't suit her. That left only martial cultivation.
But if she couldn't pass the 'martial' test, then she'd really be in trouble.
"Don't worry, your good brother will think of a way."
"Mhm."
Under Ju Fufu's expectant gaze, Arden put on a thoughtful expression, though in reality, he was browsing the Points Store.
To improve strength within a week, the best methods were obtaining divine weapons or quick-cultivation techniques, all of which could be exchanged for in the Points Store.
Got it!
It didn't take long for Arden to find suitable content in the Points Store.
It was a cultivation manual called: [One Dragon, Nine Phoenixes Art].
Just from the name, one could tell this was a dual cultivation... or more accurately, a 1+N cultivation technique, perfectly suited for Ju Fufu's current situation.
Incidentally, in the [One Dragon, Nine Phoenixes Art], the 'One' referred to Arden—this was certain. But 'Nine' was an extreme number, not meaning only nine phoenixes, but signifying infinity.
Besides allowing rapid progress and increasing cultivation, if the cultivation partner was Arden, both parties could share 20% of their attribute values.
In other words, just by cultivating, Ju Fufu would gain at least 20 attribute points from Arden. The effect on strength growth would be immediate.
As for whether Ju Fufu would agree to dual cultivate with him, Arden wasn't worried at all. What he cared more about was whether Fufu would accept Master Yixuan as well. After all, according to Arden's future plans, 'challenging the master' was only a matter of time.
Although he could delay through 'omission,' Arden didn't want to deceive Ju Fufu. To put it simply, Ju Fufu was his only family since crossing over.
Better sooner than later. It's best to explain clearly now.
Having made up his mind, Arden exchanged for the [One Dragon, Nine Phoenixes Art] manual and placed it on the table before Ju Fufu.
"Fufu, I have a manual here that can quickly increase strength. Take a look."
"A manual?"
Ju Fufu immediately began reading.
Just the manual's name gave Ju Fufu a premonition. When she flipped the pages and those indecent cultivation illustrations appeared, her cheeks instantly turned as red as a boiled shrimp.
I thought of you as a brother, but you actually lust after my body!? (Wrong)
"..."
Her face grew redder and redder, steam even seeming to rise, but Ju Fufu didn't refuse outright.
There's a chance!
Ju Fufu's reaction gave Arden great confidence. He pressed on, explaining further.
Well, explaining that he wasn't just lusting after Ju Fufu's tiger-girl body... at least not only lusting after her body, but sincerely wanting to become stronger.
"You know I have a special talent, right?"
He didn't explicitly mention the system, but Ju Fufu knew to some extent that her Brother Arden possessed a unique talent, becoming stronger through specific actions, like... flushing the toilet for her.
"Mhm."
Ju Fufu nodded shyly.
"As long as you and I... um, dual cultivate, part of my strength will be shared with you. That way, we can ensure you pass the disciple assessment."
"Of course, I'll also gain part of your strength. It benefits both of us."
"Fufu... Fufu dear~! What do you think?"
Arden's voice had never been so gentle before; even he found it a bit mushy.
But the appeal was indeed strong.
"So that's how it is..."
After hearing Arden's explanation, Ju Fufu's pounding heart eased a bit, but for some reason, a hint of disappointment also emerged.
So, it's just to increase strength.
"..."
Seeing Ju Fufu's expression, Arden, who wasn't lacking in emotional intelligence, immediately understood that Fufu had tacitly agreed to cultivating the [One Dragon, Nine Phoenixes Art]. But the most crucial step was still ahead.
"Actually... this technique isn't just for you and me to cultivate. In the future, there will also be..."
Arden tried to explain his future plans, or rather ambitions, in the most tactful way possible.
"What!? You actually want to...?"
Sure enough, upon hearing Arden's desire to 'challenge the master,' Ju Fufu immediately showed a look of disbelief.
It's bad enough for people to eye what's in the pot while eating from their bowl, but you? You haven't even eaten from the bowl yet, and you're already eyeing the pot!?
"Fufu, my sincerity for you is as clear as the heavens and earth!"
Arden quickly played his trump card, sweet talk plus pledging loyalty. "If I ever betray you in the future, I swear... I swear I'll be struck by lightning and die a horrible death!"
"..."
Seeing Ju Fufu still unmoved, Arden finally began to get a little anxious.
"You still don't believe me? Then... let's go to the Civil Affairs Bureau right now!"
Saying this, Arden grabbed Ju Fufu's arm, ready to head out to register their marriage at the Civil Affairs Bureau.
However, Arden couldn't pull Ju Fufu along.
"No!"
A voice of firm refusal came from behind.
"What do you want me to do to make you believe me?"
Now Arden was truly anxious, as if already caught in a dilemma between Ju Fufu and Master Yixuan.
"No! I believe you, but..."
Ju Fufu suddenly became bashful.
"But what?"
The anxious Arden asked instinctively.
"But! I'm only seventeen this year. You have to be eighteen to register for marriage!"
Ju Fufu practically shouted this sentence out, as if giving up on resisting.
According to New Eridu law, whether human or Thiren, sixteen was considered adulthood, but the legal marriage age was eighteen.
"Huh!? Heh heh heh..."
Arden was stunned for a moment, then laughed. Looking at Ju Fufu's shy appearance, he understood that the hardest hurdle had basically been crossed.
As expected, my nearly ten years of raising her haven't been in vain!
Arden thought with a hint of pride.
"Sorry, I overlooked that. Then... on your eighteenth birthday, we'll go register."
"Mmm... okay."
For the first time, Arden realized a tiger's voice could be as faint as a mosquito's buzz. At this moment, Ju Fufu was so shy she had buried her head between her knees.
"As for now... the night is short. Let's go inside and cultivate."
"..."
This time, Ju Fufu didn't even make a sound in reply.
"Not answering means you agree!"
Arden scooped Ju Fufu up in his arms and headed for the bedroom.
"Nyaaaaaa..."
Ju Fufu only struggled slightly before nestling into Arden's embrace.