You really are an emotional swindler!

Ji Huo left the restaurant and only then realized that it was actually not far from the Duke of Zhenguo's Manor. If he walked, it would probably take about the time it takes to burn an incense stick.

However, Ji Huo had burrowed underground for half an hour...

So what on earth was the point of that earth-escape technique? Ji Huo thought to himself, deciding to simply find any random restaurant to grab a bite.

Right at that moment, a furry arm suddenly lunged out from the darkness and grabbed Ji Huo by the scruff.

Ji Huo was startled and instinctively channeled his profound cultivation technique. The power of the earth surged endlessly from the ground, locking him firmly in place.

The large hand yanked, but failed to budge him.

Then, brilliant flashes of lightning suddenly erupted along the arm, giving a fierce, violent pull that dragged him straight into the darkness.

"Hiss! Old man!"

Pulled into the shadows, Ji Huo caught sight of the tall, robust figure hiding there—none other than his old man, Ji Xiaoxiong.

A look of delighted surprise filled the old man's eyes as he let out his grip and eagerly asked:

"You've reached the Grandmaster realm?"

"Yup!" Ji Huo rolled his shoulders and gave his father a bizarre look.

Wait a minute, I'm already a Grandmaster, and I was still standing firmly on solid ground, firmly on the ground, yet you were still able to grab me in a single motion?

"Old man, aren't you still recovering from severe injuries?" Ji Huo asked, narrowing his eyes.

Over the past few days, his old man hadn't used this excuse just once or twice to freeload meals. Come to think of it, ever since he and Xia Ningchang had their falling out, he seemed to have stopped seeing his old man and Aunt Bai altogether.

"Huh? Oh!" The old man hastily clutched his chest, groaning in pain and coughing twice:

"Ouch, I accidentally pulled on my wound just now. Crap! I'm a bit anemic! Can't stand steady... I'm passing out, I'm passing out..."

"..."

Ji Huo narrowed his eyes and asked, "Alright, alright, I know you're heavily injured. What's wrong?"

The old man stared eagerly at Ji Huo, the yearning in his eyes practically overflowing:

"Don't talk, hurry up, take me to get some food!"

Ji Huo blinked, not quite understanding. He looked his old man up and down, noticing that his hair was disheveled, his eyes were bloodshot, and his clothes were sloppy and unkempt, as if he hadn't changed them in ages.

"You couldn't possibly... have been wandering outside all day without returning to the manor, could you?" Ji Huo probed cautiously.

"Yup!" The old man nodded instantly.

"!"

Since neither father nor son had eaten anything, they headed over to a street-side snail rice noodle shop together.

The vendor knew the father and son well. Upon seeing them, he immediately brought out two pre-prepared large basins, each larger than a human head.

They were piled high with steaming snail rice noodles, topped with braised chicken drumsticks, deep-fried eggs, and more.

Before they even started eating, the pungent and savory aroma wafted outward, spreading far down the street and causing passing pedestrians to turn their heads in surprise.

The father and son found a stone pier by the roadside and sat down. Each supported a massive basin with their left hand and held chopsticks in their right, sitting with bold posture while their right feet continuously bounced, their movements exceptionally synchronized.

"The flavor is good, but my clothes will need to be aired out after eating this." Ji Huo sucked up a mouthful of noodles, and when he bit into a deep-fried egg soaked in rich broth, the juices burst straight out.

The old man ate in silence. Hearing this, he let out a sudden sigh, his entire face written with desolation.

"It's fine, I don't plan on going home these days anyway."

Ji Huo wore a bewildered expression, asking in confusion:

"Old man, what happened?"

The old man looked tangled and conflicted, suddenly remembering something and asking with great difficulty:

"Kid, do you happen to know about your Aunt Bai..."

"Oh~~~" Ji Huo drew out his voice, finally understanding.

"I know, she likes you, right?" Ji Huo said casually.

"?"

"?!?"

"?!?!"

"You actually knew?" The old man's pitch rose before he spoke with grief-stricken indignation:

"You brat, you teamed up with Junhong to set me up!"

Seeing his old man acting like a runaway youth, Ji Huo suddenly put the pieces together and asked: "Could it be that... you've been avoiding Aunt Bai these past two days, which is why you didn't dare go home?"

"Yup!"

"Even so, it shouldn't mean you can't afford a meal." Ji Huo asked doubtfully.

"I don't carry money on me normally," the old man declared righteously.

Ji Huo remembered that his old man's finances had always been managed by his eldest brother. He asked again: "Then you could have gone to the Flying Bear Army to freeload a meal."

The old man replied, "If... if I run into... what should I do?"

"..."

Ji Huo blinked and asked, "Old man, what's wrong with Aunt Bai? You've been a lonely widower for so many years, how nice would it be to have someone keep you company."

"But, I... I..." the old man stammered.

"What?"

After holding it in for a long time, the old man finally squeezed out: "I only treat little Rou as a younger sister."

Ding!

The "Little Sister" card!

What a classic scumbag line... Ji Huo's mouth twitched as he slurped down two mouthfuls of noodles and smiled:

"Without trying to get in touch, how would you know if you aren't a match?"

The old man didn't speak. He buried his head deep in the basin and slurped the noodles in big mouthfuls; anyone could tell he was truly starving.

Ji Huo picked up a piece of tiger-skin chicken feet, sucked on it, and casually asked:

"Is there something holding you back?"

The old man still didn't speak, continuing to slurp his noodles nonstop.

Ji Huo glanced at him twice, his mind racing as sudden realization dawned upon him. He smiled:

"Though I never met mother, if she were here, she would probably hope for you to have someone by your side as well."

The old man's noodle-slurping movements paused. Faintly, Ji Huo seemed to notice something drop into the basin.

He raised his head and looked up at the sky.

Ah, the weather today really was quite hot; there was quite a bit of sweat.

Father and son stopped speaking and heartily devoured their noodles.

"Boss, bring two more basins!" Ji Huo shouted loudly.

At this moment, the old man lifted his head, his face covered in sweat. With a slight vibration of his body, the perspiration instantly dissipated, and he laughed heartily:

"The weather really is scorching today!"

Ji Huo smiled back and said: "Totally!"

Recovering his composure, the old man sighed with a melancholic expression: "I really didn't expect that I treat little Rou as a younger sister, and she actually... she actually..."

Such a scumbag line... Ji Huo's eyes shifted, and he smiled:

"Old man, how about I teach you a trick to solve your current distress."

"What trick?" A glimmer of hope flickered in the old man's eyes as he asked eagerly.

To be fair, his old man had always been boisterous and carefree; who would have thought that when facing this kind of situation, he acted just like a middle schooler—well, right now he was more like an elementary schooler...

Ji Huo grinned broadly: "Act like you don't know."

"Huh?" The old man wore a face full of question marks.

"Act like nothing happened, go back and do whatever you usually do, keep your previous plans exactly the same," Ji Huo said with a cheeky smile.

The old man understood. After a moment of silence, he suddenly cursed:

"You little brat is truly a master of emotional fraud!"

"I didn't do anything at all," Ji Huo shrugged innocently, then stood up to pay the bill.

He smiled, noticing that his old man was still sitting there holding his bowl of snail rice noodles in a daze, but chose not to disturb him and simply walked away.

Based on his guess, there was a high probability the old man would do as he suggested and pretend to be completely clueless.

However, some things, once known, would never be the same again. Now that the seed had been planted, many details usually overlooked would be magnified, and naturally, things would fall into place.

I really am a little genius!

Having resolved his old man's problem, Ji Huo returned to his small courtyard and took out an item to study.

This gadget was the sole prize he had won after activating maximum European luck, spending over two million points, only to receive two million cultivation value and a pile of flowers.

It was a golden compass.