Shit! Mu Chen rushed past Grandpa Wu without giving him another look. In just a few moments, he crossed the veranda and went inside the residence. Mu Chen ran towards Ningxue's courtyard as he hoped with all his heart for his little sister to be safe.

Soon, Mu Chen reached Ningxue's room. The door was shut. Mu Chen was just about to break in, when he heard a familiar voice, making him hesitate.

A false alarm? Ningxue was fine? Mu Chen controlled his breath and slowed down. Instead of breaking open the door, he put his ear against the door trying to listen clearly.

"Jie...jie..jie…Now that you have fallen in the hands of this Great Demon King….who is going to save you?...jie...jie.." It was indeed Ningxue. But those words made Mu Chen's face twitch.

"...jie...jie...so who will be the lucky one?" Ningxue was saying.

Mu Chen gently pushed the door and opened it just wide enough for him to peek. What he saw made black lines form on his forehead.

Ningxue was sitting on the floor. Sprawled in front of her on a piece of cloth, were several types of sweets. She was also holding two of them in each of her hands, eyeing them with a predatory glare. It was so intense, it made Mu Chen's spine tingle even though it wasn't aimed at him.

"...jie...jie...so who will be it? Who is willing to sacrifice themselves for others?"

Ningxue spoke as if she was about to deliver judgment.

"Will it be you, Eclair-kun?" Ningxue gulped. She was salivating, perhaps a bit too much. Mu Chen even saw her drool drip on the floor. "Or...will it be you, Strawberry-chan? Or should I eat..."

Mu Chen backed away as he closed the door in a slow and controlled fashion, not alerting Ningxue. He had seen enough to know where everything was headed. Those poor and squishy dainties had no chance against Ning—The Great Demon King. He knew what fate awaited them. They will all be sacrificed to appease the hunger of this big demon, who had been starved for ages.

Since she was fine, Mu Chen didn't want to bother her little play. Mu Chen made his way somewhat wearily towards the central courtyard. He felt as if he had just gone through another life and death duel, leaving him exhausted.

When he came to the courtyard, Mu Chen saw Grandpa Wu who was slumped on the grass like he had lost everything. Seeing Mu Chen arrive, Grandpa Wu struggled to get up for a moment, but eventually gave up.

"Grandpa Wu?!" Mu Chen frowned when he saw Grandpa Wu who seemed to be drained out of energy. "What's wrong?!"

"Nothing's wrong!" Grandma Jie who had just entered the courtyard giggled. "He just ran out of wine! Because we left in a hurry, we forgot to bring the wine that was in the cellar." 

"Old man!" Mu Chen exclaimed. "You almost gave me a heart attack over some wine?!" 

"Some wine?!! It's my lifeblood!! My lifeblood." Grandpa Wu roared as he managed to roll into a squatting position. "Who cares about your weak little heart?! If I don't get my wine, I might be the one to get a real heart attack!" Grandpa Wu retorted. Although he seemed to be drained of energy, his tongue was still spicy. 

"You deserve that!" Mu Chen said.

"Brat! Go and bring me my wine!" Grandpa Wu said.

"Hmph! I don't have to listen to some old man who has snot running down his nose!" Mu Chen said. 

Grandpa Wu raised his hand and wiped away the snot on the back of his sleeve. "There...now you can listen to this old man!"

"Ugh! Old man! That's disgusting!!" Mu Chen said.

"Boy! You are still several years young to fight me!" Grandpa Wu smirked. "Now go and get me some wine!" 

"When did I say I would bring you wine if you wipe away that snot!" Mu Chen looked at Grandpa Wu like he was looking at an idiot.

"Brat! Didn't your parents teach you to listen to your elders!"

"You are not an elder...you are just an old man with snot!"

"Hey! I already wiped it!"

"It's still on your sleeve. So you are still an old man, with snot."

"Brat!.."

"Old man! What are you doing? Get away from me!!"

"Little brat! Stand still! Let me turn you into a little brat with snot."

"..."

Grandpa Wu and Mu Chen continued to bicker, while Grandma Jie enjoyed spectating their banter. This would have continued for who knows how long if not for someone who came.

"Are you Mu Chen?" A voice interrupted the bickering of the young and an old man.

Mu Chen was alarmed and turned around.

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The person who spoke had appeared silently and without any warning, like a ghost. It was as if the formation surrounding their villa didn't even exist for him.

When Mu Chen recognized the identity of the person, he was even more bewildered. It was Chen Ning, the Ming Dynasty Envoy. Mu Chen knew he was staying with their Family, but he didn't expect to see him so soon. Moreover, he appeared on his own.

"I need to see that token! Hand it over!" Chen Ning said as he caressed his beard. He didn't even ask for Mu Chen's opinion, it was a direct demand.

Mu Chen frowned, he didn't like it that someone would just barge into their residence and demand things. But the opposite party's status and cultivation were superior, so there was nothing he could do. Mu Chen suppressed his frustration and didn't let any of it surface on his face.

"Which token is Sir Chen talking about?" Mu Chen asked.

"The one you found on the assassin's body." Chen Ning said.

"That?" Mu Chen fumbled for a bit with his spatial pouch and removed the token. As soon as he brought the token out of his spatial pouch, it flew out of his hands onto Chen Ning's palm.

Chen Ning carefully observed the token on his palm. He flipped it several times around as he looked at it from several angles. After observing it for a while, he pinched the token between his forefinger and thumb and frowned. The insignia on the token glimmered for a while before becoming dull again. Chen Ning sighed. Disappointment was visible on his face.

"You can have it back!" Chen Ning said as he threw the token back towards Mu Chen. "It's useless!"

"Can I know what is this all about?" Mu Chen asked in curiosity, as he grabbed the token. It had turned a bit hot after Chen Ning's little experiment.

"The token belongs to an assassin organization called Dark Temple of Brotherhood." Chen Ning who was just about to leave heard Mu Chen's inquiry and decided to answer Mu Chen's question for his cooperation. "You are very lucky to survive an assassination attack from someone belonging to that organization. Even the Ming Dynasty have a headache about them. So when I heard you had found a token, I came to see it. I thought it might help me expose the location of their branch-but the secret within it has already been lost." Chen Ning sighed.

The secret was lost? Mu Chen was a bit disappointed. Zhou Mei had also tried to pry into and investigate it, but she hadn't been able to invoke a reaction from it. But Mu Chen had still kept the token because he wanted to see if he could get more information about it.

"Is it really useless?" Mu Chen asked, looking at the token. He never thought that the assassin was from an organization that could contend against the Ming Dynasty.

Chen Ning didn't answer Mu Chen's question. He turned around and prepared to leave. "Huh?" His gaze fell on the two other people that were present beside Mu Chen.

"Have me met?" Chen Ning asked Grandpa Wu who was still on the ground. Because he had been too focused on the token, he had not paid much attention to any of them. But now that he saw them, he thought they were vaguely familiar.

"Yes!" Grandpa Wu said as he picked his nose.

"When?" Chen Ning asked with a frown. He couldn't remember where or when he had met them.

"Just now! You i—" Grandpa Wu began to curse. But his mouth was immediately forced shut up by Mu Chen. Mu Chen looked at Chen Ning and smiled in apology.

"Hmph!" Chen Ning snorted but didn't take any action. But Grandpa Wu's attitude made it clear that he didn't even know who he was. So Chen Ning felt assured they had never met.

Chen Ning left just like he had come. Although Mu Chen was staring at him all the time, when he left, he couldn't even determine the direction he had gone.

"Old man!! Are you out of your mind?!" Mu Chen grabbed Grandpa Wu's collars and shook him hard.

"Brat! Give me wine" Grandpa Wu ignored Mu Chen's question and put forth his demand.

"Did you even listen to what I said?" Mu Chen was exasperated.

"Wine!!" Grandpa Wu cried out. His eyes had turned redder. "Give me some wine!" Grandpa Wu gave one final shout. He then collapsed and became unconscious.

Mu Chen looked in helplessness at Grandma Jie. He couldn't tell if Grandpa Wu was just fooling around or becoming deranged.

"His old illness might be flaring." Grandma Jie sighed and moved closer to inspect Grandpa Wu. "It's better to give him some wine first." For some reason, Grandma Jue was very pensive. Mu Chen felt that the number of wrinkles on her face had increased compared to a moment before.

"There may be some wine in the warehouse. I will go get that." Mu Chen groaned. He knew Grandpa Wu drank a lot of wine. But he wasn't sure if they still had any in reserve. In their household, wine was only drunk when there was some occasion. Because Ningxue was still young, both Mu Chen and his parents avoided drinking wine in the house.

Mu Chen and Grandma Jie first carried Grandpa Wu into their room. This was the guest room but now had become the old couple's new residence.

After laying off Grandpa Wu on the bed, Mu Chen ran towards their warehouse to check if they had any wine. Fortunately, there was still a jar left. Mu Chen grabbed it and rushed back. 

"Grandma Jie! Is he all right?" Mu Chen asked as he entered the room. Grandpa Wu was twisting around on the bed. His eyes were closed and he seemed unconscious. But he was muttering something incomprehensible. Grandma Jie was doing everything she could so he wouldn't fall off the bed. 

"Did you bring the wine?" Grandma Jie asked. 

Mu Chen sensed the urgency in her voice and quickly handed over the pot of wine to her. "Will it be enough?" He asked in concern as he helped her hold down Grandpa Wu.

"It should be, for now." Grandma Jie uncorked the pot and gave it a light shake. The light and savory smell of the wine diffused into the atmosphere. Grandma Jie brought the mouth of the pot close to Grandpa Wu's nostrils.

"Wi–wine!" Grandpa Wu muttered in his sleep. His nostrils flared as he breathed in the scent of the wine. "I smell...wine! Gi-give it to me!" Grandpa Wu's eyes snapped open and sat up. He grabbed the pot of wine and began to gulp down its contents.

In just a few moments, the entire pot of wine was finished.

"Aaah! So refreshing! Burp!!" Grandpa Wu gave a loud belch. "Boy! Why didn't you bring it sooner? Grandpa had to act like a lunatic just to get you moving. Tch!" Grandpa Wu grinned. He seemed completely all right.

Mu Chen's face twitched. "Old man! Do you want to die?" Mu Chen had an urge to beat Grandpa Wu and turn him into a real lunatic.

"Hahaha! Boy, I said it before, you are several years too young to be my match." Grandpa Wu said. "Now go and bring me some more wine."

"All the wine is finished." Mu Chen harrumphed. "Since you are fine, go and buy some from the Mu Family storehouse yourself. I have more important stuff to do. Grandma Jie, I will go back to my room. You take care of this old fool."

Mu Chen left in annoyance. But as soon as he came into the courtyard, he sighed and his face was filled with worry. Although he was sometimes annoyed by Grandpa Wu's antics, he never took it to heart. Instead, he was concerned this time, because he could tell Grandpa Wu was lying.

Grandpa Wu could trick him, but could he also trick Grandma Jie who had known him for so many decades? As far as he could tell, Grandma Jie's concern had been genuine. So Grandpa Wu wasn't acting and hiding something. But since Grandpa Wu didn't want him to know, he didn't force the issue.

Mu Chen sighed once again. He had thought he could relax once he called Grandpa Wu and Grandma Jie over. But instead, it seemed the situation had become more complicated.

But Mu Chen didn't have the time to ponder on those thoughts, because a silver-haired beauty had just arrived in the courtyard.