202: Gossiping behind someone's back

In the afternoon, Huo Xi walked out of the room with Shenhe.

This in-depth exchange had allowed him to discover some of Shenhe's little quirks; she seemed to really love kissing.

No matter what the two were doing, she would find an opportunity to steal a kiss, and she would keep kissing him even when her 'oppa' was tired.

However, while she enjoyed kissing, liking it was one thing, and skill was another.

Huo Xi was no human; if he truly wanted to extend his tongue, even Orochimaru wouldn't be able to match half of its length.

Not to mention anything else, just this tongue alone would be worshipped as a national treasure in a female-dominated world.

The Great Qin's Marquis of Wenxin or the Russian Mad Monk—whatever weapons they had on display would have to be taken down to put this tongue on exhibit instead.

But because Shenhe seemed to prefer the pre-match warm-ups more than the actual battle with real blades and spears, even though the two had been 'fighting' for a full half-day, the actual match only lasted about an hour; the rest of the time was spent warming up.

Nevertheless, Teacher Huo Xi taught Shenhe many new moves that day, and after a session of passing on his teachings, Shenhe could be said to have reaped quite a harvest.

Time slipped away until the afternoon, and Huo Xi accompanied Shenhe out of the room... the martial arts arena.

And while he wasn't tired after such high-intensity sparring, Shenhe still couldn't take it, so he pulled her out to eat on time.

They happened to come out just as Xiangling was walking out carrying several plates of food.

"Ahahaha! The chicken soup is here! The chicken soup is here!"

The young girl was laughing like a little idiot. Why was she so happy? Had she seen something good these past few days?

However, Huo Xi didn't think too much of it.

If he had to say who among this group of girls put him most at ease, it would definitely be Xiangling.

At a time when everyone else only knew how to exploit his surplus labor, only the little chef Xiangling cooked delicious food and helped him take care of Shenhe. Even when she occasionally came to the Realm of a Thousand Stars to help out, it was purely to help, without any other hidden motives.

The most ridiculous part was that even when Huo Xi ate her food and wanted to pay her, she actually wouldn't take it! Who could you even argue with about that?

"No need, I've already received the Reward!" That's what Xiangling had said at the time.

But Huo Xi knew, where had she received any Reward? She clearly hadn't taken a single cent!

Back then, Xiangling hadn't yet received the miraculous medicine from Huo Xi and looked haggard every day, so Huo Xi had secretly gone to Chef Mao, paid him, and told him to give Xiangling more time off.

Chef Mao had a face full of question marks at the time, and Huo Xi wasn't sure if he understood.

Now, seeing Xiangling place a pot of delicious chicken soup on the table and say, "The chicken soup is very delicious, you guys eat first, I won't disturb you," Huo Xi was truly a bit moved.

Sigh, how could there be such a perfect little chef?

However, he was a bit curious—why was Xiangling here again today? Your appearance rate has been a bit high lately.

Just then, Xiangling happened to walk over. The two met face to face, and Huo Xi asked casually, "Xiangling, wasn't the victory banquet held three days ago? Why are you here again?"

Xiangling glanced at him. "Should I leave then?"

"Wait, wait, wait! You can't leave. If you leave, what will we eat?"

Paimon, standing nearby, chimed in, "Yeah, what would we eat?"

At this moment, Lumine also saw Huo Xi walking over. She asked curiously, "Why are you only coming out now? What have you been doing for the past half-day?"

Before Huo Xi could answer, Shenhe blurted out from the side, "I was just gossiping behind your backs with him."

Huo Xi: ???

"Who did you learn your language skills from?"

"My master taught me. She's very good at chatting."

"Fine."

So it was that woman. Then it wasn't surprising—not surprising at all.

Huo Xi went to sit by the dining table, and Guizhong and the other three suddenly shuffled their seats to stay quite far away from him.

Huo Xi: ???

What's the meaning of this?

Why are you trying so hard to avoid me?

Didn't Egeria and Maricatta want to be glued to me just three days ago?

Once everyone was seated, Huo Xi scanned the room and noticed two people were still missing.

"Where are Noelle and Skirk?" Huo Xi asked.

Lumine rolled her eyes at him. "Don't you know what you did yourself? No matter how good a spaceship's performance is, you can't treat her like your Astral Express! The jump engine was throwing off sparks!"

"It's been a whole day and the ship hasn't completely braked yet. The braking system is about to malfunction!"

Huo Xi quickly processed this encrypted message in his head and barely understood the meaning. "Then Noelle..."

"She's taking care of someone."

"I left medicine for her, didn't I?" Huo Xi said helplessly. "I told her that if she couldn't take it, she should take some herself; that medicine could directly restore her condition. She told me not to worry about her, saying she'd been humiliated enough this time and wouldn't be greedy in the future."

"You believe whatever she says! You're a cosmic monster, but she isn't. She doesn't have your physical constitution!" Lumine quickly stood up and rushed into the main house. "You guys eat first, I'm going over to give her the medicine!"

Little did they know, the 'spaceship' forced to run for three days hadn't actually been under emergency braking until now.

The aftereffects of practicing martial arts with Huo Xi had only lasted until around noon; in the afternoon, Skirk was actually using Abyssal Power to simulate Huo Xi's movements.

Because she discovered that after these three days, she had completely 'lost herself' to hunger.

Having been suppressed for so many years, suddenly becoming such a lewd mess was something she couldn't accept. So, she wanted to use extreme exercise to wear herself down and ruin the experience, thereby quitting this state in one go.

It's like how you might originally love high jumping, but if you break your leg once, you might have to take the stairs one step at a time from then on.

She was currently 'breaking her own leg.'

Little did she know, Lumine's sudden interruption would shape the image of a most strict mother, a cold-faced capitalist, and the woman who would forever be number one in the 'cosmic monster' pilot rankings for all the female members of the household.

However, this was also the kind of epilogue that readers generally disliked.

After a while, Lumine and Noelle finally walked out, supporting Skirk.

Huo Xi stepped forward to show some concern, but upon seeing him, Skirk shuddered for some unknown reason. With a flushed face and a look of disgust as if looking at trash, she said to Huo Xi, "Stay away from me. For twenty-four... no, twelve hours, you are not allowed near me."

"Why?!"

I'm being loathed for no reason, guys.

Huo Xi felt a bit wronged. Skirk wasn't wrapping her limbs in Abyss Power now, walking on the ground with bare feet. Those beautiful hands and feet had only been restored through his hard work. Not only that, but even Skirk's current physical strength could crush her self from three days ago.

Yet she turns her back on me just like that. Hmph, women!

Finally, everyone was present, and Huo Xi's large family happily began their dinner.

Huo Xi was in a very good mood today, constantly serving food to others. Skirk's limbs were restored, and Shenhe had taken a solid step forward. Now, the number of people he had 'conquered' had reached eighteen!

Although he didn't interact with the girls with a 'stamp-collecting' attitude, this number was still very significant because with two more people, he could directly unlock the A-rank Noble Phantasms of the Gate of Babylon!

By then, the Gate of Babylon would be nearly in its complete form. Just thinking about it was awesome. Although he, who possessed the forging clearance, couldn't immediately think of what use further upgrades to the Gate of Babylon would have, having it was better than not.

When everyone was almost finished eating, Lumine suddenly spoke to Huo Xi: "Oh right, our next destination has been decided. We're going to Inazuma."