668: warmth

The Immortal Realm was indeed cruel, but even a tiger would not eat its cubs; he was simply ten thousand times more detestable.

Liu Pei walked step by step toward Mu Erniu. He didn't say much, simply arriving alone at the dilapidated tile house where Mu Erniu lived. Because it was so broken down, water was seeping through the corners of the walls. Pushing the door open, there were still traces of yesterday's heavy rain at the entrance—a small puddle in a hollow.

The room was in total disarray, with water stains everywhere; it could only be described as a wretched sight.

It wouldn't even be an exaggeration to say this place was fit for a dog.

Mu Erniu was a Cultivator after all, and although he was only in the Qi Condensation stage, he could certainly have renovated the house.

The surrounding neighbors lived in environments similar to Mu Erniu's Family—very small—but their roofs didn't have holes, and their floors were clean and filled with warmth.

On the relatively clean bed, Liu Pei saw a middle-aged woman with eyes full of tears. She looked weak, her expression unable to hide her despair and helplessness.

Although she was nearly thirty-five, her features remained delicate and youthful. At this moment, with tears in her eyes, she looked incredibly pitiable.

She had heard every word Mu Erniu just said.

Beside the middle-aged woman was a quiet infant who looked fair and adorable; she had indeed inherited the woman's beauty.

Mu Erniu came crawling to the doorway, kowtowing repeatedly.

"Brother Liu, look, my wife is beautiful, isn't she? I've seen the child too; she'll definitely grow up to be a beauty..."

Liu Pei turned to give Mu Erniu a cold look, then looked toward the middle-aged woman on the bed.

"Qiu Lan, is this the result you wanted?"

Brother Liu's eyes held a hint of pity and helplessness.

Qiu Lan said nothing. Tears slid down from the corners of her eyes. At this moment, her heart felt like it was being pierced by a knife, as cold as dead ashes.

She had thought Mu Erniu had simply strayed for a moment and would surely change. Qiu Lan firmly believed this, so she never left him. Even when he did the most outrageous things, she stayed by his side, never abandoning him.

Even after moving to a place like this, she still kept everything in order.

But during her pregnancy, when it was difficult for her to move, Mu Erniu basically ignored her. It was almost always her brother who took care of her.

She even felt that even if she died here, Mu Erniu wouldn't care.

When she heard Mu Erniu wanted to sell her and their newborn child, she suddenly felt that her years of persistence were a joke.

"Why?"

"Why did Mu Erniu become like this?"

In fact, she could have chosen a better man to be with back then, but Mu Erniu had pursued her relentlessly. At that time, he was honest and reliable—nothing like he was now.

Back then, Qiu Lan also thought highly of Mu Erniu and finally decided to be with him.

Although Mu Erniu was very ordinary and mediocre, he was at least sincere to her. She asked for very little, only wanting to live this life in simple happiness.

In the end, these things happened.

"Mu Erniu!"

A roar rang out as a tall, sturdy man ran from a distance. He was dressed simply, his forehead covered in sweat, but his expression looked as if he wanted to devour someone.

"You actually dare to sell my sister!"

The man ran over, grabbed Mu Erniu, and began beating him mercilessly.

Mu Erniu wailed and begged for mercy, but the man didn't listen at all.

Finally, Mu Erniu could only roar back.

"This is my woman! I can do whatever I want with her! Is it any of your business?"

Seeing Mu Erniu's bloodshot eyes and frenzied look, Qiu Lan closed her eyes again, but the man's blows became even heavier.

"You bastard! F*** you!!"

"I'm going to beat you to death today!"

Qiu Peng was about to explode with rage. He roared as he pounded Mu Erniu with punch after punch, cursing wildly. Seeing that he might actually kill him, Liu Pei signaled his subordinates to quickly pull him away.

Mu Erniu's blood was up too. Despite the intense pain all over his body, he kept shouting, "Stay out of my Family's business! If I weren't heavily injured right now, a half-baked brat like you who hasn't even entered the Qi Condensation stage would've been killed by one of my punches!"

"You dare hit me? I'll kill you sooner or later."

Liu Pei couldn't be bothered with Mu Erniu. He looked at Qiu Lan with a complicated gaze, speaking in an almost pleading tone, "Come with me. Don't stay here anymore."

"Your child needs a better environment. Otherwise, in these conditions, how can you protect her?"

Liu Pei had also been one of Qiu Lan's suitors. Even after she married, Liu Pei had been watching her from the shadows. It was for this reason that Liu Pei was willing to lend money to Mu Erniu.

Otherwise, given Mu Erniu's state, how could he possibly borrow hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones?

When he first found Mu Erniu appearing at the Jucai Tower, he even tried to persuade him to change. Fearing he would lose too much money and affect Qiu Lan, he even secretly manipulated things so Mu Erniu could win some Spirit Stones and leave.

However, Mu Erniu didn't know how to restrain himself and instead became increasingly obsessed with gambling.

When Qiu Lan heard about her child, her body trembled slightly. She had actually wanted to die, but then she suddenly remembered the daughter beside her.

She opened her eyes and saw the fair baby girl staring at her with wide eyes. Their gazes met, and the baby girl reached out a stiff hand, tremblingly brushing against her eye, trying to wipe away her tears.

At this moment, Qiu Lan was deeply moved.

She reached out and held Mu Xin's hand, a weak smile forming on her face.

Hearing this, Mu Erniu also hurriedly chimed in, "Yes, Qiu Lan, hurry up and go with him. From now on, you're Brother Liu's woman."

"Shut up!"

Liu Pei could no longer contain himself. He turned and roared at Mu Erniu, his eyes filled with killing intent.

Mu Erniu immediately didn't dare say another word.

Qiu Lan's weak voice suddenly sounded, "I'll go with you."

Liu Pei was overjoyed. He looked at Qiu Lan with a determined gaze. "Don't worry, I will definitely take care of you and your child."

Qiu Lan seemed to recall something and smiled bitterly. "You seem to have said that to me before."

A silly smile appeared on Liu Pei's face. "That's right. Our families knew each other when we were kids. Once, your parents went on a long trip and left you at my house. You didn't know how to cook, so I made you your favorite egg custard every day."

"Do you remember? I made your first pair of shoes for you. You complained they were ugly at the time, yet you still wore them every day."

Qiu Lan couldn't help but chuckle, but while there was a smile on her lips, her face was covered in tears.

"I'm sorry!"

Qiu Lan whispered.

Liu Pei's eyes reddened slightly, and his body trembled, but he soon showed a gentle smile again. "It's okay, it's all in the past."

Then, he took Qiu Lan back to the center of Xuantian City. His Liu Family was a Family with some minor standing in Xuantian City and had its own estate.

Before leaving, Liu Pei gave Mu Erniu another thousand Spirit Stones and wiped away all previous debts.

It wasn't that he was truly kind-hearted.

Rather, Liu Pei knew very well that the way to torture a gambler was not to kill them outright, but to let them feel despair. Right now, he still had things to sell, but once he had nothing left and could no longer gamble...

These gamblers would recall the goodness of the days before they gambled, their families, and all the beautiful things they once had.

That is the most suffocating moment. It's one of the few chances a gambler has to be sober; some might even go insane from the sheer impact of it...