After parting ways with Zhu Shiyao, Lin Mo needed to return to the Lin family first.
Naturally, he chose to ride his sword for the journey.

Qu Ruyan now had the cultivation of a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, and had also received a decent demon race cultivation technique from the six-tailed fox, so flying wasn’t a problem for her.

“Sister Qingxue, you can ride on my back,” Qu Ruyan said as she crouched down slightly.

“Alright!”
Gu Qingxue responded and was about to sit on Qu Ruyan’s back.

“She’s only just learned how to fly. It’s too dangerous to ride on her. I’ll take you on my sword,” Lin Mo said.

Before Gu Qingxue could agree, Lin Mo pulled her into his arms with one hand and soared off in the direction of Tianxing City.

Just as Lin Mo expected, Qu Ruyan wobbled clumsily in the air, clearly not yet used to flying.

“Senior Brother, can I ride your flying sword too?” she asked.

“No,” Lin Mo replied bluntly.

“Why not! You’re being biased! Why won’t you take me with you?”
Qu Ruyan, in her cat form, pouted in frustration.

She was the one who met Senior Brother first. Why did he seem to treat Sister Qingxue better than her?
Was it because of that night, the “mm-hmm, ah-ah” thing?

“If I have to carry you every time we travel, what’s the point of you learning to fly?” Lin Mo shot back.

“But…”

“No buts,” Lin Mo cut her off.
“Have you thought about what would happen if I encountered danger and couldn’t use my sword to escape? You wouldn’t even be able to carry me away.”

“You can’t even catch up to flying beasts—how will you ever get to eat their meat?”

“Senior Brother, I understand now! I’ll work hard, so I can eat flying meat someday!”

Clearly, that last sentence was what truly motivated Qu Ruyan.

“Yanyan really does love to eat,” Gu Qingxue said with a sigh.

Looking at Gu Qingxue, Lin Mo suddenly asked, “Then what do you like?”

“Me…” Gu Qingxue thought for a moment, then shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“Ever since I lost my memory, I can’t remember anything except my name—not even what I like.”

As she spoke, she looked quite downcast.

“It’s okay. There’s still plenty of time. I’ll help you slowly recover everything, including what you love,” Lin Mo said, gently patting her head.

“Um…”
Gu Qingxue’s face turned bright red. She looked a little nervous and clutched her clothes tightly as she whispered, “Right now… I think I like Brother Lin Mo…”

Cultivators had exceptionally sharp senses, and Lin Mo heard her words loud and clear.

To be honest, he had a very good impression of the amnesiac Gu Qingxue.

But they hadn’t spent much time together yet.
If it hadn’t been for the fact that Gu Qingxue had been poisoned by a flood dragon and the only way to detoxify it was through physical intimacy—otherwise risking her life—Lin Mo wouldn’t have chosen to “move with his kidneys” before his heart.

That said, Lin Mo could more or less understand why Gu Qingxue had come to like him so much.

Think about it—when a girl loses all her memories and finds herself in a completely unfamiliar place…
After experiencing days filled with fear and awe in this land, and then encountering a life-threatening situation…
At that moment, a handsome, elegant man shows up to save her…

That man had become her only reliance, a beam of light in her darkness.
Such was the situation between Gu Qingxue and Lin Mo.

Of course, there was more to it.
Lin Mo’s gentle gestures—like deliberately stopping to rest or secretly clearing out beasts along the path before they continued—were just small things.
But to someone like Gu Qingxue, who had lost all her memories, even the smallest kindness could feel infinitely magnified.

In the end, with a bit of unintentional “help” from Qu Ruyan—who accidentally caused Gu Qingxue to be poisoned by a flood dragon—she and Lin Mo ended up being physically intimate.

Thinking about it like that, it wasn’t surprising that Gu Qingxue had fallen for him so easily.

But when Lin Mo thought about the possibility that Gu Qingxue might regain her memories and revert to her former self—that cold, aloof young lady from the Lin family who always carried herself with the air of someone above others—his mood became complicated.

That version of Gu Qingxue might choose to ignore everything that happened…
Or worse, she might view this memory with contempt, seeing him as someone who merely touched her body and would only be forgiven by death…
Or perhaps, she would choose to escape, unable to face herself.

No matter which outcome it was, Lin Mo found it a headache.

Seriously, what was going on with his life?
He had only just arrived in this world and already got involved with two girls—one of whom ran away after sleeping with him, and the other only got close to him because she had amnesia.
Each situation more absurd than the last.

He was a man, after all—when had he, Lin Mo, ever been such a sentimental person?

In the world of cultivation, only by improving one’s strength could one truly stand firm.

Without strength, not only would survival be difficult, but one would also have to bow and scrape before others, constantly weighing their background and status.
Sometimes, someone might even try to steal your woman—and all you’d be able to do is roar helplessly.
That would be the most pathetic fate of all.

“All right, we should get going,” Lin Mo said gently.
He gave Gu Qingxue’s cheek a soft rub before turning to continue flying with his sword.

Since Gu Qingxue still had a mortal’s body, Lin Mo planned to avoid long-distance flying.

Before entering the city, he looked at Qu Ruyan, who now stood a head taller than him, and asked,
“Yanyan, can you shrink back to your original form?”

“No problem! One of the techniques in the fox clan’s cultivation method is based on form alteration.”
As she spoke, Qu Ruyan retracted her demonic energy, and her body began to shrink.

She eventually returned to the same petite form she had when Lin Mo first met her.

Upon entering the city, the group found a decent inn to rest in for a while.

At this point, Gu Qingxue clearly wasn’t just a mortal anymore.

“Esteemed guests, what would you like to eat?” the enthusiastic inn attendant asked.

It was clear he had already taken a liking to Gu Qingxue and was also eyeing Qu Ruyan, who was eagerly studying the flowing dishes around them.

After a moment of thought, Lin Mo said, “What’s your signature dish?”

“Got it, I’ll bring you a serving of each!”

“Make that five… no, better yet, ten,” Lin Mo added.

“Sir, are you sure you can finish that much? It’s not exactly cheap here,” the waiter reminded.

Jinling City was one of the more prosperous cities in the middle realm, and the food served in its inns was designed for cultivators.

Their signature dishes were all made from spirit beast meat, with prices starting at several spirit stones per dish.

“Who’s backing you here?” Lin Mo tossed over a dozen mid-grade spirit stones.

“S-Sir, this is far too much…” the waiter stammered. “Would you like me to bring you a few jars of our house spirit wine too?”

“Our spirit wine is famously good.”

“One jar will do. The rest—keep it as a tip,” Lin Mo said casually.

The waiter’s attitude immediately became even more enthusiastic.
After bowing and thanking him repeatedly, he rushed off to arrange the food.

Some guests who had arrived before Lin Mo hadn’t even finished their first dishes, yet Lin Mo’s table was already being served dish after dish.

Clearly, the saying “money makes the world go round” wasn’t wrong.

Most of the dishes during this meal were ordered for Qu Ruyan, and Lin Mo had intentionally chosen them for her.

Earlier, when Qu Ruyan handed over the storage ring left to her by the six-tailed demon fox for Lin Mo to inspect, he had secretly taken a peek. From that, he realized she was practically a little rich lady now.

Just one medicinal herb grown using a special formula and planted with the help of spiritual tools was worth over 16,000 top-grade spirit stones.
In terms of wealth, Qu Ruyan was now far richer than Lin Mo.

Although Lin Mo didn’t intend to touch any of her possessions, it was still worth noting that the ingredients refined by the Ten-Thousand-Refinement Alchemy Furnace weren’t cheap…

Suddenly, Lin Mo felt like this inn’s so-called spirit wine wasn’t all that impressive.

The alcohol scent was mild, and it had a lingering floral sweetness, probably brewed from flowers.

“Senior Brother, Senior Brother, what are you drinking?” Qu Ruyan had caught the floral scent and sniffed eagerly, her mouth starting to water.

Lin Mo poured her a cup. “Try it and see.”

As he did so, he noticed Gu Qingxue was also staring at the wine jug. Figuring that the alcohol content shouldn’t be too strong, he poured a little for her as well.

After pouring about a third of the jug, Qu Ruyan took a sip and commented,
“This wine is pretty good, but it’s still not as tasty as that bubbly water you gave me before, Senior Brother.”

As she spoke, she glanced longingly at the fizzy water in Lin Mo’s bowl.

Gu Qingxue blinked, looking curious.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Mo realized that Qu Ruyan must be referring to Sprite.

Not one to be stingy, he spent 200 system points to draw a drink from another world—this time pulling out a can of Red Bull.

[Congratulations, Host, you have obtained one can of Red Bull.]

“Red Bull, huh… not bad.”

Lin Mo poured a small amount into cups for both Qu Ruyan and Gu Qingxue.

“It has a bit of a bitter herbal flavor, but it’s not bad. You two probably haven’t had it before—try it.”

Both of them nodded quickly.

Lin Mo, without hesitation, also took a sip.

After one mouthful each, Gu Qingxue and Qu Ruyan’s eyes lit up.

“Senior Brother, why do you always have all these foods and drinks I’ve never seen before?” Qu Ruyan asked, her cat-like face full of curiosity.

“You can just think of it as… I made them myself,” Lin Mo replied casually.

After all, these things couldn’t be explained in the context of this world—saying he made them was as good an excuse as any.

Suddenly, Qu Ruyan seemed to have discovered something new. She turned to Gu Qingxue and said,
“Sister Qingxue, try a bite of Senior Brother’s food, and a sip of his wine—they taste amazing!”

Gu Qingxue followed her lead, taking another sip of the wine and then the Red Bull.
“It really is quite good.”

In no time at all, both girls had finished their glasses of Red Bull and spirit wine.

Soon after, Qu Ruyan began acting strangely.

“Senior Brother, why are you all spinning around…?”

“Senior Brother, why are there two of you now…?”

“Senior Brother, look, my tail is glowing!”

In her cat form, Qu Ruyan began chasing her tail in circles on the ground.
She was wobbling all over, unable to stand steadily.

“She’s drunk?” Lin Mo muttered.

Seriously? She was a Nascent Soul-level cultivator—how did she get this drunk from just one cup of spirit wine?

He glanced at Gu Qingxue next to him—head down, quiet and well-behaved.
Now that’s more like it.

Lin Mo reached out and grabbed Qu Ruyan by the scruff of her neck in her cat form, lifting her up.

“Senior Brother, Senior Brother, I feel like the fate of my life has been seized by the back of my neck!”

Qu Ruyan flailed her paws around chaotically.

“Stop moving. I’m the one holding you,” Lin Mo said with a laugh.
He had to admit—right now, Qu Ruyan was quite adorable.

Then Lin Mo called over the inn attendant.

“Honored guest, would you like to book a room?” the waiter asked.

Lin Mo nodded. “Two of the best rooms you’ve got.”

Just as he was about to take out some spirit stones, a fair little hand grabbed his wrist.

“…One room. Just one!” Gu Qingxue held up a finger and said to the waiter.

“Uh…” The innkeeper looked toward Lin Mo, unsure what to do.

It was then that Lin Mo realized—Gu Qingxue didn’t seem quite right either.

Her face wasn’t red, and her speech was clear, but something felt… off.
A moment later, his suspicion was confirmed.

“Brother Lin Mo… Xue’er wants to sleep with you… together…”

Gu Qingxue clung to Lin Mo’s arm and swayed it gently, her tone full of coquettish charm.

“Sir, I think this young lady is drunk,” the innkeeper reminded.

“Our spirit wine may taste sweet and go down smoothly, but it has a strong after-effect.”

And Red Bull combined with it enhances that effect too.

Seemed like Lin Mo had to take some responsibility for this mess.

“I’m not drunk! I’m not drunk at all!” Gu Qingxue suddenly hugged Lin Mo tightly.

“Xue’er loves Brother Lin Mo the most! I want cuddles!”

“Sir, maybe… just one room?” the waiter suggested.

“She’s clearly drunk, and if she were left alone in a room and wandered out at night, it could be dangerous…”