Invincible Dad-Chapter 654: The Indulgence of Love_1

Xu Lai looked at the lake, lost in thought.

He left the school’s laboratory and returned to the medical office, taking out the demon sword—the No Righteous Sword—from his Storage Space.

No Righteous Sword.

Its hilt had once been suppressed beneath the Penglai Sword Pavilion, only to be later retrieved by Deng Xiaoyao. The blade was entombed within the grave of Shang Yuan, the son of the Great Emperor Yin Yang—or more precisely, inside the Tree of Eternal Life.

When the two halves were combined, they turned out to be the very key that he and Jing Ke had been desperately searching for.

Xu Lai examined the No Righteous Sword carefully, a wry smile on his face.

That’s life. You never know if you’re in for a pleasant surprise or a nasty shock.

Finding the key on Earth was immensely important to him, to say nothing of all the other convoluted reasons. Regarding Jing Ke alone, Xu Lai no longer needed to have Fairy Qing Yuan and Anna search for his whereabouts. He simply had to release the news, and Jing Ke would appear on his own accord. To a certain extent, this gave him the upper hand.

However, he couldn’t fully trust the words of Elder Huang Quan. One of Xu Lai’s principles was to only believe a third of what others said.

"Nine Kings’ Palace, the Fallen Emperor Epoch, the Immortal Path," Xu Lai muttered to himself, his face gradually relaxing into his usual serene smile as he temporarily pushed the vexing matters aside. "Jing Ke, Earth, Sikong Jiu. Nine keys."

He would handle whatever came his way.

Having clawed his way up from an unknown little cultivator to where he stood today, what kind of desperate situation hadn’t he experienced? He had long since grown accustomed to it.

Besides, aren’t desperate situations meant to be broken?

***

The morning passed in the blink of an eye.

Xu Lai was studying the third Cloud Water Rust Character. The second character, meanwhile, floated in his sea of consciousness, shimmering continuously.

Once Xu Lai confirmed that this Cloud Water Rust Character posed no threat—that it would, in fact, bypass his body to directly absorb the harmful ’purple substance’ that Sikong Jiu of the Heavenly Dao had mentioned—he stopped paying it any mind.

The third Cloud Water Rust Character was exceptionally peculiar. After studying it for about half an hour, Xu Lai’s head was pounding so intensely that he couldn’t continue. He rested until noon.

The door was pushed open.

Without opening his eyes, Xu Lai knew it was the visitor: Taotie, the First Divine General of the Heavenly Court.

Unlike his usual majestic self, Taotie was grinning like a goofy idiot, a sight that left Xu Lai momentarily stunned. In their tens of thousands of years together, it was the first time he had ever seen such an expression on the First Divine General.

"So, things worked out with Liu Wan?" Xu Lai asked with a smile.

"Mhm," Taotie said, scratching his head. "We made our relationship official today."

???

Xu Lai was utterly confused.

Haven’t you two been official for ages?!

Fortunately, Taotie realized his statement was ambiguous and quickly clarified, "We moved in together."

"Ooh," Xu Lai drew out the syllable, a look of gratification on his face. "Taotie, you’ve finally grown up. Have a seat."

Taotie sat down, looking extremely self-conscious.

Xu Lai even poured him a cup of tea. The First Divine General took a sip but spat it all out before he could swallow, because Xu Lai had just asked him a question.

"You have to be careful with your strength," he said. "You’re in the Quasi-Emperor Realm. A normal person’s body can’t handle that kind of force."

Taotie’s face flushed beet-red as he stammered, "It’s not... not like that..." But as he spoke, he lost his conviction, his voice growing softer and more hesitant.

Watching this, Xu Lai felt a wave of emotion.

Love truly is a powerful thing. It had managed to turn the First Divine General—a man whose fearsome reputation terrified the Immortal Domain and whose hands were stained with untold amounts of blood—into what seemed like a love-struck teenager. When Liu Wan was mentioned, the word ’love’ was practically written all over his face.

"Work hard to be a good husband, a good father, and a good son-in-law," Xu Lai said seriously, patting Taotie on the shoulder. "But if you dare use your cultivation realm to bully Liu Wan, I will definitely not stand for it."

The Heavenly Court had one hundred Divine Generals, but Taotie was the first one to ever follow Xu Lai. He had always regarded this blockhead as a true confidant. And Liu Wan was, indeed, well-suited to be Taotie’s wife.

Taotie’s lips moved, but before he could say anything, his phone buzzed. He fumbled to answer it.

It was a video call. Liu Wan’s face appeared on the screen, her voice sweet. "Honey, I miss you so much."

"Me too."

"Let’s go for that spicy fish head tonight. The one by the office is amazing."

"Sounds good."

"And after dinner, we can go see a movie."

"Up to you."

"..."

Listening to these brutally blunt answers made Xu Lai’s skin crawl. He couldn’t help but heckle, "Taotie, can you say more than two words at a time?"

"Alright, The Supreme Emperor."

"..."

Okay. Four words. You’re doing great, Taotie!

"Honey, where are you? Why can I hear someone else?" Liu Wan asked.

Taotie immediately turned the camera toward Xu Lai.

"Boss Lady?" Liu Wan exclaimed in surprise, quickly sitting up straight. Through the screen, she could be seen sitting in a corner of the company cafeteria.

Xu Lai smiled and gave a little wave. "Checking up on your man?"

Liu Wan’s pretty face blushed as she said coyly, "It’s not like that. I was just chatting with Taotie on my lunch break." She blinked. "I’m not slacking off."

"Silly girl, are you your own boss? Slack off whenever you can. You treat the company like home, but does the company treat you like family?"

"...Boss Lady, I’m telling President Ruan you said that."

"Go ahead," Xu Lai said calmly. "I call the shots at home. She wouldn’t dare do anything even if she knew."

He handed the phone back to Taotie. Liu Wan chatted for a few more moments before ending the call.

Xu Lai clapped Taotie’s shoulder again. "A man has to be the head of his household. You’d do well to learn from me on that front."

"Yes, The Supreme Emperor," Taotie nodded fervently.

Xu Lai chatted with the First Divine General for a while longer before his own phone rang.

He answered, "Who is this?"

"It’s the one at home who supposedly wouldn’t dare do anything to you."

"..."

Xu Lai cleared his throat and asked with concern, "Honey, what’s wrong? Is the food at the office bad? Do you need me to make you something and bring it over?"

"That won’t be necessary. But honey, I heard you’re the one who calls the shots around here?"

"Nonsense!" Xu Lai declared righteously. "Who’s spreading such vile rumors about me? You’re obviously the one in charge at home."

Taotie was dumbfounded.

The next second, Liu Wan’s stifled laughter came through the phone. "Boss Lady, that’s not what you were saying a few minutes ago."

"Actually, Ruan Tang has always seen you as a little sister. I was just testing to see if you see her as a big sister. And... I’m very pleased with the result."

A series of bell-like laughs echoed from Ruan Tang’s office, including Liu Wan’s and her secretary’s.

"By the way, honey, I’ll come pick you up early tonight," Xu Lai said, his heart growing hot at the thought of the surprise his wife had in store for him.

"Alright, I know. Hanging up."

BEEP.

The call disconnected.

Xu Lai glanced at Taotie’s complicated expression and said nonchalantly, "That, my friend, is called indulging the one you love. Do you understand?"