A bushel of grain breeds gratitude, while a peck breeds resentment.

Qu Ziwei quickly replied, "Yes, Aunt Liu is a distant relative of my grandmother. She is a divorcee with a daughter and has been with our family for many years. Aunt Liu is deeply trusted by my mother and serves as the household manager. Even her daughter’s tuition for studying abroad was covered by our family."

Whether Madam Qu truly trusted a servant or was simply showing respect to her own mother-in-law was a matter for debate, but Yun Ran had no intention of interfering in the complex entanglements of such an affluent family.

In fact, it was not just the Great Brahma Empire; other base cities possessing guardian beasts were beginning to undergo similar transformations. It was simply that their guardian beasts were not as powerful as Chu Lin, and they could not achieve such a thorough, absolute rule as he had.

"So, this is the garment they wanted, right? Fine, I will take you over there," Boss Liu nodded.

Bai Yuwei was quite magnanimous, largely because she was not particularly fond of such snacks. "It’s not like it’s the first time we’ve eaten their food," she said, smiling at the few foodies among them who were too hesitant to reach for anything.

Though it was only a fleeting glimpse, Chu Lin still managed to discern the general scale of the tactical missile: ten meters in length with a diameter of at least 500 millimeters. With a tactical missile of that size, even if the ordinary mutated giant crocodiles dodged in time, the casualties would likely be high.

Thick, heavy clouds gathered and churned at an incredibly low altitude, creating the illusion that one could touch them simply by raising a hand. The occasional fissures in the clouds and the flashes of white, mysterious light only served to deepen the unease, prompting the same question in countless minds.

Even though Qi Yunche had suspected from Zhao Jin’s past remarks that his relationship with the Prince of Liang was poor and that the Prince of Liang’s estate treated him shabbily, he had never imagined that anyone could be capable of such cruelty.

Chuncheng is currently very unwelcoming to livestreaming influencers. It seems that a couple of years ago, when the trend of influencer-led sales emerged, they would broadcast online saying, "Our local fruits aren't selling, so we’re having a massive clearance sale; we’ll ship you a whole crate for ten yuan..." These influencers would explicitly name Chuncheng in their broadcasts.

Bai Siheng put some distance between himself and Zhou Yuan, having no intention of addressing his manager’s fierce, predatory gaze, and originally intended to simply turn and walk away.

The chaos before them seemed to provoke the disdain of that entity. A sound of blasphemy suddenly erupted, as if triggering some primal, fundamental terror. It grew louder and louder in everyone’s ears; even those who had frantically struck their own ears deaf could not block it out.

Jiang Xie realized it shortly after. Perhaps this was truly the case, and the special mission might very well be to kill the villain—a complete reversal of standard missions where one must hoodwink the protagonist.

"Indeed, in time, that possibility is quite real!" the Supreme beside him nodded, a grave expression on his face.

A corner of the stage was suddenly illuminated by a white light. Xiao Yan appeared before the crowd, dressed as a hunter and clutching a bow and arrow; he was portraying the role of Hou Yi.

After two more days of labor, they finished planting the dew-condensing grass that Wu Dazhuang and the others had transplanted into every room. With this, the basic conditions for collecting dew were established.

Finally, the sound of running water ceased. The bathroom door creaked open, and a burst of steam billowed out from the gap. The Heir was visible, shirtless, standing in profile to Mu Feng. Amidst the swirling mist, he appeared exceptionally alluring.

"Heh, it seems that apart from you and me, no one else can enter the Jialan Continent!" Ao Yan smiled slightly.

Though the two remained in a standoff, Yuma still kept part of his attention fixed on Sakumo, who stood by as a mere spectator.

"This is the territory of the Siren of the Desolate Sea. If we really kill someone here, we’ll be digging our own graves!" Qiao Ran shouted back.

Watching Bai Luoyi’s shy demeanor, Xu Zhen suddenly understood. He thought to himself, "No wonder she dressed so meticulously; it was for Senior Brother Zou." Seeing this, he and Yan Xian'er felt it was inappropriate to remain in the main hall and slipped out through a side door into the inn’s courtyard.