This is a bizarre rule, isn't it? It's supposed to grant me many children and good fortune

Chapter 437 How could it be so fast?!

Lin Feng nodded slightly, his eyes still showing a hint of weariness from having just broken through the impasse.

Evelyn feigned helplessness, a slight smile playing on her lips, but her icy blue eyes held a genuine hint of amusement.

"I owe you again... I don't know how I'm going to pay you back."

Lin Feng smiled and shook his head: "We're old friends, no need for such formalities. Besides, you've helped me a lot."

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Studio:

"I've owed him so many times, I really can't pay him back... How about I just marry Brother Feng?"

"If you can't pay it back, then repay it with your body. That's perfectly reasonable."

"Brother Feng's wives are all quite strange. Won't Evelyn, a human, get killed on the spot?"

"This is indeed a critical problem."

"I think this is fine. Maintaining the distance between old friends means that liking someone doesn't necessarily mean you have to possess them."

........................

At this moment, Vassim also stood up from the futon and patted Lin Feng on the shoulder:

"As expected of you, Brother Lin Feng!"

"We're still struggling in our illusions, and you've already wiped out their entire base!"

Lin Feng smiled, offering no further explanation. With a thought, he stored the Silent Bone Blade in his hand into his personal space.

Just as the Silent Bone Blade disappeared, the tightly closed doors of the Silent Heart Palace suddenly creaked open and slowly opened inwards.

The light from outside seeped in through the crack in the door, mingling with the pure white light inside the hall.

Everyone was now fully awake and quickly walked towards the palace gate.

In the open space outside the palace gate, there was a low pear wood table with a small copper pot on it, the red oil soup inside bubbling away.

Xia Ning was sitting at one side of a low table. Her cool white clothes seemed somewhat out of place with the lively hot pot, yet strangely harmonious.

Two black-clad butlers were sitting on either side of her. Hearing the commotion, all three of them turned to look.

The two black-clad butlers had strikingly similar expressions—their mouths were slightly open, their eyes were wide open, and their chopsticks were suspended in mid-air.

A brief, deathly silence fell over the air.

The next second, a piece of tripe in the left-hand steward's hand fell into the boiling copper pot with a "plop".

Scalding hot chili oil splashed all over her hand, but she seemed oblivious, staring blankly at the crowd emerging from the hall, muttering to herself:

"How...how could it be so fast?!"

Xia Ning's eyes suddenly lit up. The mission ending early meant that her husband was safe and sound.

She immediately stood up and quickly walked to Lin Feng's side, her tone tinged with curiosity:

"What...what happened inside? Why did you come out so quickly?"

She originally thought that it would take two hours for everyone to break free from the illusion, which would be the limit. However, she did not expect that only 40 minutes had passed before everyone walked out safely.

Lin Feng shifted his gaze from Xia Ning's face to the copper pot behind her, and said with a smile:

"Have some hot pot? Since I'm the provider of the hot pot broth, can I have a bite too?"

Since it was inconvenient to openly discuss his ability to discern weaknesses in front of the left and right stewards, Lin Feng took the opportunity to steer the conversation towards hot pot.

Xia Ning understood immediately and, without asking any further questions, gestured with her hand, "Of course."

Lin Feng didn't stand on ceremony. He walked straight to the low table, picked up the bowl, plate, and chopsticks in front of Xia Ning, took a bite of freshly cooked mutton roll, dipped it in sesame sauce, and put it in his mouth without hesitation, a satisfied expression on his face.

The two black-clad butlers froze for a second, then instinctively looked at each other.

The left steward's eyes seemed to say: He seems to be using Sister Ning's bowl and chopsticks. Isn't that considered an indirect kiss?

The right deacon's eyes seemed to say: Sister Ning didn't seem to have said anything.

The left steward's eyes clearly showed that he ate very naturally, and it was obvious that this wasn't the first time he had used Sister Ning's personal items!

At that moment, a deafening roar erupted from their hearts—

Adultery!!!

If this weren't an affair, they would have swallowed this copper pot whole!

But despite their roaring, their mouths were tightly shut, as if they had been sewn shut.

Who dares to say that? Who dares?!

Xia Ning noticed the gazes of the two deacons, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she quickly cleared her throat, calling out to the crowd still standing behind her:

"That concludes today's training. Return to your quarters and rest. Be ready to assemble again tomorrow!"

Everyone was eager to leave, and upon hearing Xia Ning's words, they felt as if they had been granted a pardon. They quickly responded and hurried towards their quarters.

After everyone had left, the Left Deacon, unable to contain his curiosity, asked Lin Feng:

"What exactly happened just now? How did you break free of the illusion so quickly?"

As Lin Feng picked up some vegetables from the pot, he said casually:

"It's nothing much. Someone just cracked the source of the illusion and eliminated it. With the illusion gone, everyone naturally woke up."

The Right Deacon's pupils dilated: "What? The source of this illusion is extremely well hidden, impossible to detect, let alone eliminate!"

The Left Deacon added, "This illusion is the core test of the Silent Heart Palace. Throughout history, cultivators have been incredibly skilled at breaking free from it; no one has ever been able to directly find and eliminate its source!"

Lin Feng shrugged casually: "But that's how it happened, isn't it?"

The Left Deacon pondered for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up:

"Do you think that person might be from Kashmir?"

"After all, he is a monk who has been practicing for many years and has a steadfast mind. He is the most likely to see through the essence of this illusion and find its source."

The right deacon echoed, "Yes, yes, yes! It must be him! I really can't think of anyone else who could do this!"

Lin Feng, still chewing on freshly cooked tripe, mumbled:

"You guessed right, it's him!"

Xia Ning smiled mischievously, her gaze sweeping over Lin Feng's face:

Honey, you're getting better and better at creating smokescreens!

However... if you hide your trump card deep within the ghost story instance, you can save it for last!

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After returning to his room, Lin Feng took out a small food box from his personal storage space—

It contained some leftover ingredients from the hot pot earlier: lamb rolls, tripe, and wide rice noodles, still steaming hot.

He brought it to Wasim.

Wasim took the food box, lifted the lid, and his eyes lit up immediately.

Without any hesitation, he picked up his chopsticks and started rummaging through the food, mumbling indistinctly, "Thanks, bro."

Wasim shoveled a few bites, then suddenly looked up, a piece of wide rice noodle still hanging from his mouth.

"By the way, how many merit points do you have now?"

"90 points," Lin Feng replied casually. "And you?"

"I have 60 points. It looks like you'll be able to reach 100 points by tomorrow."

Lin Feng smiled and said, "100 points don't mean much to me. I'm definitely going to aim for an S-rank clear!"

"By the way," Vassim put down his chopsticks, lowering his voice, "regarding the S-rank clear... have you made any progress?"