As the radiant glow of the charm flared up, Jin Jiao, in that very moment, had lost all resistance, helplessly raising its head to gaze at the sky in despair.
However, after a long, resigned moment with its eyes closed, the legendary thunder had yet to strike.
Chen Mo and Jadi exchanged puzzled glances, silently wondering if thunder had become like public transport, always fashionably late.
But in the next instant, Xiao Xun'er was suddenly flustered, hurriedly smothering the nearly burned-out charm: "Oh no! Did I make another mistake?"
"I can't believe it. This actually works?" Chen Mo rolled his eyes in disbelief, inwardly thinking, Is this what a master looks like?
Before his words could fade, the delayed thunder finally crashed down—but instead of hitting the bull demon, it struck the flying sword. Xiao Xun'er, preoccupied with extinguishing the charm, lost her balance and stumbled to the ground.
Jin Jiao, seizing the opportunity, seemed to summon an unknown strength, bellowing furiously as it leapt out of the pit, its horns thrusting forward...
"No, no!" In that moment of peril, Chen Mo unexpectedly sprang into action, delivering a powerful kick.
The unfortunate phone let out a mournful scream as it soared through the air in a graceful arc: "Boss, I'm a knockoff! You think I'm a Nokia?"
Without a doubt, even a Nokia would have shattered into pieces with such a fall.
But thanks to the phone's loud complaint mid-flight, Jin Jiao, just about to strike Xiao Xun'er, paused in midair, as though disturbed by the noise.
In that split second, the already-activated vehicle shot forward. With an overwhelming impact, Jin Jiao followed the phone's path, flipping through the air!
"Home run!" Amidst Nono's jubilant cheers, the pot spun wildly on the spot, emitting a luminous azure glow like clouds at dusk.
Moments later, it transformed into a massive oven, several meters wide. As the lid slowly opened, a torrent of searing hot air surged out.
Upon witnessing this, Jin Jiao's soul seemed to leave its body in terror, and it couldn't help but scream, "No! No! I'm not delicious..."
Before its words could finish, it was enveloped by the scorching wind and, with a swift whoosh, was flung inside the oven.
The indicator lights flashed on, and the oven spun wildly. The deafening roar made everyone cover their ears, even Nono couldn't help but grumble, "Honestly! Why can't this pot create something more eco-friendly?"
In the midst of the complaints, a metallic ding rang out, and the oven came to a stop. With a gleaming whole roasted bull emerging, a fragrant aroma immediately filled the air.
Chen Mo couldn't help but swallow, hesitating before asking, "So... if we eat this demon, does it count as violating wildlife protection laws?"
Who knew? Nono and the others exchanged glances, stunned for a moment before giving up, considering that the roasted bull had just been a formidable creature minutes ago.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Jadi had helped Xiao Xun'er back to her feet. Seeing her about to reach for her checkbook to ask "How much?" Chen Mo rushed over to intervene.
"Little girl, are you hurt?" Seeing the pale-faced girl, Chen Mo gently wiped the dirt off her face, then playfully pinched her chubby cheeks.
Xiao Xun'er seemed dazed, staring at him blankly. Chen Mo, unnerved by the gaze, thought, I'm one of the top ten outstanding youths in the South City. How can I look so frightening?
"Daddy!" Before he could react, Xiao Xun'er suddenly leaped at him, wrapping herself around him like an octopus.
Before Chen Mo could turn his head, she lifted her soft face, her eyes brimming with tears, and scolded, "Daddy! I finally found you... Wuu, Daddy!"
At that moment, the whole room fell silent, save for Xiao Xun'er's sobbing echoing in the air.
Jadi stood frozen, his face a mixture of disbelief, his expression unclear whether it was one of anger or astonishment.
The pot and Nono exchanged glances, then, almost in unison, sighed, "So, the boss already has a secret child... Wait, did he secretly father her at sixteen? How impressive!"
"Knock it off!" Chen Mo immediately kicked the muttering appliances away.
Xiao Xun'er, undeterred, clung to him, crying uncontrollably, "Wuu... Daddy, don't leave Xun'er and Mommy... Wuu, Mommy said you left home a long time ago, and I've only seen your picture!"
"Beast! Scum! Trash!" The four appliances seemed to have an epiphany, nodding in agreement with the same realization.
Chen Mo looked up to the sky with tears streaming down his face, thinking, At this point, not even jumping into the Yellow River will cleanse me of this.
Fortunately, Jadi snapped back to reality and gently hugged Xiao Xun'er, saying, "Well... Xun'er, how about we go have some ice cream?"
Hearing such a trivial suggestion, Chen Mo rolled his eyes, thinking, While they're performing a melodramatic family scene, what use is ice cream now?
But before he could say anything, Xiao Xun'er, who had been crying as if she had lost her world, suddenly broke into a grin and flung herself at Jadi, "Yes! Yes! I want Haagen-Dazs!"
"I can't!" Chen Mo was utterly speechless, feeling a surge of sympathy for the real father. Apparently, you're not even as important as a scoop of Haagen-Dazs.
After hastily cleaning up the mess, and with Jadi breaking the golden circle's barrier, the group took the unconscious Ye Rong back to the city. But before that, they had to perform a little memory-erasing operation on her, lest she wake up and cause problems.
Two hours later, after safely settling Ye Rong and moving the roasted bull into the kitchen, Chen Mo finally breathed a sigh of relief.
However, a greater problem still loomed. Xiao Xun'er had seemingly decided he was her father, continuously performing her octopus-like clinginess, only releasing him when the ice cream Jadi ordered arrived...
In the brief interval, Chen Mo took the opportunity to shower. Upon his return to the main hall, Xiao Xun'er had already consumed ten cups of ice cream and was engaged in a fierce battle with a banana boat.
"I've heard, Xun'er is said to be the 36th-generation disciple of the Fudao sect!" As she devoured with great relish, Jadi approached Chen Mo and whispered, "She's never seen her father, and her mother passed away early... She lived with her grandfather in the mountains, learning magic, only recently descending the mountain to train."
"Ah, I see! But I'm really not her father, Jadi, you have to believe me!" Seeing Xiao Xun'er smiling and waving at him again, Chen Mo's headache worsened.
"So what if you are?" Jadi nodded nonchalantly and said, "I still like you just the same, whether or not you have a daughter or a wife!"
Upon hearing such a direct confession, Chen Mo felt even more perplexed. He couldn't even bring himself to meet Jadi's gaze. Clearing his throat awkwardly, he shifted the topic, "By the way! What about Xun'er's grandfather?"
"Grandfather's gone!" Xiao Xun'er, ever adept at multitasking, immediately raised her hand and chimed in, "Grandfather said he was going out to rob... No, I mean, he's going out to rob the rich and help the poor!"
"Huh? We have the same hobby!" The pot, wobbling beside them, suddenly nodded with a sense of camaraderie.
With that reminder, the serious discussion abruptly shifted direction. The pot and the others began a lively debate on how best to rob the local bank efficiently.
"Enough!" Chen Mo could no longer tolerate it and kicked these troublemakers away, thinking, I'm supposed to be a fine, upstanding young man, so how did I end up with this bunch of thugs?
But just then, Xiao Xun'er suddenly put down her spoon, leaned closer with a puzzled look, and asked, "Daddy, is that jade on your shoulder from Grandfather?"
"Jade? What jade?" Ignoring the title, Chen Mo looked at his shoulder, noticing nothing resembling broken jade there.
Xiao Xun'er blinked in confusion, then jumped up to tap his shoulder, muttering, "This piece of broken jade! I get it now, Grandpa must've set up an illusion!"
Before she could finish, a flash of green light shimmered, and Chen Mo's shirt began to tear. From his shoulder, faint purple-red light emerged, revealing a fragment of jade with the same lustrous appearance as the piece in his pocket!
"What's going on?" Chen Mo was stunned, then froze, suddenly deep in thought as he rubbed his chin.
Six years ago, it was that old man's palm... So it seems, he's Xun'er's grandfather! And that palm sent a piece of jade into my shoulder, giving me this ability.
"Xun'er, do you know what this jade is?" Chen Mo smiled, as though about to deceive a little girl.
"Yes! Grandpa said it!" Xiao Xun'er hesitated, sucking her thumb for a moment before tilting her head, "This thing can enhance abilities, that's why so many bad