Jiali Restaurant.

A seat by the window.

After finishing his meal, Huang Que put down his cutlery, wiped his mouth with a snow-white handkerchief, and called over a waiter.

"This seafood soup is delicious. Which chef made it?"

The waiter bowed and said, "It was made by our second head chef, Miss Shui Qingqing."

Huang Que: "Could we invite her over to meet me? I'd like to thank her in person for letting me taste such delicious food."

Waiter: "Okay, please wait a moment."

A short while later, Shui Qingqing came over with the waiter.

Huang Que stood up from her seat and gave her a sweet and lively smile.

"You're Shui Qingqing? You look even younger than me, yet you're so amazing, able to make such delicious food."

She grabbed Shui Qingqing's hand familiarly and showered her with compliments.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, he tilted his head.

"Have we met before? Ah, I remember now, I ran into you outside the restaurant last time."

“You were pushed to the ground, and I helped you up.”

Shui Qingqing suddenly realized and said gratefully, "Ah, it was you. I didn't have a chance to thank you last time."

Huang Que waved her hand, "Don't be so polite, is your hand better?"

Shui Qingqing showed her her palm, palm up, "It's all healed."

Before Huang Que could say anything more, a waiter approached and said, "Miss Shui, a customer ordered a charcoal-grilled conch. Only you can make this dish, you see..."

Huang Que said at the opportune moment, "Then I won't disturb your work anymore. Here, this is your tip. See you tomorrow."

He slipped five crystal coins to Shui Qingqing and quickly stuck them on her face.

She picked up her handbag and turned away with light steps.

Shui Qingqing wanted to call her back to return the tip, but she didn't have a chance and had no choice but to accept it.

Then he said to the waiter who had served Huang Que earlier, "Next time this lady comes to eat, just put it on my tab."

"Okay, I've got it."

Shui Qingqing touched the side of her face that had been touched by the yellow bird, feeling a little strange.

Is this a custom from their hometown?

After returning home, Shui Qingqing told Shui Duoduo about it at the dinner table.

Shui Duoduo paused in her act of picking up food, her mind becoming wary.

"What does the girl you're talking about look like?"

Shui Qingqing described the appearance of the yellow sparrow.

Shui Duoduo's expression immediately became more serious.

This left Shui Qingqing somewhat confused. "What's wrong, Duoduo?"

Shui Duoduo didn't hide anything from her: "Sister, do you remember the Inner Earth Tribe I told you about before?"

Shui Qingqing's mouth gaped slightly: "Could she be—"

Shui Duoduo nodded, "She should be one of the seven high priests of the Earth Core Clan, Huang Que, and also the intelligence chief of the Star-Picking Alliance."

Shui Qingqing immediately tensed up: "What should we do? The Earth Core Clan has come looking for us, aren't we in danger?"

She then frowned in confusion: "But that shouldn't be the case. Aren't we wearing the jade pendants that Sister Lily gave us to conceal our bloodlines? How did she find us?"

Shui Duoduo: "That day you were pushed to the ground, your palm was scraped, and blood flowed out."

"The Inner Earth Clan has bred a type of Blood Butterfly specifically to find us, the same kind of butterfly that flew in front of us before."

"Huang Que must have been carrying Blood Butterflies too. She was nearby at the time, and the Blood Butterflies on her body must have sensed your blood."

"The reason she helped you up was definitely not out of kindness, but because she wanted to get close to you to confirm your identity."

Shui Qingqing bit the end of her chopsticks, looking regretful.

"It's all my fault for being careless..."

Shui Duoduo picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks and put it into her bowl.

"Sister, how can you blame yourself? If anyone is to blame, it's the person who pushed you and the Inner Earth Clan who are trying to harm us."

"Now that it has already happened, we can just deal with it. There's nothing to worry about."

Shui Qingqing's initial anxiety and worry were immediately soothed by his calm, steady, and reliable tone.

Yes, what's the use of her worrying here?

It's better to eat two more bowls of rice; you'll be better able to cultivate afterward.

That way, it can still be of some use if something really happens.

She lowered her head, ate a couple of mouthfuls of rice, and then put a piece of her younger brother's favorite dish on her plate.

"You eat too, so we can discuss what to do next after you finish eating."

Shui Duoduo was very pleased that her sister was able to calm down so quickly, and smiled at her, saying, "Okay."

The next morning.

Before Shui Qingqing left for work, Shui Duoduo handed her a necklace.

Ever since his sister was kidnapped by Chi Shuang, he has been collecting materials, hoping to forge a defensive artifact for her.

After hearing her talk about the yellow sparrow yesterday, he quickly refined it.

However, due to the limited time and the lack of a certain material, the resulting Xuan weapon did not meet expectations and was only at the fifth rank.

He originally wanted to forge a sixth-order Xuan weapon.

However, with the threat of the oriole looming nearby, we can only use this one as a temporary measure.

"Sister, this is a fifth-tier defensive artifact that can withstand attacks from ability users at the Star Vortex Realm (fifth tier) and below."

"First, you need to pledge your love by dripping your blood, then use the chain to remove the cord holding the jade pendant and put it on."

Shui Qingqing touched the necklace, feeling a warmth in her heart, and did as he said.

After putting it on, she tucked the jade pendant into her collar, exchanged a glance with her younger brother, and everything was understood without a word.

"Okay, I'm going to work now."

Shui Duoduo saw her sister off at the door and watched her leave.

Now that Huang Que has discovered his sister, he must have already figured out most of the situation between the siblings.

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