"Hm?" Chu Mo glanced at the rooster: "Do you think you should enter the cockfighting ring too?"

"Squawk!" The rooster glared at Chu Mo: "Kid, if you keep spouting nonsense, I'll fight you!"

"Haha." Chu Mo laughed happily. Being able to recruit Wang Dafa was certainly worth celebrating. His combat skills were mediocre, but his sharp mind was top-notch!

With a person like this on his side, what's a supposedly top-tier businessman?

The rooster cast Chu Mo a disdainful look: "What are you so proud of? The main reason this guy has bet so much on you is because your master is so powerful!"

Chu Mo laughed: "And what's wrong with that?"

The rooster replied: "Without your master, do you really think people would willingly approach you?"

Chu Mo shrugged: "There are no 'ifs' in this world. Plus, luck... sometimes, it's a form of strength too."

"Yeah right, you're just being smug." The rooster retorted: "If my guess is right, your master should be leaving this world soon. When that happens, your days of hardship will begin!"

Chu Mo was silent. He knew what the rooster was saying was true.

Just now, one of the invitations he had received was from the Prince's Mansion. The handwritten letter from Xia Jing told Chu Mo that except for a few ingredients, the others were all ready. Chu Mo could start crafting as soon as he was available.

He also received an invitation from the Xu Residence, inviting him to visit.

The invitation from the Second Prince, Xia Xiong, followed shortly after.

Many other princes and ministers also sent invitations.

Chu Mo had a feeling that after this return, many things had drastically changed. At this moment, the emissary from the palace was waiting outside.

"I need to go to the palace." Chu Mo looked at the rooster: "Want to come with me to check it out?"

"Nevermind, worldly palaces are just bigger courtyards, there's nothing interesting to see," the rooster said with feigned indifference, and added, "Who wants to be gawked at as an oddity? Not going!"

"You're just a rooster, who would consider you an oddity?" Chu Mo sneered: "What they're probably thinking is: wow, that's a big chicken, it can be used to make a large pot of stew! No need for mushrooms!"

"Squawk! I don't want to see you!" The rooster tilted its head to one side, its comb flaring even redder.

...

When Chu Mo arrived at the palace, he discovered that the emperor was already waiting for him in his study.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!" Chu Mo bowed to the emperor.

"No formalities, sit down." Chu Mo noticed that the emperor seemed to have aged again in the half month they hadn't seen each other, and there were more grey hairs on his head. For an emperor who could easily obtain all kinds of elixirs to resist aging and extend his lifespan, this was not normal.

After expressing gratitude, Chu Mo sat down and looked at the emperor.

The emperor returned the gaze and gently asked: "So, how did it go? Was it smooth?"

Chu Mo was somewhat speechless at this question: "Does Your Majesty know what I've been doing this past while?"

"I'm not blind," the emperor glared at Chu Mo: "With such a big commotion, if I didn't know about it, there's no point in being the Emperor."

Chu Mo laughed lightly, saying: "It went quite smoothly, although there were some regrets at the end."

"It's inevitable to have regrets in everything. The fact that you made it back alive is already beyond my expectations. You truly are the steed of Great Xia!" The emperor chuckled, his worry lines smoothing out a little.

The Emperor didn't realize that the regret Chu Mo was talking about was entirely different from his understanding.

But Chu Mo didn't bother to explain, strangely asking, "When did I become a superior horse?"

"That's not something I first came up with, it was Minister Xu," said the Emperor with a smile. "I completely agree!"

"Your Majesty overpraises me, I am not able to carry such a burden," Chu Mo replied.

"Don't put on that act in front of me," the Emperor said, staring at Chu Mo and asking, "Can the institute still be established?"

Chu Mo replied, "Of course!"

"Really?" The Emperor squinted slightly, somewhat skeptically looking at Chu Mo. "Are you sure you can still establish the institute?"

"Why not?" Chu Mo smiled, "The fact that I have come back alive should be sufficient proof, shouldn't it?"

"Good! Good! Good!" The Emperor clapped his hands, standing up and laughing heartily, "If I have Chu Mo, that's equivalent to having an army of one hundred thousand, hahaha!"

The Emperor did not ask too much about what Chu Mo had been through during this period. In reality, smart people do not like to dig to the bottom of everything. As long as the outcome is satisfactory, it is enough. The process is not important to them.

Afterwards, the Emperor told Chu Mo that the herbs he had requested had been sent to the Fan Residence. Then Chu Mo declined the Emperor's invitation to dine in the palace, left the palace, and went straight to the Gluttonous Pavilion.

Here, he met Chu Yan, and after discussing some matters with her, Chu Mo rushed to the Xu Residence without stopping.

Despite everything, it was only right to visit.

After Chu Mo arrived at the Xu Residence, as expected, Fufu was in seclusion and did not appear. Xu Zhongliang, the old patriarch, invited Chu Mo for a meal. They didn't talk about much, with Xu only encouraging Chu Mo to take each step of his future path carefully.

In fact, Chu Mo's performance greatly exceeded everyone's expectations.

Over the course of a year, the changes in him were so drastic that many people found them hard to accept. Even Xu Zhongliang, the current Minister, did not have much to teach Chu Mo.

When Chu Mo returned home, it was already late. The rooster was nowhere to be seen. Not finding it anywhere, Chu Mo went straight to his room.

Reflecting on the experiences of the past half a month, Chu Mo still felt as though all of it was a dream.

Being hunted by thousands of powerful warriors, a seemingly inescapable situation, was turned into a life and death battle training by the Demon Lord himself.

During this period, the only thing the Demon Lord seemed to have done was to suppress the realm of these men to the same level as Chu Mo, and then... he just observed without helping Chu Mo at all. Everything was accomplished by Chu Mo himself!

In fact, this situation, to Chu Mo, still remained a dire situation!

Being able to return safely after enduring enriching trials, isn't just because of his combat strength or good luck, in Chu Mo's opinion.

From this experience, Chu Mo learned a lot and gained a deep understanding of the dark side of human nature.

The greed and selfishness of those people were almost fully realized!

If everyone had stuck to the sole purpose of killing Chu Mo from the beginning, then, if the Demon Lord didn't intervene, they probably would have succeeded.

No matter how strong Chu Mo is, he would not be a match for so many enemies of the same realm.

Even during the battle with this group of people, everyone was harboring ulterior motives. They were all thinking about how to gain more benefits from Chu Mo.

So much so that in the end, they were slaughtered by Chu Mo and still did not realize their mistake.

"Therefore, one day, if a large group of people gather around me and I can't give them what they want, I must learn to let go. Otherwise... I will definitely face a backlash. People's hearts are the most unpredictable thing in the world," Chu Mo said to himself.

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