A few minutes after Yuan returned to the game, Luo Li knocked on the door.
"Daoist Yuan, dinner is ready," she said to him.
"I'm coming!" Yuan said before coming out of the room with Xiao Hua.
Luo Li then led the two of them into a large room with a long table in the middle where the rest of her family was waiting.
"Thank you for accepting our invitation, Daoist Yuan." Lord Luo said to him after seeing him.
"No, I should be thanking you for inviting me."
"Please, have a seat." Lord Luo gestured to the two empty seats beside him and two servants pulled out the chair for them.
"Thank you…"
After taking a seat, Lord Luo clapped his hands. A few seconds later, the servants began carrying dishes after dishes into the room.
"I have heard about your impressive appetite to eat an entire menu and made sure to have enough food so that you don't have to worry about holding back." Lord Luo said to him with a bright smile as the table was being filled to the brim with food.
They began eating shortly afterward.
"..."
"..."
"..."
The Luo Family watched with wide eyes as Yuan consumed the food on the table as though he was a food monster.
Even Luo Li, who had seen him eat before, couldn't help but stare at Yuan with wide eyes.
'How can he still eat like that when he'd already consumed so much not too long ago? Where does the food go after entering his stomach? It's almost as though there is a black hole inside his stomach which could consume even the entire world!'
Meanwhile, Lord Luo was beginning to worry about what might happen to their family's finances if they had to feed Yuan like this every day.
A little over an hour later, after they finished eating and the servants carried away the empty dishes, Lord Luo looked at Yuan and said to him, "Daoist Yuan, now that dinner is finished, why don't we have a little conversation? My family would like to ask you some questions."
"Since you have satisfied my stomach, I don't mind answering a few questions. What would you like to know?" Yuan said.
"Do you have any hobbies?" Luo Li was the first to ask him.
"It may sound simple, but I enjoy doing anything that requires me to exert myself. Whether it be hunting monsters or simply walking around town, I enjoy it all."
"I think it's wonderful." Luo Li said with an alluring smile.
"I will ask the next question," said Luo Ming. "Since you mentioned hunting monsters, what's the strongest beast you've defeated so far?"
"The strongest beasts, huh? I defeated a Demonic Spider that was at the fourth level Spirit Warrior realm not long before arriving at this place." Yuan said in a calm voice.
"A Demonic Spider?!" Luo Ming exclaimed in a shocked voice. "Y-You are stronger than I'd expected, Daoist Yuan. Even the Elders at my sect would have trouble fighting a Demonic Spider…"
"..."
The other people in the room had similar expressions as Luo Ming after learning that Yuan had defeated a Demonic Spider. If only they knew that he'd obliterated it with a single strike.
A few moments later, Luo Ling asked him, "You don't have to answer this if you don't want to, Daoist Yuan, but do you have a Dao Companion?"
"..."
The room instantly turned silent with everyone's gaze staring intensely at Yuan, especially Luo Li, whose heart was beating loudly.
"Dao…Companion…?" Yuan lifted his eyebrows at this unfamiliar term. "I'm sorry, but what is a Dao Companion?"
Albeit a little bit surprised by his question, Luo Ling responded with a smile on her face, "A Dao Companion is someone you walk the cultivation path with for the rest of your life— a spouse so to speak."
"Like a wife? Then no, I do not have someone like that. I am way too young to be thinking about something like that." Yuan shook his head.
"What are you talking about, Daoist Yuan? You are already eligible for marriage at the age of 16! Then what about a girlfriend? Surely, someone as talented and handsome as you should have one or two already, right?" Luo Ling continued to ask him with a brave expression on her face.
"No… I also don't have someone like that…" he said with a bitter smile on his face.
'I am in no position to have someone like that in my life as I do not want them to waste their time on someone in my condition, and I'm sure that nobody would be willing to accept me if they knew about my real identity…' Yuan sighed inwardly.
Even if someone in the real world would be willing to take care of him, Yuan wasn't sure that he'd be able to endure the guilt, as his heart is already filled to the brim with guilt for making Yu Rou take care of him.
"I see… I'm sorry if my questions made you feel awkward, Daoist Yuan." Luo Ling apologized to him afterward. She then turned to look at Luo Li and winked at her.
Seeing this, Luo Li blushed.
"Anyway…"
Just as Lord Luo opened his mouth to speak, the door slammed open before a guard came rushing into the room.
"Who dares?! Do you have no manners?!" Lord Luo shouted at the guard who came into the room.
However, the guard ignored his anger and quickly said, "Please excuse my sudden entrance, Lord Luo! This is an emergency! There are thousands of beasts from the Pang Mountain rushing here as we speak!"
"What?!" Lord Luo immediately stood up with a surprised face, "The Mountain Lord is already attacking us?! I was told they wouldn't attack until tomorrow morning! This is too sudden!"
"Whatever! I will deal with whoever gave us the intel after we settle this situation!"
Lord Luo then turned to look at Yuan and said, "I deeply apologize for this, especially when you just filled your stomach, but it appears the Mountain Lord has already begun its revenge."
Yuan shook his head and said, "This just means I have more energy to fight with."
"Gather all of the guards and prepare to defend the city!" Lord Luo then ordered the guard.
Once the guard disappeared, Lord Luo said to his children, "I want the three of you to follow Daoist Yuan and defend the city with him. I am going to deal with the Mountain Lord."
"Yes, father!" They nodded.
A few moments later, Lord Luo also rushed outside.
"Please take care of us, Daoist Yuan."
The Luo Family bowed to Yuan afterward.
Sometime later, a notification appeared above Pang City.
«Event 'Mountain Lord's Invasion' has begun!»
«Slay the monsters attacking Pang City to receive points!»
«The Player with the highest points at the end will receive a special reward!»
"An in-game event?" Yuan looked at the notification in the sky with his interest piqued.