Chapter 23: Their Regrets [ Continuation from Chapter 21: ]

It was a sudden declaration in the Bo Family's Ancestral House. The matriarchal of the Bo Family said it right after Bo Lifen admitted that the CEO was not that bad. Granny Lanfen chuckled, "I haven't even said anything yet, Lifen." But she suddenly frowned, "I detest that little panda though."

Bo Lifen raised her head and looked at her great-grandmother. "What was that, Granny?" She wasn't sure if she had heard the old woman speak correctly, but Bo Lifen already said too much. She picked up her tray and made her way to the door.

"You've grown weaker at sensing, Lifen."

"...What is there to sense?" She raised a brow.

Her great-grandmother Lanfen let out a sigh and waved a hand, "Nevermind me. I'm just probably saying things because my Alzheimer's is getting to me. Don't you agree, Lifen?" The old woman paused and rubbed her wrists, "Will you make me one of your tea?"

Bo Lifen grasped the tray tightly on her hand, ignoring the sensation in her chest. "...Did you want the Spiritual Jade Tea? Or would you like me to prepare Black-Ocean Pearl Tea?"

"Black-Ocean Pearl Tea?" The old woman approached her and gave her a narrowed-eyed look, "When did you get the chance to gather pearls, the depths are—"

Bo Lifen hated it whenever her great-grandmother brought up her age and illnesses. If they haven't… she took a deep breath and said, "I have a friend who managed to get in contact with someone able to dive deep and retrieve it."

"A friend? Is that the reason why you said Yang Li is just 'not bad', who's that friend of yours?"

"I don't appreciate the joke you're saying, if you and everyone else could quit pairing me with every man that gets within five feet of me, I'll appreciate it." She let out a loud sigh. "This black pearl is definitely pricey to get but it does wonder for the longevity, great-grandmother. So I'll prepare it for you at once." Shaking her head and making her way to the kitchen, she placed the dishes at a sink.

Her temper was getting the better of her again.

With her great-grandmother, Bo Lanfen at hundred-twenty years old, she still acted like she was sixty. Bo Lifen reached for her bracelet hidden underneath her robe's sleeves, flicked one of its beads, and took out the black pearls from the inter-spatial storage. She also took out the bottled hidden spring mountain water and started her preparations.

She heard the footsteps of the older woman come in.

"Ah, back in my time—they say these pearls were gathered and guarded jealously by mermaids." Granny Lanfen plopped down in one of the chairs. She stretched and cracked the bones on her shoulder.

Bo Lifen couldn't stop herself from snorting as she crushed the pearl with her thumb, "Granny, those are just stories you hear. Mermaids don't exist." Gathering up the dust, she dropped it into the water boiling over their stove. She turned back to her great-grandmother and smiled slightly, "I guess your age really is getting to you."

"...and yet we came from a family that served tea to cultivators and gods thousands of years ago, so don't talk back to me, Lifen. I know what I'm talking about—your great-granduncle Yi got lost at sea, probably got snagged by one of them." Granny Lanfen scoffed. "What's there to like about scales? I'd have ripped out vocal cords if I had managed to move past my half step—"

She sighed for a moment and turned back to her tea preparation. Like all old people, there was always one thing that they couldn't stop talking about—an old love that they've lost, money that was owed to them, bemoaning about their graves or ranting off to their kids, but it was different with her great-grandmother.

Bo Lanfen had walked down the path of cultivation and hadn't been able to continue it—she had done it for her family's sake but that was the old woman's regrets.

.. .

[ You Have Gained 100 Charm Points ]

The sudden notification made Yang Li stop for a moment. The number was incomparable to the 'sponsor' he received from the Heavens earlier, but it was still a good amount. "This couldn't be from Miss He at all." The CEO at least knew when he had done something worth some Charm Points, but the situation was far from it.

And so it only left one woman.

"...Was I able to charm, Granny Lanfen?" He asked himself. He leaned back his chair and considered it as the only possible option—her great-granddaughter didn't seem like the person to change her thoughts.

[ No. 100 Charm Points Gained From Individual 'Bo Lifen' ]

[ Total Charm Points: 1145 Charm Points ]

Yang Li stared at it for a moment and then coughed, watching another black fume escape his lips before he finally sighed. "That's 3,855 Charm Points left…" A thought offered itself to him, or something close enough to a real delusion. He could imagine it, the little devil Panda was pointing at the double-doors and yapping, 'Start Seducing Your Secretary For Charm Points'

It was one way for him to accumulate points and purchase the 'Roots Unlockment' although with the way that previously gained points… "10 Points per hour… multiply that by three hours, seven days—no, I won't make enough, and I can't stay holed here in my office." Yang Li paused. He could actually do something like that if the [ Six Evil Qi ] truly had disastrous effects for him.

And yet, that was letting himself be dictated by his circumstances, and Yang Li wouldn't stand for it. He summoned the Shop Function and checked out the available items. It was a little annoying that he was checking this feature now, but there might be something that could help with his situation.

[ Charm Shop Level 1 Is Available ]

[ Charm Points Can Be Used As Currency ]

Attraction Charm (Consumable) 100 CP

Divine Energizer Drink (Consumable) 250 CP

Dao of Attraction 500 CP

Harem Cultivation Scripture 1000 CP

Harem Cultivation Qi Condensation - II 3750 CP

Mystery Box 500 CP

Roots Unlockment 5000 CP

Bloodline Awakening 10000 CP

Constitution Refinement 500 CP

Cultivation Method Upgrade 200 CP

Only one of them had actually changed and that was because he previously bought the 'Harem Cultivation Qi Condensation' this morning. Out of all the items available and with his limited Charm Points amounting to one thousand and one hundred forty-five points—there were only seven items that he could buy, only five of them that were useful and based on his judgment, three that could help his cultivation and perhaps one thing that might help his current situation.

Perhaps the riskiest of them all was the 'Mystery Box' and he was flat-out opposed to it. He would end up wasting points and could possibly end up with nothing. He could perhaps purchase the Harem Cultivation Scripture and start studying it in hopes of finding useful information—but it did not change the fact that his body didn't have a spiritual root. The lack of it was his weakness. The 'Dao of Attraction' paired with the 'Mystery Box' could work… if the 'Way of Attraction' was a hundred percent or even ninety-nine percent effective, and so the 'Mystery Box' would give him what he truly wanted.

He sincerely doubted his chances with it.

Needless to say, it wasn't even fair to say that using the 'Mystery Box' solely was the riskiest—all of them were troublesome endeavors that he wished he could do without them. And so it left him with one thing that might possibly help him with his desire to solve the root problem of his situation.

[ Attraction Charm ]

One-time use of magical treasure. It is a charm provided by the LoveStellar Organization (LSO). When used on a specific Target, they will inexplicably feel drawn to you for a ten-minute duration. When used as an area of effect (AoE) charm, mortals within thirty feet of Host will flock to one's position.

"...A chance to rack up charm points for an investment of 100 Charm Points?"

He rubbed his face. It was the exact same thing as seducing his secretary wasn't it, except with a decent multiplier of some sort? Or if not her, then the other female employees in his company.

The man tapped his finger on his table.

Would he start using this 'Attraction Charm' to alleviate his own suffering at the expense of others? He said it aloud, "Expense of others?" Yang Li remembered his date with Ying Hue He from last night, and it didn't seem like she was placed in harm's way because he asked her out. The tension had been there, and they were both awkward last night… but, it wasn't bad?

"Business ethics." He muttered to himself and closed his eyes. Is 'charming' someone actually a bad thing… Most relationships happen because both parties desire something from one another, in the first place. He finally folded his hands together to contemplate it fully—at least for ten minutes before he started on his tasks.

A rap at his office door intruded him from it.