Chapter Ninety-Two: Would You Like to See It Again?

Because Li Hanwei's cultivation had been sealed by Chen Xiang, he held her in his arms all the way as he flew through the air, and naturally he took many liberties with her along the way.

After all, though Li Hanwei's beauty could not compare with that of Li Qiner, she was still stunning enough to make fish sink and wild geese fall.

Li Hanwei let Chen Xiang carry her without resistance. If the Li family ever learned that she had been so obediently held by another man, they would surely think either that Li Hanwei had gone mad or that they themselves had.

The Rainbow Mudfish seemed to be very afraid that the one person might return to the far southern lands, so it did not play any tricks and simply crossed the ice and snow at full speed.

In just two days, they could already feel the weather growing warm. Half a day later, they saw the golden desert.

As soon as they left the world of ice and snow, the Rainbow Mudfish breathed a sigh of relief.

Once it was out of the snow, it finally felt at ease. But it still had to hurry on; what if it ran into that person again at the exit?

"Kid, now that we've come out, can I leave?" the Rainbow Mudfish said.

Chen Xiang strolled leisurely behind it, while the woman beside him had already taken off the thick northern military coat, revealing her own fiery red gown, which made her look incomparably alluring.

"Fish, we haven't even left the far south yet, and you're already so eager to be away from me?" Chen Xiang said.

"No, of course not." The Rainbow Mudfish put on a solemn expression, then said, "Sigh, I'll tell you the truth. When I used to wander outside, too many people coveted my body. If we ran into any of them after going out, what would happen if they implicated you? I'm doing this for your own good!"

"Pah!" Chen Xiang spat in disdain. Coveted your body? Probably those fallen women, right?

"You can leave if you want, but how are you going to repay the favor you owe me?" Chen Xiang asked with a smile.

Utter shamelessness.

The Rainbow Mudfish was truly moved to wonder what on earth Chen Xiang's face had been made of.

"That favor of yours, I'll repay it later. Is that enough?" the Rainbow Mudfish said impatiently, though what it was thinking inside could not be known.

"No!" Chen Xiang immediately rejected it.

The Rainbow Mudfish glared at him in great dissatisfaction. "Why not?"

"What if you run off?" Chen Xiang said.

The Rainbow Mudfish: "..."

It did not even know what to say. Indeed, a fish beneath the eaves had no choice but to bow its head.

"Hmph, once my strength recovers, don't let me run into you again!" the Rainbow Mudfish thought viciously.

It had once been a mudfish that could face an expert of the Void Refinement stage head-on!

"What do you say?" the Rainbow Mudfish muttered, its voice clearly forced low, sounding as if it were grinding its teeth.

"Mm, what should we do?" Chen Xiang rubbed his chin and looked up at the sky, pondering left and right.

Before long, Chen Xiang's expression turned solemn. He looked straight at the Rainbow Mudfish and said, "Mm, I haven't figured it out yet. Let's leave it owing for now. You can go!"

"I..." The Rainbow Mudfish seemed on the verge of hitting someone, but it still held back and did not go up to ask for humiliation.

"Fine! Fare...well!" the Rainbow Mudfish squeezed out the words as if suppressing its rage. Then it said no more, shot off at astonishing speed, and did not even spare Chen Xiang another glance.

Once out of the snow, Chen Xiang could use his compass again. Everything produced by the system was top quality, so it was very easy to find north.

Releasing the Rainbow Mudfish was only reasonable; after all, he still had important matters to attend to.

"That beast..." Li Hanwei frowned as she looked in the direction the Rainbow Mudfish had departed, speaking in confusion.

Chen Xiang glanced at her and said in surprise, "Wow, beauty, don't tell me you felt something when you saw the Rainbow Mudfish?"

"Hm?" Li Hanwei was utterly baffled by what Chen Xiang had said. What did that mean?

"Miss, I was only saying that this beast looks somewhat familiar to me, nothing more." Li Hanwei gave a casual explanation, then said no more.

Chen Xiang was not surprised that some people recognized the Rainbow Mudfish; after all, Li Qiner was learned and talented, and she had also recognized it.

"Beauty, let me tell you, the Rainbow Mudfish may be good, but there are even better things. As long as you work hard, I guarantee I'll show you something big. It seems you may have seen it before too. It's fine—back then you didn't see it clearly. Do you want to see it again?" Chen Xiang said with a sly smile.

Li Hanwei did not understand what he meant. She closed her eyes and paid him no more mind.

Chen Xiang was not discouraged and teased her a few more times, but Li Hanwei remained completely unmoved.

In the end, Chen Xiang grew bored too, and once again took the woman with him as he fled northward.

...

The Li family was in Cloud City, Azure Cloud City, which was considered one of the top second-tier cities in the Southern Wing Kingdom, and its prosperity was even somewhat greater than that of Tianxuan City.

Although Azure Cloud City had its city lord, the Li family had still become one of its local overlords, with thousands of sects of all sizes standing like forests around it.

Chen Xiang had long understood the vastness of the cultivation world, but after arriving in the realm of cultivation, he had not yet come into contact with many people.

And Li Hanwei had also stopped speaking along the way, no matter how Chen Xiang teased her.

Thus, Chen Xiang had gathered the location of Azure Cloud City through inquiries from many sources.

As for Li Hanwei, apart from taking a few small advantages, Chen Xiang would not go so far as to do anything truly insane to her.

Chen Xiang paid five low-grade spirit stones and easily led Li Hanwei into Azure Cloud City.

The city entrance was guarded by cultivators. Mortals paid with gold and silver, while cultivators paid with spirit stones. The entrance fee originally required only two low-grade spirit stones per person, but Chen Xiang felt the number four was inauspicious, so he forcibly tossed an extra low-grade spirit stone to the recorder.

Though this was the world of cultivation, the cities were still based mainly on mortals, so once inside, one could hear the clamor of vendors everywhere.

"Boss, how much are these candied hawthorns?"

"Three copper coins a skewer, ten copper coins for three skewers!"

"Boss, aren't you calculating that wrong? Did your math come from a gym teacher?"

"How could I possibly be wrong? I've been selling these for years, and business has been pretty good!"

"Three copper coins for one skewer means three skewers should cost nine copper coins, but you're asking ten copper coins for three skewers. What happens to the extra copper coin?"

"Huh? That does seem right. No wonder no one ever buys three at once. Three copper coins... one skewer, nine copper coins... three skewers, ten copper coins..."

"All right, I'll charge you ten copper coins as tuition. Give me three skewers of candied hawthorns."

"Uh... okay! Here are your candied hawthorns."

Chen Xiang walked up to a shouting vendor, exchanged a few words with him, and successfully talked his way into getting three skewers of candied hawthorns.

He bit into one. It was sweet and tart, and the hawthorn was crisp and fresh, utterly unlike the sticky, bug-ridden candied hawthorns on Earth.

Li Hanwei, watching Chen Xiang's behavior from the side, found it somewhat childish, yet also oddly familiar, as though fragments of memory were surfacing.

A little girl held a large hand and, upon seeing a skewer of candied hawthorns on the roadside, clamored to eat them. In the end, the person holding her bought her three skewers of candied hawthorns, spending ten copper coins...

To be continued...