Entering the Central Continent

In the southern region of the Central Continent, within Moyan Commandery, stood the Du Clan Ancestral Hall.

A young man in scholar's robes walked briskly over to a middle-aged man sitting in the center of the ancestral hall and whispered a few words in his ear. The middle-aged man's slightly furrowed brow gradually relaxed. He straightened his back and rolled his stiff neck. In the ancestral hall, the everlasting candles before the spirit tablets flickered, casting swaying shadows that obscured his expression.

“Hehe,” a low, raspy chuckle squeezed out of his throat. He reached out, and the young man beside him leaned down to help him up. Standing straight, the middle-aged man pounded his slightly numb knees and patted the dust off his robes.

“That brat has to come back eventually. Go, send someone to fetch him. Let's see how many of the rules we taught him he still remembers after running wild out there for all these years.”

The young man nodded and helped the middle-aged man out of the ancestral hall. Once outside, the sunlight was so harsh that the middle-aged man could barely keep his eyes open. The chirping of the birds in the sky only added to his irritation. He waved his hand. “Let's go back inside.” The young man guided him back into the neat, square courtyard.

Du Qi sat in the carriage, looking heavily preoccupied. Ever since the carriage crossed the Boundary Cliff, a persistent sense of foreboding had hung over him. He opened the window beside him and looked outside—there wasn't much scenery to speak of, he just wanted some fresh air. This was who-knows-how-many times he had regretted following Su Li to the Central Continent.

Suddenly, he felt a light kick on his shin. Turning around, he saw Su Li's dainty, porcelain-smooth foot. Her five toes were coated in bright red nail polish—or perhaps they were naturally that color? Du Qi wondered.

Seeing him snap out of his daze only to stare at her foot, Su Li felt a surge of embarrassment and annoyance. Her half-demon heritage made her naturally dislike wearing shoes. When she was a child, her father would chase her with shoes in hand, but to no avail, and she still refused to wear them now. Honestly, if it weren't completely indecent, she wouldn't even want to wear clothes, which was why she usually only wore light, thin gossamer robes. In any case, no one dared to stare at her. Anyone who dared to act lewdly toward her would have had their eyes gouged out to feed the birds long ago.

But now, she slightly regretted not wearing shoes. This scoundrel was not only staring at her foot, but... he also had an analytical look on his face, as if trying to study it. Flustered and angry, Su Li kicked him again.

Only then did Du Qi look up at her. “What's wrong?”

What do you think is wrong? Su Li grumbled inwardly, though she kept it to herself. “We're already in the Central Continent. Can you release me now?”

“We've only just crossed the Boundary Cliff. That's nowhere near enough time for Chen San and the others to recover.” If Su Li were to consume a calamity seed and turn back, the Abandoned Guest Hall would be completely wiped out.

“No, I'll release you once we're further into the Central Continent,” Du Qi said, frowning instinctively. Although he had agreed to do it once they reached the Central Continent, wasn't this carriage moving a bit too fast? They had somehow crossed the Boundary Cliff in just a few days.

Su Li remained silent. She was not foolish; in fact, she was exceptionally clever. She still hadn't quite figured out why she had fought to the bitter end against those two bastards, Lu Yan and Yao Qingzi, even going so far as to enter “Soul Contract Resonance”—the state where her phoenix fused with her—at the cost of severely wounding her life-bound phoenix.

With her mind clear now, she understood perfectly well why Du Qi refused to release her. The first possibility was that he feared for his own safety, but these Confucian cultivators were terrible at fighting yet top-tier at running away. If he truly wanted to flee, even at her peak, she could at most take an arm or a leg; she wouldn't be able to keep him there. This meant there was a ninety percent chance he simply didn't trust her and was worried she would double back to wipe out his people. In truth, she hadn't actually expected Du Qi to release her right now; she was merely testing him. Besides, while she had indeed entertained the thought of going back, she had ultimately abandoned it as being too much trouble for too little gain.

Still, Du Qi's blatant lack of trust annoyed her. They had fought side by side, shared a bed... cough, well, anyway, they had a life-and-death bond now, yet he still didn't trust her. Of course, if she were in Du Qi's shoes, she wouldn't trust herself either, but that didn't stop her from feeling irritated. Any desire she had to ask him why he looked so miserable instantly vanished.

She kicked Du Qi once more in a huff, pulled her foot back, glared at him with her beautiful eyes, and turned to look out the window at the desolate, lifeless landscape.

Du Qi rubbed his nose awkwardly. Forget it, let's just stick to the plan. I'll release her sooner or later anyway. This didn't count as breaking his promise. Du Qi attempted to bend his own moral compass. Fortunately, his morals were not as rigid as those of traditional Confucian cultivators; in fact, they were highly flexible. Thus, it took very little effort for him to convince himself.

This was merely a minor interlude on their journey, and it did nothing to clear Du Qi's gloomy mood. Looking out at the unchanging scenery, he let out yet another sigh, having lost count of how many times he had done so today.

Su Li's mouth twitched, an imaginary vein popping on her forehead. This guy had been sighing from morning till night, carrying on the entire day. Even if he wasn't tired of it, she was sick of hearing it. Fine, she needed to rest. She refused to sit in this carriage any longer facing an expression that looked half-dead.

With a dark expression, she went outside and directed the carriage to a nearby tavern. Su Li walked in and ordered two jars of strong liquor and a plate of Huangshan horned goat meat, instructing them to be sent to her room. She didn't come out again, completely ignoring Du Qi.

The waiter looked pleadingly at Du Qi, who was following behind. He certainly didn't dare ask for money from that woman, whose dark, terrifying expression made it clear she was no ordinary person. His only hope lay with this quiet, scholarly-looking man behind her.

Du Qi rummaged through his storage bag, only to pull out a few shattered spirit stones, which he placed in the hand of the waiter, who looked on the verge of tears. Obviously, compared to the fine liquor and horned goat meat Su Li had ordered, this meager amount wasn't even enough to cover a fraction of the cost. But Du Qi was helpless.

The waiter tugged at his sleeve, almost begging. “Sir, please have mercy. Our little shop is already struggling to make ends meet. What you've given me won't even cover the tip of the bill!”

Du Qi's scalp went numb. What was he supposed to do, conjure money out of thin air? He had never been a wealthy man. The money he had earned from the Abandoned Guest Hall had been spent either on fine brushes and ink, or on famous paintings and calligraphy. Those works of art had now turned to ash along with the books in Black Mountain Fort. At the thought of this, Du Qi felt a sharp pang of grief—his Flying Wild Geese of the White Mountains, his rare, one-of-a-kind stone rubbing prints! Du Qi wept silently in his heart.

A single penny could break a hero's back. Du Qi let out a long sigh. After pulling out his brush, ink, and inkstone only to confirm that the shop didn't accept them, he was left with only one choice—one that made him feel a bit like a gigolo: ask Su Li for money.

He knocked hesitantly on her door. Knock, knock, knock. “Fellow Daoist Su, um... I don't have enough money on me. Could you please pay the...”

From inside the room came a series of hot, rapid gasps.

“Get out—get the hell out of here!”