Murong Brought Books

Zhou Hao had stayed at Shilpo Mountain Stronghold for nearly three days. Through his conversations with Ma Hongyun, he had also learned that this world was called the "Sky Dome Continent."

The Sky Dome Continent had five great super empires, each spanning vast territories. However, those matters were far too distant from the lives of Ma Hongyun and the others, so they knew little about them.

Zhou Hao had learned from Ma Hongyun that the country they were currently in was a third-rate nation, the Qinan Kingdom.

There were five ranks of nations. Fifth-rate nations were the lowest-ranking countries on the Sky Dome Continent. Generally speaking, weak national strength, scarce resources, tiny territories, and dependence on larger nations for survival were all common traits of fifth-rate countries.

Thus, as a third-rate nation, the Qinan Kingdom still possessed fairly decent national strength.

Yet Ma Hongyun and the others did not care about any of that. They only cared about how much they earned each day and how they would live in the future. Though they lived within the Qinan Kingdom, the Qinan Kingdom held no place in their hearts.

That was normal, though. The Qinan Kingdom did not govern such remote regions, which was why bandits had once run so rampant here.

There was a large town eighty li away from Shilpo Mountain Stronghold. The protection fees collected by Ma Hongyun and the others came from merchants leaving that town.

A fixed procedure had now taken shape. Anyone passing through here would proactively go to Shilpo Mountain Stronghold and pay up. Then they could travel this road without worry, because Shilpo Mountain Stronghold would send people to protect them.

Shilpo Mountain Stronghold collected money from those passing through, while Tiger Fiend Stockade collected money from those returning. This was the agreement between the chiefs of Shilpo Mountain Stronghold and Tiger Fiend Stockade, and it had been carried out for seven years without incident.

But now Shi Po was dead. It was unknown whether Tiger Fiend Stockade would develop other ideas. That would depend on what Tiger Fiend Stockade did after learning of Shi Po's death.

There was another matter as well. Ma Hongyun had searched Shilpo Mountain Stronghold inside and out, yet he had failed to find any treasure.

Ma Hongyun was beginning to suspect that Xu Shan had not killed Shi Po for treasure after all. Still, he was certain that Xu Shan had been the one who poisoned him. Perhaps the poison had been obtained from the Tomb of Opportunities.

But it did not matter. There was plenty of time. Xu Shan was being held for now, and Zhou Hao had not paid him any attention these past two days, so Ma Hongyun could not be bothered with him either. Let him cool his heels for a few days. If they still could not find anything, they might have to use torture.

Of course, none of that had much to do with Zhou Hao. Today was the day Murong would arrive, so he planned to take a bath first and properly welcome her.

As for Zhou Yuanbao and Mu Jinyin, he had already sent them away. They should be with Yezi now. After all, what he and Murong were about to do was very private.

For that reason, Zhou Hao had shut all the windows and such. He was now lighting the room with candles.

"Whew~"

Zhou Hao looked at the bathing tub, let out a soft breath, and sighed. "It would be nice if there were some flower petals."

Still, it was fine without them. He would just make do and wash up!

With that thought, he flew into the bathing tub and happily scrubbed his body.

Just as he was halfway through his bath, a flash of red light streaked past. Murong appeared before the tub, and her gaze happened to take in every inch of him.

Zhou Hao froze for a moment, then instinctively covered his private parts.

"Pfft~"

Murong was amused by his reaction. "It's not like I haven't seen it before. What are you covering up for?"

After giving it some thought, Zhou Hao realized that seemed true enough. He simply exposed himself openly before Murong, but quickly covered up again because a few improper thoughts had risen in him.

This was embarrassing to death.

Murong swept her gaze around the room before looking back at Zhou Hao. Covering her mouth as she laughed, she said, "You were waiting for me to come, weren't you?"

Zhou Hao nodded and admitted it generously. "Yes."

Murong looked over the somewhat dim chamber. A fist-sized Luminous Pearl suddenly appeared in her hand. With a gentle toss, it floated in midair like a light bulb glowing white, and the chamber instantly brightened.

Zhou Hao opened his mouth. He was somewhat shocked inside at the sight of such a large Luminous Pearl, but his face remained calm as he said, "Um... it ruined the dark and quiet atmosphere. The mood disappeared all at once."

Murong paused. Looking at the brightly lit surroundings, she felt that it did seem to spoil the mood somewhat, so she took the "light bulb" down again.

Then she carefully sensed the surroundings and nodded in satisfaction. "Mm, this atmosphere is good."

The room abruptly became dark again, leaving Zhou Hao somewhat unaccustomed to it. Actually, the one just now would have been fine too.

But he did not say it aloud, lest Murong change it again.

Murong looked at Zhou Hao, raised an eyebrow, pondered for a moment, and asked meaningfully, "You want to do it with me here..."

She did not finish her sentence, but her expression was full of teasing amusement.

"Uh..." Zhou Hao had yet to say anything.

Murong had already appeared above him. A formation had silently been laid down, and her clothes gradually slipped away before slowly falling into the water. She pressed Zhou Hao beneath her.

Zhou Hao's mouth twitched. You're a little too impatient, aren't you? He wanted to say that he had already arranged everything outside, even preparing a bed.

But Murong's reaction sent the blood rushing to his head, scattering every other thought like smoke in the wind. All that remained was the desire to entwine with Murong.

Soon after, in the dim chamber lit only by a single candle, a splendid scene of "spring warming and flowers blooming" unfolded...

After the two had lingered together, Murong used divine power to dry the droplets of water from her body. Clothes appeared on her, after which she blew out the candle and replaced it with the Luminous Pearl.

Zhou Hao wiped his damp hair and looked at the Luminous Pearl. "This thing must be worth a lot, right?"

"It's so-so. It's not worth much." Murong spoke casually.

She paused, then looked at Zhou Hao. "If you like it, take it. I have plenty more."

With a wave of her hand, a string of Luminous Pearls appeared and circled around her.

Zhou Hao narrowed his eyes and raised a hand to block the blinding light.

Seeing that Zhou Hao was somewhat uncomfortable, Murong immediately put away the Luminous Pearls, leaving only two or three and stuffing them into Zhou Hao's arms.

Zhou Hao accepted them with a blank expression, the corner of his mouth twitching nonstop as he grumbled inwardly, Big sis, can you not do this? You're making it look like I'm in that line of work.

That was what he thought, but he still had to accept them. Murong was a super-rich woman, after all. She did not care about such trifles.

"This time, I brought you some books. Read them when you have time," Murong suddenly said.

Zhou Hao nodded. "You really brought them? How many?"

"Twenty-three, I think. I specifically picked them based on your situation." A tall stack of books had already appeared in Murong's hands, seeming as weightless as air.

Zhou Hao glanced at the bathing tub and said, "Let's go out and talk."

Murong put away the books and followed Zhou Hao out of the chamber into the larger room. The moment she emerged, she froze.

"This is..."