Murong Arrives with the Book

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

The Sky Dome Continent had five great super-empires, each covering a vast territory. However, these were too far removed from the lives of Ma Hongyun and his people, so they didn't know much about them.

Zhou Hao did learn from Ma Hongyun that the country they were currently in was a third-class nation called Qinan Kingdom.

There were five classes of countries. Fifth-class nations were the lowest on the Sky Dome Continent. Generally, they were characterized by weak national strength, lack of resources, and small land area, surviving by relying on larger powers.

Therefore, as a third-class nation, Qinan Kingdom had decent national strength.

But Ma Hongyun and his people didn't care about these things. They only cared about how much they earned each day and how they would live in the future. It could be said that although they lived in Qinan Kingdom, they didn't truly have Qinan Kingdom in their hearts.

However, this was also normal, as Qinan Kingdom didn't manage these remote areas. This was why bandits had been so rampant in the past.

About eighty li outside Shilpo Mountain Stronghold, there was a large town. Ma Hongyun and his people collected protection fees from merchants passing through that town.

It had now become a standardized procedure. Anyone passing through would proactively pay Shilpo Mountain Stronghold, and in return, they could travel safely. Shilpo Mountain Stronghold would send people to protect them.

The fees for passage were collected by Shilpo Mountain Stronghold, and the fees for the return journey were collected by Tiger Fiend Stockade. This was an agreement between Shi Po and the leader of Tiger Fiend Stockade, and it had been in effect for seven years, with both sides coexisting peacefully.

However, now that Shi Po was dead, it was uncertain if Tiger Fiend Stockade would develop other ideas. This would depend on Tiger Fiend Stockade's actions after learning of Shi Po's death.

There was also another matter: Ma Hongyun had searched the entire Shilpo Mountain Stronghold from top to bottom but hadn't found any treasure.

Ma Hongyun was starting to doubt if Xu Shan had killed Shi Po for treasure. However, he was certain that Xu Shan was the one who administered the poison, and perhaps the poison was obtained from the Tomb of Opportunities.

But it didn't matter. There was plenty of time. Xu Shan was temporarily imprisoned, and Zhou Hao hadn't paid attention to Xu Shan these past two days. Ma Hongyun was also too lazy to bother with Xu Shan, deciding to let him cool his heels for a couple of days. If they still couldn't find anything, they might have to resort to torture.

Of course, all of this had little to do with Zhou Hao. Today was the day Murong was supposed to arrive, so he planned to take a bath first to welcome Murong.

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

For this reason, Zhou Hao had closed the windows and everything else. He was now using a candle for light.

"Hoo~"

Zhou Hao looked at the bathtub and let out a soft breath, sighing, "If only there were some flower petals."

But it was fine like this; he'd make do with the bath!

Thinking this, he jumped into the bathtub and began to scrub himself with relish.

Just as he was halfway through his bath, a red light flashed, and Murong appeared in front of the bathtub, her gaze falling directly on him.

Zhou Hao froze for a moment, then instinctively covered himself.

"Pfft~"

Murong was amused by his action. "It's not like I haven't seen it before, why cover up?"

Zhou Hao thought about it and realized she was right. He decided to brazenly expose himself to Murong, but he quickly covered himself again because he had a mischievous thought.

This was so embarrassing.

Murong glanced around the room and then looked back at Zhou Hao, covering her mouth as she chuckled, "You were waiting for me here, weren't you?"

Zhou Hao nodded, readily admitting, "Yes."

Murong looked at the somewhat dim private room and suddenly produced a fist-sized luminous pearl. She tossed it gently, and the luminous pearl floated in mid-air, like a light bulb emitting white light. The room instantly became bright.

Zhou Hao's mouth fell open. He was somewhat surprised by the sight of such a large luminous pearl, but he calmly said, "Um... it ruined the dark and quiet atmosphere. The mood is completely gone."

Murong paused, looked around the brightly lit room, and realized it did somewhat spoil the mood. So, she "uninstalled" the "light bulb."

Then, she felt the atmosphere carefully and nodded with satisfaction, "Mhm, this atmosphere is good."

The room suddenly became dark again, which Zhou Hao found a bit disorienting. He thought to himself, Actually, the previous one was fine too.

But he didn't say it out loud, lest Murong change her mind again.

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

She didn't finish her sentence, but her expression was full of playfulness.

"Uh..." Zhou Hao hadn't spoken yet.

Murong had already appeared above him. A formation had been quietly set up, and her clothes were slowly coming off. Finally, she slowly sank into the water, pinning Zhou Hao beneath her.

Zhou Hao's mouth twitched. Aren't you a bit too eager? He really wanted to say that he had already prepared everything outside, even the bed.

But Murong's reaction made his brain flood with blood, and all other thoughts vanished, leaving only the desire to be intimate with Murong.

Following that, a scene of "spring warmth and blooming flowers" unfolded in the dimly lit private room, illuminated by a single candle...

After their intimate moment, Murong used her divine power to dry the water droplets on her body. Her clothes reappeared, and then she blew out the candle, replacing it with the luminous pearl.

Zhou Hao wiped his damp hair and looked at the luminous pearl, asking, "Is this thing very valuable?"

"So-so! It's not worth much," Murong said casually.

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

As she spoke, she waved her hand, and a string of luminous pearls circled around her.

Zhou Hao narrowed his eyes and used his hand to shield himself from the blinding light.

Seeing that Zhou Hao was a bit uncomfortable, Murong immediately put the luminous pearls away, leaving two or three to be tucked into Zhou Hao's embrace.

Zhou Hao accepted it with a blank expression, his mouth twitching. He silently complained in his heart, "Big sister, can you not do this? You're making me look like I'm in that line of work."

That's what he thought, but he still had to accept it. After all, Murong was a super-rich woman, and she wouldn't care about this little thing.

"I brought you some books this time. Take a look when you have time!" Murong said out of the blue.

Zhou Hao nodded, "You actually brought them? How many?"

"Twenty-three, I believe! I specifically selected them based on your situation." A tall stack of books already appeared in Murong's hands, seeming weightless.

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

Murong put the books away and followed Zhou Hao out of the private room into the main chamber. She froze for a moment as soon as she stepped out.

"What is this..."