Tears

After leaving the forest, Yuan Luo felt as though he had escaped from a cage, his whole body refreshed.

Perhaps it was just psychological, but he quickly found a carriage and sped away.

He did not head toward Suotuo City, instead picking a destination at random.

That was his old nest. He could not let it be exposed like this, so he would hide out somewhere else for a few days.

Before he knew it, Yuan Luo arrived at Yi Yuan City. This city was about the same as Suotuo City, so it was probably a major city as well.

Yet Yuan Luo had never heard of it before.

As he walked down the streets, crowds flowed past and carriages filled the roads.

It was somewhat more prosperous than Suotuo City.

He just did not know how strong its Soul Masters were.

Yuan Luo casually found a restaurant and walked straight in.

It was a small restaurant, but it was enough for Yuan Luo to have a meal.

"Customer, what would you like?"

The moment he entered, a waiter hurried over.

Yuan Luo sat down lightly and took the menu.

"Do you have any specialties?"

"Customer, the Dry-Fried Soul Beans, Braised Fried Polyp, and Wok-Tossed Beef Tendon are all specialties."

"Fine! Bring all of those, along with a few staples."

"Right away!"

Before long, dish after dish was brought to the table.

"Young man, which city is nearby?"

"Customer, Feng City is nearby."

"Do you know how to get to Suotuo City?"

"Customer, Suotuo City is far away. You'll need to cross Sunset Forest, then go to Dianhua City, and only then can you reach Suotuo City."

"Alright, I understand."

"Enjoy your meal, customer!"

Sunset Forest?

Should I take a look around?

Forget it!

Every time I go somewhere with Soul Beasts, nothing good happens!

Ahem!

Well, not exactly.

At the very least, I got a stunning beauty, a divine inheritance, and someone chasing me down... emmm...

"You ran pretty fast, didn't you?"

Suddenly, a cold voice reached Yuan Luo's ears, making his entire body tense.

When he turned around, he saw an incomparably beautiful blonde woman standing at the entrance, drawing the attention of all the men nearby.

Qian Renxue stepped forward and sat across from Yuan Luo, looking at him with a half-smile.

"Uh... waiter, bring another pair of chopsticks!"

Yuan Luo called toward the counter. Before long, a pair of chopsticks was placed before Qian Renxue.

"Well... after chasing me for so long, you must be hungry. Eat first. You can keep chasing me after you're done."

Qian Renxue pursed her lips. She truly was rather tired.

After learning that Yuan Luo had left the forest, she had immediately taken a carriage after him. Along the way, she had not even had a sip of water.

After shooting Yuan Luo a glance, Qian Renxue began eating with ladylike grace.

In her eyes, Yuan Luo could not escape anyway. She would fill her stomach first.

Yuan Luo quietly ate his meal, already having come up with a hundred ways to escape, but every single one felt far-fetched.

Before long, the food before them had been finished.

Yuan Luo handed Qian Renxue a napkin, like a boyfriend would to his girlfriend.

Unfortunately, the two of them were enemies now.

"Look, after eating our fill, we shouldn't exercise too intensely. How about we take a walk and digest our food first? You've probably never gone shopping with this face before, right?"

As soon as he said that, Qian Renxue's gaze turned strange, as if she had seen through everything.

"How do you know I've never gone shopping?"

"Uh..."

That's right, I shouldn't know that Xue Qinghe was her disguise.

What should I do!

Waiting for an answer online!

"Ahem! I guessed. After all, your status is special, and your cultivation is so high. You must have spent all your time cultivating, with no time to go shopping."

Qian Renxue fell silent. Ever since she was young, she had often gone out onto the streets, but never as a woman. Longing appeared in her eyes.

"Come on, I'll take you!"

Seeing this, Yuan Luo let out a sigh of relief. Otherwise, he would have had to run.

He grabbed Qian Renxue's bonelessly soft hand and ran into the distance.

He had not expected that the hand which had nearly killed him twice would be so soft. He really did not want to let go.

Unfortunately, it was pulled free the next second.

Qian Renxue's face was flushed with both embarrassment and anger.

"Do you want to die!"

"Well, that was instinct! Instinct!"

The two silently walked down the street without saying a word.

Yuan Luo was thinking about how to escape. He had to come up with a foolproof plan.

"Hey, what do you think of the current state of city administration and the economy?"

Just as Yuan Luo was imagining possibilities, Qian Renxue's voice reached him.

Yuan Luo was somewhat puzzled. Why was she asking this?

Had she put herself into the role of the crown prince?

Still, thoughts were thoughts, and he answered anyway.

"It's alright. Passable, I suppose."

Qian Renxue paused, then said somewhat indignantly, "What else do you think is lacking?"

Yuan Luo smiled. "Nothing much. It's just too unfair to commoners."

"Look, I came from the most ordinary village before. Where I came from, a person probably could not earn even ten Gold Soul Coins in their entire life. We ate what we grew ourselves."

"Only when we occasionally had extra goods would we exchange them for Soul Coins, and even then, we sold them cheaply. Yet those buyers would sell them to others at ten or even a hundred times the price, before supplying them to Soul Masters."

"So the gap between the rich and poor is too large. For example, some geniuses may be streets ahead of sect disciples in talent, but because their backgrounds are too weak, they ultimately end up far worse off than those with inferior talent."

"If a nation could recruit those people, it would gain an endless supply of talent. Dominating the world would take only a few decades."

"Commoners make up the majority of a nation's population. They are actually its foundation. Soul Masters generally do not farm. Once the commoners are controlled, it is equivalent to cutting off the food supply. If those things are monopolized, that nation would probably..."

Just a few words from Yuan Luo left Qian Renxue deeply shocked.

All along, their focus had been entirely on Soul Masters. No one had ever drawn close to commoners, nor had they ever considered such matters.

If they truly followed Yuan Luo's method, controlling the strength or weakness of a nation would be far too easy.

"You understand quite a lot."

Qian Renxue covered her smile with her lips. The sight left Yuan Luo entranced.

Qian Renxue was no longer the fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girl she had once been.

She was nineteen now, and a trace of mature charm could already be found in her.

Her smile now was truly capable of toppling kingdoms and captivating all living beings.

"Ah, it's nothing. Once you've lived through it, you understand these things."

Yuan Luo shook his head, just as he happened to spot someone selling Candied Hawthorn ahead.

He had not expected Candied Hawthorn to exist in this other world too.

He casually bought two sticks and handed one to Qian Renxue.

After accepting the Candied Hawthorn, she fell silent.

For some reason, another misty layer of tears welled up in her eyes.

Her hand trembled as she put the first candied hawthorn into her soft, pink mouth.

Suddenly, two streams of tears flowed from her eyes. The Candied Hawthorn entered her mouth, yet Yuan Luo did not see her chew at all.

What was going on?

Yuan Luo was puzzled. Did Candied Hawthorn hold some special meaning for her?

He took out a napkin and gently dabbed at her face.

Qian Renxue suddenly snapped out of it. She took the napkin and turned away to wipe her tears dry.