Preparation Before Departure

Spirit Hall in Nuoding City was not far from the City Lord's Mansion.

The two buildings stood on Nuoding Avenue, Nuoding City's busiest street, one on each side, both exceptionally grand.

Though they were not as beautiful as the buildings from his previous life, they were still far more luxurious than Spirit Hall in Holy Spirit Village.

"Xiao Wu, let's go in."

Li Chen tugged on Xiao Wu's hand. He knew what she was hesitating over. She was probably afraid there might be a Soul Douluo-level expert inside who would see through her disguise and capture her. But Li Chen knew that while this place was not exactly the middle of nowhere, it was virtually impossible for such an expert to be in this small city.

Except for that oddball Tang Hao.

Xiao Wu hesitated for a moment before following Li Chen inside.

It was her first time entering Spirit Hall. Before this, Li Chen had always collected her Gold Soul Coins for her.

The two went to the Gold Soul Coin collection window. After receiving the money without issue, Xiao Wu pulled Li Chen out of Spirit Hall at once. Though there definitely were no high-level Soul Masters here, she was still a little worried.

"Li Chen, what are we buying next?"

Xiao Wu asked lightly.

"First, we'll buy some food, the kind that's already cooked. Fried sauce noodles, pork knuckles, spicy rabbit legs..."

Li Chen accidentally revealed his own preferences.

Xiao Wu had been thrilled upon hearing the first two, but the moment she heard "spicy rabbit legs," she instantly turned red with rage.

Her face flushed crimson as she said to Li Chen word by word, "Bunnies are so cute. Why would you eat bunnies?!"

"Listen, Li Chen. From now on, you're not allowed to eat bunnies. You can't eat anything related to bunnies!"

"And you can't use rabbit fur either, understand?"

Seeing Xiao Wu puffed up in anger, Li Chen found her utterly adorable.

He could not help wanting to tease her.

"Xiao Wu, are you saying I can't eat anything related to rabbits?"

"That's right!"

Li Chen pinched her plump little cheek and leaned closer. "Then what if I like a certain cute little bunny and want to eat her in one bite?"

"Ha ha ha."

Li Chen walked ahead, while Xiao Wu stood frozen in place for quite a while before understanding what he meant. Embarrassment and secret delight immediately surged through her heart.

"Li Chen, wait for me."

Xiao Wu hurried after him and took his hand. "What are we buying first?"

Li Chen said nothing and went straight to a carrot stall.

"Boss, how much are these carrots?"

"Two Copper Soul Coins per jin. How much do you want?"

Li Chen looked Xiao Wu over, then asked uncertainly, "Xiao Wu, how much can you eat in a day?"

Xiao Wu wanted to say she could eat two jin a day, but she felt saying two jin outright would not be good. It would hurt her image as the elegant Miss Xiao Wu. A cute girl like her should eat very little, right?

"One jin a day."

Xiao Wu answered with her head lowered, twisting the corner of her clothes.

Li Chen could tell from her shy manner that Xiao Wu had definitely understated it. She hugged a carrot and gnawed on it every day; how could she possibly eat only one jin? She treated carrots as snacks.

"We'll be gone for around thirty days, so that would be... Forget it. Let's just get a hundred jin."

"Boss, we'll take one Gold Soul Coin's worth. Can you deliver them? As you can see, we can't carry them all."

The stall owner was a kind-looking old woman. "If it isn't too far, I'll deliver them for you two little ones."

Selling so much in one go made her incredibly happy.

"Just deliver them to Nuoding Academy. I'll pay you first."

Li Chen directly handed the old woman a Gold Soul Coin. He had already said they were from Nuoding Academy, so she likely would not dare go back on her word. Besides, he had bought so many carrots at once.

The nearby stall owners were all watching. Unless the old woman moved to another city or stopped doing business altogether, she would certainly honor her promise and deliver the carrots.

Xiao Wu smiled sheepishly. "Li Chen, why did you buy so many? I don't eat much."

Xiao Wu's voice was weak. Miss Xiao Wu was a lady, after all. How could she possibly eat that much? Though it might indeed be just a tiny bit more, she certainly would not show it in front of a boy.

Li Chen naturally knew what Xiao Wu was thinking. He scraped her nose. "Of course I know our Xiao Wu doesn't eat much, but I bought extra because I'll eat some too. I eat a lot."

Xiao Wu knew Li Chen never ate carrots. She had recommended them to him long ago, but aside from the one bite she had forced into his mouth, he had not eaten another bite.

So all of these had been bought for her.

Li Chen is so thoughtful. He knows I like them, and he still wants to save me face.

But Xiao Wu quickly realized a problem. "Li Chen, if you buy so much, how are we going to carry it? Besides carrots, we still need to bring other things too, right?"

Li Chen took off the Rose Gold Ring on his hand. Then, under Xiao Wu's stunned gaze, he took her hand and put it on her finger.

"Li Chen, what are you doing?"

Though Xiao Wu had little experience with the world, following Li Chen around among a group of boys every day had made her somewhat more mature. She knew what giving someone a ring meant.

"Xiao Wu, this ring my parents left me is actually a precious Storage Spirit Tool. As long as you inject Soul Power into it, you can store things inside. Try it."

Xiao Wu followed Li Chen's instructions and poured a little Soul Power into it. She saw a vast, gray space within, leaving her too shocked to speak.

"Xiao Wu, it's for you."

Xiao Wu's face was full of surprise and confusion. "What? Why are you giving it to me?"

"I've wanted to give it to you for a long time. You love eating carrots so much, and with this, you won't have to carry so many every day. Besides, we're going Soul Hunting with Yu Xiaogang and Tang San this time. They'll definitely notice that we have this ring."

"To keep Yu Xiaogang and Tang San from getting greedy over it, you need to pretend to be a disciple from a Great Clan who is out gaining experience. That way, even if Tang San and that Yu Xiaogang have any ideas, they probably won't dare act rashly!"

"And this ring can keep food from spoiling."

Xiao Wu's face lit up with delight. "Then that means we can buy lots of delicious food now and put it inside?"

Li Chen nodded. "That's right, but we only have four Gold Soul Coins left, so it's best to buy ingredients and seasonings. That'll be cheaper. We can cook for ourselves when the time comes and treat it like a picnic."

Xiao Wu asked doubtfully, "Then Li Chen, why didn't you just store the carrots away earlier?"

"Silly girl, if we'd stored them away right then, everyone would know we had a treasure. Never flaunt your wealth!"

Li Chen and Xiao Wu spent all their money.

They spent five Silver Soul Coins on a Camping Tent and another five Silver Soul Coins on a knife.

They used their remaining three Gold Soul Coins to buy pork, flour, and seasonings.