It was already late at night, and the tavern had closed.
Dongfang Bai was about to knock when Hao Shuai stopped her. He took her straight to the roof of the wine cellar, lifted a roof tile, and drew up a jar of wine. At the same time, he tossed down a gold bean to pay for it.
"Fine wine deserves a fine view! Come with me."
Hao Shuai led the way, taking Dongfang Bai to a field of dandelions.
"Brother Dong, the moon is lovely, and this place is breathtaking. Why don't we drink here and have a chat?" Hao Shuai sat down on the ground, popped the seal, took a swig straight from the jar, and spoke to Dongfang Bai.
"Sure!" Dongfang Bai smiled, took the jar Hao Shuai handed her, and drank from it too.
"Brother Hao, your martial arts seem impressive. What do you think of the righteous and wicked factions in the martial world?" Dongfang Bai asked.
"What makes someone righteous? What makes someone wicked?"
Instead of answering Miss Dongfang's question, Hao Shuai asked one of his own.
"To me, it doesn't matter whether someone is righteous or wicked. If I like them, they're righteous. If I don't, they're wicked. As long as they don't provoke me or get in the way of my goals, they have nothing to do with me."
"Oh? Then may I ask what your goal is, Brother Hao?" Dongfang Bai asked curiously.
"Heh heh! My goal is to become the man who is Number One Under Heaven!" Hao Shuai said, staring straight at Dongfang Bai.
"Number One Under Heaven? Brother Hao, do you know that the one acknowledged as Number One Under Heaven is Dongfang Bubai of the Sun Moon Holy Cult? Are you confident you can defeat her?" Feeling a little embarrassed by Hao Shuai's stare, Dongfang Bai glared at him, then turned away as she spoke.
"Whether I can beat her is another matter. But sooner or later, I'll make her kneel in front of me and sing 'I Surrender.'" Hao Shuai declared confidently.
The two chatted as time slowly passed. Before long, only half the wine remained in the jar.
"The full moon and this lovely scenery—if only someone would dance with a sword! Too bad I don't know swordplay," Hao Shuai said, his eyes bleary with drunkenness.
"Drinking wine while watching a sword dance? I didn't know you had such refined tastes, Brother Hao. Allow me," Dongfang Bai said.
Dongfang Bai drew out a ribbon and began to dance beneath the moon.
Watching Dongfang Bai's figure, Hao Shuai murmured without thinking, "Beneath the moon, a sword dances; I drink my wine of immortality!" Then he downed the rest of the wine in the jar.
He stood and walked over to Dongfang Bai, smiling. "I don't know why, but I feel like we're getting along better and better, Brother Dong." Before he could finish, the wine suddenly hit him. Hao Shuai stumbled and nearly fell.
"Hey, Brother Hao, what's wrong?" Dongfang Bai hurried over to steady him and asked anxiously.
"I'm fine. I just drank too much. I'm a little dizzy, that's all. By the way, Brother Dong, why are your pectoral muscles so well developed?" Hao Shuai said.
"Ah~~"
"Thud!"
The punch rang out sharply across the silent fields. Dongfang Bai had thrown it on reflex, and it caught Hao Shuai squarely around the eye, sending him flying.
Fortunately, Dongfang Bai had only punched reflexively and hadn't used her internal energy. Hao Shuai had also mastered the Golden Bell Shield Iron Cloth Shirt, so he escaped internal injuries.
Dongfang Bai was both angry and mortified. She turned and walked away. After a few steps, she noticed the silence behind her and looked back. Hao Shuai was lying on the ground, motionless.
"Hao Shuai, are you dead?" Dongfang Bai snapped.
After a while, Hao Shuai still hadn't gotten up. She began to panic and was about to go help him when she heard a string of "Hoo... hoo..." sounds. Looking down, she realized it was Hao Shuai snoring in his sleep.
Looking at the sleeping Hao Shuai, Dongfang Bai wanted to punch him again. In the end, she couldn't bring herself to do it, so she turned and left.
Poor Hao Shuai was left to spend the night outdoors.
The next day, the sun's heat woke Hao Shuai.
He got up and looked around. He was in the dandelion field from the night before. His eye socket felt sore and swollen, so he took out a mirror to check.
His whole eye socket was bruised and swollen!
Damn!
Dongfang Bai really hadn't held back! Looks like getting a little advantage wasn't going to be easy!
As it turned out, Hao Shuai had done it on purpose the night before. He'd also been pretending to sleep afterward. Maybe he'd been afraid she would beat him to death on the spot!
Hao Shuai straightened his clothes and circulated the blood and qi in his face until the bruising and swelling disappeared. Then he returned to the village from the night before. The village chief told him that Yi Lin had left early that morning after waiting for Hao Shuai in vain.
After a quick wash, Hao Shuai left the village and flew toward Hengyang City.
Hengyang lay south of Mount Heng, and since ancient times, three waterways had served as natural barriers to the great river. Because "yang" referred to the sunny side of a mountain or the northern bank of a river, the city had received its name. And because wild geese flying south paused here to rest their wings, it was poetically known as the "City of Geese." Its scenery was beautiful.
By the time Hao Shuai reached the outskirts of Hengyang City, it was already getting late.
Inside the city, Hengyang was bustling with noise and crowds. Along with the ordinary residents, there were many martial artists carrying all kinds of weapons.
Hao Shuai knew it was because of Liu Zhengfeng's Golden Basin Hand-Washing Ceremony.
After wandering around for a while, he looked up. The sun was directly overhead; it was clearly already noon, and his stomach was growling.
As luck would have it, Hao Shuai was right beside the famous Returning Goose Tower in Hengyang City. He went straight in, and the waiter led him to a table on the second floor. He quickly wiped it down and asked respectfully,
"Sir, what would you like to eat?"
"Bring me one of everything from your signature menu. No wine." Hao Shuai tossed the waiter a gold bean and gave his order.
"Certainly! Please wait a moment, sir. Your food will be right out!" After receiving the gold bean, the waiter's smile grew even more obsequious.
Food really did arrive quickly when a rich patron ordered it. Hao Shuai hadn't even finished two cups of tea before the dishes started coming out.
When all the dishes had arrived, Hao Shuai dug in as if he'd starved to death.
Halfway through his meal, he suddenly heard a familiar voice downstairs.
Hao Shuai looked down and spotted them.
Well, look who it was!
And there were two of them!
Yi Lin had been captured by Tian Boguang again.
"Tian Boguang, how do you plan to die this time?" Hao Shuai called directly to him.
"You!" Tian Boguang looked up at the voice, saw Hao Shuai, and immediately grabbed Yi Lin and fled outside with his Lightness Skill.
Hao Shuai wasn't in a hurry when he saw him run. He leisurely ate a few more bites and took a sip of tea before leaving Returning Goose Tower to chase after Tian Boguang.
Tian Boguang certainly lived up to his nickname, the Lone Traveler. His Lightness Skill was truly impressive; even with someone in tow, he could run faster than a horse. The two of them chased and fled, gradually heading out of the city.
Ten li outside the city, Tian Boguang realized he still couldn't shake Hao Shuai. He struck Yi Lin unconscious with a palm and threw her toward Hao Shuai.
Hao Shuai hurriedly caught Yi Lin. Her warm, soft body stirred something in him. He also felt something incredibly soft under his hand—he had accidentally pressed it against her chest.
So big!
What had she eaten to grow like that?
It must have been hereditary. Dongfang Bai was pretty well-endowed too.
Thinking of Dongfang Bai, Hao Shuai quickly moved his hand away.
By then, Tian Boguang had run nearly two hundred meters. Hao Shuai couldn't be bothered to play cat and mouse with him, so he took out an MP40 submachine gun and fired a burst at him.
"Dudududu..."
He emptied all 32 rounds in one go. When he looked at Tian Boguang again, the man was lying in a pool of blood.
Hao Shuai realized that firearms were still a serious threat to martial artists below the Xiantian realm. He had no idea whether they would still be effective against those above it.
Hao Shuai carried Yi Lin over to Tian Boguang. Tian Boguang was still breathing, struggling as if he wanted to say something. Hao Shuai didn't waste words and fired one last shot, ending his suffering.
No matter how much Tian Boguang tried to redeem himself, he couldn't change the fact that he was a lecher. Hao Shuai had nothing to say to lechers like him; he simply killed them.
As usual, Hao Shuai searched the body. He found a copy of the Gale Blade Technique in Tian Boguang's robes, but not his Lightness Skill manual. He couldn't be bothered to dispose of the body. They were out in the wild; something would take care of it.
Seeing that Yi Lin still hadn't woken up, Hao Shuai didn't try to rouse her. Instead, he shifted her from his arms to his back.
When Yi Lin lay against Hao Shuai's back, an indescribably wonderful sensation washed over him. It was late summer, and Yi Lin was already dressed lightly. On top of that, people in ancient times didn't wear bras like people did in modern times. That feeling... Hao Shuai could only pay his respects with a slight hardening.
And so Hao Shuai carried Yi Lin on his back and slowly headed back. Don't ask why he didn't use his telekinesis to fly back. The answer was simple: he was an unromantic blockhead.
Before you continue