Carrying Wine and Singing Long Songs

"See you again if fate allows."

"Alright, actually, what I wanted to say is that regardless of your gender, Bai Qiuran would treat you as a friend. Bai Qiuran wants to be friends with you not because of gender, status, or ability, but because of the courage you showed in drawing your blade to help. If you encounter any difficulties in the future, you can tell Bai Qiuran, and he will do his best to help."

"Goodbye, Bai Qiuran."

Ignoring the enthusiastic greetings from both sides of the street, Bai Qiuran passed through the street and went straight into a shop selling alchemy materials, which was opened by a small alchemy sect.

"I'm sorry, someone came to buy a large batch recently, and we are out of stock."

"Oh, the person who bought them is most likely my fellow sect member."

In three thousand years of time and several travels, Bai Qiuran had long since grown accustomed to such partings. Ignoring strength, status, and lifespan, he had made a friend in Tang Ruowei based on his mood, and naturally, he treated Tang Ruowei as his friend.

Bai Qiuran smiled and cupped his hands. Living life with joy and settling grudges decisively—this was his current way of life.

After a pause, he added: "For example, right now."

The shopkeeper replied apologetically.

As the wall dissipated like mist, a wide street appeared before Bai Qiuran. On both sides of the street, there were many stalls set up by Cultivators, displaying rare treasures they had found from various places, as well as books or refined Magic Treasures and Flying Swords.

And in the buildings on both sides of the street were shops opened by small and medium-sized Cultivation sects of Guzhou, specifically catering to Cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage.

"No need, I'm fine." Hearing Bai Qiuran's question, Tang Wei bit her lip; this was her subconscious little habit.

Tang Wei—no, Tang Ruowei—replied.

Bai Qiuran also bid her farewell: "Please take care, let's meet again if fate allows."

"Then, this time it's my turn to invite you."

In the limited time Tang Ruowei had to live, Bai Qiuran would treat her as he would a close friend. When Tang Ruowei eventually left this world, if Bai Qiuran were still alive hundreds of years later, he would, if he were in the mood, bring a pot of fine wine and visit the grave of his old friend.

Tang Ruowei hesitated for a moment, then said: "You have already saved my life once; I have no right to ask for more... Besides, I am only returning to the capital to attend the routine Heaven Worship Ceremony. I am a Grand Princess, after all; the villains wouldn't dare do anything to me for now."

Moreover, occasionally, this Cultivator market would see titans of the Cultivation World appear to exchange rare materials for special items. For instance, as Bai Qiuran knew, Jueyunzi and those elders often snuck here to trade the rare treasures they found during their travels for items they deemed precious, satisfying their own eccentricities.

"Is that so? That's good." Bai Qiuran gave a perfunctory reply, then put away his list, apologized, and walked straight out of the pharmacy.

"Are you going to travel together on the way to the capital of the Shangxuan Kingdom?"

At the same time, the Foundation Establishment Pill was actually still missing a few auxiliary herbs, and he intended to acquire them in the capital of the Shangxuan Kingdom as well.

Having found the necessary medicinal herbs and accompanying Tang Ruowei, who was still disguised as a man, he spent some time spreading the news of the Yao Mo's defeat near Mang Mountain.

"No, no, no, I only found one of the medicines. My time is running out, and I need to find another set of medicinal materials to extend my life."

Relying on memories from hundreds of years ago, Bai Qiuran successfully found the entrance to this market. Pinching a basic spell to break illusions, he passed through the wall of a dead-end alley in the capital of the Shangxuan Kingdom and entered a space inside.

Therefore, to avoid suspicion, he was very cautious along the way, perfectly maintaining the demeanor of a gentleman and not letting anything ambiguous happen with Tang Ruowei.

"Boss, take a look, are these materials also out of stock?"

However, after he and Tang Ruowei finished clearing out the Corpse Demon, such things did not happen again.

The shopkeeper took it and looked at it, then nodded.

Sometimes, Bai Qiuran had to admit that what Tang Ruowei said made sense; Cultivators, especially high-level ones, really had many hypocritical fellows among them.

After bidding farewell to the interesting young girl Tang Ruowei, Bai Qiuran began to handle his own business. Just as he had said before, besides the Foundation Establishment Pill, he also had to refine a batch of Longevity Pill to extend his own life.

Tang Ruowei smiled.

"Wait until I inform the civilians near Mang Mountain of this news. Once that is done, I will return to the capital."

During this process, Bai Qiuran took the opportunity to inquire, and sure enough, while he was monitoring that Yao Mo, people near Mang Mountain were still being harmed. The victims had large amounts of blood drained, and their entire bodies were shriveled.

"Indeed, this batch was bought out along with the ones you wanted... May I ask why the guest knew I was out of stock?"

Although as a man who had spent three thousand years on Foundation Establishment, he had longed for the kind of "Immortal Couple" relationship between fellow disciples, Bai Qiuran's attraction to the female gender was still limited to the most normal range for a man.

Bai Qiuran did not tell Tang Ruowei about these things, but prepared to investigate slowly on his own. He had a premonition that this matter was inextricably linked to the capital of the Shangxuan Kingdom.

Bai Qiuran thought for a moment, then used his magic power to write some other materials on the list and handed it to the shopkeeper.

"Ruowei... a good name."

She smiled and said: "Although I felt very impatient when you invited me to drink at that time, you were right; making a friend is a very happy thing. I am very glad to have you as a friend on this trip."

"Goodbye, Miss Tang."

To put it plainly, he liked women with large breasts and curvy hips. For a girl whose chest was as flat as a board—feeling even flatter than his own pectoral muscles—Bai Qiuran couldn't muster any interest for the time being.

"My name is Tang Ruowei, the Grand Princess of the Shangxuan Kingdom, Tang Ruowei."

"What? They're gone?" Bai Qiuran asked in astonishment: "The things I wanted are all common materials with little use."

The two bid each other farewell in a lighthearted manner, and then Bai Qiuran watched as Tang Ruowei walked up to the Shangxuan Kingdom's guards, showed them her token, and then left under the protection and escort of a group of soldiers.

Bai Qiuran replied happily: "I would feel bored traveling alone."

"Next, I also plan to go to the capital of the Shangxuan Kingdom. There are a few materials I can buy there, and... I am also quite interested in the Imperial Advisor from the Azure Nether Sword Sect that you mentioned."

He handed the list he had prepared to the very enthusiastic shopkeeper at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, but when the other party took it and looked at it, he shook his head.

A week later, the two successfully arrived at the capital of the Shangxuan Kingdom, the largest city in the entire Shangxuan Kingdom.

Seeing that Tang Ruowei did not take the initiative to ask, Bai Qiuran did not mention it again. He turned and said: "Brother Tang... Miss Tang, are you returning to the capital now?"

Bai Qiuran shook his head with a smile.

"What about you? You've found the medicinal herbs; are you going back?"

"Alright."

At the bustling gate of the Shangxuan Kingdom, with people coming and going, Tang Ruowei, still disguised as a man, cupped her hands to bid farewell to Bai Qiuran.

Cultivators must learn to hold on, but even more so, they must learn to let go. The friendship of a gentleman is as clear as water, and the friendship of cultivators is even more so. Lifespan, cultivation level, and the various setbacks and calamities on the path of cultivation make the lives of cultivators full of variables. In the life of a cultivator, one will encounter partings caused by various reasons.

As for the fact that Tang Ruowei was actually a girl, Bai Qiuran didn't really take it to heart, because he didn't have any improper thoughts about Tang Ruowei in the first place.

So, after handling these matters, Bai Qiuran and Tang Ruowei set off together on the road back to the capital of the Shangxuan Kingdom...

Tang Ruowei glanced at Bai Qiuran.

In this capital, there was actually a small market specifically for Cultivators to trade. Although those who came here were not high-level Cultivators, and the materials traded were not precious things, these simple materials were exactly what Bai Qiuran needed.