At Da Ming's words, Er Ming's expression shifted slightly. His fist clenched unconsciously, but a moment later, he slowly relaxed it.
He took a deep breath and nodded earnestly.
"I understand, big brother."
Da Ming didn't respond. His gaze remained calm as he looked out of the carriage, saying nothing more.
There were some things he hadn't told Er Ming.
Since some kind of power here could shield Tang San's perception, then if he could find the source of that power, perhaps...
He could make a run for it.
He could use that power to conceal his presence, then leave the troubled Douluo Continent and finally gain his freedom. That might not be a way out, after all!
Of course... for now, it was only an idea. He wasn't even sure what kind of existence could be the source of a power capable of shielding even a God King.
He'd take things one step at a time...
The carriage rolled on, and the caravan naturally sank into Shrek City beneath the deepening night.
A few days later, at Ping'an Pharmacy, the sun was already high in the sky.
Sunlight slanted through the carved wooden window into Jiang Ci'an's room. Outside, the bustle of the street could be heard faintly, a clear sign that it was already quite late.
Jiang Ci'an sat cross-legged on the bed, eyes closed, seemingly deep in meditation.
Suddenly, the door was gently knocked.
"Knock, knock, knock."
Three taps, neither light nor heavy, and then Xiao Xiao poked her head in.
Her dark green hair fell through the gap in the door. Her emerald eyes blinked, and her little face showed both the concern of not having seen him all night and the dazed look of someone who'd only recently woken up.
"Ci'an?"
Her soft, sweet voice brought Jiang Ci'an back to himself.
He rubbed his forehead as if sorting out his thoughts. A moment later, he smiled at Xiao Xiao.
"Sorry, I got carried away meditating."
As he spoke, he slowly rose under Xiao Xiao's gaze and rolled his stiff shoulders.
He'd spent another whole night in the Virtual World, chiseling away at Xiao Wu's... Soul Rings, and making Xiao Wu sacrifice herself all night long.
But, unfortunately, he still hadn't made much progress today.
He'd watched Tang Hao detonate his rings plenty of times, observing every detail, from the technique of a Titled Douluo to the fluctuations in Soul Power.
But doing it himself was a completely different matter.
His brain had learned it, but his hands hadn't.
Still, he wasn't too discouraged. When he'd first developed the Body Tempering Method, he'd blown himself up day after day. Hadn't he still managed to succeed in the end?
His Martial Soul wasn't some special, conceptual Martial Soul like "energy." With a high-difficulty technique like this, he'd just have to take his time.
The good news, though, was that while his consciousness was active in the Virtual World, his real body meditated on its own, so his cultivation didn't fall behind.
And this state could replace sleep, so he didn't suffer from fatigue. That was at least a blessing amid misfortune.
As for Xiao Wu, she'd sacrificed herself who knew how many times in one night...
After changing his clothes, Jiang Ci'an walked over to Xiao Xiao and gave his childhood sweetheart a quick look.
Today, Xiao Xiao wore a pale green short-sleeved top. The soft fabric fitted close to her body, cinched at the waist and outlining her slender figure just right.
Below, she wore a light-colored skirt that fell to her knees, revealing slender calves wrapped in white stockings. She was like a green bamboo shoot washed clean by the morning dew, her bearing neat and fresh.
Jiang Ci'an felt fortunate.
He had to look at flesh and bones all night, every night, but at least his childhood sweetheart changed into a different pretty outfit every day to wake him.
Every time he opened his eyes, she seemed to cleanse him, easing the strain on his mind.
Still, he couldn't go on relying on his childhood sweetheart like this forever. He needed to find some way to let off steam.
Of course, he could still hold on for now.
Putting aside all those stray thoughts, Jiang Ci'an naturally took his childhood sweetheart's hand.
They walked down the corridor and into the main hall, where breakfast had already been laid out.
Today's breakfast was once again a special medicinal meal. It tasted good and aided cultivation, supplying the energy needed for his usual Martial Way training. Other than being costly, it had no drawbacks.
They sat across from each other, eating as they talked about cultivation.
"...I trained until ten last night, got up at seven this morning, then did an hour of the Body Tempering Method before bathing and changing..."
Xiao Xiao answered obediently. As always, she took her training seriously and refused to waste a moment.
"This level of training is already about your limit. You can't do more than that. Remember the supplements I prescribed for you—you have to finish them every day..."
Jiang Ci'an carefully laid out a training plan for Xiao Xiao and went over the schedule for the next few days as well.
Xiao Xiao memorized every detail and nodded, the earnest look on her little face just like the one she wore while training.
A little while later, they finished breakfast.
A servant carried away the empty bowls and plates, then informed Jiang Ci'an that a guest had arrived and was waiting in the reception room.
Jiang Ci'an understood. He led Xiao Xiao across the courtyard and saw that the door of the room ahead was ajar.
Through the gap, he could see a kind-faced middle-aged man inside. The sharpness and geniality typical of a merchant showed in his features as he sat with a teacup in hand, drinking at his leisure.
Jiang Ci'an pushed open the door and walked over with a smile. "Mr. Ning."
Ning Zhicheng immediately set down his teacup, beaming as he rose to greet him. "Boss Jiang, it's been a long time."
"Not that long. It's only been three months." Jiang Ci'an smiled and invited him to sit, then took the seat across from him and casually nudged the teapot toward him.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting, Mr. Ning. Let's not waste your time. Shall we get started?"
"Straight to the point, as always, Boss Jiang."
Ning Zhicheng smiled and nodded. As he spoke, he took several stacks of books from the Storage Soul Tool at his waist and arranged them neatly on the table.
They were all account books.
Jiang Ci'an understood, took them, and began his usual audit.
After his parents had passed away, he'd sold off most of their holdings to avoid trouble, exchanging them for piles of Gold Soul Coins.
But he'd kept the businesses close to Shrek City, such as the herb farms and the Soft Bone Rabbit breeding operation.
He'd also continued his long-standing partnership with the Nine Treasures Chamber of Commerce under the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, selling some of his herbs and meat across the continent through their channels.
The middle-aged man before him was Ning Zhicheng, chairman of the Nine Treasures Chamber of Commerce's Shrek City branch.
He'd been a business partner of Jiang Ci'an's parents. Though they hadn't been particularly close, Ning Zhicheng had still looked after Jiang Ci'an after his parents passed away.
When Jiang Ci'an sold off certain businesses, Ning Zhicheng hadn't driven down the price; he'd offered him a fair deal.
They still worked together today, balancing the books every three months without fail, just as before.
Jiang Ci'an opened the account books and read through them one page at a time.
He went at a steady pace, pausing over each page to study the figures and occasionally flipping back to check them again.
Xiao Xiao sat quietly beside him, watching. The dense lines of ink in the account books were reflected in her emerald eyes as she silently learned.
Time passed little by little.
Before long, Jiang Ci'an closed the last ledger and set it aside.
"The accounts look fine."
He looked up at Ning Zhicheng, puzzled. "But... why did you calculate an extra twenty percent for me?"
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