Bath

After ordering the necessary furnace equipment and having the Blacksmith Shop deliver it to his door, Jiang Jiu and the others packed up plenty of food to take back as gifts for the academy's teachers and seniors.

During this time, Jiang Jiu also inquired about the prices of other metals, such as pure silver or pure gold.

Pure gold was surprisingly affordable, costing only twenty Gold Soul Coins per kilogram, which was double the price of Iron Essence.

Pure silver was even cheaper, at just two Gold Soul Coins per kilogram.

However, this pure gold and pure silver were essentially the benchmarks for pig iron.

Once pure silver was refined—much like how pig iron became Iron Essence—it would transform into Silver Essence.

Likewise, pure gold could also be refined into Gold Essence.

Regrettably, Gold Essence and Adamantine were two entirely different things.

Gold Essence was refined from pure gold and could also be called Pure Gold Mother, whereas Adamantine was a genuine rare metal, priced at over six hundred Gold Soul Coins per kilogram.

Despite the similarity in names, their prices and properties differed vastly.

Just as with iron, Cold Iron, and Black Iron, they were all "iron," but their prices were worlds apart.

Then there was pure silver and Deep Sea Sinking Silver; while the Silver Essence refined from pure silver had decent strength, it still paled in comparison to even the most ordinary Deep Sea Sinking Silver.

As for the price of Deep Sea Sinking Silver, there was simply none for sale right now; after all, its full name implied it could only be found on the seabed at depths exceeding a thousand meters.

Aside from pig iron, the only things Jiang Jiu could afford to play with right now were pure silver and, of course, pure copper, which was even cheaper.

That said, it wasn't as if he couldn't touch any rare metals at all. Jiang Jiu discovered something called Tungsten Steel, which was relatively affordable—more expensive than pure silver, but not so costly that it reached a hundred Gold Soul Coins per kilogram.

With Jiang Jiu's current wealth, getting ten or twenty pounds to experiment with wasn't a problem, or even a bit more, though doing so would leave him penniless.

In reality, however, obtaining that much Tungsten Steel wasn't easy.

The reason was simple: the largest Blacksmith Shop in a major city like Suotuo City wasn't actually that impressive. An annual turnover of three thousand Gold Soul Coins sounded decent, but a quick calculation showed it was equivalent to only three hundred kilograms of Iron Essence.

For a Blacksmith Shop of that caliber to source the amount of Tungsten Steel Jiang Jiu needed was quite a tall order.

He could only hope to rely on traveling merchants or try his luck at an auction house.

As for pure silver, if he pushed the shop owner to pull some strings, he might be able to get his hands on a hundred pounds or so to play with.

Pure copper was, like pig iron, available in massive quantities, so there was nothing more to say about that.

At night, Shrek Academy.

Thanks to Dean Flender's "golden word," Jiang Jiu and the others each selected the rooms they wanted to stay in.

Jiang Jiu chose two adjacent rooms, intending to knock down the wall and use them as a single suite.

The houses at Shrek Academy were truly small; the wooden dormitories were only about a dozen square meters, and the larger stone houses were only around thirty. Even with two combined, they were still significantly smaller than the place they had previously occupied in Nuoding.

After barely managing to arrange and divide the various areas as they had before, it was already time to bathe and sleep.

He hadn't cultivated at all today, making him even lazier than when he was at the Rose Hotel; he would have to make up for it tomorrow.

"Jiu, look, look! We can take baths from now on!"

Outside the door, Xiao Wu was dragging an oversized wooden tub, which was more than enough for the two of them.

The problem, however, was how to get such a large tub inside, let alone into the bathroom.

But the clever Xiao Wu had a way.

She set the tub down, hurried over to a nearby room, and knocked loudly.

"Rongrong, are you asleep?"

"Not yet, what is it, Xiao Wu?"

"Do me a favor."

Ning Rongrong became a human porter.

The space in the storage Soul Tool she carried was much larger than Tang San's; if it hadn't been for the fact that the furnace equipment at the Blacksmith Shop needed time to prepare, she could have brought the entire set back herself.

"You two really know how to enjoy yourselves," Ning Rongrong remarked, looking at the large bathroom and the matching tub.

She then added, "How about I join you guys for a soak later? I brought some essential oils and flower dew; they're great for the skin."

Ning Rongrong figured that with a tub this size, the three of them wouldn't be crowded at all.

Besides, soaking in a bath while eating snacks and chatting was exactly the kind of life she imagined good sisters should have.

"No wonder your skin is so supple," Xiao Wu began to giggle.

"No, no, I was born this way! And Xiao Wu, you're so fair and rosy yourself, your skin is no worse than mine. Your sister is even more radiant," Ning Rongrong said, engaging in some mutual flattery.

"Xiao Wu, you explain it to her. I still have some things I left with Tang San, I'm going to go grab them."

By the time Jiang Jiu returned carrying several one-meter-long Iron Essence rods, Ning Rongrong was still there, laughing and chatting with Xiao Wu.

"I won't disturb your two-person world then!" Ning Rongrong teased, waving at Xiao Wu.

She didn't mention the three-person bath again, but as she left, she stared intently at Jiang Jiu's lower body with her back to Xiao Wu, as if looking at some rare animal.

The door closed, and Jiang Jiu placed the Iron Essence rods in the designated fitness area.

Everything had to start over; while it was easy to get hold of thousands of pounds of pig iron, the Iron Essence he had on hand was relatively precious.

He had specifically smelted it down for ease of transport, as Tang San's storage Soul Tool couldn't fit a two-meter-long staff.

"Jiu, the hot water is ready."

Behind him, Xiao Wu's voice drifted over softly.

"I'm coming."

In the bathroom, the sound of trickling water echoed, and figures were hazy amidst the mist.

Furthermore, a fragrance wafted through the air.

"Did you use the Flower Dew from Ning Rongrong?"

"You don't like this scent?"

"It's alright, but it's not as fragrant as your own scent."

Jiang Jiu took a quick rinse with cold water before stepping into the wooden tub.

As for the scent of Xiao Wu that Jiang Jiu mentioned, it was indeed true.

Unlike the stimulating attraction of her Soul Power he had felt when they first met, as Xiao Wu matured, a unique, subtle fragrance had gradually emerged from her, one that felt intoxicating to smell.

"That's true, it's not as fragrant as you, Jiu. We won't use it next time then."

Watching Jiang Jiu lean against the edge of the tub, eyes closed in comfort, Xiao Wu blinked, and then her entire body seemed to lose its support, slowly sliding into the water.

A large tub really was convenient for getting up to no good.

In Ning Rongrong's room, she lay sprawled across her freshly changed bedding, swinging her feet.

Unaware of the "imperial sword" her father had handed over, she was in a fantastic mood.

The entire day had been unexpectedly fulfilling, and the few new people she had met were all very interesting.

So what? She could live perfectly well on her own out here, and she was quite happy even without pranking anyone.

As expected, the peers in her sect were just too weak.

"I wonder what Xiao Wu and the others are doing right now, could they be...?"

As she thought about it, Ning Rongrong's mind wandered, and her cheeks flushed slightly red.

She rolled over and silently hid herself under the covers.