Taking a Bath

They ordered the necessary furnaces and had the Blacksmith Shop deliver them to their door. After that, Jiang Jiu and the others packed up plenty of food to take back, as gifts for the academy's teachers and senior students.

While they were at it, Jiang Jiu also asked about the prices of other metals, such as Pure Silver and Pure Gold.

Pure Gold was surprisingly affordable, at only twenty Gold Soul Coins per kilogram—twice the price of Iron Essence.

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

But in truth, Pure Gold and Pure Silver were on the same level as Pig Iron.

Once refined, Pure Silver became Silver Essence, just as Pig Iron became Iron Essence.

Likewise, Pure Gold could be refined into Gold Essence.

The unfortunate thing was that Gold Essence and Adamantine were two different things.

Gold Essence was extracted from Pure Gold and could also be called Pure Gold Mother. Adamantine, on the other hand, was a genuine rare metal, priced at over six hundred Gold Soul Coins per kilogram.

A difference in name could mean a world of difference in price and properties.

Take Pig Iron, Cold Iron, and Black Iron, for example. They were all "iron," but their prices were worlds apart.

The same went for Pure Silver and Sinking Silver. The Silver Essence refined from Pure Silver was already quite strong, but it still fell far short of even the most ordinary Sinking Silver.

As for Sinking Silver, there was none for sale at all. Its full name was Deep Sea Sinking Silver, and it could only be found beneath the sea at depths of over a thousand meters.

Aside from Pig Iron, the only thing Jiang Jiu could afford to tinker with for now was Pure Silver. Of course, there was also Pure Copper, which was even cheaper.

But it wasn't as though he couldn't play around with any rare metals at all. Jiang Jiu had discovered a metal called Tungsten Steel that was relatively affordable. It cost more than Pure Silver, but not so much that it reached a hundred Gold Soul Coins per kilogram.

With Jiang Jiu's current assets, he could afford to get ten or twenty pounds to play around with, or even a little more. Though at that rate, he'd soon be flat broke.

But in truth, getting that much Tungsten Steel wouldn't be easy.

The reason was simple: even the biggest Blacksmith Shop in the major city of Suotuo wasn't all that impressive. An annual turnover of three thousand Gold Soul Coins was indeed quite good, but doing the math showed it was equivalent to only three hundred kilograms of Iron Essence.

A Blacksmith Shop of that caliber would have a hard time getting the amount of Tungsten Steel Jiang Jiu needed.

He could only count on merchants who traveled between cities, or try his luck at an auction house.

Pure Silver, though, might be obtainable in a hundred pounds or so if he got the Blacksmith Shop's owner to pull some strings and work at it.

Pure Copper was even more plentiful, second only to Pig Iron. There wasn't much else to say.

Night fell over Shrek Academy.

With Dean Flender's "golden word," Jiang Jiu and the others each chose a room they liked and moved in.

Jiang Jiu picked two adjoining rooms, planning to knock through the wall and use them as a single suite.

The houses at Shrek Academy really were tiny. The wooden dormitories were a little over ten square meters, while even the larger stone houses were only about thirty. Put together, the two rooms still couldn't compare to the house they'd had in Nuoding.

They managed to divide the space into separate areas as they had before. By the time they were done, it was nearly time to bathe and sleep.

They hadn't cultivated at all today—not even as much as when they'd stayed at the Rose Hotel. They'd have to make up for it tomorrow.

"Xiao Jiu, look! From now on, we can take baths!"

Outside, Xiao Wu dragged along an enormous wooden tub. It was more than big enough to serve as a bath for the two of them.

But that raised another problem: how were they going to get such a huge tub inside, let alone into the bathroom?

Luckily, Xiao Wu was quick on the uptake.

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?"

"Help me with something."

Ning Rongrong became a human porter.

The space inside her Storage Soul Tool was much larger than Tang San's. If the Blacksmith Shop hadn't needed some time to prepare everything, she could have taken the entire set of furnaces with her.

"You two really know how to enjoy yourselves." Ning Rongrong looked at the large bathroom and huge tub and sighed.

Then she added, "How about I join you two for a soak sometime? I brought some essential oils and Flower Dew. They're great for the skin."

Ning Rongrong figured that the tub was big enough for all three of them without anyone feeling cramped.

Besides, soaking in the tub, snacking, and chatting together—that was the kind of life she imagined close girlfriends should have.

"No wonder your skin's so dewy." Xiao Wu giggled again.

"No, no, I was born this way. And Xiao Wu, your skin is fair and rosy too. It's no worse than mine. Your big sister's is even so fair it practically glows." Ning Rongrong began showering her with compliments.

"Xiao Wu, you explain it to her. I left a few things at Xiao San's place, so I'll go get them."

By the time Jiang Jiu returned carrying several Iron Essence Staffs, each about a meter long, Ning Rongrong still hadn't left. She was chatting and laughing with Xiao Wu.

"Then I won't intrude on your little world for two!" Ning Rongrong waved at Xiao Wu, teasing her.

She didn't bring up bathing together again. But as she left, she stared intently at Jiang Jiu's lower half over Xiao Wu's shoulder, as if she were looking at some rare animal.

The door closed behind her. Jiang Jiu set the Iron Essence Staffs down in the designated workout area.

They were starting over from scratch. Getting a few thousand pounds of Pig Iron would be easy, but the Iron Essence he had on hand was still rather precious.

He'd melted it down beforehand to make it easier to carry. Tang San's Storage Soul Tool couldn't fit straight staffs two meters long.

"Xiao Jiu, the hot water's ready."

Behind him, Xiao Wu's voice drifted over.

"I'm coming."

Water burbled in the bathroom, and their silhouettes blurred in the mist.

A sweet fragrance filled the air, too.

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

"Don't you like the scent?"

"It's all right. It's not as nice as your scent."

Jiang Jiu rinsed himself briefly with cold water, then climbed into the tub.

As for the fragrance he'd mentioned, Xiao Wu really did have her own scent.

Unlike the soul-stirring allure he'd felt the first time they met, as Xiao Wu grew, a unique, delicate fragrance gradually appeared on her. It was intoxicating to smell.

"True, it's not as nice as your scent either, Xiao Jiu. We won't use it next time, then."

Watching Jiang Jiu lean back against the rim of the tub and close his eyes in bliss, Xiao Wu blinked. Then her body seemed to lose its support and slowly slid into the water.

A big tub really did make it easier to get up to no good.

In her room, Ning Rongrong lay on her stomach on the freshly made bed, kicking her feet in the air.

She didn't know that her dad had handed over his "imperial sword," and she was in a very good mood.

The day had been unexpectedly fulfilling, and the people she'd just met were all quite interesting.

What was the big deal? She could do perfectly well on her own, and she was having a good time without playing tricks on anyone.

Clearly, all the same-aged kids in the sect were just too weak.

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

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

She rolled over and quietly burrowed under the covers.