Pan Long cultivated deep in the Remote Mountains for over a month. Only when he could no longer bear the solitude and hardship of the Remote Mountains did he return to the dazzling world below.
June had arrived. Flowers bloomed everywhere in Yi Province, but the weather was growing hot, and men and women alike had taken to wearing lighter, thinner clothes. Men often bared their chests, while women were more reserved. Over their short tops and bottoms, they usually wore a layer of gauze.
The sights naturally drew the eye. Martial artists were common in the Nine Provinces, and between the powerful muscles of men who trained their bodies and the graceful figures of women who practiced internal arts, there was beauty everywhere he looked.
As Pan Long walked along the road, he saw more than one dispute sparked by someone looking in the wrong direction. Sometimes men fought men, sometimes women fought women, and sometimes women fought men—though that last sort of fight was rarer. Those who dared dress like that in public generally did not mind being looked at twice.
Rather, those who dared dress like that often enjoyed drawing more attention. It made them feel attractive. If you were bold enough to go over and strike up a conversation, they might even greet you with a smile.
"I can flaunt it, but you can't look" was the kind of bizarre argument that found no audience here.
Pan Long was still musing over this when he spotted a group of women ahead, punching and kicking a man. They were not striking viciously, but every blow landed squarely. By the time they were done, the fellow would probably be unfit to show his face for three to five days. Even sitting on a stool would have him baring