Several homeless youths occupied Xia Kong's old residence, yet Xia Kong had no intention of driving them away, considering it a chance to give these bitter youths a place to settle. But that was all it was; how much longer they could find shelter here in the future depended entirely on their own ability and fortune.
After waiting for Xiao Yi Xian to catch up in quick steps at the courtyard entrance, the two of them intertwined their fingers and continued to stroll leisurely along the streets of Wutan City.
This was Xiao Yi Xian's first time setting foot in Wutan City, and she was unfamiliar with everything in the city, having little mind of her own, so she followed completely by Xia Kong's side, maintaining an energetic state throughout the entire journey and fully activating the shopping genes hidden within her body.
Xia Kong was naturally a person given to nostalgia; returning to his homeland, he always wanted to walk through those unforgettable old places in his memory one by one.
It was just that revisiting old places mostly left only the sentiment of things remaining while people had changed.
Before they knew it, the two walked to the vicinity of the Spring Breeze Pavilion.
That towering raging fire back then had burned this luxurious pavilion to ashes, and many incriminating pieces of evidence were buried along with it. Yet only a little over a month had passed, and the Ao Ba Family had already completed the reconstruction of the Spring Breeze Pavilion, with craftsmen busily stepping up repairs. It would probably not be long before the Spring Breeze Pavilion opened its doors to welcome guests once again, and at that time, there was no telling which good family's daughter would suffer persecution.
Xia Kong raised his eyes and caught sight of the single wanted notice posted on the bulletin board at a glance. It was rendered to the extreme and exaggerated, portraying him as a murderer who slaughtered the innocent and was crazily obsessed with blood.
This description truly inverted black and white.
Xia Kong let out a disdainful scoff. In the eyes of this group of villains from the Ao Ba Family, he was naturally a malevolent star of slaughter and decisive killing; yet to those women who had suffered endless coercion and bullying, he was a chivalrous hero descending from the heavens and a banished immortal who saved the suffering.
Xia Kong lowered his gaze to inspect the portrait closely. Except for the figure, which was slightly similar to his own, the face of the person in the drawing was that of a middle-aged man full of hostility with a blade scar running horizontally across his cheek.
Oh, so the person being wanted is not me at all, and it has nothing to do with me. Xia Kong marvelled inwardly at the exquisite nature of Ya Fei's methods, then intended to take Xiao Yi Xian and leave. He had already made up his mind that before setting off to leave Wutan City in a few days, he would settle this old score between the Spring Breeze Pavilion and the Ao Ba Family all at once.
Xiao Yi Xian at the side was full of puzzlement, completely unable to understand Xia Kong's series of actions. Who brings a female companion to run to a brothel in broad daylight? Moreover, it was still under renovation here and not open for business at all. What Xiao Yi Xian found even more incomprehensible was how someone could arrive at the entrance, refuse to go in, and instead stare intently at a wanted portrait in a daze.
Later on, Xiao Yi Xian treated this matter as an interesting anecdote and recounted it to Ya Fei, who roughly told Xiao Yi Xian about Xia Kong's experiences. Only then did she completely understand that not a single word Xia Kong had said to her before was a deception. He was originally just an ordinary person from Wutan City who happened to obtain the Farm Space by chance, and by similar coincidence mastered a set of covert intelligence channels.
After touring the old places, Xia Kong brought Xiao Yi Xian to shuttle through the market streets and alleys jurisdictionally controlled by the Xiao Clan and the Jia Lie Family, using the name of the Mittel Auction House to buy up all the magic cores circulating in the market, which could be considered doing a bit of proper business for Ya Fei and alleviating some of her pressure.
Afterwards, they went to a ready-made clothing shop to tailor several sets of magnificent dresses for Xiao Yi Xian and picked out quite a few exquisite pieces of jewelry. With this round of purchasing concluded, the day's shopping finally came to an end, and the two of them returned to the small courtyard together.
Only, an interesting interlude had indeed been encountered during the shopping trip.
Within the Xiao Family Market, Xiao Xun'er was dressed in a long purple dress with refined and delicate makeup, yet her brows were shrouded in a faint layer of melancholy, presenting a listless appearance. Accompanying her was Xiao Yu, wearing a high-slit cheongsam that fully displayed her straight, well-proportioned, slender legs, and the two of them were strolling leisurely through the market.
As the two women walked head-on, they happened to run into a troop of personnel wearing the attire of the Jia Lie Family. The leading two had floating footsteps and sickly, pale complexions, looking precisely like people who indulged excessively in wine and women. On one of them was even draped a First-Tier Alchemist robe, which was quite rare in Wutan City.
The two groups met narrow and met face-to-face, their gazes locking.
The grudges that had already accumulated of old, coupled with the fact that Liu Xi and his companion were struck by lust the moment they saw the appearances and figures of Xiao Xun'er and Xiao Yu, instantly caused evil thoughts to breed in their hearts, making a conflict unavoidable.
Not far away, Xia Kong watched this scene unfold, finding the picture exceptionally familiar. Focusing his mind to recall slightly, he realized that this was precisely the classic scene from the original book where Liu Xi and Jialio publicly flirted with Xiao Xun'er and Xiao Yu. Yet this time, Xiao Yan, who should have stepped forward, was not present at the scene.
Before Xia Kong even made a move, Xiao Yi Xian beside him could no longer bear to watch, stepping forward to block in front of the two women.
In the original work, even when Xiao Yan was merely a Dou Zhe, he was able to beat Liu Xi and Jialio into a wretched state, let alone now that Xiao Yi Xian's cultivation was already on the verge of becoming a Dou Shi. With just a mere few moves-consisting of simple swinging palm blades-she effortlessly knocked down Jialio along with a whole group of guards.
Xiao Yi Xian had always loested vicious people like Liu Xi and Jialio who bullied others with power and committed all kinds of evil. With Xia Kong's tacit permission, a trace of imperceptible poison quietly flowed at her fingertips, landing secretly on Liu Xi and Jialio.
On the surface, Liu Xi and Jialio were still cursing and full of vigor as they swaggered away with their subordinates, seemingly completely unharmed. However, when sleep descended upon them tonight, the two of them would inexplicably and silently forfeit their lives without warning.
This display of strength left Xiao Xun'er and Xiao Yu with an extremely favorable impression of Xiao Yi Xian, and their hearts were also filled with amazement, finding it hard to imagine that a girl of this age actually possessed the formidable cultivation of a Nine-Star Dou Zhe. Xiao Xun'er warned herself inwardly that she must calm her mind and cultivate bitterly; as for Xiao Yu, her eyes were full of envy. After some brief pleasantries and an exchange of names, they could be considered to have forged a friendship right then and there.
Right at this moment, Xia Kong walked over at a slow pace.
Xiao Xun'er recognized him at a single glance, her pair of beautiful eyes instantly dyed with a hint of grievance.
Xia Kong was utterly baffled, and only after some questioning did he learn that Xiao Yan had set off for the Black-Corner Region early this morning. Xiao Yan had not explained the reason in detail, but after a little thought, Xiao Xun'er understood that this matter probably could not be separated from Xia Kong.
The time that should have been spent accompanying and staying with Brother Xiao Yan was thus disrupted, so how could Xiao Xun'er not harbor a shred of resentment toward Xia Kong in her heart?
Hearing that Xiao Yan had traveled far to the Black-Corner Region, Xia Kong was also quite surprised, but in an instant he figured out the calculations in the minds of Xiao Yan and Yao Lao. He could not help feeling curious in his heart: on this trip to the Black-Corner Region, what kind of fortuitous encounters would the two of them obtain, and would they run into Han Feng, that rebellious disciple who betrayed his master?
Upon learning the ins and outs of the matter and facing Xiao Xun'er's slight grievance, Xia Kong could only spread his hands helplessly with an expression showing he was also very innocent.
In the end, driven by who knows what thoughts, Xiao Yu actually invited Xiao Yi Xian to go and cultivate at Jia Nan Academy in the future. Xia Kong originally had intentions of heading to Jia Nan Academy as well, so he agreed to it together with Xiao Yi Xian, saying they would go sign up after a few months. Once the pleasantries concluded, the several of them parted ways.
And it was precisely because he had just seen Xiao Xun'er and Xiao Yu's lavish and fitting attire that Xia Kong remembered he should prepare a few decent, gorgeous outfits and pretty dresses for Xiao Yi Xian!
Before you continue