Zhu Zhuqing was suddenly singled out by Lu Ning.
She glanced at the White Jade Gourd in Ning Rongrong's hand.
She reached out and took it.
After hesitating for a moment.
She still opened the gourd.
She took a tiny sip from its mouth.
The wine inside really was nothing good.
The sharpness as it entered her mouth made even Zhu Zhuqing, who was drinking for the first time, choke a little.
She coughed several times in a row.
But after the sharpness passed.
A fresh bamboo fragrance emerged in her throat.
Before Zhu Zhuqing could speak.
The Soul Power within her actually began circulating slowly at that moment.
A speed she had never reached even through dedicated cultivation had actually been achieved after a single sip of wine?!
And it was moving on its own!
"This is..."
Zhu Zhuqing looked at Lu Ning before her, unable to conceal the delight in her eyes.
She immediately understood why Lu Ning carried a Wine Gourd around all day and never explained himself, even when people mistook him for a drunk.
This Wine Gourd could make the Soul Power within one's body cultivate on its own!
And far faster than one's usual cultivation speed!
If it were her.
Never mind carrying a Wine Gourd around.
She would even be willing to soak her entire body in a vat of wine!
"Did drinking make you stupid?"
"He's someone who even managed to buy fake wine."
"What could you possibly expect to be different about the wine in his Wine Gourd?"
Ning Rongrong looked at the stunned Zhu Zhuqing and nudged her shoulder.
Zhu Zhuqing asked with complete seriousness, "Where did you buy this wine?"
"Can I still buy some?"
Lu Ning shook his head and casually took back the Wine Gourd.
"The wine isn't the point."
"If you want some in the future, you'll have to bring high-quality wine to trade with me."
As he spoke.
Lu Ning opened the Wine Gourd and took a swig.
Ordinarily, Zhu Zhuqing would have already unleashed her Martial Soul and attacked him over this indirect kiss.
But now.
Zhu Zhuqing's attention was entirely on the wine.
For something this good, Lu Ning only wanted good wine in exchange...
Good wine was difficult for others to obtain.
But for her...
Could her family background really not secure good wine? Even if she couldn't use her family's influence for the time being, surely she could buy good wine with her own money?
Ning Rongrong watched one of them make a deliberate mystery of things while the other stood there dumbstruck.
Her curiosity grew even stronger.
She immediately snatched the Wine Gourd from Lu Ning's hand.
Without caring whether Lu Ning had just drunk from it, she immediately brought it to her mouth and poured the wine in.
It wasn't that she had never drunk wine before.
She had simply never drunk wine this bad!
As the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, wine this inferior could practically give her an allergic reaction!
"Cough, cough, cough!"
"Are you two messing with me?"
Ning Rongrong cursed.
But the bamboo fragrance in her throat immediately made her hesitate.
This fragrance...
Even the wines Grandpa Sword often drank might not measure up.
Immediately afterward.
Ning Rongrong's expression changed as well.
Just like Zhu Zhuqing's, the Soul Power within her.
Began circulating automatically.
Her talent had never been poor; she had simply been too lazy to cultivate back at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Now, the speed at which her Soul Power circulated was no slower than Lu Ning's, and under the Wine Gourd's effects, her astonishing talent was fully revealed.
"This wine... there's something to it!?"
Even Ning Rongrong had never drunk wine this strange.
She lifted the Wine Gourd, intending to take another sip.
But Lu Ning raised his hand and took it straight back.
"What?"
"Weren't you just turning your nose up at it?"
"You certainly changed your tune quickly."
Watching the White Jade Gourd fly back, Ning Rongrong actually grew a little anxious for an instant.
She instinctively wanted to shout out and ask how much the Wine Gourd cost.
She would buy it!
But then she remembered that this Wine Gourd was Lu Ning's Martial Soul.
She immediately deflated.
It was his Martial Soul. No matter how rich her family was, she couldn't possibly make someone give her his Martial Soul!
"Let us have a few more sips."
"I drank too fast just now."
"I haven't even tasted it properly yet!"
Ning Rongrong tried to sway Lu Ning, but he shook his head, drained the White Jade Gourd in one gulp, then held its mouth downward and spoke slowly to her.
"There's none left."
"There really isn't a single drop left!"
Ning Rongrong's teeth itched with anger.
She caught the double meaning in his words.
Yet she didn't dare openly argue back.
Fine, there's none left!
What's there to show off about!
Can't I just not have had enough?!
The three walked on for some distance.
Only then did Ning Rongrong ask Lu Ning about the purpose of this trip.
"Are you going into the city to buy wine or ingredients?"
"Surely you aren't really going into the city just to browse the shops?"
Lu Ning glanced at the curious Ning Rongrong. "I'm going into the city to buy whale rubber."
Upon hearing the words "whale rubber."
Ning Rongrong didn't react at all.
Although her mouth was full of dirty talk, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's upbringing was strict, after all, and there was no way they would let her truly come into contact with such things.
No matter how much of a little witch she was, she couldn't possibly have encountered an aphrodisiac this specific.
Zhu Zhuqing, on the other hand, faltered in her steps.
She clearly hadn't expected Lu Ning to be going into the city to buy something like that.
She fell half a step behind the two of them.
They also noticed something unusual about Zhu Zhuqing.
"Zhu Zhuqing, what's wrong?" Ning Rongrong spoke first, seeming to have guessed something.
"Do you know what whale rubber is?"
Zhu Zhuqing looked into Lu Ning's eyes, seeming to seek confirmation.
"Are you serious?"
"You're really going into the city to buy whale rubber?"
Lu Ning yawned.
"Yes."
"Originally, I wanted to replenish my wine while I was in the city."
"But didn't you say you wanted to raise the age of the Soul Rings you could absorb in the future?"
"Then we'll have to buy whale rubber."
"It's the most economical, direct, and convenient method available right now."
Zhu Zhuqing turned her head aside, one ear flushing scarlet.
"But..."
"But whale rubber is..."
She hesitated for a moment without saying it.
Instead, she left Ning Rongrong terribly anxious, and Ning Rongrong grabbed her hand and urged her on.
After being urged for quite a while.
Zhu Zhuqing took a deep breath.
Only after calming her thoughts did she speak. "I've never heard of whale rubber being able to raise the age of the Soul Rings someone can absorb in the future."
"I only learned about the exact ages of Soul Rings after coming to Shrek Academy, too."
"Before, I only knew the approximate ages."
"We absorbed whatever our families arranged for us."
Zhu Zhuqing glanced at Lu Ning, a little more complexity entering her gaze.
"Among the Star Luo Imperial Family, whale rubber is a food specifically used as an aphrodisiac."
"Because of how succession works in the Star Luo Imperial Family, those emperors often begin to lose their physical capacity in their thirties or forties, while still in their prime, and have difficulty fathering children."
"So this substance is quietly used within the palace."
"For you to buy something like this..."
Zhu Zhuqing didn't continue.
She didn't know whether what Lu Ning said was true or false.
She had indeed never heard that whale rubber could let people absorb older Soul Rings in the future.
But before this.
She had never drunk wine that made the Soul Power within someone's body cultivate automatically, either!
Whether this actually had any use.
She couldn't say, either.
Ning Rongrong, however, was like a cat with its fur standing on end.
Her face turned deathly pale with fright, and she backed away repeatedly.
As she looked at Lu Ning, even her voice began to tremble.
"What are you buying this stuff for?"
Before you continue