Not long after, Hanxing and Liu Ying reappeared at the inn's entrance, looking somewhat disheveled. Firefly was carrying a bag, which she had just left from her room. Clearly, they had just been kicked out by the crying and shouting Wolf Venerable.
"How much did her equipment cost?"
Hanxing felt somewhat guilty, yet couldn't help asking out of curiosity.
"I don't know, but it must be very expensive..."
Firefly couldn't help but recall her remaining balance, realizing that even if she saved for several more years, she still wouldn't be able to afford it.
"Speaking of which, what were we planning to do before we left?"
This unexpected turn of events disrupted their plans.
"It seems like... we went for a stroll?"
After thinking for a moment, Firefly replied.
So... do you still want to go?
Hanxing tentatively asked, "Let's call it a day, I'm feeling a bit tired."
Firefly turned her head away, her face slightly flushed.
"What's wrong? Do you have a fever?"
Hanxing looked at Firefly with concern, and said with some worry.
"It's nothing... Let's go back to the hotel first."
Firefly's blush didn't lessen, which only made Hanxing more suspicious, but in the end, she didn't get any information out of him.
With a creak, the quaint inn door opened gently, and Hanxing's body slumped heavily onto the bed.
"I have to say, I'm really a bit tired."
Firefly placed the bag she had been carrying on the table, making a clinking sound like glass.
"It's getting late, how about we order dinner?"
She then touched her empty stomach and gave a pitiful look.
"Alright, I heard that Jiqiao Logistics delivers pretty fast, let's give it a try."
Hanxing took out her phone and started fiddling with something, but she didn't notice the strange look in Firefly's eyes.
Xianzhou Logistics remained efficient, and the two were soon enjoying a hot meal from Aurum Alley.
"As expected of Xianzhou's craftsmanship, it tastes just like the food from my childhood."
Hanxing sighed, but then saw Firefly taking the items out of the bag one by one.
"This is... wine?"
Hanxing looked on, somewhat surprised:
"Aren't you bad at drinking? Why did you buy so much?"
"At worst... you can have the rest of my drink."
Firefly gave an awkward smile, reached out and unscrewed a bottle of baijiu, about to drink it when Hanxing stopped her.
"This is baijiu, it has a much higher alcohol content than beer, are you really going to drink it?"
Hanxing asked with some concern.
"Yeah, don't worry about me, I can do it."
After saying that, Firefly bypassed Hanxing's hand that was blocking her and took a big gulp.
"Okay then... drink less. Control yourself, don't get drunk again."
Hanxing watched helplessly, and not wanting Firefly to drink too much, he took another bottle of baijiu and took a sip.
As the two continued drinking, the atmosphere in the room became increasingly heated. Hanxing wondered if it was just her imagination, but Firefly seemed to have improved her alcohol tolerance considerably. While Hanxing was feeling slightly dizzy, Firefly was still drinking sip after sip.
"Ying... how much can you drink?"
Hanxing couldn't help but feel a little curious. "Actually—" Firefly smiled:
"I was faking being drunk that time at Fansha Star; I actually have a pretty high alcohol tolerance."
"No wonder you were fine when SoulGlad got drunk that time; you were just fooling me."
Hanxing said somewhat unwillingly.
"Speaking of which, don't you want to try and see if there's any difference between drinking and not drinking?" Firefly grinned mischievously.
In which aspect?
"Any aspect--"
Hanxing's question was interrupted by Firefly's answer.
"You want to... again?"
Hanxing suddenly felt uneasy. "Hmm, guess?"
Firefly placed her hand on Hanxing's shoulder, and a small box appeared in her other hand without her noticing.
"Wait, there's still a mission—"
"Oh well, a day's delay doesn't matter. I know the Astral Express Crew has no plans for today."
Firefly drew closer and closer, then shoved Hanxing onto the bed.
A few days later
After a night of "fighting," Hanxing rubbed her somewhat muddled head and slowly got out of bed. There had been no news from the Astral Express Crew lately, and she couldn't keep being exploited like this every night.
The Firefly was still fast asleep. Hanxing couldn't bear to disturb it, so she went to the toilet to wash up by herself.
"We've run into trouble here. Do you have time? Let's meet here."
Hanxing turned on his phone, which had been silent all night, and the messages with red serial numbers only further disturbed his thoughts. Qiong's message was the most recent and the one he was currently most concerned about.
"Received, please wait ten minutes."
Hanxing replied while brushing her teeth. Then, with her toothbrush in her mouth, she walked into the room, gently waking the sleeping Firefly, and waving the phone messages in front of her twice.
"Okay, okay, I'll start now."
Firefly sighed softly and walked to the bathroom with Hanxing. While brushing her teeth, Firefly's slightly frizzy black hair occasionally brushed against Hanxing.
"How about... you comb my hair for me?"
Firefly invited, but her brushing continued unabated.
"Alright."
Hanxing stopped washing her face, tossed the towel aside, and picked up the comb next to her to begin combing her hair.
"Your technique is pretty good. How about we consider you becoming a massage therapist?"
Firefly turned around and chuckled softly.
"It's not good to always be so frizzy, how about... try braiding it?"
Hanxing suggested.
"What kind of person do you... prefer?" After hesitating for a moment, Firefly finally gave the choice to Hanxing.
"I... like a single ponytail--"
Hanxing hesitantly admitted her preference, a blush still on her face.
"Then, you can do the braces for me yourself!"
The Firefly's voice was full of joy as she leaned her head closer to the Hanxing.
A gentle touch on the grayish-blue hair felt slightly itchy. A headband with blue stars was quickly made, and the Firefly was smoothed and tied gently. A ponytail was complete.
Hanxing chuckled, glancing at Firefly had finished washing up. "Alright, let's set off now."
The blush on Firefly's face had not completely faded, but she still nodded gently. Hanxing lightly flicked two fingers, opening up space, and led Firefly into the doorway.
" Hanxing, you've finally arrived."
Qiong's tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly.
"What happens?"
Hanxing asked.
"We haven't been able to contact March 7th; something might have happened to her."
What happened?
Firefly asked warily
"She, Yunli, and Yanqing went to the Sky-Faring Commission, and there's been no news of them since."
Qiong's gaze was somewhat urgent.
"Could it be... that group of Borisin are preparing to make a move?"
Hanxing pondered for a while.
"That possibility cannot be ruled out."
Dan Heng cautiously replied:
"They most likely ran into the hidden Borisin, and a fight might have already broken out."
This is really not good news.
As Hanxing spoke, he used the power of Harmony to observe the Borisin, whom he had marked, once again.
"This direction... leads to the Prison of Deep Seclusion. That means they didn't run into him."
That means...
Qiong had a terrifying thought.
"That's right, there are already many Borisin on the entire Xianzhou, and the conspiracy they've planned is anything but ordinary."
Hanxing's gaze grew increasingly cold.
"These guys are really something else..."