Half an old acquaintance

Xu Qi'an turned his head to look at Mu Nanzhi, seeking her opinion.

The latter shook her head and smiled sweetly.

She was happy because Xu Qi'an always treated her with the utmost respect and consulted her on everything. For Mu Nanzhi, this was a very novel experience.

She felt valued and that she and he were equals, not in a subservient relationship.

"Sorry, we've had a long and tiring journey, we don't want to move."

Xu Qi'an politely declined the woman in the indigo dress.

She frowned slightly, but said nothing. She took back the gold ingot and turned to leave.

"You have to move today, whether you like it or not!"

Suddenly, a cold laugh rang out. The handsome man, who appeared to be the master of the East Sea Dragon Palace, stepped across the threshold and spoke arrogantly.

He wore a black robe embroidered with gold and silver threads, his jade pendants jingling, exuding an air of nobility.

Xu Qi'an glanced at him and saw at least three violations on his person.

If I were still a Silver Gong, you'd be dead by now. He frowned slightly; this "Palace Master's" attitude disgusted him, and he replied indifferently:

What if we don't move?

The handsome man's lips curled up slightly as he leisurely said, "Zhu'er, teach him a lesson."

Without warning, the woman in the indigo dress launched two hidden weapons at Xu Qi'an. As he dodged them, the pretty young woman moved like a rabbit, delivering a powerful and sweeping punch straight at Xu Qi'an's face.

The force of the punch roared.

Suddenly, she let out a soft moan, and halfway through her punch, her body seemed to lose all strength, her steps faltered, and she lost her balance.

"Peak Qi Refining, a bit lacking."

Xu Qi'an scoffed and kicked the girl away with a whip kick. She slammed heavily against the wall with a thud, clutching her waist, her face ashen white, drenched in cold sweat.

A martial artist at the Qi Refining Realm is almost powerless against him. He combines with the air and exhales colorless and odorless poison gas, which can easily paralyze those at the Qi Refining Realm who have no warning of danger.

The poisonous insect can produce different toxins depending on the environment. When combined with air, it can produce colorless and odorless poisonous gas. Its efficacy is somewhat weak, only able to paralyze, but that is sufficient.

The Power Gu greatly enhanced his strength. He had held back just now; otherwise, a single whip kick would have snapped the indigo dress in half.

Seeing this, the young man in black robes was not angry but pleased, and clapped his hands, saying:

"Amazing, amazing!"

Just then, a clear and melodious female voice rang out. "Li Lang, you've caused trouble again."

Outside the courtyard gate stood a beautiful and charming woman, wearing a light blue dress over a moon-white cloak with bamboo branch patterns, exuding a serene and elegant air, giving off the feeling of a restrained young woman.

"Qing-jie, you've come at the perfect time."

A handsome man in a black robe embroidered with gold and silver threads, exuding an air of nobility, pointed at Xu Qi'an and said:

"Zhu'er pleaded with him to give up the courtyard, but not only did he refuse, he also attacked and hurt her. My poor Zhu'er is in so much pain."

To be honest, this handsome man's appearance was among the best of all the men Xu Qi'an had ever seen.

In terms of "refinement," only Xu Erlang can rival him.

The woman called "Sister Qing" frowned slightly, scrutinized Xu Qi'an for a moment, and said:

Why did you injure someone?

This seemed to indicate that the woman was the most respected. Xu Qi'an was about to explain when the man in black robes spoke first. He leaned close to the aloof woman's ear, breathed softly, and whispered:

"I want to stay here. It's quieter here, the scenery is the best, and I can enjoy drinks with Sister Qing at night. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

The woman was serene and elegant, with two rosy blushes on her fair face, adding a touch of charm to her cool demeanor.

She is indeed a stunning beauty.

Her beautiful eyes flashed across her face, her attitude changed, and she said coldly, "You move out of here now, and I'll let bygones be bygones for the hurt you caused. Otherwise..."

Xu Qi'an interrupted with a cold laugh, "Otherwise what?"

While the chivalrous spirit of the martial arts world is certainly exhilarating, the phenomenon of people resorting to violence at the slightest disagreement is equally common and a major headache.

Sometimes, a few words exchanged, or even just a glance, can make someone uncomfortable and lead to a violent confrontation.

When you're out in the world of martial arts, don't be surprised if a brainless villain jumps out to cause trouble; it's just part of the game.

For someone like Xu Qi'an who had been living in the capital for a long time, it was indeed a bit of a shock to adapt to the new environment, and he needed some time to adjust.

The aloof woman scoffed, "Take ten of my moves and you'll be fine first."

She pressed her slender hand on his shoulder, then suddenly shook it. With a whoosh, the moon-white bamboo-patterned cloak swirled and enveloped Xu Qi'an.

The cloak fluttered down, but did not cover Xu Qi'an, who had already appeared in the shadow of the tree two zhang away.

A cool and aloof woman appeared where he had been standing, next to Mu Nanzhi. She reached out and grabbed the cloak, turning her head to look at Xu Qi'an under the shadow of the tree.

A beautiful eyebrow twitched. "A member of the Gu Clan from Southern Frontier?"

The Buddhist nail at Baihui acupoint sealed his Primordial Spirit, causing him to lose a martial artist's intuition about danger. However, this did not affect his prediction. The moment the aloof woman made her move, he leaped into the shadows in advance.

"Nanzhi, go inside."

Xu Qi'an said calmly.

The princess obediently slipped back into her room; she always had a strong will to survive and would never hold anyone back.

The beautiful woman did not stop her. After Mu Nanzhi returned to the house, she rushed forward a few steps, cracking the blue bricks under her feet, and pounced on Xu Qi'an in a blur.

Xu Qi'an used Shadow Jump again, appearing under the eaves. The moment his figure appeared, the beautiful woman sensed his location a step ahead of him.

A strong wind howled as this elegant beauty unleashed a fierce and unparalleled attack, her skirt billowing as her ruthless knee struck.

Xu Qi'an remained unfazed, attempting to press down on his knee with his left palm while simultaneously forming a claw with his right hand, executing a move resembling fermented tofu.

The beautiful woman raised an eyebrow, making her already aloof face appear even more frosty, and clenched her fist in her palm.

Snap!

Xu Qi'an flew backward, about to crash through the door and into the room, when his body suddenly vanished. Under the shadow of the tree, a figure flew backward and disappeared as well.

A figure flew backward from under the table and then disappeared.

From the shadows behind the man in black robes, a figure flew backward and then disappeared.

Xu Qi'an's figure kept appearing in the shadows of the courtyard, flying backwards. After flashing around more than ten times, he finally neutralized the beautiful woman's terrifying superhuman strength.

Thump, thump, thump. Xu Qi'an retreated repeatedly, dissipating his last bit of strength. He looked at the green dress under the eaves, his expression gradually becoming serious.

A fourth-rank martial artist—no, a peak fourth-rank martial artist, a terrifying martial artist no less than Yang Yan and Jiang Luzhong.

How could a peak fourth-rank martial artist appear in such a small place as Pingzhou?

And damn it, I ran into her! What's worse, we actually clashed. Xu Qi'an cursed his bad luck inwardly, but on the surface, he remained cold and calm, looking at the beautiful woman under the eaves.

She slowly raised her hand, the back of which was stained with a bluish-black color. Visible to the naked eye, wisps of black energy coiled around her fair skin and spread upwards.

Beneath the skin, a network of bluish-black blood vessels protrudes.

The scalding heat surged downwards, attempting to expel the toxins from the body; the bluish-black heat and the scalding heat were locked in a stalemate.

"Qing-jie, are you alright?"

The young man, dressed in a luxurious black robe, looked worried and showed great tenderness towards the woman.

"Don't come any closer!"

The beautiful woman scolded him, then her expression softened, and she said in a low voice, "This poison is extremely potent."

Xu Qi'an raised the corner of his mouth. During this period, he had been consuming and refining the ancient corpse's venom, and his poison gu had evolved to a very high level.

It's certainly not enough to kill a peak fourth-rank cultivator, but it's enough to have a huge negative impact on her, just like now, forcing her to circulate her qi to expel the poison.

Furthermore, he was able to evade the martial arts crisis warning because he used the Heavenly Gu Star Shifting and Dipper Changing ability.

The man in black robes glared at Xu Qi'an with hatred and said in a deep voice, "I'm going to find Sister Rong."

"I'm not playing anymore."

The pretty woman frowned, seemingly quite resistant, and said indifferently, "Let's go."

She didn't even look at Xu Qi'an, and left straight away.

Although she had been poisoned, it would at most cause her some trouble; she wouldn't be injured, much less be in mortal danger. It wasn't that she was afraid of this plain-looking man in blue, but rather that she only went so far as to stop short of causing serious harm.

First, the other party demonstrated respectable strength; there was no need to fight to the death over a mere courtyard.

Secondly, this is an inn in Pingzhou City. If we really went all out in a fight to the death, many people would die.

In the end, both sides actually exercised restraint. She let the woman return to her room, and the man in blue did not take the opportunity to attack Li Lang.

The man in black robes glared at Xu Qi'an, then followed him, saying softly:

"Sister Qing, does it hurt? Let me suck the poison out for you."

After walking for a while, the two entered a courtyard not far away. This courtyard was larger, but less refined. The scenery and furnishings were far inferior to the elegant Qixuan where the two ordinary men lived.

In the spacious bedroom, the smokeless silver-bone charcoal burned brightly, its crimson flames dancing.

On the soft couch sat a charming woman with her legs bent. She wore a light gauze dress, wrapped in a pink bodice and white underpants that only reached her upper thighs.

The bodice bulged out, revealing glimpses of its snow-white, delicate skin, concealing a hint of allure (Note 1).

The alluring woman glanced at her sister's bluish-black right hand and giggled.

"I cast a divination for you today, and I knew something bad was going to happen to you."

The beautiful woman gave a cold snort.

She was unconcerned about the poison in her body; instead, when she saw her sister's long, snow-white legs wrapped around the handsome young man's waist, she showed displeasure and warned him:

He's mine tonight.

The alluring woman chuckled and said sweetly, "Li Lang, between me and Qing'er, who do you prefer?"

The man in black robes glanced left and right, then chuckled, "Both are flesh and blood; neither can be missing, neither can be missing."

The alluring woman poked his forehead with her slender, delicate fingers and scolded, "Slippery."

She paused, leaned against the handsome man's chest, looked at her sister, and frowned, asking, "Who lives in that courtyard?"

The beautiful woman shook her head. "He uses the methods of the Gu clan, but he is from the Central Plains."

The alluring woman pursed her fiery red lips and pondered, "The Gu Clan's Gu techniques are never passed on to outsiders. Even among the seven major schools, sectarianism is very strong. How much more so for people from the Central Plains."

The pretty woman frowned. "Ignore them. We have important business to attend to, so let's try to avoid getting involved with irrelevant people."

The man in black robes, with his arm around the elder sister's voluptuous waist, looked at the younger sister and said, "I'm afraid she's on the same path."

After lunch, Xu Qi'an took Mu Nanzhi to the market and bought many warm-glazed porcelain pieces. He used himself as a dragon energy searcher, but after an afternoon, he did not find a dragon energy host.

This disappointed him somewhat.

Before dusk, the two returned to the inn. Mu Nanzhi was radiant and still seemed reluctant to leave.

Originally, the two slept in separate rooms, but because of the conflict that occurred during the day, the princess was afraid that the other party would come to retaliate at night, so she shared a room with Xu Qi'an.

They sleep in separate beds.

She was wrapped in sun-dried bedding, her head peeking out, her dark, serene eyes gazing at the man sitting at the table, lost in thought.

He would sit at his table and ponder almost every few days.

Mu Nanzhi liked watching him sit at the table thinking, watching him slowly drift off to sleep; it made her feel safe.

She kept this small sense of security to herself and didn't tell anyone.

When will this wretched woman stop spying on me? My love potion is about to kick in again. Maybe I should go to a brothel tonight? No, the East Sea Dragon Palace's influence is right next door. Xu Qi'an muttered to himself.

The process of enduring the love potion made him nostalgic for a difficult period in his past life. He deleted his wife from his hard drive and left all the dating groups that always posted erotic pictures, thus attempting to abstain from sex.

Seeing those two stunningly beautiful sisters today was like seeing erotic pictures; the urge to suppress it suddenly surged up like a thunderbolt from the blue.

"However, on the other hand, I really should go to brothels and Imperial Academy of Music and spend money like water. I can't keep suppressing the love gu. The seven deadly gu is a whole. The poison gu is almost at its bottleneck. If I want to go further, the other gu techniques must keep up with the pace."

"Otherwise, poison gu and corpse gu would be difficult to grow. Fortunately, the side effects of heart gu and corpse gu are only that gu masters like to be with animals and corpses, so corpse parties and animal carnivals are not a necessity."

"Let's set a small goal first: within three months, cultivate the Seven Deadly Gu to a level comparable to a fourth-grade expert."

After setting his goal, Xu Qi'an glanced at Mu Nanzhi, who was already fast asleep.

Xu Qi'an got up from the table, walked to the bedside, and stared intently at the ordinary face of the most beautiful woman in Great Feng. Then, he crawled under the bed.

With a slow exhale, Xu Baipiao felt as if he had found his home, and his body and mind felt refreshed.

"Hmm, now we can make another summary: excessive use of certain Gu techniques will amplify the side effects in the short term. I suddenly understand why Lina always has to eat a big meal after a fight."

Xu Qi'an closed his eyes and drifted into a sweet dream.

In the courtyard not far away, there was a bedroom that felt as warm as spring.

On either side of him, two handsome men with soft, delicate bodies opened their eyes, felt the soreness in their lower backs, sighed softly, and continued to sleep soundly.

In a daze, Xu Qi'an heard someone calling him and suddenly woke up. He crawled out from under the bed and saw a handsome young man sitting at the round table. His black robe was embroidered with gold and silver threads, and he looked extremely noble.

Upon seeing him emerge from under the bed, the handsome young man immediately bowed down in reverence.

"Hero, help me!"

His tone was sincere, completely different from his arrogant and domineering demeanor during the day; he was like a completely different person.

How did this person get in?

"I didn't even notice." Xu Qi'an thought to himself, but remained outwardly calm.

"We've only just met, you've been too hasty."

"Great hero, please let me finish."

The man in black robes gave a wry smile and said, "I am Li Lingsu, the Holy Son of the Heavenly Sect."

"???"

Xu Qi'an almost lost control of his expression, his mind filled with question marks.

The Holy Son of the Heavenly Sect? Is he Li Miaozhen's senior or junior brother? Hmm, I do seem to recall Li Miaozhen mentioning that she had a senior brother traveling abroad. But, what a coincidence! To run into Li Miaozhen's senior brother here.

Xu Qi'an looked at him indifferently. "Why should I believe you?"

Li Lingsu said frankly, "You are currently in a dream. I entered the dream with a wisp of my Primordial Spirit. Tell me, how could someone other than Daoist School disciple do that?"

No wonder I didn't notice him come in; it turns out his Primordial Spirit entered my dream. Xu Qi'an retorted:

"Wizards can do it too, and they're even better at it."

Li Lingsu was speechless for a moment, then sighed:

"If I were a sorcerer, casting daily divinations to predict my own fortune, I wouldn't have fallen into the hands of those sisters."

Xu Qi'an raised an eyebrow and said, "Aren't those two beauties your lovers?"

"They are indeed my close female friends, but I don't feel free or happy around them, and I even have some back pain."

"Who the hell are you bragging to?" Xu Qi'an's face twitched, and he said in a deep voice:

Tell me what happened, so I can decide whether to help you. Also, why did you come to me? Were you deliberately trying to cause trouble during the day?

PS: Seven taels is roughly equivalent to E-grade (approximately), for reference only.