The moment Wei Fan entered, he caught a faint fragrance of flowers.
A woman in violet sat upright within. Her jet-black hair was piled high, and her lovely face resembled a lotus emerging from water, untouched by the smoke and dust of the mortal world.
Seeing Wei Fan arrive, Liu Yin'er smiled sweetly and asked, "Did you draw this design, young master?"
Fur-covered seats lined both sides of the carriage, while a low wooden table stood in the middle with a sheet of paper placed atop it.
Wei Fan focused his gaze and saw that it was precisely the Hanfu design he had drawn.
"That's right." Wei Fan nodded and took his seat gladly.
The distance between them shortened somewhat, and Wei Fan caught that faint floral fragrance again.
Yet there were no flowers inside the carriage. Could this scent have been wafting from her body?
"This humble girl is Liu Yin'er. May I ask the young master's name?" As Liu Yin'er spoke, she bent down to retrieve a tea set.
From Wei Fan's angle, he could see her figure faintly revealed beneath the thin fabric.
"Wei Fan!" After thinking for a moment, Wei Fan asked, "May I know why you wished to see me, miss?"
"Young master is in such a hurry. Could it be that you fear Yin'er is some strange and vicious beast?" A trace of amusement flickered in Liu Yin'er's eyes as she teased him.
"Not at all." Wei Fan shook his head.
"Actually, I asked you here because I wish to discuss a collaboration with you."
As Liu Yin'er brewed tea, she said, "The 'Hanfu' you designed are very beautiful. I hope to include them in our clothing catalogue."
"No problem!" Wei Fan nodded.
"In exchange, our Luoyuan Chamber of Commerce is willing to pay five gold leaves, or other items of equivalent value," Liu Yin'er said.
"Five gold leaves?" Wei Fan nodded to himself. He had not expected the Luoyuan Chamber of Commerce to be so principled.
The Hanfu designs were already in their hands. Even if they used them, Wei Fan would never have known, and even if he did, he would not have pursued the matter.
After all, he had initially only wanted to have a few pretty outfits tailored for Wei Yingying. He had not considered so much.
Now, it seemed that Hanfu were quite popular.
After sorting through his thoughts, Wei Fan said, "I'd rather exchange them for items."
"Items?" A trace of admiration flashed through Liu Yin'er's eyes.
To the villagers of Wushan Village, five gold leaves were undoubtedly an enormous fortune.
Yet Wei Fan was entirely unmoved by the temptation and chose to exchange them for items instead.
"What do you want?" Liu Yin'er asked with great interest.
"A map, or information about the world outside," Wei Fan said.
"You want to leave?" Liu Yin'er stared at Wei Fan, a smile rising at the corner of her lips. "Then that works out perfectly. You can join our Luoyuan Chamber of Commerce. Most regions of the northern border of Luo Kingdom will be open to you."
"Join a caravan?" Wei Fan thought that was not a bad choice either, but there were still many unresolved matters in Wushan Village, and he did not wish to leave for the time being.
He could still use Wushan Village to farm energy and strengthen himself.
Once he had sufficient strength, he could go out and take a look at the world beyond.
"I have my own plans and don't wish to join the chamber of commerce," Wei Fan said.
"That is truly a pity. At such a young age, you possess blood qi strength no weaker than that of the Blood Rage Realm. If you followed the Luoyuan Chamber of Commerce, your future would be boundless!"
Liu Yin'er smiled brightly. "As for maps, they are internal secrets, but I can give you a simplified one."
"Then many thanks!" Wei Fan knew how important maps were in this world filled with strange horrors. Then he asked somewhat surprisedly, "Can you sense my realm?"
"I can sense the density of blood qi in you martial artists. Consider it one of my special talents," Liu Yin'er said with a smile.
"Then do you know the divisions of the Martial Path realms, as well as who the strongest person in Wushan Village is?" Wei Fan asked.
"The divisions of the Martial Path realms? You mean the realm divisions for you ordinary people?" Liu Yin'er revealed a playful smile.
"There are ten realms in the Martial Path. The five mortal realms are the Strength Training Realm, Divine Strength Realm, Blood Rage Realm, Bone Forging Realm, and Marrow Condensing Realm!"
"After that come the five Heavenly Human realms: the Qi Gathering Realm, External Qi Realm, Qi Burst Realm, Gāng Qi Realm, and True Qi Realm."
"As for the strongest person in Wushan Village, it should be the Zhu family head, Zhu Yiwu. He has already reached the peak of the Mortal Realm. With only one foot's step, he can enter the Heavenly Human Realm."
"The Zhu family head is that strong?" Wei Fan clicked his tongue inwardly.
He had originally thought that the Zhu family head was merely a realm above the Blood Rage Realm, but he had not expected him to already stand at the peak of the Mortal Realm, a Marrow Condensing Realm expert.
Then Wei Fan looked at Liu Yin'er and found her increasingly mysterious.
Judging by her tone, the Martial Path was merely the realm of mortals. What realm, then, was she in?
"May I ask, miss, do you have any cultivation arts that can be cultivated to the Heavenly Human Realm?" Wei Fan asked.
Liu Yin'er was the daughter of the Luoyuan Chamber of Commerce's president. There were surely many powerful cultivation arts here, and Wei Fan did not wish to miss the opportunity.
"Of course there are cultivation arts, but they are very expensive!" Liu Yin'er abruptly changed her tone. "And there are none that can be cultivated to the Heavenly Human Realm. They can only reach the peak of the Mortal Realm!"
"The peak of the Mortal Realm? That works too!" Wei Fan nodded, took out the eight gold leaves on him, and placed them on the table.
Liu Yin'er smiled, took a cultivation manual from a hidden compartment at her side, and handed it over. "There's no need for the gold leaves. I'm in a good mood, so I'll give you this manual."
Wei Fan accepted the manual and saw five large words written upon it in strokes like golden hooks and silver lines: "Nine Flames Blazing Sun Art."
Before you continue