He put on the sleek, high-tech black helmet. His consciousness passed through a dizzying blur of hazy void, and then he was standing in a grand hall of dreams.
To the left and right the hall stretched out of sight, wrapped in mist. Sixteen thick stone pillars held up the dome, and a crimson carpet ran from the doors to a golden throne at the far end.
On the throne sat a figure six meters tall, draped in a cloak. Inside the cloak was a writhing, flickering mass of black light.
"First Elder." Little Fatty hurried forward, fell to his knees, and spoke with an expression mixing confusion, anger, bewilderment, and caution: "Did you get the information about the members of Master Wuhen's team from me?"
The Grand Protector, a giant of a man in form, did not deny it. He said slowly, "It was I who hypnotized you."
A flash of anger crossed Little Fatty's round face, then quickly subsided. He pressed his forehead to the floor and said:
"But First Elder, do you know I nearly died? If I hadn't been quick-witted, if I hadn't grown suspicious the moment I heard Yuanshi Tianzun had been surrounded, I'd have been tricked back to the Wuhen Hotel by Kou Beiyue long ago, caught like a turtle in a jar.
"Even if you kept it from me to preserve secrecy, once Yuanshi Tianzun fled back to Songhai, why didn't you warn me?"
His emotions were a mix of anger and resentment.
This was no pretense; it was genuine feeling.
On the golden throne, beneath the hood of the cloaked First Elder, black light flickered, and a voice that could have belonged to man or woman, old or young, echoed out:
"You resent me?"
"I wouldn't dare!"
"You're teaching me how to do my job?"
"I wouldn't dare!" Little Fatty drew a deep breath. "First Elder, Yuanshi Tianzun and the people from the Wuhen Hotel may come after me soon. As things stand, I request to return to the Southern Sect."
The First Elder said indifferently, "Granted."
"Thank you, First Elder." Little Fatty let out a breath.
He opened his eyes again, back in his hotel room. He took off the helmet and exhaled a mouthful of stale air.
For now at least, the First Elder wouldn't go so far as to suspect him, but he would probably keep an eye on him for a while. If he acted more active than before, it would invite the First Elder's suspicion.
So the best approach was to do nothing, and wait for an opportunity to fall into his lap. The Sixth Elder's movements were very secretive; even when he summoned his subordinates, it was within illusions and dreams.
But there was one thing he couldn't do in a dream, and that was indulge his lust.
The Sixth Elder had strong desires and enjoyed inflicting pain. Every so often, he would summon the sect's female members for amusement.
Back when Yi Chuanmei was still around, the Sixth Elder and that female student would shut themselves in a room and play, and both came away satisfied.
Now Yi Chuanmei had become Yuanshi Tianzun's spirit servant. The Sixth Elder had lost his finest playmate, and the other women couldn't endure his whippings, so he summoned and replaced them constantly.
All he had to do was wait patiently. It wouldn't be long before the opportunity appeared.
"Once we've had our revenge on the Southern Sect, the boss and I won't deliver takeout anymore. We'll settle down at the Wuhen Hotel — better yet, switch hotels entirely."
Little Fatty got up, got off the bed, and left the hotel.
Starlight rose in the hotel suite. Zhang Yuanqing looked around. This was his first time in Xiao Yuan's bedroom.
The furnishings were as plain and simple as she was. The layout and the furniture were the same as other rooms in the hotel; the only extras were two large wardrobes and a dressing table by the window.
On the table stood all sorts of skincare products and cosmetics. It seemed that even the most minimalist woman had a dazzling array of rouge and powder.
Or maybe it was because of her job. The front desk — receiving guests — makeup was unavoidable.
Xiao Yuan wasn't in the bedroom. The splashing of water came from the bathroom.
Zhang Yuanqing sat down on the armchair by the bed, crossed his legs, and tapped the armrest — click, click. He had already evolved from a rookie into a veteran driver, yet at this moment he was still nervous.
The message Xiao Yuan had sent him carried a very obvious hint.
According to his mentor's way of putting it: congratulations, you've already won this woman. What comes next is to conquer her body and soul, as naturally as water flowing.
But the more Zhang Yuanqing thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong.
Too despicable. Yes, too despicable.
At that thought he pulled out his phone and texted Lingjun:
"Teacher, she seems to have agreed."
A few seconds later the phone vibrated. Lingjun replied:
"Congratulations, congratulations. You're evolving in the direction of a stallion demigod. The first step to founding a Spirit Realm clan is to breed heirs on a grand scale, and the first step to breeding heirs is to open a vast harem. Within fifty years, the mainland will surely produce a new Spirit Realm clan. Young man, I have high hopes for you."
"Thank you for your guidance, mentor..."
No, that's not what I wanted to say... Zhang Yuanqing deleted the message and typed again:
"But I feel she's acting out of guilt, out of a wish to make it up to me."
Lingjun: "Be confident, drop the 'feel.' There is a compensatory element, but she clearly likes you. Guilt alone wouldn't make her give herself to you. You simply used this matter to push your relationship up to a new level. Actually, when you came out of the Five Elements Chaos dungeon, you could have pressed your advantage and taken her then. You've already missed one chance. This time you have to work hard. Keep it up."
"That's true, but—" Zhang Yuanqing had only gotten halfway through drafting it when the water in the bathroom stopped, and the bathroom door clicked open.
Xiao Yuan came out wrapped in a bathrobe, a towel around her head.
Her hair was bundled in the towel, and her plain, cool, elegant face was flushed pink from the bath, like a tempting lotus rising from the water.
The loose bathrobe did nothing to hide her full figure; her whole body gave off the charm of a mature woman.
Xiao Yuan sat on the edge of the bed, took off the towel, and tilted her head to let her black hair cascade down like a waterfall. She dried it carefully.
When her hair was dry, she silently turned off the light, turned her back on Zhang Yuanqing, and burrowed under the covers. She didn't say a word the whole time, gave no eye contact, as if she couldn't see the living man on the sofa.
Zhang Yuanqing got the signal. His breathing quickened. He kicked off his shoes, lifted the quilt, and slipped in.
He pressed close behind Xiao Yuan and put his hand on her slender waist — and he felt her body tighten at once, her soft form drawn taut as a bowstring.
That reaction — clearly no veteran driver here... Zhang Yuanqing muttered inwardly, his lower belly pressed against her round hips, feeling the softness and fullness of her body while time flowed quietly past.
At the same time he buried his face in the pale nape of her neck, gently kissing and licking among hair that smelled of shampoo, taking her earlobe into his mouth.
The room was quiet and dim. The two of them exchanged not a single word, yet did what only lovers and married couples do.
His hand roamed up and down inside her bathrobe, his lips moved from her earlobe to her cheek, and he turned Xiao Yuan over so she lay flat on her back, their eyes meeting.
One pair blazing hot, the other misty and alluring.
Zhang Yuanqing had never seen this Xiao Yuan before. Stripped of her coldness and her plain elegance, she revealed an inner self that was a little shy, a little nervous, a little loving.
He had never imagined that this cool, elegant older woman, this woman who had oppressed him so heavily at their first meeting, would one day lie blushing beneath him.
He lowered his head and took her full, moist lips, sucking greedily.
Xiao Yuan pushed her hands against his chest, but weakly.
The hot kiss lasted a full five minutes. Finally Xiao Yuan pushed him away and turned her head aside, panting as she spoke. "A— a shower..."
Her eyes looked so seductive they seemed about to drip.
Zhang Yuanqing lowered his head and whispered by her ear: "Aunt Xiao Yuan, you're beautiful — but this isn't yet when you're at your most beautiful."
He pressed his lower body against her.
Xiao Yuan gave a soft moan and shot him a charmingly reproachful glance.
Zhang Yuanqing put on his shoes and went into the bathroom. Xiao Yuan pulled the quilt up over her head. Listening to her own frantic heartbeat, her burning breath trapped under the covers made her cheeks hotter still.
She thought she really must be insane. She had sworn never in this life to have relations with any man, had told herself she would never repeat her sister's mistakes, and yet years later she had lured into bed a man more than ten years younger than herself.
As she thought, Xiao Yuan suddenly felt something was wrong. The bathroom was too quiet — so quiet it broke the illusion of anyone being inside.
She threw off the quilt, one hand covering her chest where her charms were spilling out, and got up to put on her slippers. She went to the bathroom to look — Yuanshi Tianzun was nowhere to be seen.
He had left.
Just then the phone on the nightstand dinged. Xiao Yuan returned to the bed and picked up the phone to check the message.
[Yuanshi Tianzun: There's plenty of time ahead!]
Xiao Yuan stared blankly at the message for a good while, then the corners of her mouth curved up and she muttered, "Coward."
"The mentor was right — this is a good chance to deepen the relationship, but there's no need to rush into that kind of intimacy. I've kissed her, I've touched her; she won't get away."
Zhang Yuanqing rode the wild wind toward Songhai.
He had thought it over carefully and still felt he shouldn't have slept with Xiao Yuan at a time like this.
Lingjun's whole approach was that of a hunter of women: seize the chance when it comes, go your separate ways at dawn, and if both parties are interested, keep the relationship going long-term until the next romance arrives.
Zhang Yuanqing didn't want to become a womanizer like Lingjun, so he seized this chance to make his relationship with Xiao Yuan leap forward — from unspoken ambiguity to the point of hugging and kissing.
From here on, as long as things took their natural course, after a few more times Xiao Yuan would be able to accept him without any psychological burden, instead of out of a wish to make it up to him as she did now.
"The mentor really is too much of a scoundrel. I'm different — I'm in it for love..."
At seven that evening he returned to Songhai. Sun Miaomiao and the others had already started grilling meat in the courtyard.
"Finished your business?" Guan Ya sized up her returning boyfriend.
Zhang Yuanqing's expression didn't change. "It failed. The other party was actually willing to take my investment, but I thought it over and decided the timing wasn't right."
Guan Ya said "Oh," and didn't ask more. Then she sniffed and frowned. "Why do you smell of blood?"
"Slaughtered a few stray dogs."
On the way back, Zhang Yuanqing had killed several stray dogs, feeding their lives and souls to the Form and Spirit Obliteration Saber. Nourishing the saber didn't require humans; dogs would do.
This saber fully proved the principle that all living beings are equal.
On top of that, the smell of blood would cover Xiao Yuan's scent.
The barbecue party started out normally enough. Everyone drank, chatted, and ate meat, happy and harmonious. But Sun Miaomiao had terrible drinking manners. A few bottles in, she was drunk, and declared that drinking alone was boring — let's play finger-guessing, and whoever scores highest is rewarded with a cross-cup drink with Yuanshi Tianzun.
She also said the bunny girls could join in. Yuanshi Tianzun belonged to Guan Ya, but he also belonged to everyone. Tonight he's the star courtesan, so let's all play with him together.
Guan Ya was a bold woman herself. Facing a pack of glamorous vixens eyeing her man, she wasn't fazed in the least. She rolled up her sleeves and said, if any of you can drink a cross-cup with him tonight, then Yuanshi Tianzun and I will put on a live breakup for you.
So a crowd of women, a bite of meat and a gulp of liquor at a time, started shouting and playing finger-guessing.
Three rounds in, Xiahou Aotian and Li Chunfeng arrived. The two Scholars had been tightening screws half the night and were starving. Seeing the singing, dancing, and barbecue next door, they came over to beg for alms.
Xiahou Aotian heard about the game and said, with a show of reluctance, that he wasn't eating their food for free — whoever won could also drink a cross-cup with him. This protagonist rarely gave such high welfare to random female side characters; tonight they could count themselves lucky.
At that, Sun Miaomiao said they might as well drop the game. Let's take a halftime break — my spirit servant can dance, so I'll dance for everyone. She summoned her spirit servant to possess the bunny girl and began to sing and dance.
Zhang Yuanqing wasn't about to be outdone either. He summoned the Ghost Bride and Commandery Princess Yinyao, announcing a dance-off with Sun Miaomiao's spirit servant — Republican-era dance or Ming dynasty dance, either was fine.
The princess caused a stir the moment she appeared. Raising her little megaphone, she said: "Oh my, all of Yuanshi Tianzun's consorts have gathered together?"
That one sentence offended not only the ladies present but Xiahou Aotian as well.
It made him realize he was a failure.
The barbecue party didn't end until the small hours. Not much grilled meat was eaten; the liquor, on the other hand, went through case after case — half into their stomachs, half for fun.
Commandery Princess Yinyao shook up champagne and sprayed people, saying she was giving her master Yuanshi Tianzun a treat, and it turned into a free-for-all. Most of the liquor ended up sprayed on the frail Xiahou Aotian and Li Chunfeng.
When it broke up, both Scholars were cursing.
The next day, just after the sun rose, Zhang Yuanqing woke from a sweet dream with a sweet, full body in his arms.
Guan Ya was curled up against him, her loose black hair like a dark cloud, her exquisitely beautiful face wearing the allure of satisfaction.
"Are you coming downstairs with me to eat, or sleeping a while longer?" Zhang Yuanqing looked down at the mixed-race beauty in his arms.
"A while longer..." Guan Ya murmured lazily.
Zhang Yuanqing had to go out today, so he didn't pester his girlfriend for morning exercise. He quietly got up and dressed, then went down to the first floor for breakfast.
Xie Lingxi and the Queen hadn't gotten up. Sun Miaomiao was a Night Walker, used to sleeping by day and running wild by night, and was still snoring away in bed.
After breakfast, Zhang Yuanqing used Yi Chuanmei's illusion to change his appearance, slipped onto a flight to Du, and arrived at Wanbao House.
In the cluttered little shop, as messy as a hardware store, he saw Lian Sanyue again — black leather jacket, black tube top, a slim women's cigarette between her fingers, languid manner, sitting like the big sister of a gang.
"Buying or selling? Or maybe you'd like a trip into the black market?" Lian Sanyue said lazily.
An Illusionist's disguise could change one's aura, and Scholars had no skill to see through disguises; the woman hadn't recognized his true self.
"I'd like to use the Hundred Refining Furnace," Zhang Yuanqing said.
He planned, before hunting the Sixth Elder, to raise the Purple Thunder Hammer to Dominator grade and make his hunt more certain.
The materials were sufficient anyway.
Besides, he also wanted to see what changes this Rule-class item would undergo once it advanced to Dominator level.
Hearing that a sucker wanted to use the Hundred Refining Furnace, Lian Sanyue's mouth split into a grin.
Zhang Yuanqing bought a token for entering the black market, followed Lian Sanyue through the black market area, and came to the room where the Hundred Refining Furnace was kept.
The tall triangular bronze furnace stood quietly.
"How many fire stones do you have? I'll take them all," Zhang Yuanqing said.
"Oho, so you're no novice." Lian Sanyue eyed him with a smile. Most Spirit Realm walkers who used the Hundred Refining Furnace once basically had their Dao hearts collapse and would never touch it a second time.
Anyone who dared use it twice was the gambler of all gamblers.
"Twenty fire stones have accumulated over the past two months — ten million in total." Lian Sanyue waved a hand, and crimson fire stones clattered down.
"Not many people use it lately," Zhang Yuanqing said.
"Only one use in the past month, and that guy nearly bankrupted himself," Lian Sanyue said.
Was that guy named Kakarot? Zhang Yuanqing silently lit a candle for the protagonist.
Lian Sanyue added: "But the person before him refined a divine artifact — a divine artifact that made people's eyes red with envy. This broken furnace is a gold-devouring beast; even I feel the pain when I use it. That kid was just lucky. If he comes again, I'm charging double for fire stones."
*He's already here...* Hearing that, Zhang Yuanqing said:
"I'll pay the fire stone fee shortly. Could I ask you to step out?"
He didn't want to take out Little Red Riding Hood in front of the proprietress, in case she recognized him and raised the price.
"That's your prerogative." Lian Sanyue pointed at the iron hammer beside the furnace and smiled. "I don't need to explain how to use that thing, do I?"
With that, she left, smiling.
After she was gone, Zhang Yuanqing excitedly rubbed his hands, opened the furnace lid, took out the Purple Thunder Hammer and tossed it in, then put on the Lucky Necklace.
This time, the Hundred Refining Furnace popped up a dialog box of its own accord:
[Upgrade?]
It had clearly detected an upgradeable item of its own making.
Chapter 610