Chapter 171: A Visit

Uniquely Inn.

"Stop overthinking it. That was just the nonsense of a jianghu charlatan; there's no need to believe it," Bai Qingzhou said casually to the two people in front of him.

He Zuo waved his hand dismissively and said, "Hah! Of course I don't believe it! Don't worry, Senior Brother, all those people are just scammers out for money, I know."

Beside him, He Li kept her head down, nodding gently, and said softly, "Mm... I know it too."

Yet, a strange look lingered in her eyes, making her appear heavily burdened with worry.

Naturally, Bai Qingzhou did not believe a single word of what the fortune-telling old man had said. He sneered at it, didn't even bother paying him, and directly turned around to leave with the two youths.

After searching the street for a moment, they found the Uniquely Inn and rented three rooms upon entering.

"Senior Brother, then... are we leaving tomorrow?" He Zuo asked with a heavy expression.

"There's no rush..." Bai Qingzhou raised his head and said calmly, "Tomorrow we need to visit a good friend of the sect leader. Before we set off, the sect leader gave me a letter, entrusting me to deliver it to him. Let's go look for him together tomorrow."

"Awesome, awesome!" Upon hearing that they wouldn't be leaving the market town immediately, He Zuo looked very excited.

After all, in his brief dozen or so years of life, Liuyun Market was by far the most fun and lively place he had ever seen. Naturally, he was unwilling to leave so soon.

"Alright, you two go get some rest first. After traveling for over a month, you must be quite tired. Make use of the medicinal baths at the Uniquely Inn to properly relax," Bai Qingzhou gently reminded them.

"You too, Senior Brother," He Li replied.

With that, the three parted ways. Bai Qingzhou watched the two walk into their respective rooms, then turned and stepped into his own.

The rooms were all decorated in a uniform style with no noticeable differences. This time, he had booked a Grade-A room, where both the breath-adjustment array and the medicinal bath were a tier higher than those in the standard rooms.

After locking the door simply, Bai Qingzhou stripped off his clothes and stepped into the wooden bathing barrel.

Since the room had just been prepared, the water temperature was still just right. As soon as he got in, he couldn't help letting out a groan.

"Still as comfortable as ever..." he sighed inwardly.

Letting the warm water constantly wash over his body, Bai Qingzhou gradually entered a state of relaxation.

Closing his eyes, he enjoyed the rare peace. The medicinal herbs blended into the clear water greatly enhanced its healing properties. Just by sitting quietly in the barrel, the fatigue on his body vanished rapidly, like the wind sweeping away clouds.

Bai Qingzhou evenly controlled his breathing, and the room instantly fell into a rare, profound quiet. Even the sound of his breath grew soft, allowing him to hear the rhythmic thumping of his own heart.

"Thump... thump..."

The faint heartbeat involuntarily left Bai Qingzhou's mind completely blank. Yet suddenly, he inexplicably recalled the words of that fortune-teller from earlier.

"...Both of you will face imminent disaster recently, and the timing is identical, within five days!"

"Within five days, a major disaster is inevitable, huh..." He muttered thoughtfully, deep in thought.

......

A night passed.

Early the next morning, Bai Qingzhou rose promptly and found He Zuo and He Li, both full of spirit, and the three of them stepped out of the inn together.

The morning air carried a faint fragrance; taking a deep breath immediately invigorated the mind. Diligent cultivators could be found anywhere, and not long after dawn, stalls began popping up along both sides of the street. Many of the storefronts on either side were also slowly opening their doors. Looking at their faces, many seemed as though they hadn't slept enough, and some had evidently stayed up all night.

Yet, for the sake of making a living, it was clear that none of them cared about this little bit of lost sleep.

The three simply grabbed some breakfast at a roadside stall, took the opportunity to ask the vendor for the specific address written on the letter, and once they were all thoroughly stuffed, they set off toward the shop address left by Nie Fang.

Along the way.

He Zuo picked at his teeth with a toothpick, adopting the swagger of a vagrant wanderer, and leaned forward to ask, "Senior Brother, what cultivation realm is the sect leader's friend at?"

Bai Qingzhou pondered slightly and said, "He should be at the intermediate Foundation Establishment stage. I heard he has known the sect leader for a long time, but he has always run his shop here and hasn't seen the sect leader in ages, which is why the sect leader entrusted me with delivering this letter."

He Li asked curiously, "What kind of shop does he run?"

"An artifact shop!" Bai Qingzhou's eyes revealed a hint of envy as he sighed, "He is an artifact refiner! A Foundation Establishment artifact refiner—that's a lucrative profession no matter where you go..."

Having operated an artifact shop in Huoying Market, Bai Qingzhou naturally understood the profit margins involved. Meng Li had made a fortune just by crafting low-grade Yellow-tier magical robes, and this person was a Foundation Establishment artifact refiner; one could only imagine the profits.

"Huh? What is an artifact refiner?" He Zuo blinked and asked aloud.

Hearing the question, Bai Qingzhou smiled slightly, then assumed the air of a teacher from the mountain gate. Walking along, he began explaining various occupations and knowledge of the cultivation world to the two. His running commentary gave them a basic understanding of what an artifact refiner was.

As they spoke, the three arrived at the location recorded in the letter.

Embroidered Gauze Pavilion.

Looking at the name written on the plaque, Bai Qingzhou knew they had come to the right place.

"Let's go," he said, taking the lead and walking inside, prompting the two youngsters to quickly follow.

"Welcome to the Embroidered Gauze Pavilion!" As soon as they entered the shop, a young woman immediately stepped forward to greet them. She appeared to be around eighteen or nineteen, with a slender figure, large eyes, snow-white skin, and a cascading mass of dark, cloud-like hair piled behind her head.

Before Bai Qingzhou could speak, the female cultivator looked him up and down and directly asked, "Senior, are you looking to pick out a dao robe for your cultivation partner?"

"A cultivation partner?" Hearing this, Bai Qingzhou was momentarily stunned, then looked around at the shop's layout, at which point it finally dawned on him.

He noticed that the dao robes hanging as displays on both sides of the shop were exclusively women's styles, and there wasn't a single men's dao robe in the entire establishment. Clearly, this was an artifact shop specializing strictly in female dao robes.

Bai Qingzhou waved his hand and said, "Not at all. We are here to see fellow Daoist Gan Wei."

"Oh..." The female cultivator had a sudden realization, a playful smile dancing on her face. "Are you here to see my dad, then?"

Bai Qingzhou was stunned once more, then smiled and said, "Ah, so you are fellow Daoist Gan's daughter... A pleasure to meet you. Is your dad in the shop?"

The female cultivator didn't answer his question; instead, she tilted her head to look at He Zuo and He Li, who were peering around curiously from behind him, and called out with an astonished expression, "These two kids aren't my dad's illegitimate children from outside, are they?! Did you bring them right to our doorstep?!"

Hearing this, black lines instantly covered Bai Qingzhou's forehead. This woman's train of thought leaped all over the place.

"This won't do at all; my mom won't agree to this..." the female cultivator muttered to herself, wearing a deeply conflicted expression.

"I am not his son!" He Zuo protested loudly from behind.

Bai Qingzhou also hurriedly explained, "Young lady, you've misunderstood. We are cultivators from the Xuanling Sect, and we've come under the orders of Sect Leader Nie to deliver a letter in our possession to Fellow Daoist Gan."

"Oh! So that's how it is!" The female cultivator let out a heavy sigh of relief, her face relaxing completely. "Not an illegitimate child, then I can rest easy! Just wait a moment, I'll go fetch my dad! Chances are, he hasn't even sobered up yet!"