Chapter 32: Zhao Liying Has Arrived

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Coming to the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion to settle a debt of thirty-six thousand taels of silver had been worth it—truly, more than worth it!

Although he had incurred a favor that was neither particularly large nor particularly small, favors were a complicated thing. How could one say? They were not necessarily a bad thing.

From this day forward, the Scarlet Fire Ice Sword belonged to him alone, and the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion would no longer retain ownership of it.

However, Little Dragon Maiden Liu Yifei had still left behind a piece of calligraphy as a token of gratitude.

Gao Wu had wanted to leave one as well, but Shopkeeper Tong had refused. In essence, her meaning was that Gao Wu was not yet qualified to leave his calligraphy at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion.

This left Gao Wu deeply moved. The woman clearly did not know how to appreciate fine things. In the future, thirty-six thousand taels would not be enough to buy a piece of his calligraphy!

After returning to the Breeze Inn, it was time to summon the third heroine—and time, as well, to leave the inn where he had stayed for more than ten days.

Inside Gao Wu’s room, he looked at the two beauties before him, one dressed in white and the other in red, and asked uncertainly, “We’re doing it here?”

“Mm. Begin. I happen to want to observe carefully how you do it.”

Whenever Zhou Zhiruo’s icy gaze swept over him, Gao Wu could not help shivering.

“Isn’t the place a little cramped?”

“It’s not cramped.”

“Why do I feel a little ner—”

“Start already. Stop dawdling!”

This was Gao Wu’s first time summoning a heroine outside of battle. The previous two occasions had taken place in moments of crisis, when he had called them over to save his life. Thinking about it that way, he seemed rather indebted to the two of them. Yes, he would have to make it up to them properly in the future.

He touched the Netherworld Token and silently recited the word “Summon.”

A flash of black light passed through the room.

At that moment, it seemed as though a tunnel through time had opened, and a figure slowly emerged from within.

The newcomer was unexpectedly a young girl. She wore a neat black martial outfit, and her long hair was tied high in the manner of a man’s. With little adornment around her shoulders, back, or neck, her slender, delicate frame appeared all the more fragile.

Her black clothes set off her exceptionally fair complexion, while a cool, refined beauty lingered between her brows.

Her round, doll-like face held eyes that were long but not narrow, their outer corners tapering into an elegant curve. Yet her eyelids slanted upward, giving her a distant, wary air as she surveyed the three people in the room.

Before long, however, her expression changed from astonishment to delight.

“It’s you? Yifei? Yuanyuan?”

“Liying!”

The two women had clearly recognized the girl before them as well: Zhao Liying at eighteen or nineteen years of age.

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“Haha, why are you two here? Weren’t we supposed to find someone named Gao Wu?”

“There. Isn’t that him?”

Only then did Zhao Liying look up at the tall Gao Wu.

“You’re Gao Wu? A pleasure to meet you. I hope we can look after each other in the future!”

Gao Wu silently praised her. Zhao Liying truly deserved to have made her way up through her own hard work. She was far more adept at handling social situations than the other two.

“Haha, we’ll help one another. We still have to search together for a way home!”

At the same time, Zhao Liying’s information appeared on Gao Wu’s Netherworld Token.

Heroine: Zhao Liying
Realm: Innate Realm
Techniques: Withering-and-Blooming True Qi, Snow-Breaking Saber, Mayfly Formation, Equality of Things Formula, Colliding with Southern Mountain, Drawing Back Mountains and Rivers

Zhao Liying’s personality really was unusual. She had used her real name without hesitation, while her techniques were all unfamiliar to him.

Gao Wu had also acquired the Withering-and-Blooming True Qi and the Mayfly Formation.

The Withering-and-Blooming True Qi was unexpectedly a domineering and formidable internal cultivation art. Once it entered Gao Wu’s body, it sought to reign supreme and refused to coexist with his other techniques. He had no choice but to suppress it temporarily with the Dragon Chant Shaking the Nine Heavens technique, then slowly digest it and make it his own.

The Mayfly Formation, meanwhile, was a martial art based on formations, an exceedingly rare discipline containing countless different formations. When used to attack, it created a fan-shaped field of assault in front of the practitioner. As long as the practitioner kept their back against a wall and did not expose their weakness to the enemy, it was the ideal technique for fighting outnumbered.

The formation also incorporated lightness skills, the Eight Trigrams, the Five Elements, and other principles. Its name came from the image of a mayfly attempting to shake a great tree.

Zhao Liying’s techniques were rather strange, so Gao Wu asked her directly, “Liying, whose techniques did you inherit?”

“Zhou Fei!”

Zhao Liying’s answer was concise. Zhou Fei was a heroine she had portrayed in a drama called The Legend of Fei.

Gao Wu did not know much about the character, so he did not ask further.

Judging by her techniques and the long saber strapped to her back, she was one of the rare heroines who practiced the saber.

“What are we going to do next? Fight monsters and level up?”

Zhao Liying actually seemed faintly excited.

“Fight monsters? And level up?” Gao Wu had not expected the girl to possess such a vivid imagination.

“You suddenly arrive in an unfamiliar world, and you aren’t afraid at all?”

“I was a little afraid when I first arrived. But after seeing familiar faces, it wasn’t so frightening anymore.”

“This is a real world, not a game world. If you die here, you really die. You mustn’t be careless.”

“I know, I know!” Zhao Liying waved her hand. “When I was brought here, the system explained everything to me clearly!”

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Gao Wu shook his head. She really was remarkably carefree.

Even so, he still had to explain the plan ahead to Zhao Liying in detail.

“Next, we’re heading to the headquarters of the Profound Nether Cult. Our objective is to discover the relationship between the Profound Nether Cult and the Netherworld Cult, and to determine whether the Iron-Gallant Heavenly King, Zhu Hun, betrayed the Netherworld Cult and caused its destruction.”

“What we know so far is that the leader of the Profound Nether Cult is Zhu Yougui, while the Ghost King is Zhu Youwen. The two are at the peak of the Innate Realm and the late stage of the Innate Realm respectively. Zhong Xiaokui is at the early stage of the Innate Realm. As for whether there are any other experts, we have no way of knowing.”

Zhao Liying nodded. “The Profound Nether Cult from The Bad Guys?”

“Well, look at that—we’ve found someone who knows the story.” Liu Yifei and Gao Yuanyuan had both said they had never watched the animated series, so Gao Wu had not expected Zhao Liying to be a fan.

“Still, the information can only serve as a reference. This world is terribly chaotic, and the strength of its characters has changed drastically. We must not underestimate anyone.”

“Got it!”

After learning about her mission, Zhao Liying began chatting with the other two women again.

Three women together truly did make a lively scene. The ancients had not deceived him.

Within the bamboo grove of the Hall of Writings, the stout and big-eared Sacred Lord Li Siyuan tossed a bloody piece of raw meat into the snake pit.

“Fan’er, did your travels yield anything this time?”

Zhang Zifan stood respectfully to one side and answered solemnly, “Replying to you, Adoptive Father, I uncovered Duke of Tang Li Ye’s plot to murder the heir, Li Xingyun. I also became acquainted with the two heroines ranked first and second on the Human List.”

“Very good. That fool Li Ye need not concern us further. Tell me properly about the first-ranked Zhou Zhiruo and the second-ranked Liu Yifei.”

“Yes, Adoptive Father!”

Zhang Zifan began with the first time he had encountered Gao Wu at the Joyous Arrival Restaurant in Fengqiu County. He spoke of Liu Yifei’s dazzling first appearance, and then of the battle between his Tenth Uncle, Li Cunxiao, and Liu Yifei in the woods.

The two sides had become acquainted through combat. After getting to know each other in Kaifeng, they had been deceived, along with Li Xingyun, into going to the Qianling Mausoleum, where they uncovered Duke of Tang Li Ye’s conspiracy.

This time, Zhou Zhiruo had also appeared out of nowhere, defeating Uncle Yang with a single move, severing the Dragon Spring Sword with one slash, and taking down Li Ye and his entire group in one stroke.

Zhang Zifan placed particular emphasis on the two women’s glorious achievements in each battle. Their talents were truly heaven-defying.

Li Siyuan, however, merely sighed softly.

“The martial world is not only about fighting and killing. It is also about human relationships and worldly wisdom.”

“Fan’er, you have done well. Very well indeed.”

“Gao Wu!”

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