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A month and a half later.
The scorching sun was high in the sky, and dust and sand drifted through the desert.
Under the towering and majestic sandstone city gate, there was an endless stream of people and caravans.
A sweaty horse carrying three people wearing bamboo hats came to a stop under the city gates.
Holding the reins was a teenager wearing a bucket hat, and sitting in his arms was a girl dressed in a greenish-blue dress, with her hair tied into a long ponytail.
If you only looked at these two people, you would probably think that they were a cultivator couple traveling to the Central Region, but behind the young man, another woman was sitting sideways, wearing a long black dress with a few strands of silvery hair showing from under her bucket hat.
At the tea stall by the entrance of the city, many tea drinkers saw them and couldn't contain their curiosity. "What do you think is their relationship? Holding one in his arms and carrying another at his back."
"I think the one in the front is his sister or something, and the one in the back holding him is his wife."
"No way! He must be holding his wife, and the one behind him holding his waist is his sister..."
The tea stall owner came over to serve tea and glanced at the three of them. "Maybe they are both his wives?"
... ...
The whispers reached his ears, and Ye Anping's face darkened.
He knew that flying swords were not allowed in the Central Region, so when he arrived at the Western Region's border, he planned to buy three horses. Unexpectedly, there seemed to be some kind of plague, and the horses were all gone. It took him a long time before he could buy this nag horse.
So, after entering the Central Region, the three of them could only ride on a horse together.
Feng Yu Die, who was holding his waist, saw that Ye Anping had stopped moving and tilted her head, asking with a smile, "Young Master Ye, are you tired of riding? Do you want to switch with me? I'll ride in front."
"Heh..."
Ye Anping knew as soon as he heard her that she simply wanted to hug Pei Lianxue, which of course, he did not agree. With a sneer, he flicked the reins again, riding through the Jade Pass City gates and into the city.
Different from those Immortal towns in the Western Region, the scenery here was beautiful, quiet, and vast.
Inside Jade Pass City, there was not the slightest bit of greenery as far as the eye could see -- yellow sandy avenues, sandstone houses, and a hot sun above the head.
Even Ye Anping, who had been practicing hard since he was a child, couldn't stand the hot weather in the Jade Pass desert. If it weren't for the natural ice cube that was his sister in his arms, he might have suffered from heatstroke on the way.
The three of them rode their horse until they found an inn. Ye Anping walked in and asked Feng Yu Die and his sister to find a seat. He went to the counter, took out ten spirit stones, and slapped them onto the table without waiting for the innkeeper to speak. "Boss, bring us three bowls of cold water."
This action startled the innkeeper, who quickly reached out and covered the ten spirit stones with his hand, his eyes sweeping left and right at the other guests in the store.
"Is this your first time coming to Jade Pass, young master?"
Ye Anping raised his eyebrows and smiled. "What? Ten spirit stones are not enough to buy three bowls of water? If it is not enough, I will add ten more."
"No, no, no... it's enough..." The innkeeper looked embarrassed and waved his hands quickly, urging, "Young Master, this Jade Pass is different from the Western Region towns. Most of the people here are rogue cultivators, and you and the two girls you're traveling with are only in the middle stage of the Foundation Building. Listen to me, don't expose your wealth. It would be bad if you were targeted."
Ye Anping smiled, waved, took out ten more spirit stones from his storage bag, and slapped them on the table too. "Is this enough?"
"..."
The innkeeper's eyes twitched as he looked at the playful smile on Ye Anping's face. He thought this boy was just too stubborn, so without saying more, he accepted the twenty spirit stones and went to order someone to bring the water.
Ye Anping looked back at Feng Yu Die, who was already sitting at the table and paused. "By the way, bring some roasted chicken as well."
"Ah? On such a hot day, you still want to eat roast chicken?"
"Yeah, that's what I said. Is the money not enough??"
"... It's enough, it's enough." The innkeeper pursed his mouth and said, "Old Huang, bring a roasted chicken! The table at the door on the left."
Ye Anping shrugged, turned back, and scanned the other tables in the inn, noticing that the three or four Foundation Building stage cultivators seated at the table in the corner were glancing at him. However, without a care, he walked over to Feng Yu Die's table and sat down.
Of course, he understood very well the principle of not flaunting your wealth.
He also knew that this Jade Pass was a land of lawlessness, full of thieves greedy for money.
However, in the game, when Feng Yu Die took Xiao Yunluo to Jade Pass City, she was targeted by the Immortal Thief Girl just because she spent a lot of spirit stones to buy water and roasted chicken.
If he wanted to recruit the Immortal Thief, he must first see her. Being targeted by her was the easiest way.
Feng Yu Die sensed that the people at the table next to her were glancing at them. After Ye Anping sat down, she asked, "Master Ye, why are you showing off like that? That gang has their eyes on us, they may come to rob us at night."
Hearing this, Pei Lianxue looked at Ye Anping and said, "Brother is trying to lure the enemy."
"Good..." Ye Anping patted her head, then asked Feng Yu Die, "When we passed by the Sword Gate Sect before, wasn't there a wanted person?"
Feng Yu Die thought about it and blinked. "That Immortal Thief?"
"Well, if she bites the hook, that's the best. If not, forget it. But remember, don't give her any way out if she comes at night, and beat her thoroughly..."
Ye Anping told his sister and Feng Yu Die about his plan, and after a while, the waiter brought roasted chicken and water. Feng Yu Die started to feast on it, while he looked outside the door.
To be honest, he really wasn't sure he could catch the Immortal Thief.
In his memory, the person's name was Su Waner, a cultivator who specialized in theft and escape. She had a magical power called the 'Heavenly Picking Technique', which was a kind of spell that could alter space.
In the game, after Feng Yu Die and Xiao Yunluo came to Jade Pass City and met her, they suffered a big blow. Su Waner used the Heavenly Picking Technique to steal their swords and all the spirit stones they had on them. As a result, they had to eat and sleep in the open, having no money left to stay at an inn.
From this point on, Feng Yu Die and Su Waner had been deeply entangled with each other.
During the Imperial Sect incident, Feng Yu Die was again relieved by her of many other things, and it wasn't until the very end of the incident that she was able to turn the tables, giving an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.
However, after removing her fox mask, she found that Su Waner was quite pretty, and then she...
Thinking of this, Ye Anping's face darkened, and he raised his head to look at Feng Yu Die, whose mouth was full of grease while she was chewing chicken bones.
"..."
Nom nom~~~ gulp...
?
Seeing him staring at her, Feng Yu Die blinked, then raised her eyebrows and asked in an inarticulate voice, "Why are you staring at me?"
"No reason. Eat slowly..."
Ye Anping held his cheeks with both hands and sighed silently.
The current Feng Yu Die and the Feng Yu Die he knew from the game seemed to be two different people.
In the game, Feng Yu Die couldn't abstain herself whenever she saw a pretty girl and wanted to strike up a conversation. Every time she was caught in the act by Xiao Yunluo, she got beaten.
But now...
"Sister Pei, do you want to eat roasted chicken? This chicken leg is the best, I'll save it for you..."
Pei Lianxue elegantly sipped her tea and glanced at her. "I don't want it."
Feng Yu Die pushed the chicken leg toward Pei Lianxue's mouth. "Try it~ It's delicious. Different from the flavor in the Western Region. The roasted chicken over here is a bit spicier."
Pei Lianxue frowned and said coldly, "I said, I don't want it!"
Feng Yu Die withdrew her hand aggrievedly and sucked the chicken skin in her mouth. "Oh..."
... ...
Watching silently the interaction between the two, Ye Anping could only sigh. It had been almost three years since Feng Yu Die pressed her hot face against his sister's cold butt, and she actually hadn't given up yet...
Was she too stupid or too dedicated?
Ye Anping stopped focusing on this matter. He still had to think about how to catch Su Waner.
If he didn't catch her, she would stir up shit between the Imperial Sect, the demonic cultivators, and the Demon Clan, which would be troublesome. Not to mention he still needed her to help him with things.
That said, Ye Anping was suddenly curious about what Su Waner looked like.
In the game, she was an NPC wearing snow-white night clothes, a fox mask, and the title 'Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain' above her head.
As for what was under the mask, the game designers didn't make anything; it was just like Li Longling's eyes, a blank spot.
But since Feng Yu Die was attracted to her, it meant that her look was pretty good.
Right?
Just as Ye Anping was thinking about Su Waner's appearance, he suddenly heard the soft ringing of the Heavenly Return Bell he had put in his storage bag.
Jingle jingle~~
?!
The clear and melodious sound made Ye Anping's hair stand on end, and he felt his body temperature suddenly drop by ten degrees. He quickly turned his head and looked around.
Was Si Xuanji nearby?
How could that be? She and Xiao Yunluo had set out three months earlier, and even if they were walking slowly, they had definitely crossed the Jade Pass long ago, and it was impossible for them to be here.
Could she have deliberately waited for him?
Ye Anping was a little confused, but then a second bell rang in his mind.
Jingle jingle~~
He frowned slightly and quickly scanned the surroundings. There were many guests in the inn, both men and women, but no one was as short as Si Xuanji.
Pei Lianxue saw Ye Anping's alert expression and instinctively prepared her sword. Looking at Feng Yu Die, who was stuffing herself with roasted chicken, she chided in a low voice. "Stop eating."
"Eh?" Feng Yu Die was taken aback, then looked at Ye Anping's face, quickly wiped her greasy hands on the tablecloth, frowned, and looked around. "What is it?"
Seeing that he had alerted both of them, Ye Anping was a little helpless. After thinking for a while, he wondered if Si Xuanji didn't show up because she wanted him to go out alone, and he said, "Sister, it's nothing, I'm just a little edgy. You two keep eating, I'll go out for a bit."
"Ah... brother, don't you want us to come with you?"
"No, I'll just take a look around. I won't go far."
Ye Anping stood up and walked to the entrance of the inn, stilling his mind to listen to the sound of the Heavenly Return Bell from his storage bag that came through his spiritual sense.
Jingle jingle~~
"To the left..."
He looked to the left. About fifty feet away, there was a teahouse with the title "Jade Sand Pavilion" written on the entrance plaque.
If he remembered well, it should be the pawnshop of the Jade Pass' black market.
"The black market. Why did she go there?"
Ye Anping frowned slightly. Feeling that the sound of the bell might not necessarily lead to Si Xuanji, his alertness suddenly increased. He took out a few talismans and small daggers, hid them in his sleeves, and headed there.