Chapter 339: 337. Return (4/4)
"Let’s talk about it in a month."
Having said that, Wen Ping was ready to leave.
The tasks were all completed; staying here any longer was pointless. After wandering around, he’d return to receive enlightenment, and then find a secluded place to claim his realm-boosting reward... If the Life Core swayed.
He’d get a double reward, and then he’d reach the Divine Profound Realm.
At this moment, Ji Liangping and the others walked out from the inn’s rooms.
"Shi Hua, let’s go, let’s head back." Wen Ping said, and immediately pulled Shi Hua along.
Watching Wen Ping’s departing figure, Lu Hai and his companion did not follow. However, Lu Hai couldn’t help asking the question he had been wanting to ask, "Brother Wen, may I know which lake you’re from, which faction?"
"You guess."
Leaving this phrase behind, Wen Ping disappeared into the crowd.
With Wen Ping gone, Lu Hai and his companion weren’t too disappointed. It was just a month; they could wait.
A good thing is worth waiting for!
On his way to the exit of Cloud Sea City with Zhantian Qingxuan and the others, two men emerged from an alley.
They watched Wen Ping’s back, then started chatting with each other.
"A pleasant surprise."
"Yeah, I didn’t expect the Immortal Sect to have such a Vortex Divine Artisan behind them. No wonder they could kill Nangong Wentian and the others."
With those words, the two left Cloud Sea City that very day.
Meanwhile, Wen Ping was leading a group as they roamed and played.
As they were walking, they suddenly saw a man and a woman. However, the man, who had the build of a real man, had a woman’s face. With willow brows and almond eyes, red lips and white teeth, he looked at people with great gentleness. The woman facing him was quite the opposite.
She had thick eyebrows and big eyes, extravagantly robust.
Accompanying their dialogue, people around burst into laughter.
"Husband."
"Wife."
Just those calls brought uproarious laughter from the onlookers.
Miao Yin pulled Shi Hua and Lin Kewu into the crowd as well, delighting at the pair and clapping continuously in applause.
Wen Ping also leaned in, watching their amusing conversation when Ji Liangping spoke, "Sect Leader Wen, this is a unique act of Cloud Sea City. The face-swapping play, by wearing a special white ring, allows you to swap faces with someone opposite for a quarter of an hour."
"Interesting." Indeed, the world is vast and full of wonders. "By the way, what is that white ring?"
"Not sure. Generally, those who perform face-swapping plays possess this as a family craft. But they do sell the white rings; they aren’t hiding anything..." Ji Liangping pointed at a little boy at the edge of the crowd, indeed, holding a handful of white rings.
About the size of a person’s head, somewhat transparent, Lin Kewu heard others explaining nearby and inquired about the price.
"Boy, how much?"
"1 White Crystal for a pair."
"Bought, give me several pairs." Lin Kewu thought of bringing them back for his senior and junior brothers as entertainment.
Selling the tools of his trade, these craftsmen are indeed unique people.
Wen Ping turned his head to look at Lin Kewu and the others.
Lin Kewu was buying white rings, Miao Yin was asking what the white ring was made of, and Shi Hua was the only one sulking quietly.
Wen Ping immediately wanted to go over to clear things up, but Ji Liangping spoke again, "Sect Leader Wen, don’t look anymore... I know what she’s thinking. She doesn’t really want to follow you back to Cangwu City."
"Why?"
"She is a self-reliant child, feeling guilty towards you, saved by you, and indebted to you. So she really wants to repay... Staying by your side would only allow her to benefit from your grace, which she cannot repay."
"So..." Wen Ping figured Shi Hua must have had a long talk with Ji Liangping last night.
Ji Liangping answered, "So, I decided to take her as my disciple. From now on, she’ll train under me, and you can rest assured with me."
"I knew it." Actually, Wen Ping had foreseen all this.
Back then, when Kao Shan Sect was destroyed, she was likely in the martial arts hall and thus escaped disaster.
But she chose to leave rather than rely on them.
Now, it’s still the same way...
A self-reliant woman is indeed hard to grasp.
"Fine, then let her follow you." After saying this, Wen Ping immediately took out a Storage Ring, stuffed it with a Profound Level Cultivation Technique and several Yellow Level Top-Grade Vein Skills, along with a hundred White Crystals. "Dean Ji, please give this to her for me. If I hand it to her... she probably won’t accept it."
"Sure," Ji Liangping nodded.
"Alright, I’ll be off then." Wen Ping turned around, addressing Zhantian Qingxuan beside him, "Elder Qingxuan, go and pull those two guys out for me. They’re still at it with the playing."
With that, Wen Ping parted ways with the others.
Ji Liangping took Shi Hua away, waving farewell as he and Wen Ping parted.
They exchanged no more words.
But in Shi Hua’s heart, she secretly vowed that one day she would become a strong person above the Divine Profound Realm, so she could truly stand by Wen Ping’s side. To help him, to protect him, to defeat all his enemies for him.
The weather gradually cooled; in Cloud Sea City, it began to rain.
The hazy drizzle added a sense of melancholy to Cloud Sea City.
...
Two days later, Wen Ping, with Lin Kewu and the others, finally explored all of Cloud Sea City. Lin Kewu and the others bought a ton of stuff, all peculiar little items unique to Cloud Sea City. But none were as interesting as the face-swapping play.
Then, spending two and a half days on the Flying Ship, Wen Ping steadily returned to Cangwu City, landing at Churao Mountain.
It was evening by then, and everyone was revisiting "Immortal Slayer." Hearing the noise, they immediately came out of the Viewing Room.
"Sect Leader, don’t expose us." Lin Kewu and Miao Yin immediately put on the white rings and then disembarked from the Flying Ship.
And then, Miao Yin looked affectionately at Yun Liao, but with Lin Kewu’s face, it appeared incredibly bizarre.
"What in the world?" Yang Lele was startled, "Junior Sister Miao Yin, you still have the body, but what happened to the face, disfigured? Wow, it’s my first time seeing her look at Elder Yun with a man’s gaze."
Yun Liao immediately coughed once, unsure of what to say.
Then, Lin Kewu walked over, with Miao Yin’s face next to Qin Mo, and quietly said, "Young Master, let me scrub your back... Young Master, should I massage your shoulders!"
"Get lost!"
Qin Mo’s goosebumps fell all over the place, immediately shouting angrily.
Amid Lin Kewu and Miao Yin’s laughter, Wen Ping stowed the Flying Ship into the underground.
Then, after chatting with everyone for a while, he returned to Tingyu Pavilion.
"System, claim the reward."
[Enlightenment, claimed successfully.]
[Randomly unlocking construction area... unlocked successfully - new territory beyond Churao Mountain.]
[Realm enhancement being claimed, would you like to use the Life Core Pendant?]
"Use it!"
Wen Ping smoothly took the Life Core Pendant off his neck, then gently swayed it.
The purple crystal emitted a unique halo.
Then it began to oscillate.
The system’s voice immediately echoed in his ear, "Life Core swaying, realm enhancement doubled, would you like to receive the reward now?"
"Dispense it!"
As soon as the words fell, a feeling of bright sunshine flooded Wen Ping’s mind.