Chapter 157: “Hello, let’s get married.”
“Oh wow, things are really lively now!”
Bai Feng stepped down from the flying boat, and truly, Tian Luo City was much grander than Xuan Guang City and Qing Hong City — you could even see some pretty flamboyant merchants on the road, likely coming from Central Continent or the Southern Region.
Not far ahead, the city lord of Tian Luo seemed to have been waiting for quite a while. After some polite exchanges, the Heavenly Sword Sect folks followed behind and headed to the lodging arranged for them.
On the way, Bai Feng spotted quite a few young people taking pictures with their Image Retainers, and even a handful of Heavenly Sword Sect disciples hauled out their own Retainers to snap photos.
“Have Image Retainers become so popular here?” he mumbled, blinking in surprise.
“Yeah, my mom’s a huge fan of Retainers,” Yu Yao said with a cheerful laugh, walking beside Bai Feng. “So I helped promote them a bit. Unfortunately, our influence in Central Continent and the Southern Region is still fairly small, and transportation costs are high. Retainers are fine, but the specialized photo stones are tough to sell because there aren’t many shops selling them. Other regions’ folks just don’t want to fork out big bucks for a one-time-use high-end photo stone. Otherwise, we could have easily sold them in Central and the Southern Regions.”
“Then why not just open licensing?” Bai Feng joked. “Let other merchants in those areas pay a yearly fee, and then they can produce their own specialized photo stones. To expand the Retainer market, we could even openly share the manufacturing methods for the specialized stones—though of course, we’d say they’re pirated, and do our best to block them with every method except outright stopping. We’d also warn customers that if they buy pirated stones, any mishaps are on their own heads.”
“Really? You can do that?” Yu Yao was stunned. That seemed to solve her biggest problem and help the products spread quickly to Central Continent and the Southern Region.
Recently, some other merchants had started copying them and making their own Retainers. The costs were higher, and there were many issues, but she felt a sense of urgency building up.
She reached out and grabbed Bai Feng’s sleeve. “Little Senior Brother.”
“Hey, we’re outside, in front of everyone, and this is your hometown–don’t go wild!” Bai Feng quickly warned.
“No, I just want to warn you,” Yu Yao looked up, her expression surprisingly serious for once. “If you come to my house as a guest, don’t say things like that.”
“Are you worried someone might overhear?” Bai Feng nodded. Though Yu Ling Long was a whole entity, the internal factions definitely had their own priorities. Not to mention Yu Yao, the Young Lady of Yu Ling Long, or even her father—the helmsman of Yu Ling Long—nobody could decide everything alone.
“No, I’m worried about something else,” Yu Yao scratched her cheek, her eyes shifting slightly. “Anyway, just don’t talk about those kinds of things.”
Bai Feng looked a bit puzzled but nodded anyway.
“Alright, enough of that. Let’s rest well today, and tomorrow I’ll take you around Tian Luo City!”
Yu Yao folded her arms and started chattering endlessly about the city’s delicious foods.
……
“Brother, what do you want to eat tonight?”
In the Heavenly Sword Sect disciple’s resting house, Bai Yu Mo dressed in an apron, holding a spatula, and asked Bai Feng.
“… Isn’t there no kitchen here?” Bai Feng looked around, certain that the mansion provided by the city lord didn’t come with a kitchen.
“Hah, lessons learned,” Bai Yu Mo said proudly, pulling cooking utensils out of her space pouch. “I brought my own pots and whatnot. Plus, I packed plenty of ingredients — we’ll be good for a long time.”
Bai Feng fell silent. He hadn’t expected Bai Yu Mo to basically move the kitchen in her bag. “… Then let’s just eat whatever.”
“Wait a moment, please,” Bai Yu Mo said cheerfully, busying herself with the cooking.
He looked at her bustling figure and offered, “Need me to help ‘fire up’ the stove?”
Bai Yu Mo turned and smiled brightly. “Yes, please!”
“Remember to tell me if you want the flames bigger or smaller!”
He conjured his long-unused Spirit Fire, carefully lowering it beneath the wok.
“Bro…”
“What?”
“… Nah, it’s nothing.”
Bai Yu Mo shook her head, staring at the ingredients in the wok.
Lately, she’d been subtly noticing Bai Feng acting a bit off. His attitude was the same as always, but she could see occasional flashes of unnatural expression.
Maybe she was just being greedy. Just staying by his side should be enough, yet she kept catching herself wanting more.
“Yu Mo? The food’s about to burn!”
“Huh?”
Quickly, Bai Yu Mo glanced at the wok and vigorously tossed the ingredients around, only to find they weren’t burning at all. She pouted and looked at Bai Feng, who was cracking a grin.
“Bro—!”
“Just kidding,” Bai Feng said, hands raised in a defensive pose. “And weren’t you zoning out a moment ago? Think of anything important?” He chuckled. “If you’re unsure about something, just tell me. Anything at all, no matter what.”
“… Mhm,” Bai Yu Mo nodded softly. “But for now, let’s finish cooking first!”
……
‘Alright, I can confirm now… I think I took a wrong turn…’
Since when did this start happening?
After dinner, while Bai Yu Mo washed the dishes, Bai Feng couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.
Honestly, this whole situation was pretty tricky. If he handled it poorly, the system might just blow up his Luck Points—which explained why he had been hesitant to act. Still, he knew dragging things out wouldn’t help. That was why, during cooking, he cautiously tested Bai Yu Mo’s attitude.
Just as he was mulling over what to do, a gentle knocking came from outside.
“Who’s there?”
From the sound of it, it wasn’t Su Lan Qian. Probably Yu Yao, but her knock was too soft and gentle for her style.
Feeling puzzled, Bai Feng pushed open the door. Outside stood a girl with twin ponytails, her frame petite and a bit delicate. She looked a little excited, eyes glued to him with intense focus.
But he didn’t recognize her.
“Who are you?”
The girl didn’t answer immediately but kept staring at him.
‘It’s Bai Feng!’
‘Finally, we meet in real life!’
‘Calm down… don’t get impulsive… must hold back… don’t do anything too crazy…’
‘No, wait, now’s not the time for that. I need to say something, don’t keep Bai Feng waiting too long.’
‘Should I just say my name first? Or start from our parents?’
‘Hmm, Bai Feng probably already heard about me from Uncle Bai. My dad even came to propose marriage earlier, right? Just mentioning my name should be fine, right?’
“Um… hello?” Bai Feng said, slowly extending a hand with uncertainty. “Are you lost?”
The girl’s expression grew more resolute. She reached up and suddenly hugged Bai Feng, tilting her head up and staring straight into his eyes:
“Hello, let’s get married.”
Bai Feng: ???
