Peach Blossoms

On the first day on the boat, Xu Shulou woke up very early. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Bai Roushuang floating outside the window on a sword waiting for her to wake up. She was very excited, so she didn't stay in bed anymore. She got up, changed her clothes, and went out for breakfast with her junior sister.

There were many restaurants on the fifth floor of the ship. When the two of them came downstairs, they saw a smiling maid at the door asking, "Dear guests, what kind of cuisine would you like for breakfast? Shandong and Jiangsu cuisine can be on the left, Cantonese and Sichuan cuisine can be on the right, and if you want to try the special dishes of the cultivation world, go in the middle."

After being in the cultivation world for so long, Bai Roushuang has finally understood that only a few people in the cultivation world are willing to study food. If they put a spiritual herb unique to the cultivation world in a dish and boast that it is "special to the cultivation world", the taste is usually inferior to that of the mortal world. She cautiously looked at the sign not far away, and sure enough, most of the people coming in and out of this restaurant are mortals who want to try something new.

The two finally chose Su cuisine. After they sat down, waiters brought cups and plates. All the dishes were very small portions, such as wontons with three fresh delicacies, glutinous rice balls with wine, and crab meatballs. They were all relatively light.

Bai Roushuang still hasn't figured out what kind of taste Xu Shulou hates. It seems that no matter whether it's light or spicy, sweet, salty, sour or bitter, as long as it's delicious enough, she likes it.

There is a large window on this floor. At this time, the cruise ship has taken off, and the tourists sitting in the seats near the window can have an unobstructed view of the magnificent mountains and rivers in the distance.

The two of them finished their meal happily while appreciating the scenery outside the window.

After breakfast, another maid came forward and asked, "We have specially invited makeup girls and hairdressers on board to serve our distinguished guests. Are you two girls interested in trying it?"

Since they were out to have fun, they naturally wanted to experience the whole thing, so Xu Shulou and the other person gladly asked the maid to lead the way to Ninglufang on the eighth floor.

There are makeup girls here to serve the guests, and they also sell rouge, powder, jewelry and other items.

The rouge and powder in the cultivation world are different from those in the mortal world. They are made from the juice of spiritual flowers, do not hurt the skin, and will not be accidentally rubbed off during meals, unless washed off with special spiritual grass juice. The makeup can stay on the face for more than a month. The only drawback is that it is a bit expensive.

At this time, there were several girls from the mortal world in Ninglu Shop, excitedly choosing.

The hairdresser tied Xu Shulou's hair into a loose bun, and the rest of her hair fell naturally on her shoulders, making her look a little lazy.

The lady combing my hair said sweetly: "You take good care of your hair, do you have any secret recipe?"

Xu Shulou thought seriously: "When you are a mortal, you should exercise and regulate your body. After you become a cultivator, you should practice seriously. When your body is healthy and your cultivation is high, your hair will naturally be good."

“…”

After combing her hair, the makeup artist gave Xu Shulou a popular peach blossom makeup. At the end, she painted a small pink peach blossom under the corner of her eye, making her look even more delicate and beautiful.

Xu Shulou looked at himself in the mirror and found that his facial features remained unchanged, but his temperament seemed much softer.

One has to praise the makeup artist's skills. She managed to turn the weathered Xu Shulou into a naive and beautiful flower.

Bai Roushuang was also stunned: "What a miraculous skill, Senior Sister, you look particularly harmless now. If you don't speak, who can compare you to the annoying dog, cough, I mean the usual Xu Shulou?"

Xu Shulou glanced at her suspiciously, feeling that this guy wanted to slander him.

The makeup lady smiled and asked, "Miss, did you bring any jewelry? If you didn't bring any, we have a lot of styles for you to choose from."

Xu Shulou thought for a moment and took out the wooden box of thanks Xiao Ya had sent him: "There should be some here."

As expected, the thank-you gifts chosen by Xiao Ya's mother included many exquisite jewellery popular in the mortal world. This imperial concubine must be a very versatile person. I don't know if she asked Xiao Ya anything, but even the silk flowers she picked were what Xu Shulou liked at first sight.

The makeup girl picked out a peach blossom hairpin, several pink jade hairpins and a gold-carved peach blossom hairpin and pinned them in her hair. She also found a pair of pink pearl earrings from the box and put them on her. She also wore exquisite and intricate jade ornaments around her waist and a jade bracelet with a ring on her wrist. When Xu Shulou stood up, he heard the jingling of the rings.

Bai Roushuang looked at her and said, "It's rare to see Senior Sister dressed so elegantly. How do you feel?"

Xu Shulou stretched his arms and legs and said, "No problem, I won't delay the fight."

“…”

Xu Shulou carried his natal sword on his back and went to play on the deck with his junior sister.

The huge deck was now filled with people, and one could tell the mortals and cultivators apart at a glance.

It is now the middle of winter, and ordinary people wear thick cotton clothes. Only monks dare to walk outdoors in thin spring clothes in this season.

There are many wealthy families among the mortals. It is said that two of the upper rooms worth one thousand spirit stones have been reserved by mortals.

Almost all those who buy the common berths are mortals. The cultivators can fly swords by themselves. If they do not have special hobbies, they will naturally not spend thirty spirit stones to get on the boat and squeeze into the common berth with others.

Therefore, the monks boarded the ship mostly for the purpose of enjoying themselves.

Some of the mortals boarded the ship just for the novelty, while others took the opportunity to visit relatives in other places to avoid the fatigue of traveling. It is said that there was also a minor official in the mortal world who was going to take the ship to take up his post in the territories under his jurisdiction.

Looking around at this time, there are actually fewer monks than mortals on the boat.

A strange class seemed to have formed among them, with cultivators being superior to ordinary people, and the rich being superior to the common people who sleep in dormitories.

The cruise ship was passing by a famous mountain. Bai Roushuang leaned over the edge of the boat and looked down: "It's amazing. It feels completely different from flying with a sword."

Xu Shulou lazily lay beside her: "In the mortal world, isn't it also very different to take a boat and swim?"

Bai Roushuang felt that her senior sister's argument was perverse, but after thinking about it, she didn't know how to refute it.

The ship flew extremely smoothly in the air, without any bumps at all.

A Cuju field was marked out on the deck nearby, where several mortal children were playing football. Next to the Cuju field was a small pavilion, where two servants stood, providing the guests with various drinks.

Xu Shulou walked over and asked for a cup of hot jujube wine.

After a while, the cruise ship docked on the outskirts of a mortal city.

A cultivator nearby couldn't help but complain: "Why do we have to stop in the mortal world? It's just a waste of time to enjoy the scenery."

Xu Shulou thought about it and answered him: "This business actually makes mainly money from mortals. After all, cultivators just want to have fun for the sake of novelty, and mortals are the ones who need this kind of cruise the most."

When that person raised his eyes, he saw a beautiful female cultivator with soft features in front of him. He immediately stopped complaining and whispered, "What a beautiful scene! The peach blossoms are rippling in the sky, and the beautiful lady is standing there quietly."

He then clasped his fists in a graceful manner and said, "May I ask if you came on board by yourself, or with your Taoist partner?"

"With Junior Sister."

The male cultivator smiled proudly: "Then I wonder if the two ladies would be so kind as to go with me to the tavern on the sixth floor. There is a room there that is only open to distinguished guests... Oh, so the ladies are also distinguished guests. Please forgive my ignorance."

Bai Roushuang looked strange. Is this considered her senior sister's love affair?

Xu Shulou smiled slightly and said, "Let's exchange our names first."

"Of course," the man said with a fist, "I am Li Zhuoran from Fenxiang Valley. I would like to ask for your name, young lady."

There is no rule in the world of cultivation that one cannot tell strangers their maiden names. Xu Shulou clasped his fists and returned the greeting, "Xu Shulou."

The male cultivator who called himself Li Zhuoran was stunned: "Xu Shulou from Wuchen Island?"

"That's right."

"Hello, Miss Xu. I won't bother you anymore." The male cultivator laughed dryly twice and slipped away quickly, as if he was afraid that he would be beaten if he slipped away too late.

Bai Roushuang was filled with regret for this failed affair. Look at my senior sister, no matter how beautiful her face is, it can't overshadow her great reputation.

As she was sighing to herself, she suddenly heard a child's scream on the Cuju field nearby.

Xu Shulou looked in the direction of the sound and saw a mortal girl being thrown off the edge of the boat.

She frowned slightly and rushed out swiftly. Her shadow was like smoke and her beautiful dress drew an arc in the air.

Xu Shulou caught the pale-faced child in mid-air, and just then he heard the monk who threw her out shouting, "Fellow Daoist, don't intervene. She bumped into someone and spilled a bowl of osmanthus drink on me. I just wanted to scare her, and I was planning to catch her myself."

Xu Shulou held the girl in his arms, patted her to comfort her for a while, and when he saw her hugging his neck and pouting, as if she was no longer afraid, he floated up into the air until he was parallel to the man: "If you dare to mess with me again, I will seal your spiritual power and throw you down."

When the man saw her face clearly, he immediately shut up and nodded, not daring to say anything.

Xu Shulou couldn't help but wonder, "Why are you so obedient?" Most people would have said something stern at this time.

The man immediately covered his head and ran away: "Xu Shulou, don't cut me!"

"...Do you know me?" Xu Shulou put the girl down and chased after her sadly, "Do you have any misunderstandings about me? I'm not the kind of cultivator who will kill anyone at will."

The man's companion whispered, "You just said you were going to throw him down."

Xu Shulou was speechless and spread his hands to his junior sister: "Look, this harmless makeup is useless, there are still people who make such malicious assumptions about me."

Bai Roushuang opened her mouth and said, "This is just makeup after all, not a disguise."

Xu Shulou tilted his head and looked at her: "It wasn't so exaggerated before, is it because I killed Wei Xuandao recently?"

"Yes, the rumors about Wei Xuandao's death are getting more and more outrageous. Before I went to find you this morning, I accidentally heard a version that you killed an elder of Lingxiao Sect seven times and took Wei Xuandao's head. In short, although everyone knows that Wei Xuandao is a bad guy, he is at the peak of the Spiritualization Realm. After killing him, everyone's rumors about you are getting more and more exaggerated. Of course, it is also possible that some people who hate you are fanning the flames," Bai Roushuang sighed, "and sister, don't look at people with your head tilted like that. It seems too innocent and does not match your reputation as a vicious monster at all."

Xu Shulou could only calmly drink a sip of hot jujube wine: "Forget it, time will always dilute everything."

Bai Roushuang casually complained: "The premise is that as time goes by, you don't continue to chop other people."

“…”

"Eh?" Bai Roushuang lay on the edge of the boat and suddenly pointed in a direction and said, "That's the village where I lived when I was a child. It's very clear from here."

Xu Shulou also leaned over: "Want to go and take a look?"

Bai Roushuang thought about it seriously for a moment, and finally shook her head: "No, for me, the earthly bond has ended."

“…”

Bai Roushuang sighed, "It's hard to predict what will happen in this world. If my mother hadn't sold me to a brothel, I might not have encountered this fate. But if I say I'm grateful for this ordeal, then I'm definitely not grateful. I'm not that tolerant yet."

Xu Shulou held her in his arms: "It's all over."

Bai Roushuang smiled and pointed to another place for her: "That is the town closest to the village where I live. There is a shop selling sugar paintings. When I was a child, I always wanted to buy one, but I never had the chance. I could only stand at the door and envy other children holding all kinds of sugar paintings."

Xu Shulou looked in the direction she pointed and said, "Then let's go check if the shop is still there today. If it is, I'll buy you a candy painting."

Bai Roushuang was slightly surprised: "What about this boat? You paid two thousand spirit stones, it can't be wasted..."

Xu Shulou raised his eyebrows: "This ship is not flying as fast as me. We can catch up with it at any time."

Bai Roushuang then said in a low voice with a little joy: "Well...it's good to go and take a look."

As soon as she finished speaking, her reliable senior sister had already performed a jump from a ship on the spot, and winked at her in mid-air: "Today I will give you a childhood."