Visitor

It was late spring when Pei Yingguan arrived at Zhongshoujiang City.

By this time, the spring blossoms in Chang'an had already fallen, while the southern desert remained chilly. Xiao Wan'er, who had been in Zhongshoujiang City for over half a year without any serious work, sat in her official residence, drawing a salary for nothing. Bored and bored, she took up calligraphy in between her training. While she was copying Empress Wu's calligraphy, Pei Yingguan knocked on the door.

The door was soon opened, revealing Xiao Wan'er's face.

"Brother is here," she greeted with a smile, "please come in."

Pei Yingguan walked into the small official residence, looked around it thoroughly, and frowned in dissatisfaction.

"The house that Junior Sister lives in is really simple."

"This place is different from Chang'an. It's already desolate, and the city was built in a hurry." Xiao Wan'er had already grown accustomed to the environment here, and she even advised Pei Yingguan, "It's already a great honor for the officials sent here to have official residences. We shouldn't be too picky."

"Junior sister has suffered." There was more heartache in Pei Yingguan's eyes.

"It's not hard," Xiao Wan'er said, unconcerned, and then casually added, "I can get a salary for free and live in an official residence, so how can I suffer?"

"Getting a salary for nothing?" Pei Yingguan looked puzzled. "Where did you get that from?"

Xiao Wan'er said bluntly, "The situation here has always been stable. There was no need for me to intervene. It would have been fine if I hadn't sent any cultivators here."

Pei Yingguan was silent.

Xiao Wan'er didn't continue the topic and instead reminded him, "The official residence is small. Senior Brother, you need to find another place to stay during this trip."

This reminded Pei Yingguan, and he immediately said goodbye.

"I'll go find a guesthouse first, and then come see Junior Sister."

With that, he quickly left the official residence, and after a few flashes, he disappeared. In just a quarter of an hour, he had found his residence and rushed back.

"Brother, how long do you plan to stay?"

"I've just settled in, and you're already asking me when I'm leaving?" Pei Yingguan said with a smile, "Your Majesty has allowed me to stay until I want to leave, and I don't know how long I'll stay."

Xiao Wan'er nodded, thinking of the challenge he had written in the letter. Just as she was about to invite him to fight, someone arrived at Zhang's house.

"My master heard that Deputy Commander Pei was coming here, so he invited you two to have a small gathering at his house." said the servant of Zhang's house.

The sun was setting and it was time for dinner. Xiao Wan'er looked at Pei Yingguan and seeing that he had no intention of refusing, she nodded in agreement.

When they arrived at Zhang's house, the host was waiting at the door. When Pei Yingguan and Xiao Wan'er got off the carriage, he warmly led them into the house.

It was a small gathering, and it truly was. There were only three of them at the table, and the food on the table was homely, and the wine was of good quality. Xiao Wan'er ate quietly, while the other two chatted happily over their glasses, as if they had become half-brothers, long-lost brothers, by the time they parted.

It was already late at night when Xiao Wan'er left Zhang's house with Pei Yingguan, who was still reluctant to leave. As soon as the door closed, Pei Yingguan's expression returned to normal.

Xiao Wan'er suddenly felt a little embarrassed to watch.

"It's been a while since we last met, but your interpersonal skills have improved a lot."

"People always make progress." Pei Yingguan accepted her evaluation with peace of mind.

Xiao Wan'er was speechless for a moment.

The two of them walked down the street and unknowingly arrived at the door of the official residence. Xiao Wan'er was about to enter the house, and Pei Yingguan was still following behind her.

She turned around and said goodbye to Pei Yingguan: "It's almost curfew, it's time to go back, brother."

"Then I'll come to see you tomorrow." Pei Yingguan continued naturally.

"See you tomorrow." Xiao Wan'er agreed and closed the door.

After a night of meditation, Pei Yingguan came the next morning before Xiao Wan'er finished her practice.

He stood outside the official residence with a food box in hand. He sensed Xiao Wan'er had finished her meditation and then gently knocked on the door. When the door opened, he naturally walked in with the food box in hand. Pei Yingguan placed the food box on the table and, after opening the lid, revealed a variety of Xiao Wan'er's favorite snacks.

Xiao Wan'er, who usually fasted, ate to her heart's content this time. Pei Yingguan sat opposite her, watching her eat heartily, and only took a few pieces symbolically when Xiao Wan'er urged him to eat with her.

After finishing the last piece of dessert in the lunch box, Xiao Wan'er picked up the cup, drank the water in it, and burped with satisfaction.

"Brother, you said in your letter that you've already broken through to the Transcendent Realm." After eating and drinking, Xiao Wan'er felt like fighting again. "It just so happens that we haven't practiced together in a while. How about a fight today?"

Pei Yingguan's eyes immediately lit up.

"That's what I wish for."

With no more space for sparring in the official residence, the two men simply left the city and headed straight for the desert north of it. Reaching a deserted area, they stopped and stood facing each other. The pressure from the two Transcendent Realm masters caused birds and beasts to retreat. With them as the center, no living creature remained within a radius of several miles.

"Let's get started."

The two attacked simultaneously. Pei Yingguan unsheathed his sword and charged towards Xiao Wan'er. As Xiao Wan'er retreated, the sharp ice blade, accompanied by a biting and sharp cold wind, struck Pei Yingguan's face. Pei Yingguan immediately swung his sword to block, but just as he blocked one wave of attack, flames rushed towards him again. He shielded his face with his sword and unexpectedly passed through the flames, swinging his sword energy at Xiao Wan'er.

Xiao Wan'er hadn't expected Pei Yingguan to walk right through the flames. Hastily changing her hand gestures, she hastily erected a wall of earth. The solid, thick wall couldn't completely block the sword energy, and after it collapsed, a few strands of it still pierced Xiao Wan'er's face. She quickly dodged, but a strand of her hair was still severed by the sword energy.

Battles between Transcendent Realms were indeed unlike any before. Xiao Wan'er endured unprecedented pressure. The immense spiritual energy stirred up a storm, squeezing the space around her. The oncoming attacks were far more intense than those of Nascent Realm cultivators, challenging her experience. She was forced to summon strength far beyond her previous capabilities to cope with these unprecedented circumstances.

As Pei Yingguan swung his sword again, a thunder dragon snaked up the blade and entangled his arm. The intense impact paralyzed his nerves, and his arm muscles instantly lost strength, causing the sword to fall. Seeing the next wave of magic coming, Pei Yingguan made a quick decision, switching to his left hand to hold the sword and struggle to block it.

The two men fought unstoppably, from sunrise to sunset, until they were both breathless and exhausted. As they stared at each other, they both knew that the next blow would be their last.

The sword blade shone with a cold light, and a powerful sword energy roared out, wrapped in sword intent. This was the strongest attack Pei Yingguan could deliver. Xiao Wan'er also gave it her all, and two dragons, one ice and one fire, roared out at the same time, entangled with each other and collided with the sword energy.

Under the intertwined force of ice and fire, the sword energy was eventually extinguished, and the remaining ice and fire rushed straight towards Pei Ying. Seeing that he had no strength to resist, Xiao Wan'er raised her hand and retracted the magic formula.

"Brother, thank you for letting me."

Pei Yingguan could no longer hold on and sat down on the ground.

"I didn't expect that even after reaching the Transcendent Realm, I'm still no match for Junior Sister." Pei Yingguan was somewhat unwilling to accept that he was still no match for Xiao Wan'er despite his significant strength improvement. "Junior Sister, did you really enter the Dao through magic?"

It stands to reason that when the cultivation levels are similar, the sword cultivator's combat power has always been the strongest, but Xiao Wan'er is obviously an exception.

In fact, Xiao Wan'er herself wasn't sure: "I don't know either. Anyway, that's how I entered the Dao."

Pei Yingguan was speechless for a moment.

After resting, the two returned to Zhongshoujiang City. After returning to the city, Pei Yingguan suggested, "We just finished fighting, why don't we find a restaurant to eat something?"

Xiao Wan'er had also consumed a lot of energy this time, so she naturally agreed.

In the restaurant, the two of them ordered their meals and were waiting for the waiter to serve them. After a while, a waiter came over with a tray and placed the dishes on the table one by one.

"Please enjoy your meal, both of you."

He was about to leave when a hand suddenly grabbed his wrist. He immediately turned around. Xiao Wan'er, who had been lost in thought, also came to her senses and looked at Pei Yingguan, who had grabbed him, with confusion.

"What do you mean, sir?" the servant asked with a puzzled look.

"Don't you know?" Pei Yingguan sneered, "Take a bite of each of the dishes you brought."

The servant's face changed drastically.

"What? You don't dare?" Pei Yingguan said as he drew his sword from its sheath. Xiao Wan'er also realized that something was wrong and was ready to attack at any time.

The servant immediately threw the plate several meters away and hurled a hidden weapon straight at Xiao Wan'er and Pei Yingguan. After all, the two had just fought an all-out battle and hadn't yet recovered. The table was near the corner, the space was cramped, and the people around were ordinary people, so it wasn't easy to block it for a while.

"Ah!" The diners next to him were already shocked by this scene. After recovering, they screamed and ran out of the restaurant.

"Entering Dao Realm," Xiao Wan'er knew the enemy's level as soon as she started fighting, "We have to pay the store money."

Now that the area has been cleared, they don't need to hold back.

Under the attack of the two Transcendent Realm cultivators, the servant was quickly subdued. By the time the clerks from the government office arrived at the restaurant, the attacker had lost all his cultivation and was securely tied up with ropes.

"You've arrived just in time," Xiao Wan'er immediately ordered the leading clerk, "You and my brother take him to the government office. I'll discuss compensation with the restaurant owner."

"Master Xiao, our master has said that all compensation will be borne by the Zhongshoujiang City government."

Xiao Wan'er naturally would not refuse such a good thing that she didn't have to pay for it herself, so she took the servant and left with Pei Yingguan.

Inside the prison cell, Xiao Wan'er placed her hand on the servant's forehead. After initiating her soul-searching technique, relevant information quickly appeared in her mind. Seeing that this man had outlived his usefulness, she prepared to execute him.

Before taking action, the servant asked Pei Yingguan unwillingly: "How did you see through me?"

“The calluses on the hands of a martial artist are different from those on the hands of a hard worker.”

"Is that so..." the man muttered, then cursed unwillingly, "Even if I die, there will still be people who will continue to retaliate against you. Sooner or later, I, Turkic, will drive you back!"

Then Xiao Wan'er directly shattered his heart meridians.

Now that the results were in, the next step naturally required action. After months of inactivity, Xiao Wan'er finally got busy, leading her men to completely eliminate the Turkic spies within the territory controlled by the Tang Dynasty.