A city called Hulie is located in the south of the grassland. For Goulongbangshi, this is already a border town. Because if you walk south for two days, you can leave Goulongbangshi and reach the snowy mountains where the dragon beast lies.

When they saw the city, both Xia Xiao and Ah Zhu felt a stir in their hearts, because they hadn't seen such a big city for a long time, and they hadn't seen so many people for a long time. Ah Zhu had heard that the desire of the demons for the spirit energy was like a hungry homeless man for a bowl of steaming egg noodles, so she looked at Xia Xiao, fearing that he would rush in and wolf it down.

"It's okay, I don't have that urge."

After Xia Xiao finished speaking, he and Azhu followed the crowd towards the city with a smile.

On the way here, they picked up two bamboo hats and pressed them down slightly to cover half of their faces. But once they entered the city, they saw many people gathered in front of a notice, all of them were grassland knights, talking in a mixed voice and joking.

Ah Zhu wanted to leave, but Xia Xiao pulled her over. She felt scared when someone called her name. But when Xia Xiao saw her in the portrait, he said it looked very similar. Ah Zhu looked around timidly and complained in a low voice:

"Don't you want to live? Hurry up and leave!"

Holding the horse with one hand and Ah Zhu's wrist with the other, Xia Xiaojiao said with interest:

"Don't worry, let's see what the academy says."

Ah Zhu didn't know what Xia Xiao was planning, but he didn't dare to raise his head like him and look directly at the portrait notice.

"The demon Xia Xiao escaped from the academy and kidnapped the academy's daughter Azhu. He can hide his presence. The two of them took a knife and a sword, and their whereabouts are unknown. Anyone who has seen or heard of them is encouraged to inform the local officials, who will then report to the academy's teachers and students. During this period, the Qingtian Sect will replace the academy in patrolling. We apologize for any disturbance. Anyone who provides clues will be rewarded with 100 or 1,000 taels of silver, depending on the usefulness."

After Xia Xiao read it in a low voice, someone laughed and said:

"There are many knights on the grassland. Such a pairing of a man and a woman is innumerable, and using a sword and a saber is common. It seems that we have no chance of getting this silver!"

“There is also an unwritten rule that if you fabricate lies or create panic, it is a serious crime!”

"There were so many lies at first that we naturally had to pay attention, but this kind of feature was so rampant that we just let it go. It's a pity that we weren't aware enough. We should have made this kind of money earlier."

Some people found it boring and left one after another, but they did not forget to make some clever comments and laugh.

"How about you pretend to be me and I'll report you, and then we'll split the money 20/80, 20/80 for me."

"I think you and your brother and sister-in-law can pretend, but I'm not suitable."

"Ah, forget it."

Those with lower realms were all joking, while those with higher realms sighed and said worriedly:

"If this giant demon escapes into the human world, countless people will suffer. However, this guy is really strong, as he has been searched for a month by the academy and the Qingtian Sect without success. With our strength, we are powerless!"

"The people of the world will face another disaster, but we can only trust the academy and the Qingtian Sect. They have committed evil and they should deal with it themselves."

"So far, there have been no casualties, which is fortunate."

"Yes, but one day there might be a huge loss of lives."

Several people were talking happily, and they had no idea that Xia Xiao said this. They expressed their opinions on their own, showing their awe-inspiring magnanimity and ambition. But when they turned around, the man who said that had been taken away.

Azhu was like an older sister, with her hands on her hips, teaching Xia Xiao a lesson.

"What's going on? I'll be mad if you do this again!"

If it wasn't on the street, Ah Zhu would really scold him, but Xia Xiao just smiled and whispered:

"Be naughty for a moment, don't be angry."

"I'd be surprised if I wasn't angry! Fortunately, I hid the sword in my backpack, which lacked a feature. Otherwise, it would have been discovered long ago."

Xia Xiao acted as if you were right, and took her hand to a pretty good restaurant. The waiter was so enthusiastic that he led the horse over and asked them to go in.

The decoration of the restaurant is not luxurious, but after the screen was pulled, Xia Xiao and Azhu were finally able to take off their hats. The latter was a little worried, but Xia Xiao said it was okay, he would use some simple tricks and ordinary people would not be able to see it. With this sentence, Azhu was relieved and ordered dishes boldly.

"Miss, just tell me what you want to eat. It's a bit difficult for me to read the menu."

"She wants all the ones she reads."

Xia Xiao took out a heavy cloth bag from Azhu's backpack and gently placed it on the table, which immediately made the waiter happy and he quickly agreed.

"Hmm, shall I continue?"

"Girl, enjoy yourself. I was blind and didn't recognize the real talent. Please forgive me."

With each new dish, the waiter was happier, thinking that he finally met a heroic master! Much better than those poor knights, who may have great ambitions, but who can bear to chew a pot of tea and a plate of peanuts for half a day? At least it should be accompanied by two pounds of beef. But today is also strange, the girl has always been obedient to the young man, but now it is the other way around, it is really spoiled.

The waiter showed the guest that he remembered the dishes, and was about to leave after confirming that he remembered them, but Xia Xiao asked:

"From your accent, you're not a local, right?"

"The younger one is from Daxia."

"Oh? Then we are fellow villagers. Why are you here?"

"When Zishan City was conquered, I was kidnapped here without knowing why. These people from the Goulongbang clan are all thieves. If it weren't for my shopkeeper, I might have been taken away as a slave. I thought I could go back after saving enough money, but I didn't expect that the Southern Merchants had attacked Xiyang, and Zishan could never be rebuilt."

The waiter bent over and sighed, and when he saw that Xia Xiao didn't say anything, he tactfully left.

After a while, a middle-aged man's voice was heard from outside the screen.

"Since the guest is from Daxia, I have specially sent a pot of wine and a discount on today's dishes. But if the guest is a cultivator, please listen to my advice."

"I also want to serve my country, but I don't have the ability."

Xia Xiao's tone was full of regret, which he couldn't pretend. The owner listened and shook his head secretly, saying that Daxia was in a difficult situation.

"Then I wish you all the best."

"Thank you very much."

After the shop owner followed the footsteps, Ah Zhu asked curiously:

"How can it be such a coincidence?"

"I came here because I smelled familiar pastries."

“What a dog’s nose.”

Ah Zhu drank tea and watched Xia Xiao laugh. When the dishes came, they finally smelled the smell of fireworks. Seeing her so excited but not moving her chopsticks, Xia Xiao said:

"Why are you being so polite? Let's eat quickly. I don't know when the next big meal like this will be."

Ah Zhu was not polite. He first picked up some food for Xia Xiao with his chopsticks. This was a warm gesture, but the latter's face turned cold and he scolded him angrily:

“What a dog!”

Ah Zhu didn't care. She picked up the plate and started to cut it into pieces. Yuan Qi couldn't be eaten as a meal. Although, if she didn't have Yuan Qi, she would have starved to death in that cave long ago.

"Slow down, I'm not trying to steal from you."

Looking at her eating manner, Xia Xiao was full of disgust, so he had to sit behind the screen and greet the waiter. Just put the dishes outside and he would serve them himself. He didn't want others to know how Ah Zhu ate, which was like a beast with its bloody mouth wide open, so terrifying.

But compared to the pleasure brought by the spirit of life, Xia Xiao still prefers the personal experience on his taste buds, because it is more real, and it also makes Xia Xiao know that he is still a person. He also buried his head in eating, one because he was really hungry, and the other was to agree with Ah Zhu. When they smiled at each other, that kind of light happiness seemed no different from before. But Xia Xiao knew that all the opportunities he had now were exchanged for the lives of his predecessors!

Xia Xiao doesn't like to be immersed in sadness, because that would make him very slow in everything he does, but he always remembers what he should do.

Seeing Xia Xiao pour two glasses of wine, Ah Zhu wiped his mouth and asked curiously:

"Can I really drink? What if I get drunk?"

"That's all. You won't get drunk. After we finish eating, we'll find a place to stay and have a good night's rest before we set off again."

Ah Zhu nodded quickly. She could sleep in the cave, but she missed her bed more. Besides, this place was still far from the South China Sea. If she wanted to get there, she had to prepare some things.

The feast that Xia Xiao and Azhu prepared for them was very sumptuous. Just as Xia Xiao said, they didn't know when they would be able to eat such delicious food again, so they had to eat more. After Xia Xiao and Azhu had finished eating the chicken feet, pork elbows, and other dishes, they sat on the chair and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Comfortable!”

Xia Xiao and Azhu looked at each other, smiling, but their faces turned slightly red due to a few glasses of wine.

Xia Xiao looked at Ah Zhu and suddenly felt that it was a great thing to have someone accompany him on the road, otherwise he would be so lonely. Ah Zhu thought so too, fortunately she came out with Xia Xiao, otherwise she would be distracted in the academy, they just stared at each other, the clean plates and bowls in front of them almost reflected their smiling faces.

"Fool!"

Ah Zhu could always see disdain in Xia Xiao's eyes, and often heard all kinds of new words from him to insult her, but she liked this feeling very much, it made her feel at ease, and she no longer felt depressed and afraid as before.

"Eat and retreat!"

"Not packing?"

“I’ll buy fresh ones when I leave tomorrow morning!”

Ah Zhu nodded quickly, put on her bamboo hat and went to pay. She liked to manage the money because she was afraid that Xia Xiao would be discovered. She was more capable of making people let down their guard than Xia Xiao, and the shopkeeper and the waiter liked them both, so everything was very natural, without any suspicion, only a wave of regret. At this age, it is better to defend the country than to wander around the world.

I went out to lead the horse, but it was almost dusk. The clouds in the sky were blood red, and a breeze blew from below, which was a heat wave and a cool breeze at night. When Ah Zhu felt a little dizzy, Xia Xiao took her hand and took her to find a place to live.

After walking for a long time, Ah Zhu, who had been following Xia Xiao's footsteps, went around several alleys but still couldn't see the hotel. All he saw before him was a surprisingly empty street.

The street was not wide, and there was no one on it. It was extremely silent. Ah Zhu felt that it was not necessary to be like this at this hour, and it was not dark yet, so he turned his head to look at Xia Xiao. His face was like a knife, and it seemed to be covered with frost, as if something big was about to happen.

"What's wrong?"

"People from the academy are here."

"ah?"

Ah Zhu immediately woke up, and her movements of looking around made Xia Xiao feel distressed, but she finally looked forward like Xia Xiao. There was a vague figure there, but who could it be? Would he let her and Xia Xiao go?