In a restaurant, you can't be as casual as you were when setting up a tent in the wild.
He Yunxiao has one room, Fei Bao and Xiao Xiao each have one room. They live separately, without relying on each other, and all live in peace.
The room was naturally arranged with He Yunxiao in the middle, and Fei Bao and Xiao Xiao on either side. Since Fei Bao and Xiao Xiao were both Grandmasters, their senses were extremely sharp, so neither He Yunxiao nor Xiao Xiao dared to sneak away.
Some of the three practiced their skills while others slept, and the peaceful situation lasted until the next morning.
The people of Qi go to bed early and get up early. Soon after dawn, the restaurant downstairs became lively. He Yunxiao also led the female protagonists downstairs for breakfast.
"Waiter, three bowls of mutton noodles!" He Yunxiao said, holding out his hand.
"Okay."
Lamb noodles aren't a complicated dish, but lamb and water are precious commodities in this remote area, and they're not cheap. Although He Yunxiao didn't care about the small amount of money, he was still surprised when he paid.
However, this situation will soon improve, as the abundant groundwater in the area will greatly improve the living conditions of the local residents.
Thinking of this, He Yunxiao, the "father of groundwater", couldn't help but feel happy.
It's not important to be remembered in history; what matters is improving people's lives.
After the three finished breakfast, He Yunxiao took the female protagonists to Tingfeng Tower in Suiye City.
The Listening Wind Tower in Suyab was far less imposing than those in other cities. While other cities built their own stone towers, Suyab's was a wooden one, immediately setting it apart in terms of grandeur.
This is understandable, as Tingfenglou is a business, and its scale naturally needs to match the market. Larger Tingfenglou stores in big cities, smaller ones in smaller cities. They don't blindly pursue grandeur, but prioritize practicality. This pragmatic business approach, maintaining profits and cash flow, explains why Tingfenglou has achieved its current scale.
After asking the manager of Tingfenglou to deliver a message for him, He Yunxiao added fuel to the fire by borrowing several thousand taels of silver from him.
Now that Yin Jing has been relieved of the siege, the imperial court is responsible for the supplies of the rear army, so He Yunxiao doesn't necessarily need to borrow money from Tingfeng Tower. However, He Yunxiao has his own plans. Money can make even the most cunning person work, but it can also be a useful hostage.
Borrowing too little makes you a grandson, borrowing too much makes you a grandpa.
He Yunxiao borrowed money from all around Yinjing, including from Tingfenglou in Suiye City. The total amount added up to over two hundred thousand taels. These dozen or so shopkeepers, in order to get He Yunxiao to repay the debts, had to say a few good words for him in front of others.
He Yunxiao had already calculated that if he really wanted to make a move on Nangong Yu'er in the future, he would need some suitable people within Tingfeng Tower. These creditors seemed quite good. You work for me, I'll pay you—that makes perfect sense, right?
He Yunxiao was not worried about Tingfenglou forcibly demanding repayment of the debt.
It's a joke. If Tingfenglou had any ability, they would definitely be able to find out about the unusual relationship between Ruobao and him. What's more, they will later propose marriage to the Fan family, which will completely confirm the connection between the He and Fan families. The He family's 120,000-strong army suffered relatively few losses, and Ruobao's nearly 100,000 rear troops are no joke either.
The Qi army will inevitably undergo reorganization after the war. Each army has a quota of personnel, and there will be reductions or increases in personnel. With He Yunxiao's connections in the Qi court that reach even the imperial court, it's hard to say whether there will be another opportunity to expand the army after the war.
Even excluding these less readily available armed forces, He Yunxiao still has nearly two thousand well-equipped and disciplined short-sword soldiers. Two thousand men is enough to qualify as a mid-tier sect in the martial arts world.
Although Tingfenglou is wealthy, its armed forces have always been severely suppressed, so He Yunxiao is not worried at all that Tingfenglou might be pushed to the brink and fight him.
To resort to violence to ask for money shows a lack of ambition. He Yunxiao believed in Tingfenglou's vision; a company that could grow so large must have some real ability.
...
On the way back, Xiaoxiao and Feibao remained silent.
He Yunxiao rode his horse in the middle, with two beautiful women standing on either side of him.
Because Fei Bao's cultivation level had dropped to Grandmaster, she could no longer use her internal energy to shield herself from the sandstorm. Fine sand blew against Fei Bao's snow-white clothes and veil, causing her beautiful master to frown frequently.
He Yunxiao naturally bought the tonics he promised to buy for her this time, but Qing Yuzi knew in her heart that it would be impossible to return to the Grandmaster realm without taking these tonics continuously for two or three years. This time, her realm drop was different from the last time; last time it was a loss, while this time it was an injury.
The gap between Grandmaster and Grandmaster is no joke. Even someone as powerful as Qing Yuzi became a Grandmaster at nineteen, and then spent a full ten years advancing to Grandmaster. (www.cascoo.net)
Ordinary tonics and Soul-Devouring Pills are indeed not comparable.
If it were the Soul-Devouring Pill, the time to advance to Grandmaster could be shortened from two or three years to one month. If combined with dual cultivation techniques, it might not even take a month.
Thinking of this, Qing Yuzi unconsciously glanced at He Yunxiao to her left.
Qing Yuzi knew some things clearly. Even if He Yunxiao truly betrayed his master and ancestors, she had no other recourse but to curse him. After all, He Yunxiao was her savior, and Qing Yuzi couldn't bring herself to repay kindness with enmity.
Seemingly sensing Fei Bao's gaze, He Yunxiao suddenly turned around and glanced at her.
"Master, it's almost noon. Shall we rest for a while and have lunch before we go?"
"Okay," Qingyuzi replied silently.
Guided by He Yunxiao, the three led their horses to a large tree by the roadside. He Yunxiao first fed the horses, then found some dry branches to start a fire and roast them.
Bored on the journey, He Yunxiao tried to come up with some fun activities for the female protagonists.
The meat for the barbecue was naturally bought in Suyab City. This Gobi Desert is not like the dense forests around Yinjing; there are only lizards, no pheasants or rabbits.
He Yunxiao also brought the soul of barbecue: cumin, oil, and chili.
However, the heavy oil and spice were his special offerings, while the female leads obediently ate less of the lighter flavors.
This wasn't the first time Xiaoxiao had eaten barbecue with He Yunxiao. She'd first gone with Nanzhu, and later again when she visited Yan Kingdom. Xiaoxiao looked at He Yunxiao, her mind filled with memories.
Qing Yuzi silently watched the "young couple," and then heard He Yunxiao say, "Daoist, be careful, it's hot."
He Yunxiao handed her a skewer of grilled meat, the pieces of meat on it were thoughtfully cut into very small pieces, taking into full account the size of the female characters' mouths.
Moreover, none of the female characters eat heartily.
"Taoist priest, please take off your straw hat. There are no outsiders here."
Looking at the glistening meat skewers and the snow-white veil hanging from her bamboo hat, Qingyuzi, who loved cleanliness, silently listened to He Yunxiao and took off her bamboo hat and put it aside.
This wasn't the first time He Yunxiao had seen Fei Bao eat.
The last time he watched Fei Bao eat was after "that night," when he fed her porridge.
However, drinking porridge and eating barbecue skewers are different. He Yunxiao saw Fei Bao holding a meat skewer, her delicate mouth slightly parted, revealing a piece just a little bigger than the meat, then she used her pearly teeth to bite the meat, tear it off, and put it in her mouth.
He Yunxiao found it very amazing.
He watched as Fei Bao ate several skewers, yet her mouth barely had any oil residue.
"I've seen other female leads eat like this before. Girls are truly amazing creatures," He Yunxiao thought to himself, his mouth greasy.
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