White-Robed Chief

Xiao Qi could no longer withstand Chu Li’s gaze. As such, she put down her teacup and stood up. “You should go and practice that secret skill first!”

With that, she hastily rushed into the house to avoid Chu Li’s gaze.

Chu Li stroked his chin and laughed while he shook his head.

Regardless of how the events had transpired, all that mattered was that their relationship had taken a huge step forward, and this was beyond his expectations.

His original intention in calling Xiao Qi over was to gradually strengthen their relationship while chipping off the walls within her heart. However, it had never occurred to him that he could accomplish all this in a single step and making her his own.

While he had indeed not expected these turns of events, he was actually quite ecstatic since he knew that the little missy’s feelings for him were much deeper than he had expected.

Otherwise, with that personality of hers, she would never have suggested such a thing no matter how sympathetic she was.

As such, who was he to decline such an offer that was as rare a blue moon? He would rather just grab the chance and fuss over the details later.

He walked into the house and began practicing the secret skill. With the aid of the Earth Matrix and Reincarnation Scripture, he soon mastered the skill. Despite that, it was not possible for him to recover his martial arts instantly, because the secret skill only increased the rate of recovery.

By Chu Li’s calculations, he would need at least a month in order to fully recover his martial arts, and to many people, this feat was deserving of the title of a secret skill. To them, this was a rarity among rarities, as it was both precious and hard to find.

During his second day living at the inn, Chu Li began researching the White Tiger Power.

The most valuable component about the White Tiger Power was not its conceptual image since the difference between the conceptual image of the Spirit Tiger was a far cry from the actual Spirit Tiger. Generations upon generations of disciples had never laid eyes on the Spirit Tiger before, and it was for this reason that the conceptual image of the Spirit Tiger had gradually deviated from its true form.

Chu Li had seen the real Spirit Tiger before, and if he truly wanted to see it again, he could just seek assistance from the Spirit Cranes. The conceptual image was not the most valuable part about learning the White Tiger Power, but rather its incantation. Its incantation was extremely profound, and it carried meaning that he had yet to discern. Despite all his knowledge of martial arts, Chu Li was still unable to make sense of the incantation.

After researching for almost an entire day and making no progress whatsoever, Chu Li finally decided to seek the aid of the Spirit Cranes.

Chu Li walked out of the house and into the courtyard, and it was there that he noticed Xiao Qi practicing her martial arts. Her weak breathing was almost gone, and it looked as if she had entered a deep meditative state. Her cultivation had been brought to the next level, and from the looks of it, it seemed that her inner state had improved yet again.

Chu Li could not help but lament at his revelation, as it would mean that he was Xiao Qi’s inner demon. Now that Xiao Qi had finally conquered her inner demon and finally accepted him, her inner state had become even more well-rounded.

A revelation suddenly dawned upon Chu Li. ‘Is this what the Rooted Soul means by forgetting an emotion? Does it have less to do with emotions, but more towards natural instincts instead? Is this what it meant?’

Chu Li had sunken deep into thought, and as such, he had canceled his plans to visit Spirit Cranes Peak.

As Xiao Qi had now completely immersed herself in her meditation, it would be a shame to disrupt it. Due to this, all Chu Li could do was watch over her.

The clock ticked away, from morning to noon, and from noon to night.

By evening, Chu Li could no longer hold back his hunger and after ordering takeout, he returned to the courtyard and enjoyed the meal by himself. There was no urgency to his meal, and he felt truly free.

While Chu Li ate his meal, Xiao Qi’s cultivation gradually increased. The Regal Sword Scripture was really something to behold.

The evening sun began to set, and the color of dusk began to dot the sky. It was then that Xiao Qi’s eyes immediately opened. A spark flashed across her eyes, and a moment later, it disappeared which returned her eyes back to their original splendor.

She strode towards the courtyard and directly towards the stone table and bench. Following that, she sat down, grabbed Chu Li’s chopsticks, and began plucking off the dishes from the table.

“Congratulations.” Chu Li said with a smile, “It seems that you’ve made vast improvements.”

“All thanks to you,” Xiao Qi replied.

“Indeed it is. Say, how about we visit the residence once we finish dinner?”

“Alright,” Xiao Qi responded.

After finishing their dinner, the two left the roadside inn and took a stroll by the river.

The night breeze gently wafted through the willows along the river that caused them to sway gently, whereas the city lights glittered across the surface of the river along with the moonlight.

Adjacent Town was situated at the southern end of the Ji Dynasty, and as such, it had a warm climate. Even though they were now in late autumn, the breeze at night was still warm and gentle.

Chu Li occasionally stole glances at Xiao Qi’s face. Even though she had covered her features with a white veil, it was hard to fully hide her enthralling beauty. Her ceramic-like skin was especially glamorous under the lights, and she was the very embodiment of temptation.

However, Xiao Qi was no longer fazed by Chu Li’s passionate gazes, and she marched steadily ahead.

The two did not exchange words, and there was an enchanting atmosphere between them. As such, words would do more harm than good at that moment.

Even the longest roads had an end to them, and before they knew it, they had arrived at two residences.

Chu Li swung the gates open and noticed that the gate had been newly painted. Furthermore, he also noticed that the stone lions had been replaced with brand new ones, and as they walked even deeper, they noticed that the flower patch was also brand new. It was filled to the brim with all kinds of precious flora.

As they progressed even deeper, they noticed that the furniture had also been replaced. However, this furniture was not brand new. Instead, they were antiques, and each of the furniture had an archaic feel to them, making it seem as if they had traveled back in time.

Chu Li nodded his head in satisfaction. “It seems that Huang Feiyun is pretty dependable.”

The bookshelves had been fully stocked with books, and this was a refurbishment that pleased Chu Li the most.

While some of the books were ones that he had read before, a large portion of them were those that Chu Li had never even seen before. This current reading frenzy of his was spurred by the fact that he could learn a lot of martial arts from books.

“We can live here tonight,” Chu Li commented.

Xiao Qi nodded. “Let’s do it then.”

She pointed to a room that was located west of the residence. “I’ll be living over there.”

She had originally intended to live in the next house, but after giving it some thought, she felt as if it was a bad decision. After all, if one were to come after Chu Li at night, she would be unable to reach his side in time. As such, she had decided to stay in the same house as Chu Li while he was still recuperating.

“I’ll head over there then,” Chu Li replied.

Xiao Qi nodded. “Wow, would you look at the time. You should get some rest.”

…

Chu Li was beginning to have doubts about his decision to head towards Spirit Cranes Peak.

He was deathly afraid that once he arrived at Spirit Cranes Peak, the two cranes would bring him fruits that recovered his martial arts in its entirety. After all, he had read from the Thousand Herb Scripture that these fruits had truly existed on Hundred-Thousand Hills.

Should that happen, Xiao Qi would no longer need to stay by his side, and she would no longer need to marry him.

If he truly wanted their relationship to stabilize, he could visit the peak after seven days since Xiao Qi would be forced to make the commitment by then. Should that happen, Chu Li would only lose a few days’ worth of training before heading to Spirit Cranes Peak.

However, after giving it much thought, he still decided to head to Spirit Cranes Peak.

By noon, the two had appeared on Spirit Cranes Peak. However, upon arrival, two white streaks immediately hurtled towards Chu Li and toppled him over.

The two cranes were as agile as always. They immediately held back their claws and beaks, and they used their bead-like eyes to inspect Chu Li. It had not taken long for them to sense that something was amiss.

The cranes had been born with amazing talent and a great living environment. As such, they grew rapidly and they had already reached an adult-level intellect a long time ago. Give them a few more months, and their intelligence would be several times greater than the average adult.

While lying on the grass, Chu Li patted the two cranes’ beaks.

The two cranes looked quizzically at Chu Li. In the end, one of them let out a shrill shriek, plucked Chu Li up with its beak, and put him onto the other crane’s back.

Chu Li hurriedly clung to the crane’s neck to avoid falling off.

The crane’s feather was hard and slippery. One false move and he would easily fall off.

Another shriek could be heard, and the two cranes soared into the sky. With that, Chu Li, who was accompanying them had vanished in the clouds as well.

Xiao Qi peered forward with her hand placed above her brows. After making sure that Chu Li had melded into the clouds, she shook her head in helplessness. While she had no idea where the cranes were taking Chu Li to, she was comforted by the fact that they would not harm him. As such, she laid her worries to rest and sat cross-legged on top of a giant boulder to begin training her martial arts.

The heavy spiritual energy of the mountain had invigorated her, and it had also soothed her senses. It was as if she had returned to her mother’s embrace.

Meanwhile, Chu Li was high up in the air. He was going directly against the winds, but even then, he sliced through the wind like a knife.

His clothes constantly made flapping sounds, and the frigid air constantly assailed his body and seeped into his pores. Had Chu Li not possess a strong body, he would definitely not be able to withstand the harsh coldness.

The two cranes flew at breakneck speeds, giving no chance for Chu Li to even open his eyes. Their speed this time was several times greater than when he last rode them, but luckily for Chu Li, he was able to see his surroundings clearly with the aid of the Omniscient Mirror. Rows upon rows of white clouds dotted the azure sky, giving off an impression so clean that they seemed like a delicacy.

Half an hour later, the two cranes suddenly picked up speed. Chu Li clung on to dear life, all the while taking in the scenery underneath him.

The two cranes hurled towards a body of water, which looked like a turquoise mirror of the sky.

As they approached the body of water, the cranes gradually decelerated. Following that, the crane that carried Chu Li shook its body, causing Chu Li to fall off of it.

“Splash!” Chu Li dropped into the lake.

The dense spiritual energy was initially like a tiny hand caressing him. However, it soon turned into a stream of electricity that slithered its way into his body.