Bluey trotted lightly along a short but well-tended trail.
Yueli, still panting and flushed, allowed herself to sink into Qingyi’s arms, her head resting against his chest.
Her body felt strange, but not in a bad way. A subtle warmth seized her chest while her lips were unable to hide their shy smile.
Qingyi’s hands circled her slender waist, flowing down to her lean, delicate belly before moving up to her breasts.
He grasped the twin peaks with both hands, feeling the soft, creamy skin as his fingers sank into the soft flesh.
"Mmm..." She sighed softly and closed her eyes.
It was comfortable. She wouldn’t mind staying there for the rest of her life.
"What would you do? If you really managed to conquer the lightning spirit?" she asked, breaking the silence between them.
Qingyi thought for a moment before answering: "I would dominate the continent before transcending to the upper heavens."
"Upper heavens? You mean the immortal heaven?" Yueli’s eyes twitched.
"Yes, and what’s above it." The handsome young man smiled. "What, do you think your husband is too ambitious?"
"Hm... no, I like ambition..." Yueli returned his smile, but her face soon turned serious.
"The master has always dreamed of ascending, of going beyond the mortal sky and spreading the cult of the spirit of lightning throughout the world..." Her voice lost a little of its strength.
"Ah..." Qingyi exhaled heavily as he hugged her even tighter.
"You have no resentment? Of the lightning spirit, of what it did to your master and to... well, all the others who tried to conquer it."
"Sometimes..." Yueli snuggled a little closer, her beautiful blue eyes misty.
"But I know there’s a reason behind it, that she would never hurt us if she had a choice..."
"I understand..." Qingyi shook his head and didn’t go any further.
It was something painful for her, he didn’t need much to realize it.
The journey didn’t take long, with Bluey hurrying her steps as the trail opened up into a wide road.
Soon, Qingyi saw a cluster of houses on the horizon.
It was a small village, with no more than a few hundred inhabitants, surrounded by golden fields of rice.
The qi was even thinner than in the temple, to the point that just standing there was enough to make a cultivator uncomfortable.
"Oh... Lady Qin!" An old woman sitting in front of the village gate stood up, her eyes widening at the sight of Qingyi just behind Yueli.
Everyone in the village knew Qin Yueli.
She visited the place once every few months, bought tons of supplies and then disappeared.
But she had always been alone.
Everyone knew about the temple, an isolated place where only women entered, but even those women never accompanied Yueli there.
Yet there she was, accompanied by a handsome man who gripped her hips as if she were everything to him.
Yueli ignored all the strange looks, continuing on with Qingyi until they finally reached the only shop in the village.
"Oh... esteemed cultivator, what can I do for you?" The store owner, a sly-looking old man with gray hair, bowed slightly as he clasped his hands together.
While Yueli shopped, Qingyi walked around the store.
It was a poor place, the products were mostly grains and some low-quality drinks.
As he walked past the shelves, something finally caught his eye.
It was a bottle of wine which, even closed, exuded a strong, alcoholic smell.
Taking it in his hands, Qingyi studied it.
It was clearly a high-quality wine, unlike the cheap liquors that the old man sold in gourds.
"I see you have good eyes, young cultivator! This is royal wine, I got it more than ten years ago when a prince visited our village! It’s been waiting for an owner ever since, hehehe."
The old man laughed, his eyes filling with greed as he looked at Qingyi’s clothes.
They were clean, made of a soft, pure silk. Qingyi must have had a lot of money!
"How much?" the handsome young man asked, studying the bottle for a few more moments.
"Just 15 gold coins, hehehe!"
Hearing that price, Qingyi shuddered.
15 gold coins? That damned old man was trying to rob him in broad daylight!
He could buy spirit wine, of a quality hundreds of times better, for 12 gold coins in the City of Golden Clouds!
"Oh... has the price gone down?" Yueli’s eyes lit up at the old man’s words.
"Do you want me to buy it for you? There’ll still be a bit left over after I’ve bought the supplies for the girls."
"No need..." Qingyi shook his head, a little awkwardly.
He had forgotten that he was no longer in the Ascending Dragon Sect.
Now, he was in an even more isolated place, where the ordinary wines he could find in the sect would be priceless treasures.
Sighing, he bought a few gold coins from the system, handing them to the old man before taking the wine.
As he walked back to Yueli’s side, he observed the supplies being placed on the floor by the store staff.
Tons, not just of grains and fruit, but mainly of liquors.
"Do you really need that much?" he asked, looking at the barrels and barrels of liquor piling up.
"Honestly, it’s a bit lacking..." Yueli smiled awkwardly.
The priestesses at the temple drank a lot, and she couldn’t deny that she was partly to blame for that.
When the employees had finished putting everything away, Yueli took out a small bag from her robes, opening it and shaking it gently before a huge suction power came out of its entrance, pulling all the supplies inside.
"All set?" Qingyi asked, little surprised.
That was a space bag, very similar to space rings, only of a much lower price and quality.
"Yes..." Yueli ducked her head as they left the store and headed out of the village.
She didn’t like the place or the people there very much.
They weren’t honest and the men always looked at her disgustingly.
Sighing heavily, her beautiful eyes focused on Qingyi as she grabbed Bluey’s reins.
Her lips opened slightly, but stopped the next second.
Qingyi’s face distorted and a powerful aura took over his body as he advanced towards the forest like a blur.
"Fuck!" A painful grunt echoed as Qingyi’s hands closed around a man’s neck.
He was bald, deep-set and wearing a red jacket.
"The Red Claw gang!" Yueli recognized him immediately.