In the early morning, Jian Huan was awakened by the chirping of birds.
After bathing in the moonlight all night, she felt refreshed and rejuvenated.
Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, her teleportation talisman had stopped working.
Jian Huan tossed her personal belongings into her storage pouch.
Shen Jizhi had just returned, so she asked, "How is it?"
"There's an official road not far from here, and there should be a town nearby."
Sure enough, Baili Dao, who had been sent by Jian Huan to scout ahead, quickly returned on his flying sword, his dark face brightened by gleaming eyes: "Yujiang City is just three kilometers away!"
...
Since Baili Dao could fly on his sword, they covered the three-kilometer distance quickly.
After landing, the three emerged from the forest and walked toward the crowd.
It was still early, with two quarters of an hour remaining before the city gates would open.
Outside the gates of Yujiang City, many people were already waiting expectantly.
Unlike Azure Dragon City, this Yujiang City, located a hundred miles from Azure Dragon City, was not large and had no reputation in the cultivation world. Neither Shen Jizhi nor Baili Dao had any impression of this unremarkable city.
Jian Huan's gaze fell upon the people.
Though it looked crowded, most people belonged to two merchant caravans, each occupying one side. There were only two or three ordinary civilians.
While waiting for the gates to open, a guard from the left caravan, pretending to answer nature's call, made a wide circle to the right side and approached someone who looked friendly, asking, "Where are you from? We've come from Glass City."
The other person hesitated, sensing that the questioner was also a Qi Cultivation stage cultivator, and replied, "We're from Liangzhou City."
The guard became quite friendly: "Hey, it must have been quite a journey for you too? Both places are quite far from here!"
The friendly guard was reluctant to reveal too much about his master: "It is far, but when our master needs to travel, we guards naturally must fulfill our duty. Besides, we could take the teleportation formation to Azure Dragon City first, so it wasn't too bad."
The guard agreed verbally but remained skeptical internally.
They weren't ordinary guards after all - they were cultivators! Being guards was just a temporary arrangement; surely they wouldn't be guards their whole lives?
The guard adjusted his black armor that gleamed in the dawn light: "Is your master also here for that couples' banquet?"
The friendly guard, unwilling to say more, just nodded and found an excuse to walk away.
Seeing that the city gates were about to open, the guard hurried back to his own caravan.
After quietly listening to this conversation, Jian Huan turned to Shen Jizhi and whispered: "Want to make a bet?"
Shen Jizhi turned his head discreetly: "Bet on what?"
Jian Huan pointed at the guard who had just scurried back: "He came over for one of two reasons - either his master sent him to gather information, or he was curious himself. Which do you think it is?"
Behind them, Baili Dao's ears perked up, and he unconsciously leaned closer.
Shen Jizhi: "What are we betting?"
Jian Huan held up one finger: "One spirit stone."
Shen Jizhi answered almost without hesitation: "The second reason."
Jian Huan: "..."
She withdrew her finger sullenly: "No fun."
Hearing this, Shen Jizhi also withdrew his gaze and said nothing more.
Baili Dao was still waiting for them to continue talking, but both Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi remained silent.
After waiting for a while, confused, he finally couldn't help but ask: "Miss Jian, Brother Shen, who won the bet?"
Shen Jizhi ignored him.
While mentally preoccupied with thoughts about the so-called 'couples' banquet,' Jian Huan casually explained to Baili Dao: "Nobody won, nobody lost."
Baili Dao hurried to Jian Huan's side, humbly asking: "Why is that?"
Jian Huan: "Because I also chose the second reason."
With both people making the same choice, there could be no winner or loser, so the bet was void.
Baili Dao was even more shocked: "But why?"
Jian Huan explained concisely: "If that guard was gathering information for his master, he wouldn't have revealed so much about his own master."
Baili Dao nodded solemnly.
Still, he didn't understand.
He really missed his brother Baili Jian and his former teammates - at least communication with them had no barriers.
In the cultivation world, a cultivator's status was their passport, requiring no official documentation.
A clear river ran through the small city, flowing into the Yujiang River.
The land shapes its people - Yujiang City lacked the grandeur of inland metropolises but possessed its own unique character, graceful and elegant.
The city had many bridges, with green water plants spreading freely on the water's surface, and several small boats slowly drifting through the bridge arches, carrying bundles of lotus roots.
Young women in bright-colored dresses crossed the bridges with radiant smiles.
Jian Huan withdrew her gaze and followed the entering caravans toward the main street, where the bustle increased as they went deeper into the city.
The calls of vendors and the laughter of passersby wrapped the small city in a blanket of happiness and peace.
The city seemed used to visitors; the locals barely gave curious glances to the entering caravans or the attractive trio of Jian Huan and her companions, appearing quite accustomed to such sights.
Baili Dao stayed close to Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi, asking, "Where should we go next?"
The trail had gone cold since they entered the city, leaving Baili Dao clueless.
As he asked, the three were passing a teahouse.
Despite the early hour, there were quite a few people inside drinking tea, creating a lively atmosphere.
Jian Huan stopped, thoughtful: "Shall we have some tea first?"
One spirit stone could be exchanged for ten taels of silver, enough for plenty of tea, and Jian Huan, who now had thousands of spirit stones, didn't mind the expense.
Besides, teahouses were always the best places to gather information.
The others had no objections, so the three walked in.
"Good morning! Please have a seat, honored guests!" The waiter greeted them warmly, sweeping his white cloth over the chairs. "What would you like to drink?"
Before they could answer, his eyes swept over the three, and he skillfully introduced the house specialties: "Our teahouse is most famous for our Four Seasons Tea, it's a specialty of Yujiang City that all visitors must try! The Four Seasons Tea paired with a plate of crispy dried fish, a dish of lotus candy cakes, some melon seeds, peanuts, dried longan, and red dates, plus some fresh watermelon and grapes - you can't go wrong with that!"
Jian Huan loved this kind of talkative server, who immediately awakened her inner foodie.
Her mouth was practically watering as she declared, "We'll have everything you suggested!"
The waiter had just responded with an enthusiastic "Yes!" when Shen Jizhi spoke up: "I'll just have water."
Jian Huan: "..."
Waiter: "..."
Baili Dao: "..."
Even Baili Dao could tell that Shen Jizhi was being a killjoy.
The waiter recovered quickly, explaining, "Ah, honored guest, this is a teahouse - we sell tea and snacks, not plain water."
Shen Jizhi's expression remained unchanged as he gave the waiter a bland look: "Isn't tea made with water?"
Waiter: "..."
Jian Huan rolled her eyes slightly and told the waiter: "Just bring what I ordered, and give him a bowl of water if he wants it - he can drink it or not, his choice."
The waiter beamed at Jian Huan: "Very well! I'll take the liberty of bringing this gentleman some water, free of charge - consider it good karma."
Hearing this, Shen Jizhi looked up, his expression softening slightly: "Thank you."
The words "free of charge" had particularly pleased him.
Jian Huan: "..."
...
"Isn't the couples' banquet starting this year? I've noticed many couples from outside the city recently." At a nearby table, some customers were chatting. They all looked young and carried books, appearing to be local scholars.
"Yes, I believe it's in three days."
"On my way here, I met a couple asking for directions to the Jiang family residence. They said they needed to register first to secure their seats at the banquet."
"I'm really curious about what's so special about this couples' banquet that attracts so many people every year?"
"I heard it's specifically for solving marital issues? Like intimacy problems *cough*, relationship management issues, or couples seeking children. The Jiang family head and his wife are deeply in love, and they hope all couples can be as devoted as they are - that's supposedly the original intention behind the couples' banquet."
"I see, that's quite a charitable endeavor..."
Baili Dao listened nervously, feeling something wasn't quite right about this couples' banquet.
He instinctively glanced at his two companions.
Jian Huan was eating grapes, squeezing the plump, round fruit to release its translucent, pale green flesh into her mouth. The natural sweetness of the fruit was nature's gift, caressing her taste buds.
She narrowed her eyes, visibly savoring the moment.
Meanwhile, Shen Jizhi held his bowl of plain water with both hands, his gaze lowered, lost in thought.
In the end, almost all the pastries and fruits on the table ended up in Jian Huan's stomach.
She dusted off her hands and called the waiter to settle the bill, which came to just a hundred copper coins.
Before leaving, Jian Huan asked, "How do I get to the Jiang residence?"
The waiter, unsurprised by the question, enthusiastically gave them directions.
The Jiang family was unexpectedly low-key, with their residence tucked away in a remote alley.
The three of them turned left and right, asking passersby for directions along the way until they finally found it.
The first thing that caught their eye was a large flower wall, with fully bloomed roses hanging heavily among the branches and leaves, climbing all the way up the brick wall.
As noon approached, the brilliant sunlight poured down, making the flowers appear even pinker and the foliage more verdant, transforming the place into what seemed like a paradise on earth.
Following the wall forward, they came to the back entrance of the Jiang residence.
The back door was open, with a wooden table placed before it, behind which sat a middle-aged man who appeared to be a steward.
Having been busy all morning, the steward finally had some free time. He was propping up his head, nodding off drowsily.
Hearing footsteps, he suddenly awoke, his eyes falling on Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi, immediately understanding their purpose.
The steward sat up straight, picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and without any small talk, asked directly, "What brings you two to this couples' banquet?"
Well, according to what they'd heard at the teahouse, most couples attending this banquet had some sort of problem.
Jian Huan glanced at Shen Jizhi, nervously pinching her skirt hem, then turned back to whisper to the steward, "He... he's not quite... capable..."
Shen Jizhi suddenly raised his head, shooting her a sharp glare: "?"
Sensing the piercing gaze from behind her, Jian Huan quickly reached behind her back, holding up three fingers, reminding him not to forget the three thousand spirit stones promised by Master Chu.
Shen Jizhi stared at those three fingers for a long while before silently withdrawing his gaze, saying nothing, completely quiet.
