Old friend?

Shangguan Ruolin sneered, "Haven't you just come to Great Cloud? Where did you get an old friend?"

Shu Han thought of this and couldn't help but feel down. He then told Shangguan Ruolin the whole story about Lin Wenguang.

After listening, Shangguan Ruolin marveled, "To think of using a corpse to refine a storage bag to smuggle spirit stones, these two are indeed geniuses."

Shu Han was speechless, thinking you heard all that and this is what interested you?

Shangguan Ruolin glanced at Shu Han, sitting on his shoulder and patting his head, saying, "Kid, you've known this guy for less than half a month, there's no need to be sentimental for him. In the world of cultivation, ants like this die in droves every day."

Shu Han gave a bitter smile, "I just feel that his experience was similar to mine back then, we were both naive young men who had just left the mountain, it's just that I was luckier than him."

Cheering up, Shu Han scanned the Floating Mountain Town below with his divine sense, "There are quite a few Qi refining cultivators in this Floating Mountain Town. Great Cloud is indeed different, Qi refining cultivators live just like ordinary people. Senior, let's first find a place for you to freshen up, and then inquire about Lin Wenguang's partner. No offence, but you... are a bit smelly..."

Shangguan Ruolin's face turned pale, she sniffed herself and cursed, "Isn't it all because I was waiting for you in the mountains? When have I ever been so disheveled!"

So, Shu Han took Shangguan Ruolin to an inn in the town.

The innkeeper was a cultivator of the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining. Seeing Shu Han coming in, he immediately felt a tightness in his chest, immediately pushed the apprentice away, and greeted him with a smile, "Junior greets senior, what can I do for you?"

Shu Han slapped a low-grade spirit stone on the counter and said, "Give me a secluded room, prepare a bucket of bath water..." He turned his head and looked at the dirty Shangguan Ruolin, and immediately corrected himself, "No, three buckets, and a table of food and wine."

Seeing the low-grade spirit stone, the innkeeper's eyes gleamed with greed, and he nervously said, "Okay! Senior, please follow me upstairs, we will prepare for you right away!" Then he glanced at Shangguan Ruolin behind Shu Han, immediately changed his expression, and said, "Go away! Where did this little begg..."

In an instant, Shu Han covered his mouth, giving him a horrified warning with his eyes.

Do you want to die? Hurry up!

The innkeeper was immediately scared breathless by Shu Han, hurriedly lowered his head and led Shu Han upstairs.

Following behind the innkeeper, Shu Han asked, "Innkeeper, your town isn't big, have you heard of a man named Lin Wenguang?"

The innkeeper said, "Oh, Little Wen! I know him, a few months ago he bought a bunch of our local specialty tea here! I heard he went out to explore, he's not in town now."

Shu Han immediately asked, "He has a cultivation partner, have you heard of her?"

"You must be referring to Miss Qin Xueer, she and Little Wen are among the most talented in our town. Although Qin Xueer's cultivation talent is not as good as Little Wen's, her study of array formations is indeed unparalleled."

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Upon entering the guest room, Shu Han tossed out a spirit stone and declared, "Find Qin Xue'er and tell her to meet me!"

Seeing another spirit stone, the innkeeper couldn't hide his elation, yet there was a touch of hesitation in his gaze. He asked tentatively, "Please forgive my audacity in asking, but why does the senior want to see Xue'er? She is quite a decent person. If she has offended the senior in any way…"

Shu Han rolled his eyes and interrupted, "Just do as you're told. I'm not here to cause her trouble."

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Shangguan Ruolin plonked down onto the rocking chair, chuckling, "This person dares to question you, a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Anywhere else, not only would he fetch someone for you without question, but he wouldn't even utter a 'no' if you ordered him to kill."

Shu Han pushed open the window of the inn, watching the hustle and bustle of the crowd, and mused, "Perhaps the more remote the location, the lower the cultivation, the more human touch there is."

Before long, three big buckets of bathing water were delivered.

Shangguan Ruolin hopped down from the chair and, seeing that Shu Han was still in the room, her gaze grew icy.

"Are you not leaving yet, boy? Do you wish to peep on my bathing?"

At her words, Shu Han was taken aback, comparing the height of Shangguan Ruolin with the water level in the bathing bucket, he said, "Senior, aren't you afraid of drowning in your current state…"

Shangguan Ruolin's gaze was filled with murderous intent.

"Get out!"

Shu Han hurriedly ran out of the room, wiping the cold sweat off his forehead, mumbling, "Even after shrinking, she became fiercer…"

Next, Shu Han leaned against the railing of a private room on the third floor of the inn, drinking and sampling the local delicacies. At that moment, Shangguan Ruolin, fresh from her bath and wearing a displeased expression, walked in.

Shangguan Ruolin, free from worldly dust, looked like a porcelain doll that had jumped out of a painting. She was extraordinarily charming, only her long hair was a disheveled mess.

She sat across from Shu Han, looking upset, and said, "Without magical power, life is so hard, even my hair is bullying me! Boy, hand over the pills, I am hungry!"

Shu Han took out two bottles of Qi Gathering Pills from his storage bag and said, "After living so long, Senior doesn't know how to tie your own hair?"

"No need!"

Shangguan Ruolin was gulping down pills from the bottle, "Normally at the Sky Palace Sect, countless servants attended to my every need. Outside, a minor use of magic was all it took to manage everything. There was never this much hassle."

Shu Han chuckled, moved behind her, and cautiously began to untangle her messy braids. He asked, "These pills are for Qi Refining stage cultivators and are not of high quality. Doesn't Senior have high-quality pills in your own storage bag?"

Hearing his words, Shangguan Ruolin's tone turned frosty, "Boy, are you hinting at the whereabouts of my storage bag?"

Shu Han quickly clarified, "Certainly not! I had no such intention, I only thought that the senior might not be pleased with these inferior pills."

Shangguan Ruolin responded, "No harm in telling you, my storage bag was sealed inside my Golden Core at the first moment, unreachable by anyone. Moreover, the pills in the bag were already consumed by me, or else I might have degraded into an infant. Rest assured, I will compensate you for the pills you lost."

"You had such an incident, and the first thing the senior thought was how to preserve your storage bag?"

Shangguan Ruolin extended her right hand, upon her wrist was a blue mark. She stated, "This is a Nascent Soul mark planted by my father. In Great Cloud, anyone who sees this mark, except those at the Nascent Soul stage, dares not harm me. Of course, this excludes the Qi Refining stage cultivators as they can't recognize it. This is why I need your protection. Any cultivator in Great Cloud with a bit of cultivation who sees this mark would not dare to harm me. However, they would undoubtedly covet my storage bag if they see it."

A Nascent Soul mark!

Suddenly it made sense. Shu Han noticed a crimson mark on her left wrist.

"Senior, whose mark is this on your left hand?"

At this question, Shangguan Ruolin trembled and quickly covered her left hand with her sleeve, snapping, "Boy, where are all these questions coming from? Mind your own business!"

After a period of silence, Shangguan Ruolin picked up a mirror, and seeing the way Shu Han had expertly braided her hair, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Boy, you're quite adept at this, comparable to my personal maids."

Shu Han smiled and said, "When I was young, my parents were often busy, and I had to look after my younger sister. I would braid her hair in different styles every day, so over time, I became proficient."

Hearing this, Shangguan Ruolin fell silent, and murmured, "You have a sister too…"

"Huh? What did you say, Senior?"

Suddenly, Shangguan Ruolin burst into a rage, "Shut up! Ask one more question and I will cut out your tongue!"

Shu Han thought: ...But you initiated the conversation...