"Little Junior Brother, do you need a tour guide?" On the flying boat heading to Tianluo City, Yu Yao skillfully leaned closer, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Tianluo City is much larger than that little place, Xuanguang City, and it's way more interesting. It would be a shame not to explore a bit!"

Bai Feng glanced at Yu Yao and replied casually, "Only if you're treating."

"Hehe, of course!" This time, Yu Yao showed no signs of annoyance; instead, her face lit up with a cheerful smile. "I've already planned it out. First, we'll go to Zuiyue Pavilion for a nice meal, then we'll stop by Daoxiangfang to buy some snacks. Along the way, we can browse through various shops, and if we get tired, we can rest at my place, enjoying tea and snacks in my little courtyard..."

"Why does it all sound like food? Is there no place to have fun?" Bai Feng couldn't help but tease.

"Would you prefer to visit a brothel to listen to music, Little Junior Brother?" Yu Yao tilted her head and asked.

In an instant, Bai Feng felt several gazes turn toward him.

Ignoring the looks from nearby, he shook his head. "Not going."

That place was too likely to attract the attention of the favored ones, and the danger level was higher than that of an auction.

"Then let's stick to my plan!" Yu Yao's smile widened. "Besides, there's nothing fun at a brothel. You might as well come to my house; even my cat's dancing is more entertaining than that place."

Bai Feng's curiosity was piqued. "If you put it that way, I really have to see how your cat dances."

He had never seen a cat dance in his life, and it certainly sounded more interesting than listening to music at a brothel.

While chatting with Yu Yao, Bai Feng also glanced at the other passengers on the flying boat.

There were quite a few familiar faces. Bai Yu Mo was one, and then there were Lin Yan and Luo Chen, both favored ones, along with Princess Shui Miaomiao from Dongzhou. Su Lanqian had also come along with Liu Meng, and even Zuo Qiu was there. In addition, there were disciples from various peaks, making the number of people heading to Tianluo City much larger than the last trip to Xuanguang City.

...

"Tomorrow we'll arrive in the Northern Region. I can finally see you again."

Sitting on the flying boat, Yun Shimei gazed out at the swiftly passing scenery, murmuring softly to herself.

However, strictly speaking, she had never met Bai Feng in real life.

Now Bai Feng didn't know her, so when they finally met, should she disguise herself? It wouldn't be good if she startled him.

In that case, how should she greet him when they met?

No, what she needed to consider now was whether to pretend it was a chance encounter or to visit him on purpose.

If it was a chance encounter, how could she make it seem natural?

Yun Shimei couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

"Yun Shimei?" At that moment, Xiao Shijie approached her. Seeing Yun Shimei lost in thought, she couldn't help but tease, "You’re not thinking about your fiancé, are you? You haven't even met him yet!"

"That's why I'm a bit nervous," Yun Shimei replied flatly, then turned to Xiao Shijie. "Xiao Shijie, what do you think I should say when I meet him?"

"Why do I feel like you're already smitten before even meeting him?" Xiao Shijie quipped, then began to think seriously. "Aren't your parents acquainted? Start from there; it gives you plenty to talk about, and you won't have to worry about running out of things to say."

Yun Shimei nodded thoughtfully. "Thank you, Xiao Shijie. I have an idea now."

Using her father as an excuse to visit Bai Feng wouldn't seem out of place. Yes... that’s settled!

---

Chapter 157: "Hello, Marriage."

"It's really lively here!"

Bai Feng stepped off the flying boat, and Tianluo City was indeed much larger than Xuanguang City and Qinghong City. He even spotted some merchants in peculiar attire, likely from Zhongzhou or the Southern Region.

Not far away, the city lord of Tianluo City seemed to have been waiting for a while. After some polite exchanges, the disciples of Tianjian Sect followed them to their arranged accommodations.

On the way, Bai Feng saw many young people taking pictures with recording devices, and even a few disciples from Tianjian Sect pulled out their own devices to snap photos.

"Have recording devices made it all the way here?" he muttered to himself.

"Yeah, my mom really likes recording devices, so she helped promote them," Yu Yao said with a smile as she walked beside Bai Feng. "It's a pity that our influence in Zhongzhou and the Southern Region is too small, and transportation costs are high. The recording devices are manageable, but the specially made recording stones are hard to distribute because there are so few shops. People from other regions are reluctant to spend a fortune on a one-time-use high-end recording stone. Otherwise, we could sell them in Zhongzhou and the Southern Region."

"Then just open up the licensing. Let merchants from other regions pay an annual fee and allow them to produce the specially made recording stones themselves," Bai Feng suggested casually. "If you want to spread the recording devices, you could even release the production methods for the specially made recording stones. Just make sure to publicly label them as counterfeit and take all measures except stopping them to warn customers that if they buy counterfeit recording stones, they’ll bear the consequences."

"Is it really possible to do that?"

Yu Yao was taken aback. This indeed solved her biggest pain point, and the products could quickly spread to Zhongzhou and the Southern Region.

Especially since other merchants had recently started imitating them and producing recording devices. Although they faced many issues and their costs were significantly higher, she felt a sense of urgency.

She reached out and grabbed Bai Feng's sleeve. "Little Junior Brother."

"This is a public place, and there are a lot of people around. Plus, this is your hometown, so don’t go crazy!" Bai Feng quickly reminded her.

"No, I wanted to remind you," Yu Yao said, looking up with a rare serious expression. "If you come to my house as a guest, please don’t mention things like that."

"Are you worried someone might overhear?"

Bai Feng nodded. Although Yu Linglong was a whole, there were definitely factions within. Not to mention Yu Yao, even her father, the leader of Yu Linglong, didn’t have the final say.

"No, I'm worried about something else," Yu Yao said, scratching her cheek, her gaze slightly drifting. "Just don’t talk about such things."

Bai Feng felt a bit puzzled but nodded nonetheless.

"Alright, enough of that. Let’s take a good rest today, and tomorrow I’ll take you around Tianluo City!"

Yu Yao placed her hands on her hips and began to chatter excitedly about the various delicacies in Tianluo City.

...

"Brother, what do you want to eat tonight?"

In the resting quarters of the Tianjian Sect disciples, Bai Yu Mo was wearing an apron, holding a spatula as she asked Bai Feng.

"...Isn't there no kitchen here?"

Bai Feng glanced around the other rooms, confirming that the house provided by the city lord didn’t come with a kitchen.

"I learned from last time, so I brought my own pots and pans this time," Bai Yu Mo said, pulling various cooking utensils from her storage bag. "And I brought plenty of ingredients; it’ll definitely last us a long time."

Bai Feng fell silent, completely taken aback that Bai Yu Mo had brought the kitchen with her. "...Then let’s just eat something simple."

"Please wait a moment."

Watching Bai Yu Mo busying herself, he suggested, "Do you need me to help 'stoke the fire'?"

Bai Yu Mo turned around, a smile appearing on her face. "Yes, I do!"

"Let me know when you need to adjust the flame!"

He summoned the spirit fire he hadn’t used in a long time, letting it settle beneath the frying pan.

"Brother..."

"What is it?"

"...Nothing, never mind."

Bai Yu Mo shook her head, continuing to focus on the ingredients in the pan.

In recent days, she had sensed something was off with Bai Feng. Although his attitude remained the same as usual, she could see that at times, his expression seemed a bit unnatural.

Perhaps she was being too greedy; it was enough just to be by his side, yet she couldn’t help but want more.

"Yu Mo? The food is about to burn!"

"Eh?"

Bai Yu Mo quickly looked at the ingredients in the pan, stirring vigorously with the spatula, only to find that nothing was burning.

She glared at Bai Feng, who was chuckling to himself. "Brother—!"

"Just kidding! Besides, weren’t you just daydreaming?" Bai Feng laughed, blocking her lightly swinging fist. "Is there something on your mind? If you’re unsure about anything, you can talk to me. I’m here for you, no matter what."

"...Yeah, I will." Bai Yu Mo nodded gently. "But for now, let’s focus on cooking!"

...

'I can confirm it now; it seems I really took a wrong turn...'

When did it all start?

After dinner, while Bai Yu Mo was washing the dishes, Bai Feng couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.