Chapter 1773: Chapter 1773: Leaving the City
The sun was already high in the sky.
In a boudoir tower with a perfect view at the Tongfu Inn, there was a sudden thud.
"Ow, ow, ow."
Tong Ling’er crawled up from under the bed, clutching her head, then held her hungover skull. "Where am I?"
"Miss, what’s wrong with you?"
At this moment, the Maid outside rushed in. Seeing Tong Ling’er sitting by the bed, she hurried forward to help her up.
Tong Ling’er sat up on the bed, her brain still a mushy mess. "Jianyi, wasn’t I drinking with that Li Feng yesterday? Which one of us won?"
Jianyi, Tong Ling’er’s personal Maid, heard Tong Ling’er’s question and, for a moment, didn’t know how to answer.
"Well...!"
"Huh? What do you mean ’well’ this and ’well’ that, don’t tell me I didn’t outdrink that bastard?"
"That’s not it."
Jianyi shook her head. She knew all too well her Miss’s temper—competitive and stubborn, hated losing the most.
"Not it, so that means I won? Where is that bastard?"
"That I’m not too sure about. But last night, you really did drink a bit too much, Miss. Afterward the Shopkeeper came back, saw the state you were in, got really mad, and sent you back to the boudoir tower."
"Mm...?"
"My mother came back?"
Tong Ling’er’s mind turned. After a while she lifted her eyes to look at Jianyi. "That Li Feng didn’t get slapped to death by my mother, did he?"
"I... I came back with you, Miss. I stayed by your side the whole time last night, didn’t leave even half a step. I’m not too sure what happened outside."
"Hmph, you never ask and never know anything, then you should at least go find out."
"Oh, oh, I’ll go right away."
Jianyi turned to go ask around, but before she could rush out, the door was pushed open. A handsome middle-aged man with an elegant bearing appeared at the door carrying a tray.
Jianyi looked up at the person in front of her and quickly bowed.
Zhan Yuxiao waved his hand, motioning Jianyi to withdraw, then walked straight into Tong Ling’er’s boudoir. Tong Ling’er was rubbing her head, feeling someone in front of her, and instantly got a bit impatient. "Didn’t I tell you to go ask arou—!"
"Uncle Zhan."
Zhan Yuxiao looked at the little Shopkeeper, Tong Ling’er. "Here, this is hangover soup your Uncle Jin stewed for you first thing this morning. Drink it while it’s hot."
Tong Ling’er’s cheeks flushed slightly. She stuck out her tongue, picked up the hangover soup on the tray, and said, "Uncle Zhan, my mother didn’t blow up yesterday, did she?"
Zhan Yuxiao sat down at the Eight Immortals table in the room. "If you’re afraid of the Shopkeeper getting mad, why drink that much?"
"Ahem, isn’t that what you taught me? Even if you lose, you can’t lose the momentum. I can’t beat that bastard in a fight, fine, but I can’t lose at drinking too. Wouldn’t I completely lose face then?"
Tong Ling’er spoke righteously, picked up the hangover soup, and took a big gulp, only to get scalded so badly she sucked in air through her teeth.
"Slow down. It’s hangover soup, not wine."
Tong Ling’er swallowed the soup, stuck out her tongue, then lifted her eyes to Zhan Yuxiao. "Uncle Zhan, is that bastard still at the inn?"
"He left early this morning."
"What, he left?" Tong Ling’er abruptly shot to her feet. Zhan Yuxiao looked at her with a meaningful smile. "What, he left and you can’t bear to see him go?"
Tong Ling’er sat back down on the bed and stubbornly said, "Who’d be reluctant about him? I’d love nothing more than to send him to Western Heaven."
"Exactly. He made me lose that miserably, and I haven’t even gotten my pride back yet. Of course I’m not satisfied."
Zhan Yuxiao looked at Tong Ling’er, who was gnashing her teeth. "Best if that’s the case. Don’t forget, you’re already promised to someone."
Tong Ling’er’s expression dimmed a bit at those words. She was obviously very displeased with this arranged marriage of hers.
"Uncle Zhan, you don’t have to remind me, I know."
"Good that you do. Your mother sacrificed a lot to secure this match for you. Don’t let the Shopkeeper’s painstaking efforts go to waste."
"All right, drink your hangover soup and rest properly for half a day. I’ll get back to work."
"Got it."
Tong Ling’er nodded obediently. After Zhan Yuxiao left, Tong Ling’er shut the door and bit her teeth. "Who wants to marry that little fatty? I don’t want to marry him."
Tong Ling’er went back to bed and flopped down on her back, grabbed the pillow and vented on it for a while. After a long time, her Maid Jianyi came back from outside.
"Miss."
Tong Ling’er rolled over and sat up. "What now?"
"Miss, I found out what you asked me to look into," Jianyi said.
"Oh."
"That Li Feng left the Tongfu Inn early this morning and went out of Ancestor Dragon City through the South City Gate, but I don’t know where he went after that."
"Left the city?"
Tong Ling’er’s eyes sparkled. "Jianyi, hurry up and pack up."
"Ah?"
"Ah what ah, I said pack up so pack up. Why so much nonsense?" Tong Ling’er got up and started washing and dressing. A quarter of an hour later—
Tong Ling’er took Jianyi and left the boudoir tower. She told another Maid, "Tell my mother I’m going back to the Sword Control Pavilion to go into seclusion for a while. I won’t be coming back to stay for the time being."
"Yes, Miss."
The Maid didn’t doubt her. After all, their Miss studied at the Sword Control Pavilion, and she spent more than half the year there.
They left the Tongfu Inn.
And came to the South City Gate.
"Miss, you’re going the wrong way, that’s toward the city gate."
"Mm-hmm, I’m not wrong. I’m going out of the city."
"Ah?"
"Ah what ah, hurry up and keep up. I, Tong Ling’er, never take a loss. If I do, I have to get it back tenfold."
At the same time.
The Ninth Ring’s Dragon Tiger Sect.
The news of Li Feng leaving the city quickly reached Han Sanqian’s ears.
"Left the city, did he? There’s a road to Heaven and you don’t take it; Hell has no Gate and you insist on barging in." Han Sanqian laughed coldly.
"Pass the word to Young Master Chen, and gather our men," Han Sanqian said, turning to his subordinates.
"Yes, Sect Master."
Li Feng had left Ancestor Dragon City. Looking back at that magnificent Cultivation City, he hadn’t expected that after only three months in the city, he’d be "fleeing in disgrace."
But when he returned, he would definitely make the entire city bow to him.
Thinking this, Li Feng rode the Pegasus he’d bought and headed south along a main road. Even though he’d left Ancestor Dragon City, the outskirts weren’t desolate at all, and the main road along the way was clear and unobstructed.
Li Feng hadn’t bothered to hide his tracks along the way. When he reached a small town fifty li outside Ancestor Dragon City, he saw Ran Yue waiting at the town entrance.
By Ran Yue’s side lay the Thunder Tiger Li Feng had tamed in the Heaven Tower. Seeing Li Feng gallop over, the Thunder Tiger stood up and looked his way.
"Why are you here?"
Li Feng had previously asked Zi Yan to tell Ran Yue to find him at the Tongfu Inn, but Ran Yue hadn’t come. Li Feng had thought she’d decided where she wanted to go and didn’t think much of it—everyone had their own ambitions, after all.
He just hadn’t expected Ran Yue to be waiting for him outside the city here.
Ran Yue looked at Li Feng as he dismounted and said, "I did go to the Tongfu Inn last night, but someone made a big scene going up to the Ninth Ring floor of the inn, it was a huge ruckus. I don’t have money to go up there, and the inn’s prices aren’t cheap, so I left the city early and waited for you here on this road you had to take."
