It was late afternoon, and they had arrived at the gates of Wu Xian. "Welcome to Wu Xian!"
A massive wall protected the daily life of the people within. Two armored guards stood watch at the gate. Xiao Chen led them through the gate.
Imagine roofs curving sharply toward the sky with brown clay tiles. The curved eaves were adorned with dragon carvings.
A city with a bustling market. Dust swirled between the wheels of horse-drawn carriages creaking across the uneven cobblestone streets.
The shouts of merchants hawking their wares made the city even livelier.
Enatur walked slowly, looking around. "This city is so crowded. Is the market open until night?"
"It's pretty lively at night too; you can roam freely here. If you need a world map, you can get one at the equipment shop." Said Xiao Chen.
Enatur nodded. "Thank you for the advice; we'll look for an inn first."
Xiao Chen turned around. "That large building is an inn." She pointed toward the prominent structure, which was visible even from a distance.
Death chimed in. "Where can I buy medicinal ingredients?"
"For medicine, you can head to the northwest region. It's quite far from here; the city is called Cao Yao. It's a city specializing in rare medicinal ingredients."
"I see. So, we'll head to Cao Yao tomorrow morning, Sis Hisui!" Said Enatur.
Death just sighed and turned away. "Alright, no problem!"
Xiao Chen waved at them. "In that case, I'll take my leave first; I want to turn in my hunting results. See you later!"
"Miss Death, let's book a place to stay first. Then I'll look for some information."
Death just nodded. The two of them walked slowly toward the inn. The men noticed Death's strikingly pretty appearance.
"She's so pretty!"
"Who's that guy next to her? Is he her husband?"
"He's so lucky to have such a beautiful wife!"
They heard a few people whispering about them, making Enatur feel even more awkward. On the other hand, Death remained silent without responding.
---
A large, spacious inn, built of wood and painted cream. Many staff members greeted them respectfully.
Enatur and Death stood in front of the inn's reception desk. "We'd like to book a private room for two!"
The receptionist bowed slightly. "I'm sorry, sir, there's only one special room available." Death immediately emitted a creepiness aura, her face annoyed.
Enatur instantly sensed her aura from behind. "Alright, I'll take that one room—is there a regular room for one person?"
"That's the only room left," said the receptionist.
Death folded her arms and turned away. "No problem, just book that one!"
"Alright, the honeymoon package room has been booked for you." The receptionist handed over the room key.
Enatur was slightly caught off guard. "Huh? Honeymoon?"
The inn attendant guided them to the room. They walked through a corridor perched on a high cliff, bordered only by a wooden railing.
---
The door opened, and Enatur looked out the window, marveling at the neatly arranged medieval-era buildings.
Death slid open the two doors. "Oh, there's a hot spring too." Death spotted five bottles and read the labels. "They even provide aphrodisiacs—disgusting!"
Enatur interrupted. "They probably think we're a married couple."
"Tch! What are you doing?" Death saw Enatur mixing something on the table.
"I'm making coffee; I took the equipment from the storage space. Does Miss Death like coffee?"
Death sat down across from him. "Make me a latte!"
"Sure!" Enatur carefully prepared the coffee. Then, once finished, he poured it into a cup and handed it to Death.
Slurp!
Death was stunned by the coffee he'd made. "It's delicious—your claim that you're the family's free barista isn't just nonsense after all."
Enatur chuckled, a little awkwardly. "Sis Earth was the first to teach me, and I ended up studying it in depth."
Enatur opened his storage space and took out a red scroll. Then he unrolled it and examined the contents of the medicinal ingredients.
"Golden Rose Petals, Mythical Horn, SSS-rank Monster Spinal Cord, and Black Apple. It works to weaken the effects of the curse of darkness."
Enatur tapped the table repeatedly with his fingers. "I'm going to look up this information—do you want to come with me, or stay here?"
Death shot Enatur a scornful look. "I'll finish this coffee first, then we'll go."
---
Twilight had fallen. The dark sky replaced the orange one.
"According to the receptionist, we need to go to the Hunters' Guild to find important information."
Death looked at the building with a sign reading Hunters' Guild. "The guild is right there; let's go."
They entered the guild building, which resembled a bar with many men gathered inside. All eyes were on Death; her beauty left everyone seemingly mesmerized.
"That woman is so sexy!"
"I'd love to taste her!"
Death felt the perverted gazes from all of them, but she ignored them. They walked toward the receptionist.
"Good night, how can I help you?" said the male receptionist.
"I'm looking for Golden Rose Petals, Mythical Horn, SSS-rank Monster Spinal Cord, and Black Apples. Do you have any information on these materials?"
"Golden Rose Petals and Black Apples are extremely rare medicinal ingredients. Many people are scrambling to get them."
"SSS-rank monsters roam the Xin Wilderness, but these monsters are known to be extremely powerful. Many hunters and experts have been killed."
"The Mythical Horn comes from a legendary ancient monster. Its existence is still considered a myth, but some rumors say they're in the Zhun Dark Forest!"
The receptionist showed a map. "The southwestern part is the Xin Wilderness, not far from here."
"And the Dark Forest of Zhun is extremely dangerous; it's located in the northern part of this continent. Many people go in, but very few come out alive!"
"If you want information on medicinal ingredients, you can go to the Cao Yao city, known as the city of medicines."
Enatur and Death exchanged glances. The two had decided on the first destination they would head to. "In that case, I'll buy the map and pay for the information," said Enatur.
Enatur handed over the money and was about to leave the building. But a large man stood in their way. He was massive and covered in disgusting sweat.
Enatur glared at the man. "Can you move aside?"
The man retorted sarcastically. "Can you move aside? Gahahaha!" Everyone in the bar burst into laughter.
The man's subordinate approached Enatur. "Young man, leave that woman with us; my boss and I will treat her gently and—"
Swing!
The man's head suddenly flew off. Blood spattered through the air, as if a rain of blood were soaking the floor of the building. Enatur had slit the man's throat, without mercy.
Everyone fell silent, their faces frozen in shock. The man's head landed on a customer's table—including the arrogant, burly man—causing him to wet his pants.
"I didn't even see his move!" The man muttered.
Enatur's eyes shone as he glared at everyone. "Is there anyone else who dares to bother my fiancée? Come on, step forward, and feel the sharpness of my blade!"
Death and Enatur left the guild as if nothing had happened.
---
They walked slowly through the market. "That fiancée… what did he mean?" Death asked in a tense tone.
Enatur suddenly felt as if he'd been shocked by lightning. "Geh! I-it was just my improvisation!"
Death glared at Enatur. "It's true, the letter says we're not allowed to exchange information, but the exact same sentence is written in both of our letters!"
Enatur just scratched his head. "You're right, but I didn't think much of it. So you don't need to worry." Enatur smiled awkwardly.
They continued on their travels. They walked together through the city center. They visited a gear shop, a bakery, and other stores. They enjoyed some snacks at the market.
By chance, Enatur found a shop selling strange scrolls.
He looked at Death. "Miss Death, let's stop by this shop for a moment."
Death and Enatur entered the shop. The shopkeeper greeted them. "Welcome, sir and miss!"
Enatur asked the shopkeeper. "What kind of shop is this?" Enatur picked up a scroll.
"Our shop offers scrolls for learning beginner to intermediate-level skills. Please choose whichever you like," said the shopkeeper.
Enatur and Death browsed through several scrolls. The names of the respective skills were written on the outside of the scrolls.
Death set down the scroll she was looking at, then walked slowly toward the shopkeeper.
"Show me the other scrolls!" Her eyes glowed after glaring at the shopkeeper.
Gravity pressure crushed the shopkeeper's body until he lay sprawled on the wooden floor. "Miss, please let me go!"
Death's tone more colder. "You have no right to speak. Show me the other scrolls!"
"Alright… alright, Miss, I'll show you. Please let me go!"
Death stopped the gravity pressure. Then the guard immediately got up and ran toward the tightly locked display case. He then unlocked it.
He took out three scrolls: gold, silver, and white. Death examined all three scrolls carefully.
Nervously, the guard explained the scrolls. "These scrolls contain extremely powerful high-level skills."
Death took the gold scroll. "Emperor's Sword Technique. The silver scroll: a recipe for a potion that instantly heals wounds and restores stamina. The white scroll: Sacred Palm Technique."
"These aren't bad techniques. I'll pay for them with three gold bars, each weighs 1 kg. That's fine, right?"
The guard nodded quickly. "That's enough to buy every skill in this shop. Go ahead and take them all!"
Death opened her storage space and took out 3 gold bars. She placed the gold on the table. Death turned around and looked for Enatur.
Death stared at him; he was holding 5 scrolls. She fell silent for a moment as their gazes met. "What are you doing?"
"I'm going to buy the skill I chose; this skill is quite interesting," said Enatur. Death sighed. "Just take it all—I've already bought everything!" She immediately left the shop.
"Shopkeeper, is that true?" Enatur asked.
"Your terrifying wife has already bought it all—go ahead and take everything!"
Enatur just sighed, then opened his storage space and put all the skill scrolls inside. Then he left the shop.
---
They walked out of the shop, and two men passed by them. By chance, they overheard the two men's conversation.
"The auction will open in two weeks?"
"You're right; the items up for auction aren't just any ordinary goods."
"Do you know what items are being auctioned?"
"I don't know much, but one of them is the Golden Rose Petal."
Enatur and Death were quite surprised; the item they were looking for was actually at the auction.
"The auction is in Tan City. Are you going to attend?"
"Haha… of course, I want to watch!"
Then they walked further until the two men's conversation could no longer be heard. Enatur and Death exchanged glances.
"Hm… Tan City, huh?!"