NOVEL WEB
Chapter 192: Stowaways?
On the road, Leng Yanran and the others were curious.
"Master, do you know that person behind those two, Brother Qiang?"
Li Yourong couldn't hold back and finally spoke, her voice filled with curiosity. If the person was acquainted with Master, they must be a formidable existence, right?
"I don't know."
Chen Daoxuan shrugged indifferently.
"???"
Everyone was baffled by this response. How could he have had such a serious conversation if he didn't know them? And how could he even describe the person as bald?
"Then why did you...?"
Li Yourong blinked her eyes, somewhat puzzled.
"Oh, I just found those two lively fellows amusing and wanted to tease them a bit. Come to think of it, those two aren't that despicable. If they were truly wicked, they would have been thinking about killing and robbing, not collecting a toll. It's just a plea for a way out. I'm in a good mood today, so why not give them a chance?" Chen Daoxuan chuckled and ruffled Li Yourong's hair as he explained. He wasn't a bloodthirsty person. If it weren't for provoking him, he wouldn't bother with two Fusion Realm cultivators. Killing them wouldn't yield many system points, and besides, his goal in coming to the Central Domain was those Loose Immortals!
Moreover, he had brought his disciples down the mountain to relax and have some fun. There was no need to lose his temper right after arriving in the Central Domain.
"I see."
Everyone nodded, still somewhat perplexed.
Before long, the group arrived at a city.
At the city gates, the guards weren't at an extremely high realm. There were eight Annihilation Realm guards stationed there, with the leader at the Boundless Realm. Each person entering the city needed to present a permit. Those without one had to pay ten top-grade spirit stones for passage.
"Master, shall we sneak into the city quietly without making any noise?"
Li Yourong's footsteps, originally headed towards the city gate, suddenly paused. She remembered her master's advice about frugality being a noble virtue. So, she whispered with a furtive voice.
After all, their group consisted of five people, which meant they would need five permits – not a cost-effective choice.
"Hmm? Alright, that's an improvement!"
Originally, Chen Daoxuan didn't think fifty spiritual stones were expensive. However, upon hearing Li Yourong's suggestion, he naturally didn't object. Why spend money on permits when they could avoid it? With a single thought, he led everyone to cross over the city wall and appear within the city.
As for the various formations on the city wall, they had no effect on him whatsoever, as if he had entered an uninhabited realm.
"Not bad, not bad. Saved fifty high-grade spiritual stones."
Chen Daoxuan nodded in satisfaction, then proceeded to wander around the city with the others.
On the streets, most of the passersby were still ordinary mortals. However, perhaps due to the rich spiritual energy of this central region, their physical constitutions were better than those in the Four Domains, noticeably more robust. As for the cultivators walking on the streets, their numbers were higher compared to the Four Domains, and their overall cultivation levels were significantly elevated.
In the Northern Domain, besides Chi Yun, who had reached the Divinity Separation Realm, the strongest were merely at the Annihilation Realm. Yet, within this city, in just a short while, Leng Yanran had already sensed the aura of several experts at the Divinity Separation Realm. There was even the aura of a Void Refining Realm expert in a gambling establishment.
"Let's find a place to stay first."
Chen Daoxuan wasn't particularly picky about food and lodging. After a brief assessment, he spotted a relatively upscale restaurant.
^
"Chen Yue Restaurant, let's go here."
Chen Daoxuan led his disciples into the restaurant, and the waitstaff inside quickly greeted them. Whether it was Leng Yanran or Li Yourong, despite their young age, their cultivations were not low. In the eyes of the waitstaff and passersby, most assumed they were elite disciples who had come out to experience the world from some prestigious sect, naturally treating them with respect.
"This gentleman, dining or lodging?"
The waitstaff could easily tell that Chen Daoxuan was the leader of the group. His fur-lined coat didn't look ordinary, marking him as a wealthy young master. So, the staff member approached him with a bow and a smile.
"Give us five of the best rooms and arrange a private room as well. Let's eat something first."
Chen Daoxuan decided not to be frugal this time. He believed in being thrifty where necessary, but he didn't want his disciples to be uncomfortable.
"Alright, sir. Five top rooms it is! Top rooms are a hundred top-grade spiritual stones per day. My Lord, in our top rooms, there's a basic Spirit Gathering Formation. This price is quite standard, hehe. How many days will you be staying?"
The waiter explained while waiting.
"A hundred top-grade spiritual stones per day? We'll take them for now. We'll ask for more if needed."
Seeing the price wasn't exorbitant, Chen Daoxuan casually tossed out a bag of top-grade spiritual stones. Converted proportionally, it was enough for ten thousand top-grade spiritual stones – sufficient for a twenty-day stay in five rooms.
"Very well, My Lord! By the way, could everyone please provide some form of identification? I need to register you all."
The waiter took the top-grade spiritual stones and his eyes lit up. This was indeed a wealthy customer! Anyone who could casually use high-grade spiritual stones as regular currency must be quite affluent.
While preparing to jot down their information, the waiter noticed that everyone was standing still, not moving for quite some time.
"My Lord, if you could kindly provide your identification?"
Seeing the confusion, the waiter assumed they hadn't heard properly and repeated the question.
But Chen Daoxuan was a bit helpless. If he had known they needed identification for lodging, they could have just spent fifty top-grade spiritual stones each on permits and entered the city without this awkward situation.
"What if there is no ID?" Li Yourong blinked and looked at the waiter.
"That's a stowaway, who will be arrested and sent to prison. But a few of you are definitely not, hehe, how could you need to smuggle in if you can take out a hundred top-quality spirit stones?"
After the shop waiter finished speaking, he chuckled, trusting the local tyrant in front of him very much.
"... " Chen Daoxuan clicked his tongue in annoyance, feeling somewhat speechless.
"Hey, you guys, you aren't really illegal immigrants, are you?" A patrolling guard dining nearby raised an eyebrow and approached the group as they struggled to produce identification.
"Look at how you're saying it. We came in openly, how could we be illegal immigrants?" Li Yourong huffed indignantly at the guard.
Hearing this, the guard scratched his head, realizing there was some truth to it. These people were so wealthy; they couldn't possibly be illegal immigrants.
However, Li Yourong continued firmly, plunging everyone into silence.
"We just haven't paid for identification. How could we be illegal immigrants?"
Everyone: "???"
Guard: "..."