Chapter 45: Trouble Everywhere (Part I)

Boss Li was being dragged around the Heavenly Capital by Xiaoying, with their group trailing along in a grand procession through the streets.

The two ethereal beauties held onto Li Chengzhu’s arms, one on each side, causing passersby to nearly pop their eyes out in shock. As flashy as ever, Li Chengzhu was clinking several high-grade spirit stones in his hand while puffing out his chest to showcase the Grade Six Warrior badge pinned to his white tunic, all the while whistling at the beauties they passed.

The open-minded ladies of the Heavenly Capital actually cast flirtatious glances back at him, making him itch with excitement and grin from ear to ear. His two wives, accustomed to his behavior, accompanied him with gentle smiles as they marveled at the novel architecture and the street vendors.

Yuan Mu was so green with envy he felt chilled to the bone. How was it that the wives this guy ended up with were so agreeable?

Qiu Feng followed behind like a bodyguard, silent and indifferent.

"Husband, I want to eat that." Xiaoying spotted something interesting and pointed a small finger at a cultivator selling candied hawthorns.

"Hmm?" Li Chengzhu took a closer look. "Do they sell candied hawthorns in the Immortal Realm too?" What puzzled him most was that the vendor’s business seemed surprisingly good. Didn’t people in the Immortal Realm have no need for food?

He glanced at Gu Linglong to seek her opinion. "Linglong, is it okay for Xiaoying to eat these?"

"It should be fine," Gu Linglong replied hesitantly. None of them had been pregnant before, so they didn't know what to avoid.

"Husband," Xiaoying whined, shaking his hand, "I want to eat something sour."

There was a saying: cravings for sour foods meant a boy, and spicy meant a girl.

Li Chengzhu frowned and walked up to the vendor. "Brother, how much for these?"

"One high-grade spirit stone per skewer," the vendor replied indifferently, showing no sign of realizing his customer was an Immortal Emperor.

"So expensive? Why don't you just rob someone?" Boss Li raised his voice, puffing out his chest for emphasis.

"This is the Heavenly Capital. I only waste my time selling these to earn some Heavenly Machine Stones for cultivation; otherwise, nobody would bother. One stone isn't expensive." The vendor caught sight of the badge on Li Chengzhu’s chest and immediately softened his tone. A warrior! He didn't know what grade, but the title alone was enough to wreck his stall.

"What are these made of?" Li Chengzhu grabbed a skewer. The Immortal Realm version had to be different from the ones on Earth. He sniffed it, catching a faint, tangy-sweet scent. Beside him, Xiaoying swallowed hard, the sound so audible that she instantly turned bright red.

Li Chengzhu looked at her with a gentle, smiling gaze and handed her the skewer. Xiaoying beamed. "Thank you, Husband." She opened her mouth and took a bite.

"This is a secret family recipe," the vendor explained proudly. "We boil Red Jade Bee Nectar into sugar threads, then roll the Five-Flavor Fruits in it. Once the nectar cools, it naturally seals in the spiritual energy. I guarantee the original flavor."

"Is it good?" Li Chengzhu asked, watching Xiaoying enjoy it.

"Mm, you try it." Xiaoying nodded and offered the skewer to him.

Li Chengzhu took a big bite of the top fruit. The moment he bit into it, an incredibly sour sensation exploded on his tongue.

"Is it good?" Xiaoying asked excitedly.

"Mm... yes, it's good." Boss Li managed to swallow the fruit whole, determined not to chew it again.

"Then can we buy more?" Xiaoying looked up at him pitifully, a girl acting spoiled.

"Zhuzi, buy some more," Gu Linglong chimed in. "I hear pregnant women crave sour things, and their appetites grow larger, too."

Since the First Wife had spoken, Boss Li had to concede. He flicked Xiaoying’s nose and whispered lewdly, "Is eating your 'lollipop' every night not enough for you?"

"Disgusting." Xiaoying blushed again. Even with her open-mindedness, she still felt shy talking about private matters in front of others.

"And you, Linglong," the irrepressible Boss Li turned to her, leaning in to whisper, "We've been together a while now, yet you're still so shy about trying new things."

Gu Linglong hung her head, blushing deeply. "Shameless," she murmured.

Li Chengzhu grinned at his two bashful wives, feeling a surge of bravado. He turned to the vendor. "How many are left? I'll take them all."

"Uh..." The vendor recovered from his shock. "There are one hundred and sixty-three left. That will be one hundred and sixty-three high-grade spirit stones."

"Damn, that many?" Li Chengzhu looked skeptically at the large stick the vendor was holding.

"There are more in my ring," the vendor explained.

"You said you'd take them all," Xiaoying urged from behind, afraid he might back out.

"Fine, fine, hand them over. One hundred and fifty stones." Boss Li waved his hand.

"Deal." The vendor quickly handed over the stick and retrieved the rest from his ring.

Xiaoying giggled and held the skewer to Gu Linglong’s lips. Gu Linglong took a bite and chewed gently.

Li Chengzhu packed up the skewers and distributed one to everyone. As he put it, they had to eat it—not eating would be an insult.

Yuan Mu looked at his skewer with a bitter smile. Why did women love such teeth-achingly sour things? He waited until Li Chengzhu wasn't looking and stealthily passed it to Yu Chun, begging her to finish it for him.

Even Qiu Feng was nibbling on one, though he lacked Li Chengzhu’s exaggerated reaction and seemed to be eating with genuine interest.

In the bustling crowd, Li Chengzhu spotted two familiar figures. He rushed past his group to the beautiful woman who was smiling at him.

"Greetings, Ancestor, and Aunt-Ancestor." Li Chengzhu lowered his head while his eyes drifted upward toward the chest less than a foot away.

"You brat, why are you here?" the beautiful Aunt-Ancestor asked with a peach-blossom smile.

"Oh, a friend is here to compete, so we came along to have some fun." Li Chengzhu pointed at Qiu Feng, who was walking up behind him.

"Oh? Is that the one who took third place last time? Qiu Feng, I believe. He was flattened by Third Brother in a few moves." The Aunt-Ancestor was as blunt as ever, showing no regard for Qiu Feng’s dignity. As expected, Qiu Feng’s expression turned deeply embarrassed; that failure must have been a heavy blow to him.

"And you, Ancestor? Why are you in the Heavenly Capital?" Li Chengzhu asked, slightly puzzled.

"Sigh, your Sixth Uncle-Master signed up for the tournament, so we came to hold down the fort," the Aunt-Ancestor replied with a look of resignation.

Participating in a tournament was a good thing; why did she look so reluctant?

"Come." Li Chengzhu pulled his two wives over and interrupted the topic. "You should have met these two."

Gu Linglong and Xiaoying bowed shyly to the Chongzhen Golden Immortal and the Aunt-Ancestor. "Greetings, Ancestor, and Aunt-Ancestor."

The Chongzhen Golden Immortal and Wu stared in utter astonishment, looking from the two wives to Li Chengzhu and back again. Boss Li stood with a smug smile, chest puffed out.

The Chongzhen Golden Immortal recovered first, patting Li Chengzhu on the shoulder. "Good lad, you truly have your master's flair."

Recalling the title of "Night Rose Picker," Boss Li shuddered. He gave a sheepish laugh. "Not at all, not at all."

The Aunt-Ancestor finally snapped out of it, pointing at the two women. "You..."

"We married Zhuzi two months ago." Though shy, Gu Linglong stood forward with the poise of a First Wife to answer.

Wu glared fiercely at Li Chengzhu. "Did you use some sort of trick on them?"

"How could I?" Boss Li spread his hands innocently. If anything, it was Xiaoying who had used tricks on him.

"And they are both willing to follow you?" Wu leaned in, nearly pressing her face against his.

Inhaling her faint fragrance, Li Chengzhu felt his heart flutter.

"We are willing," Gu Linglong said, still blushing, trying to defend her husband.

"Really?" Wu sneered, her eyes locked onto his.

"It's true." Li Chengzhu was at his wit's end. If he had known this would be the outcome, he would never have come over to find trouble.

"You brat—you have no real power, you aren't particularly handsome, and you're not the son of some great family. Why would they be willing to follow you?" the Aunt-Ancestor persisted.

In his desperation, Li Chengzhu turned to the Chongzhen Golden Immortal for help. To his surprise, the old man closed his eyes and let out a dry cough.

"Damn it. No one in this sect has any sense," Boss Li groaned internally. If she weren't his Aunt-Ancestor, he would have grabbed her and given her a French kiss—what was with all the nagging?