Chapter 51: Chapter 51: The Wu Family’s Little Witch

Shen Haoran scowled as he pulled a giggling Ji Lingxuan toward the city gates.

"City entrance fee. Ten Gold Coins per person!" A guard at the gate stopped Shen Haoran as he approached.

"Ten Gold Coins? That’s highway robbery!" Shen Haoran exclaimed. It only cost one Copper Coin to enter Cyan Mountain City, but this place was demanding ten Gold Coins!

"Those are the rules. Are you coming in or not? If not, please move aside," the guard said, his face devoid of expression.

Shen Haoran grumbled, then pulled twenty Gold Coins from his robes and handed them to the guard with a pained expression. ’That took me ages to save up,’ he thought. ’And just like that, I don’t have a single coin left. I’m a pauper again!’

After receiving the money, the guard removed the barricade behind him and let the two of them pass. Shen Haoran shot a resentful glare at the guard who had just made him a pauper, then turned and walked into the city.

WHOOSH...!

The moment they stepped through the gates, a tsunami of noise crashed over them, making their heads spin. They stood stunned for a long moment before they could process it. After spending so much time walking through the silent forest, the sudden clamor of the crowd was jarring.

"It’s so prosperous! Much livelier than Cyan Mountain City!" Shen Haoran couldn’t help but remark as he came to his senses, taking in the bustling crowds and noisy market streets.

"This is just a small city. When you see a truly great city, you’ll realize that Celestial Martial City’s prosperity is nothing but a drop in the bucket," Ji Lingxuan commented from the side.

"Huh? This is just a small city?!" Shen Haoran said in shock, looking around. ’If what Ling Xuan says is true, then how big must a real city be?’

"Ling Xuan, have you ever been to a truly great city?" Shen Haoran asked softly.

"Me...?" Hearing Shen Haoran’s question, an image of that place appeared in Ji Lingxuan’s mind, and the smile on her pretty face slowly faded.

"I have. Places like that are teeming with powerful experts and rife with deceit. Strength reigns supreme there. You either live humbly like an ant, or you carve out a place for yourself with your own two fists. It is a paradise, but it is even more so a Hell," Ji Lingxuan said in a low voice.

"A paradise, but even more so a Hell?" Shen Haoran murmured, repeating her words. Then, he chuckled softly. "Is that so? That sounds like exactly the kind of place I’m looking for."

At his words, Ji Lingxuan’s heart skipped a beat, and she turned to look at him. Shen Haoran stood with his back straight as a ramrod, his gaze as sharp as a torch. He exuded an indescribable aura that made the passing pedestrians turn their heads to stare.

Only Ji Lingxuan could read the quality he projected. It was a kind of confidence, a heroic spirit, an air of being the unrivaled master of his own world. Looking at him like this, Ji Lingxuan couldn’t help but smile. ’This is the man I admire,’ she thought. She knew he wasn’t just posturing; she could already envision a truly great city kneeling at his feet, bowing in submission.

"Haha, come on, let’s go sell the materials from the Spirit Beasts first!" Just as Ji Lingxuan was lost in his powerful aura, Shen Haoran was the first to snap out of it and call to her.

"Oh, right, sell the materials? Why don’t we find an inn to stay at first?" Ji Lingxuan asked, confused.

"You silly girl, I gave all our money to the guard at the gate. How are we supposed to afford a room?" Shen Haoran said with a shrug and a pained look.

"Er... Right."

"Let’s go..." With that, Shen Haoran pulled Ji Lingxuan toward the market shops.

There were many shops in the market. After Shen Haoran’s stingy haggling—comparing prices at three shops and enraging two of the owners—he finally sold off all the materials they had gathered in the Profound Spirit Mountain Range.

"Hehe, not a bad haul!" Shen Haoran said with a grin as he walked out of the shop, patting his once-again-full coin pouch.

"Yeah, right! You have no idea how furious you made those shopkeepers. To be honest, even I wanted to smack you!" Ji Lingxuan rolled her eyes at him. She hadn’t expected him to be so cheap, haggling over every last fraction of a coin.

"Tch. You don’t get it. Kids from poor families have to learn to be thrifty. Did you expect me to let those crooked merchants take advantage of me? Fat chance!" Shen Haoran said, full of self-righteousness.

"Yes, yes, Brother Haoran is the greatest!" Seeing his smug look, Ji Lingxuan decided to humor him with some timely flattery.

"Haha, that’s right! Come on, your big brother here is taking you out for a good meal today!" Shen Haoran was very pleased with Ji Lingxuan’s "praise" and immediately pulled her toward a restaurant.

"Move! Get out of my way if you don’t want to die!"

Just as Shen Haoran was about to cross the street, a shout echoed from not far away, accompanied by the rapid sound of hooves and the screams of pedestrians.

Shen Haoran turned to see a fine steed galloping wildly down the street, charging recklessly with no regard for the safety of the pedestrians. In an instant, the horse was right in front of him.

"Get out of my way if you don’t want to die!" a young woman in fiery red, luxurious robes shrieked from horseback, simultaneously lashing her whip toward Shen Haoran and Ji Lingxuan.

Shen Haoran had intended to avoid trouble and get out of the way, but seeing such a barbaric girl made his blood boil. He simply stood his ground, calmly watching the galloping horse.

Seeing Shen Haoran standing there motionless, the crowd assumed he was scared stiff. With the horse just moments away, many people squeezed their eyes shut, unable to bear the thought of witnessing a brutal scene.

"You’re courting death!" the red-robed girl on horseback sneered when she saw the two of them standing motionless in the middle of the street. She urged her steed to go even faster. The next instant, horse and man collided.

THUD! At the dull sound, many in the crowd offered a silent prayer for Shen Haoran. To think he had provoked this Witch!

But after the thud came the pitiful neigh of a horse. The onlookers couldn’t help but open their eyes and look curiously toward the middle of the street.

In the middle of the street, Shen Haoran held his punching form, completely motionless and without a speck of dust on him. The steed, in contrast, had tumbled for dozens of meters down the street before coming to a stop. It had let out a single, wretched cry before its life faded. It was, after all, just a horse, not even a fierce beast. How could it possibly withstand a punch from Shen Haoran?

As for the red-robed girl, she was in a sorry state, her clothes torn and scuffed from the fall.

"You... you... How dare you do this to me!" the red-robed girl shrieked, scrambling up from the ground in a fury. She glared at the spotless Shen Haoran and demanded an answer.

"Hmph. What did I do to you? For someone with no manners, I was simply teaching you a lesson on behalf of your parents. You should be thanking me, not blaming me," Shen Haoran retorted with a cold snort.

"You..." Hearing his words, the red-robed girl was so enraged she was speechless. She had never been wronged like this in her entire life!

"You just wait!" After fuming for a moment, that was all she could manage to shout before pulling a Jade Pendant from her robes and crushing it.

Seeing the girl crush the Jade Pendant, the surrounding onlookers all shot Shen Haoran pitying looks, leaving him completely bewildered.

"Young man, you should run! The person you just offended is the little Witch of the Wu Family, one of the two great families in Celestial Martial City! If you cross her, you’re a dead man! Get out of here before her people arrive!" an old man kindly warned.

"Old man, are you tired of living? In a moment, I’ll teach you a lesson too!" the red-robed girl threatened when she saw the old man telling the stinking brat who bullied her to run.

Hearing this, Ji Lingxuan’s gaze turned cold. She cupped her fist toward the old man and replied, "Thank you for your kind warning, sir. However, a mere Wu Family is nothing to be afraid of. Isn’t that right, Brother Haoran?"

Shen Haoran froze for a second, then looked at Ji Lingxuan. He saw her giving him a meaningful look and immediately understood. He nodded and said, "That’s right. A mere Wu Family is nothing to be afraid of!"

The crowd was stunned. The Wu Family was a behemoth in Celestial Martial City, yet this young man and woman spoke of them as if they were worthless. ’Could these two have some powerful background as well?’ they wondered.