Chapter 688: This Kind Of Request

This outsider... not only did he fail to show any panic at being exposed, but he‘s completely calm and composed?

The surrounding villagers were caught off guard by his reaction.

A burly young man, unable to contain himself, stepped forward with a smooth wooden club in hand. Raising his arm, he bellowed, "Why did you dishonor Little Man?"

"Oh?" Li Xiaofei’s expression remained indifferent.

That wild girl really went this far?

He spoke coolly, "If I told you she climbed into my bed on her own, would you believe me?"

His words immediately caused an uproar among the crowd.

The burly young man’s face turned red with rage as he shouted, "Nonsense! Little Man is a good girl—"

"She wants to go to Chongque City," said Li Xiaofei, cutting him off. "Climbing into my bed was her offer in exchange."

"You—" The young man opened his mouth to argue but suddenly hesitated.

Everyone in Taoyuan knew that Little Man had always longed to leave and see the outside world. She had tried to sneak into the external patrol teams more than once, hoping to escape.

But every attempt had failed due to insufficient preparation and the harsh natural conditions of M73’s environment. Her last attempt, six months ago, had nearly cost her life. She had been trapped in an ice crevice and nearly frozen to death.

Yet even that hadn’t extinguished her obsession with the outside world. Given her personality and that deep-rooted desire, would she really be above climbing into a guest’s bed to achieve her goal? The hostility among the villagers wavered. They weren’t unreasonable people.

At that moment, Ah Qing finally arrived. She was on duty for this simulated month’s external patrol, so she had come later than the others. On her way back, she had heard about the situation.

"Go back to sleep." Ah Qing didn’t argue with Li Xiaofei. Instead, she turned to the burly young man and said, "Jiang Shi, take everyone back. Stop making a fuss."

"Alright, Sister Ah Qing," replied Jiang Shi. He clearly respected Ah Qing. He didn’t dare to argue and immediately signaled the others to leave with him.

Before leaving, he turned to Li Xiaofei, his face flushed as he said, "If we really wronged you, I’ll take full responsibility."

Li Xiaofei gave him a slight nod. Then, he looked at Ah Qing and recounted everything that had happened in detail.

Ah Qing replied, "I apologize on Little Man’s behalf. I’m truly sorry for disturbing your rest."

"You believe me that easily?" asked Li Xiaofei who was a bit surprised.

Ah Qing’s attitude made it seem like she had already determined that Ji Man was at fault. She didn’t doubt him in the slightest.

"Little Man is impulsive, but she’s not a bad person," Ah Qing said quietly. "I’ll make sure she apologizes to you."

With that, she turned and left. Li Xiaofei watched the sword-wielding girl’s departing figure, a hint of confusion in his gaze. She seemed to be in a hurry.

Standing at the doorway under the moonlight, he took a deep breath. Various cultivation techniques from Natural Art flickered through his mind. He decided to clear his thoughts. He lifted his head slightly toward the moon and began circulating the technique as he attempted to absorb the moon’s essence.

Moments later, a flicker of delight appeared on Li Xiaofei’s face.

Huh?

There was something peculiar about this technique. When the moon’s essence flowed into his body, it transformed into a pure energy that unexpectedly refined the chaotic energy of the laws within his dantian world.

Right now, Li Xiaofei had at least eleven laws in his body. Some were ones he had comprehended and cultivated himself. But the majority came from Han Zhen and Nangong Longjian. The latter had gifted him a law nucleus containing twelve different laws. Some of these laws aligned with those he had already cultivated, allowing them to merge naturally. The rest had been separated through meditation and crystallized into independent lights of law that shimmered within his dantian world.

These powers of law were both a treasure and a burden to Li Xiaofei. Fully refining and mastering them required an immense amount of time. It was still a daunting task even with an external advantage like the Secret Time Pavilion. If he failed to completely assimilate these laws, he wouldn’t be able to break through to the next realm.

The conflicting forces within his body would destabilize his foundation, making it impossible to progress. In the worst case, he could suffer cultivation deviation or even worse consequences.

Originally, Li Xiaofei had resolved to endure the painstaking process. He was ready to grind through comprehension and refine each law one by one, no matter if it took ten times or even a hundred times the usual effort.

But now? Natural Art had drastically reduced the time required. This was a true support-type cultivation technique. This was an unexpected and delightful surprise.

***

The next day, Li Xiaofei once again met the village elder in Taoyuan’s reception hall. Alongside her were Ah Qing, and Ji Man, who had a smug and mischievous expression on her face.

"Did our honored guest sleep well last night?" asked the village elder. Her face was warm and kind, like that of an ordinary grandmother, as she chattered away with Li Xiaofei.

"I didn’t sleep," he replied. "I spent the night cultivating Natural Art. The results were quite good. Thank you, elder, for bestowing the technique upon me."

"Hmph." Ji Man sneered and said, "Liar."

She had seen the blank look on his face when he first examined the bluish-green beast-hide scrolls, and she had also seen how bored he looked lying in bed the night before. Where was his so-called cultivation? He didn’t even show any actual results.

Li Xiaofei couldn’t be bothered to argue with this little brat. If it had been anyone else, he would have long since taught her a lesson. But given that Ji Man was one of the last descendants of Earth's Outer World, a rare bloodline in this vast universe, he figured he could afford to be a little more tolerant.

"Little Man, apologize to Brother Chen," said the village elder with a darkened expression.

"Why should I apologize?" Ji Man huffed indignantly, "Sure, I might have played a prank and wronged him, but he got his fair share of benefits too! He saw and touched my pure and innocent body plenty. That makes us even."

As she spoke, she shot a subtle wink at Li Xiaofei, her eyes gleaming with triumph. Li Xiaofei knew exactly what she was doing.

I didn’t touch a damn thing last night.

Ji Man was deliberately saying this for Ah Qing to hear. The single word ‘touched’, was enough to plant a seed of disgust and distance in the sword-wielding girl’s mind.

But Li Xiaofei didn’t care. He had to maintain a certain image of a shameless scoundrel in Chongque City. This was completely at odds with his true upright and principled nature. It was exhausting.

But here, in Taoyuan, he could finally reveal his true self of a man disinterested in women. If people misunderstood him, so be it. After all, he had never really cared much for women in the first place.

"Apologize," said the village elder again. Her expression grew sterner as she looked at Ji Man.

"I'm sorry," said Ji Man. She immediately dropped her playful act and bent slightly toward Li Xiaofei. It was clear she was afraid of the village elder.

"Don't let it happen again," replied Li Xiaofei with an indifferent tone.

Ji Man rolled her eyes dramatically. Somehow, even an eye roll looked charming on her, carrying a mix of innocence and allure.

"Thank you for your hospitality, elder. I'll be heading back now," Li Xiaofei said as he stood up. "If Taoyuan has any material needs, you can prepare a list for me. I’ll find a way to bring them back as soon as possible."

"Then I won’t stand on ceremony," said the village elder, pulling out a list she had prepared. "Thank you. But remember, your safety comes first. There’s no need to take unnecessary risks. At least we have enough to eat and drink in Taoyuan. We can survive."

"I understand," replied Li Xiaofei.

To be honest, Li Xiaofei had a good impression of this village elder. She was a wise and principled woman. He could only imagine how much effort and sacrifice she had poured into protecting Taoyuan and leading its people over the years.

"There is one more thing," the elder hesitated before continuing. "I don’t know if it would be convenient for you, Brother Chen."

"Please, go ahead."

"If possible, could you take Ah Qing to see the outside world?"

"Huh?"

Li Xiaofei was stunned. Of all the things she could have asked, he had never expected this.