Chapter 160: A One-Day Tour of Haizhou City

Why does the Gao family's modus operandi feel so familiar? It bears a striking resemblance to the ways of the four major sects back on Earth. I just wonder if they have any connection to Earth at all.

Tang Wei pondered this question inwardly. If there were cultivators among them, how come no one had ever seen one? And where on earth did those legends of immortals come from in the first place?

"Tang Wei! Tang Wei! What is wrong with you?" Wan Wan asked several times without getting a response. She tried calling out to Tang Wei a few more times, but still got no reaction, knowing full well that this old habit of hers was acting up again. Wan Wan had no choice but to sit up, grab her shoulders, and shake her vigorously a few times. Only then did Tang Wei snap out of her trance, asking in confusion, "Wan Wan, what's wrong? Why are you shaking me?"

"Why am I shaking you? I called your name for ages and you didn't answer! I thought your soul had left your body again!" Wan Wan retorted with displeasure. Zoning out while someone is talking to you is genuinely annoying.

Tang Wei rubbed her nose sheepishly and immediately offered an apology, "I'm so sorry, Wan Wan. I was just thinking about how bizarre the Gao family is, so I accidentally spaced out. You're magnanimous, please don't hold it against me!" Tang Wei gave Wan Wan a cheeky, ingratiating grin. If that expression were on a man's face, he would undoubtedly be treated as a scoundrel.

"I couldn't be bothered to get angry! You always love zoning out while chatting, and this isn't the first time—it's your chronic habit! If I let it bother me that much, I'd have been ticked to death by you ages ago," Wan Wan said magnanimously.

"I knew our gorgeous Wan Wan wouldn't mind! Come here, let me give you a little kiss!" Tang Wei teased, making a playful motion to plant a kiss on her cheek.

"Cut it out! Hurry up and tell me what's so weird about this Gao family!" Wan Wan shoved Tang Wei away forcefully, her face turning beet red as she swiftly changed the subject. Giving someone a peck on the cheek might not be a big deal back on Earth, but over here, women simply didn't have such bold styling, let alone when Tang Wei was a woman herself. It was only natural for Wan Wan to blush.

Seeing Wan Wan blush as red as a monkey's rear end, Tang Wei burst into hearty laughter. Could this woman actually be feeling shy?

"Tang Wei, if you keep this up, I really am going to get mad!" Wan Wan stood up in a huff, rubbed her face vigorously a few times, and then answered loudly. This was going too far! No one had ever even touched her cheeks before, and today she had actually been kissed by a woman. This Tang Wei was simply too shameless! However, after rubbing her face like that, it looked even more flushed and bright.

"All right, all right. I'll stop. Let's get back to the Gao family!" Tang Wei knew when to quit. If she really angered this tigress, who would help her plead with the Sang family? She hastily steered the conversation away, asking, "Why does your Gao family keep such a low profile? Given such massive strength, logically wouldn't it be better for them to rule this territory outright? That way they wouldn't have to walk on eggshells everywhere they look."

Seeing that Tang Wei was no longer horsing around, Wan Wan turned back around and lay back down on the rocking chair, adopting a detached, indifferent attitude. "Who knows what goes through their minds? Maybe they just enjoy living a peaceful life."

"If they like living a peaceful life, why not find some deep, secluded mountains and live as hermits? Instead, they send people out everywhere to hustle and develop commercial enterprises. Do they really need silver that badly?" Tang Wei asked perplexedly.

"Who knows? They've been biding their time for over a millennium; maybe it's for some ulterior motive!" Wan Wan casually threw out a bold hypothesis.

Tang Wei latched onto the idea with unshakeable conviction. "Yes, you're right. There must be a huge secret hidden behind them. I've decided—once the Sang family village matter is resolved, I'm going to go check out the Gao family."

"Great! You have to take me with you when the time comes!" Hearing that there was fun to be had, Wan Wan leaped right up, eagerly grabbing Tang Wei's hand and demanding inclusion.

"We'll see when the time comes! Besides, you'll probably be running all over the place for your Ning Kingdom business! Oh, speaking of Ning Kingdom, that reminds me that I still have to train some experts for you! But don't worry, exploring the Gao family won't affect that." Truth be told, Tang Wei didn't want Wan Wan tagging along. If the Gao family truly had ties to the cultivation world or harbored cultivators, Wan Wan absolutely could not go.

"Oh yeah! If you hadn't brought it up, I almost forgot!" Whether she had genuinely forgotten or was just pretending, given Wan Wan's deep attachment to the Ning Kingdom, it would have been a miracle if she actually forgot about this.

"Didn't you say you wanted to take me out for some fun? Are we going or not?" Tang Wei suddenly recalled the purpose of Wan Wan's visit. No matter how much she asked about the Gao family, she wouldn't get any answers, so she might as well go out and see something novel. She had never strolled through an ancient street before. Although she had walked through that small town earlier, could that really be called strolling? Walking down a narrow alley was more like it.

"Alright! Do you need to pack anything?" Since Wan Wan had come specifically to take her out and about, she naturally wouldn't decline, and stood up ready to head out.

"Just bring some silver, what else is there to prepare?" Tang Wei stated as a matter of course. She had no idea what one was supposed to prepare around here. She remembered back on Earth receiving a text message saying that when going out, one only needed to remember four things: ID card, mobile phone, keys, and wallet. Well, in this ancient world, there were no ID cards, no mobile phones, and no need for keys, so all she needed to bring was her wallet!

"Better take a pass token along! Even if we might not necessarily need it, it's good to have just in case!" Wan Wan arranged thoughtfully. Actually, seeing how lax the guards at Luhai Prefecture City were, Wan Wan wasn't entirely sure if a pass token was truly required, but having one was always better than not having one! What if the guards took a sudden whim to conduct inspections in the bustling market? That would spell total disaster.

"Got it! Go call Sang Leaf, then! Leaving her all alone at home isn't the best idea," Tang Wei thought for a moment. Sang Leaf was weighed down by the troubles of Sang family village, so going out to clear her mind would probably do her good.

Wan Wan said poutingly, "When are you ever going to be this nice to me? Day in and day out you only remember Sang family village, and it's Sang Leaf this and Sang Leaf that, leaving me completely in the dust." Wan Wan said this on purpose; Tang Wei really was a bit too good to Sang Leaf, sometimes so good it genuinely made her jealous. However, Wan Wan wasn't truly angry, and her current demeanor was just playful banter.

"Please, am I not good to you? I practically roast a whole rabbit for you every single day! Look at how fat you've gotten lately, you're almost turning into a little fatty, and I deserve all the credit for that!" Tang Wei teased her.

"You're the little fatty! I'm done talking to you, I'm going to get Sang Leaf!" Wan Wan shot her a sideways glance and turned on her heel to leave. In truth, Wan Wan wasn't fat at all; she merely had some adorable baby fat that made her skin look even more lustrous and her deportment all the more graceful. In short, Wan Wan could be described by a single phrase: "As serene as a virgin, as nimble as a hare."

By the time Tang Wei emerged from her room, Wan Wan and Sang Leaf were already sitting in the courtyard waiting for her. None of the three women were familiar with Haizhou City, so they found an errand runner at the inn, paying him to act as their guide and help carry their purchases. This wasn't some eccentric idea of Tang Wei and her companions; such a service actually existed here.

Although Tang Wei and Wan Wan both possessed spatial storage tools, it was better to keep a low profile around here. Who knew what kind of thorny trouble they might run into? They still had serious business to attend to.

Stepping out of the inn's doorway, things seemed fine at first, but as they drew closer to the entrance of the bustling market, the crowds began to thicken. When they finally stepped into the so-called commercial street and took a look—holy crap, there were so many people! People coming and going, rubbing shoulders, a sea of dark heads packed together like dense colonies of ants, blocking the way completely. Standing on a slightly elevated platform and looking across, it was a vast ocean of humanity as far as the eye could see; those human heads were simply more numerous than ants! To put it bluntly, if you walked in there and weren't careful, you'd get squeezed so hard you might crap your pants.

Of course, when it comes to women, "ten out of ten women love shopping, and the extra two love it doubly so." For women, shopping was an addiction, much like drinking and smoking for men. A man could drink from morning till night, until the sky turned dark and he fell over sloshed. A woman shopping would maintain an eternally ecstatic mood no matter how much time passed or how far she walked. And so, Wan Wan grabbed Tang Wei's hand and bravely charged right into the fray. The errand boy and Sang Leaf panicked, leaping into the air with anxiety, but they had to keep their eyes peeled and fixate on the two women ahead, terrified of getting separated by the crowd. The errand boy worried about not earning his pay, while Sang Leaf worried about getting lost and not knowing the way back. Though their motives differed, they charged forward driven by the exact same urgency.

Passing by snack stalls, catching the aroma wafting all down the street, Tang Wei's mouth watered profusely. Naturally, she couldn't help digging out her silver coins. The two of them were kindred spirits; whenever they saw something delicious or fun, they would step up to inspect it before buying it up. Naturally, they didn't forget the two people trailing behind them. By the time they had barely walked a fraction of the snack street, the two women were already holding a bag full of candied fruits and sweet-and-sour treats in their left hands, while gripping massive skewers of fried rice cakes in their right. They alternated chewing with both sides of their mouths, laughing uninhibitedly and swaying with mirth all the way down the road. It was just unfortunate for the poor errand boy; even when given food, he couldn't eat it because he had no free hands! With his left and right arms burdened with bags, how could he possibly spare a hand to hold any snacks? Yet he felt rather touched—he had been hired out so many times, and this was the only occasion where two women actually thought of him when buying treats.

When women go shopping, the vast majority of the time they shop for apparel. Probably no woman in this world can resist the temptation of pretty clothes and jewelry. Every woman surely understands the deep-seated thrill: the moment she lays eyes on those gorgeous garments hanging on the racks, her heart starts fluttering, her eyes light up, and her spirits instantly soar. That was precisely Tang Wei's state right now. If she could stroll enthusiastically down such a boring path back in the small town, how much more so in Haizhou City? Here, whatever you wanted was available; the clothing came in all the trendiest styles of the kingdom, and the jewelry was exquisite, unique, colorful, dazzling, and endlessly varied in style. It dazzled Tang Wei's eyes completely, and the moment she stepped inside, the thought of keeping a schedule vanished from her mind entirely.