The early morning sun streamed woke up Xing Zhenya. She groaned slightly as she stretched while lying on her bed, luxuriating in the feel of having an actual bed. While traveling was nice, one of the few things she disliked about it was not having a proper bed to sleep on.

Minutes passed by before she sat up and prepared for her day, donning her clothes, combing her hair, and washing her face. She soon left her bedroom and wandered down the hall. It didn’t take long to reach the door she wanted.

She knocked once.

“Little Brother Wu? I was thinking of going into Chenhou today. Would you like to join me?”

No answer.

She knocked again.

“Little Brother, are you awake?”

Still no answer.

After a moment’s debate, she decided not to open the door and peek inside. Knowing her luck, he’d probably be lying half-naked in bed or something.

She began wandering down the hall again, but paused when a commotion outside caused her to look out the window. A crowd had gathered in the courtyard. Everyone was surrounding what looked like a moving boulder.

Xing Zhenya blinked several times.

Was she seeing things?

She traveled downstairs and quickly made it to the courtyard, which was filled with an array of flowers and bonzai trees that her mother had personally cultivated. She reached the crowd quickly and tapped one of the men there on the shoulder.

“Zhao Ming, what’s going on here?” she asked.

“Oh, Young Lady. That young man you brought back is amazing! I’ve never met anyone so strong in my life!” Zhao Ming said.

“Mmhmm. It’s hard to believe he’s still just fifteen. He’s gonna be a monster once his birthday hits,” said another.

Xing Zhenya was able to infer what their words meant and pushed her way to the front of the crowd, where she found an unbelievable sight.

Jian Wu was doing handstand pushups. That wasn’t too hard and many cultivators could do it. She could also do that. However, not only had this young man not reached the Hunger Realm yet, but he was doing handstand pushups with a boulder that must have weighed at least one if not two hundred gōng jīn.

The young man in question was currently shirtless, so Xing Zhenya was able to see his torso on full display. She was astonished by the sheer amount of muscle this young man possessed. There was not an ounce of fat to be found anywhere on his body. His arms, shoulders, and chest seemed to contract and expand as he exercised, and his abdominals were clenched hard, revealing a six-pack that was more defined than many of the cultivators present.

She could scarcely fathom what kind of exercises this young man did to attain such a physique.

She also noticed several scars that littered his body. She didn’t know how he got those, but they stood out starkly on his skin and were a testament to the hardships he had faced.

“That young man is pretty incredible, isn’t he?” her father said. She almost screamed. She hadn’t even realized he was there.

“He is very strong,” she agreed after calming down her beating heart.

“It would be great if we could obtain his loyalty,” her father continued.

“What are you asking of me, Father?”

“I’m not asking you to do anything. Just thinking outloud.”

Xing Zhenya was not so foolish as to believe her father’s words. He was a man of principal, but this was a world where strength meant everything. How could he not see the benefits of having a young man with this kind of strength join their chamber of commerce? He was obviously asking her to befriend or perhaps even seduce Jian Wu.

“Anyway, you just got back, so I think you deserve a break. Why don’t you take Jian Wu and show him around the city?” her father continued.

In other words, she should take him out and make nice. Her father was honestly quite lucky since that had been her plan all along. She was sure Jian Wu was nervous about being in a city he was unfamiliar with, and she also felt like she needed to keep an eye on him, especially after she learned about his nightly terrors. He brought out her protective instincts.

“If that is your wish, Father, I would be happy to take him out,” she said with a traditional bow.

“Good. Good.” Her father placed his hands behind his back and hid them inside of the sleeves of his hanfu. “I’ll be counting on you to show him a good time.”

Jian Wu soon finished his pushups and moved into a series of other exercises. He paid no attention to the people around him, who eventually dispersed, leaving her alone to watch.

She found his strength fascinating. The way his muscles flexed and strained as he moved through what was obviously a very familiar routine showed how much he pushed himself to grow stronger. His body reminded her of a great lion, or perhaps even a dragon. It was filled with power despite his young age.

When the young man finally finished his routine, she walked over and smiled.

“You’ve worked up quite the sweat, Little Brother. You’re quite strong. I’m very impressed.”

Jian Wu looked up and smiled at her. “Thank you… but I’m nowhere near as strong as I need to be. I have to get stronger. Much stronger.”

There was something curious about the way he said that, but she didn’t think on it too much. Perhaps he just wanted to be strong so he could prevent what happened to him recently from happening again.

“I’m planning to head into the city today. Would you like to join me?” she asked.

He tilted his head, then nodded. “I would be honored to have your company. I was actually thinking of exploring the city as well.”

She smiled and clasped her hands. “Good. Why don’t you get cleaned off then? I’ll be waiting for you in the entrance hall.”

“Okay. I’ll be quick.”

Wu Jian stretched his limbs in the air, and Xing Zhenya hurriedly turned around and walked off to keep him from seeing the way her face burned at the sight of his well-sculpted muscles.

***

Wu Jian walked into the entrance hall to find Xing Zhenya waiting for him by the door. She had dressed in a simple hanfu with floral patterns imprinted on one side. Her hair was done up in a bun that showed off her neck, but a few strands framed her face. It was very different from how she dressed when they were traveling.

Well, she is a young lady. Even Jingshu and Mei liked to dress up when we weren’t training.

“Are you ready to go?” Xing Zhenya asked.

“I am. What about Gao Zhou? Is he not coming with us?”

She smiled. “He’s doing something else. It’s safe enough in this city that I don’t need a bodyguard. Now let’s go.”

They left the Xing Chamber of Commerce building. A small cart sat outside. Different from the carriages he was used to, this cart features only a single open seat balanced on two wheels.

Known as a renliche, this cart was not moved through horsepower or any tamed magical beast. It was pulled along by a person.

The handles in front were being gripped by a young man with powerful arms. He wore a straw hat and a shirt that showed off his arms. His pants were clean but had obviously seen a lot of us.

Wu Jian entered the vehicle, then helped Xing Zhenya climb in. The cart began moving after they sat down. It was bumpier than a carriage, but the completely open seating meant he could observe the city in its entirety.

“Where were you planning to travel to first?” asked Wu Jian.

“Honestly? I wasn’t sure where to take you in the beginning, but now I’ve realized that you only have one set of clothes, and they’re kind of ruined, so I was thinking we should go to a clothing store,” Xing Zhenya answered.

Wu Jian looked down at his training gi, which was indeed torn in many places. The pants had rips in them, his left sleeve was missing, and there were bloodstains that he hadn’t been able to wash out.

He looked back up at her. “I think that’s a good idea. I don’t really care about my clothes, but I do understand the importance of looking presentable.”

My clothes will probably just get ruined again at some point, but it’s not like I can go around in a bloody gi. That’ll attract too much attention.

“In that case, I’ll take you to one of the clothiers my family does business with. It’s called Hanshu Family Clotheir. Most of their products are made from the fabrics we gather in the Magical Beast Forest.”

“What kind of fabrics do you gather?”

“Mostly furs from magical beasts, but we occasionally get leathers, plant-based fabrics, and even rare silks.”

“That last fabric sounds above my paygrade.”

There were several forms of currency used on the Xiao Continent. Gold, silver, and copper coins were used by common folks. Above gold and silver were spirit coins. Spirit stones were the currency of cultivators. They were rare ores that contained the power of heaven and earth. Since they contained chi, they could be used to cultivate, but they could also be used to trade for items like secret techniques, powerful spirit artifacts, and many other things.

“Don’t worry. I’ll pay for your clothes.”

Wu Jian couldn’t think of anything to say, so he just gave her a quiet thank you and fell silent.

Xing Zhenya grinned. “Are you brooding?”

“No…”

“It seems like you are.”

“I’m not.”

“Hmm. Well, if you say so.”

Wu Jian wasn’t brooding. He just felt guilty that a woman he had barely known for ten days was going to pay for his clothes. How was he supposed to pay her back if she kept piling him in debt?

They eventually reached Hanshu Family Clothier, which was a nice if small store that sold premade clothing. Xing Zhenya made him try on several outfits. Most of them were hanfu, but Wu Jian didn’t think any of them were a good match.

“You don’t like wearing hanfu?” she asked.

“It’s not that I dislike it. I’ve worn them plenty of times before. But I’m planning to do a lot of traveling and I’ll probably get into many fights with magical beasts and other cultivators. I need something that’s durable and easy to move in,” Wu Jian confided.

“A training gi, then. Okay. Let’s go to another section,” Xing Zhenya once more grabbed his arm and dragged him to the other side of the store.

It took more time than Wu Jian would have liked, but they did eventually find something he was satisfied with. Xing Zhenya nodded as he looked down at the sleeveless black training gi he now wore. It wasn’t all black. Golden scales traveled diagonally across the bottom of his knee-length shirt, which had splits on either side. The obi trying it together contained a flower in front and more scale patterns. He smoothed down the front, which was decorated with a dragon dancing across the left side. A single flower stood out proudly on the center of his chest.

“I like this one. What do you think, Little Brother?”

“Hmmm. Yeah, I think this works,” he said at last.

It was a bit more ostentatious than he would preferred, but it was better than everything else they had tried on. He also didn’t feel like wasting more time.

Xing Zhenya paid for his outfit, then dragged him out of the store. It was nearing noon, so she directed their cart driver to a restaurant. The two-story eatery had many wooden tables scattered about and a second floor mezzanine that allowed people to view the bottom floor as they ate.

A young woman with a polite smile greeted them. She directed them to a table for two and told them about their menu. Xing Zhenya ordered golden carp with in-season fruits and vegetables. Wu Jian asked for steamed meat buns with rice and vegetables.

They talked while waiting for their food, and when it arrived, Wu Jian was surprised by how different it was from Shang Kingdom cuisine.

“The Shang Kingdom uses a lot of bread in their cuisine. Wheat, millet, and barley are all common foods in Shang Kingdom dishes. Ming Dynasty cuisine is about balance. We eat smaller portions of meat, rice, and vegetables seasoned with medicinal herbs to promote good health,” Xing Zhenya explained.

“I see. That is a lot different than what I am used to.”

“I’m sure.”

The food itself was not bad, but definitely not suited to his palate. He could taste the heavy medicinal seasonings with every bite, which made him feel like he was eating medicine balls. It would take some getting used to.

As they were enjoying their meal, a loud ruckus appeared when a group of men sauntered in like they owned the place. They were all dressed in blue or black clothes. Nothing seemed uniform at first until Wu Jian noticed the wild boar symbol emblazoned on their chests.