Chapter 051: Traveling Together

The eastern sky began to lighten with the pale glow of dawn, and all living things slowly awakened. Shen Duo emerged from her tent with a yawn, and immediately caught sight of Feng Jun meditating not far away. The first light of morning shone on his bare upper body, making it seem as though his skin was wrapped in a golden aura. The little blue snake coiled around his arm, its head cocked, large watery eyes fixed intently on Shen Duo.

Quickly averting her gaze, Shen Duo coughed awkwardly, thinking in resignation, could it be that cultivating bare-chested really enhances the effect?

As she packed up the tent, Feng Jun had already risen, standing motionless at her side just as he had the night before, staring fixedly at her movements. Unnerved by his gaze, Shen Duo turned, annoyance creeping into her tone. "Feng Jun, is there something else you want?"

They had already fought, and she was in a hurry to be on her way—she had no time to waste with him.

To be honest, though Feng Jun was strikingly handsome, he had left her with a rather poor impression. If he hadn’t been so rude yesterday, would she have had to pitch a tent and sleep outdoors?

Yusha cast a haughty glance at Feng Jun, snorted, and spoke to Shen Duo through their mental bond, "Little Duo, let's go. Ignore him."

Seeing that Shen Duo was about to leave, Feng Jun finally spoke. "Um… Shen Duo, may I travel with you?"

Shen Duo shot him a puzzled look, but answered directly, "I’m heading to Shak City. Are you coming with me?"

Feng Jun nodded eagerly.

"And what business do you have in Shak City?" she pressed. After all, all she knew about Feng Jun was that he was a newly promoted Sky Illusionist and reputedly the continent’s top genius.

Feng Jun thought for a moment, as if struggling for words. "I'm just a wandering cultivator. It doesn't much matter where I go. I’ve never been to Shak City, so I thought I might as well see it."

Though his answer seemed a bit nonchalant, he didn’t appear to be lying. Shak City was an unknown imperial capital to her, and having a powerful companion along the way might not be a bad thing. In any case, it was just one more person on the back of the spirit eagle.

"Let’s go," Shen Duo said to Feng Jun, her small, cold face expressionless, but her words sincere.

When the two entered the small town, the townsfolk made a point of keeping their distance, some casting strange glances their way. Shen Duo frowned, glanced down at herself—nothing out of the ordinary—then looked over at Feng Jun and nearly broke into a cold sweat.

She stopped, looked up at Feng Jun, her face tinged with anger. "Feng Jun, where are your clothes?"

Just like last night, Feng Jun was bare-chested. No wonder people were so curious—a young woman traveling with a half-naked, handsome youth in broad daylight was bound to draw attention.

"I don’t have any," Feng Jun replied briskly.

What! Shen Duo’s forehead throbbed with veins. "Go buy something to wear. I’ll wait for you at the inn."

"I have no money," he replied, just as bluntly.

Shen Duo almost wanted Yusha to set him ablaze on the spot. A bad feeling crept into her heart—this man was likely to be a walking disaster!

Seeing that time was slipping by, Shen Duo grudgingly bought Feng Jun a set of clothes herself. It was a plain gray illusionist’s robe, yet it looked surprisingly elegant on him.

When the two of them returned to the inn, Connie had already finished feeding the spirit eagle. She didn’t ask about Feng Jun; as a Sky Illusionist, he was held in high esteem on the Sacred Radiance Continent. What’s more, the spirit eagle was Shen Duo’s private hire—picking up an extra passenger was entirely her affair.

"Let’s set out quickly," Connie said. "With the weather as it is, as long as we don’t run into a tornado or a storm, we’ll reach Shak City in two days." Though not powerful, Connie was well-traveled thanks to her work at the inn.

Feng Jun’s lips curled in a rare, delighted smile at the sight of the spirit eagle. Heaven knew it had been ages since he’d ridden any form of transport.

Shen Duo glanced at him, but was no longer surprised; this man had already upended her view of the world this morning. Whatever astonishing experiences or bizarre habits he revealed would hardly faze her now.

Who would have thought the continent’s top genius, Feng Jun, would be stranded in this small town simply because he had no money? That his relentless cultivation day and night was simply because he didn’t feel hunger while training! She’d only just learned this after questioning him earlier, and now understood why his eight-headed python always looked at her so pitifully—it was starving! For someone so hopeless at daily life to have survived until now was nothing short of a miracle.

On the spirit eagle’s back, Shen Duo took food out of her storage ring and began to eat. Feng Jun sat silently in a corner. Unable to stand it, Shen Duo shared some food and drink with him. After all, they were now companions on this journey.

As Feng Jun chewed on dried meat, he glanced at Shen Duo several times, opening his mouth as if to speak, but hesitating.

In fact, he’d been observing Shen Duo closely. Both of the spirit beasts at her side were formidable, especially the little white tiger—he couldn’t see through its true form at all, something that had never happened before.

"Is there something you want to say?" Shen Duo asked frankly.

"Shen Duo, are you really not an Illusionist?" Only Illusionists could control spirit beasts. During their duel last night, Shen Duo hadn’t used a trace of spiritual illusionary martial arts, yet she’d commanded her spirit beasts in battle. It was suspicious.

"No," she replied.

Feng Jun’s brows knit together. She didn’t seem to be lying, and he sensed no illusionary energy from her whatsoever. Born into the Feng clan, one of the continent’s four great families, Feng Jun recalled that in the family’s main city library, there were ancient notes left by Illusionists past. Some mentioned that those with exceptionally strong spiritual power could command spirit beasts even if they themselves were not Illusionists. Could Shen Duo be such a person?

With that thought, Feng Jun finally relaxed his guard and pressed on. "Also, what did you do yesterday to suddenly break Little Blue’s armored state?"

Shen Duo paused, realizing he meant his eight-headed python. The image of that terrifying giant serpent and the cute little blue snake flashed in her mind, and she nearly rolled her eyes.

"Nothing much. I just struck its weak spot," she replied.

No matter how fearsome, the eight-headed python was still a snake, and all snakes had a weakness. But Shen Duo kept one thing to herself—her longsword was a sacred illusionary artifact. After recognizing her as its master through a drop of blood, it could communicate with her mind. Otherwise, she could never have found the armored python’s weak point so precisely.

After the meal, Little Blue had already established a friendly, mutually beneficial relationship with its meal ticket—Shen Duo. Yusha glared at Little Blue as it tried to nuzzle into Shen Duo’s palm, and with a swipe of its paw, sent it cowering. Little Blue still remembered the terrifying "Hellfire" from the previous night, and shrank into a ball, its big, shining eyes seeking Shen Duo’s protection.

Feng Jun could only purse his lips in exasperation: Little Blue, whose spirit beast are you, anyway?

*——*——*

Ahem… Wang Feng isn’t the male lead, just kidding, don’t take it seriously!