'A letter and a second uncle…my reader sense is tingling right now,' Yi Chen couldn't help but think to himself.

"Yes! After father, mother and my elder sister, it's Second Uncle Ding who loves me the most!" Zhou Mei answered cheerfully and continued, "Whenever father or mother gets angry at me, he's the one who protects me from their ire."

'The more I listen to it, the more suspicious I become, but…' Yi Chen glanced at the happy expression on Zhou Mei's face and didn't want to break this news to her.

'Although this Second Uncle is the most suspicious, I could also be wrong. Maybe it was someone else who saw the letter's contents earlier? Or maybe someone noticed her while she was sneaking inside the carriage?'

With these different scenarios in his mind, Yi Chen decided not to say anything for the moment.

"Brother Chen, is there a matter? Why did you suddenly become quiet?" Zhou Mei asked curiously when she saw his contemplative expression.

"Oh, I was just thinking about something," Yi Chen said while scratching the side of his face.

"What were you thinking?" Zhou Mei's head curiously leaned closer towards him with an inquisitive expression.

"…The sword!" Yi Chen immediately thought of the sword she had mentioned earlier while talking and said, "It's the one inside the carriage that's wrapped in a white cloth, right? Is it a gift for someone?"

Hearing Yi Chen's question, Zhou Mei's expression brightened all of a sudden, and she said, "Brother Chen indeed is perceptive. Yes, it's a gift which I've prepared for my elder sister,"

"Your sister? Why?" Yi Chen asked, relieved that the topic had been successfully changed.

"Yes, she's turning eighteen next month, so I had used all my savings to get this sword made from one of the best blacksmiths in the kingdom," A proud expression was apparent on Zhou Mei's face when she finished her words.

"That's wonderful. Your sister must be very happy to have a caring and thoughtful younger sister like you." Yi Chen praised while smiling.

"Of course!" Zhou Mei exclaimed with pride while raising her chin as high as possible.

Seeing her antics, Yi Chen couldn't help but chuckle.

"Hey, why are laugh-" Zhou Mei was about to scold him for making fun of her when she suddenly thought of something and asked hurriedly, "Brother Chen, how old are you?!"

"Me? I'm eighteen years old, why?" Yi Chen asked with a doubtful expression apparent on his face.

"That's great!" Zhou Mei exclaimed in delight and continued, "A week after my elder sister's birthday, our family would be conducting a groom hunt for her! All young and talented men from the city are invited to it.

Why don't you take part in it as well, Brother Chen? With your capabilities, you'll definitely get selected."

Zhou Mei's eyes shone like stars when she finished her words.

'Not this again…' The smile on Yi Chen's face almost broke when he heard Zhou Mei's words. The intense gaze with which she was waiting for his answer wasn't helping him.

'Luckily, I have a way out now.' With this thought, Yi Chen raised his left hand and showed his engagement ring to her.

"I'm already married, so I won't be attending it," Yi Chen said with a victorious expression on his face.

'Getting married has its own benefits,' he smirked internally.

"Ah!" Zhou Mei's expression became crestfallen the very next moment, and she said in a disappointed tone, "…I would have really loved to have you as my brother-in-law, though."

"Haha, don't worry. You'll get a much better Brother-in-law than me," Yi Chen consoled her while thinking of where to shift this awkward conversation to.

"Brother Chen…" Zhou Mei called the next moment.

"Yes?" Yi Chen responded.

"Is your wife as strong as you?" She asked curiously. Her earlier depressed mood seemed to have vanished completely.

"Her?"

Feng Yu's picturesque image flashed in his mind the very next moment as he said with a smile on his face, "Yes, she's way stronger than me."

'Stronger than anyone in this realm,' Yi Chen finished the rest of his words in his mind.

Hearing Yi Chen's words, Zhou Mei nodded her head a few times with her hands folded and muttered, "A man as capable as Brother Chen indeed deserves a strong wife."

Seeing her acting this cutely, Yi Chen couldn't hold himself back and pulled her cheeks strongly. "You indeed have a way with your words, don't you?"

"Eeeeeeeeh?" Zhou Mei responded to his words in a manner which only she could understand, which made Yi Chen chuckle as he let go of her cheeks.

"Brother Chen yo-!" Zhou Mei was about to scold him for hurting her cheeks when Yi Chen stood up before she could complete her words and spoke.

"Alright, it's late now. Let's go to sleep."

With that said, he turned towards his tent and started walking, leaving the fuming Zhou Mei behind.

"Hmph! I'll get back to you tomorrow," she grumbled to herself while massaging her cheeks as she made her way back to her carriage.

As for Yi Chen, he had grabbed his blanket and was currently lying inside the tent.

With his Qi still a long way from recovering, sleeping was the best option for him. Closing his eyes, his breath soon stabilised and entered the land of dreams.

Thanks to sleeping early, he woke up early as well.

After getting out of the tent, he admired the morning mist in the forest and started exercising his body.

During these last few months, he had been fully focused on either cultivating or earning EXP for the mission, so he had totally stopped working out his body.

'In these few days, I'll make up for the lack of training,' Yi Chen thought to himself while performing squats.

It was only after he had completed a thousand squats that a layer of sweat appeared on his face, and he decided to switch to push-ups.

An hour soon passed by, and everyone had freshened up by now and were having their breakfast.

When that was over, they soon packed up and left the place. They needed to reach the capital soon, so time was of the essence.

The carriage burst through the forest path just like yesterday, leaving a trail of dirt behind.

Today's journey too was just like yesterday's, and the day ended with them camping at night.

It was only on the day after, in the afternoon, that their carriage passed through the gates of Gu City.

In terms of population, Gu City was far inferior when compared to the Tang City. It was only natural since Tang City was considered one of the five major cities of the Kingdom.

The carriage was moving slowly through the market street, and Yi Chen was busy glancing outside the window.

One may think that he was looking at the various shops that were laid across the street, but that wasn't the case.

His eyes were seriously going through all the status panels of people that they were passing by.

There were quite a few cultivators here as well, so he couldn't help but stay on guard.

A while later, the carriage stopped in front of an inn. As Yi Chen got down, his gaze fell on a man who was dressed in shabby clothes and was standing a little away from them.

Noticing Yi Chen's gaze towards him, the man started acting nonchalantly and started walking towards another direction.

However, his action was unable to fool Yi Chen.

'Since when did First Meridian Refinement Stage cultivators become poor enough to wear rags as clothes…'

His eyes sharpened a little bit, but he didn't go after him. His objective was to keep Zhou Mei safe and not go after suspects.

A while later, three rooms were arranged by the Inn staff. The middle one was for Zhou Mei, while the ones at the side were for Yi Chen and the guards.

"I can finally freshen up!" Zhou Mei exclaimed delightfully when she saw her room, and turning towards Yi Chen, she said, "Let's have lunch downstairs after an hour."

"Alright," Yi Chen nodded and entered his room that was right next to hers. He, too, was itching to thoroughly cleanse his sweaty body.

Later, they had their lunch downstairs together. As for the two guards, they had it in their room with Guard Bai, who was resting in the bed there.

Zhou Mei wanted to explore the city and pass the time after lunch, as staying cooped up in her room until tomorrow felt exhausting to her.

Seeing her throwing a tantrum, Yi Chen relented and accompanied her out after informing Guard Bai.

They walked through the busy markets and explored several shops to pass their time.

Yi Chen even bought a cute hair clip for Zhou Mei, who looked very pleased by this gesture. It was followed by them trying some street food before finally walking back towards their Inn.

"I had a lot of fun today, Brother Chen!" she said brightly. She couldn't help but feel safe when she was with Yi Chen and thus enjoyed the whole time without any worries.

"Did you?" Yi Chen asked with a smile, but suddenly a frown formed on his face.

He noticed a person's figure standing on the other side of the street. Because of the darkness, his face couldn't be seen properly, but Yi Chen could clearly see his status.

It was the same man whom he had seen in the afternoon.

'So they are keeping an eye on us, huh?' Yi Chen thought with his eyes narrowed.

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