The Xuanwu Towers provided free breakfast of a similar standard to that of the canteen back on Purple Plum Mountain.
Honestly, Lu Zhiying had not appreciated it too much back then, especially after trying Gu Qiansi’s cooking.
But now that she had experienced the disappointing visit to Full Moon Restaurant last night, she could not help but find it far more appetising than usual!
The view at the Xuanwu Towers might be beautiful, but it was still lacking as compared to those back on Purple Plum Mountain.
Therefore, the trio did not linger here for long, only taking a cursory look around before leaving for Redaxe Hall.
When they arrived, Hong Zi was already waiting there with a wide smile on his face.
And upon seeing the other party’s eager expression, Zhao Yunxiao had to consciously suppress his feelings in order to prevent his face from turning dark in contrast.
Even after a night’s rest, he still had not gotten over the fact that he did not do well when negotiating the new contract terms yesterday.
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Hong Zi nervously swallowed a mouthful of saliva as he thought back on his interactions with the trio since yesterday, hoping that he had not said or done anything that could have offended them!
Thankfully, he could not think of any ways in which he could have upset the trio.
“Is that all?” Zhao Yunxiao turned to ask him.
“Y-Yes, that’s all, Young Hero Zhao!” Hong Zi hurriedly answered. “Thank you for your patronage!”
“We’ll be off then,” Zhao Yunxiao nodded. “Let’s go.”
“Farewell, young heroes!” Hong Zi bowed respectfully, standing there until the trio finally left his sight.
That marked the completion of the trio’s mission objective.
All that was left was to bring the newly signed contract back to the Outer Disciples Hall, and they would be able to collect the rewards.
“Where are we going next?” Lu Zhiying asked curiously. “We are not heading back to the sect already, are we?”
“Yeah, where are we going next?” Gu Qiansi repeated.
She could not be bothered to suggest anything since she knew that Zhao Yunxiao already had something in mind for sure.
“Hmm,” Zhao Yunxiao looked at the sun to gauge the time. “Since we still have some time left, let’s take a little detour.”
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Gu Qiansi rolled her eyes in response.
If she had not known better, she might really have believed that Zhao Yunxiao had only just decided to do this after noticing the time.
“Sure, sure, but where to?” Lu Zhiying asked excitedly.
“There is a forest near Moonrise City called the Red Forest,” Zhao Yunxiao said. “According to what I’ve heard, it is a place where monsters and spiritual beasts are known to inhabit. There have even been the occasional appearances of demons. We can go check it out, and perhaps let you observe as we take care of one or two of the weaker ones.”
“Oh? But if that’s what you wanted, wouldn’t it be easier to just return to Purple Plum Mountain?” Gu Qiansi asked in surprise.
After going through so much trouble to hide it, she had not expected that Zhao Yunxiao only wanted to do some hunting.
But if that was his goal, then the wilderness on Purple Plum Mountain also had a rather large population of monsters and spirit beasts.
On top of that, it was also closer to the sect grounds, so they would save quite a bit of time if they just went there instead!
“How boring. All you know is to stay in the sect,” Zhao Yunxiao scoffed. “We are already spending most of our time on Purple Plum Mountain. Now that we are out, how can we not take the chance to explore the local places instead? Isn’t that right, Junior Martial Sister Lu?”
“Mm! I agree!” Lu Zhiying nodded profusely.
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“Is there something special about this Red Forest that you are not letting us on?” Gu Qiansi narrowed her eyes at Zhao Yunxiao in suspicion, completely ignoring his earlier comments.
“Well, I just wanted a change of pace,” Zhao Yunxiao shrugged. “Isn’t it more stressful to be somewhere that our fellow sect members frequent? For one, whenever we see a senior, we would have to accede to them or stop what we are doing just to greet them.”
Of course, that was just an excuse.
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“That’s more like it,” Zhao Yunxiao nodded in satisfaction, believing that he had presented his arguments in a way that had made it irrefutable for Gu Qiansi.
What he did not realise was that she was intending to go along with his plan from the start, and was merely asking those questions out of sheer curiosity.
“Yay! Let’s go!” Lu Zhiying cheered as well.
Under Zhao Yunxiao’s lead, the trio left Moonrise City for the secluded Red Forest.
Despite its secluded location, Zhao Yunxiao had done his research beforehand, so he knew the fastest way to get there.
When they arrived there on their horses, morning had yet to completely pass.
“Are we bringing our horses in as well?” Gu Qiansi asked curiously.
While horses were good for helping them save energy while travelling, they would become a burden if they were to encounter any spiritual beasts or monsters in the forest.
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She knew that Zhao Yunxiao had always been a very careful person, but this was the first time she had seen him come up with such a complicated blueprint as well.
In fact, she was unable to fully understand how the entire thing came together even after examining the blueprint!
It would seem that he had suddenly raised his standards and was being exceptionally careful this time.
She was not wrong, either.
Zhao Yunxiao was truly determined not to make any mistakes, planning numerous layers of backup traps and alerts just in case something went wrong anywhere.
If Cha was to be trusted for once, the Heaven’s Descent Bowl was an exceptionally precious treasure.
Letting anyone else find out that he had such an item in his possession could lead to serious consequences, potentially even death.
Because of that, it was only natural that he would do everything possible to prevent such an outcome!