"Master was right, men really are no good!" Li Mochou muttered to herself upon hearing those men's words.
"Hey!"
Lu Zhanyuan looked at Li Mochou with some embarrassment. "Mochou, I'm a man too, you shouldn't paint us all with the same brush, you know!"
Li Mochou glanced at Lu Zhanyuan, thought for a moment, and then added, "All right, I'll make an exception for you for now. Every other man is no good!"
"Uh..."
Lu Zhanyuan was almost amused to laughter by Li Mochou's cute reaction.
"You two still have the heart to flirt right now? Brothers, get them, grab them!"
The leader of the street performers could no longer hold back. Rallying his brothers, he brandished his weapon and charged fiercely at Lu Zhanyuan and Li Mochou.
Lu Zhanyuan had not yet learned any martial arts forms. Seeing the enemy charging aggressively, he could only rely on his formidable soul and nimble reflexes to dodge left and right.
Every now and then, he would seize an opportunity to throw a punch or kick at these men.
Li Mochou, on the other hand, was a completely different story. Amidst the crowd's attacks, her figure moved as light and graceful as a swallow. With a single strike of her palm, a man would vomit blood and drop dead to the ground.
Right after that, she flicked her fingers, and with a swift *whoosh, whoosh*, a few Ice Soul Silver Needles shot out, instantly freezing the remaining men into ice sculptures.
The three men who were still surrounding Lu Zhanyuan were so terrified upon seeing this that their entire bodies trembled, and they turned and fled into the distance.
Seeing this, Li Mochou's gaze turned cold. With another wave of her hand, three Ice Soul Silver Needles flew out with a *whoosh*, precisely hitting the three fleeing men and turning them into ice sculptures as well.
"Crack—snap!"
Lu Zhanyuan looked at the shattered ice on the ground. Although the scene wasn't overly bloody, he still felt a profound sense of discomfort in his heart.
Forcing down his inner turmoil, he walked up to Li Mochou and praised, "Mochou, your martial arts are truly formidable!"
"Lu Zhanyuan, I didn't expect that you only know these few clumsy tricks. Why didn't you take the opportunity to run away just now?" Li Mochou looked at Lu Zhanyuan with a hint of curiosity.
"Run away? Running away is out of the question, not in this lifetime!"
Lu Zhanyuan reached out his hands and gently grasped Li Mochou's shoulders. Seeing that she did not pull away, he began his advance once more, determined to win her over quickly.
"Mochou, in this life, the hardest thing to find is someone you truly love. Even if a sea of blades and a mountain of fire lie ahead, I would never abandon the woman I love and run away by myself."
Li Mochou's heart was stirred in its softest place by these words. Meeting Lu Zhanyuan's deep, affectionate gaze, she stared at him with a daze of infatuation.
A gentle breeze swept across the empty street, and the flickering firelight around them seemed to mirror their burning hearts, restless and stirred.
Lu Zhanyuan looked at Li Mochou with eyes full of love, slowly raising his hand to gently stroke her hair.
Feeling Lu Zhanyuan's tenderness, Li Mochou lifted her chin slightly, her cheeks flushed. The cold, fierce look from the fight moments earlier had now melted into water-like gentleness.
Their gazes locked, and gradually, Lu Zhanyuan tentatively and slowly leaned his head closer to Li Mochou.
Caught in the emotion of the moment, Li Mochou gently closed her eyes, her trembling eyelashes revealing her inner tension and anticipation.
Seeing this, Lu Zhanyuan quickly lowered his head and kissed her. Their lips lightly touched, and Lu Zhanyuan instinctively reached out to pull Li Mochou into his embrace.
The firelight shone on the shattered ice on the ground, casting a shimmering glow. Lu Zhanyuan began by carefully kissing Li Mochou's slightly chilled lips, and slowly, the kiss grew more and more passionate.
In the quiet moonlight night, the moonlight spilled over them like water, casting their lingering, hazy silhouettes.
"Hey!"
Right at that moment, four figures suddenly rushed out from the alley. Seeing the shattered remains on the ground, they shouted angrily at the two who were passionately entwined.
"What kind of people are you two? Why are there so many dead bodies here?"
Her good mood interrupted, Li Mochou angrily broke away from Lu Zhanyuan's embrace.
*Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!*
With a wave of her right hand, she flicked four Ice Soul Silver Needles at the four people before her, and another pile of shattered ice was added to the ground.
"Mochou, let's get out of here first!" Lu Zhanyuan looked at these unlucky fellows, helplessly stepped forward to take Li Mochou's small hand, and quickly hurried away.
After walking for a while holding Li Mochou's hand, Lu Zhanyuan arrived in front of an inn. Looking at the Yuelai Inn ahead, he thought to himself, "We'll just rest here for the night."
"Mochou, I'm completely broke right now. Did you bring any money with you?" Lu Zhanyuan asked, looking at Li Mochou somewhat sheepishly.
"Lu Zhanyuan, don't you worry. My Ancient Tomb Sect may lack other things, but we certainly have plenty of money!"
Li Mochou produced a silver ingot, placed it in Lu Zhanyuan's hand, and then led him toward the Yuelai Inn.
"Welcome, honored guests, please come this way! Are you here for a meal, or to stay at the inn?" the waiter greeted them enthusiastically at the sight of the pair.
Lu Zhanyuan handed the silver to the waiter and asked, "Waiter, do you still have any private rooms available?"
The waiter hurriedly accepted the silver, bowing and scraping as he said, "Yes, we do! Right this way, honored guests!"
"What would you two honored guests like to eat?" After leading the two to a private room, the waiter busied himself wiping down the table and stools.
"Waiter, bring us some of your house specialties, and prepare two of your finest rooms as well!" Lu Zhanyuan instructed.
"Coming right up! Just a moment, honored guests, everything will be ready for you immediately!"
The waiter then asked, "Oh, by the way, honored guests, our establishment has received a fresh batch of fine wine these past few days. Would you care for some?"
"Wine?"
With her extensive knowledge of chemistry, Li Mochou knew the difference between oil and vinegar, yet she had no idea what wine was. She looked at the waiter with a puzzled expression and asked curiously,
"Waiter, what kind of thing is this wine?"
Upon hearing this question, the waiter raised his head in a daze, looking at the beautiful woman before him. "Th... this young lady, this wine isn't a thing!"
The waiter scratched his scalp. "This wine, it's just called wine! Th... th..."
"All right, waiter, just bring us two jugs of your best wine!" Seeing the waiter's awkward expression and finding it somewhat amusing, Lu Zhanyuan cut him off.
Having been through so much today, Lu Zhanyuan was still in a dreamlike state and wanted to drink a little to calm his nerves.
"Very well, honored guests, please wait a moment. This humble servant will go arrange the food, wine, and guest rooms right now, and serve them to you shortly!"
Seeing the waiter turn and leave, Li Mochou looked at Lu Zhanyuan with a puzzled gaze. "Lu Zhanyuan, tell me, what on earth is this wine thing?"
"Mochou, don't rush. Didn't I just ask the waiter to bring two jugs of wine? Once he brings them over later, won't you know?"
Hearing this, Li Mochou thought for a moment, nodded at Lu Zhanyuan, and sat there waiting with eager anticipation.
Looking at Li Mochou sitting across from him, Lu Zhanyuan resumed his flirting. Gazing into her eyes, he softly spoke: "Mochou!"
"Mm, what is it?"
"From the very first moment I saw you tonight, my heart has been pounding wildly for you! From the moment I laid eyes on you in the market, my world has held nothing but your image."