Demon, come and cultivate for me.

In Xie Ning's guest room, Zhou Chu recounted the story of the Crimson Mirage Pearl and the Taoist Ji Ling.

"That Daoist Jiling deserves to die!" Xie Ning said through gritted teeth.

Hu Xiaobai then transformed back into a fox, lazily lying on the table, its front paws pawing at the Crimson Mirage Pearl.

The bead emitted a reddish glow, dispelling the darkness beyond the reach of the candlelight.

"Be careful not to break it." Zhou Chu reached out and picked up the Crimson Mirage Pearl, carefully wrapped it in cloth, and put it into the small box.

The room instantly went dark again.

"That is..." Hu Xiaobai said, pointing to the jade piece in Zhou Chu's box that was emitting a faint green light.

Zhou Chu took out the jade piece: "You recognize this?"

Hu Xiaobai nodded, jumped off the table, and transformed into human form.

She took the jade piece from Zhou Chu's hand, examined it closely, and her breathing became rapid:

"As expected! This is...this is..."

"What is it?" Zhou Chu's gaze avoided Hu Xiaobai's undulating, snow-white hills.

The fox demon disguised as a woman is too outrageous; she even bought clothes with so little fabric.

Hu Xiaobai calmed himself down, but his voice was still trembling:

"This is a fragment of the 'Book of Bai Ze,' and the patterns and symbols on it are Bai Ze script..."

Bai Ze was an ancient divine beast that knew the names, appearances, and cultivation methods of all the demons in the world. He later compiled this knowledge into a book, created demon script, and wrote the "Book of Bai Ze".

For the demon race, the "Bai Ze Book" is an encyclopedia guiding their cultivation.

If a demon race member awakens their intelligence and has the opportunity to read through the "Book of Bai Ze," they can soar to the heavens and cultivate themselves into a demon ancestor who is immortal for ten thousand years.

To prevent the demon race from becoming too powerful and difficult to control, the ancient gods sealed the "Book of Bai Ze".

During the great war between the gods and demons, the seal was accidentally broken, and the Book of Bai Ze was lost in the chaos of war, fought over by various forces, and was eventually destroyed in the war, with fragments scattered all over the world.

This fragment contains the demon race's guiding technique, "Moonlight Guiding Technique".

Although Hu Xiaobai has now taken human form, his foundation is extremely unstable. Obtaining this fragment is like a pillow arriving just when he was about to fall asleep.

"If it's useful to you, I'll give it to you," Zhou Chu said to Hu Xiaobai as he closed the box.

He had no use for the cultivation techniques used by the demon race, so he might as well give them to the little fox.

"Thank you, young master!" Hu Xiaobai hugged Zhou Chu's arm to his chest and rubbed his head against his shoulder.

Zhou Chu felt a soft sensation coming from his upper arm, and his heart fluttered.

He gently shook his arm, trying to pull away from the softness, but Hu Xiaobai hugged him even tighter, pressing the soft mass into a slightly deformed shape.

The two were acting intimately, and Xie Ning couldn't stand it any longer. She stepped forward and pried Hu Xiaobai's arm off Zhou Chu's arm.

"You are a human being! A woman! Men and women are different, be mindful of your boundaries!"

"Okay!" Hu Xiaobai chuckled, grabbed the fragment, and ran back to bed.

It transformed into a fox, sat cross-legged, and began cultivating according to the method described in the fragment.

Xie Ning shook her head slightly and asked Zhou Chu, "When do you plan to set off to find the ancient human ruins?"

Zhou Chu thought for a moment and said, "Tomorrow, Fan Li will help me register as a martial artist. Once I have the status of a martial artist, I will head south."

"That's easy. I'll go see Zou Jin tomorrow and have him help you get citizenship." Xie Ning's eyes darted around, then she added, "Can you take me with you when you go to Baiyue?"

Xie Ning knew that Zou Jin would definitely tell her family about her whereabouts.

Her biggest worry right now is that people from the Xie family in the capital will come and take her home.

If they leave Yan, the Xie family's influence will be beyond their reach.

"You want to come to Baiyue with me?" Zhou Chu recalled the scene in the Centipede Cave that day and decisively shook his head, saying, "No."

"Why? I've already helped you register as a martial artist, why won't you take me with you?" Xie Ning asked anxiously.

Xie Ning's childhood dream was to be like her grandfather, roaming the world with a sword, slaying demons and monsters, saving the people, and becoming famous throughout the land.

But as she traveled from Kyoto to Wuyang, she realized that reality was far more difficult than she had imagined.

Through these few days of interaction, she discovered that Zhou Chu was not a bad person; he was good at fighting and also knew how to make money.

Staying by his side means you don't have to worry about safety; you'll have food and drink.

Rather than running around aimlessly on my own, it would be safer to hitch a ride on Zhou Chu's ship.

This way, he can still travel to various countries, improve his cultivation, slay demons and monsters, and save the common people...

She had a good idea, but Zhou Chu was unwilling.

"That's a place rife with miasma, teeming with poisonous insects and ferocious beasts. What can you possibly do there?" Zhou Chu retorted.

Even a tiny centipede hole can scare you like that.

If we were to go to the remote mountains, wouldn't we have to hang on to me every day?

Wandering the world with a beautiful woman by your side sounds wonderful, but in reality, it brings a burden.

Zhou Chu simply couldn't understand why someone like her, a top-tier second-generation heiress, would choose to suffer instead of staying home and enjoying a comfortable life.

Xie Ning was displeased upon hearing this. What, do you look down on me?

"This young lady has been well-versed in literature since childhood, is familiar with the customs and traditions of various regions, knows the merits and demerits of all martial arts techniques, and is fluent in the laws and decrees of all countries..."

Xie Ning talked a lot, but in the end, she found that the knowledge she had was completely unrelated to the search for the ancient human relics in Baiyue.

Then, changing the subject, he continued:

"Don't forget, I saved your life too. You can't be ungrateful."

"How will you repay me? By offering yourself to me?" Zhou Chu raised an eyebrow and asked in return.

What do you mean by "you saved my life"?

Without me, you wouldn't have been able to get out of the centipede cave.

Now she's not only freeloading off me, but she also acts like my benefactor. This girl has quite the nerve.

We're not related, yet I spent so much of your money and you didn't say anything.

Xie Ning didn't catch the hidden meaning in Zhou Chu's words, and her pretty face blushed slightly:

"There's no need for you to repay me with your body; just take care of my food and drink and serve me well."

"hehe."

Zhou Chu didn't want to listen to her nonsense and was about to get up and go back to his room when he heard a knock on the door.

"Miss Xie, have you rested?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chu recognized the innkeeper's voice and guessed that he was there to apologize.

He opened the door and saw the innkeeper standing outside, rubbing his hands together.

Two waiters followed behind him, one carrying a food box and the other holding a tray covered with a red cloth.

"I heard from the waiter that Miss Xie didn't have dinner, so I had the kitchen prepare a few side dishes and brought them to you." The innkeeper said, giving the waiter carrying the food box a wink.

The waiter carried a food box into the house and brought out several exquisite dishes, placing them on the table.

The shopkeeper then took the tray from another waiter and respectfully placed it in front of Xie Ning:

"I was blind and did not know you were a distinguished guest. Please forgive my rudeness."

"Hmph." Xie Ning was furious when she thought of the shopkeeper's attitude just now. She turned her head away and refused to look at him.

Unexpectedly, the shopkeeper suddenly knelt on the ground and burst into tears:

"Waaah, Miss Xie, please forgive my rudeness. I have an eighty-year-old mother to support and a three-year-old baby to feed. Our whole family of dozens of people depend on me for food..."

"Alright, alright, you can go now. I won't hold it against you." Xie Ning had never seen a man in his forties or fifties crying with snot and tears streaming down his face, and she felt quite disgusted.

"You're so generous! From now on, all your expenses at the inn are on you. Stay as long as you like." The innkeeper wiped away his tears. "When you see Magistrate Zou tomorrow, please put in a good word for me..."

"Miss Xie has already agreed, aren't you leaving yet?" White Fox called out as she approached the shopkeeper.

"Yes, yes, yes, I'll be going right away." The innkeeper was startled. The children of wealthy families are indeed different; even their pets can talk...