Chapter 6: Slave and Master

  Early in the morning, Li Mu brought the deep-sea pearl to the county town. He had gone hungry for a night, and now he could finally make up for it. He didn't know how much money this pearl could exchange for, but he believed that exchanging it for a meal wouldn't be a problem. He found a luxurious wine house with a grand facade and walked in.

  The old land saw Li Mu Guangming enter the wine house, so he didn't stop him, and he had no right to stop him. He just didn't believe that Li Mu would have money to eat in such a luxurious place overnight. To prevent Li Mu from eating for free, he kept watching secretly.

  "Go, go, go! Take this bun and get out of here quickly, don't disturb the noble guests while they're eating and drinking." Just as he was about to step over the threshold, a waiter hastily stopped Li Mu, handed him a bun, and pushed him outside. Li Mu's clothes had been soaked in seawater, and with the addition of mud, sea salt, and other things, were both dirty and wrinkled, looking just like those of a street beggar.

  He didn't know that the little servant had already dismissed him as a freeloader, and thought that the little servant was thinking like the old landowner, afraid that he had no money. He argued: "Why can't I go in? Young master, I'm not penniless." After saying this, he took out the pearl that Ah Ran gave to him and flashed it around. The little servant felt as if his eyes were stabbed by a dazzling light, and suddenly his attitude changed 180 degrees.

  "Ah, young master, please come in. I'm just a lowly person with eyes but no pearls of wisdom, so please don't blame me."

  "This kid, where did he get such good pearls?" The old land looked at the pearls in his hand with a puzzled expression, and it was not difficult to see from his eyes: "Could it be a treasure from the Dragon Palace!"

  Upon arriving at the luxurious room on the second floor, Li Mu ordered all of the restaurant's signature dishes and also requested a jar of their finest "daughter red" wine. In his eyes, nothing had any value; even if he only had one or two silver coins in his waist, he would still dare to order like this. The young waiter was much more discerning than him, knowing that the pearl on Li Mu's body was extremely valuable. Not to mention a single meal of wine and dishes, even buying out the entire restaurant would be completely possible. What the dragon tribe liked most was collecting treasures; would the Dragon Palace have any ordinary worldly objects? Moreover, this was an object carried by a princess of the dragon tribe. Therefore, whatever Li Mu ordered, he was very happy to bring it up as quickly as possible.

  Eating is a human instinct. However, elevating this instinct to a form of enjoyment is the highest realm of life. It's not about eating to fill one's stomach, but rather treating it as a pursuit, a pleasure. Li Mu never thought that something he had to do every day could be so enjoyable.

  A burst of chatter and clinking, after a big table of delicious food was devoured. The entire room was filled with the aroma of wine, intoxicating everyone. Li Mu indulged himself here, but poor old Tudi suffered. He looked on dryly from below, what a miserable sight. Having lived for hundreds of years, he had never eaten anything so delicious before.

  With a hint of intoxication, Li Mu swayed down the stairs. The owner of the wine house, with a sly glint in his eye, immediately went over to grab hold of Li Mu and said: "Young master, have you eaten well? Was the food to your liking?"

  "Hmm, the wine is sweet and delicious." Li Mu nodded in satisfaction.

  The boss smiled and said, "Young master, this meal comes to a total of 104 taels and 6 mace. Since it's your first time at our humble shop, we won't charge you the extra fee, so just pay us 100 taels. Do you have cash on you?"

  "Money?" Li Mu suddenly remembered that eating required payment. He took out the deep-sea pearl and slapped it into the hand of the wine shop owner, saying: "I don't have any money on me, only this, how about it, will it do?"

  "Go, go, of course no problem." The tavern owner was overjoyed and hastily put away the pearl, afraid that Li Mu would change his mind. "Quickly send off the young master," the owner shouted. A hand secretly pinched the pearl through his clothes, and he couldn't help but feel extremely happy in his heart.

  "Slow down, young master! Welcome back next time!" The boss waved his hand and ran to the back hall with a pleased smile.

  "Hum, this prodigal son." The old landowner's heart was bleeding at the thought of giving away a pearl worth a whole city like that.

  With a full belly and enough wine, Liu Qing wandered aimlessly in the city, getting to know this world of mortals. The county town was neither big nor small, and strolling around for a day would be enough to pass the time.

  At night, Ao Ran did not go ashore, only Liu Qing stood alone, staring at the moon. When he was a child, he heard his seniors tell a story: A long time ago, there was a very beautiful woman who secretly ate an immortal pill and abandoned her husband to become an immortal on her own. As a result, she guarded the Moon Palace alone, spending her life in loneliness.

  That senior brother, every time he tells this story, seems to see the beauty of the Moon Palace woman, and is always intoxicated. In the past, Liu Qing didn't understand the affairs between men and women, and only thought it was an ordinary story. Now, Li Mu, who has also seen countless women, is very curious about what kind of appearance can make all three realms of heaven, earth, and underworld marvel in amazement.

  People often say that the darkest spot on the moon is the Guang Han Palace, but Li Mu doesn't think so. The Moon Palace is located in the Ninth Heaven, how can human eyes see things above? This may be a beautiful fantasy of people towards unknown things. Li Mu is a realist and never makes demands on unknown things, nor will he make wild guesses. Rather than standing here until his neck gets sore, it's better to go back and have a good sleep.

  Ao Ran is the youngest daughter of Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East Sea. As a late-born child, he naturally regards her as his treasure and lets her do whatever she wants. Ao Ran herself is intelligent and learns magic faster than ordinary people. In this era where the strong are respected, this is crucial. Those with strength and potential can live better in this world. The old Dragon King Ao Guang devoted all his energy to Ao Ran, cultivating her spoiled and arrogant personality.

  In the following days, Ao Ran would often take Li Mu ashore to explore everywhere. The two of them were equally unfamiliar with and curious about the world, so they basically toured all the major cities in the area, without knowing how many precious pearls Ao Ran spent. As the master had status, Li Mu, as a slave, also benefited from it. Good food, good fun, good sights - everything was just as he wished. Gradually, Li Mu became addicted to fine dining and learned to be particular about it like the elegant gentlemen.

  Everything is happy, but there is a small discord. Ao Ran's temperament is strange, when he is happy, Li Mu can't escape bad luck, and when he is not happy, Li Mu is even more miserable. Whether in front of people or behind their backs, Li Mu's dignity has been stripped away without leaving any trace.

  At night, they returned to the seaside. Li Mu would teach Ao Ran other water-based spells, such as Ice Shield, Ice Blade, and Encirclement, some simple attack and defense spells. Ao Ran was a natural talent, learning at an exceptionally fast pace, even Li Mu, who was teaching her, couldn't help but change his previous misconceptions about her.

  When studying magic, Ao Ran was very serious and quiet. It's hard to see that she would be a spoiled princess who makes the ghosts around her headache, but rather more like a devout student of a noble family. Li Mu often thought: If she remained so quiet, it would be great.

  But thinking of her own abuse, Li Mu immediately vetoed all of Ao Ran's advantages.

  "It's all just an illusion!" Li Mu warned himself in secret, never to be deceived by illusions. This debt would one day be repaid many times over.