Chapter 11: The White Phoenix

  Uh——

  In an instant, Li Mu's body twitched violently from his eyeballs to his heart.

  Clear water reflects the tender and delicate, with a subtle fragrance in the depths. The sparkling ripples shine on the fair skin, yet it is a breathtaking beauty that startles the heart. The water droplets on her hair quietly slide across her chest like fine jade carvings, dripping into the water with a crisp and clear sound.

  Such a beautiful scene, suddenly, was imprinted in my heart.

  What surprised Li Mu the most was not the girl's beauty, but rather the strong sense of familiarity he felt from her, as if they had originally been one entity and had never been apart for thousands of years.

  For a moment, Li Mu realized he was being a bit too abrupt. After all, she was still a girl, and he shouldn't have been so rude. He was about to apologize when the girl's bright red eyes gradually turned black, like jade stones, clear and bright. Curiously, she looked at Li Mu.

  The girl slowly squatted down, the clear water covering her skin inch by inch, and only a faint blur could be seen from the slightly rippling waves.

  There's a certain charm to the ambiguity, and such an exciting scene is bound to leave one breathless. Moreover, Li Mu, this young fellow, has already caught a glimpse of the mysteries of love, and his curiosity is piqued. Unbeknownst to him, a certain part of his body is rebelling in protest, strongly condemning Li Mu's lewd thoughts.

  "How much longer will you stay here?"

  The girl's voice was soft and delicate. The shy tone carried some joy, lowered her head, turned around, leaving behind a smooth and jade-like back.

  "Uh——, yes, sorry."

  Li Mu was frightened and hastily retreated with a bow. Closing the door, taking a deep breath, his heart still thumping wildly.

  Looking back on the scene just now, I couldn't help but feel a little confused. Clearly hearing the mournful cry, could it be that this beautiful and stunning girl was the one who made such a sound? Li Mu shook his head, he would rather believe that Ao Ran had such skills than think that this good-sounding girl was capable of making such a noise.

  Thinking of Ao Ran, Li Mu suddenly felt that this girl had a few similarities with Ao Ran.

  He waited outside the door for half a day, but didn't hear any movement, as if the master of this place had forgotten his existence. Li Mu thought about pushing open the door to take another look, but was afraid of startling the beauty, so he reluctantly turned around and left.

  Behind him, a pair of eyes as beautiful as deep-sea pearls quietly saw him off into the distance.

  "Where did you run off to without my permission? Are you thinking of making ice sculptures again?" a gentle voice scolded.

  Just a few steps away from the depths of the courtyard, she ran into Ao Ran who was searching everywhere for him. Ao Ran seemed to be in a good mood, with a smile on her face all along. She let out a cold air and threatened, "You'd better not think about escaping."

  Li Mu couldn't help but feel a headache, ever since he taught her the Ice Condensation Technique. From then on, Ao Ran would often threaten him with it whenever she pleased. Every time Li Mu shook his head and sighed: "You're really asking for trouble." However, this time Ao Ran was clearly joking around, and in a good mood, didn't mind so much.

  "I just came out to get some fresh air, so as not to disappoint those who think they're superior." Li Mu curled his lip. Having spent quite some time with Ao Ran, he had a pretty good grasp of her personality. Apart from being arrogant and willful, she didn't really have any other tricks up her sleeve.

  He pouted, retracted his icy demeanor, and looked at the path Li Mu had taken. This road only led to one place - the side courtyard. Thinking of that deserted courtyard, Ao Ran felt a pang of sadness: he hadn't visited her in over twenty years, had he?

  However, in an instant, Ao Ran's eyes widened in surprise as she stared at Li Mu, this kid had actually come back alive from there. Ao Ran roughly knew how capable Li Mu was, it was basically impossible for someone to escape from her.

  "You, have you met my sister!" Ao Ran looked at Li Mu tensely.

  "Your sister? Who is that?" Li Mu had never discussed his family with Ao Ran before, so how did she know who his sister was? He couldn't help but feel puzzled.

  "Oh dear, she's a pretty girl, and she lives there!" Ao Ran raised her index finger to point at the courtyard behind Li Mu, stamping her foot in complaint.

  Girl, he had indeed seen a girl. "Could she be the sister of this little girl? No wonder there's some resemblance." Li Mu thought to himself. Thinking back to the girl from earlier, Li Mu suddenly felt a bit restless and said: "Yes, a girl, very pretty." He couldn't say that he happened to run into her sister while she was bathing, as this concerned the reputation of someone else's daughter, something Li Mu would never spread around carelessly.

  "You actually came out alive!" Ao Ran was even more surprised.

  Twenty years ago, if it wasn't for my father's timely arrival, I would have been eaten by her. Every time I think of this matter, besides feeling heartache, I always feel a lingering fear.

  Twenty years ago, her sister Ao Ning suddenly contracted a strange illness, becoming restless and irritable, devouring everything in sight. The shrimp soldiers and crab servants who attended to her were all eaten by her. Afterwards, no one dared to attend to Ao Ning again. Dragon King Ao Guang sought medical help everywhere but was unable to cure Ao Ning's illness, so he had no choice but to lock her up in a courtyard on the outskirts of the dragon palace.

  Ao Ran and her sister Ao Ning had a good relationship, she cared about her sister and went to visit her. Suddenly, Ao Ning's condition took a turn for the worse and wrapped up Ao Ran, almost devouring her. Fortunately, Ao Guang arrived just in time, saving Ao Ran's life, who then got the chance to bully Li Mu.

  After Ao Ning fell ill, Li Mu was the only one who broke into the side house and came out alive. This made Ao Ran feel both puzzled and resentful, thinking that her own sister had almost died, while this outsider was still living safely.

  Li Mu glanced at her and said in a light tone, "What's wrong, can't she even eat people?" Such a beautiful girl shouldn't be associated with the words "eat people", Li Mu thought to himself.

  Seeing Li Mu, Ao Ran suddenly felt very displeased. She now somewhat understood Ao Feng's feelings. Too lazy to talk to him about Ao Bing, she remembered her task and said: "My father the king is looking for you, follow me."

  Ao Guang was all smiles as he entertained the guests, especially Li Mu. He treated him with extra courtesy and even referred to him as a brother, trying to get close to him. Li Mu had long wanted to break free from Ao Ran's tyrannical rule and reluctantly tried to get along with Ao Guang, which made Ao Ran furious and threateningly glared at Li Mu from the side. However, with Ao Guang and some seniors present, Ao Ran remained relatively well-behaved.

  To show his friendship, Ao Guang gave Li Mu a waist card that allowed him to come and go freely in the Dragon Palace. This was treating Li Mu as if he were not an outsider, showing how much Ao Guang valued Li Mu.

  Li Mu didn't like this lively scene, after eating and drinking enough, he went home to sleep.

  There was a wide waist card, Li Mu often came to the Dragon Palace for nothing, and came to that side house, hoping to see the girl again. However, things went against his wishes, and she seemed to be deliberately avoiding him. One time Li Mu boldly pushed open the door of the water pool, still disappointed and returned.

  In the blink of an eye, several days passed, and Li Mu not only didn't see Ao Ning but also hadn't been looked for by Ao Ran. It wasn't that Li Mu was inferior himself, it's just that he wasn't used to being alone without Ao Ran's abuse, and being alone made him feel a bit unaccustomed.

  Moreover, she only had one pearl on her body, which was just enough to exchange for a meal according to the previous method. It wasn't until I inquired at the Dragon Palace that I found out that Ao Ran and her mother had gone back to their hometown of Dongting Lake, without mentioning when they would return.

  The Dragon King is not around, Li Mu doesn't want to freeload at the Dragon Palace, so he takes his last pearl to the best wine house in the county.

  There are still many people here, and the guests are endless. Xiao Er saw Li Mu, his eyes lit up instantly, and he quickly threw down the guest in front of him to greet Li Mu: "Hey, Master, you're here. The second floor VIP room has a seat reserved for you." As he spoke, he led Li Mu upstairs.

  Li Mu didn't know what was wrong with him today, he didn't go to the second floor's VIP room, but instead insisted on sitting at a shared table on the first floor. Maybe because there wasn't anyone to accompany him, it felt a bit deserted, and the first floor was more lively with many people. However, all the tables on the first floor were already occupied, except for one table by the staircase near the window which only had one customer. Li Mu walked over and sat down naturally, saying to the customer at the table: "Brother, don't mind having a drink together, right?"

  He was a young and handsome guy, about the same age as himself, with fair skin and a subtle fragrance. When he saw his bright eyes, Li Mu suddenly felt a sense of familiarity rising in his heart. It seemed that he had a connection with him deep down. Li Mu furrowed his brow secretly and stole glances at him.

  He didn't say a word, and Xiao Er just assumed he had agreed, so he brought up several dishes of Li Mu's favorite food, and soon the whole table was filled.

  "Brother, come, I'll toast you a cup." Li Mu put away the doubts in his heart and looked at the young man in front of him with interest. If he wasn't mistaken, he should be a girl disguised as a boy. Not a young man, but a young woman. How could a big man have a fragrant body, at most some stench.

  The girl's face was calm, ignoring Li Mu, focusing on eating her own food in front of her. She ate slowly, although she imitated the way men eat very seriously and accurately, but from her chewing movements, a hint of reserve could still be seen.

  He toasted her three times, but she remained unmoved and unresponsive. Li Mu's interest began to wane. Too lazy to bother with her, he started eating with gusto.

  The humming noise seemed to affect her, the girl frowned and looked at Li Mu with dissatisfaction. Seeing his nonchalant attitude, she helplessly continued eating her own meal.

  Li Mu quickly finished eating, still looking at the messy cups and plates with a look of reluctance, the flavors still lingering on his tongue. He took out the last pearl, seemingly reluctant to part with it. This meal was over, but he had no idea how to spend the next one.

  "You plan to exchange this pearl worth a city for a meal?" The bright eyes of the girl seemed to see through Li Mu's thoughts, and she asked quietly.

  The girl finally spoke, and although she tried to cover it up, her voice was still rough with a hint of finesse. Li Mu looked at the girl in surprise and asked her, "Are you telling me to just pat my butt and leave?"

  The girl gave him a white eye and scolded: "This pearl is enough for you to eat for a lifetime, but you don't know its value at all."

  "What did you say?" Li Mu furrowed his brow, he had spent countless pearls like this to eat here, one pearl for a meal. It was the first time he heard that just one pearl could last him forever.

  "This deep-sea pearl is enough to buy dozens of such restaurants, how many meals can it eat?" The girl finished eating and put down her chopsticks, glanced at Li Mu, and went to the counter to pay.

  Li Mu took another look at the pearl in his hand, knowing that he had been taken advantage of all along. However, things had already come to this point, and he couldn't go back to asking the boss for it again. Glaring angrily at the boss with a sly expression, Li Mu suddenly thought of a permanent solution. Since this pearl could buy dozens of wine houses, he wasn't greedy, just one would be enough.

  When he came to the counter, Li Mu took out the pearl and shook it in front of the boss. The boss's eyes seemed to be about to pop out, staring at Li Mu's hand as it moved. Li Mu raised the corner of his mouth and smiled slightly: "Boss, how much do you think this pearl is worth?"

  The boss thought Li Mu was coming to settle the bill as usual, and suddenly didn't understand what he meant by asking this. After thinking for a moment, he stuttered: "This pearl is very valuable, very valuable."

  "You say, is this wine shop enough for you?" Li Mu leaned in closer, the smile on his face growing thicker.

  The hotel owner had accepted several pearls from Li Mu, and knowing he was in the wrong, felt a bit uneasy. Seeing Li Mu ask this way, he also felt a bit guilty, and hastily said: "Of course it's possible, of course it's possible. If the young master wants this wine tower, I am willing to give it up."

  "Alright, from today on, this tavern belongs to me. If you're willing, you can continue being the shopkeeper; if not, help me find one. Here, take this." Li Mu tossed out the last pearl and went after the girl. The boss hurriedly used both hands to catch it.

  The girl was just about to leave the city when she saw Li Mu following her and asked: "What are you following me for?"

  "I've come to thank you, you've helped me out so much," said Li Muxi. With a wine house at home, they wouldn't have to worry about food and drink from now on.

  "My name is Li Mu, how about making friends?"

  The girl looked at Li Mu, hesitated for a moment, and said faintly: "Bai Huang."