Chapter 391: A Marriage Contract

Cang Li heard this, tilted their head to look at their junior sister, and noticed that the multicolored hairband was indeed very conspicuous.

Yuan Yao glanced up and met Cang Li's gaze; the two silently headed into Crimson Cloud City.

The You Clan and others saw the two fleeing as if escaping, and for a moment they were unable to react.

And Jiang Xiao's eyes flickered with a hint of teasing.

Yuan Yao bore the Heavenly Pride Token.

"Go." Jiang Xiao stepped forward, and the You Clan young disciples closely followed.

Meanwhile, Yuan Yao and Cang Li burst into the bustling market, and Yuan Yao sent a mental message to Cang Li: "Third Senior Brother, let's go change our attire."

"Okay."

The two silently entered a clothing shop.

This clothing shop had many customers, so for a moment no one noticed their arrival. Yuan Yao and Cang Li each scattered, beginning to carefully pick outfits that suited them.

Yuan Yao's keen eyes quickly settled on a green dress embroidered with platinum silk thread.

She carried the dress into the changing room, swiftly took off her original clothes, and also undid that multicolored hairband.

Then she skillfully combed her hair with both hands; soon a delicate, cute butterfly double bun appeared, with two small, delicate braids naturally falling to her chest, adding a playful, lively air.

Finally, she took out a brand-new fox mask from her bosom and put it on her face.

After finishing all this, she walked out of the inner room and saw a maid waiting for her to come out.

The maid saw she seemed like a different person and was quite shocked.

Yuan Yao asked: "I'll take this outfit. How many spirit stones?"

The maid smiled and began to introduce: "Miss, this garment is made by our Crimson Cloud City's most famous embroiderer..."

Yuan Yao did not interrupt her introduction.

After listening, Yuan Yao asked again: "How many spirit stones for this outfit?"

The maid blinked slightly, then replied: "Three hundred fifty low-grade spirit stones."

Upon hearing that, Yuan Yao directly produced three hundred fifty low-grade spirit stones, handed them to the maid, and said with a smile: "Here."

Immediately after, Yuan Yao swiftly left the fitting room and exited the clothing shop.

"Why so slow?" said the youth guarding outside the clothing shop.

Following the sound, I saw the youth wearing a gold brocade robe, his waist bound with a dragon-embroidered gold belt, which gave him broader shoulders and a narrower waist; he wore a gold mask, arms crossed, looking extremely unruly, just like those spoiled scions of wealthy families.

Seeing his attire, Yuan Yao curiously circled him once, then said while doing so: "I need to fix my hair, so I naturally took a bit longer."

Cang Li raised a hand and asked, "How is it?"

Yuan Yao sincerely praised: "Not bad, Third Senior Brother."

Cang Li clutched his chest and sighed deeply: "This cost me a full three hundred low-grade spirit stones! My heart is bleeding!"

Yuan Yao: "……"

"Third Senior Brother, you must still have plenty of spirit stones, right?"

"None." Cang Li shook his head.

Yuan Yao raised her eyebrows, showing a look of "I don't believe it."

Cang Li reached out and patted her head: "Those spirit stones are to be saved for cultivation and purchasing alchemy materials."

Yuan Yao: "Oh."

Cang Li looked at the sky and said: "The Heavenly Fire Secret Realm opens at noon the day after tomorrow; let's first find an inn to stay."

Yuan Yao nodded in agreement.

The two walked into the street and noticed that among the coming and going crowds, many were in uniformed groups; that is, they must have also rushed here upon hearing that the Heavenly Fire Secret Realm was about to appear.

Many people on the street were discussing heatedly.

"Do you know? Ao Jiayu has also come!"

"She dares to come; three years ago she was dissatisfied with the two families' marriage alliance, personally came to Crimson Cloud City and broke off the engagement with the Young Lord of Crimson Cloud City, Wenren Sangbai, causing the Young Lord to lose face! After that, the Young Lord left the Crimson Cloud Plains and hasn't returned for three years!"

"I heard the Young Lord of Crimson Cloud City returned two days ago!"

"Now there's a good show to watch!"

"What do you think, will Ao Jiayu and Wenren Sangbai come to blows when they meet?"

"Back then, Ao Jiayu came to break off the engagement; they did fight, but in the end the two families' elders forcibly pulled them apart."

"Weren't they childhood sweethearts? Why did it come to this?"

"An informed person couldn't help but say: 'Rumor has it the Young Lord of Crimson Cloud City transferred his affection elsewhere and even got a girl pregnant.'"

"Ah?!"

"Many people were greatly shocked."

"If that's the case, then it's actually the Young Lord of Crimson Cloud City who's wrong!"

Yuan Yao and Cang Li pretended to want to buy something, but actually stood aside and silently listened to the end of that story.

The two continued walking forward.

Yuan Yao let out a soft hum: "The Young Lord of Crimson Cloud City is nothing good!"

Cang Li also said: "He's definitely fickle and irresponsible."

"Right!" Yuan Yao agreed.

Cang Li tilted his head to stare at her, solemnly instructing: "Don't let anyone deceive you in the future. If any man tries to lay hands on you, don't hesitate—just beat him."

Having said that, he looked disdainful and said: "Such people are just big lechers! Pah!"

Yuan Yao tentatively asked: "What if someone wants to hold my hand?"

"No men!"

"What if I hug someone?"

"Why do you want to hug him?" Cang Li stared at her with a suspicious expression, his eyes examining her, and just as Yuan Yao thought he was about to guess, he said, "Yuan Yao, the person you mentioned couldn't possibly be me, could it?"

"I've held your hand before, and you want to hug me. Don't you think I'm a pervert?"

Yuan Yao quickly shook her head.

"Then that's good." Cang Li also let out a sigh of relief.

Yuan Yao asked curiously, "Third senior brother, have you ever liked a girl?"

Cang Li replied, "No. Why are you asking that?"

Yuan Yao didn't answer but asked back, "Third senior brother, if you liked a girl, how would you approach her? Would you want to hold her hand?"

Cang Li was silent for a moment.

He let out a deep sigh, "This question is still too profound for me. I can't answer it."

Yuan Yao: "……"

"Third senior brother, let's check if this inn has any rooms." Yuan Yao, to avoid his further questioning, quickly spoke, pointing at an inn not far away.

Hearing that, Cang Li looked up.

"Let's go see."

The two entered the inn and asked the innkeeper if there were any vacant rooms; the answer was: fully occupied.

They asked several other inns and received the same answer.

One innkeeper, helpless, said to them, "You've come too late; the rooms have been full for a while. In recent days, at least a thousand people have come to Red Mist City, so you probably can't book a room. If you don't mind, you can stay on the Red Mist Plain at night. Lately, many sword cultivators stay in Red Mist City during the day and go outside the city to stay at night."

"Sword cultivators?" Yuan Yao was a bit puzzled.

The innkeeper said, "Yes. Many sword cultivators arrived early, but they have no spiritual stones to pay for rooms, so they have to stay outside Red Mist City. They even call it 'cultivation.'"

Finally, the innkeeper looked at the two of them, "You're probably not sword cultivators, are you?"