Chapter 38: Lin Mo's Collapse

Li Xuan, led by Zhao Xiaohu, began wandering around Salah City, from delicious food to fun attractions.

They kept wandering until late night, until the streets of Salah City were empty, and only then did the two return to the building‑materials shop.

As soon as they reached the shop's entrance, they saw Zhao Da'an sitting inside; it seemed Zhao Da'an had been waiting for Li Xuan and Zhao Xiaohu.

"Father!" Zhao Xiaohu quickly bowed to Zhao Da'an and said.

"Uncle Zhao." Li Xuan also nodded at Zhao Da'an.

"Young master, the books you requested have already been delivered by An Laotou; could you inventory them? The building materials are also nearly gathered, and you may issue the order to load the carts and depart at any time," Zhao Da'an reported to Li Xuan, pointing to a large pile of materials in the backyard and some miscellaneous books in a corner.

"Thanks for your effort, Uncle Zhao. I'll first examine these books; we should return to Flower Sea tomorrow or the day after, after all I'm still a person of Flower Sea and can't stay outside it long," Li Xuan smiled at Zhao Da'an, then went to the corner to start looking through that stack of books unsuitable for children.

Although some of the titles were rather indecent, Li Xuan was unaffected; he calmly seized the "Salah City Map" in his hand, and cautiously looked around, apparently no one else was present.

Then, Li Xuan held the Void Pearl in his left hand and the map in his right; with a thought, the map entered the Void Pearl.

After confirming the map had fully entered the Void Pearl, Li Xuan finally exhaled, relaxed completely, and plopped down onto the ground.

Normally, this stack of books would be examined meticulously before leaving Salah City and entering Flower Sea, so the book would certainly be discovered; but now that it's stored in the Void Pearl, it truly belongs to Li Xuan, and he is sure no one else is around.

Having restored the books, Li Xuan, Zhao Da'an, and Zhao Xiaohu took their leave and returned to the restaurant.

As for Zhao Xiaohu's payment, Li Xuan left ten Silver Soul Coins, which Zhao Xiaohu accepted contentedly.

Bathed in the bright moonlight, Li Xuan returned to the restaurant, stood at the security gate, and saw Lin Mo still snoring.

It seemed that in the nearly ten hours since Li Xuan left, Lin Mo hadn't sobered up; the void in his body made him unusually weak, and the alcohol pushed his body into a deep self‑healing sleep.

Looking at the sleeping Lin Mo, Li Xuan felt like kicking him, but he had to consider that someone might still be watching, so he couldn't show displeasure toward Lin Mo.

After a brief thought, Li Xuan decided to pull a money pouch from his chest, gave it a shake, sighed helplessly, and then placed the pouch beside Lin Mo.

The private room Lin Mo reserved has a space for diners to rest.

Li Xuan didn't think further, yawned, and lay on the bed to sleep.

After a whole day of wandering, Li Xuan was exhausted—after all, he was only a six‑year‑old child, and everything he needed to do was done—so he relaxed and soon fell into deep sleep.

…

Early the next morning, Li Xuan got up very early; having already toured Salah City, he had nothing else to do there, so he could only lie on the bed idly.

All the tasks for this outing were completed, and the map was an unexpected bonus; Li Xuan's stress was minimal, and he only needed to wait to return to Flower Sea to start tunneling and cultivating spirit plants.

"Ah!"

A panicked shout rang in from outside.

"Where are my Gold Soul Coins?! Where's my money?!" Lin Mo's voice was full of anger and panic.

Li Xuan didn't jump out of bed; he just sat up, laughed, and shook his head. This time Lin Mo really lost both his wife and his troops.

After a moment's thought, Li Xuan decided to go out and see Lin Mo's madness. "Li…" Lin Mo saw Li Xuan emerging from the private room, and his raging anger instantly found an outlet.

But the next second, Lin Mo suddenly recalled something, and the fierce expression vanished instantly.

Lin Mo lowered his head, took two deep breaths, and suppressed the fury within his body.

When Lin Mo lifted his head again, he wore a smile, but his flushed complexion showed he had just been very angry.

"Xuan Ge'er, stop messing around—did you take my Gold Soul Coins? Hand them over quickly," Lin Mo said, his tone suppressing urgency and anger while forcing a smile.

"Brother Lin Mo, when I saw you drunk yesterday, I went to Salah City myself to purchase supplies, spent some Gold Soul Coins, and the rest are here," Li Xuan pretended innocence, ruffled his hair, and gave Lin Mo a simple smile.

"All the money was yours to spend? And you went wandering in Salah City by yourself yesterday?" Lin Mo was stunned, wondering what he had done.

His original plan was to get the kid in front of him drunk and extract the information he wanted from the kid's mouth.

But he got drunk first! More importantly, it almost caused this kid to slip out of his control!

At this point Lin Mo could no longer worry about the Gold Soul Coins; cold sweat had soaked his clothes.

"It's okay… it's okay… Li Xuan didn't run away, he's back," Lin Mo took a deep breath, then patted his chest to relax quickly.

Losing a few Gold Soul Coins isn't a big issue, but if Li Xuan were lost, Ju Douluo would certainly kill Lin Mo; moreover, the Strange Fungus Sky‑Reaching Chrysanthemum Seed is still in Li Xuan's hand, and if that were lost, Ju Douluo could subject him to the most vicious punishments in Spirit City.

"Brother Lin Mo, you really like drinking; how about we buy some wine and take it back to Flower Sea for a leisurely drink sometime," Li Xuan said with a smile.

All of Lin Mo's expressions just now fell into Li Xuan's gaze without missing a single one.

Li Xuan forced himself not to laugh, after all his current persona is that of an innocent child who knows nothing.

Li Xuan guessed that Lin Mo was on the verge of collapse.

"No, no, drinking isn't allowed in Flower Sea; it could cause trouble. Let's pack up now and set off back to Flower Sea soon," Lin Mo said, a bit fearful, watching Li Xuan, afraid he might slip out of his sight again.

"Brother Lin Mo, we haven't bought anything yet, let's just go back to Flower Sea," Li Xuan scratched his head and asked Lin Mo.

Lin Mo then recalled that the Gold Soul Coins he carried weren't only his; they also belonged to the West District Flower Slaves. As a supervisor, he's allowed to purchase supplies in nearby towns and bring some back to the Flower Slaves in Flower Sea.

Lin Mo, to earn money, had taken many jobs, so now he was a bit flustered; he had to bring the purchased supplies back no matter what.

"Xuan Ge'er, stay in this room and don't go out. I'll go outside to buy supplies; once I'm done, we'll set off tomorrow morning back to Flower Sea," Lin Mo said firmly, looking at Li Xuan.

"Alright, Brother Lin Mo, don't worry, I won't move anything," Li Xuan said obediently.

Dear readers, I'm typing now, my eyes are double‑visioned, I'm so sleepy.

Wishing all readers daily happiness and bliss.

(End of Chapter)