"Checking out?"
"Mhm," Tao Bai replied.
"Young man, you've got some stamina!"
The middle-aged man at the front desk exclaimed as they processed the checkout.
"It's just that we had quite a few complaints from other guests.
They said they could understand it before midnight, but being woken up by that squeak-squeak noise at three or four in the morning was a bit unbearable.
Then they thought, 'Fine, I'll just sleep in,' but come 8:00 AM, the squeak-squeak started up again..."
"I ugh...I... practice sports."
Tao Bai said, handing the bearded man a cigarette as a small gesture of apology.
"Oh, so you're a sports student!
No wonder you can do so many push-ups in a row!"
The bearded man accepted the Zhenlong Shengshi cigarette, suddenly enlightened.
"Let's go..."
Gui Nianqiu's face was flushed bright red as she pulled on Tao Bai's hand, muttering under her breath.
Realizing his previous flight path had been slightly off, Tao Bai took out his N95 to navigate.
They stayed one night in a small county town called Rongjiang.
The next afternoon, they flew directly to Chongyi Cheng, where they kept watch through the night to ring in the New Year.
On the afternoon of New Year's Day, they flew straight to Shuangqing Cheng.
After spending half the day eating and strolling, they flew on his sword for another two hours the following afternoon before Tao Bai checked his phone's navigation again.
That was it.
This was Zhuling, Nancheng.
They had arrived.
He withdrew his defensive barrier.
The cold air, hovering just a degree or two above freezing, rushed toward them, though Tao Bai felt no chill at all.
Zhuling was located in the northeast of the Jialing District.
The mountain was covered in withered leaves and weeds;
The mass of vegetation displayed the colors of decay, with only the cypress trees remaining green.
At the summit stood a dilapidated Zhuling Temple dedicated to the Earth God, the paint on its doors peeling away.
Beside it stood a merit monument engraved with a long list of names, though the writing had become blurred and illegible.
From the mountaintop, one could see the residential area of Jialing, mostly consisting of tiled houses, with traces of snow still visible on the roofs.
Walking down the damp dirt road, they spotted sporadic vegetable patches on the hillside.
A thin layer of frost coated some of the leaves.
It was surprising to find people farming in a place like this; it was quite interesting.
Zhuling only had an elevation of three hundred meters, so they reached the foot of the mountain in ten minutes.
They hailed an Alto taxi, intending to find a high-end hotel to settle in.
Seeing that the two spoke with foreign accents and demanded a high-end hotel but couldn't name a specific one, the driver took a winding route and drove them to the grounds of an abandoned factory.
"We're here. Get the hell out of the car, as laozi said!"（到了,给老子下车!）
Note: When someone refers to themselves as Laozi（老子）in spoken HuaXianese, it usually carries an air of superiority.
They either think they are better or more senior than the other person, or they want to gain the upper hand in terms of momentunm, which sounds a bit of boastful or provocative.
The driver opened the passenger door and shouted at Tao Bai in a thick Nancheng accent.
"Laozi?"
Tao Bai murmured softly.
He slowly unbuckled his seatbelt, wondering if he had misheard.
"Grandson, where have you driven your grandpa to?"
Tao Bai asked the fierce-looking driver.
The driver, whose face was covered in flesh, grinned upon hearing this, revealing a gold-capped tooth in a sinister smile.
Suddenly, his smile froze.
Before Tao Bai could even step out, a massive fist came flying toward his face.
*Smack!*
Just as the rear-hand straight punch was about to hit his right cheek, Tao Bai's right hand moved with lightning speed, grabbing the man's wrist and pushing it forward.
The driver looked at Tao Bai in shock.
He tried to pull his hand back, but it felt as if it were clamped in a vice.
"Can't you just drive properly?"
Tao Bai gripped his hand, speaking with some irritation.
"Grandson, if you wanted money, you should have just said so. Your grandpa never said he wouldn't give it to you."
Seeing their luxurious clothes and extraordinary temperament, the driver had originally calculated that he could rob them, kill them, and finally have his way with the girl.
Now that his intentions were exposed and he couldn't pull his hand back, his face turned beet red.
The situation was a little awkward.
Deciding to go for broke, he threw a jab with his free hand, aiming for Tao Bai's face.
Tao Bai loosened his right hand slightly, lifted his right leg, and delivered a side kick.
It struck the burly driver in the lower abdomen, sending him stumbling back a few steps.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
He coughed violently.
Tao Bai got out of the car to engage him in hand-to-hand combat, intending to test the results of his recent body tempering.
After a few dozen rounds, he achieved complete suppression in both speed and power.
Tao Bai was quite satisfied.
He parried a few moves, and finally, planted a kick squarely on the man's chest, sending him staggering back until he fell onto his backside.
At this point, Gui Nianqiu had also gotten out of the car and was watching coldly from beside the door.
The driver shook his head violently, feeling a tightness in his chest.
Damn it, I misjudged him!
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and grabbed a piece of broken brick nearby.
There was no fear in his eyes, only a ruthless gleam.
"I've taken a fancy to your money, and that girl next to you.
Once I knock you over, she belongs to me."
He pointed at Gui Nianqiu as he spoke, letting out two creepy laughs.
"Heh, not only do you want to rob me, but you also want to rob BenZuo's cultivation vessel, and even take BenZuo's life."
The smile on Tao Bai's face instantly turned cold," Have you really considered the consequences?"
With that, Tao Bai suddenly flung out five Xuan Ice Arrows.
They struck different parts of the driver's body:
One to the forehead, one to the throat, one to the solar plexus, and one to the lower abdomen.
Oh, there was one arrow that missed its mark—
It hit his heart.
The driver died mid-charge, falling straight forward, face down to the ground, five steps away from Tao Bai.
Even in death, he couldn't figure out what martial arts the opponent had used.
"No need to admire me that much."
Note: The original meaning of "throw oneself on the ground to worship" (the literal translation of 五体投地) comes from Buddhist rituals, referring to a kowtow posture where one kneels down with both knees and elbows touching the ground, and the forehead also prostrating to the earth.
Here Tao Bai responds to the drivers'death(threw himself on the ground).
As he spoke, Tao Bai threw out a ball of Red Flame, incinerating the body.
He collected the soul into the Blood-Link Mill and the malevolent energy into the Qiankun Gourd.
Walking to the intersection, the two hailed another car and successfully arrived at the Wantai Hotel.
…
The following afternoon, in front of a specialty clothing store, Tao Bai was bored, playing Snake on his phone.
A voluptuous, sweet-looking beauty walked toward him.
"Handsome, you don't look like a local, do ya?"
She wore mid-calf boots, fleece-lined leggings, a knitted dress, a wool coat draped over her shoulders, and a scarf wrapped around her neck.
Tao Bai's phone vibrated: the snake had bitten its own body.
He put away his phone, looked up at the beauty, and said indifferently in a mock accent,
"How did yew know I wasn't local?"（你系肿么鸡豆的呢?）
The beauty laughed at his accent.
"Locals squat when playin' on their phones, like this, see?"
She squatted down as she spoke, took out her phone, and demonstrated for Tao Bai right there.
"Handsome, are you from Gui province? Just here for fun?"
Tao Bai looked down at her, feeling a bit rude standing, so he squatted down as well.
"Yeah, from Gui province.
Just here for fun.
Can I help you with something?"
"Add me on QQ.
We can go eat chuan-chuan skewers later.
Spicy and hot, it's awesome!"
She opened her QQ app as she spoke. "My number is..."
"Tao Gege! I bought you a cloak!"
Gui Nianqiu shouted as she came out of the clothing store carrying two bags.
She then looked at the two people squatting on the ground in confusion.
"What are you guys doing?"
Earlier, Gui Nianqiu had bought six sets of clothes in the store—
Two sets each of Shu brocade, Song brocade, and Yun brocade.
Seeing that the store also sold specialty dudou（肚兜）, underwear, and other unique items, she had sent Tao Bai away, telling him to wait outside.
She hadn't expected that in such a short time, Tao Bai would get picked up by a woman.
It was infuriating!
"Handsome, is this your sister?"
The beauty squatting on the ground looked back and saw Gui Nianqiu wearing a pale green ancient-style rupee skirt with a red cloak draped over her shoulders.