Chapter 791 25: Luo Xiaohong
The next day.
West Imperial City.
Various taverns and shops lined up one after another, bustling with people from all over the world, some seeking fortunes, others pursuing the path to greatness.
Among them was a young girl, with an innocent and curious expression, looking around in amazement.
"So lively!"
Having grown up on Immortal Flying Peak, she would occasionally go down to Jianxian City to play, thinking it was already quite prosperous.
But compared to West Imperial City, it was nothing.
The largest tavern in Jianxian City would only be considered ordinary in West Imperial City.
Luo Xiaohong followed the crowd down the street, feeling overwhelmed by all the new sights.
At this moment, a waft of fragrance came from the street side, and she quickly followed the scent to find an old woman selling cakes.
The stall wasn't big, but every cake was freshly baked, with slices of braised meat, vegetables, and green onions wrapped inside, drizzled with sauce.
Then wrapped tightly, the aroma could be smelled from afar.
A crowd was gathered around the stall, eagerly paying for their cakes.
"Smells so good! You can't find something this fragrant in Jianxian City!"
Luo Xiaohong watched with wide eyes.
Her cultivation had long surpassed the need for food, but she had been eating all along the way.
Because she loved to eat.
However, her cooking skills were terrible, and the fresh meat of high-grade demonic beasts from Northern Wilderness often ended up spoiled in her hands.
So, throughout her journey, Luo Xiaohong hadn't had anything decent to eat.
Now, seeing these fragrant meat cakes, her mouth watered.
She stood by the stall, waiting for the crowd to buy and leave, then stepped forward to the old woman and said:
"I want ten!"
The old woman replied, "Alright, young girl, one spirit coin each."
"Spirit coin?"
Luo Xiaohong was puzzled; she had never paid for food in Jianxian City, so she had no idea what a spirit coin was.
The old woman looked at her, seeing the innocent and charming face of the young girl, smiled and asked:
"Young girl, you don't have spirit coins?"
Luo Xiaohong nodded.
The old woman asked again, "Do you want to eat them very much?"
Luo Xiaohong nodded again, "I didn't eat anything yesterday."
It wasn't that she had nothing to eat, but the meat from the demonic beasts she roasted was really hard to swallow.
The old woman inquired, "Young girl, you're not from West Imperial City, are you? Where are you from?"
Luo Xiaohong replied, "Immortal Flying Pavilion."
The old woman was taken aback, then shook her head with a smile, clearly thinking it was just a child's playful nonsense.
Luo Xiaohong bent down, staring at the meat cakes with eyes full of longing.
The old woman smiled again, her face full of kindness, wrapping two cakes for her:
"Take them and eat."
Luo Xiaohong said, "I want ten."
Someone nearby scoffed, "Where did this little beggar come from? Giving you two is already good enough; go beg for a pair of shoes!"
The surrounding people laughed together.
Luo Xiaohong had traveled all the way from Northern Wilderness and purposely sought out demonic beasts to fight, so her colorful clothes were dirty.
She never wore shoes and was barefoot, her feet covered in dirt, truly looking a bit like a beggar.
Luo Xiaohong looked around in confusion at the crowd laughing at her:
"What are you laughing at?"
At this moment, a corpulent middle-aged man stepped forward, scanning Luo Xiaohong up and down, chuckled and said:
"Young girl, I'll buy you ten cakes if you come with me, how about it?"
"Will there be good food if I go with you?" Luo Xiaohong asked.
The middle-aged man laughed heartily, "Of course, I guarantee you can eat delicacies from the mountains and seas every day."
Luo Xiaohong thought for a moment and said, "I still need to find Si Minglan; I can only eat at your place for one meal."
"You're looking for the Imperial Tutor?" The people around her looked at her as if she were foolish.
"Alright, whatever you want!"
That middle-aged man also thought this girl had mental issues, easy to deceive, and laughed as he moved forward to put his arm around Luo Xiaohong's shoulder.
Once she was in his mansion, this pretty girl wouldn't come out again.
"Young girl, take the cakes, no need to pay spirit coins, just leave quickly."
At this time, the old woman stuffed eight cakes into Luo Xiaohong's hands, motioning her to leave quickly.
Luo Xiaohong made a sound of acknowledgment, took the cakes, and turned to leave, biting into the meat cakes.
"Mmm, they're really tasty!"
The middle-aged man watched his prey leave, glaring angrily at the old woman:
"Old thing, how dare you ruin my plans! I'll make you pay!"
Luo Xiaohong wandered through a couple of streets and soon finished the ten meat cakes.
Finding them delicious, she turned back to find the old woman for another ten.
But despite searching for a long time, she couldn't find the stall.
Luo Xiaohong scratched her head, "Lost again."
She had a poor sense of direction, which is why, despite being able to travel hundreds of miles in one step, it took her over ten days to reach West Imperial City.
Luo Xiaohong wandered for quite a while, finally finding the stall, but the old woman was no longer there.
At this moment, she heard something and walked into an alley nearby, where she saw the old woman lying on the ground, being kicked by the same middle-aged man who had offered to buy her ten cakes.
"Ruin my plans, old thing!"
The middle-aged man kicked several times, venting his anger before leaving through the other end of the alley.
The old woman struggled to get up from the ground, her face covered in blood.
Then a seven or eight-year-old girl ran over, crying, "Grandma, Grandma, what happened to you?"
The old woman raised her hand to smooth her disheveled white hair and smiled kindly at her granddaughter:
"Grandma is okay, dear Lin'Er, let's pack up the stall and go home."
"I'll help Grandma."
The little girl, tears still on her face, assisted the old woman out of the alley but saw Luo Xiaohong standing at the alley entrance, and the old woman quickly said:
"Young girl, why did you come back? Leave quickly, if Landlord Zhang sees you, you won't escape!"
Luo Xiaohong said, "I still want ten cakes."
The old woman paused, seeing the girl's lively eyes and delicate features. Though her clothes were somewhat dirty, she exuded a sense of spirituality.
Yet, what she said made her seem like a naive child, and the old woman sighed and said, "Wait here."
She forced herself to walk to the stall, freshly baked ten meat cakes, and handed them to Luo Xiaohong:
"Don't come again in the future."
Luo Xiaohong took them and turned to leave, leaving the old woman astonished since she thought the young girl, no matter how ignorant, should have said thank you.
Especially since she had not only given her cakes but had saved her too.
But the young girl just took the cakes and left, seemingly without a trace of gratitude.
The old woman's little granddaughter curiously asked, "Grandma, who was she? She's so pretty but so rude."
Just then, Luo Xiaohong suddenly stopped, turned back to the old woman, and asked:
"Do you know how to get to the Western Emperor Palace?"
The old woman paused, then nodded.
Luo Xiaohong said, "Take me there."
The old woman was puzzled, "Young girl, what are you going to the Western Emperor Palace for?"
Luo Xiaohong said, "To find Si Minglan, she killed my senior sister."