Chapter 409: A Glance Back and a Smile

The warm sunlight poured through the car window, gently illuminating Shui Miao’s face. In the distance, a series of low but undulating mountains slowly came into view. However, the landscape here was barren, appearing gray and pale from afar, with only rare patches of green to be seen.

“Big brother, why didn’t you set up the Three-Dragon Guardian Tomb in those earlier mountains, and instead chose to build it on the grasslands? Is it because these mountains are barren and lack vitality?” Shui Miao felt a bit awkward calling an old man “big brother,” but since their relationship was merely a pretense, he didn’t mind much.

“You’re still thinking about feng shui?” The old man was quite surprised. He himself had been preoccupied with thoughts of cultivating with beautiful women, yet Shui Miao, despite his youth, showed no interest in lust and instead focused entirely on feng shui knowledge. “Good, good! One must concentrate fully on a single task to succeed. Unlike me, who back then tried learning this and that, ending up with scattered skills. Now I regret it, but it’s too late; I’m already old and nearly toothless. You should study hard—you might even surpass my master someday.”

Pausing briefly, the old man continued, “The Three-Dragon Guardian Tomb should have been set up in the mountains, but I was afraid those people were watching me and threatening my life. I wanted to be able to escape quickly if anything happened, so I tricked them into thinking that place was a Dragon’s Breath Site. But to be fair, there really isn’t any good vein of energy within hundreds of miles around here. I only do this for money; I wouldn’t waste heavenly secrets for those bandits.”

“Are they bandits?” Shui Miao was curious to know exactly who these people were.

The old man nodded. “More or less. They’re hooligans from Outer Mongolia. If it weren’t for the money they paid me, I wouldn’t have bothered with them at all. Anyway, let’s not talk about them anymore. Let me tell you about those women from the Witch Sect.”

“Okay…”

Shui Miao noticed that the road ahead had turned entirely into a mountain path, leaving the grasslands behind. Continuing forward, they entered a mountain pass.

According to Baima’s memories, Shui Miao knew there was a mineral transfer station about ten miles ahead. Just beyond the checkpoint at the border was a small town called Tunyi. Though not large, the town had a relatively luxurious hotel, and the nightclub on its third floor was controlled by those dozen or so women from the Witch Sect.

“Now, when it comes to bedroom skills,” the old man stroked his beard, “that Japanese girl, Yamazumi Minako, is definitely the best. If you’re with her, don’t drag things out too long. And you must wear a condom; go fast, preferably ejaculate outside. If you don’t, she might drain your vital energy and even steal your soul. However, she doesn’t take just anyone. It’s been a while since we last met, so I think she should have recovered by now.”

Shui Miao furrowed his brows. “So she was injured by you, big brother?”

“Hehe, this story really was quite thrilling!” The old man sighed, lifting his right hand to show Shui Miao—his little finger was half gone. “See this? This is what happened after I fought with her for over an hour last time. She tried to drain my energy, so I pressed my finger against her forehead. That enraged her, and she bit off half of my little finger. But I didn’t lose out completely—I managed to absorb most of her cultivation power. I’d say I came out ahead.”

The old man laughed proudly.

Shui Miao looked at him in astonishment, finding it hard to believe that he would consider losing a finger for a bit of spiritual energy a worthwhile trade.

Clearly, the old man didn’t know the method of cultivating by absorbing the spiritual essence of the land’s veins.

“Big brother, I still don’t even know your surname,” Shui Miao said after learning about the old man’s encounter with Yamazumi Minako. He had completely lost interest in pursuing women. Thinking about how that poor girl had to sleep with so many men just to cultivate a little energy, only to gain little in return, and then having it stolen from her—it made him feel uneasy.

“My name isn’t important. Just call me big brother,” the old man waved his hand dismissively. “Little brother, I can’t help but feel you’re not really into dual cultivation. Could it be that you’re… not up to the task in that department at your young age?”

Shui Miao couldn’t help shaking his head. “Is it really necessary to get so excited about it?”

“Uh… hehe, I see…” The old man chuckled knowingly. “Don’t worry, little brother. Later, I’ll teach you a technique to strengthen your yang energy so you can easily satisfy nine women in one night.”

So the old man had decided that Shui Miao was impotent.

Shui Miao didn’t bother to argue. He simply smiled faintly and focused on driving.

Seeing that Shui Miao didn’t want to talk, the old man became even more convinced of his assumption. He shook his head again, then pulled a glass bottle from his bag and took out two dried, apricot-red little ginseng roots. He handed one to Shui Miao, explaining that it was called Xue Shen (Blood Ginseng), which could stimulate blood circulation, enhance vitality, and strengthen sexual energy. He popped one into his mouth and began chewing.

Shui Miao examined the small Blood Ginseng root, sniffed it, and detected a strong medicinal aroma. He placed it in his mouth like a cigarette and, with a thought, activated his spiritual energy, absorbing the medicinal essence into his body. Immediately, he felt a warm sensation spreading through his body, especially in his lower abdomen, making him feel very comfortable.

“Big brother, we’re approaching the transfer station. How do you plan to get through the border checkpoint?”

Although Shui Miao had gained Baima’s memories, Baima had crossed the border by climbing over the mountains at night. Shui Miao was curious how the old man intended to pass through the checkpoint.

“We’ll talk about it when we get there.”

The old man was too focused on absorbing the medicinal power of the Blood Ginseng to pay much attention to Shui Miao.

Shui Miao glanced at the old man, then tossed the now-drained Blood Ginseng out the window.

Before long, they arrived at the transfer station.

The old man was very familiar with the place. He told Shui Miao to wait in the car while he went to find an acquaintance at the station. About ten minutes later, a forklift came out of the station and placed a large gasoline drum at the back of Shui Miao’s pickup truck.

Then, the old man took Shui Miao to the cafeteria for a meal, where Shui Miao met the deputy station chief, Lao Qian. Lao Qian was very pleased to receive a bottle of Blood Ginseng from the old man. After the meal, he provided both Shui Miao and the old man with work uniforms from the transport team, allowing them to cross the border together with a mineral transport truck.

The border inspection was not strict at all, and the two passed through easily.

They rode the mineral truck north for about ten minutes before arriving at Tunyi Town.

The old man got off and immediately headed toward the Hui Chun Lou Hotel with Shui Miao following closely.

“Big brother, why are you in such a rush? Haven’t you been with a woman in a long time?”

Trying to keep up with the old man’s hurried pace, Shui Miao could barely catch him.

The old man quickly lowered his hat brim and stopped, whispering to Shui Miao, “Hey! It’s not that I’m impatient—it’s just that I’m too well known here. I’m afraid those bandits might recognize me. This time we’re taking a life-threatening risk, and I don’t want to cause any trouble or drag you into it.”

“Hehe, that’s easy. We can go separately.”

Shui Miao pointed toward a nearby store. “I want to go there and buy some little trinkets. I’ll come upstairs later.”

“Okay then, give me your phone number.” The old man pulled out an old-style mobile phone.

“Sure…”

After giving his number to the old man, Shui Miao headed toward the nearby small store.

The reason Shui Miao wanted to separate was that he had just extended his spiritual senses and detected a very pure current of spiritual energy near the store. Upon arriving, he bought a bottle of water for ten yuan and, while drinking it, began walking around the store. He soon noticed a well behind the store, from which the spiritual energy was emanating.

Unexpectedly, the underground energy veins here were so strong!

Closing his eyes, Shui Miao quietly sensed the energy for a moment and discovered that it was seeping from a crack in the rock more than thirty meters below. On the other side of the fissure, the spiritual energy was particularly abundant.

“Are you looking at that Beauty Well?”

Suddenly, a sweet voice reached Shui Miao’s ears.

He turned around and saw, standing at the back door of the store about ten meters away, a young beauty dressed entirely in white—white pants, white shirt, white sneakers, and a white cap. She looked to be about eighteen or nineteen, with fair, tender skin and an indescribable air of purity. Especially her smile—it could make one swoon with just a slight curve of her lips.

This was the most stunningly beautiful and innocent girl Shui Miao had ever seen.

He couldn’t help staring at her, thinking to himself that she must be a fairy descended from heaven.

“Hehe…”

Seeing Shui Miao staring at her, the girl blushed slightly, covered her mouth with a smile, and took a few steps toward him, extending her hand. “Hi, I’m Xiao Bai Ge (Little White Pigeon). It’s obvious you’re a first-timer here. Staring at someone like that doesn’t seem quite appropriate, does it?”

“Uh…”

Shui Miao snapped out of his trance and quickly reached out to shake her hand.

But the girl quickly withdrew her hand, smiling sweetly and playfully. “Your reaction was too slow. The time for shaking hands has passed, hehe…”

“Hehe, hello. I’m Shui Miao. Nice to meet you.”

Shui Miao smiled and shrugged slightly.

“Shui Miao… Hmm! What a fun name. Oh, you still haven’t answered my question. Were you looking at the Beauty Well just now?” The girl smiled and walked past Shui Miao, stopping beside the well.

Her slender figure and the faint, elegant fragrance of her body once again stirred something in Shui Miao’s heart.

“Yes, I don’t know why, but I feel a strange connection with this well,” Shui Miao said, following her to the well’s edge, greedily inhaling the fragrance of her body, feeling extremely comfortable.

Shui Miao had been surrounded by beautiful women before, but none like Xiao Bai Ge.

For some reason, from the moment he saw her, his heart had stirred.

Previously pure in heart, Shui Miao couldn’t help but have a few impure thoughts because of her fragrance.

“You sure know how to flatter. This is the Beauty Well, so instead of saying you’re connected to it, you might as well say you’re connected to beautiful women…” As Xiao Bai Ge was speaking, her phone suddenly rang. The ringtone was a Japanese love song. After answering the call, her expression slightly changed, and she quickly said to Shui Miao, “Sorry, I have something urgent. If you want to talk more, you can come find me at Hui Chun Lou…”

“Uh…”

At the mention of Hui Chun Lou, Shui Miao’s heart suddenly jolted. Could she be the leader of the Witch Sect, Yamazumi Minako?

Watching Xiao Bai Ge’s retreating figure, Shui Miao found it hard to believe that she was one of the women from Hui Chun Lou.

“…”

After walking about four or five meters away, Xiao Bai Ge suddenly stopped, turned around, and with a shy smile, softly said to Shui Miao, “I’ll wait for you,” before turning her head and running toward Hui Chun Lou with small, quick steps…