After several jars of fine wine went down her belly, the woman finally let out a loud burp, a look of deep satisfaction on her face. She wiped the wine from the corner of her lips, stood up, and let out a long breath. "Finally feeling alive again."
The haggared look on her face had been swept clean, replaced by a rosy glow.
There were still two jars left that she didn't drink, instead carefully storing them in her space ring. She looked up and said, "Dajun, did you come to rescue me?"
Nanmen Dajun gave a cold smile. "What do you think?"
"So when are we getting married?" the woman pressed.
"Get lost!"
The woman pouted, muttering something under her breath—judging by her lip movements, she was probably cursing. In the next instant, she looked over at Yang Kai and asked Nanmen Dajun with a grin, "Who's this young fellow? Nice build. Got money? Got wine?"
"Mind your manners!" Nanmen Dajun snorted coldly. "This is the Palace Master of our Ling Xiao Palace. You foolish woman, come pay your respects at once."
"Ling Xiao Palace?" The woman tilted her head in thought, then giggled. "Never heard of it. Where'd that come from?"
Nanmen Dajun said solemnly, "Whether you've heard of it or not isn't important. What matters is that I am now the Chief Formation Master of Ling Xiao Palace!"
The woman's cheeky grin froze on her face. She stared at Nanmen Dajun in shock, then glanced at Yang Kai, before finally stepping forward and reaching out to feel the top of Nanmen Dajun's head.
"What are you doing!" Nanmen Dajun took a wary step back.
"Are you sick?" the woman asked curiously.
"You're the sick one!" Nanmen Dajun snapped. "Your whole family is sick!"
The woman giggled, her slender figure spinning as she drifted down to land on the luminous stone, looking down from her perch. "If you're not sick, then why did you join a Sect? I remember you used to scoff at all those Sects, big and small."
"Since I've joined Ling Xiao Palace, I naturally have my reasons," Nanmen Dajun replied after a brief pause.
The woman's expression turned serious in an instant. She and Nanmen Dajun had known each other for many years—they had met when both were still weak, trained together on numerous occasions, and grown step by step to where they were today. They knew each other inside and out.
She knew perfectly well what Nanmen Dajun's attitude toward those Sects' recruitment efforts was. If he had wanted to join any Sect, practically every Sect in the Star Boundary—Great Emperor Sects included—would have been at his disposal. But in reality, the last time she'd seen Nanmen Dajun, he had still been a loner. And now she was hearing that he had actually joined a Sect called Ling Xiao Palace.
She was absolutely astonished.
The Palace Master of Ling Xiao Palace? He was only a first-stage Emperor Realm cultivator. How powerful could a Sect he founded possibly be? And what could it possibly offer that would attract someone like Nanmen Dajun?
The woman tilted her head, scrutinizing Yang Kai intently, as if trying to see something extraordinary about him. Yang Kai gazed back at her with a pleasant smile, though inwardly he was full of misgivings. He was starting to think it might be best to just turn around and leave. Even if he managed to recruit this unreliable Emperor Artifact Master into Ling Xiao Palace, it probably wouldn't be a good thing.
After a good while, the woman suddenly slammed her fist into her palm with a look of sudden realization, staring at Nanmen Dajun in surprise. "Dajun, we've known each other for so many years, and today I finally learned that you don't like women! No wonder you've always refused to marry me."
"You—you—you—" Nanmen Dajun's face went purple with rage. Pointing a trembling finger at the woman, he stammered, "Stupid woman!"
He turned to look at Yang Kai, whose face had gone ashen, and quickly said, "Palace Master, this woman is crazy. Just ignore her!"
"Who are you calling crazy?" The woman glared.
Yang Kai took a step forward and said coolly, "I heard from Dajun that you are a top-tier Emperor Artifact Master. I came here with great sincerity and high expectations, but looking at you now... tsk tsk..."
"What's with the 'tsk tsk'?" The woman was instantly displeased. She darted up to Yang Kai, her almond eyes wide with fury. She grabbed the collar of his robe and angrily demanded, "You'd better explain yourself, or else you'll regret it."
"Let go!" Nanmen Dajun was startled and quickly shouted. He wasn't worried about Yang Kai—he was worried that if Yang Kai got angry, the woman would be the one to suffer for it. Even though they were both first-stage Emperor Realm, and the woman was no weakling, she was no match for Yang Kai.
But Yang Kai raised his hand to stop him, looking at the woman with undisguised contempt. He sneered, "If you're a master, you should at least carry yourself like one. From what I can see, you don't have a single shred of a master's bearing about you—you look more like some common street woman. To be honest, I'm very disappointed."
The woman let go of his collar and scoffed, "What a joke. Do you think a so-called master has to be all prim and proper? This is how I was born."
Yang Kai chuckled lightly. "So you consider yourself a master, then?"
The woman snorted coldly. "I won't speak for anything else, but in the art of artifact refining, there is no one under heaven who surpasses me."
"That's quite the bold claim. Be careful you don't sprain your tongue."
The woman let out a sly laugh, her confidence plain to see. "Anyone can talk big. The real question is how you perform when it actually counts."