Douluo Continent: A Thousand Miles of Cultivation

"Ah! Sister-in-law! It really is sister-in-law!"

When Qian Shui saw who it was, his eyes went dead.

Seeing the person who had been kicked away, Huan Hongchen blurted out instinctively, "Second Prince?"

Besides Xue Luochuan, Xue Haicangyu Tianheng and Oscar were also standing to the side, preparing to go upstairs.

Chapter 325 Qian Shui's Unlucky Year

As we all know, Princess Ning Huahua is a female alias of Qian Shuikai, which is somewhat related to Qian Renxue's male alias.

After all, it's easier for men and women to work together, and it's perfectly reasonable for a woman to be your other half.

As a free-spirited yet stubborn person, Qian Shui always finds a suitable reason to comfort herself, using pleasant words to hypnotize herself.

But if a dead woman suddenly appears and is seen by someone who shouldn't see her, it's hard for Qian Shui to explain herself. To put it bluntly, he's ruined the CPU and doesn't know how to fix it.

"Five years have passed, and we've been separated by life and death. Sister Hua, are you really still alive?" Oscar's face was overflowing with happiness when he saw Ning Huahua again.

But this really blew someone away.

Oscar is probably the hardest hurdle for Qian Shui to overcome in her life. If he were a woman, she could get by, but being liked by a man almost made Qian Shui depressed.

Xue Haicang first bowed to Qian Shui, then stared intently at Huan Hongchen, "Sect Master Hongchen, I've finally found you."

Only Yu Tianheng was at a loss. The relationships involved were too complicated, and he felt his rationality was disappearing.

Knowing they were all important people, Si Long found them a VIP room and then left, saying he needed to prepare for the auction.

After exchanging pleasantries, Qian Shui finally understood that this was all Huan Hongchen's doing. Instead of staying in the military camp, he had gone to find Qian Shui.

As a result, she didn't go home all day, and now that it's evening, I'm definitely going to look for her.

Being so close to Gengxin City, is there even a question? Anyone who knows her knows she must have gone shopping again.

Although that was not the case, by a twist of fate, they actually found it, but it happened after the waters had changed.

Xue Luochuan, whose face was still marked with a footprint from the kick, was also very concerned about one thing: "Sister-in-law, where is my brother?"

As a result, Qian Shui's depression relapsed, and her lifeless eyes became even more lifeless, leaving Huan Hongchen alone, struggling to suppress her laughter.

Just as Qian Shui was at a loss for words, a burst of wild laughter accompanied a spherical figure that pushed open the door and entered, "Hahaha! Master of the Red Dust Hall, long time no see!"

The man rushed in and grabbed Huan Hongchen's hand tightly, shaking it wildly.

The person who opened the door was a short, stout old man. He was rather short, but his waist was unusually thick. He had protruding ears, small eyes, and a head of messy short hair that looked like it hadn't been washed in days. He was wearing a loose robe, and his chubby face was covered with some metallic powder-like substance.

"Lou Gao! You old geezer, are you out of your mind?!" Huan Hongchen, who was trying to suppress his laughter, was also in big trouble.

As the saying goes, most people are attracted to appearances, and even if they aren't, they're unlikely to be bothered by an old man like that.

Besides, Huan Hongchen has a powerful and handsome boss, making her a true winner in life. She's hoping to risk her reputation and have something happen, like an old cow eating young grass.

Well, at least it settles her bill of over 100 million, otherwise what if people misunderstand?

Taking this opportunity, Qian Shui, regaining his senses, also thought about a solution. He could try to achieve a miracle by erasing his memories, but that would be pointless and troublesome, which didn't suit his personality.

The second option is to take the opportunity to run away and stop serving him, but there's no guarantee that Huan Hongchen won't slap him and expose him completely, and then he'll squander the money.

The problem was that Oscar and Xue Luochuan's eyes never left him, which made him very embarrassed.

"Wow! Wow! The craftsmanship of this armor! Look at it! Hey! This is amazing!" But the old man on the high floor completely ignored the atmosphere and kept staring at the gauntlets on Huan Hongchen's hand, his eyes looking as if he had seen his dream lover.

Anyone who didn't know better would think the old man was harassing her. Embarrassed, Huan Hongchen kicked him away, yelling, "Get out of here!"

Lou Gao, who had been kicked, landed heavily on the ground, but strangely, instead of getting up, he patted his round belly, seemingly still savoring the feeling, and exclaimed, "This texture! Absolutely perfect!"

Standing up, Lou Gao didn't mind at all, and his face was full of flattery. "Master Hongchen, you can't blame me for this. I've been worried sick about your forging method for the past few years. You're also elusive. Now that you've finally reappeared in Gengxin City, you should at least give this old man a heads-up, right?"

After all that antics, everyone's attention turned to Lou Gao, which gave Qian Shui a moment to think. He simply transformed back into his true form, realizing that telling the truth was more in line with his rationality.

But for some reason, Huan Hongchen, who was terrified, saw Qian Shui turn back and became anxious, pointing at him sideways, "You find him!"

Following Huan Hongchen's direction, everyone's gaze turned to Qian Shui.

"The... the banished immortal? Where is my sister-in-law?" Xue Luochuan blurted out.

Lou Gao didn't share their complicated thoughts. He glanced at Qian Shui from head to toe, and then blurted out, "What Your Excellency? Master of the Red Dust Hall? You're not kidding me, are you? How old is this pretty boy? Could he possibly know anything about forging?"

Those who recognized Qian Shui gasped in surprise. They seemed to have just met Lou Gao, and like him, they scanned the strange old man.

Lou Gao felt uncomfortable being stared at, but he remained unfazed and said, "What's wrong? Do you think I'm wrong? Those skinny arms and legs, you can tell you're weak!"

The person involved didn't feel anything was wrong; on the contrary, they felt a sense of relief. They were afraid of comparisons, and this was much more comfortable than being watched by Oscar and Xue Luochuan.

"No, Lou Gao, are all blacksmiths this brave?" The last one was Si Long, and now it's his teacher's turn. Huan Hongchen was speechless.

"What? Master Hongchen, is he very powerful?" Lou Gao asked, seemingly realizing something was amiss.

"You're amazing! If you can beat him, I'll spend the rest of my life teaching you how to do it!" Huan Hongchen thought she could use this opportunity to intimidate Qian Shui, and judging from her expression, Qian Shui seemed quite willing.

"Alright! You said it yourself!" Lou Gao seemed extremely confident. "Kid, tell me, how do you want to fight? I won't take advantage of you!"

Qian Shui, finding the experience extremely novel, didn't mind at all. He also put it on, taking out a pair of gauntlets from his spatial soul tool, clearly for use when wielding a sword, and casually put them on.

"My swordsmanship is not bad; I'd like to ask Senior Lou Gao for guidance!"

But at this moment, Lou Gao's eager gaze turned cold as he stared intently at Qian Shui's gauntlet, then coldly said, "Fine, see you on the Soul Arena!"

With that, he turned and left, leaving behind an awkward atmosphere.

"You've mistaken me for someone else. I'm quite tall and not a woman. I'm just trying to avoid trouble," Qian Shui explained.

He didn't do any elaborate disguise; he just changed his appearance. To put it bluntly, he added a feminine filter to himself, but his height and other details remained the same.

Then, amidst the puzzled and shocked looks of the crowd, he pointed to his pectoral muscles and said, "Don't believe me? Feel it."

Touch? That's impossible. They're not Lou Gao, and the person in front of them isn't Ning Huahua, who is also an invincible Title Douluo.

Huan Hongchen was indeed tempted, but with so many people around, she couldn't easily make a move. She simply asked, "Are you really going to fight?"

To this, Qian Shui simply shrugged. "I've already agreed. I won't lose, so you won't have to spend the rest of your life with an old man."

After saying that, he left the VIP room.

"No! You have to win!" Normally, this would be a joke.

But today is very unusual; Huan Hongchen is really afraid that Qianshui will sell her.

After all, the dignity of the strong doesn't exist in Qian Shui's world. He wouldn't care if word got out that the Immortal Douluo was defeated by an old Soul Saint. Anyway, he has plenty of problems to deal with, and he'd probably rather see Huan Hongchen make a fool of himself.

Staring at the door to the VIP room, Xue Luochuan was still incredulous. "What... what's going on? The immortal lord is dressed up as the eldest sister-in-law? Is this funny?"

"Let's go take a look!" Oscar was the first to follow.

Subjective consciousness is a strange thing. If you don't connect Ning Huahua and Qian Shui together, you really won't connect them. But some people just do it anyway.

Oscar, confident in his understanding of Ning Huahua, admitted that he had carefully observed her demeanor. He hadn't initially noticed the height issue because he couldn't discern anything amiss in Ning Huahua's expression.

What's even more interesting is that Oscar noticed a problem that was originally inconspicuous—Ning Huahua and Qian Shui, apart from being the wrong genders, looked too alike, both having a face similar to Ning Rongrong's!

So much so that his face didn't change much when he was pretending.

...

The Great Soul Arena in Gengxin City is only at the level of an ordinary main city, and it is relatively old.

Because of the war, this place has been a lawless area for many years, a melting pot of all sorts of people. Lou Gao, being of advanced age, is a shrewd person. In order to prevent Huan Hongchen from returning, he even found a notary.

The news spread like wildfire, and the news that the master craftsman Lou Gao was going to have a soul battle with someone caused an uproar.

You can't even see him normally, but as soon as he appears, he's going to fight, and the auction was so bad that everyone ran away and had to be suspended.

In the VIP section of the Grand Arena, Huan Hongchen sat with her colleagues, her face full of helplessness. As the boss, in order to avoid getting herself into trouble, she chose another way to avoid it, just to screw herself over.

To be honest, she was really nervous, her eyes glued to Qian Shui, who was yawning boredly in the audience.

Just as everyone was lost in their own thoughts, a slightly sarcastic voice came over, seemingly in a hurry, "Second Prince, Third Prince, why didn't you send someone to inform me of your arrival in Gengxin City?"

Everyone turned around and saw seven or eight people dressed as deacons of the Spirit Hall walking over. The leader had gray hair, a hooked nose, small eyes, a big mouth, and skin as ugly as dried orange peel. However, his eyes revealed a slightly ingratiating expression.

"Miles?" Xue Haizang recognized the man. "Is His Excellency the Bishop also interested in this battle of spirits?"

Turning their heads, everyone recognized the man: it was Miles, the bishop of the Spirit Hall in the no-man's-land. He had connections with several parties and was a figure who operated in both the legitimate and criminal worlds.

Whether it's arms smuggling or intelligence trafficking, as long as it's profitable, he can basically do it all, given his backing in Gengxin City.

He first nodded to Xue Haizang, and then Miles swept past a group of men.

The seemingly powerful Spirit Hall bishop immediately turned his attention to Huan Hongchen, his gaze softening considerably as he hurried towards her. "Oh! Is this Hall Master Hongchen? It's been so many years!"

This is great! Qian Shui, who was sitting in the audience, also became interested. Women can sometimes really get into a lot of interesting things, as long as it doesn't happen to them.

In terms of status, Xue Luochuan and Xue Haicang are clearly more noble, so Miles' attitude can almost be described as an insult.

Before Miles could even get close to Huan Hongchen, he was blocked by Xue Haizang. "Bishop Miles, what's going on?"

Seemingly displeased by Xue Haicang, Miles's face darkened slightly, and he laughed, "I heard that President Lou Gao is going to fight someone, and it's all for the sake of Hall Master Hongchen. I have to come and see this spectacle. If the Blacksmith Association can be merged into our Spirit Hall, that would be a good thing, wouldn't it?"

"What do you say, Your Highness, Third Prince?"

To be honest, Xue Haicang hadn't thought that much about it at the time; he was simply shielding Huan Hongchen from harm.

After all, the big shot had already finished coding, and his attention was entirely focused on what Qian Shui was thinking; he really didn't pay attention to anything else.

But when Miles mentioned it, he narrowed his eyes, pointed at Qian Shui, and said with schadenfreude, "No, Miles, you really don't know that person?"

"My lord?" Following Xue Haizang's gaze, Miles looked at Qian Shui, only to meet Qian Shui's eyes.

"This pretty boy?" Miles asked incredulously.

Hearing Miles's words, Xue Haizang felt relieved and leisurely returned to his seat in the VIP section. Before Miles, however, was Qian Shui's meaningful smile.

"Boy, you really are from the Spirit Hall!" Lou Gao, standing on the Soul Battle Platform, looked extremely disdainful.

A bewildered Qian Shui turned around, pointing at himself in confusion, "How did you know?"

Had his identity been discovered? Even if he was exposed, why would this old man still want to fight? He's too brave; he should at least show some respect to his opponent.

"The character '巽' signifies the merit of sandalwood!" A flash of soul power appeared, and a long wooden sword materialized in Qian Shui's hand.

Then, he twirled his sword beautifully, slung it behind his back, and extended his left hand, gesturing for him to proceed.

"As expected, it's a sword. Otherwise, it wouldn't be using these handguards."

"Gauntlets?" Qian Shui's gauntlets were a gift from Qian Renxue, and they've been gathering dust for years. He's just showing them off.