"That's not right. Last time I came to the forbidden area, weren't we standing in the passageway?" And he remembered that the passageway seemed to have collapsed back then.
A brief silence fell over the air before Han Tao spoke up: "This is a passage constructed by the dragon's breath. Wait a little longer, and we'll be able to get out soon."
Fu Mingxu knew nothing about the Dragon Clan's forbidden area and could only listen to what he was told.
What he didn't know was that when the passage swept the two of them in, Han Tao naturally needed to transform into his original form to ensure their safety. But now that they were already in the latter half of the passage, and having previously consumed dragon blood, he still had a trace of dragon flame in his dantian, so he would no longer be repelled by the dragon breath in the passage.
Han Tao smelled the faint herbal scent on his body and quietly felt the two of them embracing, only to feel that the passage was too short.
Fu Mingxu, unaware of his ulterior motives, still had time to ask, "How much longer until we can get out?"
"A quarter of an hour." Fearing that he would become suspicious, Han Tao did not dare to delay for too long, but his gaze remained fixed on those eyes and brows that were full of the spirit of mountains and rivers.
Fu Mingxu noticed his gaze, tilted his head slightly, and muttered, "Stop looking."
"If you look again, I'll give you a pill to calm your mind and sever your desires."
Sure enough, Han Tao stiffened and forced himself to look away.
Fu Mingxu lowered his head, suppressing a laugh, but he never managed to create any excessive intimacy between them.
Neither of them spoke for the next while, until the darkness gradually faded and light appeared ahead.
"Be careful of your eyes." Han Tao reached out to shield him from the sudden light.
Fu Mingxu blinked, his curled eyelashes brushing against the other person's palm a few times, causing a slight tingling sensation.
It wasn't until he smelled the scent of grass and trees and felt the warmth of the sunlight that he heard a deep voice in his ear.
"arrive."
A mountain breeze blew, and their hair became intertwined, making it impossible to tell them apart.
The obstruction in front of us was removed, and the sunlight filtered through the canopy of trees overhead, becoming a soft light.
As soon as Fu Mingxu opened his eyes, he was met with a pair of golden eyes.
Looking at the dragon with a smile on its lips, he almost forgot how indifferent and apathetic it had seemed when they first met.
"What's wrong?" Seeing him staring at him without saying a word, Han Tao's eyes showed concern. "Are your eyes bothering you?"
Fu Mingxu was momentarily flustered by his words, his cheeks flushed red, and he lowered his head and said in a muffled voice, "Put me down."
Now that we're out of the passage, there's no reason for them to keep carrying us.
Love is a simple matter, yet it is also complex. At least Han Tao cannot understand the reason for Fu Mingxu's emotional changes.
He grabbed the other man's chin, forcing him to look up at him, his gaze deep and sharp, as if trying to see into the depths of his heart through his eyes.
Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and Fu Mingxu's long neck was forced to rise, her delicate porcelain white hair disappearing into her clothes.
Han Tao examined his eyes carefully and only felt relieved after confirming that he was alright.
The two were so close that their breaths seemed to intertwine, and their unique posture made them look like lovers about to kiss.
Fu Mingxu's heart was pounding, like a rabbit eagerly trying to jump out of his arms.
"You..." Before he could finish speaking, his feet touched the ground, and he realized that Han Tao had put him down.
The two breaths separated instantly, as if Fu Mingxu had been pulled out of a bizarre dream.
"Let's go." Han Tao didn't offer any further explanation, but instead took his hand.
Fu Mingxu's mind was still hazy, and he let him pull him out of the back mountain of the city lord's mansion.
When the two returned to the city lord's mansion and saw Han Zhengzhi, whom they hadn't seen for a long time, he finally came to his senses.
Han Zhengzhi chuckled as he saw the two men's hands clasped together, and exclaimed loudly, "City Lord, you're back!"
Before Fu Mingxu could utter a single word, a priest in white robes appeared out of nowhere as if riding on wheels of fire, howling, "City Lord, you must do me justice! That scoundrel Han Zhengzhi has taken all the spirit stones from the treasury!"
He held up one finger and said sorrowfully, "They didn't even leave me a single piece!"
Han Zhengzhi seemed to have gotten used to his attitude and said helplessly, "I already told you, the city lord asked me to give him the spirit stones."
Fu Mingxu's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this, but then he heard the priest loudly retort, "You're lying! The city lord doesn't like spirit stones at all!"
Fu Mingxu nodded in agreement.
Watching this farce unfold, Han Tao chuckled to himself. He held Fu Mingxu's hand tightly and said in a deep voice, "I did take the spirit stone."
The priest's mouth gaped open; he never expected that what Han Zhengzhi said was actually true.
Everything in the City Lord's Mansion originally belonged to the City Lord, let alone a mere warehouse full of top-grade spirit stones.
The priest walked away dejectedly, thinking about how he would fall asleep without top-quality spirit stones to accompany him.
Fu Mingxu felt a pang of pity watching this, but remembering that he didn't have a single top-grade spirit stone, he sighed with empathy.
However, Han Tao, after experiencing the benefits of spirit stones in the market, ultimately did not put the remaining spirit stones in his storage bag back into the warehouse.
With numerous properties in the city lord's mansion, the warehouses will surely be filled with top-grade spirit stones soon.
Just as the two had taken their first steps, the priest returned and suddenly stopped in front of them, his red eyes gleaming.
Fu Mingxu had a bad feeling. Sure enough, he heard him stare at the two clasped hands for a moment, then pull out a huge, blank book and shove it into Han Tao's hand.
“I think this will be very useful to the city lord.” After saying that, he smiled and pulled Han Zhengzhi away.
Out of curiosity, Fu Mingxu only managed to catch a glimpse of a dragon's tail twisted like a pretzel on the book cover before the book disappeared, clearly taken by Han Tao.
"What kind of book is so thick?" He recalled the slightly yellowed cover, which looked like it had been passed down for a long time, and guessed, "Could it be some kind of extraordinary martial arts technique?"
Han Tao's fingers tightened, and if you looked closely, his expression was unusually different from usual. The tips of his ears, hidden in his black hair, were flushed a deep red.
He covered his lips with a fist, coughed lightly, and replied, "It's a cultivation technique."
It's just not the kind of technique Fu Mingxu thought it was.
Fu Mingxu had no interest in the dragon clan's techniques, so he simply said "Oh" and didn't ask any more questions.
...
They were away for too long, and when they returned, the collapsed folded space had been restored to its original state.
Willows sway gently in the breeze by the lake, and wild herbs and flowers are casually planted together, exuding a touch of natural, untamed beauty.
The clump of green bamboo in front of the small courtyard where he used to live was still lush and green. He pushed open the courtyard gate and entered the house. The alchemy room was still the same as when he left.
Strangely enough, after returning to the city lord's mansion, he relaxed completely, as if he had come home.
Since his father passed away, he hadn't known what home was for a long time.
The familiar scene made him feel at ease, giving him the feeling that it would be nice to stay here permanently.
But he dismissed it as a misconception about the desire for a stable life, shook his head, and stopped thinking about it.
He still has a lot to do. For example, now that the condition of the demonic seed in Han Tao's body has stabilized, he wants to find the location of Wuwang Island.
To be honest, he didn't really want to go back to the Fu family.
Whether it was because his thoughts were known to the heavens or not, after he returned to the city lord's mansion, Fu Shoude personally delivered a map to his door a short while later.
By the time Han Zhengzhi delivered the items, the other party had already left the city lord's mansion.
Fu Mingxu stared blankly at the map in his hand. Han Tao, standing beside him, frowned and then relaxed, asking, "You're not happy even though you got the map?"
“No, it must have been Fu Shanqing who sent him the message.” Fu Mingxu shook his head and explained, “I just didn’t expect that, after all the twists and turns, the news about my father would still be in the Fu family.”
He thought the feud with the Fu family was over on the day he married into the family to bring good luck, but he didn't expect there would still be some lingering connection in the end.
There's no point in overthinking it; at least for now, he can maintain his distance from the Fu family and live in peace.
After obtaining the map, Fu Mingxu examined it closely and realized why no one knew where Fu Yangxue was.
The only thing written on the top of the map is the word "Wu Wang" (meaning "nothingness"), which means that the lines of the route are very messy and no matter how hard he racks his brains, he cannot match any known route.
“There’s spiritual energy moving around on this, and various traces of fire and water damage.” Han Tao stood beside him, his gaze fixed on a certain spot on the map. “This isn’t a map.”
Not a map?
Fu Mingxu was startled and pointed to the various lines on it: "Aren't these routes?"
To everyone's surprise, Han Tao shook his head and said, "Look, although these lines are messy, each one has a beginning and an end, and they are all individual lines."
His finger landed on the lines on the side of the map, and he bent down to follow Fu Mingxu's gaze. "Try connecting all the starting and ending points of the lines."
Upon hearing this, Fu Mingxu looked closely and saw his eyelashes casting a beautiful shadow on his eyelids.
“It looks like…” He tried hard to recall the route he had taken, and a pattern slowly appeared in his mind, “like a totem.”
After saying that, he took out banknotes from his storage bag and squatted down to carefully trace them.
Han Tao didn't stop him, but instead helped him hold the "map".
When Han Zhengzhi delivered the flying artifact, he saw his city lord and his partner squatting on the ground, seemingly studying something. Their heads were close together, their long, dark hair intertwined, and their gold and blue hair ribbons were perfectly coordinated.
Is this a new way to show affection? Doing weird and wonderful things together?
Han Zhengzhi didn't understand, but he was deeply shocked.
"It really is!" Fu Mingxu carefully traced the outline, then stood up abruptly with the finished paper in hand.
Han Tao was afraid he would fall, so she put her arm around his waist.
This smooth and effortless performance brought tears to Han Zhengzhi's eyes.
Waaah, he wants a partner too.
After his initial excitement subsided, Fu Mingxu finally noticed Han Zhengzhi's presence and his eyes lit up when he saw the boat-shaped magical artifact in Han's hand: "A flying artifact?"
Han Zhengzhi nodded and explained, "This is a flying boat; its material is suitable for fusing with anything..."
Before he could speak, Han Tao interrupted, "Give it to me first."
He felt a moment of guilt when he met Fu Mingxu's bright black eyes, then glanced at Han Zhengzhi and said calmly, "I'll add some magic arrays for you first, and give them to you in a month."
Fu Mingxu had no doubts, only asked curiously, "Is this the fastest flying magic weapon on the Cangling Continent?"
Han Zhengzhi's gaze froze for a moment. Just as he was about to speak, he heard his city lord nod affirmatively: "Don't worry, it will be ready when you get it."
Although he found his wording a bit strange, Fu Mingxu's mind was completely focused on the totem. After saying "Oh," he went off to study it.
Once he entered the room, Han Zhengzhi couldn't help but ask, "City Lord, did you ask me to find this flying artifact so you could forge it yourself?"
"However, is it a bit of a stretch to say that it is the fastest flying magic weapon on the Cangling Continent?"
In fact, he wanted to say that the city lord was bragging, but he didn't dare to.