Liu Yi was sincere. That was her thoughts. For Lu Li, she did not love him, nor did she despise him. She was just comfortable around him.Lu Li had done her great grace. The Liu Family could never pay back what Lu Li and his sister did. Maybe Patriarch Seven didn’t think much of it, but Liu Yi thought she owed Lu Li a lot.
Liu Yi said so herself, the day she became the Family Patriarch, she decided not to marry anyone her entire life. She had made a vow. She would spend her life developing the Liu Family, making the family stronger, revenging for Liu Rufeng and destroying the Yu Family.
She knew clearly the cruelty and dirtiness of the world!
She was the Family Patriarch of the Liu Family. She might need to sacrifice her body in the future for the sake of the Family. If so, she might as well give her first time to a man she kind of liked.
There was another significant factor. Liu Yi had been suffering and feeling tired, not only physically, but mentally as well. The grandpa she loved the most endearingly died. The glory of the Liu Family had become yesterday’s story. n.o.body was there to comfort her. She had to take all the suffering and hards.h.i.+p on her own.
She was only a year older than Lu Li. She was once a lady that was doted on by so many people, so her mental capacity was not strong. Now that she became the Family Patriarch, her pressure was even more intense. She needed a place to let go of all the difficulty and pressure. Otherwise, she would be driven crazy.
Therefore, this night, she had forsaken her sense of honor and demure quality and took the initiative to ask to stay in the same room with Lu Li. She also said those shameless words. She just wanted to let off her pressure completely and pay back Lu Li’s kindness to and make her life regretless.
However…
She couldn’t have it. She did not understand the true character of Lu Li.
Lu Ling loved reading since she was little. She learned many rules of being a person of integrity and of doing things. She had imparted all the wisdom to Lu Li.
One of the rules was that a man must be responsible and shoulder due obligations.
Like what Lu Ling said during the battle at the Di Long Tribe—for brothers and friends, you could offer help at the risk of your own life; for families and loved ones, you could give up anything.
But if Lu Li slept with Liu Yi, Liu Yi would become his girl, his lover. For his loved girl, he could relinquish everything. How could he not be responsible for her? How could he leave Liu Yi and the Liu Family unattended?
If he kept his entire mind on the Liu Family, how could he join a Fifth-rank Royal Family, find Lu Ling at the Cyan Plains, or go back to the Lu Family at the Central Plains to have his parents rescued?
Once a man had something to tie him down, to constrain him, he would exercise undue caution in doing his things. If an eagle was tied down by a rope, how would it fly up high?
Lu Li forced himself to calm down. Then he looked towards Liu Yi after a moment and apologetically said, "Sorry, Liu Yi. I still have something weighing my mind down! I understand your meaning. Thank you. Take a rest now. I will cultivate."
With that said, Lu Li closed his eyes and sat down with his legs crossed. He managed to concentrate in cultivation immediately. Looking at Lu Li’s sharp-featured face, Liu Yi shed some tears and the light in Liu Yi’s eyes dimmed down. She turned around and curled up, falling deeply to sleep soon.
…
The next morning, Liu Yi woke up soon. Lu Li sat on the carpet and slept through half of the night. He was refreshed in the morning, and seemed to have forgotten what happened last night. Lu Li and Liu Yi looked at each other and smiled. After they groomed themselves, they went down stairs to grab a bite. Then they went directly to the Heaven Prison Chamber of Commerce.
The Heaven Prison Chamber of Commerce was so easy to find. It was located at the south of the central plaza of the city. There was a magnificent large castle. The sign of "Heaven Prison Chamber of Commerce" was visible at a distance.
"Temple!"
Lu Li was surprised to see a temple next to the Heaven Prison Chamber of Commerce. Liu Yi looked at it and explained, "As long as a city reaches a certain scale, there will be a temple. Temples are not exclusive to the cities at the Northern Desert. It is said all the cities around the world have temples."
"Oh."
Lu Li didn’t take more looks. He and Liu Yi walked towards the Heaven Prison Chamber of Commerce. From the distance, they saw three gates. There were Heaven Prison Armies guarding the gates.
"I’ll go and ask."
Lu Li took the bag with the Blood Caterpillar Fruits in it. He walked to Heaven Prison warrior and asked, "I want to sell something. Which gate should I enter?"
"The gate on the right is for internal use only. The one in the middle is for the buyers. You should take the left one if you are here to sell. There will be someone receiving you inside."
The warrior was well-mannered. Lu Li thanked him and went to the small gate at the left with Lu Li. Through it was a small hall with two maids waiting.
"Distinguished guest, greetings."
A pretty maid welcomed them with a smile. Lu Li once again thought to himself that the people at the Heaven Prison City were so polite. He smiled and nodded. The maid asked, "Are you here to sell Mystical Materials?"
After gaining the confirmation from Lu Li, the maid once again asked, "Could you please tell me how many Xuan Crystals do you estimate your products will worth? We have different people receiving guests based on the value of the product."
How would Lu Li know how many Xuan Crystals? He wasn’t even sure about the quality of the Blood Caterpillar Fruits or whether they were okay. He thought about it and casually said, "Perhaps a few thousand."
"Alright. This way please. Our Chief Steward Bai will meet with you and he will give an estimate of your Mystical Materials."
The maid showed the two to a corridor on the left. There were three such corridors in the small hall. It looked like people would be taken to different places based on the price of the materials.
After they walked for the time it took for half an incense stick to burn, the two arrived at a side hall. There was a grizzle haired elder in a black robe sitting inside. He must be the Chief Steward Bai. The two sensed his qi and energy and found that he was a warrior of the Soul Pond Realm. They were filled with deep esteem promptly.
Chief Steward Bai was courteous. Even though he did not get up, his smile was comforting. He let Lu Li and Liu Yi sit and asked someone to serve them tea. Then he asked, "What are the Mystical Materials or treasures you wish you sell here? The Heaven Prison Chamber of Commerce is the biggest one in the Thousand-island Lake. The price will satisfy you."
Liu Yi looked to Lu Li. She signaled to let him decide all matters. Lu Li took it as his obligation. He stood up, clasped his hands and said, "Lord Bai, before I sell anything, I want to make sure of something. Is it absolutely safe to sell goods here? I mean—can our information be confidential and n.o.body outside know these goods come from us?"
"Ha, ha, ha!"
Chief Steward Bai laughed and shook his head while answering, "Brother, you may not know the Heaven Prison Chamber of Commerce well. This was established by the Old Man of the Heaven Prison in person back in the old days. For more than 2000 years, nothing ever went wrong with this Chamber of Commerce. Nothing that could defame us happened. If you don’t buy my word, you can go and ask around. No leaking of any information of any guest is the most fundamental rule of our Chamber of Commerce."
Lu Li was convinced. He put the bundle on the table and said, "This is what we want to sell. Give us a price."
The elder opened the bag and glanced over. His expressions suddenly turned serious. He picked up a Blood Caterpillar Fruit and studied it. Then he asked, "Brother, this is… Blood Caterpillar Fruit?"
Lu Li nodded and said, "Yes. This is the Blood Caterpillar Fruit that is improved by us. Its efficacy should be stronger than regular Blood Caterpillar Fruit."
Chief Steward Bai examined it carefully. He stood up and said, "Please wait here. I will ask someone to appraise them. If the efficacy can be stronger, we will definitely give you a price that can satisfy you."