Rebirth of the Supreme Immortal Emperor

A lone man and a single woman, sharing one room.

The atmosphere of ambiguity, permeating all around.

Seeing Li Chen stare at her continuously, without taking action for a long while, Lian Hongshang with her sapphire-like eyes, blinked twice and shyly asked, "Why are you staring at me so intently? Haven't you had your fill?"

Li Chen shook his head and said earnestly, "Not nearly enough!"

Lian Hongshang was speechless, a dimple lightly twirling, a faint smile like a breeze caressing willows, flowers blossoming in response, leaving Li Chen utterly dumbstruck.

A dimpled smile as though inviting a suitor, light dreams floating upon the waves, the spring night unaware of dawn. (Note 1)

A short-lived pleasure, tenderly entwined on Mount Wu.

The two embraced and fell into a deep sleep.

Unbeknownst to them, the eastern sky had already turned pale. The bright sunshine, like a carefree sprite, shone through the loft's window and sprinkled into the room.

Li Chen was awakened by the sunshine, glanced at the beauty still sweetly asleep in his arms, gently stroked her hair, and got dressed.

"Hmm!"

Lian Hongshang let out a soft moan, rubbed her sleepy eyes, and stared at Li Chen without blinking.

Li Chen smiled faintly and said, "You're awake!"

"Mmm, awake!" she replied, and slowly sat up.

The red garment from last night, having been passionately discarded, she playfully chided Li Chen before changing into a plain white long dress, even taking the time to touch up her makeup.

Lightly pushing aside her creamy makeup to freshen up, a gentle stroke of the brow to don the attire of Nishang.

Below that snow-white neck, mountains pridefully stood tall. A face that could topple cities and charm nations, a tall and slender figure, pure as an untainted Snow Fairy.

Li Chen was captivated, lost in a trance.

Lian Hongshang's cheeks blushed, and she chided, "You're really annoying, ogling someone like that early in the morning?"

Li Chen cleared his throat lightly, teasing, "Oh, nothing. Just reminded of a couple of lines of poetry!"

Lian Hongshang, curious, blinked and asked, "What poetry?"

Li Chen looked ahead and said, "Springtime is sorrowfully short, the dawn rises high, henceforth the king will not court the morning."

At first, Lian Hongshang was stunned; this was from Bai Juyi's "Long Hatred Song," a tale of Tang Xuanzong, Li Longji, and Yang Guifei.

She was a clever girl and instantly grasped the playful jab in Li Chen's words, rolled her eyes and retorted sharply, "At least that third boy was devoted, with Yang Guifei's three thousand favors all to himself. Not like someone here, who's fickly as a radish, leaving traces of affection everywhere!" (Note 2)

Li Chen was speechless, the retort biting like Shanxi aged vinegar, full of sourness that he truly couldn't counter.

Watching Li Chen look deflated, Lian Hongshang covered her mouth, snickering secretly.

However, Li Chen's words did remind her. Her own stunning beauty would surely attract many a playboy. Last night at the city gate, Bi Tao was a prime example.

To avoid these unnecessary troubles, she decided to disguise herself as a man.

"Hey, do you have any spare clothes?" she asked.

Li Chen, confused, said, "Why do you ask?"

Without answering, Lian Hongshang urged again, "Do you or don't you?"

"Yes."

Although Li Chen was clueless, he still fetched some change of clothes from his Storage Ring.

As Lian Hongshang took the clothes and was about to change, she abruptly saw Li Chen and said, "You go out for a while!"

After speaking, without further explanation, she pushed Li Chen out the door and firmly shut it with a "snap."

Li Chen, speechless, shook his head and headed straight downstairs.

"Mr. Li, you're up!"

Upon seeing Li Chen descend the stairs, the waiter approached with a beaming face, hurrying over.

He had a very strong impression of Mr. Li, not because of his good looks, but because of his extremely generous spending.

Li Chen nodded slightly in acknowledgment by way of greeting.

"Mr. Li, when do you plan to set off to Great Thunder Swamp?"

Hearing the waiter's words, Li Chen's expression subtly changed, he looked directly into his eyes and asked in a firm voice, "How do you know that I plan to go to Great Thunder Swamp?"

The waiter was initially startled by Li Chen's gaze but then broke out into a chuckling smile, saying, "Mr. Li, you must be joking. These past few days, nine and a half out of ten people who've come here are headed for the Great Thunder Swamp."

Li Chen realized that his reaction had been a bit over-the-top and gave a sheepish smile, replying half-heartedly, "Just these few days!"

With a flatteringly servile smile on his face, the waiter said, "Mr. Li, as the saying goes, better to go ahead without choosing a specific date. As it happens, I have two tickets for a ship heading to the Great Thunder Swamp. Would you need them?"

Li Chen was surprised: "Ship tickets?"

"It's a sea vessel from the City Lord Manor, capable of setting sail. Going to the Great Thunder Swamp is absolutely no problem!" explained the waiter.

The Great Thunder Swamp was too perilous, hence there were no ships passing through it. Thunder City's City Lord Lei Hong might be moderate in talent for cultivation, but he was incredibly adept at doing business.

Knowing his own limits, unable to vie for the treasures within the Great Thunder Swamp, he decided to use his existing advantage to make a hefty profit off those treasure hunters.

Spanning thousands of miles, the Great Thunder Swamp was an endless marsh without a solid footing to be found. Even Golden Core Experts couldn't fly across it using Sword Control in one go, not to mention the need to search for the treasure's whereabouts.

Thus, for them, ships had become an essential commodity.

Where there was demand, there was a market!

The Lei City Lord was well aware of this, seizing the opportunity to gather all available ships. Whether official large ships or civilian fishing boats, he consolidated them into a monopoly, then rented them out to treasure seekers at exorbitant prices.

And the role the waiter played was akin to a ticket scalper on Earth.

Hearing the waiter's explanation, Li Chen's interest was immediately piqued.

"Oh, let's have a look then!"

Seeing a potential sale, the waiter smiled and asked, "Mr. Li, which class of ship ticket would you require?"

Li Chen was startled: "Oh, they come in different classes?"

"Of course, this is for an ocean-going ship, available in three classes—lower, middle, and upper. The lowest class costs three hundred Spirit Stones each, middle class is five hundred Spirit Stones each, and the highest class is one thousand Spirit Stones per ticket!"

"Mr. Li, your status is noble. Only the upper class ticket suits your stature. Don't you think so...."

The waiter trailed off, eagerly awaiting Li Chen's response.

Li Chen wasn't short on money. He took out two thousand Spirit Stones on the spot and said, "Two upper class tickets, please!"

"Alright, just a moment please!"

The waiter was overjoyed by Li Chen's straightforwardness. From the sale of one upper-class ticket, he could make a commission of fifty Spirit Stones.

Selling two upper-class tickets would net him a hearty sum of one hundred Spirit Stones, equivalent to his income for two full years as a waiter.

"What's so joyful that you're discussing over here?"

Just then, a figure in a blue robe leisurely descended the stairs.

Li Chen's expression froze momentarily; the person was Lian Hongshang.

However, she was dressed as a man at that moment. Wearing a blue robe, with a White Crane folding fan in hand. Her face was strikingly handsome, her skin fair. Her black hair was concealed through a Secret Technique, and the ample contours beneath her neck were hidden by some method, leveled to a smooth plain.

Truly it could be said:

On the road, one is as jade; this gentleman, without parallel!

Many female guests' eyes shone brightly, their faces filled with infatuation.

Even the waiter, a man himself, was left staring dumbstruck.

Li Chen quickly stepped forward and asked in a low voice, "Hey, what are you doing?"

Lian Hongshang opened the fan in her hand, waved it playfully twice, and cheekily replied, "Beauty brings calamity, it's too easy to attract attention and trouble!"

Li Chen understood and nodded, thinking that Lian Hongshang had a point.

Wasn't that Bi Tao before, who got into trouble by approaching her because of Lian Hongshang's transcendent beauty?

Heading for the Great Thunder Swamp, it would be inevitable to encounter playboys like him—it truly could be a bit troublesome.

Upon this realization, Li Chen didn't say anything more and briefly shared with Lian Hongshang about what the waiter had just told him.

Lian Hongshang's eyes widened in surprise, asking, "We're setting off for the Great Thunder Swamp today?"

Li Chen thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "Sooner rather than later, let's leave today to avoid others getting a head start!"

...

Note 1 originates from an old song called "Light Smiles with Dimples," sung by Sam Hui; it's used here to fit the mood and scene, hence it's specially noted.

Note 2: Sanlang is the nickname of Tang Emperor Li Longji, being the third son of Emperor Ruizong Li Dan, he was also called Li Sanlang.