Chapter 90 - 88: The Travel-Crazy Couple
Chapter 90: Chapter 88: The Travel-Crazy Couple
She had her regrets, but Man Tiaotiao was still very happy. After all, the Body Refining Nutrient Liquid Feng Hao had concocted was indeed excellent.
Muttering a few complaints, Man Tiaotiao bounced into the home gym, hefted a pair of heavy dumbbells, and started exercising. If Feng Hao were still here, he would definitely have been shocked by the scene before him.
At that moment, Man Tiaotiao was like a seasoned athlete, handling every piece of equipment with practiced ease. She was soon drenched in sweat.
’HUFF... HUFF... Come on! Just two hundred more sets of squats, and then I can soak in the Body Refining Nutrient Liquid!’
Man Tiaotiao frantically did her squats. Before she knew it, her clothes were soaked through, but her face showed not the slightest hint of fatigue or discouragement. It seemed she actually enjoyed the high-intensity workout.
Time passed quickly. Just as she was about to finish her two hundred sets of squats, the sound of a man and a woman talking and laughing came from outside.
"Tiaotiao, come out quick! Mom and Dad brought you a present!"
In the living room, a bald, tanned man and a beautiful woman with blonde hair were chatting and laughing. Judging by their attire, they had obviously just returned from a long trip; they hadn’t even taken off the matching sun hats on their heads.
Hearing her parents’ familiar voices, Man Tiaotiao immediately stopped her squats and went out to greet them, dripping with sweat.
"School starts tomorrow, and you’re only just getting back. Don’t you care about my studies at all?" Man Tiaotiao appeared before them, pouting like a displeased child.
The bald man chuckled calmly. "The daughter of Barbarian Three Punches can cultivate with her eyes closed. Getting into an Advanced Academy should be a piece of cake, no?"
"Oh, you. All you do is brag!" The blonde woman shot him a look, stepped forward to pat Man Tiaotiao’s head, and asked softly, "Come on, Tiaotiao, tell Mom how the entrance exam went."
"Hmph! You’re grown-ups, and all you ever do is travel. You don’t act like parents at all," Man Tiaotiao grumbled.
Barbarian Three Punches and the blonde woman exchanged a glance, feeling a little guilty. She gently comforted her, "There, there, Tiaotiao. Now that we’re back, your dad and I won’t go traveling again. We’ll wait until you graduate, then we’ll go."
"Really?" Man Tiaotiao looked at them skeptically. It was hard for her to believe the words of her travel-addict parents.
"Of course, it’s true," the blonde woman said, nodding seriously. "Now, hurry and tell Mom about the entrance exam. It’s all your dad’s fault. If he hadn’t insisted on buying that pair of fist wraps, we definitely would have made it back in time to go with you."
Barbarian Three Punches scratched his head in embarrassment and hurriedly took out a pair of small, exquisite black fist wraps from his Spatial Ring. He presented them to Man Tiaotiao as if offering a treasure. "It’s not every day you come across a decent pair of fist wraps. Of course I had to buy them for my precious daughter. Here, Tiaotiao, this is the entrance gift Dad bought for you."
Man Tiaotiao happily took the fist wraps, scanned them with her Divine Sense, and her face soon lit up with a pleasant surprise. "For the sake of these fist wraps, I’ll forgive you for now!"
"See? I told you Tiaotiao would like them, didn’t I?" Barbarian Three Punches said, looking smugly at the blonde woman.
The blonde woman gave him a soft, charming glance and asked gently, "Hurry and tell Mom how you did on the exam."
"Does that even need to be said? The daughter of Barbarian Three Punches is definitely number one," Barbarian Three Punches said proudly.
Man Tiaotiao was putting on the new fist wraps and excitedly throwing some punches. Hearing their words, she frowned and said, "The competition in the Strength Department was really intense this year. I only got third place."
"Oh? Who are the top two? How could they beat the daughter of Barbarian Three Punches?" Barbarian Three Punches said in disbelief.
"Second place was supposedly the champion of last year’s tournament. His name is Yun Jiansong," Man Tiaotiao said with a frown.
The blonde woman asked in surprise, "Shouldn’t the tournament champion be pre-selected for admission into the five great sects? Why did he come to an academy?"
"Well, there’s no shame in losing to the tournament champion. What about first place?" Barbarian Three Punches said, pondering.
"First place is a girl from the countryside. Her Genetic Tree is level thirty-six. They say she’s really pretty, and she already made it onto the campus belle rankings before even starting school." Speaking of Xiyue Frost, Man Tiaotiao was clearly unimpressed.
"Whoa, level thirty-six? No wonder she got first place," Barbarian Three Punches exclaimed, then subconsciously looked at the blonde woman. "Honey, weren’t you only level thirty-four when you started school?"
The blonde woman nodded gravely. "Yes. I didn’t expect the record to be broken so soon. By the way, Tiaotiao, what’s that girl’s name?"
"I think it’s Xiyue Frost," Man Tiaotiao said with a pout.
"Her surname is Xiyue?" Barbarian Three Punches and the blonde woman exchanged a glance and hurriedly asked, "Is she from Jinzhou Rongcheng?"
Man Tiaotiao gave her parents a strange look and pouted. "I think so. Anyway, it’s some small place I’ve never even heard of."
Once they had Man Tiaotiao’s confirmation, Barbarian Three Punches and the blonde woman both showed looks of shock and suspicion, exclaiming in unison, "So she really is connected to Big Sis!"
"What are you talking about? What Big Sis?" Man Tiaotiao asked, confused.
"It’s nothing. We were just reminded of an old friend," the blonde woman said, changing the subject. "Alright, Tiaotiao, go wash off all that stinky sweat. We’ll take you out to eat at the Caiyun Inn later."
"Oh, shoot! I almost forgot something important! My Body Refining Nutrient Liquid is getting cold," Man Tiaotiao exclaimed and rushed to the bathroom.
After Man Tiaotiao left, the smiles on Barbarian Three Punches and the blonde woman’s faces slowly faded, replaced by reminiscent expressions.
"Man-zi, do you think that girl is really connected to Big Sis?" the blonde woman asked with a frown.
Barbarian Three Punches frowned and sighed. "There’s no doubt. I haven’t met more than a few people with the surname Xiyue in the entire Ancient Cang Realm, and she’s from the same place."
"Sigh... I wonder how Big Sis is doing outside the realm," the blonde woman said sadly.
"Don’t worry. With Big Sis’s style, she’s not the type to stay quiet anywhere. She’s probably already gathered a huge gang of followers outside the realm," Barbarian Three Punches comforted her gently.
The blonde woman’s face broke into a smile. "You’re right. Big Sis never lets herself be taken advantage of."
"How about we find some time to take a trip to Jinzhou? We can confirm things while we’re at it," Barbarian Three Punches suggested.
"No, we just promised Tiaotiao we wouldn’t go out," the blonde woman said, hesitating.
"Once Tiaotiao starts school, she’ll have to stay at the Five Provinces Academy most of the time. We can just find a time to sneak out then, can’t we?"
The blonde woman hesitated for about a second, then immediately nodded in excitement. "Great idea!"
"Alright then. Tomorrow I’ll look up the attractions in Jinzhou and plan our route," Barbarian Three Punches said with a mischievous, excited grin.
"Keep your voice down, don’t let Tiaotiao hear you," the blonde woman said irritably.
"Got it, got it."
Just then, a scream suddenly came from the bathroom. It was clearly Man Tiaotiao’s voice.
The travel-addict couple’s expressions changed, and they rushed into the bathroom. Then came another scream: "Barbarian Three Punches, get out of here!"
"Dad was just worried about you! Alright, alright, I’m leaving," Barbarian Three Punches quickly withdrew. After confirming his daughter wasn’t in any danger, he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
In the bathroom, Man Tiaotiao finished dressing, her cheeks puffed out in anger. Although she had been wearing some clothes while soaking in the nutrient liquid, she was still very embarrassed.
The blonde woman asked anxiously, "Tiaotiao, what just happened?"
Man Tiaotiao snapped back to her senses and pointed at the liquid in the medicinal bath, saying in shock and suspicion, "Mom, while I was soaking in the liquid just now, my strength increased a lot! And my speed and attack speed also increased by 10 points. There’s nothing wrong with this nutrient liquid, is there?"
"A 10-point increase in both speed stats?!" The blonde woman was stunned. She bent down, sniffed the liquid, and said with a strange expression, "This is a Body Refining Nutrient Liquid, right? Are you sure it increased both of your speed stats by 10 points?"
"Of course I’m sure. Why else would I have been screaming?" Man Tiaotiao said with a nod.
"Man-zi, come take a look!" the blonde woman called out, full of shock and uncertainty.
Barbarian Three Punches had naturally heard the conversation. As soon as he came in, he leaned over the side of the tub to study the liquid. Although he wasn’t an Alchemist, as a veteran body-refining expert, he knew a great deal about Body Refining Nutrient Liquids.
"Holy hell, this is a damn perfect-quality nutrient liquid!" Barbarian Three Punches couldn’t help but swear.
"A perfect-quality nutrient liquid?" the blonde woman exclaimed, subconsciously looking at Man Tiaotiao. "Tiaotiao, you didn’t sell our house, did you?"
"How could I?" Man Tiaotiao huffed.
"Then how could you afford a perfect-quality nutrient liquid? Your dad has been around for so many years and has only ever used one once," the blonde woman questioned.
Man Tiaotiao’s mouth fell open. "Is this liquid really that valuable?" she asked, stunned.
"Valuable is an understatement! It’s practically priceless!" Barbarian Three Punches said with a grave expression. "Tell Dad the truth. Did you sell our house? Don’t worry, Dad won’t blame you. Worst case, we just have to work hard for a few more years."
"Agh, I really didn’t sell our house!" Man Tiaotiao explained, flailing her arms. "I just posted a request in the Thief God Hall, and some bumpkin Alchemist showed up today and even scammed me out of four sets of materials."
"Uh, so you really didn’t sell the house?" Barbarian Three Punches confirmed again.
Man Tiaotiao was exasperated. "If you don’t believe me, go look at the property deed! I guarantee it’s right where it’s supposed to be."
"Alright, Dad believes you." Barbarian Three Punches breathed a sigh of relief, then frowned and asked, "Then explain what’s going on with this perfect-quality liquid."
"How should I know? I just posted a request, and some bumpkin Alchemist showed up," Man Tiaotiao said, on the verge of tears.
Barbarian Three Punches turned his head to the blonde woman and asked, "Does the Thief God Hall have an Alchemist this skilled?"
"I don’t think so," the blonde woman confirmed.
Then, the two of them once again turned to look at Man Tiaotiao with suspicion...
Man Tiaotiao was about to cry from frustration. She flung out another bottle of Body Refining Nutrient Liquid and said, grinding her teeth, "Here! There’s another bottle! Now you have to believe me, right?"
"Another bottle?!" Barbarian Three Punches caught the nutrient liquid and inspected it carefully. His eyes turned red as he said, "My god... two bottles of perfect-quality Body Refining Nutrient Liquid. Daughter, ah, you didn’t sell yourself, did you?"
"..." Man Tiaotiao was speechless. Fuming, she stomped upstairs, grabbed the property deed, and slapped it into her parents’ hands. "Open your eyes and look! Now do you believe me?"
"Huh? Our house is still here?" the travel-addict couple exclaimed in surprise, finally believing what their daughter said. "Could we have really met an Alchemist who does good deeds without leaving a name?"
"What ’does good deeds without leaving a name’? That guy is just a bastard and a bumpkin!" Man Tiaotiao said through gritted teeth.
Coming to his senses, Barbarian Three Punches’s expression turned serious. "Quick, tell Mom and Dad the details. Perfect-quality nutrient liquid is no joke."
"Fine," Man Tiaotiao pouted and nodded.
The family of three moved from the bathroom to the living room, where they listened to Man Tiaotiao’s detailed account: It was a quiet afternoon when a certain bumpkin youth shattered the tranquility...