I'm Already the Richest Man, Why Did My System Just Arrive?

Chapter 284: Chapter 174: "A Clear Conscience.

The cold air seemed to freeze over.

Xiaotao frantically pinched Zheng Xiu’s waist from behind, trying to warn him not to speak so recklessly.

She was clearly unaware of the delicate nature of Xie Luohe and Zheng Xiu’s relationship—that they were in a strange, sullen standoff.

Xie Luohe wasn’t angry. She smiled and countered, "What is righteous, and what is evil?"

Zheng Xiu shook his head and replied calmly, "There is no answer to that question. All one can do is strive for a clear conscience."

"Well said." Xie Luohe flicked her reins, and her horse’s hooves clattered out of the teahouse. Her indifferent voice drifted back. "Between her and me, only one can live. I hope that one day, you can truly awaken her. And when I am dead, you can still say those three words: ’a clear conscience.’"

Xie Luohe’s figure gradually receded into the distance. Her long hair, caught by the wind, swirled like a deep, bottomless black vortex.

Behind him, Xiaotao secretly asked what their conversation had been about.

Zheng Xiu changed the subject with just a few words.

But Xie Luohe’s words were like a small hammer, striking Zheng Xiu’s heart and sending him into a deep contemplation as they traveled.

But the strong-willed Zheng Xiu soon shook his head, casting aside such distracting thoughts.

’It’s fake.’

He told himself.

’This damn Cannibal Painting.’

’How terrifying.’

If his Will wasn’t firm enough, this realistic world presented within the painting—this time and place from two hundred years ago—would slowly consume him.

Fortunately, his Will was firm and unwavering.

They traveled on, making intermittent stops.

In the blink of an eye, it was the thirteenth day of the second month.

The sky was bright and the weather had begun to warm.

The shoes on Xiaoyun and Xiaoliu were badly worn from the cratered roads, so they had to stop in a nearby town to have them reshod.

This would set them back another two days.

Still, by Xie Luohe’s estimation, they would have no problem reaching Hidden Sword Manor before the first day of the third month.

After nearly a month of traveling through desolate mountains and wilderness, the trio of Zheng Xiu, Xie Luohe, and Xiaotao were covered in dust. They had mostly been sleeping outdoors or taking shelter in villages they passed. Now, while Xiaoyun and Xiaoliu were being reshod, they could finally take a proper rest in town and recover their strength.

Speaking of which, Xie Luohe was truly unlike any young woman of her time. On several occasions when they sought lodging in a village, she would brazenly claim that the three of them were a married trio—with her as the main wife and Xiaotao as the concubine. This always made the simple villagers’ eyes pop, their minds seemingly screaming, ’City folk are a wild bunch!’

’Xie Luohe was just trying to find new ways to make a fool out of me.’

Thankfully, he wasn’t some simple commoner. As the Richest Person for so many years, he had crossed mountains and seas, and navigated oceans of people. What sort of spectacle hadn’t he witnessed? He wouldn’t be flustered. Unflappable, Zheng Xiu calmly weathered Xie Luohe’s many passive-aggressive attacks.

"Haaaah... Ahhh~"

After turning down Xiaotao’s offer to scrub his back, Zheng Xiu soaked alone in a wooden tub in his room. Steam filled the air. As he felt every pore on his body open up, he couldn’t help but let out a groan of pleasure.

Eyes closed, Zheng Xiu remained perfectly still, and soon, faint snores began to escape his lips.

His consciousness sank, deeper and deeper.

His body felt lighter and lighter, yet the sensation of falling grew ever more distinct.

GLUG.

Zheng Xiu opened his mouth and a bubble escaped. He had accidentally entered the "Path" again.

Zheng Xiu felt weightless, as if floating in a pitch-black lake, sinking ever downward.

The familiar sensation didn’t cause him to panic. Instead, he calmly watched the viscous darkness in the distance, allowing himself to sink.

[Painter].

PAT.

Zheng Xiu stepped onto solid ground. Bands of grayish-brown, cyan, ink-black, and pure black outlined strange patterns of light and shadow, weaving together before his eyes to form a winding road. Looking back, he saw only endless darkness. Looking forward, not far away, stood a tightly shut door.

Shadows of mountains, water, clouds, and rivers seemed to flow and flicker faintly across the door’s surface. It was mysterious and alluring, seeming to hide infinite secrets. It was as if strange whispers emanated from behind it, tempting Zheng Xiu to push it open.

The tightly shut door bore the characters "Wuzi · Seven." This meant that the obstacle now blocking his way in the "Path" was the seventh door of the [Painter] Path.

Zheng Xiu reached out and pushed against the door.

CREAK—

The ancient door let out a drawn-out creak. Zheng Xiu pushed it open a crack, and a dim, flowing light spilled out from behind it.

But the door only opened a crack. When Zheng Xiu tried to push again, it wouldn’t budge.

’The seventh door seems to be a major hurdle.’

’A bottleneck, so to speak.’

Zheng Xiu didn’t force it. Within the Path, his thoughts were clear, and he had a vague sense of understanding.

He had only pushed open the eighth door of his [Prisoner] Path as well.

After leaving Yunhe Village, Zheng Xiu hadn’t neglected his painting skills.

He would even sit on his horse, have Xiaotao hold the reins, and secretly trail behind Xie Luohe to draw a "quick sketch" of her.

Whenever he did this, Xie Luohe would always slow her pace, her horse’s hooves clip-clopping as she rode along leisurely.

In those moments, Zheng Xiu would feel as if the world around them had gone exceptionally quiet.

And whenever they stopped to rest, Xie Luohe would deliberately send Xiaotao off on some chore—fetching water, washing clothes—then she would approach Zheng Xiu, hold out a fair, upturned palm, and say nothing.

With a tacit understanding, Zheng Xiu would place the "quick sketch of Xie Luohe’s back" that he had "secretly" drawn into her hand.

Until Xiaotao returned.

For Zheng Xiu, this surreptitious "Danqing practice" was both a way to grind experience and a strange sort of "tacit agreement" that had formed between him and Xie Luohe.

’Since I haven’t been slacking off, it must just mean the time isn’t right yet.’

’Or maybe... I’m just missing some crucial opportunity.’

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