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

Chapter 339: Chapter 195: Dotting the Eye

On the fringes of the Great Desert sat an overlooked little town—Lisha Town.

The town had only residents. No government soldiers, no bandits, no Martial World. Generations of families had lived and died here. Though life was hard, they were at peace with the world, eking out a meager existence.

Zheng Xiu learned that during the previous dynasty, when relations with the nations of the Western Regions were close, there had been a "trade route." Uh, not some Silk Road, but one called the "Green River." This route, the Green River, began at Linsha in the east and ended at Richan Valley in the west, cutting straight across the Great Desert. After passing through Richan Valley, one only had to cross a mountain and two rivers to reach the lands of the Western Regions.

Many years ago, Linsha had been the starting point of the Green River. Exotic Merchants from all over the Western Regions, having braved the Great Desert, would gather here. There were foreign beauties with blonde hair and blue eyes, rare jewels, and strange and wonderful beasts. The place was passionate, magnificent, and magical—brimming with the vibrancy of spring, an extraordinary hub of activity.

"Though no one travels the ’trade route’ anymore, the ’Green River’ still exists."

Xie Luohe expertly led Zheng Xiu through Lisha Town.

"Money."

Xie Luohe boldly held out her hand to Zheng Xiu, demanding payment.

Zheng Xiu placed a heavy coin purse in her hand without feeling the slightest sting.

"You know, you might just be the very picture of what they call an ’ideal husband.’"

Xie Luohe remarked with a sigh.

"I don’t believe it." Upon hearing her, Zheng Xiu instinctively blurted out his catchphrase before quickly correcting himself. "No, wait, this one I believe. Is it because I’m... devastatingly handsome, with sharp brows, piercing eyes, and unparalleled looks?" Zheng Xiu stroked the prickly stubble on his chin, testing the waters.

"Pfft. It’s because you can make money... a lot of money," Xie Luohe laughed, leaving Zheng Xiu standing there as she went to procure their supplies.

’That’s called being good at my job,’ Zheng Xiu quipped at her retreating back.

From a distance, Xie Luohe raised a threatening fist.

Before long, a thoroughly bored Zheng Xiu, who had been waiting right where she left him, finally saw Xie Luohe return after what felt like an eternity.

Trailing behind her were two sturdy camels.

The camels were fitted with saddlebags, one red and one green, embroidered with colorful patterns.

The bags were stuffed to bursting, and each camel was laden with seven or eight full waterskins.

Zheng Xiu drew upon his meager knowledge of desert survival to inspect the provisions. Xie Luohe had bought everything: long-lasting food like jerky and dry rations, water, thick cloaks, clothes that could cover their entire bodies, ointment for treating wounds, and even a simple compass for navigating the Great Desert. Nothing was missing.

You could say that, aside from sunscreen, she had packed pretty much everything they could possibly need.

Xie Luohe’s thoroughness took Zheng Xiu by surprise.

Always needing to save face in front of her, Zheng Xiu just clicked his tongue and said, "It’s passable." This earned him a snicker from Xie Luohe, who countered, "Tough talker." To an outsider, their bickering made them look like a foolhardy couple from the city, oblivious to the cruelty of the desert they were so determined to enter.

Zheng Xiu and Xie Luohe were like two opposite poles.

The "Mystic" aura that Xie Luohe unintentionally exuded made the two camels restless.

But when Zheng Xiu stepped forward to soothe them, the two animals acted as if they’d found a long-lost relative, eagerly nuzzling up to him and covering his face in slobber.

Xie Luohe watched, wide-eyed, as Zheng Xiu got chummy with both the male and female camels. A faint flicker of jealousy crossed her eyes as she murmured,

"You... you really don’t seem like a Mystic."

Zheng Xiu didn’t answer. ’After all, this isn’t my Main Body.’

’No matter how stubborn Xie Luohe is, the truth is the truth,’ Zheng Xiu thought. He had entered the Cannibal Painting Ghost Realm as an Incarnation. His Main Body was still back at the Zheng Residence, suffering the torment of the Crow Fosterer’s fatal Miracle Technique.

’It’s no wonder I don’t seem like a Mystic right now.’

Xie Luohe’s eyes flickered, but she said no more. Her expression quickly changed. Once Zheng Xiu had calmed the camels, she vaulted onto her saddle, gave a kick with her heels, and started toward the Great Desert.

Apparently, Xie Luohe had no intention of lingering in Lisha Town.

Zheng Xiu followed close behind.

And so, on the thirteenth of July.

The weather was clear.

The sun shone brightly.

The Scorching Sun blazed.

The pair rode their camels deep into the Great Desert.

「The twentieth of July.」

Dusk.

Zheng Xiu’s seventh day in the Great Desert.

No matter the world, a "Great Desert" tends to leave only one kind of impression.

Vast, solemn, deathly still, and cruel.

It was as if an invisible hand pushed the yellow sands of the Great Desert, one layer urging the next to roll forward. The billowing sand moved with the wind, now swirling, now streaming straight, until it vanished over the crests of the undulating dunes.

The Great Desert, too, offered only one "color": yellow. Egg-yolk yellow, deep yellow, dusky yellow, golden yellow, ochre. The interplay of these myriad shades created its own kind of desolate beauty.

By the seventh day, Zheng Xiu was beginning to feel a pang of regret. Xie Luohe, on the other hand, only grew more cheerful the farther they got from civilization, the smile on her face growing ever wider.

The sun left no mark upon Xie Luohe’s skin. The heat never drew a single drop of sweat from her. During the biting cold of night, she would even initiate cuddling up to Zheng Xiu, curling into his arms and wrapping them both in their shared cloaks. She gave this behavior a noble name: "In the Jianghu, we look out for each other in times of need." When the gales blew, she would stand on the camel’s back, face into the wind with her arms spread wide, reveling in the free, untethered feeling of swaying with the storm.

It was as if the harsh weather and the desolate environment of the Great Desert brought Xie Luohe nothing but pleasure.

Only after entering the Great Desert did Zheng Xiu truly begin to understand what the so-called "Green River" trade route was. Previously, he had only heard that there was a fixed path from the Western Regions into Daqian.

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