“This world is so shameless?!” Zhu Siyao’s cheeks flushed crimson as she nearly stamped her foot, whispering complaints while her gaze dodged away, unwilling to look at that candy stall again.
“Look at those candies—they even use black sesame seeds to decorate the furry parts. It’s way too shameless!”
In the Five Provinces Continent, the relationships between men and women were nowhere near extreme enough to openly turn such intimate things into merchandise.
She could understand a society where women were revered, but why did it devolve into such blatant worship?
Jiang Huai furrowed his brows, the feeling of discomfort in his heart growing stronger.
The world heading toward such extremes couldn’t be simply explained by the four characters “women respected.”
In the Five Provinces Continent, women cultivators held significant status, and many sects were led by women, yet there was never a pervasive culture worshipping procreation in such an explicit manner.
Was it just because men couldn’t cultivate? That reason seemed insufficient.
“Let’s go check out somewhere else.”
Jiang Huai suppressed his doubts, tugged on Zhu Siyao’s sleeve, and whispered, “Look more, listen more, speak less.”
The two continued walking down the bustling street, the mask on Jiang Huai’s face effectively reducing unwanted attention.
They noticed that shop signs and door lintels on both sides of the street were often carved with simplified patterns resembling female features, like some kind of blessing talisman.
Passing by a bookstall, the stall owner was a middle-aged woman.
Jiang Huai’s eyes scanned over the books and found many covers illustrated with men and women in intimate poses, the titles being blunt and explicit.
Books like Servant Husband Arts, Joy Manual, and How to Please Your Mistress.
What made his pupils shrink was a book titled Tongue Painting Illustrated Record, accompanied by a simple picture book.
Ah? They even had to draw this kind of thing? Using the tongue?
Jiang Huai looked at these books speechlessly, only hoping that if Qin Qingyue ever came, she must not see these books.
Otherwise, he would be in deep trouble when he returned.
The stall owner noticed Jiang Huai lingering and even enthusiastically recommended, “Young sir, are you newlyweds? Buy a copy to study and guarantee your Mistress’s satisfaction and the neighbors’ praise!”
Zhu Siyao listened, her face burning red but also hesitating.
“Maybe we should buy two copies? Take a look when we get home?”
This was also a way to understand the world—no harm in looking.
Jiang Huai, however, felt his scalp go numb and grabbed Zhu Siyao’s wrist, almost dragging her to escape this place of troubles.
“What are you looking at? Let’s go!”
“Buy two copies.” Zhu Siyao still struggled, trying to reach into her storage pouch.
“Fine, maybe two copies, to take a look later.”
“No money!” Jiang Huai snapped irritably, just wanting to leave quickly.
“I have Spirit Stones!” Zhu Siyao replied boldly.
“Even so, we’re not buying!”
As the two pulled and pushed, one insisting on buying and the other refusing, a woman with a child nearby saw the scene, showing a knowing smile and said to Jiang Huai, “Young sir, newlyweds are often shy.”
“But serving your Mistress is your duty, and the more you learn, the better.”
“If your Mistress desires this, it means she has expectations for you. Don’t disappoint her.”
Her words assumed Zhu Siyao was Jiang Huai’s Mistress and that he was too shy to learn how to please her.
The statement stunned both Jiang Huai and Zhu Siyao.
Zhu Siyao’s face immediately flushed red, wanting to explain, “I am not—”
But the woman interrupted, continuing to earnestly instruct Jiang Huai:
“I see this young lady is a cultivator too. That means you should be even more dedicated to learning.”
“When the Mistress is satisfied, the household is peaceful and can focus more on resisting the Xie Tide. This is Righteous Virtue.”
Jiang Huai was speechless at her reasoning but keenly caught the words “Xie Tide,” so he asked, “What is the Xie Tide?”
The woman was stunned, showing a look of disbelief:
“You don’t know the Xie Tide? You actually don’t know?”
Her tone was as if someone asked a local their own country’s name—absurd beyond belief.
“The greatest warriors are those who resist the Xie Tide!”
Even the little girl she held—no more than five or six years old—tilted her head up and shouted loudly, her childish face bearing a reverence beyond her years.
Something that even a child so young knew and treated as common knowledge, yet they were completely unaware.
Jiang Huai’s mind raced as he quickly found an excuse:
“We have both lived secluded lives since childhood, with elders strictly forbidding us from going out. We rarely interact with outsiders and know very little of the outside world. Please forgive us.”
The woman eyed them suspiciously, her warmth replaced by wariness.
Hermits and solitary cultivators? She had never heard of such a thing.
She instinctively took a half-step back with the child, mumbling, “Such strange matters—how could one be unaware of the Xie Tide? You’d better go home and ask your elders.”
After saying this, as if fearing trouble, she hurriedly pulled her child away and disappeared into the crowd.
Jiang Huai and Zhu Siyao exchanged looks.
Zhu Siyao blinked, suddenly tugged his sleeve, glanced at the bookstall not far away, her face flushed as she whispered,
“How about we go back to that bookstall and buy some books?”
“Maybe those books mention some basics, things everyone should know? Like history and geography?”
Although the titles were embarrassing, this seemed the least conspicuous way to gather information for now.
Jiang Huai twitched his mouth but thought carefully—it was probably the only viable option.
The two braced themselves and returned to the bookstall. The middle-aged stall owner, seeing them come back, especially the young man wearing a mask, smiled knowingly.
Afraid Jiang Huai might change his mind, Zhu Siyao quickly scanned the stall, not bothering to read the contents, and immediately bought all the books she was interested in.
She hurriedly handed a low-grade Spirit Stone to the stall owner and dragged Jiang Huai away in haste.
The stall owner looked shocked but quickly tucked away the Spirit Stone, afraid others might see.
Got rich? A few worthless books sold for one Spirit Stone? Lifetime security guaranteed!
Walking ahead, Zhu Siyao flipped through the books in her hands.
“Are you sure any of these books mention the Xie Tide?” Jiang Huai asked skeptically, watching her blush.
The book titles looked strangely like royal harem manuals.
What was How to Please Your Mistress supposed to mean?
“Look at this!”
Zhu Siyao forced herself calm, flipping through the pages and pointing at a passage.
“It says here: ‘A husband must regard his Mistress as heaven, wholeheartedly serve her, and assist her in cultivating valor to resist the Xie Tide, defending home and territory—this is great virtue.’”
“So resisting the Xie Tide is the top priority?”
Jiang Huai took the book, murmuring,
“Xie Tide… could it be some kind of invasion?”
Why did that fox insist on sending him to this world?
Could the Xie Tide be related to that fox?
The two wandered until they found a tavern to sit down casually.
After all, taverns were the best place for news and gossip.
Jiang Huai found a good spot and followed Zhu Siyao as she flipped through the books, all while eavesdropping on conversations.
The tavern was mostly filled with female cultivators, their topics nearly always revolving around the “Xie Tide,” “frontline,” “casualties,” and “supplies.”
“Ironwall Pass is in trouble again. Those damn weeds, those unkillable evil creatures!”
“I heard a late Nascent Soul solitary cultivator fell this time, it’s really…”
“Sigh, if only my husband could be more capable, have more daughters with spiritual roots.”
“The frontline cultivators already have it hard enough.”
“I know, but when will this ever end?”
“Maybe Tang Sect Leader will intervene? The frontline can’t be pushed back any further. I remember when I was young, the frontline was only at the wasteland. Now it’s creeping closer!”
“With Tang Sect Leader and the fairies fighting on the frontlines, we’ll surely hold onto our last pure realm.”
The fragmented conversations, heavy sighs, angry roars, and uncertain hopes pieced together what Jiang Huai had read in the books.
Eventually, a cruel yet reasonable truth emerged.
Late into the night, the two returned to their lodging and sat silently for a long while, staring at the pile of books with very different content.
“No wonder it’s so extreme here.”