Lord of the Desert

Chapter 442 Strong
When everyone dispersed, it was already past Chou time (1 a.m.).

Hong Fan had been fighting and lecturing all day, and when he returned to his tent he felt exhausted both physically and mentally, so he put out the fire and left the camp.

The swarm of insects had long since retreated, and the area surrounding the camp was lush and green, as refreshing as the cloudless night sky.

He flew across the river in the moonlight, and a little further south, he found an intact stream for bathing.

The running water in early spring is icy cold, and each drop is distinct, like the sound of pearls hitting jade.

On both sides of the stream, green grass spread out symmetrically along the slopes and swayed in the wind.

A warrior in the Qi realm is spotless inside and out, so a little scrubbing should make them clean.

But Hong Fan stood naked in the shallow water, and none of his attempts to move had worked. In the end, he could only look calmly into the bright moon, using the coolness of the stream water to dispel the heat in his heart.

After a long time, a sigh was heard on the river.

After years of rapid progress, he suddenly realized that he had been particularly fond of daydreaming recently.

The dark green clothes splashed on the shore were picked up by Zhen Yuan and dipped into the water to rinse.

There was a loud sound of jade breaking.

The dark green stains spread and faded, flowing away with the clear water.

The clothes gradually returned to their original color.

Hong Fan's mind was empty, his eyes followed the water into the distance, and he saw that the pure white silver moon in the center of the river had been enveloped in the hazy green.

After drying the clothes, he had no intention of looking at the night anymore and went straight back.

As the camp was approaching, Hong Fan sensed Zhou Wenyang's iconic aura of the sun in the center of the army, so he took the initiative to release his true energy to confirm his identity with him.

The sand wings fell to the ground and turned into dust.

Hong Fan saw that the fire in his tent was burning, casting a shadow on the curtain.

"who is it?"

He stopped outside the tent and asked.

"Young Master Hong, it's me."

A plain female voice came from inside.

"But please come in."

But it was Xiao Chu.

【This is my tent.】

Hong Fan raised his eyebrows slightly and walked into the tent. Seeing that only Xiao Chu was sitting by the fire, he lifted the entire tent curtain and hung the wooden hook.

The cool night followed him inside, neutralizing the warmth of the campfire.

"Please take a seat."

Xiao Chu sat with his knees together on a square earthen stool - probably temporarily made with the earth element essence - and pointed at the wooden chair next to him.

Those were the only furniture in Hong Fan’s tent and also precious resources during the march.

The lower-ranking soldiers in Shengyu's army were often grouped together with ten people. They could only sit on the ground when eating and resting, and there were never any chairs to sit on.

Upon hearing this, Hong Fan sat down at first, but when his butt touched the chair, he instinctively felt something was wrong, and finally added two words in a low voice.

"Thank you."

Almost at the moment he blurted out the words, the thought "This is my chair" flashed through his mind, and then he heard Xiao Chu ask back in a serious tone.

"What is Master Hong thanking you for?"

It turns out that when things are awkward, the world becomes extra quiet.

The firewood crackled, the wind blew through the tent, and the sound of crows crowing could be heard faintly outside the camp...

Hong Fan took these noises into his mind in an instant, and stared at the golden light flashing in Xiao Chu's eyes, unable to tell whether it was from dragon blood or fire.

He was rarely speechless.

The atmosphere was a bit weird, so weird that the two of them were in a stalemate for a moment, and then burst out laughing at the same time.

"I am the one who takes the initiative now."

Xiao Chu looked away, seeming to be apologetic.

"I have rarely seen aristocratic people before, please don't be offended, Your Highness."

Hong Fan made fun of himself and reaffirmed that he was not some otherworldly person who "looked down on the nobles while wearing a white robe".

Thinking of this, he felt inexplicably relieved.

"I came here uninvited this time because I have something to ask you, young man."

Xiao Chu stood up, picked up a piece of firewood from the corner of the tent and added it to the fire.

Hong Fan took the opportunity to look her over.

At this time, Xiao Chu was wearing a light silver-white silk dress, which was obviously tied around the chest, and a jade belt around the waist, showing off her agile and well-proportioned figure.

It was because she took off her heavy armor and combat boots that Hong Fan noticed that she was very tall, about 1.75 meters.

"Your Highness, you may ask."

Hong Fan replied while sitting down.

Xiao Chu nodded when he heard that, then turned around and looked at him.

"How fast can your Sand Wing fly?" "The maximum burst speed is 1,400 miles per hour."

The two of them asked and answered questions quickly.

"How long can it last?"

"At full strength, three minutes."

"What if it's only slightly faster than Hanyun?"

"About a quarter of an hour."

"If the cold cloud hadn't arrived tonight, would you still be able to kill the sixth handsome insect?"

“Or it could, but there are risks.”

Xiao Chu asked four questions in a row, and after getting the answers, he paced around the campfire for a while and sat back on the earthen platform.

"One more thing."

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"In the battle tonight, Young Master Hong first charged into the insect swarm for a long time, killing five handsome insects in a row, and then raced with Han Yun, getting rid of the three Yuanci in one fell swoop."

"Excuse me, you and I have similar cultivation levels, how can you have so much true essence?"

There was a lot of curiosity in her eyes, but also a little scrutiny.

Hong Fan naturally wouldn't mention the Dragon Soul Fruit.

The qualities of warriors in various aspects can vary greatly depending on their talents and martial arts. Xiao Chu has dragon blood and has studied the "Purple Sky Dragon Transformation Sutra", so he has unparalleled true energy among his peers, and it is not easy to deceive him in this regard.

Fortunately, he thought of an excuse in advance.

"I got a copy of 'Donglian Zhenbao Pill' in Liangzhou."

Hong Fan replied.

Donglian Zhenbao Pill is a top-grade Qi-replenishing pill, which is mainly used to supply true essence and repair external injuries. It is widely circulated among the children of famous families.

"Thank you, Young Master Hong, for telling me."

Xiao Chu nodded when he heard that.

In her opinion, Hong Fan was in great shape tonight, with no signs of loss of his original essence. Since she had ruled out the possibility of self-sacrifice, the only remaining possibility was that he had borrowed from external forces.

"This pill is worth more than a hundred gold coins. I will double the price for you. Also, what Master Hong said today, I will make sure no third person will know it."

She made a promise and spoke some encouraging words in an exceptionally earnest and gentle tone, ending with words like "I feel grateful on behalf of the people of Shengzhou" and "There will be a generous reward."

Hong Fan smiled with satisfaction at the right moment.

He had met many outstanding women in the past few years, but Xiao Chu was different from them all.

She has an outstanding appearance, like Shen Tiexin; she has a gentle temperament, like Wu Ruyi; and she is not promiscuous, like Tang Xingqing.

So what's the difference?

Hong Fan noticed that the bandage on Xiao Chu's palm had been removed, revealing a corner of the scab.

She is intelligent, quick-witted, decisive, ambitious, and has all the resources needed to realize her ambitions.

Coming alone is to show intimacy; taking the place of the host is to show the difference in status; asking short and continuous questions is to build up pressure and force out answers...

Although Hong Fan had no intention of keeping it secret, asking about the details of the killing method was a taboo.

In the end, the goodwill based on keeping a common secret naturally eased the previous tension and brought the two closer together.

[Those gestures of goodwill are probably not just for me, but also for Gu Yixin, right? ]

Hong Fan thought relaxedly, as if he saw another self attacking him.

He suddenly realized Xiao Chu's uniqueness.

Like herself as a time traveler, she has a condescending and strong character in her bones - this kind of strength is different from the one based on the idea that I am strong and you are weak like Shen Tiexin and Tang Xingqing. It is a kind of representation that takes others for granted and acceptance of obedience as a matter of course.

[Perhaps this is exactly the nobility that a princess should have. ]

A thought popped up in Hong Fan's mind, and he immediately realized that this thought came from the psychology of admiring the strong.

[So the so-called nobility means making decisions for others as a matter of course? ]

He thought about it playfully, and saw Xiao Chu, who had achieved his goal, stood up by pressing his knees, dispersed the earthen platform, walked to the tent door, looked back and said goodbye.

In the past one hundred scenes, one hundred people stood up enthusiastically to see him off.

But Hong Fan deliberately did not stand up, and sure enough, he saw Xiao Chu's brows slightly furrowed.

At this moment, Princess Dahua, who was famous throughout the nine states, fell from the sky and became a living person.

"Your Highness."

Hong Fan raised his head and looked over her shoulder, his eyes empty and distant.

To the north, the Milky Way is washing the Qingzhang Mountain, interpreting the eternity of heaven and earth.

"Your Highness has been asking questions for a long time just now. Actually, I also have a few presumptuous questions to ask."

As Hong Fan spoke, he slightly raised his right hand and fashioned a sand chair at his side.

"Please take a seat."

This moment is the same as that moment.

(End of this chapter)