Wait a second—Bo Saixi suddenly thought of another possibility: could it be that Zhao Ling asked the coachman to take a remote path because he intended to do something inappropriate to her?
The thought amused her. If he truly knew she was the High Priestess of Seagod Island, then he should also know her strength. If he tried anything in such a secluded place, she could definitely beat him until he begged for mercy.
After thinking it over, Bo Saixi couldn't figure out Zhao Ling's motive, so she decided to wait and see.
As instructed, the coachman veered the carriage down a secluded country path. Only when they were far from any town or village did he finally stop the carriage.
Zhao Ling then exchanged a glance with Ah Yin and said, "Yin'er, let's get off."
Though Ah Yin didn't know what Zhao Ling was planning, she trusted him completely and stepped down without question.
Bo Saixi, on the other hand, felt awkward. She could either follow them or ride the carriage back to Spirit Hall City.
Naturally, Bo Saixi wasn't about to give up her chance to gather information about Tang Chen, so she gritted her teeth and got off the carriage too.
After Zhao Ling paid the coachman, the man turned the carriage around and left, kicking up a cloud of dust as he disappeared down the road, leaving the three of them alone.
Zhao Ling turned to Bo Saixi and said teasingly, "So, Miss Bo... Bo-something, where exactly do you plan on going? Don't tell me you're just going to follow me and my wife around?"
Bo Saixi almost choked on the sarcasm. He clearly knew her name and identity, yet pretended not to—"Bo-something"? What, am I your Bo-nanny?
Suppressing the urge to punch him, Bo Saixi put on a sorrowful face and said in a dejected tone, "I don't really know where I'm going… just taking it one step at a time. I'm sorry for intruding."
Ah Yin found her fake melancholy quite amusing. She knew there was no way this woman would just leave like that. Not without getting the information she came for.
Still, Ah Yin realized she needed to step in before her dense husband actually scared Bo Saixi away—this new potential "sister-in-arms" would be a shame to lose.
So Ah Yin quickly grabbed Zhao Ling's hand and spoke gently:
"Honey, this sister just arrived in Spirit Hall City a few days ago and already got robbed. She's lost everything. Isn't that pitiful? Why not let her stay with us? With Dong'er staying behind in the city, I feel so lonely. Now I have someone to chat with—doesn't that sound nice?"
Her hopeful gaze fixed on him, and Zhao Ling finally nodded.
"Alright, if she wants to stay, she can stay. It's not a big deal—I can afford to take care of her."
He agreed readily, thinking he wasn't losing out either. With such a beautiful woman around, even if he didn't get anything else, just having her in his view was already a win.
Feeling satisfied, Zhao Ling pulled out the Cloudpiercer Shuttle from his storage space.
He casually tossed it into the air, and to the two women's shock, the shuttle rapidly expanded before their eyes. In just ten seconds, it transformed into a large wooden ship with two sails.
The ship was over 20 meters long, six meters wide, and as tall as a three-story building. Though it wasn't as grand as the ships Zhao Ling had seen before crossing into this world, this one could both sail on water and fly through the air—something he found very satisfying.
Bo Saixi and Ah Yin both stared at the ship in astonishment.
W-what the heck?! Where did this massive ship suddenly come from? This isn't normal at all.
They had never heard of such magical, size-changing ships in the Douluo Continent. And more importantly—they were on land. Who summons a ship on land?
Ignoring their stunned expressions, Zhao Ling picked up Ah Yin in his arms and gently tapped his foot on the ground, propelling himself straight onto the ship.
Bo Saixi followed suit and jumped aboard. Once on the deck, the three of them could get a proper look at the ship.
Zhao Ling spotted a steering wheel at the bow and a small spirit-gathering array at the stern.
After putting Ah Yin down, he walked to the array and pulled out two spirit stones from his storage space—five of which had been given to him when he first received the shuttle.
Each stone was extremely precious to Zhao Ling, especially since the rewards from his diary seldom included such items.
As soon as he took out the spirit stones, Bo Saixi's eyes narrowed. She could sense the pure and abundant energy within them, though she didn't understand what Zhao Ling intended to do with them.
She watched silently as he placed the stones into the array, which immediately activated and began drawing in the surrounding spiritual energy.
Under the combined force of the spirit stones and the array, the entire ship slowly lifted off the ground.
Soon, it hovered over a hundred meters in the air—leaving Bo Saixi completely dumbfounded.
It can fly?! How is this possible?
While she stood there wide-eyed, Zhao Ling walked calmly to the helm.
Gripping the wheel with both hands, he began slowly rotating it to test the ship's controls.
After a few minutes of experimenting, he got the hang of it and set the Cloudpiercer Shuttle on course for the northern region where Heaven Dou City lay.
The shuttle climbed higher and higher, eventually reaching several thousand meters above ground. As they traveled, the trio could feel the strong winds rushing past.
Fortunately, the shuttle didn't fly too fast—around 3,000 li per day—so the winds weren't too intense. Otherwise, Zhao Ling would've worried that the gusts might blow the soul-sealed Ah Yin off the ship.
Ah Yin, eyes full of wonder, came over to Zhao Ling and asked, "Husband, what's the deal with this ship? It can fly? That's incredible!"
"This ship is called the Cloudpiercer Shuttle," Zhao Ling replied, casually lying through his teeth. "It's a sea-and-air hybrid vessel I found in an ancient ruin."
Neither of the two women believed the "ancient ruin" part for a second. They hadn't even heard of such a thing before…