Chapter 459: Spending the Night

The registration process for the martial arts school ranking was tedious and dull. By the time it was finally done, several hours had passed.

When Lin Xiao and Chen Lingxin walked out of the Southern Martial Alliance, they both felt as if a weight had been lifted.

In Chen Lingxin’s hand were two palm-sized cards. These were their proof of participation in the ranking evaluation. On the cards were written the name of the participating martial arts school, its level, the number of participants, and their registration number.

In the Name section was written: Chen Martial Arts Hall. The level was B-rank, the number of people: two. Registration number: 233.

At this time, the night had fallen, and the city lights were beginning to glow.

Standing on foreign soil, looking at the unfamiliar surroundings, Chen Lingxin instinctively leaned closer to Lin Xiao and quietly wrapped one arm around his.

“Master, where are we going?”

“First, food. Then find a place to stay.” Lin Xiao rubbed his stomach and said without exaggeration, “I’m starving. Didn’t think just registering would take this long.”

“Tell me about it. I feel like that guy doing the registration was deliberately dragging things out. If you hadn’t stopped me, I would’ve cursed him out so badly.” Chen Lingxin huffed angrily.

“What’s done is done. Let’s go.”

The two picked a random restaurant along the street and had a hearty meal. Afterward, they began their search for a hotel.

“Sorry, we’re fully booked…”

“Apologies, no rooms available at the moment…”

“I’m afraid you’ll need to try somewhere else…”

Lin Xiao and Chen Lingxin dragged their luggage around, checking three or four hotels and inns, but all of them were full without exception.

Every year, during the Southern Martial Alliance’s exchange conference, this city became a hotspot, attracting countless people. The actual martial artists participating in the event were only a small portion. The majority were ordinary people coming to watch.

Of course, what the public saw was just a typical martial arts exchange—merely a cover for the true underground martial arts world. The real ancient martial arts duels were never presented to the public.

“Master, what do we do?” Chen Lingxin stopped with frustration, stamping her foot and whining, “We can’t find a single room. Are we supposed to sleep on the streets tonight?”

It was already 10:30 at night. They had traveled over a thousand kilometers from Jinghai to Dongzhou. Lin Xiao was still fine, but Chen Lingxin was clearly exhausted. Tired and sleepy, she finally showed a touch of girlish vulnerability.

“If we really can’t find a room, we’ll sleep on a park bench,” Lin Xiao said casually.

“No way! I’m not doing that!” Chen Lingxin shook her head vigorously, her hair swaying. “Tomorrow is the big day for the ranking evaluation. We have to be well-rested to face the challenges. Sleeping in the park is absolutely out of the question. I need a real bed.”

Everything before the last sentence was filler—the last line was the main point.

“Since when did you get so delicate?” Lin Xiao glanced at her, speechless.

“Disciples have always been delicate. No, not delicate—refined, with standards.”

Chen Lingxin lifted her chin proudly. “I can endure hardship when training, but when it comes to eating and sleeping? No compromise.”

“Alright, let’s keep looking then.”

After another twenty or so minutes, they finally found a small hotel with a vacant room down a quiet alley.

“What? Only one single room left?”

Chen Lingxin’s eyes widened as she slapped the front desk with her palm. “No deluxe suites? What about a regular suite? A double room?”

The girl behind the desk was intimidated by Chen Lingxin’s beauty and presence. She was tongue-tied and couldn’t speak.

The two locked eyes for half a minute. In the end, it was Chen Lingxin who gave in and said weakly, “Give me the key. A single room is better than sleeping in a park.”

The girl, as if granted amnesty, quickly handed her the key.

Chen Lingxin took the key, paid, then grabbed Lin Xiao and clattered up the stairs. Soon, they found their tiny single room.

The room lived up to its name. It was indeed small. After placing their luggage, there was barely room to turn around.

“It’s a bit cramped but still pretty clean.” Chen Lingxin set her luggage down and immediately began inspecting every corner. “But the sheets and pillowcases are too dirty. They need to be changed.”

She opened her suitcase and, like performing a magic trick, pulled out a set of sheets, blankets, and two small pillows.

“You packed these too?” Lin Xiao was speechless.

“Because your disciple can’t sleep without her own bedding. I need familiar smells to fall asleep,” Chen Lingxin said cheerfully as she laid out the sheets, placed the pillows, and threw on the blanket, then cheered and flopped onto the bed.

Watching her gleeful expression, Lin Xiao couldn’t help but smile slightly. “Go wash up and brush your teeth, then get to sleep.”

Chen Lingxin sat up with a bounce and sniffed herself.

“Master, I’m taking a shower. You should too. We sweated so much today. If we don’t clean up, we’ll stink tomorrow.”

“Why so particular, especially when traveling?”

“That’s exactly why we need to be particular.”

Chen Lingxin sprawled across the bed, lazily stretching and showing off her graceful figure.

“Master, you go first. I’ll shower after. In a place like this, I’m worried about the bathroom being gross. I’ll only go in after you.”

“Suit yourself.”

Lin Xiao didn’t have that many concerns. He pulled out a towel and a change of clothes from his suitcase and headed into the bathroom.

His luggage had been packed by Yuan Yu—everything was neatly arranged. The suitcase wasn’t large, but it held quite a lot of essentials.

He rinsed off with cold water and stepped out wearing only shorts, his upper body bare. As he did, he heard a soft gasp. Sitting on the bed, Chen Lingxin suddenly covered her eyes.

Although covered wasn’t quite accurate. Her fingers were spread wide, and her eyes were wide open, scanning Lin Xiao’s body. A rosy blush bloomed across her fair face.

“Stop pretending. It’s not like you haven’t seen it before.” Lin Xiao casually dried his hair with the towel.

“Hmph, I’m not pretending.”

Chen Lingxin lowered her hand, her gaze sparkling with a strange light. She couldn’t help reaching out and poking Lin Xiao’s chest.

“Master, if you don’t wear a shirt, you’ll make so many women swoon.”

“Enough talk. Go shower.”

“Fine, fine. Even if you didn’t say it, I was going.”

Rolling her eyes, Chen Lingxin grabbed her toiletries and clothes and headed into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her.

A moment later, the sound of running water echoed from inside. Lin Xiao’s hearing was sharp—he could even make out the sound of the towel brushing across her skin.

A strange feeling stirred within him, which he forcibly suppressed.

Just as Lin Xiao was about to step out to get some air, a sudden scream of fright burst from the bathroom. A snow-white figure dashed out and threw itself straight into Lin Xiao’s arms.