Mingyue City.
Shops lined both sides of the street: teahouses, taverns, workshops, tool shops, clothing shops, and more. People came and went, and the whole place was bustling.
In the open spaces, many small vendors had each staked out a patch of ground and set up their racks, and what they sold was an even more random jumble. Some sold low-grade pills, some sold a mishmash of jade trinkets, iron swords and talisman paper, and some sold spirit herbs and low-grade demon beast cores, and so on and so on.
Ye Ruyue’s eyes were dazzled by everything as she walked along, but Gui Chao’an, up ahead, truly meant to do nothing more than take a stroll. He said not a word and just plowed ahead with his head down.
Until someone greeted him first: “Oh, Senior Brother Chao’an! It’s been ages since I’ve seen you come down the mountain. Since you’re out for a rare stroll, why not take a look in my shop?”
“Senior Brother Chao’an, let me tell you, my shop just got a batch of good things. There’s a two-handed sword that’s a magical artifact, and an umbrella that’s quite formidable too. Won’t you come in and have a look…”
The corner of Ye Ruyue’s mouth curved sharply upward.
She knew it.
The original novel had described this: Mingyue City was a subordinate city at the foot of Xuanyun Sect. Not only were many of its businesses run by Xuanyun Sect disciples, but in a place that survived by clinging to a great sect, most of the locals recognized Xuanyun Sect’s disciples, especially the direct disciples.
Gui Chao’an had planned to walk her around once and then head back, but how could she agree to that?
“Really? Take me to see it, quick!” Ye Ruyue bounced out from behind Gui Chao’an at once.
The shop clerk was named Shuangle. He seemed to have only just noticed that a small child was trailing behind this direct disciple. He was taken aback for a moment, then glanced at the identity token at Ye Ruyue’s waist. A white jade token was the mark of a direct disciple.
Then he recalled what he’d heard not long ago: the sect’s Grand Elder had taken another direct disciple, a tiny little baby, cute as could be.
They said the Grand Elder doted on her terribly and had given this disciple nearly his entire fortune.
Could this be that very person?
Quick-witted Shuangle immediately became certain, and his smiling face grew even brighter than before: “You must be the sect’s new direct disciple, little junior sister!”
“Come in, little junior sister, I’ll take you to see it!”
Never mind that little junior sister was small and had just joined; having received so much of the Grand Elder’s private hoard, she was surely the richest of them all.
Shuangle was thrilled. As soon as they entered, he couldn’t wait to bring the two-handed sword over for Ye Ruyue to see.
The two-handed sword was a long blade that shone with silver light, nimble and elegant, its edge razor-sharp. A pale blue gem was set in the hilt, giving off a faint frost-colored gleam.
Ye Ruyue gave it a glance. She wasn’t short on swords; among the apprenticeship gifts Master had given her were two spirit swords.
“What about that umbrella you mentioned?” She was curious about the umbrella the shopkeeper had spoken of earlier; those were rather rare.
Hearing that, Shuangle immediately understood that the little girl loved pretty things. He turned at once and took an umbrella from a wooden box on the counter.
“This umbrella is called the Painted Shadow Umbrella, and it’s a magical artifact too. Look, little junior sister, not only can it change color, it can also defend and attack like this…”
“In the hands of someone with deep cultivation, it can dazzle the eyes and confuse the mind.”
Shuangle demonstrated as he spoke. He gripped the handle and channeled spiritual energy into it, and the umbrella, originally patterned in pale blue, turned deep blue. As he poured in more energy, it finally turned crimson, the flower shadows shifting, the canopy gleaming with flowing color.
The slender white tassel at the umbrella’s tip swayed with the flow of energy, complementing whatever color it took, and it was simply beautiful.
“Wrap it up!” Ye Ruyue waved grandly. She liked it very much.
“Right away!” Shuangle called out loudly.
Outside, Gui Chao’an stood stiffly, still hesitating over whether to go in, when he heard that little junior sister had already told them to wrap up the Painted Shadow Umbrella, without even asking the price.
“What else does little junior sister need? Let me show you!” Shuangle called another clerk over to help with the packing and then turned his full attention to Ye Ruyue.
A big spender like this, he had to serve well.
“What’s this?” Ye Ruyue casually pointed at a rather exquisite box carved with patterns, like ice crystal. It looked quite nice.
“This is an Ice Soul Box. It can store extremely precious medicinal materials or spirit plants. Nothing inside rots for ten thousand years, and not a trace of medicinal potency is lost. A truly fine item.”
“It really is a good thing. Wrap it up!” Ye Ruyue waved her little hand and took it.
“And this one?”
Another casual point of the finger.
“This is a Mist Bomb. In a pinch it can be used to confuse enemies.”
“Wrap it up. No, give me a hundred of these!” Sheer extravagance.
Shuangle was startled: “Sorry, little junior sister, we only have thirty left in the shop. If you want more, I can order them for you next time.”
“Never mind then. I’ll take these thirty for now, and I’ll look at something else!”
“Right away!”
“Do you have defensive robes here?” Ye Ruyue asked again.
“Yes, yes, of course we do. They’re in the back room.”
“Let me see…”
“This one’s nice, this one’s nice too, and this one, and this one… wrap them all up!”
Outside, Gui Chao’an was dumbfounded.
He knew little junior sister had received a great many apprenticeship gifts, and had an outrageous amount of spirit stones. But that didn’t mean she should use and waste them like this, did it?
Unable to hold back any longer, Gui Chao’an finally stepped forward and walked into the shop, ready to give her a lecture.
The moment he entered, he heard Ye Ruyue’s delighted voice: “Second Senior Brother, you’re here!”
Gui Chao’an pressed his lips together. He’d been here the whole time, hadn’t he?
As her senior brother, Gui Chao’an still wanted to give little junior sister a proper lecture: don’t buy so many things, it’s pure waste.
But before he could open his mouth, Ye Ruyue was already chattering away: “Shuangle, do you know? In our Xuanyun Sect, Second Senior Brother treats me the best!”
“Really, look, with so many senior brothers around, it’s Second Senior Brother who came down the mountain himself to shop with me.”
“Whatever I buy, he never says a word. He’s so generous, so tolerant of me, so accommodating, and he spoils me rotten!”
“Second Senior Brother, you’re the best to me, right?” Ye Ruyue looked at Gui Chao’an, beaming.
Praised like that by little junior sister, the thin-skinned Gui Chao’an could hardly keep his composure, but he still nodded without thinking.
He had already been patient and caring enough with this little junior sister.
And so.
“I’ve taken the things. Second Senior Brother will pay for me.”
“I knew it! Second Senior Brother brought me down the mountain just to buy, buy, buy for me! My Second Senior Brother is the best!”
Before the words had even left her mouth, Ye Ruyue had already stuffed everything she’d picked out into her ring, spun around, and slipped out of the shop like an eel.
That speed.
Even the wind couldn’t match it.
Fleecing might come late, but it never fails to show up.
Gui Chao’an hadn’t even had time to grab her and lecture her.
All he knew was that little junior sister had lavished praise on him in front of everyone, which was a bit embarrassing, and then she was gone.
Gone???
Little junior sister was gone?
Only then did Gui Chao’an sense something was wrong. He turned instinctively, meaning to go out and look for her.
And then he saw the clerk Shuangle blocking his way.
“Senior Brother Chao’an, you really are so good to your little junior sister!”
“I’ve seen other senior brothers buy plenty of good things for their junior sisters, but I’ve never seen a senior brother as generous as you.”
“Senior Brother Chao’an, this way to the counter, please!”
That little junior sister was so slippery she vanished in the blink of an eye, which startled even Shuangle, who had been attending to her the whole time.
She was, after all, a direct disciple of Xuanyun Sect, and he hadn’t expected this little junior sister to just up and run with no warning at all.
Thankfully, Senior Brother Gui Chao’an was still there!
Next time he’d be more alert, but this time, he could only let Senior Brother Chao’an foot the bill.
Thinking this, Shuangle had already raised a hand in invitation.
Gui Chao’an stood frozen in place, his face taut. He couldn’t leave, and he couldn’t stay.
If he left, with so many people watching, they’d surely think him stingy: bringing his little junior sister out for a stroll yet grudging even a single spirit stone. Could he still call himself a senior brother?
And to think little junior sister had just been praising him as the most generous and the best to her.
Besides, leaving like this would truly damage Xuanyun Sect’s reputation.
But if he didn’t leave…
Gui Chao’an felt a pang of pain at the expense, no, a pain in his heart, and his whole chest ached fiercely.
His face twisted, he drew a deep breath, thought it over and over, and in the end followed Shuangle to the checkout counter.
One look at the bill and he could barely breathe.
That Painted Shadow Umbrella alone cost 5,000 spirit stones, the Ice Soul Box another 5,000, plus a pile of odds and ends and several defensive robes.
Pfft…
Gui Chao’an was on the verge of coughing up blood on the spot, wishing he could just keel over!
Fifteen thousand!
It had cost him a full 15,000 spirit stones!
In just this short while, plus the welcoming gift he’d given last time, his dear junior sister had truly emptied out every bit of his savings from recent years.
This little junior sister!
He, Gui Chao’an, would remember this!
He would truly, truly remember it!