Xunyang was one of the largest cities in the mortal realm, bustling and prosperous. Because it enjoyed the protection of immortal sects and was designated as the specific location where immortals from Mount Donglu descended to perform blessing rituals for mortals, it attracted a massive influx of both permanent residents and visitors drawn by its reputation.
Although Xuan Lang’s residence was situated on the outskirts of the city, it was neither too far nor too close. Walking at a leisurely pace, the two of them took about two full incense sticks’ worth of time to reach the marketplace in the city center.
With noon fast approaching, the streets were filled with a constant stream of pedestrians some dining, some hurrying on their journeys, and others carrying baskets of vegetables on their way home to cook. It was a bustling, lively scene.
Li Jian gradually slowed his pace, walking with his hands clasped behind his back as he leisurely surveyed the pedestrians on both sides of the long street. Such an encounter was a rare and precious adventure.
Xuan Lang had initially been leading the way with brisk strides, but noticing out of the corner of his eye that the person behind him had fallen behind assuming Li Jian had grown tired of walking he immediately slowed his own pace to match.
Only after Li Jian caught up in two or three steps did Xuan Lang speak earnestly, “Next time, I should prepare a carriage for the Immortal Elder.”
Li Jian glanced at him and waved a hand. “No need, I’m not that delicate.”
The way he said it made it sound as though he were the pampered young master instead.
Though Li Jian hadn’t walked such a long distance in a very long time, his current body belonged to a practitioner of cultivation, meaning this modest level of physical exertion had no significant impact on him. He didn’t feel physically fatigued; it was simply that the distance felt a bit far.
Xuan Lang, on the other hand, was still just an ordinary youth at this stage. Having walked such a long distance alongside him, he neither flushed nor panted, showing no outward sign of exhaustion whatsoever. It almost made Li Jian suspect that the boy possessed an even deeper level of cultivation than he did.
“Let’s go into this one.”
Walking along, Li Jian suddenly halted his steps and looked toward a general merchandise store by the roadside.
Judging from their journey thus far, this shop appeared to be the largest general store in the entire market. A massive plaque hung overhead, inscribed with dazzling golden characters with delicate borders, looking even more luxurious than the neighboring silk shop.
Li Jian stood at the entrance and beckoned to Xuan Lang. The youth strode up and, after a momentary hesitation, followed Li Jian inside.
As it was currently peak hours for customers coming and going, the shop was filled with numerous gentlemen and young ladies selecting goods. The appearance of two exceptionally handsome young men entering one after the other inevitably drew the gazes of quite a few onlookers.
From afar, the store manager appraised them, first glancing at Li Jian who walked in front, and prepared to instruct an attendant to receive them. Then, his peripheral vision caught sight of the black-robed youth trailing quietly behind Li Jian.
The youth’s cold, sharp brow was slightly furrowed as he met the manager’s evaluating gaze head-on, then averted his eyes in unnatural discomfort, his entire bearing written with awkwardness.
Consequently, the manager set aside his ledger and walked toward the two of them.
“May I ask what two young masters are looking to browse?”
Li Jian was running his hand over a soft armchair placed horizontally by the window, wondering whether he should take advantage of his newfound wealth to fully furnish Xuan Lang’s house.
Beds, chairs, desks, lattice windows he might as well replace the entire lot with brand-new, top-quality furnishings. That way, the young immortal lord might feel inclined to thank him, and at the very least, he would earn some favor points.
Raising his eyes, he saw a sharp-featured, sharp-nosed middle-aged man standing before him with a forced, insincere smile. The man held his chin slightly tilted upward, appraising both him and Xuan Lang with a gaze full of palpable disdain.
What was this? Did they think his attire looked too shabby to step into such a high-end establishment?
To be fair, Li Jian’s attire could hardly be considered plain. His lake-blue long robe, white jade hair crown, and refined, handsome features radiated an air of noble elegance from head to toe; there was nothing remotely shabby about him.
However, because he was a cultivator, he didn’t bother with the elaborate accessories, pearls, jade ornaments, and heavy silks favored by ordinary young gentlemen. Compared to the wealthy patrons filling this room, he certainly didn’t look ostentatious.
Following the manager’s gaze, Li Jian unsuprisingly caught sight of the impatience in Xuan Lang’s furrowed brows, his knuckles turning pale from clenching his fingers.
With a gentle flick of his wide sleeves, Li Jian settled into a nearby chair, leaning back casually. “Just browsing. Manager, care to introduce some items to us?”
He cast a sideways glance at Xuan Lang, signaling him to sit down as well.
Glancing at Xuan Lang once more, the manager chuckled mockingly. “You jest, young master. Our establishment carries every imaginable variety of goods; if you name it, there is nothing we cannot source. Only…”
Pausing for a moment, he added with a pointed reminder, “Do be careful where you touch, young master. This top-grade golden nanmu wood… is rather expensive.”
“Oh?” Li Jian narrowed his eyes, his fingertips trailing lazily around the jade pendant at his waist as he responded in an unhurried tone.
Had anyone spoken to him like that in his past life, he would have assumed the establishment was far too high-end for someone of his standing, terrified that breaking something would force him into paying compensation he couldn’t afford. Lacking the money to pay, he would have been forced to put on a brave face and slink away in embarrassment.
Right now, however, he only found the man utterly ridiculous.
While cultivators and corporate slaves shared the trait of empty hands and clean sleeves, that didn’t mean he would remain penniless forever.
Without speaking further, Li Jian pressed his fair fingertips against the golden nanmu wood square table resting beneath his arm, while his other hand casually reached into his sleeve to grope around for something.
The moment the manager saw this, he immediately concluded that the young man was undoubtedly short on cash yet desperately trying to save face with a calm facade—he had seen plenty of such pretenders before.
Seeing no reaction from Li Jian, the manager continued, “If the young master is unsure of prices, you might as well ask Young Master Xuan standing beside you. He should be quite familiar with these matters.”
The remark carried an unmistakable, inexplicable tone of mockery.
Turning his gaze sideways, Li Jian saw the youth take a deep breath, his expression darkening as he stood up and said, “Immortal Elder, let’s go take a look at another shop instead.”
With his brow furrowed slightly, Li Jian asked with absolute certainty, “Is this a shop belonging to the Qi family?”
Aside from that, Li Jian could think of no other reason why Xuan Lang would be subjected to such targeted hostility.
The youth remained silent, his outer eye corners drooping with suppressed endurance and quiet desolation. That reaction confirmed Li Jian’s suspicions: from the moment they stepped through the door, the manager had spoken to them this way not because Li Jian looked shabby and unworthy of entering, but because he was acting under Qi Jingyao’s instructions to intentionally target Xuan Lang.
Qi Jingyao hadn’t known they would come here today, meaning he couldn’t have notified the manager in advance to humiliate Xuan Lang specifically.
This proved that this was how they treated Xuan Lang on a daily basis—no matter when, whenever Xuan Lang was spotted, cynical remarks and veiled insults inevitably followed, ensuring he could never walk with his head held high within Qi territory.
That also explained why, despite nominally being a relative who had come to depend upon the Qi family, Xuan Lang was relegated to living in a remote cottage outside the city, where even a new set of clothes subjected him to Qi Jingyao’s sneers about not being worthy.
Under the gazes of the surrounding patrons, Li Jian straightened his posture and raised his voice. “Whose shop this is matters not as long as I bring silver, I am a customer.”
Pulling his hand out from his sleeve, he slapped a heavy ingot of gold onto the golden nanmu wood table. A brilliant, dazzling flash of gold lit up the counter, making the attendants’ eyes gleam in unison.
“Manager, I’ll take this entire set. Is this enough?”
The manager, who had been acting arrogant moments before, instantly lit up as he stared at Li Jian. Such a massive ingot of gold was more than enough to buy out every single item in the entire shop.
Having never seen Li Jian before, the manager didn’t recognize his identity. Assuming he was merely someone tagging along with Xuan Lang, he had automatically followed Qi Jingyao’s standing orders to make things difficult for them, figuring their poor attire meant they couldn’t afford anything anyway.
Never in his wildest dreams had he expected Li Jian to flash such staggering wealth!
Hastily stepping forward with an obsequious grin, the manager groveled, “Enough, more than enough! If the young master wishes for anything else, this gold will cover it easily.”
Raising an eyebrow, Li Jian cast a smiling glance around the room, casually pointing at several items that appeared expensive. The manager eagerly called out to his attendants to pack everything up for Li Jian, offering to have them personally delivered right to his residence.
Amidst the bustling crowd, a wealthy local gentry patron suddenly recognized Li Jian. Having attended the banquet at the Qi estate a few days prior, he remembered Li Jian’s breathtaking appearance, exceptional demeanor, and status as the immortal elder who found the divine statue a figure whose reputation had spread throughout Xunyang City. Naturally, that patron recognized him instantly.
Upon learning that this companion of Xuan Lang was none other than the legendary immortal elder who had rescued the Qi family’s divine statue, the manager turned pale, rushed forward in absolute terror, and bowed deeply until his back was parallel to the floor.
“This humble one was blind and failed to recognize Mount Tai, remaining unaware that it was Immortal Li who graced us with his presence. Please forgive me for any discourtesy, Immortal Elder; I beg you not to hold it against this small person.”
As a designated guest of the Qi family, treating him with such disrespect could carry catastrophic consequences if word ever reached Patriarch Qi’s ears.
Standing up slowly, Li Jian cast a sidelong glance. “It doesn’t matter. After all, the person you treated with disrespect wasn’t me.”
“Yes, yes, yes! Immortal Elder, let me have all these goods carefully packed and personally delivered to your honorable residence?”
Expecting Li Jian to be accommodating, the manager breathed a sigh of relief and happily reached out to collect the gold ingot from the table, only to watch the young man flick his wide sleeves across the golden nanmu wood surface and scoop the gold back into his own hand.
Weighing the gold ingot leisurely in his palm, Li Jian drawled:
“Pardon me, but your goods are far too filthy, and I happen to be allergic to unclean things.”
“Therefore… I don’t want them anymore.”
The manager froze in utter bewilderment, as if failing to comprehend Li Jian’s meaning.
Without missing a beat, Li Jian reached out to grab Xuan Lang’s wrist, pulling the youth along as he headed toward the exit, raising his voice for the entire shop to hear:
“Let’s go, Young Master Xuan. Since the people here lack eyes and fail to recognize true quality, we shall take our patronage elsewhere. I refuse to believe that having silver means one cannot purchase goods.”
Refusing to earn money when it was handed to you made one a fool.
However, sycophants who only knew how to kiss up to the strong and trample the weak were unworthy of earning his silver even if that silver had originally come from the Qi family coffers, it wasn’t worth returning to them.
“Ah, Immortal Elder…”
Watched helplessly by the shop manager, Li Jian and Xuan Lang walked right out of the establishment. Witnessing the way the immortal guest had been slighted and driven away, the wealthy gentry patron who had been browsing items immediately set his goods down, deciding against making any purchases here.
Everyone present revered the immortal sects; offending an immortal elder meant inviting terrible misfortune, and no one wanted to court such bad luck.
“Manager Zhang… didn’t we already finalize…”
Having left the Qi family’s shop, Li Jian accompanied Xuan Lang to another merchant house, where he very generously purchased a batch of necessary daily supplies. However, the bed frame that Li Jian had originally intended to buy ended up unpurchased.
It wasn’t because he was stingy or because transportation was impossible; rather, Li Jian had reconsidered his plans. His mission wasn’t merely to locate the descended Immortal Lord Shiyuan—he also needed to guide Shiyuan back to the immortal sect and help him undergo his tribulation ascent once more to successfully complete the mission.
Since they would eventually be leaving and wouldn’t be staying here long anyway, buying an extra bed would simply be a waste.
Instead, making do by squeezing together for a little while might actually help foster their relationship and accelerate the mission’s completion!
After acquiring daily necessities, Li Jian brought Xuan Lang to a silk and drapery shop to select several sets of fresh clothing, picking out a few for himself along the way.
Putting aside everything else, with Xuan Lang’s breathtaking face, forcing him to wear those dull black and grey coarse hemp robes was nothing short of criminal waste.
If no one had come to rescue him before, so be it; from this moment onward, Li Jian would never allow such a thing to happen again.
When Xuan Lang tried to refuse, Li Jian shot him a sidelong look. “Why wouldn’t you want them? Besides, it’s all Qi family money anyway we’d be fools not to spend it.”
Remaining silent, Xuan Lang simply lowered his head and gently stroked the fabric of the new clothes Li Jian had picked for him. The material was exceptionally fine, embroidered with exquisite patterns.
This was the very first time anyone had ever bought him a gift since he arrived at the Qi family estate.