Dongfang Che didn’t believe her at all. “Fine. If you can actually buy something back, I’ll cultivate properly!”
Luo Qingyan waved her hand and turned away with a carefree air. “It’s a deal!”
Dongfang Che watched her retreating figure, his emotions complicated. “…”
Ever since the junior sister jumped into the lake, her temperament had changed drastically.
Before, she had been foolish.
Now, she seemed utterly unhinged.
How could she possibly buy anything without Spirit Stones?
Luo Qingyan first arrived at Mage Peak.
The trading hall on Mage Peak sold all kinds of talisman-drawing supplies, as well as finished talismans. Since they were sold to sect disciples, the prices were much cheaper than on the black market outside.
Luo Qingyan selected two wolf-hair brushes and a stack of talisman paper, totaling fifty Spirit Stones.
As she browsed, she observed the situation in the trading hall.
Most of the disciples on duty there were snobbish—they would be especially proactive and warm toward disciples with high cultivation or deep pockets, while treating ordinary disciples with cold indifference.
Only one disciple was different.
He was a fair-skinned, slender young man, dressed in fine clothes that clearly marked him as coming from a prominent family.
Unlike the others, he didn’t fawn on the powerful or look down on the weak.
He looked down on everyone equally.
Luo Qingyan walked up to the young man, wearing an innocent, harmless smile. “Senior Brother, might I ask your name?”
The young man kept his eyes on the ledger in his hands without lifting his head. “Gu Qionglou.”
Luo Qingyan said, “Greetings, Senior Brother Gu. I’d like to buy on credit.”
The young man was slightly surprised and raised his thin eyelids. “On credit?”
“Yes,” Luo Qingyan said. “I didn’t bring any Spirit Stones today. Could I owe you for now?”
Gu Qionglou said coldly, “No. The trading hall never extends credit.”
Luo Qingyan wasn’t surprised by this.
She simply smiled and said, “Then I’ll trouble Senior Brother to take me to see Elder Shen, the head of the trading hall. I’ll have a little chat with him, and he’ll agree to let me buy on credit.”
The people around them all turned to look, their gazes filled with surprise and contempt as they murmured among themselves.
“Which peak does this poor wretch belong to? First time I’ve ever seen someone try to buy on credit at the trading hall…”
“Look at her identity token—she’s from Joyful Peak! She must be that lovesick fool who jumped into the lake a few days ago!”
“Is this lovesick fool crazy? First she tries to cozy up to Senior Brother Gu, and now she wants to see Elder Shen… Does she think Elder Shen is that easy to talk to?”
Gu Qionglou frowned. “No trading hall on any peak has a rule for credit. Seeing Elder Shen won’t do you any good. He won’t make an exception for you.”
Luo Qingyan said, “That’s fine. I’m very persuasive when I talk. I’m sure I can convince him.”
Gu Qionglou let out a derisive laugh.
Everyone knew that Elder Shen had an atrocious temper and was immune to both flattery and pressure.
Convince him? You must be dreaming.
Luo Qingyan smiled. “Looks like you don’t believe me. Care to make a bet?”
Gu Qionglou asked, “Bet on what?”
Luo Qingyan said, “I’ll bet a hundred Spirit Stones that Elder Shen will extend me credit.”
Gu Qionglou sneered. “You’re on.”
As the personal disciple of the Mage Peak master, he had originally been at the trading hall today to conduct an inspection, but who would have thought he’d run into such an oddball?
Anyone else might have simply chased Luo Qingyan away as a lunatic.
But someone as aloof and proud as him enjoyed proving himself right, even if the other party was a madwoman—he’d still rise to the challenge.
Luo Qingyan followed Gu Qionglou to the entrance of a study room.
Gu Qionglou said, “I’ll give you one piece of advice. Elder Shen has a strange temperament. Flattering him or playing the pitiful card won’t work—it’ll only make him dislike you. What he hates most are glib, hypocritical people.”
Luo Qingyan nodded. “Don’t worry, Senior Brother. I’m a very honest person. Not hypocritical at all.”
Gu Qionglou snorted coldly, then knocked on the door and announced, “Elder, there’s a disciple who insists on seeing you.”
“Ah?! Who! What is it!” An old man’s voice came from inside, sounding irritable. “Say your piece and get lost! I’m busy!!”
Luo Qingyan was unfazed and pushed the door open with confidence.
Inside the study, an old man with an immortal, otherworldly bearing sat behind a desk, holding a wolf-hair brush as he drew talismans.
Luo Qingyan respectfully performed a bow. “Disciple Luo Qingyan of Joyful Peak pays respects to Elder Shen!”
“Disciple has long admired Elder Shen from afar. In this entire Cultivation World, the person Disciple admires most is you!”
“Your place in Disciple’s heart is unmatched by anyone!”
Elder Shen: “…?”
He’d seen hypocritical people before, but never anyone this hypocritical.
You admire me without even having met me? Are you trying to fool an idiot here?!
Elder Shen said coldly, “Speak plainly. No need for all this nonsense.”
Luo Qingyan said, “Everything Disciple says comes from the bottom of my heart! Because your talent is unprecedented and unrivaled—an ordinary brush in your hands, with a casual flick, commands the balance of yin and yang… Truly the greatest of all time, number one in the world!”
Elder Shen listened, utterly speechless.
As an elder whose cultivation on Mage Peak was second only to the peak master, he was indeed exceptionally gifted at drawing talismans, and many disciples had flattered him over the years—but no one had ever blown it up this ridiculously.
Elder Shen already detested sycophants, and this kind of flattery was so hollow and overblown it was even worse.
His face darkened further. He picked up his teacup and took a cold, mocking sip.
He’d just see what this little girl was really up to and what other absurd nonsense she could spout.
Luo Qingyan continued, “The little yellow book you wrote is truly full of thrilling plots and rich content—it’s impossible to put down!”
“Pfft—”
Elder Shen spat out a mouthful of tea.
He rose abruptly to his feet. “What did you say?”
Luo Qingyan took a storybook out of her Storage Bag. “Isn’t this Those Years I Was a Cultivation Cauldron written by you?”
Elder Shen’s expression changed drastically.
Writing little yellow books was something that couldn’t be seen in the light, so he had always kept it extremely secret—only heaven and he knew about it.
Elder Shen’s white beard trembled as he asked in a shaky voice, “How do you know I wrote it?”