Bai Shuangshuang reached out and grasped the sword hilt.
The moment her fingers touched it, a warmth spread from her fingertips throughout her body, like soaking in a hot spring in winter.
She could feel something inside the blade trembling gently, like a heartbeat that gradually synchronized with her own.
She drew the sword out.
The blade was long and clear, like a pool of autumn water condensed into solid form.
Along the spine of the sword, a thin silver line extended from the guard to the tip, glowing faintly.
Bai Shuangshuang swung it once.
The sword wind traced an arc as spiritual qi flowed along the blade without any hindrance.
She didn’t even have to deliberately channel her spiritual power; the sword itself responded to her.
It was like a lock that had waited for a long time, finally finding its key.
Yu Yue had been leaning lazily against a pillar, but when she saw Bai Shuangshuang swing the sword, she suddenly froze.
The little girl in red stood up straight.
Her gaze fell on the faintly glowing silver line on the blade, and her pupils contracted.
“Wait a minute—”
She leaned in close to Bai Shuangshuang, stared at the sword in her hand over and over, then looked up at Bai Shuangshuang’s face, scanning back and forth several times before her lips trembled.
“It recognized a master?!”
Her voice sounded a bit shaky.
Bai Shuangshuang didn’t say anything.
Yu Yue took a deep breath.
Her expression changed several times in just a few seconds, finally settling into a calm that said, “I’m going to pretend nothing happened.”
This sword was special.
It had been priced and put up for sale by an elder-level figure from the sect.
Lower-grade magical tools usually cost around a thousand spirit stones, but this one was priced at five thousand, and not just anyone could buy it—only so-called “fateful people.”
She couldn’t figure out what the standard for “fateful person” was, only that this item had been passed around Hanguang Pavilions across various countries and had never been sold.
But now, she seemed to understand what “fateful person” meant.
This sword was special—if it could be sold, the equivalent turnover recorded for her would far exceed the selling price.
‘Salvation!’
She cleared her throat, leaned close to Bai Shuangshuang, and lowered her voice to a volume only the two of them could hear.
“Miss, I want to tell you something.”
Bai Shuangshuang looked at her.
“This sword is five thousand spirit stones. But I can give you a discount.”
Yu Yue’s voice dropped even lower, as if afraid someone else might hear.
“Two thousand, will you buy it?”
She paused, then added, a hint of pleading in her tone.
“Please don’t refuse to buy it! I’m begging you…”
Bai Shuangshuang blinked.
She glanced at Yu Yue’s hands—the ones that were secretly pulling the brocade box back.
Her mouth said, “Think it over,” but her hands were already packing it away.
Bai Shuangshuang held back a smile and shot Zhao Qingyue a meaningful glance.
Zhao Qingyue understood.
“Two thousand? That’s too expensive, isn’t it?”
Zhao Qingyue said slowly.
“How long has this sword been hawked at your place? Three years? Five years?”
“Fifteen years.”
Yu Yue blurted out, then regretted it immediately.
‘Isn’t this handing them a weapon? It seems I’m not good at selling after all.’
“Fifteen years?”
Zhao Qingyue repeated, with just the right amount of surprise in her voice.
“A sword that hasn’t sold for fifteen years, and you still want two thousand?”
Yu Yue’s face twitched.
“This was personally forged by a sect artisan! It’s a magical tool! Not comparable to those mortal tools!”
“From what I see of your prices here, the average for lower-grade magical tools is just over one thousand.”
Zhao Qingyue said unhurriedly.
“And you ask for two thousand? Isn’t that a bit bullying?”
Qiu Yue stood beside them, her mouth slightly open, her eyes darting from Bai Shuangshuang to Zhao Qingyue to Yu Yue, completely dumbfounded.
‘Five thousand spirit stones? Two thousand spirit stones?’
Their Clear Dew Sect’s annual expenses were only a few hundred thousand spirit stones, divided into tens of thousands per month, minus the bulk of daily expenses, actually leaving only a few thousand flexible.
These two, however, were bargaining over a several thousand spirit stones deal like buying groceries.
Is this the financial power of the Prince’s Mansion?
Qiu Yue swallowed secretly.
Yu Yue was rendered speechless by Zhao Qingyue’s rebuttal.
Her lips trembled twice, and she stomped her foot.
“One thousand eight hundred! Can’t go lower! Any lower and I’ll—”
She didn’t finish her sentence because Bai Shuangshuang suddenly placed the sword back into the brocade box.
“Forget it, I don’t want it.”
Yu Yue’s voice got stuck in her throat, and she stood frozen as if petrified.
Bai Shuangshuang turned around and leisurely walked toward the staircase.
“Wait, wait a moment!”
Yu Yue’s voice went off-key.
She rushed over, almost tripping over her own skirt.
“Miss! Miss! Wait!”
Bai Shuangshuang stopped and turned to look at her.
Yu Yue stood before her, her chest heaving violently, her expression extremely colorful.
Her lips trembled several times before she finally squeezed out a sentence.
“You… what exactly do you want?”
Bai Shuangshuang tilted her head, looking at her, and smiled.
She seemed really eager to sell this sword.
“Do you remember how you greeted me when I walked in?”
Yu Yue’s expression froze.
“Shopkeeper Yu Yue. If you come in to look, then just look. Don’t get grabby and break things. I don’t have cheap items here. If you break something, I’ll beat you to death.”
Bai Shuangshuang repeated it verbatim, even imitating the lazy tone to about seventy or eighty percent accuracy.
Yu Yue’s face went from white to red, then from red to green.
“As for me, I have a bit of a temper.”
Bai Shuangshuang said slowly with her hands behind her back.
“If others are polite to me, I’m polite to them. If others ignore me—”
She paused, looking at Yu Yue’s face that was about to cry.
“Then I’ll make them feel worse.”
Zhao Qingyue let out a “pfft” laugh from behind.
Qiu Yue was dumbfounded.
‘Miss Bai usually seems so kind and easy to get along with. Who would have thought she could be such a troublemaker outside?’
Yu Yue’s eyes were already red, from anxiety.
The performance within reach, the chance to clear out over a decade of old stock—all about to fly away.
She gritted her teeth.
“What exactly do you want to make you buy it?”
Bai Shuangshuang thought for a moment and held up two fingers.
“Two conditions. First, one thousand spirit stones, no haggling.”
Yu Yue’s face twitched, but she didn’t speak.
“Second.”
Bai Shuangshuang pointed toward the first floor.
“Given your attitude toward me earlier, you need to make amends. I pick two items at random from the Mortal Tool Area on the first floor, for free.”
Yu Yue’s eyes went wide.
“You—!”
“If you don’t agree, then forget it.”
Bai Shuangshuang turned to leave again.
“I AGREE!!!”
Yu Yue’s voice was so loud that the entire building shook.
She rushed back to the counter, fished out an iron tablet from a drawer, and together with the brocade box containing the Returning Cloud Sword, shoved them all into Bai Shuangshuang’s arms.
“This iron tablet is our Hanguang Pavilion’s VIP Token. From now on, you get discounts on everything you buy! Pick whatever you want on the first floor! Just come back and record the account with me when you’re done.”
Her words came out like a string of firecrackers, afraid Bai Shuangshuang would change her mind.
“One thousand spirit stones, the Returning Cloud Sword is yours! Bonus: two items from the Mortal Tool Area! Deal, deal, deal!”
Bai Shuangshuang held the brocade box, looked down at the items in her arms, then up at Yu Yue’s face that bore an expression of “I took a huge loss but I accept it,” and finally couldn’t help but laugh.
“Alright, deal.”
Yu Yue let out a long breath, her whole body like a deflated balloon.
She slumped onto the counter and waved her hand weakly.
“Go, go. Pick freely on the first floor. Just don’t tear down my shop.”
Watching Bai Shuangshuang’s retreating figure going downstairs, the little girl in red suddenly changed her expression.
“Pfft—”
‘Just joking with you. This thing, even if she sold it at a loss, she’d still make a huge profit, let alone having swindled one thousand spirit stones. As for those two mortal tools, how much could they be worth?’
“Hehe, you little brat, trying to play mind games with me?”
First Floor.
Zhao Qingyue walked over and poked Bai Shuangshuang’s arm.
“Well done, you. You haggled pretty ruthlessly.”
“It’s all thanks to the Commandery Princess’s excellent cooperation.”
Bai Shuangshuang tucked the VIP iron tablet into her bosom.
“Remember to settle the account with the Prince’s Mansion later.”
Qiu Yue watched the two of them from the side, and a smile unconsciously curved at the corner of her mouth.
She inexplicably felt that these two made a perfect match.