“Dear customer, what would you like?”
A voice that was slightly lazy and somewhat sweet came from behind the counter.
Wu Yan (Yan) stopped and looked up.
Behind the counter, a girl who looked only fifteen or sixteen years old was leaning there out of boredom. She wore a Tianbao Pavilion staff uniform that was clearly a size too large, with her sleeves loosely rolled up to reveal a section of her white, tender forearm that looked like freshly peeled lotus root.
The girl had a deceptive round face with delicate features like a porcelain doll, and her mouth naturally carried a hint of a smile.
At this moment, she was sizing up Wu Yan (Yan) while tossing an abacus bead she had dismantled from somewhere, playing with it happily.
“Gengjin metal Powder.”
Wu Yan (Yan) didn’t care about the other party’s gaze and spoke directly, her voice as cold as if she were reporting data. “I need about three pounds.”
The air fell silent for a moment.
Wu Yan (Inner) no longer wanted to talk; she was currently floating in mid-air like a salted fish that had lost its dreams, staring blankly at the ceiling with empty eyes while muttering to herself, “Waste residue… she actually wants to buy waste residue… my lifelong reputation… is completely ruined…”
Gengjin metal Powder was generally the waste residue left when a blacksmith refined Gengjin. Its texture was hard, and it was often used to repair cracks in low-grade artifacts.
The advantage was that it was cheap; the disadvantage was that the fusion would make the artifact brittle, and the color would become mottled and ugly.
“Gengjin metal Powder, huh…”
Tao’er blinked, and the abacus bead being tossed in the air landed steadily in her palm.
She didn’t immediately go to get the goods. Instead, she leaned forward, resting half her body on the counter as she propped up her chin and stared at the sword behind Wu Yan (Yan).
The girl’s eyes darted around, seemingly finding this person quite interesting. She clearly had a face as cold and ethereal as an immortal, and a temperament like a fairy who didn’t eat the food of common mortals, yet she opened her mouth to buy scrap metal.
“Since it’s waste material, it wouldn’t be right to charge you too much.” The girl turned around and pulled out a drawer from the dense rows of medicine cabinets behind her, taking out a parcel and handing it to Wu Yan (Yan).
“This bag is about three ounces. It’s the powder ground from the scraps left over after Master Liu forged a Vajra Bangle. It has many impurities and can easily cause a furnace explosion. If you want it, you can take it for sixty Spirit Stones.”
“Fifty stones.”
Wu Yan (Yan) replied almost instantly, her tone firm and decisive.
These words made Wu Yan (Inner) completely explode. She paced back and forth irritably in the void, her red dress fluttering. “For ten low-grade Spirit Stones? You’re actually haggling for ten low-grade stones? My face has been completely lost by you! Pull out the sword! Put it against her neck! Make her hand over all the Gengjin in Tianbao Pavilion!”
Wu Yan (Yan) completely blocked out that voice which only wanted to see the world burn, her gaze calmly looking at the girl. “The color of this powder is dull, clearly waste residue from a second refining. The gold content is less than ten percent. Fifty stones, not a single one more.”
The round-faced girl let out a snort and laughed. She looked at Wu Yan (Yan) with great interest, seemingly seeing an interesting soul through that pale, washed-out white clothing.
“Fine, fine, fifty it is.” The girl briskly pushed the oil-paper package over. “Since you know your stuff so well, I’ll make the call and sell it to you. My name is Tao’er. If you have any big business in the future, customer, you must take care of our Tianbao Pavilion.”
“Thank you.”
Wu Yan (Yan) had no extra pleasantries and no hypocritical refusals. She took out fifty low-grade Spirit Stones and stacked them neatly on the counter.
The deal was done.
This reaction made Tao’er find her even more interesting. She propped up her chin and watched Wu Yan (Yan) turn around, thinking secretly to herself: When did such a fun sword cultivator come to Qingshan City? If she comes back next time, I’ll give her a twenty percent discount.
Wu Yan (Yan) stowed the materials and turned to leave.
However, just at the moment she was about to walk out of this corner, a scene in the center of the hall caused her footsteps to stop abruptly, as if she had been nailed to the floor.
The center of the Tianbao Pavilion hall was the area specifically designated for VIPs. It was covered with thick beast-skin carpets, and the counters were carved from whole pieces of warm jade. Everything sold there was the best of the best.
At this moment, a green-clothed figure stood with her back to her in front of the VIP counter.
It was Yu Qingyao.
The girl was wearing the cloud-patterned Daoist robes unique to direct disciples of the Piaomiao Sect. Her posture was as upright as a pine tree, and her green hair draped behind her. Just a glimpse of her back exuded a coldness that kept people at a distance.
But Wu Yan (Yan) acutely noticed that Yu Qingyao’s shoulder lines were very tense, a sign of being in an extremely guarded state.
“Shopkeeper, I’ll take all of these.”
Yu Qingyao’s voice drifted over clearly—calm and decisive, yet carrying a trace of urgency that was hard to detect.
“My, three high-grade middle-tier Explosive Flame Talismans, two Vajra Body Protection Talismans, as well as a bottle of high-grade middle-tier Heart-Clearing Pills and array flags. Little Wu Yan, looks like our Junior Sister is quite wealthy, isn’t she?”
Explosive Flame Talismans focused on killing and had a large area of effect; Vajra Talismans were for defense; Heart-Clearing Pills protected against illusions or mental attacks; array flags were used to set up temporary defensive positions.
This was a standard survival configuration for high-intensity combat.
It wasn’t surprising that Junior Sister was rich, considering she was the direct disciple of a Peak Master. But the question was, why was she buying these?
The Piaomiao Sect was a great orthodox sect. Although there was competition within the sect, it shouldn’t reach the point of needing such desperate measures. Unless… Junior Sister believed she was about to face a life-or-death crisis.
The shopkeeper behind the counter was smiling so much that the wrinkles on his face were piled together, his attitude fawning to the point of being obsequious. “Oh, you have such good eyes, Immortal! These are all fresh top-tier goods our shop just received, especially these Explosive Flame Talismans—they pack the power of a full-strength strike from a Foundation Establishment Cultivator! That will be one hundred and twenty middle-grade Spirit Stones in total. I’ll round it down for you; one hundred will do!”
One hundred middle-grade Spirit Stones.
Hearing this number, Wu Yan (Yan), standing in the shadows, subconsciously touched the paper package in her bosom that had only cost fifty low-grade Spirit Stones.
The massive wealth gap became localized in that single moment.
Wu Yan (Yan) stood in the shadows, watching Yu Qingyao pay and collect her goods from a distance.
Yu Qingyao’s side profile looked somewhat pale under the light and shadow, and her eyes were gloomy and deep, not looking at all like a girl in her teens.
Should she go over and say hello?
As soon as this thought appeared, Wu Yan (Yan) snuffed it out.
At this moment, if she walked over, what could she say?
“What a coincidence, Junior Sister”? Too fake and utterly meaningless.
“Why are you buying so many talismans”? That would be spying into her privacy.
“Do you need help”? Her own pockets were empty, and she didn’t even have a good sword. How could she help?
Moreover, Yu Qingyao was clearly in a state of “not wanting to be disturbed.”
If she rashly stepped forward, it would only make her feel embarrassed, or even make her suspect she was being followed.
Wu Yan (Yan)’s social logic was simple and blunt: since she couldn’t provide substantial help and appearing would cause the other party trouble, the optimal solution was—disappearing.
Not disturbing her was the greatest kindness she could offer.
Wu Yan (Yan) retracted her gaze without making a sound.
Like a silent shadow, she quietly turned around, avoiding the flow of people in the center of the hall and walking toward the side door.
Three breaths after Wu Yan (Yan) turned to leave.
Yu Qingyao, who was putting the talismans into her storage bag, suddenly stiffened.
An inexplicable feeling welled up in her heart.
It was a sixth sense honed through countless life-and-death encounters in her previous life.
Just now, she felt a gaze fall upon her.
That gaze lacked malice, contained no greed, and held no killing intent.
It was like a piece of ice or a gust of wind, silently lingering there for a moment before quietly dissipating.
“What’s wrong, Immortal? Did you leave something behind?” Seeing Yu Qingyao suddenly stop, the shopkeeper asked in confusion.
“…It’s nothing.”
Yu Qingyao suddenly turned her head, her gaze sweeping like lightning toward the corner of the hall.
It was the direction leading to the side door, currently empty except for a dark blue door curtain swaying gently in the breeze.
There was no one there.
Yu Qingyao frowned, her fingers gripping the storage bag tightening until her knuckles turned white.
Was it an illusion?
No, that feeling was too familiar. Cold, detached, yet carrying an indescribable trace of concern.
Could it be that she-devil?
Yu Qingyao’s heart contracted violently, but she immediately dismissed the thought.
That she-devil should still be recovering from her injuries on Zhuqu Peak, and given the personality of the she-devil from her previous life, how could she quietly leave after seeing her? She would only walk up to her with that playful and cruel smile to mock her weakness. Although she seemed to have changed in this life, who knew if that was just an act.
“Perhaps I’m just being too tense.”
Yu Qingyao took a deep breath, suppressing the cloud of doubt in her heart.
The matter of the broken restriction weighed on her heart like a giant boulder, making her jump at shadows.
No matter who that gaze belonged to, she didn’t have the time to investigate now.
Only by staying alive and becoming stronger could she master her own destiny in this crumbling future.
Yu Qingyao retracted her gaze, her eyes becoming cold and hard as iron once more, as she turned and strode out of Tianbao Pavilion.
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