Chapter 26: What Are You Looking At?

“Even the vendors aren’t allowed on the street?”

Song Qingyi was a bit confused.

If this was the case, how was she supposed to buy her storybooks?

“Yes, I ask for the two Immortals’ understanding.”

The armored soldier signaled for the surrounding soldiers to stand down.

“If the two Immortals need to purchase daily necessities, please follow me.”

“Wait a moment. May I ask why the security in the city is so tight?”

Zhu Lan’s suspicions grew.

The scene inside the city was far too abnormal, so she couldn’t help but interject.

“The Immortals might not be aware, but last month, a bold and heartless villain slaughtered nearly half of the Ye family’s population. The other three major families in the city were also affected. Many innocent people were caught in the crossfire.”

“The city became a scene of flowing rivers of blood and mountains of bones — a truly tragic sight. That villain was incredibly powerful. The former City Lord of Liangzhou acted out of justice and fought the villain for three days and three nights. Unfortunately, the former City Lord was of advanced age and was ultimately defeated by the thief, dying with regrets.”

Zhu Lan’s eyelid twitched.

So this massive ordeal was caused by the male lead.

‘Whatever, he’s the male lead. There’s no point in being shocked.’

She nodded.

“I see. Such a villain deserves death. Please take us to a place where we can buy supplies.”

The armored soldier nodded.

“Very well. May I ask what the two Immortals require? Currently, the inventory of goods in Liangzhou City might not be abundant, so I hope you will forgive…”

Song Qingyi interrupted him.

“We want to buy storybooks.”

Zhu Lan: “…”

The armored soldier: “…”

The group of soldiers: “…”

“Very well. Please follow me, Immortals.”

As expected of a small leader, he regained his composure quickly.

Song Qingyi successfully purchased a large bag full of storybooks.

Before they left, her eyes were sparkling.

“Junior Sister, let me tell you, don’t look down on these books. Once you read them, I guarantee you’ll fall in love with them!”

Zhu Lan didn’t think much of it.

She figured she had already read so many books in her previous life; could she really get hooked on the simple storybooks of the cultivation world?

“Yes, yes. Let’s look at them when we get back, Senior Sister. Let’s go.”

After the two of them flew away, a soldier stood next to the armored leader and whispered, “City Lord, that was too dangerous just now. Why didn’t we…”

The soldier made a throat-slitting gesture.

“Hmph, ignorant!”

The City Lord of Liangzhou gave a disdainful sneer.

“What use is there in killing two minor Tianyan Sect disciples?

If we alert them now, how will the Great Priest’s subsequent plans proceed?”

The soldier quickly bowed and scraped.

“You are right, you are right. It was my shallow thinking.”

A malicious smile hung on the City Lord’s face.

“After all that time, those two little girls must have been marked by the Great Priest. Once the great plan is accomplished, we’ll capture them and have some fun — especially that quiet Junior Sister who didn’t say much! Hahahahaha!”

Seeing their leader’s sinister laugh, the other soldiers joined in.

“Hahahahahaha!”

…

After sitting on the giant leaf and flying back to the sect, Zhu Lan suddenly thought of a question.

“Senior Sister Qingyi, Liangzhou City felt very wrong just now. What if there were people with ill intentions there?”

Song Qingyi thought about it seriously before answering, “Then we just fight them.”

“Senior Sister, what is your cultivation level? I can’t see through it, so it must be…”

“I am currently at the late-stage Foundation Establishment.”

?

Zhu Lan’s smile froze as a question mark slowly formed in her mind.

?

Late-stage Foundation Establishment?!

Zhu Lan was only at Qi Condensation Level 8…

No wonder Senior Sister Qingyi seemed so carefree.

It turned out that as long as the Golden Core elders didn’t interfere, she could practically walk unhindered through the martial world.

At the very least, she could run away.

“Haha, then are you an inner disciple, Senior Sister?”

Song Qingyi shook her head.

“I am not an inner disciple.”

Zhu Lan was puzzled.

“Can’t a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator enter the inner sect?”

“I am a Core Disciple.”

Zhu Lan: “…”

‘Fine. Hahaha.’

‘It’s fine, it’s fine.’

‘It’s good. Having such a powerful friend is a good thing.’

As everyone knew, in typical cultivation webnovels, the disciple hierarchy generally went: Laborer — Outer — Inner — Core.

Zhu Lan had been worried that Senior Sister Qingyi was too airheaded and might be cheated by others, but now it seemed her worries were completely unnecessary.

She should worry about herself instead.

She was tired.

Heart-weary.

“Then I’ll head back first, Senior Sister.”

Once she got back, Zhu Lan was going to strive for improvement!

She would cultivate hard!

First, she would work toward becoming an inner disciple.

“Don’t leave yet, Junior Sister.”

Song Qingyi vanished in a flash and returned just as quickly, handing Zhu Lan a large bundle.

“Take this. If you have things to do, go ahead. I’m going to read my storybooks now, hehehe…”

After bidding Song Qingyi farewell, Zhu Lan returned to her cultivation room and opened the bundle.

As expected, it was a pile of storybooks.

Zhu Lan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Could it be that Senior Sister Qingyi cultivated so quickly because she had a simple personality and a pure mind without any distracting thoughts?

Senior Sister Qingyi wasn’t much older than her.

To reach the late-stage Foundation Establishment at this age made her a truly brilliant genius.

Looking at the books in her hand, Zhu Lan couldn’t help but feel curious.

Were the storybooks of the cultivation world actually good?

30 minutes later —

Zhu Lan was already immersed in the world of the book.

She finished one in 30 minutes.

Truth be told, it was surprisingly good.

There were even illustrations inside, and they were quite interesting.

She didn’t know where Senior Sister Qingyi had found them, but the one Zhu Lan just read was titled Willows by the River.

Looking at the title alone, one would have no idea what it was about.

No one would expect that a book called Willows by the River would tell the story of a poor scholar who was favored by a beautiful and kind princess.

She voluntarily sponsored the scholar’s studies, voluntarily gave herself to him, and voluntarily suffered alongside him.

In the end, the poor scholar placed first in the imperial examinations and became the Prince Consort.

The fantasies of the ancients were not lacking at all.

Actually, this kind of story wasn’t particularly attractive because there were too many similar templates.

The problem lay in the fact that the descriptions in the book were quite explicit.

Nearly half of the pages were dedicated to describing the affairs of the scholar and the beautiful princess in bed.

The writing in this regard could be described as masterful — moving from simple to complex, then back to simple again.

It made Zhu Lan, a self-proclaimed “veteran” of such content, feel her heart race and her face flush uncontrollably.

‘How provocative.’

It was as if Zhu Lan had discovered a new world.

She read one book after another, completely failing to notice that the sky had grown dark.

“As the passion deepened, his tongue moved over the plum blossoms on the snow, then over the waters of a mountain spring, like a scratch to the heart and a caress to the back…”

Just as she reached a critical point and her eyes widened, a voice suddenly rang out in front of her.

“What are you reading?”