Chapter 36: Han Guang Pavilion

Before going to Lingxi County, Bai Shuangshuang and Zhao Qingyue had already discussed it—she needed to buy a sword.

It was actually Lady Zhao’s idea.

“You’re a proper cultivator now. How can you not have a sword?”

Zhao Qingyue said it as if it were the most natural thing, like she knew what she was talking about.

Bai Shuangshuang shot her a glance.

“You’re a half-baked Yellow-Grade Dao Seed, but you sure sound knowledgeable.”

“Whether I know anything or not isn’t important. What matters is that you have one. People from our Prince’s Mansion can’t fall short of others!”

Zhao Qingyue patted the longsword at her waist—the same one Bai Shuangshuang had borrowed when setting up the formation.

It had been hanging on her wall gathering dust for who knows how many years.

Now that they were heading to Lingxi County, she’d taken it out just to show off.

“How about I give you this one?”

Bai Shuangshuang glanced at it and shook her head.

“No.”

“Why not? This was forged from top-grade materials. At the very least, it counts as a Dharma Artifact, right?”

Weapons and treasures were divided into five great grades: Mortal Artifacts, Dharma Artifacts, Spirit Artifacts, Treasure Artifacts, and Sacred Relics.

Each grade had three tiers: upper, middle, and lower.

For someone like Bai Shuangshuang, who had just entered the Mysterious Seed Realm, a Dharma Artifact was more than sufficient.

“It doesn’t suit me~”

Zhao Qingyue glared at her.

“Bai Shuangshuang, you’re getting cocky! You haven’t even taken up your post yet, and you’re already looking down on this Commandery Princess’s things?!”

Bai Shuangshuang ignored her and swung herself onto the horse.

It wasn’t that she wanted to rain on Lady Zhao’s parade, but she had tried out that sword before.

The grade was usable, and the appearance was passable, but it didn’t resonate with her.

Whenever she held it, she felt her spiritual energy stagnate.

It was fine for setting up formations, but if she had to wear it at her waist as a constant companion, it would only cause her frustration.

‘I’m at least a Heaven-grade Dao Seed. I should find a Dharma Artifact that suits me.’

Besides, there was another point—that sword had been hanging in Lady Zhao’s boudoir for so many years.

It must have some story behind it.

Giving it to her now—what would that mean?

A token of love?

‘Weird.’

Qiu Yue, listening from behind, quietly said,

“Hanguang Pavilion should have Dharma Artifacts. Quite a few, in fact. Miss Bai could go pick one out.”

“Then let’s go to Hanguang Pavilion!”

Zhao Qingyue made the final call.

She was determined to give Bai Shuangshuang something today, whether by paying or by handing over a sword.

The group left the Royal City and headed north along the official road.

Bai Shuangshuang rode on horseback, head lowered, fingers tracing the crescent moon white jade at her waist.

Her heart was troubled.

‘By agreement, I should return this to its owner. But it saved my life. Now I can’t seem to part with it.’

Mo Zhuozhuo’s mark was still there.

If that madwoman came to cause trouble in her dreams again, this jade was her only protection.

But the jade was Qiu Yue’s family heirloom.

She couldn’t just keep it forever, could she?

Bai Shuangshuang glanced back at Qiu Yue.

‘Maybe… I can negotiate again?’

Qiu Yue was riding gracefully, her white robes fluttering, her attention fixed on the wildflowers by the roadside, completely unaware that her family treasure was being coveted.

“Um… Miss Qiu Yue?”

“Hmm?”

Qiu Yue turned her head.

Her face was innocent, her big eyes blinking.

Bai Shuangshuang opened her mouth, then closed it again.

‘How could she say that?’

“Never mind. It slipped my mind.”

Qiu Yue blinked but didn’t press further.

Zhao Qingyue watched from the side, her gaze shuttling between the two for a moment before she looked away.

‘Good. No scent of scandal.’

They arrived at Hanguang Pavilion.

It stood not far from the Royal City, a meeting point between the mortal world and the Immortal Sects.

A three-story pavilion with green tiles and white walls, it couldn’t compare to the Prince’s Mansion in grandeur, but the plaque above the door faintly pulsed with spiritual energy.

This wasn’t an ordinary shop.

It was a branch of the well-known cross-national merchant sect—the Hanguang Sect.

That was a sect-level faction.

Bai Shuangshuang dismounted and pushed open the wooden door.

“Shopkeeper Yu Yue. If you come in to look, keep your hands to yourself. Don’t break anything. I don’t have cheap goods here. If you damage something, I’ll beat you to death.”

A lazy voice came from behind the counter, carrying a dismissive edge.

The speaker was a girl in red robes, looking about thirteen or fourteen, with two round buns on her head like a lucky charm from a New Year painting—if a lucky charm’s face could be that sour.

She was sprawled across the counter, her chin resting on her hands, eyes half-closed, not even lifting her eyelids.

Bai Shuangshuang scanned the first floor.

The shelves were lined with swords, Dharma Artifacts, and pills, but the spiritual energy was pitifully thin.

Most were Mortal Artifacts, with a few lower-grade Dharma Artifacts looking dusty and picked over.

She walked to the sword section and tried a few for feel.

Some were too light, some too heavy, or the spiritual energy transferred with a terrible lag.

“Is there anything better?”

Bai Shuangshuang turned back to ask.

Yu Yue—the red-clad girl—was currently frowning at her account books.

Her performance target hadn’t been met again.

With spiritual energy stagnating in the Southern Region, every household had little to spare.

The sect’s bulk orders had dropped, and individual customers were fewer too.

If she failed to meet her quota this year, she’d be exiled to the Northern Ice Plains next year, a place where even birds wouldn’t shit.

Hearing Bai Shuangshuang’s question, she replied grumpily,

“There is. On the second floor. But let me warn you—the items on the second floor aren’t cheap.”

Bai Shuangshuang ignored her tone and headed straight for the stairs.

Yu Yue rolled her eyes behind her, then reluctantly followed, muttering under her breath,

“Another young miss out to broaden her horizons… full of bad habits and can’t tell quality from trash… probably won’t even buy anything…”

Zhao Qingyue followed behind, caught the muttering, and a slight smile curved her lips.

She leaned close to Bai Shuangshuang’s ear and whispered,

“This little girl is pretty interesting.”

“She sure has a sharp tongue,”

Bai Shuangshuang said.

The second floor was much more organized than the first.

On several rows of rosewood shelves, Dharma Artifacts with restrained spiritual energy were displayed.

Bai Shuangshuang swept her gaze across them—lower, middle, and even one upper-grade Dharma Artifact, but its price was exorbitant.

She tried each one, her brow furrowing deeper with every sword.

Yu Yue leaned against a pillar, arms crossed, watching Bai Shuangshuang pick and choose, and couldn’t help speaking up.

“Are you deliberately looking for trouble? You’ve tried every sword here. Not a single one catches your eye?”

Bai Shuangshuang set down the last sword and turned to face her.

“Is there anything better?”

Yu Yue’s gaze traveled over Bai Shuangshuang, then glanced at Zhao Qingyue and Qiu Yue beside her.

She sized them up.

These girls were dressed well, but they carried no sect insignias.

They were most likely from wealthy secular families, here to broaden their horizons.

Even if they wanted to buy, they probably wouldn’t be willing to spend the money.

‘I’ll just dig out something weird to get rid of them.’

“There is,”

Yu Yue said slowly.

She walked to the innermost counter, crouched down, and pulled out a long, rectangular brocade box from the bottom shelf.

Dust puffed up, making her cough twice.

“This sword is called Guiyun.”

Yu Yue placed the brocade box on the table and opened the lid.

A longsword lay quietly inside.

The scabbard was pure white, with no ornamentation—simple as a piece of wood.

At the sword’s guard, a dark bead was set, its luster restrained.

You’d miss it if you weren’t looking closely.

“Lower-grade Dharma Artifact. Five thousand Spirit Stones.”

Yu Yue waved her hand dismissively.

Five thousand Spirit Stones was no small amount.

Even for the few sect-level Immortal Cultivator factions in the Southern Region, only senior members could possibly afford that much.

‘That should send them running, right?’

Zhao Qingyue didn’t even frown.

Her hand was already reaching for her waist.

The price seemed much higher than the average for lower-grade Dharma Artifacts, but the Prince’s Mansion wasn’t short on money.

Bai Shuangshuang grabbed her hand.

“Wait—”