“Tanghulu—! Fresh and crispy tanghulu!”
“Boss, do you keep your tanghulu fresh?”
Standing before a tanghulu vendor who was several times sturdier than himself, Wang Hao asked fearlessly.
“Go, go, go, brat! If you can’t speak properly, then keep your mouth shut! Buy or get lost!”
Wang Hao touched his empty pocket.
The Contribution Points he had earned during the day from mining, chopping wood, and carrying water—how could he bear to exchange them for money?
Those were his future cultivation resources.
He saw Hu Qiao’er holding Jiang Che’s hand as they walked ahead, with Yun Fan following behind. Suddenly, an idea sparked in his mind.
He hurried forward and grabbed Yun Fan.
Yun Fan was a bit confused by Wang Hao’s pull.
“Wang-shidi, what’s wrong?”
Yun Fan’s eyes flashed with puzzlement.
Wang Hao grinned cunningly.
“Yun Fan-shixiong, you’ve been at the sect so long, you must have money, right!”
“I do. Before we left the mountain, I exchanged some Contribution Points for a few pieces of silver and two strings of copper coins.”
Yun Fan was simple-minded and told it all.
Wang Hao grinned knowingly.
“Heh heh, Yun Fan-shixiong, ‘lend me a little money, will you?'”
Seeing Wang Hao’s smile, Yun Fan’s lips twitched involuntarily.
He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that Wang Hao put particular emphasis on the word “lend.”
“What do you want it for? If you want tanghulu, I can buy you a few skewers.”
“No, no, no.”
Wang Hao wagged his finger.
“Look at those two up ahead.”
He pointed to Hu Qiao’er and Jiang Che.
“What about them? Aren’t they doing fine?”
“Fine? Have you ever seen a boy and a girl just walk around stiffly like that?
That’s why I want you to give them some money so they can buy something!”
Yun Fan suddenly understood.
“Then you don’t need to borrow it, I can give it directly to Da… Ji-ge.”
Yun Fan remembered that Jiang Che had told him not to call him ‘Senior Brother’, so he could only follow Wang Hao and call him ‘Ji-ge’.
“See, that’s where you don’t get it. Would he take it from you? You give me the money, and I’ll give it to him for you!
Once I hand over the money, we’ll go elsewhere and stop bothering them.”
“We’re not following?”
Yun Fan didn’t understand the whole ‘third wheel’ idea, and Wang Hao didn’t know how to explain, so he simply didn’t.
Yun Fan could only obediently hand over a hundred copper coins and a few pieces of silver.
At this moment, Jiang Che was walking through Shenxiao Town with Hu Qiao’er.
He recalled the street’s appearance from memory.
But Hu Qiao’er still acted as Jiang Che’s eyes, describing the street scenery to him, one sentence at a time.
The warmth in his palm made Jiang Che feel incredibly fulfilled—no one else could make him feel this way.
If it were Lin Yin, Jiang Che would say, “I can’t see anyway, what’s the point in telling me?”
If it were Xu Qianlan, Jiang Che would probably feel bored.
If it were Feng Yaqin… Feng Yaqin probably wasn’t the type to patiently accompany Jiang Che while strolling around.
He hadn’t heard Feng Yaqin’s voice for a long time now.
As if noticing Jiang Che’s distraction, Hu Qiao’er pinched his cheek.
“You fool, who are you thinking about now?”
“Qiao’er-jie, how did you even know that?”
Jiang Che rubbed the spot on his cheek where she pinched him. Hu Qiao’er wasn’t rough.
Hu Qiao’er gave a soft snort, as if to say, ‘Don’t I know you yet?’
Just then, Wang Hao pulled Jiang Che aside, saying he had something to discuss, and led him away.
Jiang Che didn’t understand what trick Wang Hao was playing at and asked, “Wang Hao, what do you want?”
Before he could finish, Wang Hao stuffed a pouch of money into Jiang Che’s hand.
“Shifu, this is a little gift from me. Take Qiao’er-jie to buy something, hehe!”
Wang Hao whispered close to Jiang Che’s ear.
Jiang Che felt the weight and heft of the pouch—it was no small sum, at least a string of copper coins and several pieces of silver.
But how did Wang Hao come by this money?
Jiang Che grabbed Wang Hao’s ear and pressed for answers, so Wang Hao confessed that he’d borrowed it from Yun Fan.
Jiang Che’s lips twitched—he thought to himself, What cultivation is this kid doing?
He ought to take the civil exams and become an official—using others’ money to run his own errands, he was a master at this.
But Jiang Che didn’t want to accept this ‘kindness’ and tried to give the money back.
Yet Wang Hao pushed the pouch back, stopping Jiang Che.
“Shifu, you have to listen to me! You don’t have any money yourself, and look at Qiao’er-jie—she came all this way to find you, not a word of complaint!”
“You should at least buy her a gift to show your gratitude! So you must spend this money!”
Wang Hao spoke every word right to the point, and Jiang Che realized he’d been careless.
Thinking back, it seemed like it was always Hu Qiao’er taking care of him—he’d never given her anything.
He unconsciously tightened his grip on the pouch.
“Shifu, don’t hesitate. Look, Qiao’er-jie is still waiting for you.”
As soon as Wang Hao finished, he gave Jiang Che a shove, then pulled Yun Fan away to explore elsewhere.
Jiang Che didn’t have time to say a word before Hu Qiao’er hurried over to grab his hand.
He knew it was Hu Qiao’er, but for some reason, being led by her now made his whole body tingle.
The hand holding the money pouch hurriedly hid behind his back.
“A-Che, what’s wrong? What did Wang Hao say to you?”
Hu Qiao’er asked softly, her voice full of boundless tenderness.
Jiang Che didn’t know how to answer—he’d never taken a girl shopping before, only ever taken junior sisters out on training trips.
Now he was so nervous his breathing quickened.
“Qiao’er-jie, let’s keep strolling…”
……
Meanwhile.
Hidden in a corner, Wang Hao watched all of this, suddenly feeling a strange sense of accomplishment.
A satisfied grin curled his lips.
And he still had a handful of copper coins left in his pocket.
Just as he was about to continue strolling, a figure caught his eye.
She wasn’t tall, wearing the same Shenxiao Sect disciple robes, her long jet-black hair loosely draped, a few strands hiding half her face.
She moved quickly, blending into the crowd, yet carried a kind of silent loneliness.
As she rounded a corner, the night breeze gently lifted her hair, revealing her face for a fleeting instant.
Wang Hao’s gaze caught it: a face fair as jade, delicate features, but those eyes… There was an indescribable sorrow in them.
That gaze felt like a hook, instantly tugging at Wang Hao’s heartstrings.
And he felt sure he’d seen her somewhere before.
At that moment, Yun Fan walked over with tanghulu, handing one to Wang Hao, but Wang Hao didn’t respond.
“Hey, Wang-shidi, what’s wrong? Tanghulu!”
Yun Fan’s voice was puzzled as he waved several bright red tanghulu sticks before Wang Hao’s eyes.
Wang Hao snapped back to his senses and turned to see Yun Fan’s questioning look.
“Huh? Yun Fan-shixiong!”
Wang Hao, now alert, hurriedly pointed at the street corner where the girl had just passed.
“Shixiong, that girl! The one in our sect robes—did you see her? She just passed by over there!”
Yun Fan followed the direction Wang Hao pointed.
The street was bustling, lantern lights flickering—there was no sign of the girl.
“Who? I didn’t see anyone, it’s too crowded.”
He shook his head in confusion.
Wang Hao turned to look again, but the girl was already gone.
“Gone…”
He muttered, a strong impulse surging up within him, telling him to go find her, to figure out why her eyes were so sorrowful.
He blurted out, “Shixiong, you eat first! I’ll go check it out!”
Before the words finished, he had already shot off like an arrow, rushing in the direction the girl disappeared, plunging straight into the throng.
“So urgent?”