New Clothes

"Are you sure your junior sister sent you to buy them?"

The middle-aged shopkeeper of the clothing store looked at the elegant handwriting on the note, then raised her eyes and sized up You Su, who looked every inch the upright gentleman.

"That's right. Please pack up all the light-colored skirts that meet the requirements on this note—no, pack up every light-colored one. I want them all." You Su's tone was firm. Then he added, "Don't bother with ordinary fabrics. I only want the expensive ones."

The shopkeeper hesitated. It wasn't that she didn't know You Su. After all, she paid the most attention to the handsome young men in the city, and You Su ranked first in her heart. Clothes made the man, just as a fine saddle made the horse. Every time she saw You Su pass her shop, always dressed in plain clothes, she felt deeply regretful. She had assumed that this poor blind boy, abandoned by his master, couldn't afford clothes worthy of his exquisite features.

If her husband hadn't still been around, she really would have paid to test the boy's limits.

She had seen plenty of people spend lavishly on women, but those men were all famous, powerful figures in the city. You Su's sudden generosity made her wonder whether he truly had the means:

"You Su, it's not that Auntie is reluctant to sell them to you, but those fine clothes are very expensive. Can you afford them?"

You Su put on an innocent expression and pulled a large, heavy bag of silver from his sleeve.

"My master left me some money before he departed. I can't see, so I don't know how much there is. Auntie, could you take a look and see whether this is enough?"

The shopkeeper's eyes immediately lit up with gold, and her face blossomed into a smile.

"More than enough, more than enough! I have to say, You Su, how can a blind man have such good taste? You're buying clothes for a woman? Then you've certainly come to the right place at Zhaiyun Clothing Shop!"

As she spoke, she tugged You Su by the sleeve and led him toward the inner room. She took another furtive look at the measurements on the note, then patted You Su's shoulder with a meaningful expression. "You little rascal, you're a lucky one!"

After feeling her way through who knew how many skirts, they finally made their selections. The shopkeeper had a very good impression of You Su and, rather than trying to fleece him, carefully chose the skirts for him. In the end, he bought eight in total. That huge bag of silver actually still had some left.

"You Su, you're so generous to your junior sister, but you can't be too stingy with yourself either. Auntie's giving you a robe. It's in this cloth bag, so don't mix it up. From now on, buy all your clothes here. I'll give you a conscience price!"

The shopkeeper handed You Su four cloth bags in all, two large and two small, and didn't forget to stroke the young man's lean, powerful hand.

Despite his revulsion, You Su remembered that he still had to carry a food box later. It would be inconvenient to carry so many bags, so he said, "Thank you, Auntie. I'll definitely come here from now on. I still have other things to carry. How about putting the clothes from these two small bags together? My junior sister won't mind."

The shopkeeper, however, wore a knowing expression. "Trust Auntie—she'll mind! All right, hurry up and take your new clothes home."

You Su left in utter confusion. They were all new clothes anyway, so why would she mind if they were put together?

The shopkeeper watched You Su's retreating back and clicked her tongue in wonder.

"I've seen women ask men to buy clothes, but I've never seen one ask a man to buy even her undergarments. Tsk, tsk, could this be another part of their game? Ah, what a pity I'd have no face to wear those styles. I'll just give them to his junior sister..."

After dinner, having agreed with You Su to continue their lessons that night, Ji Lingruo eagerly hugged the new clothes and returned to her room.

Though she pretended to be calm on the surface, no girl could fail to look forward to new clothes—even if she might look down on these worldly fabrics.

She opened the three packages from largest to smallest. To her surprise, several of the skirts were quite to her liking. However, two of them had such skimpy fabric that they didn't look like something a respectable person could wear outside.

Ji Lingruo cursed You Su for being stupid. He must have been cheated by the shopkeeper, because these improper clothes, with so little fabric, were often especially expensive.

Ji Lingruo didn't pay it much mind. She happily held each one against her body to compare the fit, her heart sweet as honey. That miserly senior brother does have a little conscience after all. He was willing to spend the money.

After comparing them, she cautiously took out the clothes from the small package. The thought that these were the undergarments she had asked You Su to buy for her made her cheeks flush. She truly had no idea what the shopkeeper would think of her.

But there was no other way. Her old skirts no longer fit, so naturally her undergarments had to be replaced as well.

By the light of the bright oil lamp, she slowly unfolded the undergarments. The first few were not much different from what she had requested on the note, but the farther she went, the more something felt wrong. Under the lamplight, Ji Lingruo's delicate face grew redder and redder, as though blood might drip from it.

"What kind of things did he buy...? Why is this Dudou transparent? Why is there a gap in the middle of this tube top? If I followed my requirements, how could the shopkeeper possibly have given me such shameless clothes? And those two skirts too... No wonder this blind man agreed so quickly. He never had good intentions in the first place!"

The Ruyi Wind-Controlling Technique was truly an exceedingly profound movement art manual. Merely grasping a small part of its essentials while reading it gave even one's consciousness an ethereal sensation, drifting like the wind.

The waning moon hung over the sparse parasol trees, and You Su was so absorbed in the technique that he couldn't tear himself away.

Just then, a graceful figure sneaked in. When Ji Lingruo saw that You Su remained completely unmoved, she grew inexplicably annoyed.

I came dressed in the kind of clothes he wanted, so why is he acting as though he's forgotten that we agreed to practice controlling qi tonight? Is he trying to play hard to get with me?

Ji Lingruo angrily took a sip of tea, then slammed the cup onto the table.

You Su jolted awake from his meditation and said in sudden realization, "Junior Sister, you're here?"

"I've been here for ages!" Ji Lingruo's voice was cold. Who knew what had provoked her?

You Su couldn't make heads or tails of it and said apologetically, "Sorry for the wait, Junior Sister. Then let's begin."

"Are you in such a hurry?" Ji Lingruo's eyes were full of disdain, as though she were looking at a lump of filth.

"Uh, starting right away would indeed be a little rash." You Su got out of bed and sat across from Ji Lingruo. "Junior Sister, try circulating your qi without my assistance first. I'll see how much you've already mastered."

Seeing You Su's indifferent expression, Ji Lingruo felt as though he were looking down on her. She wanted to show him her progress properly, so she assumed a sword stance and worked hard to mobilize the unruly Mystic Qi inside her body.

The good news was that the Mystic Qi had indeed developed a trace of movement. The bad news was that it was taking the wrong path.

"This part is wrong. The Mystic Qi should begin moving from the lower abdomen, first flowing upward, then downward."

You Su stood up to point out Ji Lingruo's error. Then, with perfect naturalness, he reached out and pressed his hand against her lower abdomen, preparing to guide her.

Ji Lingruo watched his palm move without the slightest hesitation born of propriety. She was both furious and nervous, feeling as though she might burn herself unconscious.

The instant his fingers touched the girl's lower abdomen, You Su immediately jerked his hand back as though he had reached into a mystery box and grabbed a snake. Stammering, he said, "Junior Sister, y-you're not wearing any clothes?!"

Ji Lingruo was struck as though by electricity as well. The spot You Su had touched tingled all over. Her face turned scarlet, and she was so embarrassed that tears nearly flowed from her eyes.

"Who said I'm not wearing any? It's just that my waist is exposed. And aren't these the skirts you bought for me?!"

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