Mandarin Ducks Playing in Water Aren't Ducks Swimming

"Uh, little brother, I'm really sorry. We're out of the regular model silver needles at this medical hall," the shopkeeper said, looking embarrassed.

He'd been too busy admiring the beauties to check the inventory.

"If you don't have the regular ones, what do you have?" Li Hao was annoyed. His luck seemed a bit too outrageous.

"Uh, we have a set of 108 exquisite golden needles, and also a pack of ox-hair needles. Both are a bit pricey, though," the shopkeeper said softly.

Golden needles were soft and easily broken; only medical martial arts masters could use them. As for ox-hair needles, they were a specialized weapon for medical martial arts masters, capable of killing unseen, and quite vicious.

Therefore, the shopkeeper spoke very cautiously when mentioning these items, afraid of being overheard.

After all, medical martial arts masters, while skilled at saving lives, were also extremely adept at killing, and their methods were simple and brutal, often a single strike to finish the job.

It was hard for outsiders to imagine that those skilled in saving lives were also skilled in killing, and their killing techniques were even more ferocious than those of assassins. Truly, the ancestors were right when they said that Buddha and demons were separated by only a thin line.

"Give them all to me," Li Hao said, casually pulling out a handful of gold leaves and tossing them onto the counter.

"Uh, little brother, these things, when you use them..."

"Don't worry, if I dare to buy them, I can definitely use them," Li Hao explained.

He knew the shopkeeper meant well and couldn't fault him for it.

But what was this red cloth in his hand? It was square, the fabric soft and smooth to the touch, not at all rough against the skin. It was embroidered with two ducks swimming, and several delicate little cloth strips were sewn around the edges.

This thing looked familiar. It seemed exactly like what Yi Lin was wearing.

Except Yi Lin's was plain, without embroidered ducks, and not this large.

Li Hao thought carefully. Perhaps when he was getting dressed this morning, he hadn't paid attention and had put Ning Zhongze's things in his pocket. But it didn't matter. They were husband and wife, so taking a few things to keep as a souvenir shouldn't be too much to ask.

Naturally, this item couldn't be studied in public; he could only appreciate it slowly when the night was deep and quiet. The ducks were embroidered well, lifelike. Li Hao then put the item into the system's item space.

Ning Zhongze: That's a pair of mandarin ducks playing in the water, not ducks swimming. I spent half a month painstakingly embroidering it. It's my favorite piece.

"Little brother, the golden needles and ox-hair needles are all here. If you can't use them and they aren't damaged, you can return them," the shopkeeper said. He was an honest businessman who accepted returns for unsatisfactory goods.

"Got it, bye-bye to you," Li Hao said, waving his hand and leaving with the items. As for the money, that handful of gold leaves was more than enough.

"Bye-bye? What does that mean? I'm not free!" the shopkeeper mused.

As for the gold leaves, with so many wealthy families in Hengyang City, he could easily borrow some from any of them and have enough to use for a long time.

"Husband, we're here!" Li Hao saw Yi Lin waving at him from a congee stall by the street from a distance.

"Yi Lin, Abbess, you're up so early!" Li Hao said, looking a bit listless. He hadn't slept well last night.

Ning Zhongze's [pillow] was too soft, and his neck was a bit uncomfortable when he woke up. Yi Lin's was the best, the most practical.

"Is it still early? The streets are already crowded with people. We martial artists train in the coldest winter and hottest summer; we can't slack off for a single day," Abbess Dingyi lectured.

Abbess Dingyi had raised Yi Lin since she was young and treated her like her own daughter. Although Yi Lin was only Li Hao's concubine, Li Hao had no main wife, so it was acceptable for her, his cheap mother-in-law, to give him a stern talking-to.

"Okay, I'll remember. Yi Lin, what's your martial arts cultivation realm now?" Li Hao asked casually.

"Husband, I'm already at the peak of the first-rate level. I should be able to break through to the Houtian realm soon," Yi Lin licked her lips, as if breakthroughs were as simple as eating and sleeping for her.

However, Yi Lin's breakthroughs were indeed simple. She didn't even need to eat; she just needed to sleep.

Seeing the young couple showing off like this, Abbess Dingyi decisively turned her head away.

These two were troublemakers, specifically here to ruin her mood. Now Yi Lin's senior sisters had no interest in practicing martial arts; their minds were filled with thoughts of men.

They imagined one day lying flat like Yi Lin, their cultivation increasing by leaps and bounds.

She hadn't seen Senior Sister Dingxian and Senior Sister Dingjing; they ate their meals several tables away from the couple. She'd been too glib. If the young ones wanted to sleep in, they wanted to sleep in. Why had she said so much?

As a result, she didn't even enjoy her congee this early in the morning.

"Master, could I have some sugar? Husband said that drinking congee without sugar is just like drinking rice water," Yi Lin said, pulling out a packet of white sugar and handing it to her master, Abbess Dingyi.

This was refined by Li Hao after collecting a large amount of brown sugar in Hengyang City, then reprocessing it, filtering out impurities, and removing the color.

On their wedding night, Yi Lin had suffered severe penetrating injuries and lost a lot of blood. Li Bai was worried about her serious physical damage, so he thought of getting some sugar to replenish her blood.

However, the brown sugar in Hengyang City had too many impurities and didn't taste good. Li Hao, recalling his past life, had created white sugar. After it was made, it was as white as snow, and Yi Lin, that little rascal, liked it very much.

"This is sugar," Abbess Dingyi said, her eyes filled with disbelief.

"Yes, Husband made it. He said it's snowflake sugar, and it's very sweet," Yi Lin dipped a little into her mouth, a look of satisfaction appearing on her small face.

Children loved sweets, and Yi Lin was no exception. She would often ask Li Hao for some. Later, Li Hao, finding it troublesome, simply packed a bag for her and put the rest into the system's storage space.

"Is it sweet?" Yi Lin looked at her master expectantly.

"Mmm, it's good," Abbess Dingyi took the sugar packet, dipped a little into her mouth, and couldn't help but nod in praise.

"Senior Sister Dingxian, Senior Sister Dingjing, would you like to try some too?" Abbess Dingyi added some for her two senior sisters, and then...

Then she carefully wrapped the entire packet of white sugar and put it into her own pocket.

This... Yi Lin's little head buzzed. The sugar my husband gave me, why did Master put it in her pocket?

"Has everyone finished eating? If so, we're going to the Hengshan Sect's Golden Basin Hand-Washing Ceremony," Senior Sister Dingxian said, standing up.

The disciples quickly finished their bowls of congee, grabbed their swords, and stood up.

"Husband, my sugar..." Yi Lin tugged at Li Hao's sleeve, her small face filled with reluctance.

However, the one who took her things was her own master, so she didn't dare ask for them back!

"You wanted to show off, don't worry, your husband has plenty here. I'll just make more if it runs out." Li Hao, as if performing a magic trick, produced an identical paper packet in his palm.

Li Hao would never admit to having OCD; he was extremely meticulous when wrapping things, ensuring the weight and style were almost identical.

"Thank you, husband." Yi Lin, under the envious gazes of her fellow disciples, tucked the white sugar into her pocket.

This time, she didn't take it out to show off. A lesson learned from a mistake, one grows wiser after experiencing losses.

Abbess Dingyi looked at the paper packet Li Hao had given Yi Lin and secretly touched her own pocket.

Hmm, still there.