Wandering (Thanks to Alliance Leader Jian Zhichu of Low Profile)

Yunxia Ancient Street is a highly commercialized imitation-ancient street in Canglong City.

From afar, deep gray tiled roofs of hip-and-gable buildings rise and fall, forming a continuous expanse.

Walking on the street, with vermilion gates and embroidered windows on both sides, and upturned eaves, it feels like traveling through time and space, landing in ancient times.

As the weather was good, with temperatures around 22 degrees Celsius, the street was bustling with people.

Young men and women strolled hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, chatting, enjoying the scenery, and eating snacks, as if holding each other at this moment could hold onto the entire winter.

Many people were also seen wearing culturally distinctive clothing, posing for photos next to unique ancient buildings.

"This is so delicious, I want more."

"Come on, brother, help me take a picture here."

"Xiaolu, Xiaolu, stop daydreaming, let's try this."

Li Yunyao, now a high school student, had a heavy academic workload. Most of her time was spent in their county town in Liuchuan County, and she rarely visited Canglong City. Now, being able to travel and shop, she quickly let her true nature shine.

Li Pin followed the two, watching them with a doting expression.

He rarely spent time with his "relatives," but he didn't find it boring.

"Xiaolu, look, look, those young ladies over there are so beautiful."

At this moment, Li Yunyao was pulling Lin Xiaolu, looking at six women dressed in ancient costumes, exquisitely adorned with flowing veils, her face full of admiration.

Li Pin glanced over.

The Taibai Kingdom had enjoyed sixty years of peace, with rapid development in all industries and a prosperous economy and entertainment scene.

Star Refiners were too niche and distant from the ordinary world. However, the Martial Artist system had existed since ancient times. The flourishing Martial Dao had also led to the rise of imitation-ancient industries, with all sorts of ancient costumes and clothing emerging. These, after layers of improvement through modern craftsmanship, reached astonishing levels of exquisiteness.

It wasn't uncommon to see women dressed in ancient costumes like the ones before him.

However, these six women were all quite attractive. Coupled with their high-quality attire and exquisite designs, standing by an ancient bridge, leaning against a willow tree and posing for photos, they naturally drew attention.

Li Pin observed, realizing it was the grand opening of a sizable ancient costume shop nearby.

Having six women in beautiful attire posing and playing in the vicinity was clearly a marketing tactic by the shop.

And look, Li Yunyao...

"Brother, Xiaolu, let's go in and take a look."

Wasn't she attracted?

Li Pin followed the two into the store.

The prices of ancient costumes varied greatly depending on the material, craftsmanship, and detail. This store looked ordinary on the outside, but its interior decoration was extremely unique.

There were many customers like Li Yunyao who were drawn in.

However, they soon left in a hurry.

As for the reason...

The previous second, Li Yunyao had spotted a pink ruqun that combined modern and ancient elements, her eyes full of joy. But the next second, upon seeing the four-digit price tag, she was so startled that she quietly pulled Lin Xiaolu and headed for the exit.

"If you like it, buy it."

Li Pin said.

"No, it's too expensive, 2688, oh my goodness."

She, Li Yunyao, had never bought such an expensive piece of clothing in her life.

Ten years ago, the research institute where Li Pin's father worked was attacked by Demonic Creatures. Li Pin's father, along with dozens of people from the institute, were all killed. Afterward, the owner of the institute fled, and the Li family never received any compensation. For ten years, the Li family had not had an easy time.

Of course, thanks to the support of their uncle and third uncle, they weren't impoverished.

However, even Li Pin's high school tuition back then came from relatives' contributions, so they naturally couldn't afford to buy expensive daily necessities.

It wasn't until their eldest sister, Li Yunyan, started working and got married that their situation improved slightly.

"It's fine, buy it if you want. Do you think the income of a Level 2 Martial Artist can't afford two outfits?"

Li Pin said.

He had seen the six women outside earlier. The materials, design, and craftsmanship of this shop were indeed pleasing to the eye and worth the price.

It wasn't an exorbitant price set arbitrarily just because it was located in a prosperous area.

"Still, no, it's too expensive."

Li Yunyao shook her head.

At this moment, a lively and cute girl with two ponytails and air bangs walked over. "Miss, you have excellent taste. These are some of our best-selling ancient costumes. This is an improved version of the Wide-Sleeved Fairy Dress. We also have professional makeup artists and hairstylists who can provide free makeup and styling for every customer. Moreover, it's our opening promotion period, so if you buy two outfits at the same time, you can get a 30% discount..."

The girl paused, then looked at Li Yunyao with some admiration. "Miss, you're so beautiful and have such a great figure, you're practically a natural mannequin. If you're willing to let us take a photo of you to keep in the store, I can ask the manager for a half-price discount."

"Huh? Half price? And free makeup and styling?"

Li Yunyao paused in her steps towards the exit.

She glanced at the outfit...

It really was beautiful.

But...

She still shook her head.

Li Pin, however, smiled at the young lady. "Go ahead."

He pointed to the set Li Yunyao had chosen, and another set that Lin Xiaolu also liked. "Have the makeup artists get ready."

"Okay, the two young ladies, please come this way."

"Brother... I don't need it..."

Lin Xiaolu said quickly.

"Two sets get half off, so buying like this is clearly more cost-effective."

Li Pin said.

"But this..."

"Ding!"

Just then, a text message sound came from Li Pin's phone.

He glanced at it.

"You might not understand the annual salary of a young Level 2 Martial Artist."

He showed the phone to Li Yunyao.

With just one glance, Li Yunyao's eyes widened.

"Your card ending in *8879 received a transfer of 1,000,000.00 yuan on December 25th at 15:31. Your balance after the transaction is 1,041,073.58 yuan. [Taibai Bank]"

"Wow."

Li Yunyao's eyes sparkled. "Brother..."

She had always looked up to Li Pin as a role model...

Not because of his personality, but mainly because Li Pin was smart from a young age, had good grades, and all the relatives praised him.

This role model was partly imposed on her by her family.

But at this moment...

She truly felt the benefit of having a brother, felt what happiness was.

"Go ahead."

Li Pin put away his phone and patted her head.

"Thanks, Brother, I'm going then."

Li Yunyao said happily, pulling Lin Xiaolu, and they quickly followed the young lady upstairs to the makeup room.

Watching the excited Li Yunyao, Li Pin's expression was calm.

In "Li Pin's" memory, Li Yunyao had never been this close to him.

He...

Was doing better than "he" did.

"Sir, please come this way."

Another young lady, also wearing the shop's unique attire, stepped forward and led Li Pin to the side to pay.

She spoke softly along the way.

The bill was 2688.

In Canglong City, where the average income was just over a thousand, this was nearly three months' salary for an ordinary person.

Li Pin took it out so casually, naturally the young lady's attitude was gentle.

What's more...

Li Pin carried an aura that others lacked, full of vigor, sunny and handsome.

This made her smile even sweeter.

As Li Pin was paying, he seemed to sense something.

Did someone's gaze linger on him for a while?

He turned his head to look.

He saw a woman looking somewhat enviously at Li Yunyao and Lin Xiaolu as they each chose a set of exquisite ancient costumes and went upstairs.

When she noticed Li Pin's gaze, she seemed startled and quickly averted her eyes, pulling a woman she was shopping with, and they quickly left the store.

Li Pin thought for a moment and remembered the woman's name.

Was it Zhang Yunxi?

Not long ago, Fang Baiyun wanted to introduce her to him, but she left before they could even eat?

He could recognize Zhang Yunxi because the event had happened not long ago.

Otherwise, after a month or two, he would have completely forgotten someone he'd met only once.

It wasn't that his memory was bad, but rather he understood that the human brain had limited capacity.

There was no need to waste precious memories on insignificant people.

Thanks to the low-key Alliance Leader Jian Zhichu for the reward. An old friend who is present for every book, he also became an Alliance Leader after Nuclear Powered Sword Immortal concluded, and is also the first Alliance Leader for this book.

Thank you for your support.

I originally intended to add extra updates to express my gratitude when the book went on shelves, but adding them now and then again after it goes on shelves is clearly a better way to show my thanks.