This Is Called Bra

The next morning, An Yang woke up.

The sky outside was already bright, sunlight streaming in through the tattered window. Nie Xiaoqian beside him had vanished, leaving only the wrinkled blanket where she had slept.

He thought it over and decided not to say goodbye to Yan Chixia. He picked up the Black Mountain Old Demon's Demon Core and tucked it close against his body.

"Return!"

A flash of light before his eyes, and he materialized in his rental apartment. This time, the system hadn't mispositioned him.

An Yang patted the bead in his pocket, let out a sigh of relief, then went to his room to change into a casual outfit before opening the door and heading out.

After eating nothing but dry rations for over a month at Lanruo Temple, his mouth was utterly tasteless.

An Yang found a restaurant with a decent reputation, ordered several plates of rich meat and fish, and under the waiter's astonished gaze, polished off every last bite.

He pulled out his phone—no calls, no texts. That made sense. Though he'd spent over a month at Lanruo Temple, packed with experiences that made it feel like ages, only three days had passed in the real world. For an ordinary office worker, three days without contact was perfectly normal.

Paid the bill, and left!

He'd finally learned the Kunlun Art, but hadn't yet had a chance to properly cultivate it.

An Yang deliberately took a bus to the countryside outside Jinguan City, found a secluded patch of forest, glanced around, then bit his left index finger hard enough to draw blood and drew a Yin Yang fish pattern on his right palm.

"Tch... that hurts!"

"Heaven and Earth, Limitless! Cosmos Borrow Law!"

An Yang suddenly thrust his palm forward, feeling a surge of inexplicable power erupt from within him—wild and mighty.

"Boom!"

A muffled blast. The stone wall ahead exploded as if packed with dynamite, dust and sand shooting skyward, leaving a massive hole in its place.

"Such terrifying power!"

An Yang marveled. After much deliberation, he'd chosen Yan Chixia's "Heaven and Earth, Limitless, Cosmos Borrow Law" incantation, and it seemed he hadn't made the wrong choice. But the sheer scale of it meant he couldn't use it carelessly in the real world.

"Heaven and Earth, Limitless, Cosmos Borrow Law" was a skill stolen directly from Yan Chixia, with the same power as Yan Chixia's, unconstrained by An Yang's own body. If it had been based on his own foundation, he wouldn't have been able to use this move at all.

"For now, I can't use it freely in the real world, but it should be very useful in the mission worlds!"

Overall, An Yang was quite satisfied. He tested the incantation a few more times, blasting hole after hole into the cliff face, until fear of being discovered made him stop. He moved to another spot and sat down cross-legged to begin cultivating.

For him at this stage, the Kunlun Art was less a cultivation method and more a breathing and exhaling technique. Even after more practice, it would still resemble an internal energy manual more than anything; reaching the level of true Daoist magic would be very difficult.

Still, practicing this method felt pleasant—refreshing and clear-headed, easy to lose oneself in. Before he knew it, dusk had arrived.

When he returned to his rental apartment, it was just getting dark. He sat in the living room for a while, and then Nie Xiaoqian appeared.

She wore a classical white robe, her face delicate and alluring, like a woman stepping out of a painting.

At the sight of the unfamiliar surroundings, she was visibly startled. Only when she saw An Yang did she relax, curiously examining everything around her. But the good upbringing she'd received kept her composed, preventing any outburst.

An Yang took her hand and guided her to sit on the sofa. "This is my home, and your home too. I told you before—everything here is different from what you know. You'll need to get used to it slowly, understand?"

Nie Xiaoqian sat down, finding the seat exceptionally soft, and nodded shyly.

Click!

The light came on. Nie Xiaoqian flinched, looking up at the ceiling.

"What is this?"

"A ceiling lamp."

"How did it suddenly light up? You didn't light any fire."

"No, it's an electric light. You can think of it as lightning from a thunderstorm—we've trapped it inside the lamp to give us light."

"Lightning! How is that possible!"

An Yang smiled. "Nothing's impossible. You'll see plenty more things like this from now on."

Nie Xiaoqian nodded. In this completely unfamiliar environment, she couldn't help feeling uneasy. "I understand. I'll get used to it slowly."

An Yang took her to the window and pulled open the curtain. Nie Xiaoqian was instantly stunned, a flicker of light dancing in her eyes.

Outside the window was a square. Along the roadside, yellow street lamps lit up at intervals, casting a bright glow over the road. Small cars drove past, their headlights also illuminating the pavement, while pedestrians walked along the sidewalks.

The square was decorated with colorful lights of all kinds—some purely ornamental, dimming and brightening in sequence, others flashing rhythmically. There were also billboards and cartoon figures of various shapes.

At the center of the square stood a massive light tower, its floodlights making the entire area as bright as day. A group of middle-aged women danced in the square, the thumping music already muffled to a faint sound through the window, but the rhythm still clear.

Nie Xiaoqian's gaze grew distant. It had been a long time since she'd seen such a brightly lit world. People naturally yearn for light, and even as a female ghost, she didn't want to stay in dark corners. But sunlight was lethally harmful to spirits.

"This place... is so high... and so beautiful. Is it a fairyland?"

An Yang smiled. "Want to go outside and take a look?"

Nie Xiaoqian looked at him with longing but hesitated. "Can I?"

In her memory, women weren't allowed to go out freely, especially at night—it would be seen as improper. And now she was no longer the same as before. Before, she was a wandering ghost; now, she had a place to belong, like a married woman. Naturally, she had to follow the ordinary virtues of obedience.

An Yang smiled and took her hand. "Of course you can. In my hometown, there's no such thing as the Three Obediences and Four Virtues. Women are the same as men—they can go to school, take imperial exams, become officials, do business. Anything a man can do, a woman can do too."

Nie Xiaoqian's eyes went wide. "How is that possible!"

An Yang said, "Nothing's impossible. You'll see for yourself when we go out. From now on, as long as you're with me, you can do whatever you want."

Nie Xiaoqian stood in a daze, still not having reacted.

An Yang tossed a few bags to her and said, "These are the clothes I bought for you during the day. See if you like them. You can't go out wearing that outfit."

"Are the clothes people wear here different?"

Nie Xiaoqian lowered her head. In ancient times, buying and making clothes were women's affairs. If a man was willing to buy clothes for his woman, it could only mean she was deeply cherished.

An Yang nodded. "Very different. You could go out in that outfit, but it would draw attention."

"Would I be taken for an enemy spy and dragged to the authorities?"

An Yang paused, coughed dryly a few times, and said, "No, nothing like that. People would just think you're very strange."

Nie Xiaoqian lifted the bags. The bags felt strange—in fact, everything felt strange—as she followed An Yang toward the bedroom.

She watched as An Yang gripped the door handle and twisted it, and the finely crafted wooden door swung open. She watched as he pressed a white thing on the wall, and the room was suddenly filled with yellow light, thousands of times brighter than candlelight.

She observed everything in silence, and silently committed it all to memory.

An Yang sat on the sofa outside to wait. To spare Nie Xiaoqian any trouble, he had bought a long dress. In just a moment, Nie Xiaoqian came out, but she hadn't changed her clothes. In her hand, she held a white bra.

"What... is this?"

From its shape, she vaguely guessed where it was worn, but she didn't know how to put it on.

An Yang stood up and said with a smile, "Well... this is called a bra. Let me help you put it on."

"Mm."

Nie Xiaoqian blushed and followed him into the room. The process of putting it on inevitably involved close contact. She bit her lip and remained silent until it was done.

A man drawing a woman's eyebrows had always been a tale of beauty through the ages, but a man dressing a woman—she had never heard of such a thing. Shouldn't she be the one serving him by helping him dress?

An Yang looked at her, wearing only the bra. Her skin was white as snow, her figure perfectly proportioned. Her breasts rose prominently, bound by the bra into a deep cleavage. Below, she wore nothing, revealing her rounded, slender legs.

He felt his mouth go dry, but he held back. He picked up a pair of white lace panties and said to her, "You know how to put these on, right?"

Nie Xiaoqian, wearing a bra for the first time, fidgeted uncomfortably. She blushed and nodded. "I know how to put these on. But what's the use of wearing this... b...ra?"

An Yang thought for a moment and said, "It's supposed to prevent sagging."

Nie Xiaoqian's face flushed all the way to the roots of her neck. "But I'm already a female ghost. My body won't change anymore."

An Yang was stunned and found himself with nothing to say.

He returned to the living room. Nie Xiaoqian quickly figured out how to put on the dress on her own, even instinctively pulling up the zipper on the back. She lowered her head and carefully checked to make sure everything was in order.

Just as An Yang was getting bored waiting, the door finally opened. Nie Xiaoqian stood there in a pure white dress. When she reached the doorway, she tentatively pressed the switch.

Click!

The bedroom light went out.

A faint glimmer flickered in her eyes, and she couldn't help pressing it again.

Click!

The bedroom light came back on.

Click!

It went out again!

Nie Xiaoqian finally stepped out. The dress's well-tailored cut perfectly accentuated her tall figure—her chest full, her waist slender enough to encircle with one hand. She walked briskly up to him and spun around, the hem of her skirt fluttering.

"Do I look good?"

An Yang was almost dumbstruck.

"Beautiful!"

Hearing those words, the unease in Nie Xiaoqian's heart finally settled, and she broke into a knowing smile.

An Yang snapped out of it and naturally took her hand, feeling its soft, boneless smoothness as he led her toward the door.

"Come on. Let me show you my world."

Out on the street, Nie Xiaoqian forced herself not to look around, but her gaze kept darting everywhere.

Cars driving past on the roadside, couples brushing by shoulder to shoulder, skyscrapers so tall she had to crane her neck to see the top, grown women walking while eating skewers, oddly dressed young girls with headphones on, hopping and skipping as they hummed along.