Stepping out of the node space, Heroine Yin was filled with curiosity about this unfamiliar world while simultaneously harboring trepidation in her heart.
Logically speaking, children of the martial world should have long since grown accustomed to a life of wandering, capable of rapidly adapting to strange environments no matter where they went. Yet the reality was that many martial artists found themselves unable to take a single step once they crossed national borders, let alone her, Yin Dan, arriving in another world entirely.
I have extenuating circumstances for this as well, Heroine Yin told herself.
Fortunately, that senior predecessor had resolved the language barrier for her, and that Station Master adult also seemed quite easy to talk to.
As the first two people Heroine Yin saw and got to know upon coming to this world, Cheng Yun and Old Mage were somewhat special in her eyes. Children of the martial world paid the utmost attention to such formalities.
Thus, Heroine Yin followed behind Cheng Yun and Old Mage, looking around, then lowered her head to quietly rub her cloth shoes against the mirror-bright stair tiles, a hint of astonishment in her eyes—the luxuriousness of this place exceeded her expectations!
Just as they took two steps out, the two people in front stopped.
Cheng Yun said, "Mage, you go down first. I'll take her to her room to change into a new set of clothes; otherwise, her current outfit... is simply not fit to be seen in public."
Heroine Yin froze on the spot, lowering her head to inspect the new clothes she had only worn a few times—
How on earth were they not fit to be seen in public! She had spent over twenty copper coins just to buy the fabric!
"Very well, then I shall return to my room," Old Mage nodded and said. "You take this female wandering knight to change her clothes, and by the way, put in a bit of effort to make something for her to eat. I can see this female wandering knight is somewhat hungry as well."
"Mm." Cheng Yun nodded, paused for a moment, and said, "I'll look for you again when I get back... I still have a question I want to ask you."
"Alright." Old Mage gave a faint smile.
"Come upstairs with me," Cheng Yun said to Heroine Yin, turning and walking toward the upper floor.
"Oh." Yin Dan glanced at Old Mage heading downstairs, shifted the saber in her left hand to her right, and hurriedly followed Cheng Yun. Her left hand brushed against the painted banister as she walked, making a rustling sound.
Inside the luxurious suite where Cheng Yun lived—
Heroine Yin blankly surveyed everything in the room, feeling both astonishment and doubt. The thick carpet beneath her feet made her feel as though she were walking on clouds.
Cheng Yun poured a cup of water, stood in front of her, and waved his hand before her eyes. "What are you doing?"
"Oh, oh, nothing." Heroine Yin hurriedly snapped back to her senses.
"Drink some water." Cheng Yun handed over the paper cup.
"Thanks," Heroine Yin accepted it and said.
"You don't need to be so polite." Cheng Yun turned and sat down on the small sofa, noticing that although this Heroine was holding the paper cup, she showed no intention of drinking any water. From her slightly chapped lips and the subconscious action of licking them, it wasn't hard to tell that she was actually very thirsty.
Cheng Yun didn't mind and continued to size her up.
This Heroine stood around one meter fifty-five, surprisingly even a little shorter than the young girl Yu Dian. Yet she didn't give the impression of being "tiny" at all. This probably stemmed from her explosive physique and the fierce, bloodthirsty aura she carried... along with the one-meter-plus Wild Goose Feather Blade she held in her hand.
Heroine Yin naturally possessed a slightly bewitching oval face and a pair of very pretty, large eyes, which suggested she should have earned a nickname like "** Fox" in the martial world. Yet her brows were utterly fierce, devoid of any charm, and a slender scar on the left side of her face running at least five centimeters downward from the corner of her eye destroyed what little aesthetic appeal remained. Aside from that, the only other striking feature was probably her graceful neck.
It was just a pity that martial artists endured wind and sun, so her skin wasn't fair.
Cheng Yun pondered for a moment, got up and walked into the bedroom, rummaging through the wardrobe before finally selecting a set of clothes suitable for her to wear.
A pair of Xibin lounge shorts that he himself had always used as pajama shorts ever since he bought them. They were very short—when he wore them, they only covered a third of his thighs, roughly equivalent to a pair of slightly loose boxer shorts with a cut that could be worn outside.
A plain grey T-shirt.
"These are my clothes; you can make do with them for now! I'll buy you a new set once we go out," Cheng Yun said, handing the clothes to her. "Right, you're wearing undergarments and things, aren't you? Like a chest binder or breast wrap."
"I am!" Yin Dan took the clothes. "What kind of female martial artist walks the jianghu without binding her breasts!"
"That's true." Cheng Yun looked at her plump chest; if she didn't bind her breasts, the sight during a fierce battle or desperate flight would simply be unimaginable. "Right, are you wearing underwear?"
"Underwear?" The Heroine blinked.
"..." Cheng Yun paused for a moment. "If you don't mind, just wear them like this for now, and I'll buy you some more when we go out."
"No problem, children of the jianghu don't sweat small details!" Heroine Yin held the clothes and pointed at the bedroom. "I should change inside here, right?"
"Mm."
"Many thanks, I, Yin Dan, will remember this favor!" She casually placed that untouched cup of water on the coffee table and walked toward the bedroom, still carrying that saber in her hand.
After a great deal of rustling, the Heroine finally emerged. "My clothes will stay with you for now, but don't you dare throw them away; I still need to wear them in the future!"
Cheng Yun took a look and felt that this Heroine's intelligence still had some merits—by comparing them to the T-shirt and shorts Cheng Yun was wearing, she had put the clothes and pants on correctly, without wearing them backward or making a fool of herself by putting long pants inside the shorts.
Heroine Yin was wearing Cheng Yun's shorts, which looked somewhat loose, revealing a pair of fair, well-proportioned, straight, taut, and very powerful legs below. The upper body featured Cheng Yun's T-shirt, which looked a bit small on him but remained huge on her, almost covering her bottom. That plump chest still pushed two distinct mounds against the fabric, creating a strange and bizarre allure—it would have been even better if she hadn't been wearing those black cloth shoes on her feet.
Cheng Yun silently went and found his flip-flops for her. "Wear these. You shouldn't mind, right?"
"I don't mind!" Heroine Yin said. "It's just that this... won't it look very strange worn outside?"
"No, a lot of people wear them like this in the summer."
"What about the clothes and pants? Do people in your world all dress like this?" Heroine Yin tugged at the oversized clothes and the waistband of the shorts. "In our world, only people in impoverished backwaters who can't afford clothes dress like this."
"There are even people wearing less than this." Cheng Yun said, pointing at her shorts. "It's just that when you go out, you'd better be careful. If there's a wind, it might flip your shorts up, and since you underneath..."
"Alright! Though it's quite cool." The Heroine hooked his flip-flops with one finger on each hand. "How are these supposed to be worn?"
A moment later, the Heroine emerged from the bedroom wearing the flip-flops. "Can we go out now?"
"Mm, wait a second."
"Fine..." The Heroine was already starving.
Cheng Yun dashed downstairs to check if Cheng Yan was around, and upon confirming that Cheng Yan had already left, he returned to the third floor and said to the Heroine, "Alright, we're going out now. But you must remember: it's fine to look around everywhere like a curious baby, but don't touch things indiscriminately, and don't speak carelessly. Stick close to me, don't run around, listen to me, and ask for my opinion before doing anything..."
"Curious baby..." The Heroine was stunned.
"Mm?"
"I understand." The Heroine chose to bow her head to the big shot.
"Good!"
Only then did Cheng Yun open the bedroom door, and the Heroine followed closely behind him, watching his every move.
"Right!" Cheng Yun suddenly turned around. "You need to leave your saber here. In our world, swords and sabers are controlled weapons, and you can't carry them running around the streets."
"Mm? You can't even take a single saber out of the house?" The previously well-behaved Heroine frowned at this. "To a martial artist, a weapon is the fundamental basis of our survival, the guarantee of our lives, and the symbol of our status. Even the government in our world doesn't confiscate sabers and swords! Furthermore, this saber cost me two silver lumps..."
"If you don't put the saber down, I can't take you out to eat."
"Clatter..."
The Wild Goose Feather Blade dropped to the floor.
The Heroine looked at him seriously. "Let's go."
While going downstairs, the Heroine silently followed behind him, quietly observing this suddenly much richer world.
The front desk kept the air conditioning running constantly, and the cool breeze blew out continuously, feeling exceptionally refreshing in the mid-summer heat. There were a leather light-brown sofa, a glass coffee table, brightly colored small stools, a counter decorated with mirror surfaces that could directly reflect people's figures, and various ornaments hanging on the walls. Soft, instrumental music drifted from the desktop speakers, a clock ticked away, and a thin young girl sat inside the counter constantly tapping on a laptop keyboard...
Naturally, all of this was completely unfamiliar to the Heroine.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
The crisp sound played continuously.
Yu Dian was typing away with complete absorption, her brows brimming with a sweet smile rarely seen on weekdays, as if she had reached some sort of state of oneness with heaven and earth. Yet right at that moment, Cheng Yun walked down—
Swish!
The young girl's body directly trembled, her smile freezing on her face as she hurriedly and clumsily stopped typing, then closed the laptop as if nothing had happened.
"Boss Cheng!"
"Mm." Cheng Yun looked at her curiously. "What are you doing?"
"N... nothing," the young girl said flusteredly.
"I saw you typing the whole time." Cheng Yun looked at her suspiciously. "Why are you so nervous? It's not like I'll dock your pay; I told you that you could play around freely."
"N... no!" The young girl waved her hands hurriedly.
"But I heard you typing the whole time..."
"It's not..."
"Yesterday too."
"No... I was just... playing around casually."
"You were chatting with your boyfriend, weren't you?"
"Ah?" Yu Dian started, and instantly her face turned even redder in a flash. "No! I don't have a boyfriend."
"Oh, is that so!" Cheng Yun nodded. "I'm taking a friend out for a stroll first. If Cheng Yan comes back, tell her to go buy groceries! Mm, buy a bit more and put them in the fridge."
"Mm." Yu Dian hurriedly nodded, glancing secretly at the woman behind Cheng Yun, only to lock gazes with her directly.
In a flash, she retracted her gaze like a startled rabbit.
Cheng Yun then pushed open the door and led the Heroine out—
A completely unfamiliar, immensely rich and shocking world unfolded in Yin Dan's eyes!
She subconsciously held her breath!
The morning sunlight was just right—bright without being scorching—casting faint reflections on the newly watered street.
Traffic flowed busily on the road, and the buildings were so tall that she had to tilt her head back to see the tops. Ornamental plants in the roadside flower beds bloomed all four seasons, and giant signs stood shoulder to-shoulder with all sorts of shops. Passersby all wore cool-looking clothes of exceptional texture; no one had a sallow complexion, no one cringed obsequiously, and no one carried sabers or swords openly on the streets. Instead, groups of two or three children ran by, holding snacks in their hands, laughing as they rushed from one side and passed her into the distance...
The Heroine was deeply shocked!
Cheng Yun was also quite patient, standing beside her to wait. After a good while, he said, "Let's go."
At this, the Heroine hurriedly moved her feet to keep up with him. "Is this your world? Station Master."
"Keep your voice down, and don't let people know you're from another world," Cheng Yun said to her calmly, completely unconcerned that someone was brushing past them at that very moment.
"Oh," the Heroine nodded, truly lowering her voice.
She walked in her flip-flops with a clattering sound. Because of her short legs, she had to step at a rapid frequency just to keep pace with Cheng Yun, and this kind of footwear felt truly unnatural to her. "You said that girl was chatting with her boyfriend just now? What does boyfriend mean? But there was only one person there!"
"It means two people who like and admire each other, but aren't formally married. To test if they're a good match, they establish this relationship—which is 'above strangers or friends, but below husband and wife'—with each other. That's a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, also called being lovers. A male is called a female's boyfriend, and a female is called a male's girlfriend," Cheng Yun explained. "And in our world, naturally, there are means to communicate across the air with people thousands of miles away."
"It can even be like that?"
"What?" Cheng Yun said with a smile. "Surprised?"
"It's... it's alright. In our world, although people don't really... acknowledge such relationships, there are actually still people who make secret lifetime vows before marriage." What shocked the Heroine was this aspect.
"This is a bit different."
"I can understand."
"Pfft!!"
"Hm? Station Master adult, what kind of expression is that?"
"Nothing," Cheng Yun hurriedly waved his hand, changing the subject as he asked, "What do you want to eat?"
The Heroine's expression suddenly turned awkward. She rubbed her hands in embarrassment and said, "As for that, just eating something casual will do!... How about we find a small stall by the roadside and casually eat a bowl of plain noodles!"
"Plain noodles just mean plain broth noodles... Who eats plain noodles in this day and age!" Cheng Yun frowned. "I do know that the back gate of Yida has a place that makes really good hot and sour rice noodles, and their beef noodles are pretty good too. The beef is very generous; let's go over and have a bowl of beef noodles."
"Beef noodles??" The Heroine was extremely shocked, swallowing a mouthful of saliva immediately afterward as she grew even more embarrassed. "Then... then I'll be putting you to great expense!"
Cheng Yun glanced at her and smiled. "Let's go."
Along the way, the Heroine rattled off a whole bunch of questions again, such as what those things running on the highway were, why those people riding on two wheels didn't fall over as long as they forcefully pumped their legs, and who was singing and playing music in the clothes shops by the street. What were those red fruits strung together in a bunch in the store window, why were people eating them on the street, did they taste good, how much was a string of them, and how many strings could she buy with a single copper coin...
Driven by necessity, Cheng Yun had no choice but to buy her a string of strawberry candied hawthorns, letting her eat as she walked along.
When they finally reached the noodle shop, Cheng Yun found an empty corner to sit down, ordered her a three-liang bowl of beef noodles plus a fried egg and a braised egg, and the two of them sat there staring at each other with wide eyes.
"Station Master adult, looking at your expression... am I causing you trouble?"
"No."
"That's good." Yin Dan let out a breath after speaking, then pointed at a couple showing affection at a neighboring table. "Those two people are lovers, right? What are the things they're holding in their hands? I saw you use them too; are they some sort of magical artifacts?"
"Those are called cell phones, one of the implements we use to communicate across the air with people thousands of miles away."
"Oh, cell phones." The Heroine secretly committed the name to memory, continuing to quietly stare at the pair as she spoke, "Speaking of which, how can they openly flirt like that in broad daylight? Don't you guys feel like it violates public decency or something? Back in our world, they would definitely be called a pair of scoundrels! Even the most famous White-Haired Twin Fiends in the martial world wouldn't dare do this!"
Cheng Yun turned his head to glance, gritting his teeth as he said, "That's right! This pair of scoundrels... truly violates public decency!"
It wasn't until the beef noodles were served that this Heroine quieted down a bit, turning her full attention to the noodles instead.
Her way of eating noodles was similar to Cheng Yan's: she first picked out the chunks of beef sitting atop the noodles one by one to eat them clean, before starting on the noodles underneath.
Before she had even eaten two bites, the Heroine looked up again. "Huh? Aren't you eating?"
"I already ate breakfast."
"Oh." The Heroine felt thoroughly embarrassed.
This bowl of beef noodles was served in an exquisite white porcelain soup bowl, and it genuinely had beef on top. Moreover, the broth was rich and savory, and the taste was so good it made her want to cry out—she could guess without asking that the price wasn't low!
During her time wandering the jianghu, Yin Dan had eaten beef once, and only once, at the sixtieth birthday banquet of a certain major figure. At that time, that major figure had sent his disciple to steal two entire cows from a neighboring village to be slaughtered, boiling them in over a dozen pots. The martial artists who caught wind of the smell sat surrounding the pots over an entire meadow, and the taste of the beef along with the atmosphere of the feast remained fresh in her memory to this day! That was also the only time in Yin Dan's life that she had eaten meat until she was full.
Naturally, the taste of boiled beef in plain water couldn't compare to beef that had undergone modern de-risking processes and been simmered with various spices, so despite the small portion, Yin Dan felt it completely surpassed the single time she had eaten it in the past.
Furthermore, last time she had eaten it while trembling in fear, terrified of being found out by the authorities, whereas this time she was calmly sitting in an exquisitely decorated shop without having to worry about breaking any laws. It even came with a fried egg and a cool breeze blown out by a strange apparatus.
Yin Dan could only sum it up in a single word: awesome!
After finishing the noodles and drinking the soup down to the very last drop, Yin Dan stood up, staring with eager eyes as Cheng Yun paid the bill.
Three liang of noodles cost eight yuan, and the fried egg and braised egg totaled three yuan, making eleven yuan in all.
Heroine Yin remembered it very clearly.
"It seems the money in this world is quite valuable after all; such a large bowl of noodles plus beef only costs eight copper coins. Reckoning it this way, my room and board apparently total around two hundred and twenty copper coins..." Heroine Yin's expression instantly turned dazed. She kept batting her eyes while counting on her fingers, and it took her a long time to arrive at a conclusion—
"Didn't I sleep away over twenty bowls of beef noodles in a single night!" The Heroine widened her eyes in shock.
Trepidation instantly welled up in her heart, and she mechanically moved her feet to follow Cheng Yun, feeling as though her entire person had suddenly lost all vitality.
How long would she have to work just to earn back this much money!
If it were back in her original world, over two hundred copper coins would take four or five days to earn if things went smoothly. If they didn't go smoothly, it would take half a month, and she'd have to keep her head dangling from her belt!
Yin Dan hurried to catch up with Cheng Yun and said, "Um, Station Master adult, that bowl of noodles..."
"What?" Cheng Yun turned his head to see the Heroine tightly intertwining her hands in front of her, her face full of conflict and embarrassment. "I... don't have any money right now."
Cheng Yun instantly smiled. "How much is a bowl of noodles worth? Consider it my treat."
"Ah?" The Heroine was stunned, then began rubbing her hands again with a smile. "Th-th... this simply won't do!"
Cheng Yun waved a hand and continued walking forward.
The Heroine followed closely behind him at a brisk pace while shouting, "I, Yin Dan, will remember the favor of this bowl of noodles, and I've accepted you as a friend too! Hey, walk slower! Let me tell you, don't take my words lightly. If you have any matters, just tell me, and I, Yin Dan, guarantee I won't hesitate!"
Cheng Yun completely ignored her, even putting on an act as if he didn't know her at all, and turned straight into a lingerie shop.
Always leaving the Heroine with nothing substantial wouldn't do either, so buying clothes would start with underwear first!
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