Face-Con

"Don't come any closer!"

"Little handsome, don't be shy—I just want to be friends with you."

"What do you like about me? I'll change it."

"As long as it's you, I'll like anything..."

"I don't like you!"

He fled, she chased, and he couldn't escape no matter what.

On the street, two figures raced one after the other at breakneck speed. Though Gu Qingzhou pushed his movement technique to its limit, he still couldn't shake Guo Jingjing.

"I've seen plenty of men chasing women, but a woman chasing a man? That's a first..."

Watching this scene, Mo Shang couldn't help muttering to himself as he checked the tags on the other party.

[Gold Tag: Heaven's Proud Daughter] [Description: A proud daughter of heaven, gifted with extraordinary talent.]

[Purple Tag: Persistence] [Description: Persevere without giving up, and you'll succeed at anything.]

[Blue Tag: Face Connoisseur] [Description: This one is a face connoisseur. Need I say more?]

"Face connoisseur? That explains it..."

Looking at the attributes on the other party, Mo Shang finally understood.

He'd been wondering why she was chasing Gu Qingzhou so relentlessly—turns out she'd taken a liking to his looks.

"Old Gu, how about you just give in to her? You two have been running circles around here for half the day..." Mo Shang said, turning to Gu Qingzhou.

"No way. Her voice is way too grating—a girl sounding like a guy, is that right?" Gu Qingzhou didn't hesitate for a second, refusing outright.

But as his words fell, Guo Jingjing, who had been chasing behind him, suddenly stopped, a look of dejection spreading across her face.

"Is that so? Sorry for bothering you..." Guo Jingjing lowered her head slightly, a hint of melancholy creeping into her voice.

With that, she didn't linger. A flicker of movement, and she vanished from the spot, the other Ten Thousand Flowers Sect disciples following close behind.

"What's up with her?" Gu Qingzhou looked baffled at Guo Jingjing's sudden departure.

"You've got some nerve asking. Don't you know what you did? Saying stuff like that..." Mo Shang shot Gu Qingzhou a look, his tone sharp.

"You're not even human," Liu Ruyan added, casting a glance at Gu Qingzhou, her eyes full of disgust.

"Scum..." Even Jiang Shuyu, usually so quiet, couldn't help cursing under her breath.

"Sorry, I spoke without thinking..." Facing the three's accusations, Gu Qingzhou finally caught on, his apology sincere enough.

"What's the use of apologizing to us? Go apologize to Fellow Daoist Guo," Mo Shang said, exasperated.

With that, the group ignored Gu Qingzhou and continued forward, leaving him standing there, at a loss.

"Well, she's gone—where am I supposed to apologize? Forget it, I'll probably run into her during the competition..."

After hesitating for a moment, Gu Qingzhou shook off the thought and followed Mo Shang and the others away.

Walking along the street, their attention was soon drawn to a chamber of commerce up ahead.

Looking up, the four gleaming gold characters "Cangyun Chamber of Commerce" were emblazoned on the plaque above the door.

"This chamber is said to be the biggest in the Cang Domain. Want to go in and take a look?" Liu Ruyan asked the others, eyeing the sign.

"Better not. I don't have any spirit stones."

Mo Shang was quick to reject the idea. After all, they had two children of fortune in their group.

Places like chambers of commerce or auction houses were prime spots for face-slapping and showing off.

Even standing outside, Mo Shang could already picture it: the moment they stepped in, some arrogant young master would come looking for trouble.

Of course, the lack of spirit stones was just an excuse. It definitely wasn't because he had none that he didn't want to go in. Definitely not!

"No worries, Junior Brother Mo. If you see something you like, Senior Sister can gift it to you," Liu Ruyan said with a light smile.

"Uh, then thanks, Senior Sister..." Mo Shang was taken aback, almost forgetting she was the sect leader's daughter—a bona fide rich kid.

"Use mine..."

But just then, Jiang Shuyu, who had been quietly by Mo Shang's side, suddenly spoke up, pulling out a black-gold card and handing it to him.

Without saying it outright, her actions seemed to declare: He's mine—I'll spoil him.

"Black Gold Spirit Stone Card!?" Seeing that black-gold card, Liu Ruyan couldn't hide her shock.

"Black Gold Spirit Stone Card? What's that?" Mo Shang, the country bumpkin, couldn't help asking.

"A Black Gold Spirit Stone Card requires a deposit of one billion spirit stones to obtain. I've only seen one in my father's hands..." Liu Ruyan explained.

Her gaze toward Jiang Shuyu now carried a hint of awe. She'd heard from her father about the mystery of Jiang Shuyu's background, but never had a clear grasp of it—until now.

After all, one billion spirit stones was no small sum. Even most Dao Inquiry realm experts might not be able to scrape it together, and Jiang Shuyu was only in the Spirit Condensation realm.

"Tsk, where did you get that?"

Hearing the other's explanation, Mo Shang's face was filled with shock. He had never even seen a million spirit stones, yet Jiang Shuyu had casually pulled out a spirit stone card worth one billion!

"Secret, not telling you." Jiang Shuyu's brows curved like crescent moons as she smiled at Mo Shang.

"Alright then." Mo Shang looked at Jiang Shuyu and, as if possessed, used his ancestral head-patting technique, giving her silky hair a firm ruffle.

Feeling the warmth from Mo Shang's palm, Jiang Shuyu's cheeks flushed faintly, but she showed no sign of pulling away...

"I never thought Miss Jiang could be like this. I assumed she was always cold and aloof..." From the side, Liu Ruyan's eyes flickered with surprise at the scene.

"She's only like that with Brother Mo. If it were anyone else, they'd have died who knows how many times by now..." Gu Qingzhou shrugged and added.

"Speaking of which, are we just going to stand here and watch? Shouldn't we do something?" Liu Ruyan spoke up again.

"Right."

Gu Qingzhou, slow on the uptake, immediately called out to Mo Shang and Jiang Shuyu: "Hey, that's enough, you two. Torturing single people has to have a limit, doesn't it?"

The two of them deeply condemned this act of force-feeding dog food.

"Ahem, well, let's head into the trade association first..."

Reminded by Gu Qingzhou, Mo Shang also realized his impropriety. He quickly withdrew his hand and said hastily, then walked toward the entrance of the trade association.

The group stepped over the tall, carved wooden threshold, and the clamor of the outside world was completely shut out.

The hall was spacious and imposing, with beams and pillars made of gold-thread hardwood, their grain deep and rich. The floor was paved with smooth white jade, polished spotlessly clean.

A faint scent of sandalwood lingered in the air, seemingly with the effect of refreshing the mind and relaxing the nerves, giving a pleasant sensation...

On both sides of the hall, rows of antique shelves stood against the walls, displaying jade artifacts, magical treasures, various pills, and heavenly materials and earthly treasures—a dazzling array, neatly arranged...

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