Buy People, Not Things

Time rewound to half an hour earlier.

She stood at the corner of the bustling snack street, her bamboo skewer poking at the last glutinous rice ball. She seemed completely unconcerned with how delicious the food was.

Her gaze passed through the crowded street and settled on the white-clad youth who had just entered a noodle stall twenty-odd steps away.

Or rather, it settled on his sword.

The jade-white blade gleamed with a soft luster beneath the afternoon sunlight, as captivating as frozen moonlight.

The hilt was simply designed, its lines smooth. It hung casually at the youth's waist like an inconspicuous belt.

Yet Ning Rongrong knew that it was no ordinary belt.

Her Martial Soul was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, which possessed an innate sensitivity toward "treasures."

Since childhood, she had seen countless rare treasures. She had even entered the World Treasury, jointly overseen by the royal family and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, once.

But not a single one of those things had made her Martial Soul emit such intense "desire" as the sword before her.

It was an almost instinctive resonance.

She had experienced this feeling only twice before. The first was when she had first seen Sword Grandpa's Seven Kill Sword at the age of six. The second was when Bone Grandpa had taken her to see some unnamed treasure excavated from the Far North when she was nine.

That was right. Martial Souls were treasures too.

When Chen Xin had traveled the world in his younger days, Ning Fengzhi's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda had sensed him, leading to his becoming the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's guardian Douluo.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda could not only appraise objects; it could appraise people as well.

Yet the sword before her looked so ordinary.

Ning Rongrong licked the sugar from the corner of her mouth, her eyes shifting as she decided to follow him quietly.

As the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Rongrong lacked neither money nor treasures. What she lacked were "interesting" things.

Though the sect's collections were precious, they seemed far too old-fashioned.

As the old saying went, what one could not obtain was always the best.

She wolfed down the rice ball, casually tossed aside the bamboo skewer, and pulled a Gold Soul Coin from the silk pouch at her waist. Without hesitation, she tossed it to the stall owner, then turned to follow the gray-clad youth.

Following people was not exactly her specialty.

From childhood to adulthood, she had always been able to ask directly for whatever she wanted.

As the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, she had long grown accustomed to everyone's obedience.

Yet today, for some reason, she suddenly wanted to find out just what background this youth dressed in coarse cloth had.

She followed him across two streets and watched him enter the Hundred Herbs Hall.

A pharmacy?

Ning Rongrong hesitated at the entrance.

She had been pampered in fine clothes and rich food since childhood. When she fell ill, sect pharmacists cared for her; when she cultivated, she had all kinds of heavenly treasures at her disposal. She had never entered such an ordinary pharmacy.

Yet in the end, curiosity won out.

When Zhou Qiubai entered the Hundred Herbs Hall, Ning Rongrong stood at the entrance of the rouge shop across the street, pretending to select cosmetics while occasionally glancing toward the pharmacy door.

The pharmacy was filled with the pungent scent of medicinal herbs. Ning Rongrong wrinkled her nose, looking slightly uncomfortable.

She saw the youth standing at the counter, speaking with the shopkeeper. He handed over a list, and the shopkeeper skillfully measured out the herbs...

Ning Rongrong's attention remained fixed on that sword.

The longer she looked, the more extraordinary it seemed.

There seemed to be fluctuations of Soul Power coming from it.

This was definitely no ordinary weapon.

Ning Rongrong's heartbeat quickened.

It was no wonder she thought so. In the common understanding of most people on Douluo Continent, a Martial Soul was part of the body, part of the soul.

Who would want to display their own soul outside every day?

When a Martial Soul was not in use, one simply withdrew it into the body. Keeping it out all the time would only take up space.

Yet Zhou Qiubai happened to be an oddity.

She decided that once he came out, she would directly offer to buy it.

The price was not an issue at all. If ten thousand gold coins were not enough, then twenty thousand. If twenty thousand were not enough, then fifty thousand. In any case, the allowance her father gave her was more than she could ever spend.

If he refused to sell...

Ning Rongrong pursed her lips.

Then she would use other methods.

From a young age, she had understood that there were two kinds of things in this world.

Those that money could solve, and those that money could not.

The former were simple. The latter...

Actually, they were not difficult either. As long as she revealed the name of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, most people would know better.

She refused to believe that a youth only a few years older than herself could reject the might of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

When Zhou Qiubai emerged from the Hundred Herbs Hall carrying the medicinal herbs, the shopkeeper had not even finished warning him, "Medicine is three parts poison," before he saw the girl in the white dress at the door.

Ning Rongrong.

She stood three steps away, staring at his waist.

Zhou Qiubai knew that look all too well.

It was like a child seeing a beloved toy, filled with expectation and taking it for granted that it should belong to them.

He sighed helplessly. Trouble had arrived.

That was why he did not want to stay in one place for too long.

Once people got familiar with him, trouble followed.

"Is there something you need?" he asked, his tone as calm as ever.

"Your sword." Ning Rongrong spoke, her voice crisp and full of curiosity. "What material is it made of?"

Zhou Qiubai did not answer. He turned sideways, intending to pass around her.

"Hey!" Ning Rongrong stepped forward and blocked his way. "I'm talking to you."

Zhou Qiubai stopped and looked at her coldly. "Move aside."

"Answer me first." Ning Rongrong tilted her head. "This sword doesn't look like metal, and it doesn't look like jade either... Could it be made from some kind of Spirit Bone? No, Spirit Bone weapons wouldn't have this sort of aura."

As she spoke, she actually reached out to touch it.

Zhou Qiubai stepped back half a step, and the sword hilt swayed lightly with him, evading her fingers.

"Hey, stingy." Ning Rongrong pouted, displeasure hanging at the corners of her mouth. "You won't even let me touch it? It's not like I'm trying to snatch it from you."

She paused, then her eyes suddenly lit up. "How about... you sell it to me? I'll pay a high price."

Zhou Qiubai stared at Ning Rongrong. How could someone be this ignorant?

He shook his head. "Not for sale."

"I can offer a high price." Ning Rongrong took a step closer. "Ten thousand gold coins. How about it?"

"Not for sale."

"Twenty thousand?"

"Not for sale."

"Fifty thousand!" Ning Rongrong could not help getting angry. "Fifty thousand! Do you know how many cultivation resources that could buy? It's just a sword. Don't be ungrateful."

Zhou Qiubai looked at her and suddenly found it somewhat laughable.

Was this the kind of genius raised by a great sect?

Did she think money could buy everything?

"This is my Martial Soul," he said. "Not for sale."

"Hey!" Ning Rongrong grew anxious, her brows furrowing tightly. "Do you know who I am? I'm offering to buy it because I'm showing you respect."

Zhou Qiubai stopped and looked at her.

She truly was beautiful, but the expression practically written across her face—the whole world should revolve around me—greatly diminished that beauty.

You're beautiful, but don't dream too beautifully.

What was not yours, you could neither take nor touch.

"I said, it's not for sale." He patiently repeated himself. "This is my Martial Soul."

"Martial Soul?" Ning Rongrong froze for a moment, then scoffed. "Who are you trying to fool? Martial Souls are withdrawn into the body. Who keeps one hanging outside all day?"