Lin Yuanxi

Within ten minutes, Yang Ning experienced the benefits brought by the Cloud-Mist Information Matrix.

On the Deep Blue Eye before him, a large amount of information began to flood in, including but not limited to the names of roadside plants, the names, ages, personalities, hobbies, cultivation techniques, and whether they had any injuries of passing pedestrians.

Due to the short time, the collection was not yet comprehensive, but the information was rapidly enriching. Yang Ning believed that soon he would be able to establish a big data model of all residents in Seacloud City!

At that time, let alone collecting information, Yang Ning could become the biggest information merchant in all of Seacloud City!

"Eh?" Yang Ning stopped in front of a flower shop.

"Young man, would you like to come in and try?" The madam at the door saw Yang Ning and immediately smiled, reaching out to grab his arm and pull him inside.

"I'm only 12, can I come in?" Yang Ning asked in surprise.

"With your height and build, you don't look 12 at all. No one would believe you if you said you were 18!" the madam said with a smile.

As the Minister of Works, Yang Ning was naturally not short of money for food and drink. Because he paid attention to his diet and calcium intake, Yang Ning's height was indeed not low.

Coupled with being in his developmental period and practicing martial arts, Yang Ning grew taller by the day recently, and he was already 172 cm.

Yang Ning smiled and did not refuse the madam's kind invitation, and was directly pushed into the flower shop called Tianxiu Workshop.

After entering, the madam beckoned, "Xiao Yu, you entertain this young master. By the way, what's your name, sir?"

"My surname is Yang!"

"Xiao Yu, take good care of Young Master Yang!"

"Okay!" The girl named Xiao Yu was about eleven or twelve years old, with an ordinary appearance, wearing a maid's outfit, and a look of eager smile. "Young Master Yang, is this your first time here?"

"Mm!" Yang Ning nodded. "I've seen ordinary flower shops, but I haven't seen a flower shop for cultivators. I've come to see!"

"Then you must take a good look!" Xiao Yu smiled. "The food and wine here are incomparable to those in mortal flower shops. Moreover, the girls here are all cultivators. Their figures and skin, how can mortal women compare!"

What, have you stopped considering yourself a mortal just because you've embarked on the path of cultivation?

However, it was normal. Even 18th-tier celebrities don't consider themselves part of the masses anymore, let alone cultivators.

The mortal world was indeed the term used by the cultivator world for mortal countries and villages. No matter how large your country was or how many troops you had, it was useless.

"Are you on the first floor or going to the second floor?" Xiao Yu asked. "The first floor is the common hall, where you can sit with everyone, but you can watch the performances up close. The second floor has private rooms, which are more distinguished!"

"To the second floor!" Yang Ning said.

"Coming right up!" Xiao Yu's smile grew brighter, and she happily skipped towards the stairs.

Yang Ning called out, "No rush, no rush. I'll take a look at the furnishings here."

He looked around as he spoke.

Xiao Yu heard this and also slowed down.

As time passed, he collected more and more information.

Seacloud City seemed to have a connection with the number eight. There were the Eight Great Mine Merchants there, and this flower shop also had eight major flower shops. Tianxiu Workshop was one of them.

Tianxiu Workshop was not large in size. Its prominent position was due to the advantage of its operator.

It was an industry under the Qianji Gate of the Taiheng Sect. The Qianji Gate inherited an Earth-grade puppet technique. While their disciples learned puppetry, they created a puppet dance. It immediately became popular throughout the cultivator world upon its release. As a result, the originally obscure Tianxiu Workshop, due to the exclusive performance of the puppet dance, stood out from many flower shops and became one of the eight major flower shops in Seacloud City.

Nowadays, who doesn't have beautiful women? To stand out, you have to see who puts on a better show.

Yang Ning deliberately slowed his steps. After going upstairs, as expected, he saw that the only empty seat had just been taken. His expression immediately showed a hint of regret.

Xiao Yu was also stunned, then quickly turned her head. "Um, Young Master Yang, the flower shop is doing good business today. It seems all the seats are full. Would you like to go downstairs, or share a seat with someone??"

Flower shops, besides providing entertainment, were also good places for socializing. Wasn't there a saying, what are brothers? Passing by together long...

The friends made here were sometimes more reliable than those made in school.

"Of course!" Yang Ning nodded, then pointed to a seat next to him. "I see there's still an empty seat there. Go and ask?"

A private room could seat four people. There were only two people, a man and a woman, in that seat. And judging by their posture, they seemed to be a young master and his maid, not service staff.

"They should be here for plain tea," Xiao Yu said. "Are you sure you want to sit there?"

"Yes, I'm here to watch the performance too!" Yang Ning nodded affirmatively.

"Okay!" Xiao Yu nodded, then went over to negotiate.

Yang Ning saw Xiao Yu point this way and nod at the young man.

A moment later, Xiao Yu ran back, smiling. "It's settled!"

"Thank you!" Yang Ning took out a few taels of broken silver from his pocket. "You don't need to bother with the rest."

"Uh, okay. If you need anything, just call us!" Xiao Yu quickly nodded, still a little disappointed.

Serving those fat, pig-like men was a painful task. Not being able to serve this handsome and dashing young man was also a painful task!

"Hello, young master. I am Yang Ning, a lost pageboy from the Ascension Academy!" Yang Ning politely cupped his hands.

"Yang Ning?" The young man had narrow, charming eyes, a small nose and lips, giving him a somewhat effeminate look. His gaze shifted. "I think I've heard that name before. Did you write a poem that contained the line: Chang'e must regret stealing the elixir, in the vast blue sky, her heart aches night after night?"

"Oh?" Yang Ning was surprised. "You've heard of my poem?"

The young man smiled and said, "The world regards poetry as a minor art, but I quite enjoy it. However, there are not many people in the world who can write good poems. Over the years, the only one who has caught my eye is you!"

"This..." Yang Ning quickly cupped his hands. "I dare not accept such praise. There are many talented people in the world, but their aspirations lie elsewhere!"

"Perhaps!" the young master nodded, then asked, "But who is Chang'e in this poem, what medicine did she steal, and why does she regret it?"

"Oh, that's a character from a short story I wrote when I was a child. By the time I wrote this poem, it was already widely known, so I just used it!" Yang Ning quickly explained, "Chang'e's husband obtained an elixir of immortality from an immortal, but because he couldn't bear to part with Chang'e, he didn't take it. However, Chang'e was curious about the effects of the elixir, so she stole it and ate it. As a result, after eating the medicine, her body became lighter and uncontrollable, and she eventually flew to the moon, only to be accompanied by a jade rabbit."

"The meaning of this poem is that Chang'e perhaps regrets stealing that medicine, and in the end, she couldn't be with the one she loved, only able to gaze at the blue sky every day, yearning for the human world in loneliness!"

"So that's what it means!" The young master nodded, then asked, "So does Young Master Yang believe immortality is a bad thing?"

"I am not an immortal, how would I know if immortality is good or bad!" Yang Ning shook his head. "But I think if one is immortal yet still alone, then immortality is nothing more than torture!"

"Is that so!" The young master nodded as if he understood but didn't, then seemed to think of something and quickly said, "Right, I know your name, but you don't know mine yet. My surname is Lin and my given name is Yuanxi. I'm probably around your age. How about we call each other brothers from now on?"

The expression of the little maidservant beside him visibly darkened.

But Yang Ning didn't even look at her. Instead, his eyes lit up. "Yuanxi? What a good name. I actually wrote a ci poem titled Yuanxi, but it hasn't been published yet. Brother Lin, would you like to hear it?"

"Unpublished?" Lin Yuanxi's eyes instantly lit up. "I want to hear it, I want to hear it!"

"East wind scatters a thousand trees in bloom at night, And blows down, stars like rain. Fine horses and carved chariots fill the fragrant road, The sound of phoenix flutes rises, the jade pot's light turns, A night of dancing fish and dragons."

"Is this describing the scenery of Seacloud City?" Lin Yuanxi didn't believe this was something Yang Ning had written before. What kind of "dancing fish and dragons" could there be in a small border town? This was clearly the grand spectacle of Seacloud City!

But why would this ci poem be named after me?

He opened his eyes and looked at Yang Ning, only to see Yang Ning smiling as he recited the second half.

"Moth-shaped and snow-white ornaments of golden thread, Laughter and chatter drift away with a faint fragrance. Searching for her in the crowd a thousand times, Suddenly, I turn my head, and she is there, In the dim light of the lamps."

Lin Yuanxi's heart trembled. What did "searching for her in the crowd a thousand times" mean? What did "Suddenly, I turn my head, and she is there, In the dim light of the lamps" mean?

"Yang, Brother Yang, I'm not that kind of person." Lin Yuanxi quickly explained, "Of course, I'm not opposing you."

"You don't need to explain, neither am I!" Yang Ning laughed. "I told you, this is a poem I wrote before. The Yuanxi in it refers to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. It's just a coincidence that it's the same as your name!"

"Is, is that so?" Lin Yuanxi finally nodded. For some reason, his mood calmed down considerably, yet he also felt a bit disappointed. He lost the mood to talk for a while.

Since he didn't speak, Yang Ning didn't ask proactively. Hearing the music start below, he became engrossed in watching the performance.

This puppet show was a bit like the mechanical dance from his previous life, but because it was performed by cultivators in the Body Refinement Realm, its power, posture, and difficulty were far superior to mechanical dance.

Lin Yuanxi, however, had completely lost the mood to watch the show. While thinking about that ci poem, he also wondered if his identity had been seen through. His mind was in a mess, and when he noticed Yang Ning was watching very intently, he became a little angry. Before the dance ended, he directly led the little maidservant and stomped downstairs.