"Welcome! May I ask what kind of spirit herbs the two of you are looking for?"
Gu Xia and Xun'er had just stepped inside when a maid came over to greet them. Her professional smile, shapely figure, and lovely face... all showed that this shop had some impressive backing...
"Mm, please give me Bluegreen Two-Leaf Grass, Magenta Fragrant Branch, Ice Spirit Water, Crystal Flower, Astragalus Leaf Flower, Blue Bamboo, Beauty-Nourishing Aloe... Heavenly Spirit Water and Jade Muscle Bone Lotus. Three of each..."
Gu Xia slowly recited the names of more than a dozen herbs, some of which were extremely rare. The more the maid heard, the more respectful she became. With her professional training, she knew that the handsome, refined young man before her was very likely a distinguished alchemist!
"Esteemed guest, we can prepare three portions of all the herbs you requested except Jade Muscle Bone Lotus and Astragalus Leaf Flower... Those two herbs are rather rare, and only our pavilion master has the authority to requisition them. Please wait a moment while I notify our pavilion master..."
"Mm, go ahead..."
Gu Xia said nothing. He knew those two herbs really were rare, even if most alchemists had little use for them. They had only one effect: making the body permanently give off a fragrance. Aside from a few unusual alchemists, no one would bother collecting them.
Finding them here at all was already quite good, Gu Xia thought...
Gu Xia and Xun'er didn't have to wait long before a "well-rounded" middle-aged man with a huge belly hurried down the stairs. How he managed to run so fast with a body wider than the doorway was anyone's guess...
"Oh! So it's Young Master Xia himself! Please forgive me for not welcoming you sooner..."
The moment the middle-aged man came down, he recognized Gu Xia. After all, Young Master Xia was quite well known in Wutan City. His gentle, jade-like bearing and absurdly handsome face made him impossible to mistake...
"But I'm afraid I have some bad news, Young Master Xia. Our pavilion only has one Jade Muscle Bone Lotus left, though we do still have Astragalus Leaf Flower in stock. If you need more, I can recommend that you check the Mittel Auction House. I recall they should have quite a few things similar to Jade Muscle Bone Lotus..."
The "enormous" middle-aged man explained himself with utmost respect. He knew that the identities of the pair before him, who looked like a golden boy and jade maiden, were no simple matter. When they'd tried to investigate their backgrounds, they'd run into unimaginable resistance. Even the higher-ups were deeply wary of them and had specifically warned him never to provoke either one!
He'd been shocked when he heard the news, but thinking about it, it made sense. How could the Xiao Clan, with its meager foundations, possibly raise a golden boy and jade maiden as terrifyingly extraordinary as these two?
Gu Xia didn't care what the "enormous" middle-aged man was thinking. He was more interested in the news about the two herbs. As for Xun'er, she was still practically blowing pink bubbles.
So Brother Gu Xia is an alchemist too! Why didn't he tell me before? Did he save it for today so he could surprise me? Ah~ ≧?≦ I'm so embarrassed~ I wonder what kind of present he'll prepare for me. Will it be a pill? Eek, he's so naughty... (?≧?≦)? I love it...
Xun'er had completely fallen into the throes of romance. Her little mind had already started imagining things that only adults could do. She bashfully pounded Gu Xia's back with her tiny fists, while she couldn't help thinking about all sorts of strange things...
Ignoring the beautiful young lady behind him who was acting crazy, Gu Xia was more concerned about the news of the Jade Muscle Bone Lotus...
"The Mittel Auction House, huh?... I understand. Please pack up all those herbs for me..."
"Of course, Young Master Xia. Three portions of each herb you listed, excluding one Jade Muscle Bone Lotus, comes to seven hundred and fifty-nine gold coins..."
The middle-aged fat man was worthy of his position as pavilion master. His speed at calculating was practically monstrous. In just a few words, he had worked out the exact price of Gu Xia's herbs... though the final amount came as something of a surprise to Gu Xia...
"That cheap?"
"Oh, all herbs purchased by Young Master Xia from our pavilion are half price. It's a small token of our goodwill. We hope you'll continue to favor the business of True Spirit Pavilion..."
"Then it's settled. Gu Xia thanks the pavilion master for your kindness..."
Gu Xia thought it over and understood. It was just a simple gesture of goodwill and an investment, so to speak. In short, they'd spotted his potential. There was no downside for him, since he could save quite a bit of money.
He might be the poorest Dou Di in history. All his belongings put together were worth less than two thousand gold coins. More than a thousand of those coins had come from a bit of money he'd picked up in the Tagor Desert. Otherwise, why do you think the fifth carriage had contained only this dirt-poor Dou Di?
"Think nothing of it. I'll go ahead and round down the price for Young Master Xia. You only need to pay seven hundred gold coins..."
Hearing Gu Xia thank him, the middle-aged fat man's face blossomed like a chrysanthemum. He then saved Gu Xia another fifty-nine gold coins...
"You're very thoughtful, pavilion master. Then I'll accept your kindness. Here are seven hundred gold coins. Please take a look..."
Gu Xia hadn't known you could round down the price like that, but since he believed in saving wherever possible, he accepted the middle-aged man's kindness and promptly took a money pouch from his Storage Ring and handed it over...
"No need, no need. I trust Young Master Xia's word. Is there anything else you need? We just received a batch of excellent hundred-year-old Ancient Ginseng yesterday. Would you care to have a look?..."
The middle-aged fat man took the money pouch with a beaming smile. Without even opening it, he handed it to the maid, who'd been sneaking curious glances at Gu Xia from the side. Then he tried to peddle some of their pavilion's finest goods to Gu Xia, but Gu Xia declined.
"No, I came out especially to spend time with Xun'er today. I only came here to prepare a little surprise for her. Now that we have what we need, we should be going..."
Gu Xia explained why he'd come. He'd originally gone out just to accompany Xun'er for a stroll. He simply had a special surprise he wanted to give her. The rest of the outing was up to Xun'er, though he wasn't sure whether she still wanted to keep walking after all the wonderful things she seemed to be imagining...
The middle-aged fat man was clearly a clever fellow. He immediately stopped trying to hold them there and personally escorted them out of the pavilion...
"Then I won't interrupt your outing. Please take care..."
Gu Xia didn't look back. He merely waved a hand behind him as Xun'er, who'd been clinging to his left shoulder the whole time, and he gradually disappeared into the sea of people...
"You did well today. You're the new floor supervisor from now on. Keep up the good work. Remember, whenever either of those two comes here, no matter what they want, notify me at once..."
After seeing Gu Xia and the others leave, the middle-aged fat man returned to the shop. He patted the maid who'd served Gu Xia and the others with his all-flesh hand, promoting her to floor supervisor. Then, in an extremely serious tone, he instructed her on what she must do whenever she saw Gu Xia and the others...
"Thank you for recognizing me, pavilion master! Cui'er will work even harder from now on..."
The pretty maid bowed excitedly, secretly deciding to make a point of showing off in front of Gu Xia from now on. Who knew, maybe he liked her type?
"Alright, get up. As long as you work hard, True Spirit Pavilion won't treat you unfairly. Also, as pavilion master, I have to warn you: don't entertain any improper thoughts about that young master. If you do, even True Spirit Pavilion won't be able to protect you. Just do your jobs. Don't get any unrealistic ideas..."
The middle-aged fat man understood what the maids were thinking, so he warned them in advance. After he'd finished, he paid them no more attention and headed upstairs...
What the maids thought was none of his concern. He'd already given them a proper warning. Whether they listened was up to them. They were only maids, after all; True Spirit Pavilion wasn't short of staff...
Meanwhile, over on Gu Xia's side...
"Brother~ I want to buy a few outfits. Will you come with me?"
After leaving True Spirit Pavilion, Gu Xia and Xun'er found themselves back on the market street. No longer lost in her own thoughts, Xun'er had returned to her natural love of shopping. She'd spotted a clothing shop with an ornate facade, and now she called Gu Xia "brother" sweetly as she coyly asked if he would go with her...
"Silly Xun'er, I came out especially to spend time with you today. Go wherever you want..."
In a shocking turn of events, the straight-laced Dou Di Gu had learned how to spoil his girlfriend!
Turns out there was no such thing as an iron-straight man. He'd simply never met a girl he wanted to spoil... (What? You? Forget it. And you're calling yourself handsome, too? Keep dreaming... Damn it! Big bro, could you put the knife away first?...)
"Brother Xia, you're the best! o(*≧▽≦)ツ... Mua~"
Hearing Gu Xia's doting words, Xun'er happily threw her arms around him and planted a fragrant kiss on his unsuspecting cheek with her rosy little lips...
Gu Xia: "╭(°A°`)╮"
"Maybe this feeling isn't so bad..."
Watching the mischievous Xun'er skip ahead of him like a beautiful elf, Gu Xia rubbed his cheek, which still felt a little damp. For the first time, the thought crossed his mind that having a cute girl by his side might really be a nice thing...
"Brother Gu Xia, if you don't hurry up, Xun'er won't wait for you..."
Xun'er had already walked several meters ahead. When she saw Gu Xia still standing there in a daze, as if he hadn't yet recovered from her bold move, she thought that having such a silly brother was actually rather cute...
"What a little enchantress. Fine, if I have to work a little harder, I'll work a little harder..."
Gu Xia heard Xun'er call out with a giggle from ahead. He secretly resolved to help Xun'er break through the limits of this world and reach the same level as him...
"Hehe..."
When Xun'er saw Gu Xia catch up, her pretty face flushed slightly as she wrapped both arms around his left arm. The two stuck close together as they walked side by side into the clothing shop...
"Welcome to our shop. Would you two like fabric or ready-made clothes?"
The moment they stepped inside, the shopkeeper came over to greet them. She was a graceful, rather elegant-looking woman who still retained her charm. She'd noticed Gu Xia and Xun'er as soon as they approached. It couldn't be helped; they were both so dazzlingly beautiful, not to mention the sour stench of their affection that you could smell from half a mile away...
"Shopkeeper, I'd like to pick out a few ready-made outfits. Could you bring out some of the nicer clothes in your shop for me to see?"
This time, Xun'er spoke first, because she wanted to give someone a surprise too. A girl always wanted to look prettier in front of the person she loved, didn't she?
"Certainly, miss. Please come with me..."
With her wealth of experience, the shopkeeper could tell that this young couple were deeply in love. Why else would this beautiful young lady want to buy some fine clothes? Wasn't it so she could look lovely for the man she loved? Why else would she go to the trouble of dressing herself up? The shopkeeper, a woman who'd been through it all, looked at the young couple with a smile...
Once upon a time, she too had been a young girl who wanted to dress up beautifully for the man she loved. Seeing Xun'er, it was like seeing herself back then... Alas, this was ultimately a world where the strong preyed on the weak...
Strength was the foundation of every good thing. She hoped this young couple would overcome their difficulties and end up together...
"Brother Xia, wait here for a bit. Xun'er will go upstairs with the shopkeeper. And no peeking!"
Unable to bear the shopkeeper's enthusiasm, Xun'er turned back to give Gu Xia a pointed warning before the shopkeeper led her upstairs to the ready-made clothes section...
"...So what am I here for?"
Looking around at the shop, which was almost entirely filled with women's fabrics, Gu Xia once again began pondering one of life's three great questions: "What am I supposed to do?"
"Hmm? Is that...?"
As Gu Xia wandered around aimlessly, he suddenly spotted a particularly eye-catching piece of fabric among a pile of bolts. It had been placed on the very top of the display...
Curious, he walked over to inspect it. The first thing he noticed was its incredible softness and smoothness, along with a hint of coolness. It felt like stroking a fine mink-fur garment, so unbelievably silky.
It was also a woven fabric, white with some blue-and-green floral patterns. The whole piece looked elegant and pristine, understated yet beautiful.
"I suddenly have a bold idea!"
As Gu Xia stroked the wondrous fabric, an outfit famous in his previous life gradually took shape in his mind. He imagined Xun'er wearing it, and his heart actually beat a little faster! Back in the Tagor Desert, he hadn't been moved by Yue Mei offering herself to him, nor by Medusa's seduction afterward. But now, the thought of Xun'er appearing before him in that outfit had made his heart flutter!
He imagined Xun'er wearing that outfit. She'd look breathtaking, no doubt, but somehow, something seemed to be missing...
"That's it, white stockings! It'd be even better with white stockings!"
With the help of Gu Xia's Emperor Realm spiritual strength, he quickly figured out what was missing: white stockings! After all, everyone in China was a white-hair—scratch that—stocking enthusiast. How could an outfit worthy of being called a cultural icon be complete without white stockings?
Though bare legs were pretty nice too... Hehehe~ ˉ﹃ˉ...
"If I want to make white stockings, this fabric definitely won't do..."
Gu Xia looked at the piece of silk in his hand and shook his head slightly. This kind of silk was only suitable for making clothes. He'd have to look elsewhere for the material to make stockings...
After another round of wandering, Gu Xia searched carefully until he finally found a kind of fabric that could be used to make stockings...
"Found it! There's just one last piece of white fabric left..."
What Gu Xia had found was a small bolt of fabric used in this world to decorate clothing patterns. After checking it over, he confirmed that this was the best material for completing that final, perfect stroke!
"Great. Now all I have to do is wait for the shopkeeper to come downstairs and buy them. I'll keep Xun'er's outfit a secret for now. After all, a surprise wouldn't be much of a surprise if there were only one, right?"
Gu Xia's plan sounded lovely, but reality turned out differently...
Half an hour passed. Gu Xia was still gazing expectantly at the stairs...
An hour later, Gu Xia was still waiting patiently for them to appear...
Three hours later...
"Burp. Those fish balls on the next street over are pretty good. I can bring Xun'er there next time..."
Gu Xia had already given up. He'd gone out for a meal, browsed a weapons shop and a bunch of street stalls. He'd even had time to watch a street brawl between a man and a dog, count the ants by the shop entrance, and play rock-paper-scissors with himself for half an hour...
Just when he was about to ascend to heaven on the spot, Xun'er's long, shapely legs finally appeared around the bend in the stairs...
Before you continue