After returning to the household from the mountain, Xiao Ni was about to take a stroll around Wutan City when a flawless figure dressed in purple suddenly entered his field of vision.
She was a fourteen-year-old girl. Her elegant temperament carried a trace of cool aloofness, while her delicate face was slightly youthful yet still charming. Wrapped in her clothes, her figure looked especially soft and alluring.
"Xun'er!" At the sight of the girl with peerless beauty, Xiao Ni could not help waving and calling out.
"Brother Xiao Ni!" Xiao Xun'er came before Xiao Ni with a radiant smile, but she soon put it away and pouted. "No wonder Brother Xiao Ni has barely paid attention to me these past two months. So you were secretly cultivating. You actually broke through from the Seventh Duan of Dou Qi to a Six-Star Dou Practitioner."
"Well... I cultivated a secret technique. Either I do not break through at all, or my level advances by leaps and bounds," Xiao Ni said awkwardly.
Sigh, this little girl's eyes are too sharp. Even with the system cheat, others could not easily see through my level, yet she saw through me at a glance.
"Hmph, then go on and study your secret technique!" Xiao Xun'er said with a cold face.
"You're quite cute when you're angry, little girl." Xiao Ni could not help pinching Xiao Xun'er's little cheek before adding, "It was my fault for not spending time with you these past two months. Come on, I'll accompany you around Wutan City now."
"Sure." Xiao Xun'er giggled, then suddenly thought of something. "Brother Xiao Ni, there's a question I'd like to ask you."
"What question?" Xiao Ni asked in surprise.
As far as he remembered, this was the first time he had heard Xiao Xun'er use the word "ask" with him. Could she be asking about that secret technique he had made up on the spot? If so, he had to answer carefully.
"From the time Xun'er was four until she was six, someone sneaked into my room every night. Then, using a very clumsy method and rather weak Dou Qi, he nurtured my bones and meridians. Every time, he would leave exhausted only after working himself into a sweat. Brother Xiao Ni, who do you think he was?" Xiao Xun'er leaned close to Xiao Ni, carrying the unique charm of a young girl as she spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"If I said that person was me, would you kill me?" Xiao Ni had not expected Xiao Xun'er to be asking about this. He smiled calmly and leaned close to her ear with a mischievous grin.
That was right, it had been him. He had stolen Xiao Yan's role, arriving in Xiao Xun'er's room before Xiao Yan every night and successfully nipping Xiao Yan's little thoughts in the bud.
"I..." Xiao Xun'er had intended to tease Xiao Ni, only to be teased in return. A flush immediately rose to her face, and for a moment, she had no idea how to respond.
"Congratulations, Host, for triggering a new mission. For twenty-one consecutive days, borrow one thousand gold coins outside Xun'er's room and say, 'Morning, Xun'er. It's really wonderful to see you.'" Just as Xiao Ni was about to take Xiao Xun'er shopping, the system's voice suddenly sounded in his mind, and his hand froze in midair.
"Um... Xun'er, can you lend me some money?" After hesitating for a moment, Xiao Ni still asked somewhat unnaturally.
Although borrowing money from a girl was rather pathetic, the rewards from the system's last two missions had been quite good. Since the mission had been issued, he would definitely have to swallow his pride and complete it.
"How much does Brother Xiao Ni need?" Xiao Xun'er asked in return, not caring about his reason for borrowing money.
To her, as long as Xiao Ni needed money, it would not matter even if she gave him all her gold coins.
"About twenty or thirty thousand gold coins," Xiao Ni said, stroking his chin as his expression became much more natural.
"I have several black cards here with roughly thirty thousand gold coins in them. Brother Xiao Ni, take them and use them first." After thinking briefly, Xiao Xun'er flicked her finger and took out seven black cards.
"You really are a little rich girl." Xiao Ni smiled as he lightly scraped Xiao Xun'er's nose, then continued, "No need to give me so much at once. Starting tomorrow morning, I'll wait outside your room. Just give me one thousand gold coins every day."
"Why make it so troublesome?" Xiao Xun'er tilted her head slightly and asked in confusion.
"Because I want to see you one more time every day," Xiao Ni said teasingly.
Hearing this, Xiao Xun'er could not help rolling her eyes in an adorable manner. "Brother Xiao Ni, the most impressive thing about you must be that mouth of yours, right?"
"Not necessarily." Xiao Ni shrugged, then walked shoulder to shoulder with Xiao Xun'er toward the outside of the household.
Although Wutan City was merely a beginner village, it was not small to Xiao Ni. Thus, he and Xiao Xun'er strolled for quite a while before entering the marketplace controlled by the Xiao Household.
During that time, the two chatted happily. Xiao Ni did not mention the Gu Clan, and Xiao Xun'er did not ask about his increase in level. Their thoughts were perfectly aligned, as they waited for the other to take the initiative and confess.
"Miss Xun'er, Young Master Xiao Ni." They had walked less than two hundred meters into the marketplace when Payne approached with a squad of men.
Although Xiao Ni was poor, he had often come to wander around the marketplace before. Staying at home all the time was too boring, and taking a walk might reveal something interesting.
For example, when two young men fought, the weaker one angrily bowed to the other a hundred times. Or when two women competed over wealth, the winner directly bought three shops and gave them to the other. Or when two old men fought over a bone, only to be chased all over the streets by a stray dog.
Xiao Yan had never seen such famous scenes, which showed that Xiao Ni lived a much happier life than Xiao Yan.
"Uncle Payne, you don't need to come greet me every time. Just do as you please." Xiao Ni smiled amiably. Though Payne was only a minor supporting character in Battle Through the Heavens, he was as easygoing as Xiao Ni himself, and Xiao Ni appreciated that.
"Then enjoy your stroll. Same old rule—if anything comes up, just call for us." Payne said this with a smile before leading the guards away to patrol.
He felt that Xiao Ni, like the Third Young Master, was a good person. His talent was just a little lacking. So even though Xiao Ni had only called for them once over the years, Payne still exchanged a few polite words with him.
"Brother Xiao Ni, is there anything you want to buy?" Xiao Xun'er looked around before asking tentatively.
"Nothing for now. Let's look around first," Xiao Ni said awkwardly.
Sigh, I really can't compare to Xiao Yan. Xiao Yan may also be poor, but he still has three or four hundred gold coins on him. I only have fifty-six gold coins left.
"Old man, you dare sell me a lousy painting for fifty gold coins? Why don't you just rob me?" After taking Xiao Xun'er around two or three turns, a furious roar reached Xiao Ni's ears. He looked toward the sound and soon saw Galeo, already a One-Star Dou Practitioner, holding a portrait in one hand while clutching the collar of a sixty-year-old man with the other. His eyes burned with undisguised rage.
"That's... Aunt Lan's portrait?!" Xiao Ni's gaze shifted to the portrait in Galeo's hand, and his expression immediately changed.
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