"..."
Inside the pavilion, there was only the soft patter of rain on green bamboo.
Gong Qiulan had established herself in the Eight Hundred Miles of Linked Clouds and built the Jade Luan Manor into what it was. Beyond her cultivation at Wandering Void Sea Perfection, she naturally possessed an exquisitely discerning mind.
Yet even so, Jiang Yuechu's words left her momentarily stunned.
Never mind what the girl intended to borrow.
What did she mean by "the kind I'll pay back"?
If it was borrowing, how could there be any question of not returning it?
If she didn't return it, wouldn't that be outright robbery?
Gong Qiulan looked at the earnest young woman before her, unable for a moment to tell whether she was joking or subtly hinting at something.
"Ahem..."
Seemingly realizing that her wording had been inappropriate, Jiang Yuechu held a fist to her lips and gave a somewhat awkward cough.
"Sorry, I'm from a small place. Where we come from, when we borrow things... we generally don't have to return them."
"...Is... is that so?"
Gong Qiulan managed a faint smile, but did not dwell on the topic.
However absurd the customs of that small place might be, the most pressing matter was to find out exactly what the girl wanted to borrow.
If it was something ordinary, she could simply give it to her as repayment for saving her life. That would hardly be a big deal.
With that thought in mind.
Gong Qiulan looked at her questioningly. "Why don't you tell me what you need first, Fellow Daoist Jiang? Is it that your... fellow villagers are new here and lack something?"
"Thanks to you, Fairy, my fellow villagers have settled in very well. They aren't lacking anything... I'm the one who needs something."
Jiang Yuechu