Song Miaomiao was not clear on all the twists and turns inside Song Zhizhi's heart. She nodded and said to Song Zhizhi and Liu Changfei, "If you encounter something like this next time, you can send me a transmission talisman or seek help from the nearby Enforcement Squad. Our Enforcement Hall will never let go of anyone who bullies their fellow disciples, whether they are direct disciples or outer sect disciples. As long as they violate the sect rules, they will receive the corresponding punishment."
Song Zhizhi felt that Song Miaomiao's second half sentence was meant for Feng Yulong to hear. Even so, she still nodded enthusiastically in agreement, looking at Song Miaomiao with eyes that sparkled brightly, resembling a cute little animal.
Song Miaomiao was stunned for a moment: it seemed Song Zhizhi had truly turned over a new leaf, and her cultivation had also advanced quite a bit.
Song Miaomiao said with a hint of gratification, "You've grown up a lot. Don't be willful anymore in the future, and Aunt Zhao can rest a bit easier in the netherworld."
Song Zhizhi nodded with a hot face.
Meanwhile, hearing these words on the side, Feng Yulong belatedly realized that the names Song Zhizhi and Song Miaomiao looked like a pair of sisters no matter how one saw it. He concluded that this time it was Song Zhizhi who had lured the Enforcement Squad over. Before being dragged away, he stared hatefully at Song Zhizhi and opened his mouth to silently mouth at her: You just wait for me!
What a psycho, Song Zhizhi thought.
After the people from the Enforcement Hall left, Liu Changfei breathed a sigh of relief. "Luckily the people from the Enforcement Hall arrived in time."
"Sorry, Zhizhi, I almost implicated you just now."
Song Zhizhi shook her head. "Don't talk about whether you implicated me or not. Today, if it were anyone else, they wouldn't watch you get bullied by Feng Yulong either. Besides, we're friends, aren't we?"
Liu Changfei stared at Song Zhizhi in a daze for a moment, then nodded forcefully with a smile. "Right, we're friends!"
She looked toward the direction where the Enforcement Squad had left and gloated, "Unadorned Sword Lord is famously iron-faced and merciless. Since Feng Yulong was caught red-handed by the Enforcement Squad this time, he's definitely booked a stay at Reflection Cliff. I've heard there isn't a shred of spiritual energy inside Reflection Cliff, and cultivators inside are like fish out of water. Ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators feel extremely miserable staying in there for even a single hour. I hope Feng Yulong gets locked up for a long time this time."
Hearing Liu Changfei mention Unadorned Sword Lord and the Enforcement Hall, Song Zhizhi finally remembered that Song Miaomiao's master, Unadorned Sword Lord, was precisely an elder of the Sword Sect's Enforcement Hall and practiced the Heartless Sword Dao.
The female lead who originally practiced the Azure Water Sword had switched to practicing the Heartless Sword? This plot was completely chaotic! Of course, Song Zhizhi refused to admit that the plot changing was her fault; she maintained she hadn't done anything! She neither snatched the female lead's opportunities nor hindered the female lead's growth—all of this was Song Miaomiao's own decision.
Perhaps this is just the will of heaven, Song Zhizhi thought. Mn, it must be so.
Feng Yulong had already been taken away. Song Zhizhi and Liu Changfei continued their previous plan to check out the novelties together at the Hundred Treasures Market.
The Sword Sect's Hundred Treasures Market was held in the outer sect once a year, and only opened for three days at a time. The format was not much different from a mortal market, except that the items sold were different.
On this day, whether they were inner sect disciples or outer sect disciples, everyone would stroll around the Hundred Treasures Market. Sometimes, if they had good luck, they could even pick up a bargain.
"I heard a senior hundred years ago bought the extinct Cloud-Thunder Wood at the Hundred Treasures Market for a single low-grade spirit stone."
"I heard fifty years ago, another senior sister picked up a bargain at the Hundred Treasures Market and hunted down a manual for a heavenly-grade sword technique. She's already a Nascent Soul Cultivator now."
Liu Changfei stayed in the outer sect and interacted with many people on ordinary days. All along the way, she shared stories she had heard from other fellow disciples with Song Zhizhi. However, the authenticity of these stories was open to question; Song Zhizhi and Liu Changfei both just listened to them as a pastime.
The authenticity of the first story was somewhat higher. After all, not everyone recognized Cloud-Thunder Wood, so it was normal for the seller to overlook it. But the second story was simply absurd: as a Sword Sect disciple, how could one possibly fail to understand a sword manual and let someone else pick up a bargain?
Song Zhizhi suspected those stories were all made up by the stall owners at the Hundred Treasures Market to attract customer traffic.
The items sold at the Hundred Treasures Market were mostly lower- and middle-grade pills, primary magical tools, ores, and medicinal herbs. There were also some high-grade magical tools, but the string of zeros on the price list made Song Zhizhi balk.
Of course, daily necessities were also not lacking. Song Zhizhi bought a bathing tub with an automatic heating function at the Hundred Treasures Market, and even custom-ordered a foot-soaking tub with a massage function. None of these things were expensive. The original owner had some savings, plus inner sect disciples could collect ten middle-grade spirit stones from the sect every month, which was plenty of money for her expenses today.
When passing by a stall on the way back, she caught sight of a rattle-drum-shaped magical tool. Song Zhizhi couldn't help stopping in her tracks, staring fixedly at a rattle-drum with a red base, white face, and a little golden-feathered bird painted on the drum surface.
This little bird was a tiny bit cute...
The stall owner was a male cultivator wearing outer sect disciple robes. He raised his head to glance at Song Zhizhi, his gaze lingering on Song Zhizhi's inner sect disciple robes for a few seconds before revealing an honest and sincere smile. "This younger sister clearly has a great eye at a glance. This rattle-drum—no, this drum-shaped magical tool is extraordinary. It's a magical tool that can launch sound-wave attacks; you only need to gently shake it to paralyze enemies through sound, and anyone below the Golden Core stage has zero ability to resist."
Song Zhizhi looked at the exquisite pattern on the rattle-drum, touched her belly, and seemed moved by the stall owner. "How much?"
The stall owner smiled even more sincerely: "The original price only requires one hundred middle-grade spirit stones. Seeing that you have a kind face, Junior Sister, I'll give you a discount: ninety-nine middle-grade spirit stones!"
"This piece of junk wants ninety-nine middle-grade spirit stones? Why don't you just go rob someone!" Liu Changfei glared at the stall owner, then said to Song Zhizhi, "Zhizhi, let's go!"
The stall owner put on a naive and obedient expression. "This younger sister, you can't put it that way. My magical tool is a rare sound-attack magical tool after all. If you think it's expensive, you can make a counteroffer. If the price is right, I'll sell it to you to make a friend."
Song Zhizhi glanced sideways at the stall owner, picked up the rattle-drum to shake it gently, and then put it down. "Nine middle-grade spirit stones."
The stall owner put away his smile and pulled a straight face. "...This younger sister, there's no such thing as bargaining like that!"
Only then did Song Zhizhi raise her head to look at the stall owner. "The material cost of your rattle-drum is at most three middle-grade spirit stones, and the formation patterns drawn on it are extremely crude. The sound attack on it can only be used three times at most. Nine middle-grade spirit stones, not a single coin more."