Shopping

When he arrived in this world two years ago, Dugu Xin had taken him straight to a clinic to recover. He had never had the chance to properly explore the towns and streets of the Heaven Dou Empire.

Now, seeing the buildings in the Heaven Dou style with his own eyes, he found they had a charm all their own.

Lu Xuan wandered along the street with Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan, picking up snacks and clever little trinkets as they went. They strolled at their leisure, and no one came to bother them.

Before long, Dugu Yan had a skewer of bright-red candied hawthorns in her hand. As soon as Lu Xuan paid, she held it up to him. "Lu Xuan, have a taste."

Lu Xuan glanced at the skewer and noticed one hawthorn was already missing. He looked up at Dugu Yan, a little wary.

"Oh, come on. Try it." Smiling, Dugu Yan brought the skewer closer to his mouth.

Lu Xuan had a fair idea of what she was up to, but he did not want to spoil her fun. He opened his mouth and bit off a hawthorn.

"Gah!"

A fierce sourness exploded across his tongue. His face contorted into a mask of agony.

"Hahaha!" Dugu Yan could not hold it in any longer. She clutched her stomach and burst out laughing.

She had shuddered at the sourness when she bit into one herself. But to play her trick on Lu Xuan, she had gritted her teeth and endured it.

Seeing the look on his face now, she could barely contain her delight at pulling it off.

"Oh, you." Lu Xuan shook his head helplessly and took the painfully sour skewer from her. "If it tastes this bad, don't eat it."

As he spoke, he put the candied hawthorns into his storage Soul Tool.

He would remember this little slight. When the chance came, he would get her back.

The incident did nothing to dampen their enthusiasm for shopping.

Little pranks like that happened now and then when the three of them were together.

They kept strolling down the street, stopping to look at anything that caught their eye and buying whatever they liked.

After the candied hawthorn trick, though, Lu Xuan was on his guard. He waved away every snack Dugu Yan offered him, refusing to be fooled again.

Ye Lingling, by contrast, was quiet and gentle. For most of the walk, she picked out pretty little accessories and examined them closely. It was quite a while before she chose a snack she wanted.

The spicy rabbit heads gleamed red with oil, their surfaces coated in rich, translucent chili oil. The fragrance of pepper and spices mingled with the aroma of the braising sauce, making their mouths water before they had even taken a bite.

"Brother Lu Xuan." Ye Lingling looked up at him, expectation shining in her eyes. What she wanted was plain to see.

She wanted Lu Xuan to taste one first. If he liked it, she would eat some too.

"What am I going to do with you?" Lu Xuan smiled helplessly, picked up a rabbit head, and began nibbling at it.

"Hm?" His brow suddenly furrowed. He smacked his lips and declared, "The meat's dry and tough. You have to pull at it forever just to get a tiny bit off, and it's a chore to chew. A failure! The seasoning's far too strong, too. The pepper numbs my tongue, the heat goes straight up my nose, and you can't taste the meat at all. Another failure! Some parts still taste gamey, and the more you eat, the greasier it gets. A failure among failures!"

He kept finding fault with it, but he watched Ye Lingling's expression out of the corner of his eye, eager to see whether the little girl would believe him.

Ye Lingling was just beginning to think the rabbit heads might actually taste bad when Dugu Yan's eyes lit up. "Lu Xuan!"

She pointed at the plate and exposed him in an indignant huff. "You keep saying they're awful, but you've almost eaten the whole plate!"

"So you were tricking me!" Ye Lingling caught on at once. Her cheeks flushed as she balled up her small fist and gave Lu Xuan a light thump.

Lu Xuan quickly stowed the remaining rabbit heads in his storage Soul Tool. With a laugh, he turned and ran down the street.

He darted ahead with light steps, careful not to leave the two girls too far behind.

Now and then, he glanced back and deliberately slowed down, making it seem as though they were only a few steps from catching him.

Dugu Yan ran after him as fast as she could, her skirt fluttering as she shouted. Ye Lingling was not as lively, but she followed close behind, her hair lifting in the breeze. Together, they chased him with all their might.

The three of them ran on, laughing and chasing one another. Before long, they had covered half a street and turned into a quieter lane, where a shop came into view.

The shop's wooden sign had weathered years of sun and rain, its background slightly faded. Three images were carved into it: a longsword, a great hammer, and a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon roaring with its head raised.

"Huh?" Lu Xuan's gaze settled on the sign, and his brows rose slightly.

Could they have run right up to that four-eyed profiteer's shop?

"Got you!"

Dugu Yan was a little faster. She leaped onto Lu Xuan's back and wrapped both arms around his neck.

Ye Lingling arrived right behind her and grabbed his arm. Looking up at him, she said softly, "Hand over the rest of the spicy rabbit heads."

"All right, all right. I'll hand them over." Lu Xuan motioned helplessly for them to let go. Then, with a flick of his fingers, he took the plate of rabbit heads out of his storage Soul Tool.

After all that running and fooling around, Ye Lingling had forgotten her usual ladylike reserve.

With the rabbit heads before her and their rich aroma wafting up again, she was ready to give them a proper taste.

"Yanyan, you try some too." Lu Xuan picked off a piece of rabbit meat and held it to Dugu Yan's mouth.

Dugu Yan thought nothing of it. She parted her lips slightly, waiting for him to feed her.

But at that instant, Lu Xuan secretly swapped the meat for a sour hawthorn and popped it into her mouth.

Caught off guard, Dugu Yan bit down hard. The intense sourness burst across her tongue, and her face scrunched up at once.

"Lu Xuan! I'm going to bite you!"

Sour-mouthed and furious, Dugu Yan lunged at Lu Xuan's arm with her teeth.

But years of refinement by Soul Power had made Lu Xuan's body tough enough to withstand the impact of a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring's energy.

Dugu Yan was only nine. Without using Soul Power, what harm could she do, even biting as hard as she could?

Her teeth left only a damp smear of saliva on Lu Xuan's arm, not even the faintest bite mark.

"Haha, that won't work." Lu Xuan laughed and lifted his arm away as she tried to bite him again.

"Enough!"

Just then, someone came out of the shop.

Flender had listened and watched the three of them for some time. Their playful flirting had left him feeling sour.

Once outside, he glared at them. "This is my shop. What do you think you're doing making such a racket at the door? If you're not buying anything, get out of here!"