"Lu Yi!"
Lu Yi turned toward the voice and saw Ning Tian hurrying over from the shop entrance. He was a little surprised.
"When did you get here?" Ning Tian asked, delighted. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"I just arrived. We finally have a break, and I needed to clear my head, so I came to look around."
A teasing note crept into Lu Yi's voice. "Besides, I told you I'd come bother you when I had time. You didn't think I was just being polite, did you?"
"I actually did. For a while, I even wondered if I hadn't sounded sincere enough and made you think I was just being polite."
Ning Tian smiled faintly. "But clearing your head doesn't sound like you. I've never seen you take a rest."
Lu Yi raised an eyebrow. "Neither have you. You ran out in your work clothes, and there are still metal shavings on your hands. You must have been practicing carving Core Arrays."
Only then did Ning Tian realize she had rushed out in her work clothes, looking far too unkempt to be presentable. Her face grew hot, and she quickly changed the subject.
"What do you think of Nine Treasures City?"
"It's excellent. It has an old-world charm without losing its sense of technology, and the city planning is beautiful. Aesthetically, it's far better than either Star Luo City or Shrek City, from what I've seen."
Lu Yi praised it without reservation, and he meant every word.
The Star Luo Empire prized martial prowess, and everything there emphasized practicality. Its aesthetic was therefore rather raw.
As for Shrek City...
The Treasure Gathering Pavilion had turned an entire building into the shape of a treasure basin and coated its outer walls in gold paint. What more needed to be said