A quarter of an hour later, Bibi Dong returned to her bedchamber and changed into casual attire.
At this moment, she wore a dark purple brocade waist-length long dress, embroidered on the left and right sides of the chest with a faint, dark black spider pattern.
The two spiders differed slightly in appearance, yet were equally ferocious and terrifying.
The hem of the skirt reached only to her ankles, and on her feet she wore purplish-black high heels covered in spider patterns.
She draped a black cloak over her shoulders and pulled up the hood, concealing that eye-catching dark purple hair beneath the hood.
She casually picked up the spider-patterned black eye-mask resting on the table and put it on her face, covering her exquisite features.
At this moment, from head to toe, only Bibi Dong's violet eyes and delicate burgundy lips were exposed to the outside.
Anyone who saw her now would never associate her with the Pope of Spirit Hall.
Stepping out of the bedchamber, Bibi Dong gazed out at Spirit City before her, pinpointing her direction, and with a "whoosh" flew off.
Before long, Bibi Dong left Pope Mountain and entered Spirit City.
She did not head to the Martial Soul Library, but instead hurried toward the eastern side of Spirit City.
Not long after, Bibi Dong arrived before a bustling market.
Raising her eyes, she saw a wooden sign erected at the entrance of the market, impressively engraved with five large characters: "Qian Zong Snack Street".
As her gaze fell upon the two characters "Qian Zong" on the wooden sign, a flash of coldness crossed Bibi Dong's eyes.
Bibi Dong did not linger, gently pulling down her hood as she entered the snack street.
"You love me, I love me, Mixue Bingcheng is sweet as can be!"
"You love me, I love me, Mixue Bingcheng is sweet as can be (drooping tone)!"
As soon as she stepped into the market, the catchy advertising jingle instantly occupied Bibi Dong's mind, purifying her thoughts of all annoyance and leaving her head completely clear.
Bibi Dong turned her head to look at the Mixue Bingcheng milk tea shop, where the crowd was lined up like a giant caterpillar, making it impossible to even squeeze inside.
Therefore, she did not stop, continuing further into the depths of the snack street.
"Maltose candy, maltose candy, selling old maltose candy!"
A vendor carried a load on a shoulder pole, tapping with a small hammer in one hand and an iron chisel in the other, shouting out slogans from time to time.
"Hot and sour noodles~, cold noodles~, tofu pudding~, come buy, not spicy and it's free~"
Other vendors also carried poles on their shoulders, walking leisurely among the crowd.
Whenever someone called out to stop them, they would walk to the nearest roadside and halt to sell the food in their baskets.
"Pomelos! Selling pomelos! Selling red-fleshed pomelos! 4 copper coins each, 20 copper coins a bag."
"Mom, I want to eat pomelo!"
"Alright, darling, how many do you want?"
"Mom, I want five!"
"Come on over, pomelos are wicked good!"
"Mom, I want to eat pomelo, buy me one!"
"Selling candied kumquats, selling candied kumquats, sweet and pulpy, sweet enough to make you holler for your mama! Good grief, it's so freakin' sweet! Come buy~"
There were also vendors selling various fruits, walking along with shoulder poles and calling out shouts.
During their peddling, they would raise and lower their intonations from time to time, sounding full of local flavor.
A pomelo vendor walked past Bibi Dong. She glanced into the basket, inside which were merely the most ordinary pomelos.
Yet the slogans shouted by this vendor were anything but ordinary.
"Sigh..."
Bibi Dong withdrew her gaze, sighing helplessly in her heart.
Every time she entered the snack street, her worldview was given a thorough remodeling.
Especially the peddling slogans of those vendors, which assaulted her brain at every moment.
Yet strangely enough, listening to these slogans never made her feel irritated.
Just like Mixue Bingcheng's slogan.
At first listen, it was straightforward and devoid of depth.
Yet once heard, one would somehow remember the slogan against their better judgment.
Bibi Dong walked all the way forward, stopping before a pastry shop.
The shop's storefront was simply decorated, with a horizontal plaque hanging from the lintel bearing four large characters: "Liao's Pastries".
Beneath "Liao's Pastries", there was also a label reading "Qian Zong Food Association Pastry Seventh Branch".
The interior displays and furnishings were also very concise, with shelves set up against the left and right walls holding various pastries isolated under glass domes.
Bibi Dong stood in place, her gaze sweeping into the shop as she counted the number of people waiting in line.
The boss seemed to have sensed something and looked up toward the outside of the shop.
Seeing a newcomer standing motionless outside in a black robe, he quickly dropped the task at hand and ran out.
Arriving before the robed figure, the boss swept his gaze across the face beneath the black hood.
Seeing that the robed figure wore a spider-patterned eye-mask, his smile broadened even further as he greeted:
"Customer, is it still one small portion each of brown sugar glutinous rice cake, mochi, egg tart, cream puff, and peach crisp?"
Bibi Dong did not voice a sound, merely nodding gently.
"Alrighty, please wait a moment, I'll have it ready for you right away!"
Seeing Bibi Dong nod, the boss quickly returned to his workstation to prepare the food.
In less than three minutes, he finished packing the food required by Bibi Dong in greasepaper.
The boss jogged back to the front of Bibi Dong, personally handing over the packaged food and saying cheerfully:
"Customer, here you are, a total of 18 copper coins."
Bibi Dong flipped her palm, and twelve gold soul coins appeared in it.
She handed the gold soul coins to the boss and turned away without the slightest hesitation.
The boss received the gold soul coins with both hands, the wrinkles on his face practically bunching up as he bid farewell:
"Safe journey, customer, welcome next time."
With that, the boss didn't even spare Bibi Dong another glance, turning right around and heading back into the shop.
This customer had a terribly eccentric temper, always exuding an aura that kept strangers at a distance.
Moreover, ever since her very first visit to the shop, this customer had never spoken a single word, buying things by simply pointing directly at the shelves to indicate her intentions.
Once she got her goods, she never asked about the price, tossing down gold soul coins and leaving.
Come to think of it, she must be mute-and a super-rich mute at that.
Not only was she mute, but judging by that trick of conjuring gold soul coins out of thin air, she was also a lord soul master.
Later on, this customer wouldn't even step through the shop doors, simply standing in front of the entrance whenever she came, though goodness knows what she was thinking.
Faced with such a customer, the boss didn't care to haggle.
After all, in business, harmony brings wealth.
What's more, during this period, the boss had earned quite a bit of money from this mute customer.
Right now, he wished this customer would patronize his small shop every single day.
Suddenly, a soul master customer waiting in line inside the shop complained with dissatisfaction:
"Boss, we were clearly here first, what right do you have to pack for him first?"
The boss cupped his hands toward the crowd inside the shop and bowed apologetically:
"My apologies, everyone, this customer is a friend of mine, I must look after him."
The boss didn't bluntly state that the black-robed person was mute; such matters were understood among themselves.
Once spoken aloud, the meaning changed.
Pausing, the boss cupped his hands again and continued:
"However, the young hall master once established rules, and today's affair was indeed my oversight.
"To compensate for everyone's loss, whatever items everyone present is holding will only require payment for the amount exceeding 30 copper coins.
"If it doesn't exceed 30 copper coins, consider it my treat, just a small token of my sincerity."
The twelve gold soul coins Bibi Dong gave were not just buying the food in the shop, but also buying the rules of Qian Zong.
After all, if anyone who came to buy things could cut in line, how could business possibly go on?
Upon hearing this, the crowd all froze in surprise.
Thirty copper coins was no small sum for an ordinary family.
If one scrimped a bit, it was enough to live on for several days.
Immediately afterward, cries of astonishment erupted inside the shop.
"The boss is magnanimous, the stuff in my hands only comes to 15 copper coins, I'll be off first."
"In that case, boss, get me 5 more egg tarts."
Customers who hadn't reached the 30-copper-coin free quota frantically added to their orders.
Customers who had reached the free quota, after confirmation from the boss, directly left the shop.
There were also some honest customers who only bought the food they wanted to eat, without forcibly padding their orders to reach the 30-copper-coin free limit.
Before you continue