Autumn rain fell without end, yet Changle Street remained a throng of pedestrians. Colorful oil-paper umbrellas wove past one another, looking from above like a river drifting with countless flower petals.
Inside the Colorful Garments Pavilion in the heart of Changle Street, Lin Zisu and Jiang Xian huddled together, picking out the latest styles of the Phoenix Immortal Gown.
This sort of lingerie really was beautiful, and it was said to be very popular with a certain newly risen Immortal Ascendant, whose household alone could buy dozens of sets a month. Naturally, the rear residences of wealthy households followed suit, setting off a craze.
Seeing how quickly these things raked in money, Lu Wuzhen issued a document reclassifying them as Daoist robes, with their manufacture and sale subject to the Directorate of Celestial Observation's supervision. The stated reason was to prevent artifact refiners from causing trouble and harming the public, but in reality, it was forcing the Academy to pay tribute. Otherwise, what would feed all those people in the Directorate?
Of course, with such an ugly display of greed, Lu Wuzhen had to offer some compensation. He specifically sent several Mohist master craftsmen to provide technical support, and authorized the use of patented techniques held by the Directorate, among other things. After that, Phoenix Immortal Gown designs began updating at the speed of light. Assisting Qi Refining and providing protection became dime-a-dozen features; now they had even evolved into "exoskeletons."
Their function was roughly this: after putting on the bodystockings, one needed only to direct them with qi, and the threads concealed in the gauzy garment would contract and change shape along preset paths, helping a woman perform frog squats, moon-swaying, "ripe for your plucking," and other poses.
Although this little feature was not much use to a demoness,