Shopping

Early in the morning, Tingyun carefully dressed herself up at home.

Her ears and hair were neatly groomed, and she wore newly bought casual clothes. Unlike before, when she wore flat sandals that wrapped around her heels, she now exposed her bare feet entirely and slipped them into high heels.

Her ankles were slender and graceful, her skin smooth as jade, and her toenails painted a faint, crystal-clear red that suited her age perfectly.

She had spent several days caring for these feet. Now was the time to show them off to someone else.

Tingyun turned left and right a few times, then nodded in satisfaction.

Just then, the door to her home was pushed open, and Qingni walked into her room.

"You knew I was coming to ask you shopping? You actually dressed up this beautifully."

Seeing how carefully Tingyun had dressed, Qingni could not help but marvel.

Tingyun had already been lovely to begin with, and after properly dressing up, she looked even more stunning.

"Huh? You came to ask me shopping?" Tingyun looked puzzled when Qingni said that. Then, with a regretful expression, she said, "I'm really sorry, but I'm going out today, so I don't have time."

"It's because of Ji Yuan."

Qingni covered her forehead with a headache. She had never expected her friend to be such a hopeless romantic.

Still, she had to admit that Ji Yuan's courage to face danger and his steadfastness in the face of temptation really were quite appealing.

"Fine, fine. Go on, then. I'll head over to Exalting Sanctum and try the new tea pastries."

Qingni waved her hand and left.

Tingyun patted her shoulder and said, "Don't worry. I just want to confirm how I feel about Ji Yuan. Once I've confirmed it, I won't be in such a hurry anymore."

I don't believe a word of that.

Qingni thought as she looked at Tingyun.

You're already this lovesick. I refuse to believe you'll change.

Exalting Sanctum. Tingyun arrived at the meeting spot half an hour before their appointed time.

There was no way she would let herself rush over and damage her image.

Standing outside a milk tea shop by the street, Tingyun held two cups of milk tea in her hands.

"This little lady is truly looking forward to it..."

Tingyun eagerly awaited Ji Yuan's arrival.

Just thinking about seeing him soon made her face heat up.

What would Ji Yuan look like? Would he be amazed by how she looked?

Would he let out a gasp of admiration?

Especially at this pair of beautiful feet.

Even Tingyun herself could not help praising her pretty little feet whenever she saw them.

How should she show Ji Yuan their most perfect angle later?

Tingyun kept pondering it in her heart.

She tilted her head and looked all around, trying to spot where Ji Yuan would appear.

Then—

She saw two figures, one tall and one small, walking over with their arms around each other's shoulders.

Tingyun's smile instantly froze.

Why hadn't he come alone?!

Why had he brought Yanqing, the General's disciple, with him?!

With a child like that here, Tingyun's eager anticipation instantly vanished.

What kind of situation was this supposed to be?

Tingyun silently took out her phone and called Qingni.

Tingyun: "Qingni, are you still in Exalting Sanctum?"

Qingni: "Yeah, I'm having tea pastries here in Exalting Sanctum. What is it? Do you need something?"

Tingyun: "Do you want to come shopping with me?"

Qingni: "What happened? Don't tell me Ji Yuan stood you up?"

Tingyun: "N-No... You'll understand when you get here."

Her tone was somewhat dejected, and Qingni heard it clearly over the phone.

Suppressing a laugh, she replied, "All right, I'll come over now."

As they talked, Ji Yuan and Yanqing walked over.

"Good morning, Miss Tingyun."

Ji Yuan greeted Tingyun.

When he saw Tingyun today, a flash of amazement passed through his eyes.

Tingyun looked even prettier than before. In particular, she had changed out of her previous shoes and put on black high heels, revealing the beautiful shape of her feet.

Yanqing beside him also greeted her politely.

"What a coincidence. I had only just arrived when you two showed up."

Tingyun replied with a smile.

She was delighted when she saw the flash of amazement in Ji Yuan's eyes. Especially when he tried to look serious but kept glancing at her feet from the corner of his eyes—it made Tingyun feel thrilled.

She felt quite satisfied.

When she turned to Yanqing, her excitement dropped slightly, but she still asked, "I didn't expect Young Master Yanqing to have time to come as well. We still have to thank you for saving us when we killed that Buli Ren leader last time."

"That was my duty, Miss Tingyun. You don't need to thank me. Brother Ji Yuan invited me last night, and since I had nothing to do, I came along."

Yanqing scratched his head sheepishly.

Ji Yuan patted Yanqing on the shoulder.

When two corpses met, there always had to be some guarantee. He had gone to meet Yanqing first today, and only after confirming that Yanqing was still the Luofu Sword Champion a hundred years later had he felt at ease meeting Tingyun.

It should be much safer this way.

As the three chatted, Qingni also walked over.

When she saw Yanqing standing beside Ji Yuan, she nearly burst out laughing.

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

"I'm late. Sorry, sorry."

She walked over to Tingyun and spoke to the three of them.

"You came at just the right time." Tingyun nodded with a smile. She then asked Ji Yuan, "By the way, Ji Yuan, what home renovation supplies are you planning to buy? I'll lead the way."

"Sure. Then, Miss Tingyun, take me to look at surveillance cameras first, then automated guard cannons, particle laser nets..."

Ji Yuan listed a whole string of weapons, equipment, and defense systems.

The moment he said that, Tingyun, Qingni, and Yanqing all looked at Ji Yuan strangely.

No, why were those the first things you wanted to buy?!

What normal person bought those things after moving house?!

Shouldn't you start with daily necessities?

And the equipment you wanted to buy was enough to turn your property into a fortress, wasn't it? Even if the Cloud Knights attacked it, they would have to put in a tremendous amount of effort.

Ji Yuan did not feel that anything was wrong when he saw the looks in their eyes.

Nothing was more important than staying alive.

What was wrong with being a little cautious?

Oh, right. Tingyun was in danger too.

Ji Yuan reminded her, "Um, Miss Tingyun, do you want a set too? You can fortify your home completely. That way, it'll be safe."

Yanqing and Qingni were utterly speechless.

I don't think I need that...

Tingyun thought to herself.

But when the words reached her lips, she smiled and nodded.

"That sounds good. This little lady is physically frail, so adding some defenses to my home would indeed be nice."

Qingni curled her lips helplessly at the side.

"To buy weapons? Come on, let's go to the Artificer's Workshop! Oh, no need. There are Artificer's Workshop people here in Exalting Sanctum. We can just find one and make our request, then wait for them to deliver everything to our door."

Upon hearing that they were buying weapons and defenses, Yanqing was the only one who became genuinely interested.

He grabbed Ji Yuan's hand and quickly headed toward Exalting Sanctum.

"Ah, if I'd known Brother Ji Yuan was planning to buy defense devices, Miss Tingyun wouldn't have needed to come today. I could have brought you over by myself."

Tingyun: "..."

She rubbed her forehead speechlessly, wishing she could stab Yanqing twice right then.

"Come on, let's hurry after them too." Qingni quickly grabbed Tingyun and followed.

Tingyun and Qingni hurried after Ji Yuan and Yanqing.

The four of them arrived at the Artificer's Workshop's shop in Exalting Sanctum.

Like the Realm-Keeping Commission, the Artificer's Workshop was one of the Xianzhou's Six Charioteers. It was a department dedicated to inventing and manufacturing devices. The Star Skiffs flying throughout the Xianzhou were all products of the Artificer's Workshop. Beyond everyday items, the Artificer's Workshop possessed countless advanced technologies. Whether it was energy generated using Suiyang, new laser weapons, puppet manipulation, and more, even the people of the Artificer's Workshop could not fully explain it all.

Among them, the Zhuming Celestial Ark's Artificer's Workshop was the most advanced. For those eager to study metallurgy and manufacturing techniques, it was a craftsman's academy no less prestigious than Pier Point or Screwllum's Planet.

The Artificer's Workshop shop in Exalting Sanctum sold all kinds of defensive and offensive devices. Naturally, it did not have that much advanced technology, but it still carried ordinary defense systems and even provided door-to-door installation.

Of course, installations like that were generally meant for spacecraft and Star Skiffs that traveled into outer space.

Installing a defense system in a private residence was probably a first.

The four arrived at the Artificer's Workshop, and Yanqing immediately found the shopkeeper.

"Shopkeeper Sun, long time no see."

"It's Young Master Yanqing. That new sword was finished a few days ago, but I hadn't gotten around to informing—" He had only said half of it when he noticed the newest sword at Yanqing's waist, then looked at Ji Yuan behind him and immediately understood.

"So this brother is Young Master Yanqing's friend."

"Yeah, this is my big brother, Ji Yuan. We came here today to buy some things." Yanqing introduced him to the shopkeeper. Then he turned to Ji Yuan and said, "Brother Ji Yuan, this is Shopkeeper Sun San."

"Hello, Shopkeeper Sun."

"Mm, good. Today, Old Sun is making a friend. Brother Ji, everything you buy today is twenty percent off."

At that moment, Tingyun walked to Ji Yuan's side and said with a smile, "Twenty percent off? Old Sun, Young Master Ji Yuan is also this little lady's friend. How about giving him a little more off?"

"So it's Miss Tingyun. Since you've asked, all merchandise will be thirty percent off."

Shopkeeper Sun San did not hesitate in the slightest when he saw Tingyun and offered Ji Yuan an even greater discount.

"Come on, Young Master Ji Yuan. What are you looking to buy?"

"Um..." Yanqing was about to speak when Qingni walked over and pulled him away. "Yanqing, I'm rather interested in the Artificer's Workshop's swords. Can you take me to look at them?"

Yanqing, stop getting in the way here. You're a child, so honestly come with me and look at things you should be looking at.

Qingni gave Yanqing a smile that did not reach her eyes.

Although Yanqing did not understand what she meant, he was delighted to hear Qingni wanted to look at swords, so he eagerly took her to see them.