Of course, Lu Yaoyao didn’t forget her old friends just because she made a new one. She had barely walked a few steps when she suddenly felt something was missing. Turning around, she realized that her friends were not by her side, so she turned back to look for them.
It was then that she spotted Wen Zixing, sitting down on the ground without caring for his image.
“Xingxing, isn’t the ground dirty?” Lu Yaoyao asked, puzzled. They were wearing white Guiyuan uniforms that floated around them like immortal robes, while the stall floor had been trampled by countless people and covered in who knows how much dust and dirt. Looking at Wen Zixing as if he were a fool, Lu Yaoyao said again, “Aren’t you afraid of getting stepped on?” With so many people walking around, who’s going to watch their step all the time? No matter how tired, at least sit to the side!
When Wen Zixing saw Lu Yaoyao, he huffed loudly, “You do remember me now?”
Lu Yaoyao blinked, “Of course! How could I forget my best—” Her gaze shifted slightly, and she quickly changed her sentence, “—one of my best friends!”
This improved the mood of Chao Muxue and Du Qianshan. Just like Wen Zixing, they were also jealous to see Yaoyao make a new friend and forget about them!
“Xingxing, get up first,” Lu Yaoyao said caringly, “the ground is cold.”
Feeling better after a few coaxing words, Wen Zixing finally got up, making sure to cast a proud look at the person next to Lu Yaoyao: See? He’s Yaoyao’s best friend, no one could compare!
Lu Yaoyao smiled and introduced her new friend, “Wushuang, let me introduce you. These are all my good friends…” She introduced Wen Zixing and the others to Zhong Wushuang, and then introduced Zhong Wushuang to them.
Upon meeting his new friend’s friends, Zhong Wushuang showed a warm-hearted, bizarre-looking smile, “Lu Yaoyao’s friends are my friends too.”
Despite that, he was aware that they didn’t seem to welcome his presence. Zhong Wushuang always knew he was not likable and didn’t mind much. He was used to malice, but Lu Yaoyao’s friends’ dislike lacked any malice or mockery; they just simply didn’t like him.
Wen Zixing chuckled, “Of course, Lu Yaoyao is fun to be with; she always makes some weird friends, just bear with it.”
Lu Yaoyao looked up at Wen Zixing, feeling his tone was a bit sarcastic. She blinked, what was wrong with him?
But with the new friend there, Lu Yaoyao didn’t feel appropriate to probe deeper. She kept this in mind for the time being and pulled Wen Zixing forward, then called for Chao Muxue and Du Qianshan. “Let’s go! Wushuang is taking us for some tasty food!”
At this, the trio paled in an instant and instinctively covered their already close-to-burst bellies. W-well… they decided to be generous this time and tolerate this newcomer. After all, they had been with Yaoyao the longest; no matter how many friends she made, it wouldn’t shake their ‘best friend’ place in her heart!
There were all kinds of friendships, and having more friends wasn’t necessarily bad… But Wen Zixing and the others decided to go with Lu Yaoyao anyway, just to hang around and watch her and her new friend eat. Of course, Wen Zixing still had some tricks up his sleeve, and seeing that the night was starting to get late, he said to Lu Yaoyao, “We should be heading back.”
Lu Yaoyao thought about Yan Zihui—it was true that they had been out for a long time. Since there happened to be a local named Zhong Wushuang there, Lu Yaoyao simply asked him for directions, “Where to go to the Xianke Inn?”
Zhong Wushuang pointed in a direction, “Just go straight, turn right at the crossroad, walk a bit further, and you will find the inn. Are you staying there?”
“Yeah!”
Zhong Wushuang thought for a moment and then said, “Why don’t you come stay at my place?”
“We don’t want to trouble you so much,” Lu Yaoyao politely declined. They became a kindred spirit at first glance and had even shared a meal together, but it was too presumptuous to visit so soon after the first meeting.
Zhong Wushuang repeated his invitation several times, but Lu Yaoyao never changed her stance, so he had no choice but to let it go, “Well then, you must come visit me when you have time. I live in the city lord’s manor. Just mention my name to the gatekeeper.”
“Got it!”
Zhong Wushuang couldn’t invite Lu Yaoyao and her friends to his home, but he insisted on seeing them to Xianke Inn, then reluctantly said goodbye, “Make sure to come and see me!” He looked back three times with every step he took.
“We will!”
After Zhong Wushuang disappeared into the crowd, Lu Yaoyao and her friends stood at the inn’s entrance, motionless for a moment.
“The lord of Luotian City is surnamed Zhong.” Du Qianshan suddenly spoke up.
“Oh,” Lu Yaoyao uttered. Wushuang must be the family member of the city lord; no wonder he was such a fine gentleman. Since the city lord could raise someone as wonderful as Wushuang, she or he must be quite remarkable too, which made her even more impressed. However—
“Wushuang is a mortal…” Lu Yaoyao noted, having sensed no cultivation aura on her new friend. After years of training, she had become increasingly sensitive in detecting aura and now was able to subtly distinguish the cultivation level up to the late Nascent Soul stage, yet she detected no traces of cultivation on Zhong Wushuang.
There were two possibilities: either Zhong Wushuang lacked a spiritual root and couldn’t cultivate, or his cultivation was so high that even Lu Yaoyao couldn’t detect it. Looking at him, she felt the former was more likely.
“Is Wushuang the child of the city lord?” Lu Yaoyao had not probed deeply before, but seeing that Du Qianshan seemed to know more, she asked him.
Du Qianshan shook his head, thought for a moment, and then added, “I’m not sure, but the lord of Luotian City is a cultivator at the Soul Transformation stage, so she must be quite advanced in age.”
“Whether he’s the city lord’s son or grandson has nothing to do with us anyway. Let’s go inside,” Wen Zixing said, urging them to enter the inn.
Lu Yaoyao put aside her curiosity and walked into the inn together. The inn’s lobby was brightly lit and bustling with noise. At first glance, the tables were filled with guests, but the group immediately spotted Yan Zihui, sitting conspicuously alone at a large table in the lively hall, and quickly approached him.
“You’re back,” Yan Zihui smiled as he poured them tea. There was nothing else on the table except for a pot of spiritual tea. He then called for a waiter to bring some empty plates, and Lu Yaoyao put the snacks they had bought on the stalls onto the plates, quickly filling them with food.
“Senior Brother Zihui, we brought these especially for you, come and try!” Lu Yaoyao, having tasted each item herself, cheerfully shared her opinions with Yan Zihui on how each snack tasted.
“You have a conscience,” Yan Zihui smiled, pleased that his junior brothers and sisters didn’t forget about him while having fun outside.
Seeing Yan Zihui enjoy the food with gusto, Wen Zixing and the others almost salivated. Feeling they had digested some of the food in their stomach on the road back, they started taking a few bites over chat.
“The inn’s almost full; I only booked three rooms,” Yan Zihui informed them.
“Three is enough. Muxue and I will share one, Zixing and Qianshan another, and Senior Brother Zihui will have one by himself. That’s perfect,” Lu Yaoyao made an arrangement.
Wen Zixing and the others nodded in agreement, and Yan Zihui also had no objections.
Lu Yaoyao recalled the inn’s name was exactly the same as the Xianke Restaurant in Tianyan City and asked curiously, “Is this Xianke Inn the same as the restaurant in Tianyan City?”
She had a deep impression of Xianke Restaurant, as her favorite pastime was listening to storytelling there.
However—
She scanned the lobby and didn’t see a storyteller.
“Since the names are exactly the same, it must be a branch.” Wen Zixing said.
“That’s right,” Yan Zihui nodded, “When you all go out for training in the future, first check if there’s a Xianke Inn where you’re heading. Each Xianke Inn reserves a few rooms for Guiyuan disciples. All you need to do is show your disciple token to the person in charge.”
What a convenient arrangement!
“Does our sect regularly reserve rooms at Xianke Inn?” Du Qianshan asked excitedly. This was certainly very thoughtful. While away from home, no one liked to spend too much time looking for a place to stay, so having this arrangement was very convenient for Guiyuan disciples.
“Didn’t I tell you? This Xianke Inn is one of the industries owned by our Guiyuan Sect.”
“You never mentioned that,” Lu Yaoyao and the others said in unison.
Yan Zihui uttered an “oh,” then added, “The main businesses of our sect are managed by a nephew of the peak master of the East Third Peak, who also maintains the Weapon Hall. This nephew has great business acumen and has developed our sect’s enterprises remarkably well… I’m not sure exactly how many businesses belong to our sect, as I’ve never been involved with them. But you’ll know over time, some stores carry the sect’s insignia and are definitely ours, while others might be ours too, even without the insignia. After all, who lays all their cards out in the open?”
Lu Yaoyao knew a bit about this since she often followed her second senior brother around and saw him managing the affairs of the South Fifth Peaks, which included various businesses outside. Their peak specialized in alchemy cultivation, so all the shops under their management mainly sold various spiritual materials and ready-made pills and elixirs.
No wonder the Guiyuan Sect was regarded as the number one sect. It must be these extensive businesses that had supported the sect to weather many ups and downs through its long history.
“In time, you’ll understand more about this. When you’re traveling and run into difficulties, you can also use your disciple token to seek help,” Yan Zihui advised them.
Lu Yaoyao and her friends nodded.
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Sure Lu Yaoyao it’s a pure spirit.
It’s a shame that Zhong Wushuang can’t cultivate, especially when his father is such an accomplished cultivator. I wonder if it’s just because he doesn’t have any spiritual roots or some other unknown cause because it’s odd that he has such an unappealing appearance and aptitude when his parents are most likely good-looking and capable cultivators (most cultivators aren’t ugly and their children usually take after them in both appearance and aptitude).
Thanks for the chapter! 😀