Early the morning after emerging from the secret realm, Gu Yanqing dumped the contents of his storage bag out onto the table with a clatter.
A few chunks of raw Red Gold Sand ore, two stalks of Stone Marrow Grass, and a small pouch of spirit sand panned from the canyon stream.
There were also various low-grade spiritual materials he had casually picked up in the secret realm, sprawling across more than half the tabletop.
He sorted the items by quality, returning what he could use for himself to his storage bag and pushing the rest aside, intending to take them to the market to trade for spirit stones.
He had spent six hundred and twenty spirit stones in one go at the last auction. Although he had no regrets, his storage bag had certainly deflated quite a bit.
“What are you doing?”
He turned around to find Lin Zhixue standing by the door, having arrived without him noticing, looking at the pile of spiritual materials on his table.
“Planning to sell the materials I don't need at the market for some spirit stones.”
“I’ll come with you.”
He gave her an extra look.
Given her personality, she should have been meditating and practicing sword strikes alone in her room right now; strolling through the market was never something she cared for.
Yet he did not pry, simply letting her tag along.
The market was not particularly crowded today.
Finding an empty stall spot toward the edge, he laid out his items one by one, then found a wooden board, carved “Secret Realm Spiritual Materials, Fair Prices” onto it with a small knife, and propped it up in front of the stall.
Before long, people began crouching down to browse.
An early Foundation Establishment rogue cultivator picked out a piece of raw Red Gold Sand ore, paid his spirit stones cleanly, and left.
A young girl who appeared to be an outer disciple squatted before the stall, turning the two stalks of Stone Marrow Grass over and over to inspect them several times.
“Could you lower it by five spirit stones?”
Seeing how nervous she looked, Gu Yanqing hesitated for a moment before replying, “All right.”
Relieved, the girl quickly counted out the spirit stones, handed them over, and trotted off.
Lin Zhixue sat on a stone stool nearby, never once interjecting from start to finish, merely watching in silence.
Her gaze occasionally fell on him, only to drift away before he noticed.
Drifting toward the stall selling spirit fruit across the street.
Or toward the clouds drifting lazily across the sky.
Then, without realizing it, settling back onto him.
Gu Yanqing shifted the spirit sand to a more conspicuous spot, his peripheral vision sweeping across the direction where she sat.
She was speaking even less than usual today, and rather than watching the stall, it felt more like she was keeping him company while spacing out.
Suddenly, he found himself missing that noisy artifact spirit.
Even if he usually found it loud and annoying, at least having it around meant things wouldn't be this quiet—so quiet it felt a bit unnatural.
Yet that fellow had slept all morning, not making a peep from within the jade pendant.
“Is this spirit sand?” a voice called out from the front of the stall.
He looked up.
A female cultivator was squatting in front of the stall. Looking to be around seventeen or eighteen, she wore a goose-yellow dress that accentuated the exceptional fairness of her complexion.
She leaned in with her head lowered to examine the pouch of spirit sand, her long eyelashes casting faint shadows in the sunlight. With delicate fingers, she parted the opening of the pouch, revealing the shimmering grains within.
“How much for this?”
Looking up, she blinked a pair of lively eyes, a sweet smile playing at the corners of her lips.
Gu Yanqing looked her over.
Early Foundation Establishment cultivation, fine fabric for her clothes, embroidery at her cuffs unlike anything an ordinary rogue cultivator would wear, and a high-quality jade pendant at her waist. She was likely a core disciple nurtured by some sect.
Considering that the going rate for spirit sand in the market fluctuated between seventy and ninety spirit stones, he quoted the middle price: “Eighty spirit stones.”
The female cultivator tilted her head, blinking once more. “Would fifty do? Just consider it making a friend.”
“I’m Zhou Lingyao from Fallen Maple Valley. If you ever come by our territory for business in the future, you can look me up. Fallen Maple Valley disciples get discounts.”
She softened her voice to a gentle purr, tilting her chin up slightly with a touch of playfulness in her smile.
Gu Yanqing was just about to say “Sure.” Fifty spirit stones was lower than market price, but it wasn't a loss; he had simply picked up the materials in the secret realm anyway, and converting them into spirit stones was all that mattered.
However, the person who had remained silent by his side suddenly spoke up.
“Not selling.”
Lin Zhixue looked at Zhou Lingyao with a cold expression.
She had been sitting quietly on the stone stool this entire time, so silent she seemed like an ornament, yet now she abruptly spoke.
The two words were stark and unyielding—no bargaining, no explanation, just “not selling.”
Zhou Lingyao blinked, looking between Lin Zhixue and Gu Yanqing as the smile on her face faded slightly. “Huh? Won't you reconsider? I can add a bit more...”
“Not selling,” Lin Zhixue said, her gaze sweeping over her face. “Eighty spirit stones. That is the minimum.”
Zhou Lingyao’s smile vanished completely.
She quietly eyed the sword resting across Lin Zhixue’s lap.
Water patterns rippled across the scabbard, its grade visibly high at a glance.
Looking then at Lin Zhixue’s expressionless face, she curled her lip and stood up.
“Fine, if you won't sell, then don't. Why be so fierce?”
With that, she turned and walked into the crowd, the corner of her goose-yellow skirt fluttering twice before vanishing from sight.
Gu Yanqing watched Zhou Lingyao scurry off, then turned his head toward Lin Zhixue beside him.
She sat placidly on the stone stool, her expression serene and composed.
As if what had just occurred was nothing more than an ordinary trifle to her.
“Just now... why didn't you let her buy it?” he asked.
“She offered too little.”
Gu Yanqing was taken aback. “Thirty spirit stones short?”
“Mm.”
“...Actually, fifty wouldn't have been out of the question.”
He looked into her eyes. “The items from the secret realm were picked up for free anyway. As long as they turn into spirit stones, it's fine.”
Gazing into Lin Zhixue’s eyes, he caught a flicker of emotion he had never seen in her before.
In truth, it was hidden very shallowly and reined in a split second later, but her shifting gaze betrayed a trace of awkwardness, as though she harbored some thought she couldn't easily confess.
Lin Zhixue remained silent for a short while.
Then, she spoke.
“You lack spirit stones.”
Gu Yanqing listened quietly.
“You spent six hundred and twenty spirit stones earlier to buy me the Origin-Condensing Azure Glaze.”
Her voice was very soft. “You probably don't have many spirit stones left in your storage bag right now.”
Gu Yanqing hadn't expected her to remember even that.
“And so?”
Lin Zhixue glanced down at the items on the stall. “Since you aren't so desperate as to need those fifty spirit stones, there was no need to sell.”
Wasn't there something wrong with that logic?
Gu Yanqing was nearly tripped up by her reasoning. He couldn't help but chuckle. “Didn't you always think spirit stones were very important?”
“Mm.”
“Then why do you think we shouldn't earn them now?”
Lin Zhixue was silent for a moment. Then she said, “Because that person wasn't sincerely buying.”
“How could you tell?”
“When she looked at the goods, she looked at you first.”
Gu Yanqing froze.
Lin Zhixue did not look at him, her voice remaining placid. “She didn't really need the item. She only wanted to talk to you.”
“?”
Gu Yanqing opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but after searching for words, he found nothing to say.
Her assessment...
Why did it feel like she had just made it up? Yet she had spoken with utter seriousness, leaving him unable to call her out on it.
Just then, a pale azure light drifted out from the jade pendant at Lin Zhixue’s waist.
Xiaoyu rubbed its eyes, a tuft of its golden hair sticking up from sleep, as it drifted dazily between the two of them.
It looked at Gu Yanqing, then at Lin Zhixue, its emerald eyes blinking repeatedly.
“What’s wrong? What happened? I felt Zhixue’s spiritual power circulating a bit faster than usual just now.”
“Huh? Why aren't either of you speaking?”
Gu Yanqing continued to pretend he couldn't hear it.
Lin Zhixue glanced at it.
Xiaoyu drifted back and forth between the two.
First, it paused before Gu Yanqing to stare at him, then drifted back to Lin Zhixue’s side moments later, cocking its head to closely study her expression.
Then it floated slowly between them, crossing its arms as its tone turned deeply suggestive. “Strange... Why is the mood between you two so weird?”
“Packing up,” Gu Yanqing said.
He quickly swept the remaining items from the stall into his storage bag, moving so swiftly that before Xiaoyu could even react, the wooden board had already been stowed away, leaving the stall completely bare.
Lin Zhixue rose from the stone stool, helping him pick up the pouch of spirit sand with an impassive expression.
Xiaoyu drifted behind them, its gaze flitting back and forth between the two. Stroking its chin thoughtfully, it gave a soft hmph, saying nothing more.
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