Ningzhou City was a mid-sized city within the Eastern Hua Province of the Li Kingdom.
It served as a vital transportation hub connecting several other cities and oversaw numerous surrounding towns and villages, making it an important location.
After Mo Yao and the caravan finished their business in the final village, they arrived here around noon two days later.
Once the caravan passed through the city gates, Mo Yao stepped into Ningzhou City for the first time.
Wide streets paved with blue-gray stone stretched out before him, filled with endless streams of carriages and pedestrians.
The lively bustle made Mo Yao let out a soft sigh of wonder.
“Wow, so many people!”
The most excited one, however, was An Qianhua inside the Heart Realm.
This is the first time I’ve seen so many people since waking up! And this ancient-style cityscape has such charm.
Little Yao, we have to explore properly later!
Seeing Mo Yao’s awestruck expression, Huang Chengli smiled and patted his shoulder.
“What do you think, little brother? This is the largest city in the area. Pretty impressive, right? Come with us to the caravan’s base first. I’ll tell you more about the city on the way.”
Mo Yao followed the group to the caravan’s base. Along the road, Huang Chengli shared what he knew about Ningzhou City, giving Mo Yao a basic understanding of the place.
When they reached the base, Huang Chengli first ordered the men to sort the goods from the wagons, then distributed the earnings from the trip. Finally, he gave everyone time off.
The unexpected profits, combined with the dangers and strange events they had encountered, made him want the brothers to rest properly for a while.
After saying goodbye to the caravan members, Huang Chengli turned to Mo Yao.
“Little brother, what do you think of our caravan? The work is tiring and there’s always risk, but the profits are quite good. Would you like to join us? You could start as an apprentice.”
Huang Chengli felt both pity and gratitude toward Mo Yao.
Pity for the young man who had lost his home so early in life, and gratitude for saving his life during the demon beast attack.
During their short journey together, he had also found Mo Yao to be a good person, so he hoped to take him under his wing.
“I’m sorry, Uncle Huang. I want to try finding suitable work here in Ningzhou City first. Besides, joining your caravan right now might bring you a lot of trouble.”
“How could it be trouble? Ah, well, do as you wish.”
Mo Yao politely declined the offer.
Traveling constantly with the caravan would make investigating the Blood Fiend Sect far more difficult.
He also needed to hide his transformations, so finding a job that did not require long periods with the same people was best.
“However,” Huang Chengli said, handing Mo Yao a small pouch and a map, “here’s some silver and a map of the city. Consider it thanks for saving me. Keep them safe—don’t lose them or let them get stolen. If you run out, come find me anytime. I should have given you more, but it’s not safe for a child like you to carry too much gold and silver. Good luck, little brother. If you run into any trouble, remember to come to me.”
Mo Yao accepted the pouch and map, bowed to Huang Chengli, and left the caravan base.
Where are we going next?
The market? A restaurant?
Or the flower street Uncle Huang quietly mentioned to you?
An Qianhua’s excited voice echoed in his mind, forcing Mo Yao to reply helplessly.
“Sister Qianhua, I’m still young. How could I go to a place like the flower street?”
“Hehe, but I’m older, so it’s fine for me. Let me go~”
Listening to An Qianhua’s strangely logical yet clearly off-point argument, Mo Yao could not help but laugh.
“What? What? You little brat, how dare you laugh at your senior!”
“No, no. Sister Qianhua, you’re a girl—why would you want to go to a place like that? I thought only men were interested in those kinds of things.”
“It’s the love of beauty, young one! Don’t you get it? I have a strong appreciation for beauty, and ‘beautiful girl’ has the word ‘beautiful’ in it, so of course I’m interested in beautiful girls!”
“Okay, okay.”
Mo Yao glanced at the map, humored An Qianhua for a few more sentences, then said,
“Anyway, let’s find a place to stay first.”
“Why not just stay with Uncle Huang? That way you wouldn’t have to spend much.”
“I don’t want to trouble Uncle Huang. I still need to investigate the Blood Fiend Sect. If things get dangerous, they might come looking for me. Plus, if I have to transform, he might see it and it would be hard to explain.”
“That makes sense. I didn’t expect you to think so far ahead, Little Yao. You’re quite teachable! However…”
An Qianhua paused, as if pondering something, then spoke with sudden inspiration.
“In that case, it would actually be better for you to move around as Shucao!”
“Huh? Why?”
“Think about it. If you run into Blood Fiend Sect demonic cultivators while investigating, you’ll have to transform and fight them anyway. If you don’t finish them all off and they remember your face, you can just cancel the transformation afterward and avoid being hunted for your appearance.”
“That… does make some sense.”
“Plus, if you investigate as Mo Yao and they discover you, it’ll be really troublesome. But if Shucao investigates and they start looking for who this ‘Shucao’ person is, you can just cancel the transformation and vanish into thin air! They’d have no way to find you.”
“That actually sounds right. Sister Qianhua, you’re so smart.”
“Right? Right? Then what are we waiting for? Hurry and find a spot to transform!”
“Wait, why do I feel like you’re really eager for me to transform?”
“Would you believe me if I said it’s because I want to see more of the adorable Shucao?”
“Hey!”
Still, An Qianhua’s words made sense, and Mo Yao could not argue with her enthusiasm.
In the end, he slipped into a deserted alley and transformed.
“As long as you control the output of your magic power, you can stay transformed for a very long time. This is also good training for your magic control!”
“That’s true, but…”
Shucao’s appearance was undeniably cute, and her magical girl outfit was completely unheard of in this world.
The combination of those two factors meant she attracted attention wherever she walked…
“Sister Qianhua, can this magical outfit be taken off? It’s way too eye-catching. I feel like I can’t even walk properly.”
“You can, and you can even layer it over other clothes with just a thought—super convenient. The problem is you don’t have any other clothes right now. If you cancel the outfit, you’ll be standing in the middle of the street wearing only underwear. Unless… Shucao, do you have that kind of preference?!”
“I never said I wanted to take it off right now! Ugh. Let’s find a place to stay first, then figure out how to buy some normal clothes.”
“Fine. But since you’re a girl now, pick an inn with a nicer environment.”
“Why does it have to be nice?”
“You’re so cute right now—if you stay at a cheap inn, what if some weird person follows you back? Besides, a girl staying alone at a cheap inn would look too suspicious. A nicer inn might make people think you’re a young lady traveling by herself.”
Convinced by An Qianhua’s reasoning, Shucao dodged the curious stares of passersby and headed toward the street lined with inns.
A short while later, she stopped in front of a four-story building with a sign that read “Welcoming Crane Pavilion.”
The inn was not as luxurious as some high-end establishments, but it had a refined, elegant charm that matched what they were looking for.
It also appeared quiet inside, with few guests.
She walked straight in, approached the waiter, and boldly placed a silver ingot on the counter, declaring with determination,
“Give me a room for as long as one tael of silver will last!”
Yes!
That’s the way—be assertive so they think you’re a noble young lady and won’t dare slack off. Though your voice got a little weak at the end.
“It’s still too embarrassing for me to act like that!”
While Shucao and An Qianhua bickered in her mind, the waiter looked apologetic and said,
“I’m sorry, miss. This entire inn has been reserved by another young lady. We cannot offer you lodging at the moment.”
“The… entire inn?”
“Yes. I’m very sorry. Please try another inn.”
Someone even more domineering than us? Who is this master? I’m scared!
Unable to stay here, Shucao sighed softly and turned to leave.
“Eh? It’s you!”
Just as she was about to step out the door, a bright voice called from behind her.
She turned and saw Xiao Simeng—the girl she had met on the road to Ningzhou City.
Seeing Shucao look back, Xiao Simeng’s eyes lit up.
She leaped down from the stairs and trotted over, grabbing Shucao’s hand.
“Daoist friend! I never expected to meet you here again. We really are fated! Are you looking for a room? This young miss has reserved the entire inn. If you need a place, just stay here.”
She then called loudly to the waiter,
“This is a friend of mine. Remember her well. As long as this young miss is still in this inn, treat her the same as me, understood?”
“U-Understood.”
With that, Xiao Simeng pulled the still-stunned Shucao up the stairs.
“Daoist friend, it’s not proper to talk downstairs. Come up with this young miss and let’s chat.”
Watching the scene, An Qianhua could not help but comment,
Now THAT is a true domineering young miss. Compared to her, we’re like fireflies next to the bright moon!
When they reached the room upstairs, Shucao saw tables covered with bolts of fabric, design sketches, accessories, and sewing tools.
Racks along the wall held all kinds of garments, a few of which looked vaguely similar to her own outfit—though they were clearly still prototypes.
“Sorry, Daoist friend. The room isn’t tidied up yet, so it’s a bit messy.”
With a wave of her hand, the items on the table floated up under the guidance of her spiritual energy, neatly arranged themselves, and flew into a nearby cabinet.
Once the table was clear, Xiao Simeng had Shucao sit down, then took the seat opposite her.
She pulled a teapot and two cups from her storage pouch.
“Daoist friend, this is spiritual tea I collected myself. It calms the mind and helps attract spiritual energy. Please try it.”
“O-Okay.”
Shucao carefully lifted the clearly expensive teacup to her lips and took a small sip.
The clear, sweet flavor spread through her, bringing a refreshing coolness to her mind.
The tea really did have a wonderful effect.
For a brief moment she even sensed some kind of energy in the air around her—though the feeling vanished the next instant.
This tea actually let us sense spiritual energy for a second. Heavens, how expensive must it be?!
Seeing Shucao’s surprised expression, Xiao Simeng smiled brightly.
“How is it? It’s good tea, right?”
“Mhm. It’s amazing. Thank you, Daoist friend.”
“Hehe, no need to be polite. If you hadn’t helped this young miss, I don’t know how long that Thousand Feather Bird would have chased me. Oh, speaking of that…”
Xiao Simeng glanced into her storage pouch, then took out a small cloth bag.
“Here. These are the spirit stones I got from selling the materials from that Thousand Feather Bird—about twenty of them. You left in such a hurry last time that we never properly split the spoils. I sold some of the materials and kept only what I needed. Since we ran into each other, I’ll give you the stones from what I sold. This young miss doesn’t like owing anyone.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Xiao Simeng nodded in satisfaction as Shucao accepted the spirit stones.
“By the way, I still don’t know your name. Last time I was too busy looking at your clothes and forgot to ask.”
“You can call me Shucao.”
“Shucao… what a nice name! Let’s get along well from now on.”
“O-Okay.”
“Why do you seem so uncomfortable, Shucao?”
“Um… it’s just that you suddenly dragged me up here and gave me things. I know it’s because of what happened, but I still feel a little embarrassed…”
At those words, Xiao Simeng seemed to realize something.
She clasped her hands together and bowed her head.
“I’m very sorry!”
“It’s not like that. Besides, you’re already letting me stay here. I should be the one thanking you.”
“Then there’s no time to waste. Let me show you to your room. Oh, and just call me Simeng. Hearing my full name sounds weird.”
“Mhm.”
Xiao Simeng took Shucao’s hand and led her to the room directly across the hall.
“These are the two best rooms on the fourth floor. This one is yours. If you need anything, come find this young miss anytime.”
After thanking Xiao Simeng again, Shucao stepped into the room and gave it a quick tidy.
Since she had no luggage and the room was already spotless, she simply placed the two pouches on the bedside cabinet and made a few small adjustments to the layout.
“So, Shucao, what are you planning to do next?”
Xiao Simeng asked curiously, watching her sit on the edge of the bed.
“I was thinking of buying some clothes.”
She gave the ornate lolita dress a little tug.
“This outfit is too eye-catching. It’s beautiful, but it draws so many stares. Walking around feels really strange.”
“This young miss thinks your cute little face alone is enough to attract attention.”
Shucao’s cheeks flushed.
She covered her face with her slender hands and mumbled,
“D-Don’t say things like ‘cute’…”
Instantly, Xiao Simeng rushed over and stared at Shucao’s face.
“Shucao, what did you say you wanted to do again?”
“Hm? Buy clothes.”
“Right. Do you remember all the things you saw on my table earlier?”
Shucao recalled the fabrics, sketches, and sewing tools in Xiao Simeng’s room.
Connecting it to her own words, she suddenly realized what was coming.
“Then this young miss will make clothes for you!”