“Um… please be careful. I’m ticklish.”
Shucao’s face flushed red as she spoke in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz.
“Don’t worry. This young miss is very skilled. Back in Dragon City, all the girls I helped used to praise how nimble my fingers are. By the way, Shucao, your skin is really nice. Do you cultivate some special technique? It feels so smooth and delicate.”
“Eek! That spot feels weird… no, stop!”
“Just bear with it a little. I need it snug to get the measurements right.”
Xiao Simeng was currently taking Shucao’s measurements.
A short while earlier…
“Then this young miss will make clothes for you!”
Xiao Simeng looked at Shucao with sparkling eyes.
“Back in Dragon City, I loved making clothes—especially for girls. When my family ran the clothing business, I specifically learned the craft and made custom pieces for picky clients. I’ve wanted to create an outfit that would truly satisfy me ever since I was young. But Father said my spiritual root aptitude is excellent and that I should focus on cultivation. He claimed making clothes would delay my path, so he begged me to stop.”
“I threw a huge tantrum at home. Cultivation isn’t nearly as fun as making clothes, right? That’s what I thought. Eventually Grandpa found out, gave Father a good beating, and told me to do whatever I wanted.”
“So I decided to leave home. I’m going to use my immortal path to create an outfit that satisfies me and prove to Father that making clothes doesn’t delay cultivation at all. I’ll slap him right in the face with the truth!”
“How about it? Leaving the family for my dream—doesn’t this young miss seem pretty cool?”
Hearing Xiao Simeng’s story, Shucao smiled softly.
“I actually think your family seems really close. But… are you sure you want to do this? I don’t want to trouble you.”
“No trouble at all! This is my hobby. Besides, your outfit earlier really ignited my creativity. No time to waste—let’s head to my room.”
And that was how the current scene had begun.
Shucao now stood wearing only a pure-white undergarment set trimmed with tiny pink bows and delicate frills, letting Xiao Simeng measure her freely.
“Now that we have the upper body measurements, let’s do the lower half.”
Xiao Simeng crouched down, looking at Shucao’s legs with a puzzled expression.
“By the way, what exactly is this garment? When you took off that fancy layered dress earlier, you didn’t remove this. It feels so smooth and cool to the touch—I just want to keep stroking it. And the style of your underclothes is really unique. It’s nothing like the bellybands or dudou I’ve seen before.”
“Eek! Don’t touch randomly!”
“These are stockings—the crystallization of human technological progress and a treasure of culture!”
Hearing An Qianhua’s proud answer from the Heart Realm, Shucao repeated the name.
“Stockings… socks made from silk? But this tight feeling doesn’t seem like something silk could replicate.”
“Hah, of course not. This is a product of the chemical industry. Technology from this era could never make them.”
“Can you take them off and let me try them? I want to experience it myself.”
“Absolutely not!”
With that, Shucao instantly canceled the magical outfit.
The stockings on her legs vanished, revealing her fair, jade-like thighs.
Xiao Simeng stared in astonishment as both the stockings and the lolita dress disappeared.
“Wow, amazing! Is this some kind of treasure? It vanished instantly, and the dress too. So it’s a complete matching outfit-type artifact, and it’s already bound to you, which is why you can store it away so easily. You should have said so earlier. Since it’s bound, I couldn’t wear it even if I wanted to.”
After finishing the lower-body measurements, Xiao Simeng sketched a design on paper, showed it to Shucao for approval, and began crafting.
“Shucao, it’s time to witness this young miss’s supreme skill.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Xiao Simeng summoned a row of crimson flying needles—clearly a high-grade artifact set.
Under her control, the needles threaded themselves with silk and darted through the prepared fabric.
In no time, a pink-and-white ruqun dress was completed, even embroidered with delicate petal patterns.
“How is it? I’ve cultivated for so long, and these flying-needle artifacts are the ones I handle best. When making clothes, they make the work twice as efficient.”
“So impressive!”
Shucao clapped in admiration.
Even though she was only sewing clothes, controlling so many artifacts at once proved just how extraordinary Xiao Simeng was.
“Hehe, try it on! I specially chose this fabric to match your hair color.”
With Xiao Simeng’s help, Shucao slipped into the ruqun. After a few final adjustments, Xiao Simeng nodded in satisfaction.
“As expected, this young miss’s craftsmanship is excellent. Mhm, it fits perfectly. You look incredibly cute!”
“It feels really comfortable and doesn’t feel tight anywhere. It’s a wonderful dress. Thank you so much.”
Xiao Simeng proudly patted her chest.
“No need to thank me. This young miss may not be able to refine outfit-type artifacts yet, but making ordinary everyday clothes is effortless for me.”
“It really fits perfectly. I suggest you take a good look in the mirror, Shucao.”
Unable to resist An Qianhua’s insistence, Shucao walked over to the mirror and studied her reflection.
“Now that I think about it… this is the first time I’ve really seen myself like this.”
Gazing at the girl in the slightly yellowed bronze mirror, Shucao was momentarily lost in thought. The face reflected there was the most beautiful she had ever seen.
Although she had not met many girls, both Bai Qiushui and Xiao Simeng were undeniably beauties, and Bai Qiushui still had room to grow.
Yet the girl in the mirror—petite and delicate—was so exquisitely lovely that neither of them could compare.
Wearing the ruqun only enhanced her appearance even more.
Compared to the lolita dress she had worn on the street earlier, this was far more striking.
“I finally understand why I attract so much attention…”
Shucao suddenly realized just how conspicuous she was while moving around the city in this form.
She would need to be more mindful of this in the future.
“By the way, Shucao, what brings you to Ningzhou City?”
Xiao Simeng asked, watching her stare blankly at the mirror.
“Ah, I came to gather some information. Do you have any connections that might help, Miss Simeng?”
“Information? About the cultivation world or the mortal realm?”
“The cultivation world. It’s related to a certain sect.”
“In that case… there’s a loose cultivator gathering in Ningzhou City organized by two Foundation Establishment seniors. It’s a place for independent cultivators to exchange information, post requests, or trade. You might find clues there if you ask around.”
“Could you tell me where it is?”
“I’ll take you there myself.”
Xiao Simeng led the now-changed Shucao out of the inn, hailed a carriage on the street, and soon arrived in front of a restaurant called “Illusory Light Pavilion.”
“Is the gathering held inside a restaurant?”
Looking at the guests happily drinking and chatting inside, Shucao could not see how this could possibly be a meeting place for cultivators.
“It’s just a front. Just like how my family runs a clothing business among mortals, many cultivators…”
Under Xiao Simeng’s guidance, Shucao followed her into the restaurant.
Xiao Simeng spoke briefly with the waiter, who frowned, gave Shucao a strange look, and said,
“The boss is downstairs. Miss Xiao, you should explain it to her yourself.”
“Got it.”
Xiao Simeng took Shucao’s hand and walked to a blank wall.
She took out a jade token, held it in front of the wall, and a door slowly materialized.
“The gathering is downstairs. Let’s go.”
“Mm.”
Following Xiao Simeng through the newly opened door, Shucao curiously descended the staircase. After a short walk, they reached a vast underground space.
“This is…?”
“This place was jointly created by two Foundation Establishment seniors. The exterior is built with materials engraved with countless talismans, so nothing from outside can interfere, and nothing that happens here will affect the surface.”
The fairly spacious area held scattered groups of people.
Some were hawking materials they had laid out, others were chatting among themselves, and a few clustered around a notice board, pointing at the postings.
Behind a counter beside the board, a man was organizing scrolls and books.
When he saw the two girls, he waved them over and said,
“Miss Xiao, the boss is in the quiet room over there. Just go straight to her.”
“Understood. Thank you, Brother Chen.”
When they reached the quiet room, Xiao Simeng bowed toward the stone door.
“Junior Xiao Simeng requests an audience with Senior.”
“Enter.”
A cool, stern voice sounded.
The stone door slowly opened. Shucao quickly bowed as well.
Inside the quiet room sat a figure in black robes.
The loose garment completely concealed her face and figure; only her voice revealed she was a woman.
After another respectful bow, Xiao Simeng spoke politely.
“Senior, this is a fellow Daoist I met during my last mission. Thanks to her help, I managed to escape with my life. She has come to Ningzhou City to gather information, and I thought the gathering might be able to assist her, so I brought her here.”
“I see. Simeng, you may leave first. I will speak with this little friend personally.”
Once Xiao Simeng had left and the stone door closed again, only the nervous Shucao remained, facing the shrouded woman.
“This junior is Shucao. May I ask Senior’s name?”
“My name is Bai Yumo. Little friend, why have you come to Ningzhou City?”
“This junior has come to investigate a demonic sect called the Blood Fiend Sect.”
“Demonic cultivators? What is your relationship with that demonic sect?”
“My hometown was destroyed by people from that sect. Therefore, this junior is searching for them only to… take revenge.”
At those words, scenes flashed before Shucao’s eyes: the demonic cultivators slaughtering villagers, burning the village, extracting their blood and qi, and her battle with Lin Han.
A spark of anger flared in her chest, and she unconsciously clenched her fists.
“Revenge, huh…”
Bai Yumo slightly raised her head.
In the dim quiet room, a flash of golden light appeared from beneath her dark hood.
Shucao suddenly felt as if she were being seen through completely, but the sensation vanished as quickly as the golden glow disappeared.
“I understand. I have no information on this Blood Fiend Sect, but recently some cultivators have reported seeing more villages where the residents were drained of their blood and qi. You can start your investigation from that angle and look for any clues. Here is a passage token. When you need it, bring this token here. For more details, speak with Manager Chen outside. You may leave now.”
“Thank you, Senior.”
Shucao bowed once more, took the token, and turned to leave.
“One more thing. How does a cultivator like you not even have a storage pouch? Take this.”
Bai Yumo casually tossed a small storage pouch to Shucao.
After thanking her again, Shucao left the quiet room.
Once she was alone, Bai Yumo suddenly spoke toward a dark corner of the room.
“Xinghua, what do you think of her?”
The darkness in the corner twisted and then dispersed, revealing a woman in a black-and-gold-trimmed long robe.
“I gently probed her memories and saw the scenes she recalled. They match what she said. She was able to defeat Lin Han while he was enhanced by the array, so her cultivation should be late-stage Qi Refining. Strangely, I can’t see any memories before that.”
“It probably has something to do with why we can’t sense her spiritual energy fluctuations. Looks like this person has some secrets.”
“Should we investigate further?”
“No need. Digging too deep into a loose cultivator’s background isn’t wise. Besides, her desire to trouble the demonic sect works in our favor.”
“We’ve noticed quite a few traces of demonic cultivator activity near Ningzhou City, but their core members hide extremely well. Their Qi Refining underlings all have suicide methods, and they always target mortal villages, making it hard to catch their tails. Learning their methods and sect name this time is genuinely good news.”
“I think that girl might become the key to our investigation of the Blood Fiend Sect. After all, the two of us going in person would be too conspicuous. We’ve probably already been noticed by their Foundation Establishment cultivators.”
“Sigh… being a loose cultivator is hard.”
“Let’s hope this Shucao discovers something. If she can find the location of their main altar, I wouldn’t mind helping her out.”
“But if the Blood Fiend Sect has Golden Core cultivators, we’ll have to run.”
“At worst we report it to the Tianqing Sect. They definitely wouldn’t want a demonic Golden Core causing trouble near their territory.”
At that, golden light flashed once more in Bai Yumo’s eyes as she spoke coldly.
“Blood Fiend Sect… demonic cultivators… Hmph. Daring to cause trouble right under my nose—I will drag you out no matter what.”
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