Several years later, in the Green Bamboo Courtyard.
Luo Qingyu sat at a stone table, writing furiously, while Ling Shuang stood quietly by her side, waiting.
A moment later, she finished writing the last character.
Luo Qingyu put down her brush, rubbed her aching, cramped wrist, carefully gathered the stack of manuscripts, and handed them to Ling Shuang.
“Ling Shuang, this is the final chapter. Take it to the Anecdote Bookstore.”
“While you're at it, check on Lingxiao and see if that fellow is working diligently.”
“The Jinzhi Chamber of Commerce is busy and short-staffed right now. We can't let him wander around and slack off.”
Ling Shuang bowed her head. “Yes, Master.” The moment she finished speaking, her figure vanished.
Luo Qingyu sighed softly as she stared at the empty space where Ling Shuang had just been.
Over the past few years, she had drawn quite a few good things from completing missions. The most useful were her three Persona identities; the rest were just moderately useful pills and talismans.
She looked at the system panel, where over forty thousand points lay quietly, yet the mall remained locked.
Luo Qingyu fretted inwardly.
“No way. I have so many points, yet the mall still won't unlock. How long is this going to take?”
With that, Luo Qingyu slumped onto the stone table. The mere thought of the mountain of paperwork waiting for her at the Jinzhi Chamber of Commerce made her head throb.
She had started with just ten small shops, and as her business grew, branches of the Jinzhi Chamber of Commerce had already spread across the entire cultivation world.
Currently, the Five Great Sects were recruiting disciples. Yesterday, Elder Zhao was selecting disciples from the sect, claiming it was for traveling together, but in truth, they were just going to act as mascots.
Fortunately, she had been handling business down the mountain at the time. Xue Yu, being the only honest and unoccupied one left in the sect, was dragged along by Elder Zhao without a second thought to help with recruitment.
Thinking of this, Luo Qingyu congratulated herself on her luck in escaping that chore.
Wait, if Xue Yu was taken away for recruitment, where were Ming Xuan and Mu Zhongxi? Don't tell me those two were at each other's throats again?
Just as the thought crossed her mind, speak of the devil—with a loud bang, the courtyard gate was flung open, followed closely by two familiar, arguing voices.
Mu Zhongxi shouted furiously, “Ming Xuan! Why are you competing with me for this?”
Ming Xuan retorted flatly, “The road is so wide, yet you insisted on crowding over and squeezing against me.”
Mu Zhongxi was momentarily at a loss for words, struggling for a long time before sputtering, “You!”
He turned and ran quickly to Luo Qingyu's side, complaining pitifully, “Fourth Senior Brother, look! Second Senior Brother is bullying me!”
Luo Qingyu stared at the bickering duo, a vein throbbing in her temple as a wave of irritation washed over her.
“It's been so many years, can't you two be quiet for once? Third Senior Brother was just taken away by Elder Zhao, and here you are making a scene again.”
Refusing to let it go, Mu Zhongxi tugged on her sleeve. “No, Fourth Senior Brother, you have to do me justice!”
Ming Xuan rolled his eyes dramatically from the side and scoffed, “You're always the one making the biggest fuss.”
These words instantly made Mu Zhongxi bristle, and he muttered indignantly.
“If Third Senior Brother were here, he would definitely help Ming Xuan tease me, while Fourth Senior Brother would stand by my side.”
“Now that Third Senior Brother is gone, even Fourth Senior Brother doesn't want to bother with me anymore. Where is the justice in this world!”
With that, Mu Zhongxi threw his sleeves back in a huff, slammed the gate, and ran out.
Luo Qingyu stared blankly at the rushing figure of Mu Zhongxi before turning to Ming Xuan.
“What's wrong with him now?”
Ming Xuan was equally baffled and replied casually, “How should I know? He's probably lost his mind.”
Hearing this, Luo Qingyu's lips twitched. As expected, Second Senior Brother's tongue was as sharp as ever.
Seeing that Mu Zhongxi had left, Ming Xuan turned and departed as well.
Luo Qingyu was left alone in the courtyard.
Ding! A familiar mechanical chime rang in her ears.
【Today's Main Quest triggered: Help Ye Qiao successfully enter the Changming Sect.】
【Quest Time Limit: One day.】
Looking at the quest that had popped up on the system panel, Luo Qingyu was so excited she nearly jumped on the spot.
“Ahhh, I can finally meet Qiaoqiao!”
Wait, she suddenly recalled the plot of the original novel. Mu Zhongxi's first encounter with Ye Qiao seemed to have taken place in the black market.
So, since Mu Zhongxi ran off in a huff just now, he would definitely go to the black market today and run into Ye Qiao!
At this thought, Luo Qingyu immediately boarded her Somersault Cloud and flew swiftly toward the black market, following the direction Mu Zhongxi had taken.
The Black Market
As soon as Luo Qingyu arrived at the black market, a noisy argument reached her ears.
She quickly squeezed through the crowd of onlookers and immediately spotted her Junior Brother, Mu Zhongxi, sternly warning the person opposite him.
“Drawing swords is forbidden at the foot of the Five Great Sects.”
The man sized up the sect uniform Mu Zhongxi was wearing and, knowing he was in the wrong, could only slink away with his tail between his legs.
Luo Qingyu's gaze swept past Mu Zhongxi and landed behind him, where a young girl in light blue clothes stood quietly.
The girl had chestnut-brown hair with a prominent cowlick sticking up on her head. When she was silent, her features were delicate and carried a slightly cool air.
At this moment, Ye Qiao looked at Mu Zhongxi, who was stepping on her collapsed stall, and forced down her urge to curse him out.
“Hey, Daoist friend, you're stepping on my stall!”
Hearing the girl's voice, Mu Zhongxi looked down and realized he was indeed stepping on her stall. He hurriedly took two steps back, his face filled with apology.
“Sorry, sorry! I really didn't see it. Did I hurt you just now?”
Ye Qiao pursed her lips and put on a victimized look. “No, but my feelings are hurt.”
Mu Zhongxi was simple-minded, so he immediately pulled out a high-grade spirit stone and handed it to her as an apology.
Ye Qiao quietly accepted the spirit stone. Turning misfortune into a blessing by riding on Mu Zhongxi's status as a sect disciple, she managed to sell out all the talismans on her stall in no time.
Seeing the crowd of onlookers gradually disperse, Luo Qingyu finally stepped forward from the back.
She walked up behind Mu Zhongxi, gently patted his shoulder, and smiled. “Junior Brother, you certainly made me search for you.”
Hearing the familiar voice, Mu Zhongxi shuddered violently, thoroughly startled.
Nearby, Ye Qiao's gaze fell upon Luo Qingyu behind Mu Zhongxi. She couldn't help but look her over, for she had never seen anyone so good-looking.
The youth possessed an androgynous face with slightly upturned phoenix eyes that were captivatingly charming.
A white martial outfit accentuated a tall and upright posture, while a red-tasseled copper coin pendant hanging from the right ear added a touch of bewitching allure.
The youth looked incredibly eye-catching and striking.
Once Mu Zhongxi saw clearly that the newcomer was his Fourth Senior Brother, he let out a huge sigh of relief and patted his chest.
“Fourth Senior Brother, you scared the life out of me! I thought that fellow Ming Xuan had chased me down to settle scores.”
Luo Qingyu chuckled softly and looked at Mu Zhongxi.
“I only just arrived myself. Conveniently enough, I caught a good show. Wouldn't you agree, Junior Brother?”
Mu Zhongxi instantly panicked, waving his hands frantically in defense. “Fourth Senior Brother, it's not what you think! Let me explain!”
“That guy was clearly the one who ran into me first and broke his own magical artifact, only to turn around and blame me. This time, I really didn't look for trouble!”
Luo Qingyu's smile deepened as she said unhurriedly, “Have you caused so few troubles? One more won't make a difference.”
Mu Zhongxi's cheeks flushed slightly at her words, and he waved his hands quickly. “Alright, alright, Fourth Senior Brother, save me some face.”
With that, he pointed to Ye Qiao beside him and introduced, “Fourth Senior Brother, this is a friend I just met, Ye Qiao.”
Ye Qiao, who had been listening to the gossip with great interest, immediately wiped the curiosity from her face upon hearing Mu Zhongxi call her name and raised a hand in greeting.
“Hi, hello, Daoist friend.”
Looking at the girl's slightly awkward demeanor, Luo Qingyu's eyes curved into a gentle smile as she responded, “Yes, hello.”
My little junior sister, whom I have waited so long for.
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