Wardrobe Online

The matters in Yunting City were completely wrapped up the next day.

Senior Brother Zhou had waited with several disciples along the essential path to the west of the city, catching Qi Sui's remaining seven henchmen red-handed.

Those men had originally been heading back to their stronghold to change shifts, entirely unaware that their base had already been raided. The moment they reached the fork in the road, Senior Brother Zhou and his group surrounded them.

The leader still tried to resist, but Senior Brother Zhou and the other senior brothers quickly subdued him. Seeing that the tide had turned, the rest of the henchmen chose not to fight back.

All seven were bound safe and sound, joining the five captured the previous night. The group of them was now huddled together in the open space of the City Lord's Manor's backyard.

Ye Qingwu did not delay. That very evening, she set off with the twenty-five disciples to return to the palace.

On the spirit boat, Qi Sui was placed alone in a cabin, the bindings on him reinforced with two more layers.

By the time the spirit boat took flight, the sky had already darkened. Below them, the lights of Yunting City gradually shrank into a scattered pattern of warm yellow dots.

Lin Zhiyue sat by the window at the stern of the cabin, watching those specks of light slowly get obscured by the clouds until they vanished entirely from the window.

Leaning against the back of her chair, she closed her eyes for a moment. In her ears was the steady hum of the spirit boat cutting through the clouds, interspersed with the occasional low whispers of the disciples.

Jiang Yuezhan sat diagonally opposite her, occasionally looking out the window before casting his gaze down again. Liu Fengyao and Cen Xi'er sat in the row in front of them, with Liu Fengyao's head already resting on Cen Xi'er's shoulder, fast asleep.

It was already late at night when they arrived at Tiance Palace.

The spirit boat landed on the main peak's plaza, the white stone ground reflecting a cold white glow under the moonlight.

The disciples hopped off the spirit boat one after another and dispersed. Ye Qingwu arranged for guards to escort Qi Sui and his henchmen to the sect's forbidden area for temporary confinement, then turned and headed toward the main hall.

Standing at the edge of the plaza, Lin Zhiyue gazed at the silhouettes of Tiance Palace's three peaks in the night. The moonlight clearly outlined the mountain ridges.

She changed direction and walked toward the side peak, her pace slightly slower than usual.

As she approached Qi Yan's courtyard, she instinctively slowed her steps. Usually, whenever she returned from a trip, she would drop by to greet him, saying, “Master, I'm back.” Sometimes he would be wiping his blade in the courtyard, and other times he would be browsing jade slips in his room, replying with a simple “Mm” to end the exchange.

But tonight, she didn't turn inside. She merely stood outside the courtyard wall for a moment.

The courtyard gate was shut, no lights were on inside, and the windows were dark.

Withdrawing her gaze, she continued along the stone steps toward her own courtyard.

When she pushed open her door, Yuetuan poked his head out of his nest to glance at her, his eyes shining bright in the moonlight. Recognizing her, he curled back into his nest.

Lin Zhiyue casually scooped Honghong out of the jade pendant to let her get some fresh air. Honghong opened her eyes groggily to look at her, then nestled back into her little bed with a sense of security, falling asleep in the blink of an eye.

Lin Zhiyue took off her outer coat in the darkness, lay down, pulled the blanket to her shoulders, and closed her eyes.

Outside the window, the moonlight was cold and silent. The entire side peak was dead quiet, as if all sound had been swallowed by the night.

The next morning, Lin Zhiyue was licked awake by Tuanzi.

The little fellow lay beside her pillow, rubbing his wet nose back and forth against her fingers, his tail wagging like a little windmill.

Lin Zhiyue opened her eyes groggily. Sunlight was already filtering through the cracks in the window, spreading a warm, golden band of light across her pillow.

She sat up and rubbed her face. Just as she was about to habitually summon the system panel in her mind to check for new quests, the light screen popped up on its own. The interface was much brighter than before, with a thin ring of pale gold runes added around the edges.

【System upgrade complete. Added features are as follows: 1. Wardrobe Feature—Infinite wardrobe. Collected sets are automatically categorized and stored. Each fashion set has its own exclusive display slot, classifying and storing all components such as the main outfit, accessories, and footwear for easy viewing and changing.

One-click Outfit Change—The host can directly select the target set in her consciousness. With just a thought, the entire outfit can be replaced, reducing the outfit change time to an instant. More features await the host's unlock in the future!】

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Lin Zhiyue read through the upgrade instructions on the light screen and then clicked on the newly appeared "Wardrobe" interface.

The light screen expanded into a wide display wall, and the ten fashion sets she had collected were hung neatly in columns. The emerald-green outfit of Mist-shrouded Verdure was in the first slot on the left, followed closely by the silver-white and icy-blue dress of Ode to the Frozen Frost in the second. Flowing Fire and Scarlet Stars was in the third slot, the dark green scale armor of Dragon-Riding Dreamscape was fourth, the light green thin gauze of Forest Spirit's Verses was fifth, and Jinyao Fairy's Moonlight Flowing Fairy Dress was sixth. The seventh slot held the pink apron and short skirt of Sweet and Clever Cook, the eighth held the plain green qipao of Flowing Green Satin, the ninth held the dark red retro long dress of Dusk Rose, and the tenth was the deep blue gradient of Mermaid's Love Song.

Every slot was neatly arranged, with their quality and effects clearly labeled.

Footwear was placed separately in the bottom compartment of the corresponding set, while hair ornaments and accessories each had their own places. The entire wardrobe looked neat and tidy.

She tried selecting "Sweet and Clever Cook" in her mind. With a single thought, her ordinary clothes were instantly replaced by the pink short skirt and white apron, the change happening in the blink of an eye.

She switched back to her ordinary clothes, taking less than a breath.

She stood up, stretched her limbs to confirm that the outfit change process did not consume any extra spiritual energy, and then closed the light screen before bending down to scoop up Yuetuan.

Cradling Yuetuan, Lin Zhiyue walked to the window and pushed it open. Morning light flooded in, illuminating the entire room.

Dewdrops still hung on the pine needles in the courtyard. The air was crisp and fresh, and from afar came the faint sound of weapons cutting through the wind as disciples practiced in the martial arts field.

...

Qi Yan was in the courtyard.

He sat by the stone table with his back to the door. His blade, half-wiped, lay within arm's reach, its edge glinting in the sunlight, reflecting his handsome yet expressionless face.

He did not look back, but his movements paused for an instant when Lin Zhiyue walked in.

Lin Zhiyue sat on the stone stool behind him. Across the distance of the stone table, her voice was slightly softer than usual. “Master, I went to ask the Fifth Elder yesterday.”

Qi Yan let out an “Mm” and then turned around.

“She told me about the Qi family.” Lin Zhiyue paused here, as if trying to figure out how to phrase it, but ultimately decided there was no need to beat around the bush and spoke directly.

Qi Yan finally looked up at her. Only after a moment did he speak, his tone carrying his characteristic flat indifference, as if speaking about something that had nothing to do with him. “If you wanted to know, you should have just asked me directly. There was no need to dwell on it yourself; it affects your cultivation.”

—Was this his way of explaining why he had told her to ask Elder Qingwu before?

Lin Zhiyue sat on the stone stool, looking at his profile.

The morning sun cast slanted rays from the east, defining the sharp contours of his brow.

He sat there in his red and black martial attire, shadows of pine needles falling across his shoulders, his expression tranquil.

No matter how she looked at him, he seemed like an extremely sober and rational person, a world away from the murderous Yanchen that Elder Qingwu had described.

“Master,” she said with a hint of self-righteousness, “it's just that this whole thing is too much of a coincidence. It's hard not to overthink it. For all we know, Junior Brother Jiang might also be secretly wondering what on earth happened between you and Qi Sui.”

Qi Yan tilted his head to glance at her.

It was only a brief glance, but Lin Zhiyue felt his gaze soften slightly during that split second.

He withdrew his gaze and picked up his blade again, his tone as flat as ever. “You were half an hour late for sword practice today. Make up for it tomorrow.”

The corners of Lin Zhiyue's lips curved upward. “Understood.”