As for Chunxing and Xiahe, as they looked at their young miss’s receding back, the sense of awe in their hearts quietly rose another level.
Previously, they merely felt the Second Young Miss had a strange temperament and was moody. Now, however, they felt this young miss was not nearly as simple as they had imagined.
Furthermore, since the young miss had told them to be obedient from now on, they absolutely had to be obedient.
They could never secretly keep things for themselves again.
Especially things dug up from underground—at the mere thought of that, Chunxing couldn't help but shudder.
Xie Zhaofan, however, wasn't affected by the earlier interlude in the slightest. After boarding the carriage, her mood actually improved quite a bit.
She had come out today specifically to look for objects that could ward off evil, and she had already obtained one talisman.
Though she didn't know if it would actually be effective, it was at least a harvest of sorts.
As for those so-called consecrated artifacts at Dahua Temple, she felt they were unreliable after seeing them and didn't bother wasting her silver.
It was about time now, just right for her to complete the most important task of the day.
Eating.
The carriage traveled all the way to Zuixian Restaurant.
This was a quite famous establishment in the capital. In the original body’s memories, the dishes here were far superior to the skills of the Prime Minister’s residence’s cooks. In particular, a few of their signature dishes made the original body crave them almost every time she thought of them.
Thus, since she was already out today, there was naturally no reason to miss it.
As for things like driving out evil and subduing demons, those were secondary.
In this life, eating was the most important thing.
Actually, before coming to Zuixian Restaurant, Xie Zhaofan hadn't been secretive at all, having someone reserve a private room in advance in the name of the Prime Minister’s residence.
The manager of Zuixian Restaurant had clearly received the news long ago. As soon as he saw the carriage stop, he personally led the servers out to greet her, the smile on his face exceptionally warm.
“Second Young Miss, you’ve finally arrived. The private room has already been prepared for you, arranged according to the Prime Minister’s residence’s usual standards. Today, the kitchen happens to have a few new dishes; if you don't mind, you could try something fresh.”
As he spoke, the manager had a server bring over two seasonal appetizers, clearly brought out specifically to curry favor with this daughter of the Prime Minister.
Xie Zhaofan’s eyes immediately crinkled into a smile; she liked people who were this sensible.
Without her needing to give orders, someone else had already arranged everything perfectly. This saved her both worry and effort, and her mood during the meal would naturally be much better.
“The manager is very thoughtful,” Xie Zhaofan praised with a smile before leading Chunxing and the others upstairs.
After entering the private room, she took off her veiled hat and sat by the window. Looking at the bustling crowd below, she couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
This was the life she was familiar with: eating and drinking, strolling through the streets, and occasionally looking for treasures that could make her stronger.
As for those demons and ghosts, cultivators' artifacts, and the so-called Child of Destiny...
Xie Zhaofan picked up a piece of pastry that had just been served and took a blissful bite, her eyes instantly lighting up.
Mmm! It really was much more delicious than the monsters made by the residence’s cooks.
Those other messy things could wait until after she was full.
After eating and drinking her fill, it was still early, and Xie Zhaofan didn't plan on heading back just yet.
She had come out today specifically to find things that could ward off evil and avoid malevolent entities. Naturally, she couldn't place all her hopes on a single Evil-Warding Talisman of unknown efficacy.
If that Daoist turned out to be just a wandering swindler, losing five taels of silver was one thing, but Xiangling and Chunxing would be in trouble.
She planned to take advantage of this rare outing to browse a couple more places; perhaps she would stumble upon some truly useful object for driving out evil.
Just as she walked down to the first floor of Zuixian Restaurant and was preparing to board the carriage with Chunxing’s support, a noisy commotion suddenly erupted on the street.
The originally lively street seemed to explode all at once as street vendors frantically packed their things and pedestrians scrambled to either side to hide.
Some didn't even care about their stalls, clutching their heads and diving into nearby shops.
Xie Zhaofan's vision and hearing far surpassed those of normal people. Almost without needing to listen closely, she heard the sound of robes whistling through the air ahead, followed by a loud shout. It seemed someone was in the midst of a pursuit and a life-or-death struggle.
She looked toward the sound. With her current superior vision, she soon saw two figures at the end of the street, one chasing the other at high speed.
The person in front had incredibly fast movement techniques, their toes constantly gaining momentum off eaves, shop signs, and high street walls. The entire person glided across the street like a flying swallow.
The person pursuing behind was not a bit inferior. In the blink of an eye, the chase had spanned more than half the street.
Xie Zhaofan immediately made a very correct decision.
A lady does not stand beneath a crumbling wall.
She was only out today to eat and find treasures, not to experience the scene of an ancient martial arts film firsthand. She had no interest in using her life to verify just how powerful the martial arts masters of this world were.
Thus, she turned around, preparing to retreat back into Zuixian Restaurant.
Unfortunately, she still underestimated the speed of these martial arts experts.
Almost the moment she turned, that young figure in front had already soared through the air toward her. The pursuer followed closely behind, and the two actually moved their battlefield right to the vicinity of Zuixian Restaurant.
Although the strength of the Prime Minister’s residence’s guards wasn't top-tier, they were, after all, the guards Xie Chongshan had assigned to his daughter and had undergone rigorous training.
Seeing someone rushing toward their young miss's position, they didn't hesitate for a moment, immediately drawing their weapons to stand in front of Xie Zhaofan.
“Miss, get back!” the lead guard shouted sternly. Just as his long blade was raised, the young man coming toward them let out a loud roar.
“Get out of the way! Don't get in the way!”
Along with the voice, an incredibly powerful palm wind suddenly swept forth. The guards didn't even manage to touch the corner of the opponent's clothes before they were directly sent flying by that terrifying force, slamming hard onto the side of the street.
“Pfft!”
One of them spat out a mouthful of blood the moment he hit the ground, clearly having suffered significant internal injuries.
Xie Zhaofan hadn't expected things to escalate to this point. She was about to lead Chunxing to the side to hide, but the oncoming palm wind had already reached them. It made her dress rustle violently, and even the light veil on her veiled hat was blown upward.
Fortunately, her Strength attribute was currently far beyond that of normal people, and even stronger than that of the average guard.
Almost the instant her body stumbled from the palm wind, she grabbed Chunxing’s wrist, pulling the little maid firmly to her side and stubbornly holding her ground.
The young man clearly noticed this scene as well. His body paused slightly in mid-air, a look of surprise flashing across his face.
“Huh?”
He looked down at Xie Zhaofan. He clearly hadn't expected such a delicate-looking noble miss to be able to stand firm under his palm wind.
“Good moves. You’ve got some skill, little girl.”
After saying that, he didn't stay, turning his body to continue gliding forward.
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