Gu Qingyi had an idea. She leaned in close to Shen Qingci and winked. “Senior Sister, why don't we visit a storybook shop in the city? There are quite a few interesting things hidden inside.”
When she said “interesting things,” her tone trailed upward with a playful lilt.
Shen Qingci glanced at her.
What was so special about a storybook stall that warranted a dedicated trip?
But Junior Sister Gu never spoke without reason. Since she had brought it up so deliberately, there was likely some 'good' secret to be found.
“Sure, let's go take a look,” she agreed readily.
Gu Qingyi led Shen Qingci through a side door. Instead of heading toward the teleportation array from earlier, she wound deeper along the corridor before stopping in front of an inconspicuous wooden door.
“There are several teleportation arrays connecting the clan grounds to the outer city. This one is a backup array in the side hall, so there are fewer people,” she explained as she pushed the door open. The room inside was empty, save for a Nascent Soul cultivator guarding the array, nodding off as they dozed.
“Grandma Fu, I'm taking the Shen family's Eldest Young Lady to the outer city. Could you please activate the array for us?”
The Nascent Soul cultivator opened her eyes, stood up, and bowed with a smile. “Of course! Do you need to bring a couple of attendants along? Or should this old woman call over the people accompanying the Shen family?”
“No need, just the two of us,” Shen Qingci said.
She retrieved a Mystic-grade Low-rank robe from her storage ring and slipped it on, then stored the jade pendant carved with the Shen family crest into her ring.
The attire of the Shen family's heir was far too eye-catching, and she had no desire to be stared at like a rare spectacle while walking down the street.
Seeing this, the black-scaled cloud flood dragon on her shoulder began to fuss as well.
Its left head shook slightly, and its dark-green scales faded into a light gray from the top of its head down to the tip of its tail.
The right head quickly followed suit. In the blink of an eye, the two arm-thick Soul Transformation flood dragons shrank into a pair of dusty gray little loaches.
Even their horns retracted by more than half, making them look like ordinary spiritual beasts at the early Foundation Establishment stage.
The right dragon head grumbled, “This color is way too ugly.”
The left dragon head glared at it and said in disgust, “You don't even understand this basic concept? Keep a low profile! How many times has the bad woman taught us this?”
The two stepped into the array, and when they opened their eyes again, they were already inside a stone hall in the outer city. Seven or eight teleportation arrays were lined up side by side in the hall, with members of the Gu family occasionally passing in and out.
Gu Qingyi leaned close to her and lowered her voice. “That shop is in an old alley out back. The route is a bit winding, but their stock is incredibly complete.”
“There are at least a thousand storybook stalls in Cangwu County, but she is the only one who dares to sell private stock with illustrations.”
“Oh? Is she not afraid of being investigated?”
“The shop owner belongs to a branch of the Gu family. Hundreds of years ago, they were considered part of the direct line, but after their ancestor made a mistake, this branch was slowly marginalized.”
“The shop is set up in a side courtyard of their old ancestral home. Outsiders can't find their way in, and the clan turns a blind eye to it.” Gu Qingyi paused, finding it a bit amusing. “The first time I went, I was almost kicked out.”
“How so?”
“Senior Sister, you have to give a secret code!” Gu Qingyi said with a helpless look. “The shop owner has a strange temper and won't let unfamiliar faces in. If you can't match the secret code, she'll throw an Itching Talisman right through the crack of the door and hit you in the face.”
“The first time, I didn't know the rules and knocked for a long time without any response. In the end, I had to ask around to figure out the trick.”
Shen Qingci grew intrigued. “What secret code?”
Gu Qingyi smiled, her eyes curving. “Hehe, you'll find out when we get there, Senior Sister.”
The two walked through the main street and turned into several narrow, long alleys.
At the very end, an old bronze door was embedded in a stone wall. No plaque hung above the lintel; there was only a faded warding talisman pasted on it.
Gu Qingyi stepped forward and knocked on the door.
Five long knocks and two short ones. She paused, then repeated the pattern three times.
A raspy female voice came from behind the door. “What is the visitor's intent?”
Gu Qingyi kept a straight face, speaking with absolute solemnity. “Seeking a few storybooks to relieve boredom. I do not read orthodox cultivation methods, nor do I buy spiritual pills or miraculous medicines.”
The area behind the door fell silent for a moment. “Whose storybooks do you seek?”
“From the Mirror-Rubbing Hall. I want to pick from the newly released ones first; no old volumes.”
Shen Qingci's eyelid twitched as she turned her head to stare at Gu Qingyi. The latter remained completely unphased, even flashing her an innocent, silly grin.
With a creak, the door opened a crack, just wide enough for a person to squeeze in sideways.
The light inside the room was dim. Bookshelves lined all four walls, stacked layer upon layer with jade slips.
An old wooden table sat in the center, and behind it sat a figure draped in a black robe. The hood was pulled down, burying their entire face in shadow.
Judging by her figure, she was a female cultivator. Her cultivation level was not high, only at the late Foundation Establishment stage.
Gu Qingyi approached the table with practiced ease. “Sister, are there any newly released books lately?”
The stall owner did not answer. Instead, she reached under the table, pulled out a storage bag, and emptied its contents onto the table.
Several hundred jade slips tumbled out with a clatter, covering half the table.
“Oho, these are the new arrivals from the past half-month, all top-grade,” the stall owner whispered in a low voice. “A few of them are selling like crazy. Every batch we print gets cleared out instantly!”
Shen Qingci casually picked up one of the slips and sent her divine sense inside.
The cover of the jade slip was engraved with the small characters: Secrets of Thousand Swords Peak: Volume One.
Her brow arched slightly. She picked up a second one, Night Chats at Wanqi, then a third, That Night at the Lingquan Annex, a fourth, The Cold Senior Sister's Palmtop Darling, a fifth, Whispers on the Crane's Back...
The names grew more ridiculous one after another.
She immersed her divine sense into That Night at the Lingquan Annex, reading through it word by word.
The beginning read: The Eldest Young Lady of the Yun family had been pampered since childhood. Upon entering the Thousand Swords Peak of the Baiyun Sect, she encountered the cold sword cultivator, Senior Sister Song.
Senior Sister Song possessed icy skin and jade bones, with features of exquisite purity, earning her the reputation of the Southern Region's number one beauty.
On the day they first met, the Eldest Young Lady of the Yun family secretly thought to herself: This person is destined to be my Dao companion.
The Eldest Young Lady of the Yun family???
Senior Sister Song?
Shen Qingci's eyelid twitched as she continued scrolling down.
The story described the night at the Lingquan Annex. The two of them stayed in the same guest room, with only a single thin quilt left on the bed.
The Eldest Young Lady of the Yun family deliberately kicked off the quilt. Left with no choice, Senior Sister Song could only pull her into her embrace.
She picked up Night Chats at Wanqi and flipped to a passage in the middle.
Inside, the Yun family's Eldest Young Lady's pampered, delicate nature was depicted with vivid, lifelike detail, describing how she couldn't endure even a speck of hardship while traveling and gaining experience with Senior Sister Song.
While it was common for ordinary cultivators to travel on foot or patrol the mountains on the wind, she refused to take a single extra step.
After walking just a few steps on a mountain path, she would complain of fatigue and boredom, stomping her feet and throwing a tantrum on the spot, absolutely refusing to budge.
Despite her cultivation being far from weak, and being fully capable of flying on her own, she insisted on widening her soft, watery eyes to feign exhaustion, stubbornly waiting to be coaxed.
Yet the cold and taciturn Senior Sister Song fell for this exact routine every single time. Left completely helpless, she could only sigh, bend down, and securely scoop up the lazy, tantrum-throwing Eldest Young Lady Yun to carry her along on the wind...
With a sharp clack, Shen Qingci slapped the jade slip back onto the table.
Was she really that pampered and delicate in front of her senior sister?
She was clearly the one taking the initiative!
This was pure fabrication, absolute nonsense.
Just wait until she caught the person who wrote this story.
Seeing that her senior sister's expression was off, Gu Qingyi leaned over to steal a glance at the jade slip.
After reading just a few lines, her entire body froze.
She grabbed the slip of That Night at the Lingquan Annex and sent her divine sense inside, flipping through it from beginning to end. The more she read, the hotter her face burned.
What on earth had she just done?
She had actually led her senior sister all the way here to buy self-published storybooks depicting her and Senior Sister Chi, which even came with explicit illustrations!
Gu Qingyi felt as though her toes were about to dig a hole right through the floor, wishing she could vanish from the spot.
This wasn't some "interesting thing" at all—this was a trap she had walked right into!
Rate on N.U.
