Yun Liu couldn’t hold back his laughter, quietly watching as Silly Girl carried away all the prizes, leaving the black-hearted merchant with nothing.
He didn’t know when that simple-minded Copy Princess had gradually grown into a diligent and outstanding apprentice, an impeccable enforcer of the Medicine Hut.
Perhaps in this world, there was no better and more obedient black-haired slave to be found.
Until she forced the shop owner to pack up and flee, Ji Shiyu wiped her greasy little mouth, bored, and prepared to find the next place to stir up trouble.
Senior Brother and Senior Sister weren’t lying—there was way more fun down the mountain than in the Sea of Clouds!
“Eh? Master, you’re here too!”
Ji Shiyu turned her head and saw the white-robed youth behind her, his expression hovering between a smile and not.
Who knew how long he’d been there, but her lively face pressed close.
“Have you finished your assignments? And here you are playing outside.”
“Uh, ehehe?”
Ji Shiyu scratched her head.
Somehow, scratching her head and saying ‘ehehe’ had become her signature expression—blank and clueless—especially useful for dodging knowledge gaps.
“No ‘ehehe’.”
Yun Liu noticed a grain of sesame stuck to the corner of Silly Girl’s mouth, which triggered his obsessive-compulsive tendencies.
He pulled out a handkerchief from his sleeve and gently wiped it away.
Ji Shiyu held her twin ponytails, shaking her head and grinning mischievously, thoroughly enjoying this unique pampering.
It wasn’t just about craving her master’s Fortune, but the strange ‘father-daughter’ bond—a mix of mentor, friend, and something else.
“What’s the rush? Winter break just started.”
“If you start out with that attitude, it’ll be the same story on the last day of vacation.”
“I get it, I get it. You’re even more nagging than the Vice Sect Leader.”
Though she said this, Ji Shiyu was actually delighted, showing a meaningful smile.
“What are you doing?”
“Huhu, caught you! I knew you couldn’t leave me alone and would sneak after me.”
“Heh.”
She must have been talking about this strange journey.
Yun Liu neither confirmed nor denied it. Seeing Silly Girl still narcissistic at heart, he felt reassured.
An unmarried man, father to three girls with a pure-hearted Senior Sister as his girlfriend, he had traveled all this way just to scold Jing Rui and pave a grand road for the Empress.
The two of them, plus a bird, wandered together, aimlessly strolling the snack street.
This cloudship felt more like a microcosm of the Eastern Province—one could witness all the customs of the dynasty, filled with the vitality of daily life.
“Jade fish ball soup, fried scallion rings, jade cinnamon pancakes, exploding meat buns…”
Ji Shiyu recited dish names along the way, drooling.
It was as if there was a Fangcun Treasure hidden in her stomach—simply skewers could never satisfy her, but she held herself back.
Remembering Yan Bingling, that incompetent temptress of a master, Yun Liu paused.
Though he wasn’t great at being a teacher either, he wouldn’t let Shanhai Pavilion become a cold, lifeless place.
The white-robed youth stopped at a stall, pulled out a handful of Spirit Stones, and bought one of each snack, handing them all to the confused Dan Dao Apprentice.
“Eh?”
Weren’t these junk foods supposed to mess up your meridian flow?
Used to Yun Liu’s cold attitude, Ji Shiyu was stunned by the kindness and hesitated to accept, her small hands reaching out and withdrawing.
Was Master testing me?
Gulp!
The girl’s starlit eyes were conflicted.
Greatly shocked, she swallowed her saliva, and finally, unable to resist, stuffed a mouthful in, her face lighting up with happiness.
“Mm-mm… Not bad at all. You should try some too!”
Ji Shiyu chewed in small bites, holding out a skewer with a fish ball toward Yun Liu’s mouth.
“I’m fine.”
“Just try it! One bite!”
Yun Liu turned his head away, but Ji Shiyu insisted, circling him with the skewer. In the end, he couldn’t resist and took a tiny nibble.
“Average.”
Foundation Establishment cultivators had transformed bodies—their spiritual foundation unaffected by mundane delicacies—but indulging once in a while didn’t hurt.
“See? I knew you’d like it. It’s not as bad as those flavorless Spirit Meals. Mm?”
“Don’t talk with your mouth full.”
“Okay~”
Yun Liu had only taken a small bite of the fish ball; the rest, Ji Shiyu ate in one go without a care.
To Silly Girl, it was just to avoid wasting food. Sharing utensils or eating together meant nothing special—she would occasionally feed her master to try new flavors.
Yun Liu didn’t bother to argue, only tasting a little each time.
The scene felt familiar, as if they were back in the novice village market of Lan City.
Neither noticed the red-clothed girl at the end of the street, burning with resentment and grievance.
๘_๘
Lovers become father and daughter; loveless ones witness it with their own eyes?
The youth was handsome, the girl radiant—a pair of Golden Girl and Jade Boy walking the lower deck in perfect harmony, enough to make onlookers jealous.
Even Ao Tian, for once, didn’t butt in with any mood-killing quips. She just cackled with her sharp beak.
Ji Shiyu wanted to play with everything—goldfish scooping, slingshot shooting—she excelled at them all as the successor to Rosy Fragrance Pavilion.
Whenever she won a prize, she dashed back to Master to seek praise, generously sharing half the loot.
Yun Liu simply smiled and accepted, unable to refuse the odd crafts and plush toys she piled onto him, soon looking like a sacred egg tree.
It was just like a male cultivator accompanying his Dao companion on a shopping trip, weighed down with bags.
Do these broken trinkets even deserve a spot in the Fangcun Ring?
The delayed injection of extreme Fortune meant the girl’s childishness hadn’t faded.
When the second chapter map opened and Divine Tree Fortune descended, it would be hard to see this innocent side of the protagonist again.
These days, Yun Liu had gradually accepted his role as teacher, quietly observing the girl’s transformation.
After breaking the curse of fate, she was no longer so resistant to the blond-haired master-servant duo, and was willing to share her experience.
If he could guide a brilliant apprentice like Mister Canghai, leading them to the top of the Shanhai Pavilion Asura Ranking, it might be quite an achievement.
Midway, they came across a game table with no challengers.
The stall owner was an old scholar, a passenger offering riddles for rewards.
On the table was a messy pile of Beast Insignias, arranged in chaotic order but balanced, resembling a kind of beast chess.
“Giant Elephant eats Fierce Tiger, Fierce Tiger eats Jaguar, Jaguar eats Hyena… Then what do I eat? What a mess!”
Ji Shiyu glanced at the rule sheet beside her, fiddled for a while, and then, irritated, the old scholar glared at her and waved her away.
Such a simple puzzle managed to stump the self-proclaimed genius Sword Princess, so she looked around for outside help.
Nowadays, Ji Shiyu and Liusu were equally adorable—in their eyes, Master could do anything!
An onlooking strategy expert grew interested, having not played such secret realm games in a long time.
After thinking for a bit, he took a few moves and quickly broke the Beast Trap Realm.
“So that’s how it works… I see.”
The old scholar nodded in surprise, but said nothing to the pair.
He placed a Talisman Turtle Shell on the table, packed up his chessboard, and left without a word of thanks.
“Huh? After all that effort, this is the prize? What a weirdo.”
Ji Shiyu knocked on the Talisman Turtle Shell, unable to figure it out.
There was no spiritual energy fluctuation—just an ordinary trinket like any other worldly item.
“Mogu Script? He is…”
Yun Liu turned back in surprise, but the scholar immersed in his own world was nowhere to be found.
All he could do was store the unexpected prize away carefully.