The store owner looked at Hua Jian’s sincere expression and, after a moment of hesitation, nodded.
This mysterious Saintess seemed to have no great malice. And thinking about it, there really wasn’t anything here worth her attacking.
This place wasn’t a treasury or some secret stronghold. There was nothing for the Saintess to do here.
She waved at the guards, signaling them to stand down for now.
Then, she walked up to Hua Jian. “Saintess, please follow me upstairs.”
Of course, that gesture had another meaning.
‘Go get reinforcements!’
Before leading Hua Jian upstairs, the shopkeeper also made several hand gestures behind her back to supplement her orders.
Don’t use the store’s alarm. Go explain the situation in person. Make sure the guard knows exactly what’s going on here.
After all, the Wanhua Saintess was no ordinary person; their actions needed to be handled carefully.
Hua Jian did notice the shopkeeper’s little tricks, but she didn’t call them out.
She was just here for normal shopping—it wasn’t like they could arrest her for that, right?
Besides, she knew people in the Qian family.
Once someone who knew the truth came by to explain, the misunderstanding between her and the shopkeeper would be resolved.
That was way easier than her wasting effort trying to explain here.
In the eyes of normal people, the title “Wanhua Saintess” on her head was a huge debuff.
Everything she said lost credibility, and everything she did would be interpreted in the worst possible light.
Look at her now—just buying clothes, and she was already suspected of robbing the store.
“No need to be so tense. I don’t bite people.” Hua Jian lied without changing her expression.
“The moment a Saintess graces someone with her presence, anyone would feel tense.” The shopkeeper remained cautious and careful.
Only after leading Hua Jian to the second floor’s exclusive dressing area for VIPs did she breathe a sigh of relief and force herself into work mode.
“May I ask what style of clothes the Saintess desires?”
“Something thicker, something that fits the environment here, and something that matches shoes and socks.” Hua Jian pointed at her own feet. “I actually don’t like this outfit.”
Even the shopkeeper almost believed her.
Hua Jian’s expression was so helpless, like a little girl forced to go out and work, looking pitiful and wronged.
But everyone knew the Wanhua Saintess was not a pitiful little girl. She was a ruthless figure who could turn the Central Continent upside down.
Those slender, fair, and exposed bare feet were exactly the symbol of her demonic path identity—a trap to lure righteous figures!
“I think those furry coats downstairs look pretty good. Bring me a few, please.”
“Alright, I’ll have someone fetch them for you right away.”
While Hua Jian was happily changing clothes in the Cloud Tailoring Pavilion, the Guard Captain of Bitterwinter Outer City had already received the news that sent him into a panic.
A demonic cultivator had entered Bitterwinter City—and it was the Wanhua Saintess who had wreaked havoc across the Central Continent!
Oh heavens, this was an exceptionally bad piece of news, so bad that even he couldn’t make a decision on his own. He had to kick the problem upstairs.
The Wanhua Saintess’s status was no joke. Whether they should make a move against her, pretend to attack, or actually attack—that was a decision only the higher-ups could make.
But this time, the higher-ups’ response speed surprised him. Almost in the blink of an eye, a reply came through the token in his hand.
“Ignore her.”
The meaning was clear: pretend the Wanhua Saintess didn’t exist. No one saw her. She had never appeared in Bitterwinter City.
The higher-ups didn’t explain the reason, but as a Guard Captain in the Outer City, a cultivator like him knew about the secret friendly relationship between the Qian family and Wanhuagu.
Perhaps… this time the Wanhua Saintess really wasn’t here to cause trouble?
“Go back and tell your shopkeeper to treat that guest well.” Having received the order, the Captain personally relayed the message to the Cloud Tailoring Pavilion employee who had come to report.
“But, that’s—”
“That’s not who you think it is. What’s wrong with a young lady dressing up as the Wanhua Saintess for fun?” The Captain widened his eyes, cutting off the rest of the employee’s sentence.
“If she really wanted to harm you, would you still be able to run here and tell me she’s arrived?”
With that, he leaned in close to the employee’s ear and whispered, “Don’t tell anyone about this. Just treat her as an ordinary guest. Understand?”
With things spelled out so clearly, the employee naturally understood.
The Wanhua Saintess probably really wasn’t here to cause trouble. She was… a customer?
Come to think of it, the other party had seemed very friendly the whole time. Even when misunderstood, she kept smiling, without a hint of anger.
“This is just too—” The employee flailed her hands around. Her mood was as complicated as her gestures.
One day, an incredibly famous big villain shows up in your store. When you think she’s about to make a huge scene, she pulls out money and says she just wants to buy a lollipop?
This was too unbelievable.
“So, what does the Wanhua Saintess look like? Compared to that portrait, how is she?”
With the main business settled, the Guard Captain pressed for more details. He was only human—curiosity about the Wanhua Saintess was natural.
Over the years, Wanhuagu had boasted endlessly about their Saintess, claiming she was the greatest Saintess under heaven, that even the Saintess of Yaochi couldn’t touch the soles of her feet.
But not many people had actually seen the Wanhua Saintess’s appearance. The images circulating outside were just generic paintings.
There wasn’t even a Liu Ying Stone recording. The credibility of mere paintings was highly questionable.
Who knew how much artistic embellishment had been added? Maybe the Saintess was actually an ugly monster?
The gradually relieved employee let out a sigh. She needed to hurry back with the good news, so she didn’t elaborate much on Hua Jian’s beauty.
She only left one sentence: “She’s even prettier than in the painting.”
Even prettier than the painting? Just how beautiful could she be? The Guard Captain gasped sharply.
That painting was already on par with the circulating images of the Yaochi Saintess. If the real person was even more beautiful, did that mean Wanhuagu’s boasting was true?
Was the Wanhua Saintess truly superior to the Yaochi Saintess?
“This outfit is nice. Delicate and weak, like a little flower barely holding on in the cold wind. If I make my complexion a bit worse, I can pull off the look of a sickly girl.”
Lifting the hem and spinning in front of the floor-length mirror, Hua Jian was satisfied with her reflection.
The clothes were almost pure white, creating a stark visual contrast with her jet-black hair.
Wearing this set gave people the first impression that the person before them was fragile.
And that was exactly what Hua Jian needed right now.
Most importantly, the lower half of this outfit was very thick!
There were no matching socks, but the thick, fluffy leg warmers paired with small white boots gave a strong sense of security.
As for the socks, that was simple. Hua Jian just extended her Spirit Garment down to her feet.
While changing, Hua Jian also discovered that her Saintess Spirit Garment from Wanhuagu had a scaling ability, allowing it to be worn as an accessory alongside other clothes.
This was probably a common feature of high-level Spirit Garments. After all, having to manually put on a treasure of this grade would be a bit of a letdown.
Having the garment permanently on the body, ready at a call, and instantly appearing when needed, was clearly more fitting for the value of a high-level Spirit Garment.
Currently, the Wanhua Saintess’s Spirit Garment was hidden in Hua Jian’s chest area in the form of underwear. All she needed was to activate it with Spiritual Power when needed.
From a certain weird perspective, it seemed Hua Jian had become a kind of magical girl?
Two completely different forms, instant clothes-changing, flight, and various powerful techniques…
Yep, a magical girl, no doubt about it!
“I’ll take this one. Name your price.”
“This set comes to a total of five Spirit Stones—”
“Five?! This outfit uses all ordinary fabric, you swindler, and you’re charging me five Spirit Stones—”
Hua Jian was stunned by the price.
Why on earth? This outfit wasn’t even close to being a Spirit Garment. Counting it in Spirit Stones was already an overestimation.
But this shopkeeper opened her mouth and demanded five Spirit Stones. Did she really think Hua Jian was a fool?
She wanted to argue with the shopkeeper, but Hua Xinrui rushed over, hugged her, and covered her mouth.
“Miss, please calm down. If you like it, just buy it. Xia Hui, pay up!”
“Mmph mmph!”
“Hurry!”
Xia Hui looked at Hua Xinrui, then at Hua Jian, and obediently took five Spirit Stones from her Storage Pouch to pay.
When they left Wanhuagu this time, they were given plenty of operational funds. For three Ling Kings, the funds were absolutely excessive.
Five Spirit Stones was just a drop in the bucket.
“Xia Hui, let’s go!”
After paying, Hua Xinrui hugged Hua Jian and quickly ran downstairs, leaving the Cloud Tailoring Pavilion. Only after they were outside did she release her.
“Miss Hua Jian, please don’t stoop to their level. We have plenty of Spirit Stones to use now. There’s no need to haggle.”
Hua Xinrui’s reasoning was simple. If she let Hua Jian bargain with the shopkeeper, Hua Jian’s image would be ruined.
The prestigious Wanhua Saintess, haggling over a five-Spirit Stone outfit? If that got out, it wouldn’t just embarrass Hua Jian—Wanhuagu would be dragged down with her.
Just how poor was Wanhuagu to raise such a stingy Saintess?
“You are now a world-famous big shot. Quibbling over five Spirit Stones will make others look down on you and on Wanhuagu.” Hua Xinrui spoke to Hua Jian very seriously.
She had been assigned to Hua Jian’s side with a mission. In the stories her elders had told her, Saintess Hua Jian had never undergone systematic Saintess education.
So she needed to intervene in Hua Jian’s behavior when necessary.
For instance, just now, she had to stop Hua Jian’s potentially embarrassing behavior in time, preventing her from losing face for herself and Wanhuagu.
Otherwise, with her timid nature, she would never dare to physically restrain Hua Jian.
“But that price is such a rip-off!”
Hua Jian felt this wasn’t right. Even if she was a Ling King with no shortage of five Spirit Stones, she shouldn’t just let herself be cheated so easily.
She dared to haggle with a Saint; so why couldn’t she haggle with this Cloud Tailoring Pavilion?
What kind of logic was that?
No, the more she thought about it, the angrier she got. She was going to get those Spirit Stones back!
Hua Jian started rolling up her sleeves, ready to go back and have a proper discussion with that swindler of a shopkeeper.
“Miss, please calm down!” Hua Xinrui slid on her knees and hugged Hua Jian’s thigh. “It’s not even your money—it’s the sect’s Spirit Stones. Don’t take it to heart!”
Even so, Hua Jian was still unhappy.
She hadn’t lost anything, but the swindler had made a profit, so wasn’t that still a loss?
But Hua Xinrui was acting like her life depended on it. Hua Jian couldn’t just drag around a leg-hugging accessory and go back to get the Spirit Stones.
“Xia Hui, how could you pay so obediently!”
“Compared to Spirit Stones, I think Miss Hua Jian’s image is more important.” Xia Hui answered decisively.
On this matter, she wasn’t blindly agreeing with Hua Jian. She thought Hua Xinrui had done the right thing.
Five Spirit Stones compared to Miss Hua Jian’s image—they were as light as a feather!
Seeing these two followers unexpectedly on the same side, Hua Jian momentarily began to doubt herself.
Was she… really that embarrassing?
“We’re still two days away from Bitterwinter City. We need to meet with that young lady of the Qian family in the city, and then… Linglong Shimei, are you even listening?”
The Yaochi Ling Huang, who was reviewing a map, cast a helpless glance at Linglong, who was staring off into the distance.
Ever since entering the Northern Territory, Linglong had fallen into this strange state.
Every day, she would come to the airship’s deck to gaze northward, as if waiting for someone to appear.
Unlike Wanhuagu’s secretive approach, this Yaochi team was carrying out a Saint Sect mission.
They traveled openly and honestly, riding on Yaochi’s Spirit Vessel Airship.
This was one of Yaochi’s specialties. Whenever Yaochi launched a major operation, these large vessels capable of carrying a group of cultivators at high speed served as the best mobile bases.
This mission to the Northern Territory was clearly very important in Yaochi’s eyes. The airship sent was among the most powerful in the sect.
Logically, sending a ship just to help the Qian family explore a newly discovered Secret Realm shouldn’t require such a fuss.
Sending an airship was normal, but sending one this powerful was not.
Coupled with Linglong’s presence as the Saintess, it cast a strange veil over the entire operation.
“I’m listening. The Shijies will handle the communication with the Qian family. I’m just passing through Bitterwinter City to visit a friend.” Linglong replied softly.
Like the other Saintess, Linglong was also slacking off this time. The main mission of Yaochi had nothing to do with her.
Strictly speaking, her task was to go to the Qian family and solidify the thousand-year friendship between Yaochi and the Qian family.
Of course, that was also fake.
Her real task was to find Hua Jian and bring her back.
As for the Secret Realm, she knew a bit about it, but it wasn’t very relevant to her.
It was a trap set for the demonic path, meant to lure a certain Dragon Venerable who was desperate to break through.
To achieve that goal, Wanhuagu and the Saint Sect had colluded very closely.
Tianmomen probably never imagined how much effort everyone had put in to prevent the demonic path from gaining another Saint.
It made sense, really. The Saint Sect wouldn’t want the demonic path to produce a Saint, and Wanhuagu, being in the Northern Territory alongside Tianmomen, certainly didn’t want their competitor to become stronger.
The two sides hit it off immediately and cooked up this trap together.