The day after acquiring her new appearance, Hua Jian snuck into the inner city of Frozen Winter City with Hua Xinrui and Xia Hui.
“Sneaked” was a bit of an exaggeration.
In peacetime, there was no physical barrier between the inner and outer cities of Frozen Winter.
There wasn’t even a new security check—it was the kind of place you could enter freely.
Even many members of the Qian clan had ordinary residences in the inner city, and they would open shops and run small businesses.
But these Qian family members only had the character “Qian” in their names.
Their blood relationship with the true Qian family was leagues apart—they were distant relatives among distant relatives.
Those like Qian Feixue, the direct descendants of the Qian family, lived in the deeper core of the inner city, within the Ice Palace that Hua Jian had once gazed upon.
That place was not accessible to ordinary people. It could be said to be the true core area of Frozen Winter City.
The area an ordinary person could enter was part of the outer city and a portion of the inner city, but for Hua Jian, that was more than enough.
Compared to the outer city, the first impression of the inner city was that everything was expensive.
Two items of similar quality could cost half as much more in the inner city than in the outer city.
Some items even had an extra zero tacked on!
As for the various people walking in the inner city, their clothes were easily distinguishable from those of the outer city residents.
Almost everyone wore Spiritual Garments overflowing with spirit energy.
Compared to them, Hua Jian looked like a beggar who had slipped in from outside.
Well, to be honest, many inner city residents did look at Hua Jian as if she were a beggar.
Their gazes seemed to say, “Who dares to come begging in our inner city? Look at what you’re wearing.”
Sigh, that damn sense of superiority.
“If I know myself, we’ll probably run into a nasty villain soon, warning us that this is no place for lowlifes like us.”
While casting glances at the various buildings along the street, Hua Jian said to Xia Hui beside her.
Xia Hui didn’t respond, but Hua Xinrui offered a different opinion.
“I don’t think so, Miss Hua Jian. You are a cultivator at the Ling Wang Realm. Such strength is enough to allow you to walk in the inner city.”
In this world, the Ling Wang Realm was already considered a fairly powerful level.
Even though in Hua Jian’s experience, Ling Emperors and Ling Wangs seemed to be everywhere, that was only because her social circle was the highest tier.
Originally, she was just a nobody, but she managed to make a good friend like Linglong.
That catapulted her into the most elite circle of geniuses.
Everyone in this circle was a genius from the Saint Sect or Demonic Sect.
Mixing in that crowd, for Hua Jian, Ling Emperors were everywhere and Ling Wangs were beneath notice.
But in reality, even in a major northern city like Frozen Winter City, Ling Wang cultivators were the backbone of combat strength.
Ling Emperors were high-level figures that ordinary people could hardly come into contact with.
So, with her strength at the Ling Wang Realm, Hua Jian had no problem walking in the inner city.
“You have a point. Then I’ll suppress my aura and pretend to be an ordinary person…”
“Miss, do you really have to?”
Watching Hua Jian actually start to suppress her aura, Hua Xinrui strained to keep her expression under control.
She felt like Hua Jian was anticipating that kind of scenario.
“You are the Saintess of Wanhuagu. There’s no need for such small tricks, right?”
“Otherwise it’s too boring. I’m the Wanhua Saintess anyway. What’s wrong with doing a little evil?”
Hua Jian indicated that this was nothing. Was she, the Wanhua Saintess, supposed to do good deeds?
“Playing the Fool” was a delicacy that must be tasted in otherworld novels.
Hua Jian was looking forward to the day when she would meet some blind, arrogant young master, and then she would reveal her identity and slap his face hard.
“The plot is cheesy, but it feels amazing, right?”
Just as Hua Jian was thinking this, her ears caught the sound of hurried footsteps.
She looked up and saw a flamboyantly dressed teenager running toward her like a fugitive, shouting, “Move aside, move aside.”
Hua Jian stood still. When the teenager saw Hua Jian’s reaction, he immediately slammed on the brakes and ducked into a nearby alley.
“You haven’t seen me! There will be a hefty reward!”
His voice lingered in the air.
Hua Jian shot Hua Xinrui a smug expression that said, “See? Here comes the fun.” She knew she would run into something.
The teenager looked about fifteen or sixteen, with strength at the mid Spirit Master realm.
His talent was considered decent.
Similar to Hua Jian before she met Linglong… Oh, speaking of which, his talent seemed decent?
As Hua Jian was pondering, another set of hurried footsteps reached her ears.
This time, several cultivators at the Ling Wang Realm wearing uniforms ran over anxiously, clasped their fists at Hua Jian, and asked, “Have you three young ladies seen a fifteen or sixteen-year-old about this tall…?”
Oh, so that’s what the teenager meant. Without a moment’s hesitation, Hua Jian extended one finger.
“Ten Spirit Stones.”
“You want to know where your young master went? Fine, pay up!”
The guards’ expressions stiffened, but they didn’t hesitate.
They took out ten Spirit Stones and threw them to Hua Jian.
Hua Jian pocketed the stones, pointed at the alley the teenager had fled into, and said, “He ran this way, not long ago. If you hurry, you can still catch him.”
“Thanks!”
The guards all charged into the alley.
Meanwhile, Hua Jian tossed the newly acquired Spirit Stones in her hand with an expression of pure satisfaction.
“Miss Hua Jian!”
Hua Xinrui took a deep breath. Then Hua Jian hit her on the head with two Spirit Stones.
“Share and share alike. Besides, I’m not the Saintess right now, so there’s no shame in it.”
Catching the two Spirit Stones Hua Jian threw, Hua Xinrui’s cheeks puffed slightly.
She was at least a Ling Wang cultivator; she wouldn’t be lacking such a small amount as two Spirit Stones.
And Hua Jian obviously wouldn’t be lacking either. She felt that Hua Jian simply found this amusing and interesting.
Really…
“Is Miss Hua Jian wrong?”
Before she could finish her mental complaint, Hua Xinrui heard Xia Hui beside her ask back.
‘What do you mean “wrong”? Isn’t this wrong in every way?’
“Miss Hua Jian is the Saintess. How can the Saintess do such a thing?”
She looked at Xia Hui, wanting her to understand the seriousness of the matter.
‘Wait, why does Xia Hui have three Spirit Stones in her hand?’
Putting the three Spirit Stones Hua Jian had given her into her Storage Pouch, Xia Hui rebutted seriously, “But Miss Hua Jian is the Saintess of Wanhuagu. She should do evil things.”
Was the Wanhua Saintess supposed to do good deeds? Wouldn’t that make her a Saintess of the Right Path?
Of course Hua Xinrui knew that the Wanhua Saintess had to do evil, but the evil Hua Jian did was far too minor.
Just ten Spirit Stones, obtained by giving information. Wow, that was completely unfitting for the title of Saintess.
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Besides, isn’t Wanhuagu in the business of selling information? I’m just upholding our consistent style.”
Hua Jian stuffed five Spirit Stones into her pocket. That way, she had earned back the money she lost yesterday.
Hua Xinrui was completely speechless. She had to admit, that was indeed Wanhuagu’s consistent style.
There was really nothing wrong with what Hua Jian did. She couldn’t just give away information for free, could she?
“Come on, let’s keep looking around. Even though we can’t go to the palace, there are still some nice places nearby.”
During that little episode, Hua Jian had managed to spot a few decent shops and planned to check them out.
Among them were a tavern and shops selling Frozen Winter City specialties.
The three of them first enjoyed a meal with distinctive Frozen Winter City flavors at the tavern, spending all the Spirit Stones they had just earned and even adding some of their own.
But the taste of the food at the tavern matched the price, and there were no artificial enhancements.
Hua Jian was quite satisfied.
After lunch, they browsed a few nearby shops. Hua Jian picked out an Ice Lotus and bought it for fifty Spirit Stones.
This Ice Lotus was a specialty of the northern region and an ingredient for many alchemy pills.
Of course, Hua Jian didn’t buy it to refine into pills. She was charmed by its appearance and wanted to raise it.
In Wanhuagu, she couldn’t find a flower she liked to raise. Now that she was out, she could finally choose flowers according to her own wishes.
Raising flowers was her hobby!
“I didn’t expect it to be rooted in ice. Truly amazing…”
Holding the newly purchased Ice Lotus in her arms, Hua Jian murmured softly as she looked at the clear ice in the pot and the lotus roots clearly visible within the ice.
The Ice Lotus was not only rooted in ice; its appearance was also very similar to ice, presenting a translucent form.
Its roots, stems, leaves, and even petals were angular, as if carved from a single block of ice.
This unique appearance won Hua Jian’s heart deeply.
In the shop, she had almost taken a liking to this Ice Lotus at first glance, and then relied on her silver tongue to haggle the price from sixty Spirit Stones down to fifty.
It took her one minute to pick the lotus, but a full fifteen minutes to haggle. This left Hua Xinrui feeling speechless.
The Saintess’s stingy habit really needed to be changed, right?
It was fine now that she wasn’t showing her Saintess robe, but if she did this while wearing the Saintess attire in the future, Wanhuagu would be finished.
“Miss Hua Jian, you…”
“Stop right there!”
Hua Xinrui’s words were interrupted again. She turned around irritably and saw an angry white-haired teenager charging toward them.
‘Eh? Isn’t this the guy Hua Jian sold for ten Spirit Stones this morning? Why is he back?’
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