She nodded without hesitation, waving her small hand as spiritual light flickered at her fingertips. “Sister Yuanjun, deal! 500 faith incense for you, and I’m taking this bamboo slip!”
Before she finished speaking, hundreds of fine, golden threads—gossamer-thin yet containing pure wish power—flowed from her fingertips and merged gracefully into Huang Hua’s open palm.
Huang Hua didn’t even bother to lift her eyelashes. With a casual sweep of her pale hand, the hundreds of golden threads converged like rivers returning to the sea, silently integrating into her body.
“Little one,” she said with a lazy smile playing on her lips.
She tapped the air lightly, and the bamboo slip containing the *Hidden Sword Art* turned into a streak of light, flying toward Lu Qiancha. “Is there anything else you want? Speak up, and I’ll give you a fair price.”
“Do you have any Talismans or magical artifacts that can save my life?” Lu Qiancha caught the bamboo slip and tucked it into her storage bag like a precious treasure, looking up with a serious expression.
As she thought about the potential crises hidden in Wanghai City and her own almost zero defensive capabilities, she felt a bit uneasy. ‘If I get ambushed by a demon, this small body of mine won’t last more than a few hits.’
“Life-saving items? I have plenty here.” Huang Hua waved her hand elegantly in front of her.
In an instant, a screen of light condensed from pure immortal radiance slowly unfurled in mid-air. Runes flowed across it, and a brilliant treasure light emanated from the display.
It was a dazzling array of defensive Faxi and glowing protective Talismans. Lu Qiancha’s little mouth hung open in wonder.
The wolf cub lay in front of the light screen, her blue eyes darting around as her little paws pointed here and there, muttering to herself as she compared the options.
After picking, choosing, and weighing her options, she finally pointed to one with a pained expression. “T-This one!” It was an ancient-looking shield priced at 6,000 faith incense.
“The *Black Tortoise Shield*.” Huang Hua glanced at it and nodded slightly. She tapped the screen, and the shield turned into a streak of earthy-yellow light, falling into Lu Qiancha’s hands.
It felt heavy. The surface was carved with mysterious tortoise shell patterns, exuding a thick, steady aura.
“The defensive power of this item is indeed excellent. It would be as difficult as reaching the heavens for anyone below the level of an Immortal to break it head-on.”
Then, her tone shifted as she pointed out the flaw.
“However, this thing is incredibly clunky. Moving it is exactly as the name suggests—as slow as a tortoise’s crawl. Furthermore, it can only protect the area directly in front of you. You won’t be able to cover your back or sides.”
“I’ll take it.” Lu Qiancha touched the heavy shield and tried to posture with it. The shield was even taller than she was.
She nodded in satisfaction. ‘If it’s this big, can’t I just hunker down and let it cover me completely? Wouldn’t that be a perfect defense?’ She focused again, golden light shining from her fingertips as 6,000 even more condensed threads of faith incense flew toward Huang Hua.
As the golden threads merged into Huang Hua’s palm, the goddess looked up at the wolf cub who was about to leave.
“Xiao Qiancha,” Huang Hua’s voice carried a hint of inquiry, “how is your Taiyin Fate coming along?”
Lu Qiancha paused, tilting her small head. Her blue eyes were filled with pure confusion.
“Xun Xue hasn’t taught you the method to nourish your fate?” Huang Hua’s eyebrows knitted slightly, a flicker of surprise crossing her eyes.
The wolf cub shook her head honestly, her tone innocent. “No.”
Huang Hua rubbed her brow, seemingly helpless.
She looked at the oblivious little thing in front of her and softened her voice to explain.
“Nourishing your fate isn’t difficult. You simply need to guide the faith incense that resonates with the stars into the corresponding destiny star within your divine soul. Spending more effort on this in the future will be of great benefit to you.”
“Mhm, mhm.” Lu Qiancha understood the gist of it and nodded obediently to show she had memorized the advice.
Immediately after, a flash of spiritual light enveloped her, and her figure vanished like a bubble in the cold Moon Palace, leaving behind only a room full of moonlight.
Huang Hua stared at the empty space, her fingers unconsciously stroking her cold sleeve. A nearly inaudible sigh escaped her lips. “Couldn’t you stay and sit with me a while longer…”
***
Tianyuan Sect, small courtyard.
Their luggage had long been packed, and two days had passed in a flash.
“Senior Brother.” In the faint morning light, Gantang’s clear voice rang outside the door, filled with excitement and urgency. “We’re set to leave for Wanghai City today. We need to head to the main peak to gather.”
“Coming, coming—”
Lu Qiancha slowly pushed open the door. The morning light outlined her slender figure, and her voice still carried the lingering laziness of sleep. “What’s the rush? We don’t leave until noon. It’s not too late to eat first.”
“That’s true…” Gantang scratched her head and asked, “What do you want to eat? I’ll go to the mountain’s fang market and buy it for you.”
“Buy what?” Lu Qiancha gave her an annoyed look and walked straight toward the kitchen in the corner of the small courtyard. “I’m cooking today. Speak up: buns, noodles, or dumplings?”
“Dumplings!” Gantang’s eyes lit up, and she quickly followed.
She couldn’t help but ask curiously, “What made you want to cook personally, Senior Brother? I remember the last time you took the helm in the kitchen was during the New Year.”
Lu Qiancha paused for a moment, lightly tapping the side of Gantang’s shoe with her toe as she rolled her eyes.
“Aside from the holidays, when else do I have this kind of free time? We should have a good meal now, so we don’t spend the whole time in Wanghai City missing home because we can’t stomach the local food.”
“True…” Gantang smiled so widely her eyes curved into crescents. “Then I’ll help you.”
“Mhm.”
Inside the kitchen, the scent of cooking fire began to rise.
Lu Qiancha skillfully stepped onto a small stool, standing on her tiptoes to add water to the large pot and light the stove. The orange flames licked the bottom of the pot, reflecting off her small face.
On the other side, Gantang had already rolled up her sleeves and was kneading a smooth ball of dough on the cutting board.
The two of them worked in harmony.
Gantang rolled the wrappers with swift movements, the round dumpling skins spinning into shape under her hands. Lu Qiancha was responsible for filling and sealing them.
With her head lowered, she was exceptionally focused. Her nimble fingers pleated the edges of the plump dumplings, lining them up on the board like rows of gold ingots.
Gantang glanced sideways at the small figure, momentarily lost in thought.
At this moment, the wolf cub was quietly wrapping dumplings, radiating a gentle seriousness.
Seeing this, a scene suddenly popped into Gantang’s mind—she had finished a day of cultivation and pushed open the door to see a blue wolf-girl wearing an apron, smiling as she said: ‘Husband, welcome home. Dinner is ready. Would you like to eat first, or… eat me?’
“Junior Sister, Junior Sister, why are you spacing out?”
A soft voice rang in Gantang’s ear.
“I want to eat you first.”
Gantang hadn’t snapped out of it yet as she spoke to the wolf cub in front of her.
Lu Qiancha blinked. “?”
“Eat your head!”
Lu Qiancha reached her limit and delivered a flying kick to Gantang’s clothes, leaving a small footprint.
“Wooo… Senior Brother, I’m sorry.”
Gantang aggrievedly patted the footprint on her clothes, then turned her head back to continue rolling the dough.
Once the dumplings were ready, the two of them sat around the table to eat before heading to the main peak.