Su Wan’er took a deep breath.
“Master, this disciple will take you out of the city.”
She drew her long sword, its blade hovering horizontally in midair.
Lai Li’an stepped onto the flying sword, and Su Wan’er followed. The blade dipped slightly, then rose steadily.
He felt the wind whistling past his ears as he silently calculated the path ahead.
‘That old swindler Qian Fu had better have already run far away and not cross my path.’
‘Otherwise, I wouldn’t mind using that Immortal-Slaying Delusion-Breaking Talisman to make a Late Stage Qi Refining old man experience what despair really means.’
“Hey, wait a moment.”
Su Wan’er slowed the sword’s speed and turned to look at him.
“What is it, Master?”
“Let’s go buy a set of clothes first.”
Lai Li’an glanced down at the gray robe he was wearing, its cuffs frayed and worn. If he kept wearing this, he wouldn’t even qualify as a judge for the Alchemy Grand Assembly—he’d be shunned by the inn’s servants.
“Clothes?”
Su Wan’er also looked down at her own cloth dress, her ears tinging red. She nodded, turned the sword, and flew toward the busiest street in the market center.
The shop wasn’t large, but its entrance was clean and tastefully decorated. Lai Li’an pushed open the door, and a faint fragrance of incense wafted over him. The walls were lined with all kinds of ready-made garments, from plain gray-white Daoist robes to brocade long robes embroidered with subtle patterns—everything one could need.
The shopkeeper was a female cultivator in her forties, at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage. As soon as the two entered, she greeted them, her gaze sweeping over them quickly. A knowing smile curled at the corners of her mouth.
“Greetings, Fellow Daoists. Please, come in, come in! Are you looking at men’s or women’s clothing? Our shop has just received a batch of Cloud Brocade Daoist robes. They’re light and soft to wear, and spiritual power flows three parts more smoothly. There’s no other shop like this in all of Yunze Market.”
Lai Li’an scanned the price tags on the wall and silently gasped.
The cheapest plain Daoist robe cost eight Low-grade Spirit Stones. The few spirit stones in his pocket, after buying two sets of clothes, wouldn’t even cover a meal.
He kept his expression calm, casually picked a moon-white brocade robe for Su Wan’er, and pointed out a dark blue long robe for himself.
They each entered separate changing rooms. Lai Li’an changed quickly and walked out to stand before a bronze mirror.
In the mirror, the figure wore a dark blue long robe, cinched with a matching cloud-pattern belt, making him appear tall and straight as a pine.
He lifted his chin slightly.
‘This outfit really isn’t bad—at least I look like a proper senior now.’
Just then, the curtain of the adjacent changing room was pushed aside, and Su Wan’er stepped out.
She wore a moon-white fitted long dress, with silver cloud patterns embroidered on the cuffs and collar. A thin silver chain was tied around her waist, with a small jade button pendant at the end. Her long hair fell to her shoulders, making her already exquisitely beautiful face appear even more radiant as jade.
Lai Li’an’s gaze paused for a moment, then he calmly looked away.
The shopkeeper came out from behind the counter, her eyes shifting between the two. A knowing smile spread across her face.
“Oh my, the two of you standing together are truly a perfect match! A talented man and a beautiful woman—a pair of jade. In my twenty years running this Yunshang Workshop, I’ve never seen such a compatible Dao couple!”
Su Wan’er’s ears burned red instantly, the flush spreading from her earlobes down to her neck. She hurriedly waved her hands, speaking rapidly,
“No, no, no, Shopkeeper, you’ve misunderstood! We’re master and disciple! He’s my Master, not, not a Dao partner!”
The shopkeeper blinked and smiled even more deeply.
“Master and disciple? Ah, good, good. Master and disciple is fine too.”
Lai Li’an ignored the shopkeeper’s teasing. The two outfits weren’t cheap—together they cost thirty-six Low-grade Spirit Stones. He had very little left in his pocket.
‘I should have shamelessly borrowed more from Meng Qiuran back in the Public Trial Hall. Since he already lent five thousand, another one or two hundred wouldn’t have hurt.’
As he inwardly winced, he suddenly noticed Su Wan’er had gone quiet.
Lai Li’an looked up and saw her staring toward the back of the shop. Following her gaze, he saw the curtain of another changing room being pushed aside, and a handsome man walked out.
The man appeared to be about twenty-five or twenty-six, with a handsome, bright face. He wore a brand-new silver-gray brocade robe made of high-quality Ice Silkworm Silk, with a jade belt around his waist. He looked like a direct disciple of some major sect.
Su Wan’er was somewhat stunned. Lai Li’an also looked over, and no sooner had he done so than the System Panel popped up almost instantly.
[Target: Qian Fu]
[Cultivation: Late Stage Qi Refining]
[Spirit Root: Low-grade Earth Spirit Root]
Lai Li’an stared at those lines for two seconds, his eyelids twitching violently.
‘Qian Fu? That stooped, wrinkled, sunken-eyed, gaunt little old man? This is the same person as the jade-faced brocade-clad young master in front of me?’
‘This old swindler even knows the Disguise Art. No wonder he kept scamming people in Yunze Market for three years without getting caught. If this face stood on the street, who would think he’s a fraud? Even the people he cheated would walk right past him without recognizing him.’
A dangerous smile slowly crept onto the corner of Lai Li’an’s lips.
‘Too bad, too bad. No matter how sophisticated the old swindler’s disguise art is, it can’t escape the mirror-revealing demon nature of the System Panel. And as luck would have it—he ran right into me.’
“Wan’er.”
Lai Li’an’s voice was low.
Su Wan’er snapped back to reality and turned to look at her Master. She saw a smile on his lips that she had never seen before, a smile that inexplicably sent a chill down her spine.
“Hit him.”
Su Wan’er was stunned. Her Master was telling her… to hit someone?
She subconsciously glanced at the handsome man again, then quickly averted her gaze back to her Master’s face.
Her Master’s expression didn’t look like he was joking. But her Master never attacked anyone without reason. Why would he suddenly tell her to hit a stranger?
Could it be… her Master was jealous?
Su Wan’er’s gaze lingered on her Master’s face for a moment. His features were clean and dignified, with a gentle scholarly air between his brows. In terms of looks alone, he was actually no less handsome than that brocade-clad young master—just different in temperament.
Her Master was the kind of subdued, restrained handsomeness, while that young master was the flamboyant, extroverted kind.
‘I didn’t expect my Master to get jealous too.’
Su Wan’er’s small face flushed slightly, a wave of sweetness swelling in her heart.
“Wan’er, hit him.”
Lai Li’an urged again when he saw she hadn’t reacted.
Su Wan’er hurriedly collected her thoughts, took a deep breath, and in a flash, she was in front of Qian Fu.
Qian Fu was adjusting his newly bought belt when he felt someone approach. He looked up, and before he could react, a plain white palm had already struck his chest.
Su Wan’er had held back most of her strength, using less than thirty percent of her power. But a Foundation Establishment Peak cultivator against a Late Stage Qi Refining one—thirty percent was more than enough to send Qian Fu flying backward, crashing heavily into the wall behind him. He slid down the wall, coming to rest in a seated position, a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth.
The shop erupted into chaos.
“What’s going on? Why did she suddenly hit someone?”
A middle-aged female cultivator who had been choosing fabric put down the satin, frowning as she looked over.
“In broad daylight, is there no law anymore?”
An old man leaning on a cane muttered indignantly beside her.
Qian Fu slumped against the wall, his right hand clutching his chest. The handsome face he wore now looked particularly pitiable.
He lifted his head with difficulty, sweeping his gaze over the surrounding customers, and spoke in a hoarse voice,
“Fellow Daoist… I have never met you. I don’t know how I offended you. Why did you strike such a heavy blow?”
As he spoke, he coughed twice, more blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. He looked as pitiful as could be.
Several female cultivators immediately stepped forward, shielding Qian Fu.
At the forefront was a Foundation Establishment Midstage female cultivator in red robes. Hands on her hips, she glared at Su Wan’er.
“Young lady, you’re utterly unreasonable! Did this young master provoke you in any way? You attacked without a word. Which sect are you from? How did your master teach you?”
“Pretty face, but such a cruel heart!”
Another female cultivator in blue joined in, her gaze raking over Su Wan’er’s face with a sour tone.
“Are you so unreasonable in the cultivation world? You hit someone just because he’s handsome?”
Bombarded with accusations, Su Wan’er opened her mouth to explain but found she didn’t know how to begin. She couldn’t just say, “My Master told me to hit him.”
She could only bite her lip, grip her sword hilt, and stand there awkwardly.
Just then, Lai Li’an stepped out from behind Su Wan’er.
He stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze calmly sweeping over the female cultivators blocking Qian Fu. When Qian Fu met that look, he inexplicably shivered but maintained his weak, pitiful expression.
“What is the meaning of this, sir?”
The red-robed female cultivator turned to Lai Li’an, sizing him up before sneering.
“So this is her Master—a Golden Core Stage senior—and this is how you teach your disciple? Assaulting people on the street for no reason? Bullying others just because you have higher cultivation?”
The old man with the cane also shook his head.
“The Enforcement Hall’s rules state that anyone who commits unprovoked assault in Yunze Market faces fines at the very least, and at worst, cultivation crippling. You two better think carefully.”
“Fine! Let the Enforcement Hall settle this today!” someone in the crowd shouted.
No sooner had the words left the speaker’s mouth than the Enforcement Hall disciples patrolling nearby heard the commotion and arrived.
The leading disciple swept his gaze over the scene. He was about to open his mouth to question them when he suddenly caught sight of Lai Li’an’s face.
He stopped mid-step, the killing intent draining from his face, replaced by an unmistakable nervousness.
He recognized that face. During the earlier pursuit, he had been standing right behind Li Xiuyuan. He had witnessed firsthand that earth-shattering Sword Intent, and he had personally seen Meng Qiuran casually pull out five thousand spirit stones for this man.
Chief Li had warned them privately: this man was not to be trifled with.
“Senior Lai.”
The disciple clasped his hands and bowed, his tone respectful.
“I did not know you were here, Senior. This junior was rude.”
The clamor in the shop fell silent in an instant. The female cultivators who had been scolding Su Wan’er exchanged glances, their eyes filled with disbelief.
The Enforcement Hall in Yunze Market had always been arrogant—when had they ever been this courteous to a Rogue Cultivator?
Lai Li’an nodded slightly, his tone as calm as usual.
“Go tell Li Xiuyuan that Qian Fu has been caught. Tell him to bring men to pick him up.”