Lu Qiancha rubbed the root of her ear in frustration and sighed. Her junior sister had grown up and was no longer easy to coax. She helplessly asked, “So… what kind of compensation do you want?”
“I went down the mountain and ordered a bunch of little dresses beforehand…”
Gan Tang’s eyes, which were originally filled with accusation, suddenly ignited with an intense, burning light. A satisfied smile quietly curved at the corner of her lips.
“Senior Brother, could you help me try them on?”
“…Junior Sister.”
Lu Qiancha gazed at Gan Tang quietly. “Since these are your clothes, they probably won’t fit me, right?”
“Ah… I accidentally ordered them a bit too small back then. They should fit Senior Brother perfectly.”
Gan Tang turned her head guiltily, not daring to meet Lu Qiancha’s gaze.
Lu Qiancha stared at Gan Tang for a long moment, then finally sighed. How could the size be accidentally too small? She was too lazy to expose her foolish junior sister’s clumsy excuse.
“Trying them on is fine, but I have to change by myself.”
“You agreed, Senior Brother?!”
Gan Tang’s face lit up with joy, and she nodded rapidly like a little chick pecking at rice. “No problem, Senior Brother, you put them on yourself, and I’ll just watch.”
“…When I’m changing, you stay obediently in the front hall.”
Lu Qiancha said expressionlessly.
Gan Tang looked a bit disappointed, but she quickly perked up and handed the storage bag containing the clothes to Lu Qiancha.
Then, she said solemnly, “Senior Brother, take care!”
“Take care, my foot! I’m not going off to war.”
Lu Qiancha scratched Gan Tang’s head without any mercy, then turned and walked toward the folding screen.
Her spiritual awareness probed into the storage bag, and her eyes immediately fell on a crimson qipao edged with gold thread, the slit dangerously high…
Next to it, surprisingly folded, was a classic pink-and-white sailor suit for children, with a blue sailor collar and delicate white lace trimming the skirt?!
“Phew—” Lu Qiancha instinctively gasped and took an involuntary half step back.
Why was there a qipao? And why a sailor suit?
Was there still a native population in this cultivation world?
Lu Qiancha’s spiritual awareness lingered for a moment over those either intricately hollowed or stingily sparing fabric clothes, and finally, with resignation, settled back on the sailor suit.
At least the skirt’s hem… looked the longest.
Lu Qiancha quickly stripped off her own clothes. Her small wolf claws were already quite practiced.
Though still less nimble than fingers, her experience in changing clothes greatly improved her efficiency.
In less than five minutes, she had wrapped the pink-and-white sailor suit around herself.
As soon as she finished dressing, a chill came uninvited.
The light blouse barely covered her stomach, and the little skirt felt drafty all around.
The late autumn chill snaked into her sleeves, collar, and the gaps under the skirt. Suitable for summer, but not so much for autumn—definitely chilly, Lu Qiancha concluded.
Just as she stepped out from behind the folding screen—
“Wow!”
A pink-and-blue figure dashed forward like lightning. Gan Tang’s eyes sparkled with delight. “So cute!” she sang out, dragging the last word into a playful trill.
“The size’s too small.”
Lu Qiancha reached out her claws and pointed at the faintly exposed little belly.
“Uh… well…”
Gan Tang scratched her head guiltily, her pink braids skewed to one side. “I didn’t get measured properly, so the tailor just made it roughly based on the sizes I gave…” she explained evasively.
Her gaze then couldn’t help but stick to Lu Qiancha as she tentatively asked, “How about, Senior Brother, you take it off and give it to me? I’ll have it altered?”
“No need for the trouble.”
Lu Qiancha’s refusal was firm. It was just a bit short; it wasn’t unwearable.
With that, Lu Qiancha’s spiritual energy swirled, the Illusion Technique flared briefly.
The familiar blue-haired little wolf disappeared without a trace, and Lu Qiancha’s true form, a refined young man, reappeared.
He strode like the wind, not even glancing back as he headed toward the closed door.
“Senior Brother, take care!”
Gan Tang’s voice floated joyfully from behind.
“Hm, focus on your cultivation. I’ll bring you some sweet cakes later.”
Lu Qiancha’s steps paused slightly at the door, then without turning back, he tossed out that promise.
Immediately, he transformed into a streak of light and flew down the mountain.
After buying sweet cakes for Gan Tang, Lu Qiancha rode the clouds and flew toward more distant Guodu and market towns.
He didn’t expect to find the Illusion Stone, but first, he wanted to gather all the necessary materials.
His footsteps covered dozens of shops, and he attended four or five fixed events essential in the cultivation world—auctions.
The spirit stones in his pouch vanished like flowing water.
Finally, Lu Qiancha managed to collect all the auxiliary materials.
But the Illusion Stone still showed no sign.
Standing on the eaves of a city, Lu Qiancha sighed softly. The cold wind stirred the hem of his disguised robe. Maybe it was time to find an opportunity to visit the demon clan’s territory.
Cold.
Just then, a soft, icy snowflake twirled silently and landed on his palm. It melted instantly into a faint wetness.
“It’s snowing…”
He whispered to himself. It was already winter. The new year was approaching.
Time flew like the melting snow in his palm. More than half a year had quietly passed since that fateful sect mission.
Many things had changed. He had become the Mountain God of Taoyuan Village, gained a new identity, new family…
Yet somehow, nothing had changed. His master was still well, his junior sister still lively.
He shook his head, casting off the untimely reverie.
Clouds gathered beneath his feet. Amid the astonished and admiring gazes of ordinary people, a streak of light tore through the falling snow and sped toward the direction of Tianyuan Sect.
***
Tianyuan Sect, Tianquan Peak, beneath the corridor.
“Phew~”
Gan Tang wrapped herself in a thick woolen jacket and exhaled a large cloud of white mist onto the red clay stove.
She gazed at the freshly accumulating, soft white snow in the small courtyard, her delicate face filled with sorrow that clashed starkly with the serene snowy scene.
Another sigh escaped her lips as her pink eyebrows furrowed into small hills. “Why isn’t Senior Brother back yet…”
“If he doesn’t come back soon…”
Her eyes cast a mournful glare toward the ever-thickening snow outside the corridor. Her voice wilted, “With such heavy snow… does that mean I have to sweep it all alone?!”
“Cough…”
A clear, gentle cough suddenly came from around the corner of the corridor.
Gan Tang shivered all over and whipped her head around.
When her eyes met the familiar figure leaning against the corridor pillar, dusted lightly with snow, her pink eyes instantly exploded with a radiant glow of joy. “Senior Brother, you’re back!”
“Hm.”
Lu Qiancha stepped into the corridor, shaking the remaining snow off his cloak. His refined face remained as calm and indifferent as ever.
His gaze swept over Gan Tang, and at the corner of his mouth, a barely perceptible smile tugged upward. “I’m back.”
He paused, then calmly added, “To help you sweep the snow.”