Xue Mingyuan raised his hand to touch the mask on his face, frowning as he said, "If I change masks, won't that cost more spirit stones?"
He couldn't open Xue Chenjing's storage pouch, and all the spirit stones they had brought in were paid for by Yu Yi.
Yu Yi was taking out spirit stones as she said, "If you want to change..."
Before she could finish, Xue Mingyuan waved his hand and said, "You'll probably need a lot of money for the sword tempering materials. Don't waste spirit stones on trivial things like this."
He took a black robe from the wall and put it on, then pulled up the hood to cover his rabbit ears. "Is this better?"
The hood covered almost half of his face, even shielding his eyes. Yu Yi asked, "The view inside the Unmasked Tower is beautiful. Won't it be difficult for you to see like that?"
Xue Mingyuan lifted the brim of his hood slightly and blinked, saying, "It's fine, I'll peek secretly."
When he lowered his head, the tips of his rabbit ears peeked out a bit from under the hood. Yu Yi's gaze couldn't help but drift to the long, snow-white ears hanging by his cheeks.
Xue Mingyuan's eyes were filled with mirth as he obediently lowered his head further. "If you want to touch them, do it quickly. You probably won't have the chance once we go out."
Yu Yi was tempted by his words and reached out to carefully touch the tips of the rabbit ears peeking out.
The gentle caress on the ear tips transformed into an unbearable tickling sensation that burrowed into his ear. Xue Mingyuan's scalp tingled, and he half-closed one eye from her touch. His breathing quickened involuntarily, and Yu Yi, feeling his breath on her wrist, hurriedly withdrew her hand.
Embarrassed by his unexpected reaction, Xue Mingyuan's red eyes seemed to grow even redder as he said softly, "I didn't expect these illusory ears to have sensation. I'm sorry."
"Rabbit ears are naturally sensitive," Yu Yi said, rubbing her wrist and chuckling. "Why do you keep apologizing?"
Xue Mingyuan tucked his rabbit ears back into the hood, realizing that he did seem to apologize often. He smiled wryly and said politely, "I'm afraid of offending you, miss."
He was so different from Xue Chenjing. Even if Xue Chenjing stepped on your face, he might not apologize unless he saw some benefit in it. Then he'd be quick to kneel, without an ounce of integrity.
If it were Xue Chenjing, for the sake of gaining favor, he would probably shamelessly push his ears into her palm by now. He might even blush and whimper deliberately, trying to tempt her by asking, "Master, do you want to touch my tail too? My tail feels nice to touch, do you want to?"
It was amazing how two completely opposite personalities could exist in one body.
Yu Yi stared at Xue Mingyuan's face, suddenly reminded of Xue Chenjing. She shook her head, banishing thoughts of that scoundrel from her mind. She turned and put on a black robe as well, and the two of them stepped into the Unmasked Tower.
The small dark room behind them disappeared, and they found themselves on a bustling main street. Xue Mingyuan looked at the dazzling lights that resembled swimming dragons and asked in surprise, "Is it night here?"
"There's no daytime in the Unmasked Tower, only night. That's why every market here is a night market," Yu Yi explained, looking up at the tiered pavilions built against the mountain.
Lanterns hung from the eaves and treetops as densely as stars. A lit lantern represented an open stall.
Xue Mingyuan gently pulled his robe closer, murmuring thoughtfully, "Eternal night, huh?"
Yu Yi didn't catch what he said and turned her head, asking curiously, "Hmm? What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Xue Mingyuan said, a smile tugging at his lips. "The lights here are beautiful."
"They really are. I've heard that many cultivators come here just to see the lights, not to trade."
When Yu Yi first came here, she too was captivated by the magnificent play of light and shadow. It reminded her of the light shows in the city before she transmigrated into this book.
This unexpected pang of homesickness was sharp, like a needle stirring up suppressed emotions in her heart.
But she was also very clear-headed, knowing that her chances of returning were extremely slim. So she deliberately buried those memories, not allowing herself to be trapped in the past, in order to live well in the present.
Especially after Yu Yi learned that she was the female protagonist of a transmigration novel, everything from before seemed as intangible as flowers in a mirror or the moon's reflection in water, even more out of reach.
Xue Mingyuan noticed the silence of the person beside him and took the initiative to ask, "Where should we go now?"
Yu Yi came back to her senses, once again burying her emotions, and said, "I need to find materials for tempering swords. You don't have to follow me, you can walk around and enjoy the lights here."
Xue Mingyuan hesitated and said, "But I want to stay with you. Will that cause you trouble?"
Yu Yi didn't seem to mind and said, "It's no trouble, but I'm afraid you'll be bored."
Xue Mingyuan let out a sigh of relief and smiled, saying, "I don't think I could ever be bored when I'm with you."
This statement sounded somewhat ambiguous, and Yu Yi turned back to look at him in surprise. But under the slightly lifted hood, she saw only sincerity and openness in his eyes as he met her gaze, without a trace of impropriety.
It made her feel as if she had overthought things.
Yu Yi turned her head, looked left and right, and started walking to the right. "Let's go then."
Every market in the Unmasked Tower was incredibly lively, with crowds surging from the moment it opened until it closed.
The land market was different from the sea market. The sea market only opened for one month at the end of each year, while the land market was open year-round. Cultivators from all over came here, whether to buy or sell.
The Unmasked Tower had permanent shops, but there were even more temporary stalls that came and went like flowing water.
The items in the shops were certainly more standardized and had clearer pricing, but if one knew how to bargain, they could find good quality items from the temporary stalls on the street. Some were even better than what was in the shops and at lower prices.
Yu Yi planned to spend the entire day here collecting materials needed for sword tempering, so she wasn't in a hurry to enter the shops. She decided to start by looking through the stalls that were gradually setting up along the street.
She scanned the stalls as she walked, with Xue Mingyuan obediently following behind her, occasionally lifting his head to peek from under his hood at the interesting things along the way.
When Yu Yi squatted in front of a stall to haggle with the vendor, Xue Mingyuan stood quietly to the side.
At these times, he didn't look at the scenery but focused intently on watching Yu Yi go back and forth with the vendor.
"This white rock doesn't look very pure. It might look like a big piece, but after refining, there won't be much left, right?" Yu Yi said, pointing at a piece of white rock needed for sword melting and examining it repeatedly.
The vendor snorted, "What are you talking about? This is top-grade white rock. You can check it yourself with some spiritual energy. It has a fire core inside. If you buy this kind of white rock with a fire core from a shop, it would cost you at least a thousand spirit stones. I'm only asking for eight hundred, which is very cheap."
He sure could boast. Did he think she hadn't been to the shops before?
Yu Yi did as he suggested and infused a bit of spiritual energy, carefully examining the white rock. She said, "Judging by the size of the fire core, this white rock can barely be considered top-grade. It's worth three hundred spirit stones at most."
The vendor stood his ground, "Three hundred spirit stones? You might as well rob me. I won't sell for less than five hundred."
Yu Yi withdrew her hand and stood up decisively. "Fine, there are plenty of people selling rocks today. I'm sure I can find better quality than yours."
Seeing that she was really about to leave, the vendor hurriedly waved to call her back, "Wait, cultivator! It's the start of business today, let's consider this a lucky first sale. Four hundred spirit stones!"
Yu Yi paused slightly, "Three hundred and twenty."
The vendor stroked his chin, conflicted for a moment before painfully conceding, as if cutting his own flesh, "Three hundred and eighty."
Yu Yi smiled, "Going back and forth like this is just wasting time. Why don't we both compromise? Final offer, three hundred and fifty. I won't buy it for even one spirit stone more."
"You really don't let me make any extra profit, do you?" The vendor sighed and waved his hand. "Alright, alright. Since you're my first customer today, I'll sell it to you."
Yu Yi immediately beamed with joy, her lively eyes curved like crescent moons, the light in them even more beautiful than the crystal lamps hanging from the treetops. Xue Mingyuan quietly observed her expression, unconsciously infected by her happy mood, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
When she successfully haggled for something she wanted, joy would visibly color her eyes and brows. Sometimes, when the vendor was craftier than her and she realized she had overpaid, she would show a hint of frustration.
Xue Mingyuan followed behind her past many stalls. In the end, the person in front of him became more captivating to his gaze than the lights along the street.
The next time she spotted something she liked, Xue Mingyuan took the initiative: "May I try bargaining for you?"
"Of course," Yu Yi nodded towards the ice spirit water at the stall opposite them. It was used for cooling during sword tempering. The water was crystal clear, with a layer of frost condensed on the container, looking to be of good quality. "First, set a price range for it in your mind."
Xue Mingyuan carefully observed the bottle of ice spirit water and pondered, "Between 800 and 1000?"
Yu Yi gave him an appreciative look, "You're quite good. Not bad at all. Then please go ahead and bring it back for me."
Xue Mingyuan hesitated, "I can't do it alone."
Yu Yi looked at the bottle of ice spirit water again. To ensure they secured it, she went along with him. The two cooperated seamlessly, playing off each other until the vendor was bewildered. In the end, they managed to get the bottle for even less than 800.
After the transaction was complete, Yu Yi took the ice spirit water. Before the vendor could come to his senses, she grabbed Xue Mingyuan's wrist and quickly ran into the crowd. When they heard the vendor's belated shout, they ran even faster, disappearing in the blink of an eye, leaving the vendor to sit back down and pound his head in regret.
They ran into the next street, hiding in the shadow of a green tree. They looked at each other and burst out laughing.
Crane Senior Brother had been sleeping soundly in the pouch, but was jostled awake. He poked out his little head and complained with a squawk. Yu Yi had to go buy some dried meat to stuff his mouth.
Xue Mingyuan sat on a bench under the tree waiting. The system happily popped up a strategy tutorial, and he cooperatively raised his hand, his fingertips dancing on the light screen, ticking off a series of checkmarks.
The system retracted the panel, praised Xue Mingyuan a few times, then fell silent again.
When it came to completing strategy tasks, Xue Mingyuan didn't need the system's worry at all. Moreover, unlike Xue Chenjing, the system could hardly capture any of his thoughts, so it couldn't find topics to chatter about frequently.
System: For some reason, it really feels a bit lonely.
Xue Mingyuan tilted his head back, looking from the brilliant lights to the night sky above. Because the ground lights were so bright, the sky appeared deep and starless.
This small world was an eternal night secret realm.
Xue Mingyuan lowered his head, his vision beginning to blur. The brilliant lights blended into fuzzy spots in his eyes. A figure walked through the halo of light, saying, "While buying dried meat for the little bird, I also bought some other snacks. Try some."
Xue Mingyuan tried hard to raise his hand, but his fingertips only twitched slightly. His body was starting to slip from his control.
He blinked one last time, wanting to see her face once more, but the light in his vision was already growing weaker.
— I'm sorry, I won't be able to taste them.
Yu Yi waited for a moment, seeing no response from him. She stepped closer, holding out the snacks in her hands. "Do you want to eat?"
The seated person suddenly raised his hand, gripping her wrist. He abruptly lifted his head, the hood sliding off to reveal an alert and frightened face.
Yu Yi was stunned for a moment, the snacks in her hand scattering on the ground.
Xue Chenjing's eyes were filled with deep terror. He quickly scanned the surroundings, finally returning to the face before him.
After confirming there was no threat on all sides, that he wasn't in a desperate situation, and that the person in front of him was Yu Yi, the fear and vigilance overflowing in Xue Chenjing's eyes dissipated. He blinked, his tense body relaxing.
A rich milky fragrance wafted to his nose. He lowered his gaze to the single ice milk cake left in Yu Yi's hand - ice shavings frozen with milk, drizzled with flower honey. He leaned forward and licked it from her hand, happily narrowing his eyes. "So cold, so sweet."
After speaking, he took two more bites from her hand.
Yu Yi only reacted when his tongue touched her fingertips. She stuffed the milk cake into his hand and withdrew her own.
Xue Chenjing held the milk cake, licking his lips. Suddenly, he realized something. He looked at the ice milk cake in his hand, then at Yu Yi, then back at the cake. His fingers suddenly tightened, crushing the cake box in his hand.
"Was this for him? Were you feeding it to him? You didn't mean to give it to me?" Xue Chenjing raged, standing up abruptly.
Yu Yi stepped back warily, glancing at the people around them. She warned him, "Don't go crazy here."
The ice milk cake in Xue Chenjing's hand had melted. Milk and flower honey flowed over the bulging veins on the back of his hand, dripping down. He was breathing heavily and urgently, turning in circles on the spot before looking up at her.
The young man's jawline was tense, the two rabbit ears on his head almost standing up in anger. His eyes were red from holding back, and with those red irises, he was purely an agitated rabbit ready to jump up and bite.
He pressed her repeatedly, "You've never fed me before, but you fed him! Do you like him? Do you like him too?"
Yu Yi corrected him, "I wasn't trying to feed him, I was just handing it to him."
Who could have expected Xue Chenjing to appear at this moment, grab her hand, and lean in to eat a few bites himself?
Xue Chenjing stomped on the snacks on the ground. "You've never bought these for me before, but now you bought them for him."
"I just bought them while getting dried meat for Crane Senior Brother," Yu Yi frowned as she watched him jumping around. He seemed so lively, his injuries must have fully healed. "Now that you're here, they're for you."
Crane Senior Brother poked his little head out of the pouch, a piece of dried meat still in his beak, curiously looking them over.
Xue Chenjing paused in his stomping, asking suspiciously, "Really? If it were me, would you buy them for me too?"
Yu Yi placated him, gesturing to the trampled snacks on the ground, "Yes, those were all for you."
Xue Chenjing silently looked at the ground for a long while before finally letting out a sigh, deflating like a punctured balloon. He said softly, "Master, will you go buy another set? I still want to eat."
Yu Yi stuffed Crane Senior Brother's head back into the pouch. "I'm out of money. I don't want to buy more."
"I have money, I'll give you money," Xue Chenjing said, reaching to take out his spirit stones. He first pulled out a piece of paper from his sleeve. When unfolded, it contained information left by Xue Mingyuan.
It detailed the compensation fee for damaging the inn room and the breakfast bill owed, as well as the spirit stones Yu Yi had helped pay when they entered this place. Everything was recorded in detail, reminding him to repay later.
Xue Chenjing scanned it quickly, his fingertips twitching slightly as he ground the paper to dust.
— Xue Mingyuan, he'll never come out again in this lifetime!
He licked the remnants of milk cake from his fingers, crouched down to pick up a broken piece of chestnut pastry, and said pitifully, "Master, are you really not buying for me anymore?"
Yu Yi: "..." I don't believe you'll actually eat off the ground.
A moment later, Yu Yi surrendered, "I'll buy for you."
At this time, in the highest building of the Unmasked Tower, Shen Qingzhi and Pei Jingchao were sitting together, drinking.
On the right side of this building was a garden room surrounded by a barrier.
Inside bloomed brilliant red flowers. Among the red flowers, ice-blue butterflies adorned with dewdrop-like tails danced gracefully. These were the Demon-Eating Butterflies used to search for demons the night before. Because they couldn't stand sunlight and only lived at night, they had another more beautiful name - Eternal Night Butterflies.
Shen Qingzhi looked at his beautiful little butterflies, his face full of smiles. Then he turned to see his friend's worried expression and sighed, "Sigui, I've set aside official business to drink with you here, and you give me such a sour face?"
Pei Jingchao had been gazing at the prosperous market street below. Hearing this, he withdrew his gaze and frowned, "Those two entered here today."
"Who?" Shen Qingzhi asked, then understood who he meant. He said helplessly, "You're still suspicious of that person?"
"Xue Chenjing." Pei Jingchao nodded. "He's very strange. I saw him twice last night - first at the mortal night market, then again at the inn just two or three hours later."
Shen Qingzhi took a small sip of wine and nodded for him to continue.
"Having seen him twice in a short period, he gave me completely different impressions. Whether it was his demeanor, tone, or body language, it was as if he had become an entirely different person," Pei Jingchao turned to look at the butterfly beside him. "He must have used some method of deception to evade detection last night."
Shen Qingzhi feigned anger and said, "It seems Sigui has been eyeing my butterfly all along, rather than wanting to drink with me."
Pei Jingchao lowered his head in apology, picked up his wine cup and drank three cups as self-punishment before saying, "I'm sure Senior Brother Shen, like me, doesn't want to see any demonic creatures infiltrating the Unmasked Tower."
The Unmasked Tower was located in Yinzhou City, which was under the jurisdiction of Zhaohua Palace. The largest stakeholder behind this Unmasked Tower was Zhaohua Palace, and the other twelve immortal sects also had shops established within the tower.
Pei Jingchao hadn't returned to Mount Li for two reasons: first, to investigate who destroyed the Weapon Tempering Platform, and second, to retrieve the part of the spirit swords that had leaked from the Sword-Sealing Stone.
Although he knew that Yu Yi and her companion had entered this place, he didn't know what form they had taken after entering. The Unmasked Tower had survived until now and attracted many cultivators to come and trade, all because of the twenty screen walls outside the tower that could conceal one's appearance.
The contract inscriptions on the screen walls had been verified by heaven and earth. Even they, the immortal sects behind the scenes, couldn't violate them.
But once inside the Unmasked Tower, after conducting trades and transactions, if they wanted to investigate closely, they could still find some clues.
Pei Jingchao had earlier sent people to keep an eye on Xue Chenjing, while he personally watched Yu Yi. He knew she had entered the Unmasked Tower today to purchase sword tempering materials, so he had placed lookouts on several streets.
Finding them might be a bit difficult, but not impossible.
"Does Senior Brother Shen want to test them again?" Pei Jingchao pulled out a communication talisman from his sleeve. This was information sent back by the lookouts he had deployed earlier; they had already found the people.
Shen Qingzhi glanced at the communication talisman between his fingers and asked with great interest, "How do you propose to test? If he had a way to avoid the Eternal Night Butterfly once, he naturally can avoid it a second time."
"Force him to take action," Pei Jingchao said casually. "He's just a Foundation Establishment cultivator. If he accidentally gets caught up in a conflict, it would be difficult for him to protect himself without using demonic creatures."
Shen Qingzhi pondered, "Don't make too big a commotion."
"Thank you, Senior Brother Shen." Pei Jingchao nodded in agreement, pulling out another prepared communication talisman from his sleeve and tossing it out. The talisman turned into a streak of light and disappeared into the mountain below.
Moments later, a commotion arose from a long street at the foot of the mountain.
When the conflict suddenly erupted on the commercial street, Xue Chenjing was holding an ice cream that Yu Yi had just bought for him again.
Many people on the street didn't know what was happening, but suddenly people started fighting. The light of talismans and sword shadows exploded on the long street. Merchant cultivators all scattered to avoid it, with light and sword shadows interweaving.
The ice cream fell to the ground. Yu Yi reacted extremely quickly, wanting to escape, but dense sword shadows blocked her retreat. She drew her green bamboo sword, sweeping it in an arc of light.
She vaguely felt something was wrong. Looking at the network of sword shadows, the center of the encirclement was clearly right where they were. Evidently, they weren't just innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire, but the targets someone had meticulously planned to capture.
The sword shadows pressing down were of no low cultivation, at least at the Golden Core realm. Yu Yi, wielding a sword with cracks, found it hard to fend off so many opponents. Her sword intent was suppressed.
As the interwoven sword shadows pressed down from above, Yu Yi felt a cold, damp sensation brush past her cheek. Transparent tentacles emerged from the void, forming a solid umbrella-like cover above their heads.
The sword shadows struck, clashing with the snake scales on the tentacles and producing rippling golden light, finally revealing its outline in the air.
Xue Chenjing turned around, opening his arms and pulling Yu Yi entirely into his embrace. Dense fog enveloped their figures, and in just an instant, the fog dispersed, and the sword shadows that had been held back in mid-air fell in a rustle.
But among the sword shadows, the two had already vanished without a trace.
In the pavilion atop the mountain, Shen Qingzhi watched the situation on the commercial street through the reflection pearl of the attacking cultivators. He narrowed his eyes at the fleeting white mist, licking his lips, "Ah, Earth Impurity. I hope I didn't see wrong."
He reached out and picked up a drop of wine from his cup, flicking it towards the flower room barrier. The wine coalesced into a droplet, with runes of light rotating inside, instantly piercing through the flower room barrier.
As the barrier shattered, the butterflies inside rose up in a flurry, swarming towards the foot of the mountain. The scales shed from their wings were like scattered stars, resembling an icy blue Milky Way.
Shen Qingzhi leaned on the window, his gaze following them, and said with a smile, "This is the first time I've seen them so excited."
Pei Jingchao leapt out the window, following behind the butterflies.
The light, thin mist of Earth Impurity swiftly traversed through the lantern shadows, passing directly through buildings, almost undetectable.
Yu Yi was held tightly in Xue Chenjing's arms, only able to see the rapidly passing light shadows from the corner of her eye. After a long while, they finally landed in a secluded alley between pavilions.
Xue Chenjing's hands were still gripping her waist. He lowered his head to rest on her shoulder, saying resentfully, "Damn it, I didn't even get a single bite."
Yu Yi rolled her eyes, saying exasperatedly, "Is this really the time to be worrying about that?"
"Yes," Xue Chenjing nuzzled against her neck, his nose close to the side of her neck, deeply inhaling her pleasant scent. "Master, will you buy it for me again in the future?"
Yu Yi's neck tingled from his breath, her hair standing on end. She shrank her neck a bit, raising her hand to grab his ponytail, trying to pull him away from her body. She said with disgust, "Let go of me..."
As she looked up, she saw twinkling ice-blue lights through the sliver of sky visible between the alley walls. The points of light danced gracefully, shedding sparkling scales, looking incredibly beautiful.
Yu Yi remembered what those things might be, and in her urgency, blurted out, "Ah-choo!"
Xue Chenjing also sensed something, abruptly raising his head and turning to look up. The dots of blue light reflected in his widened pupils, a hint of undisguisable fear seeping into his eyes.
Yu Yi saw his fingers trembling for an instant and suggested, "Why don't you let Xue Mingyuan come out? He's not afraid of these butterflies."
Xue Chenjing tightened his fingers forcefully, clenching his fists. He turned back, his eyes, reddened by the rabbit mask, staring straight at her. He said through gritted teeth, enunciating each word, "Then I'd rather die."
Yu Yi didn't understand why he harbored such intense hatred towards Xue Mingyuan. Looking at the butterflies getting closer and closer overhead, she frowned slightly, "So what are you going to do now?"
"Don't worry, I won't die from the same thing twice." Xue Chenjing pushed her out of the alley. "Master, you should go. Change your disguise; you look better as a fox. Go buy what you want to buy. Don't worry about me, I'll come back to find you."
He retreated step by step into the shadows of the alley, his figure gradually blurring. Only his eyes remained bright, pupils vaguely elongating. He said finally, "A dog on a leash won't get lost."
