The maidservant looked toward the entrance. Standing there was a girl in red robes. Her expression turned apologetic. “Miss, I’m very sorry, but this red dress was already being considered by this other guest.”
“I’ll pay triple the spirit stones.” The girl in red had an arrogant posture. She cast a dismissive glance at Ning Shiyue and Feng Qingran.
When the maidservant heard “triple the spirit stones,” her expression didn’t change. “Miss, our Fairy Pavilion has many other dresses that would suit you. Please feel free to look around.”
“Hmph!” The girl in red frowned delicately, raising the whip in her hand like a striking serpent. “I’ll pay ten times the price!”
The maidservant’s face still held full apology. “Miss, Qinghe Tower’s rule is first come, first served. Please don’t make things difficult for me.”
The girl in red said disdainfully, “Qinghe Tower is just a dog kept by the Scholar’s Ink Auction House. Where do its rules come from?”
She had heard this before from her uncle.
Qinghe Tower’s current status relied entirely on support from the Scholar’s Ink Auction House and the Tongwen Pavilion.
Hearing this, Feng Qingran’s almond eyes narrowed slightly, turning cold.
So this was how others viewed the cooperation between Qinghe Tower and Scholar’s Pavilion.
It seemed she needed to reconsider consigning her treasures here.
Feng Qingran held her composure and ignored the girl in red. But Ning Shiyue couldn’t let it slide.
Ning Shiyue’s voice rang like silver bells. “An ungrateful dog truly has no manners—already yapping at its owner.”
“Pretty sister, please take this dress and burn it. How unlucky, sharing taste with a dog!” Ning Shiyue handed the red dress to the maidservant along with ten top-grade spirit stones.
Throughout this, Ning Shiyue didn’t spare the girl in red a single glance.
“Of course, miss.” The maidservant barely suppressed a smile as she took the dress.
This guest truly had a way with words—no vulgarity, yet stinging like needles!
The girl in red flushed with rage at Ning Shiyue’s words. “Stop right there!”
Crack!——
She twisted her wrist, lashing her whip toward Ning Shiyue.
She had never endured such humiliation!
As a member of the Luo family, everywhere she went, people flattered her. No one had ever dared treat her like this.
The maidservant’s face paled, seeing the whip about to strike Ning Shiyue.
Feng Qingran watched the whip near Ning Shiyue but made no move.
Ning Shiyue raised a fair hand, a talisman held delicately between her fingers.
As the whip swept past, Ning Shiyue leaned back slightly. The talisman in her hand glowed red, flying onto the whip.
Whoosh!——
Flames rapidly spread along the entire whip.
Ah!——
The girl in red’s face turned instantly ashen. She flung the whip away.
The maidservant panicked. If the fire caught, all the clothes in the pavilion would be ruined.
“Pretty sister, don’t worry. This fire won’t burn the clothes.” Ning Shiyue’s eyes sparkled as she offered reassurance.
The maidservant didn’t listen. She had already pulled out her transmission token to call for help.
The Fairy Pavilion descended into chaos.
Only Feng Qingran and Ning Shiyue remained perfectly composed.
“Wait—look, the fire seems to be holding the whip up, keeping it from falling!” someone exclaimed.
“Really? That’s amazing!”
“Such a miraculous talisman exists? I need to buy some later too…”
As the crowd murmured, the flames gradually died out.
The whip above had been burned to ashes. Ning Shiyue raised her hand again and sent out another talisman.
The talisman flew up, spun once, and the ashes vanished completely. Then it returned to Ning Shiyue’s hand.
Everyone stared blankly at where the whip had been. Everything that just happened felt like a shared illusion…
Joy sparkled in Feng Qingran’s eyes. Her voice was crisp. “Fifth Senior Sister, what’s this talisman called?”
“This is a Waste Disposal Talisman. It automatically absorbs floating dust. I just developed it recently.”
“Recently developed?” Feng Qingran’s almond eyes narrowed slightly, a sharp glint flashing through them. They had explicitly forbidden Ning Shiyue from researching new talismans…
“Um… Little Senior Sister, please don’t tell Sixth Junior Brother about this. I promise I won’t do it again!” Ning Shiyue looked guilty. She had accidentally exposed herself.
She was just anxious. Everyone else was cultivating and improving. Only she remained stagnant.
If she didn’t push herself, she would soon be left far behind by everyone in Lingyun Sect!
Feng Qingran sighed, somewhat helpless. She understood Ning Shiyue’s anxiety. “Fifth Senior Sister, don’t rush. True depth comes from accumulation. You’re just in a period of settling.”
At the same time, Feng Qingran communicated with Yuan Bao in her space, asking about the Nine-Curve Spiritual Fungus.
“Master, rest assured. Give me another hundred years, and I’ll definitely cultivate the Nine-Curve Spiritual Fungus,” Yuan Bao declared confidently.
A faint light flickered in Feng Qingran’s almond eyes. A hundred years?
Fifth Senior Sister definitely couldn’t wait that long. She needed to find a way to accelerate the fungus’s growth.
Feng Qingran’s mind turned to the Ten Directions Realm. Perhaps she could send the fungus there, have Qi tend to it, and then bring it out.
All this would take no more than a blink…
After she settled these matters, she would return to Lingyun Sect.
Ning Shiyue quickly bounced back from her discouragement. “Let’s keep choosing clothes and shopping. Cultivation can wait. Besides, I have all of you to protect me.”
By then, the girl in red had also recovered from her fear.
The way she looked at Feng Qingran and Ning Shiyue turned cold and damp, like a venomous snake eyeing its prey.
“You’re practically begging for death!” The girl in red’s voice dripped with murderous intent as she blocked their path.
