Chapter 22: No Point Arguing with a Fool!

“Jiu’er has reached the late stage of the sixth level of Qi Refining, not bad,” Mo Lan happily noticed her daughter’s cultivation progress. “What would you like for dinner? Mother will cook it for you.”

Just as Xie Jiuniang was about to ask for meat, a large head abruptly wedged itself between her and her mother, blocking her view with the back of Song Baoer’s head. 

Song Baoer whined, “Auntie Lan, I want to eat meat.”

Staring at that familiar back of the head, Xie Jiuniang’s hands itched. Where was her wooden stick? How she wished to give it another whack! 

Before she could act, Song Baoer turned around to gloat, “Xiao Jiu meimei, you need to cultivate harder. I’ve already reached the eighth level of Qi Refining.”

Xie Jiuniang’s expression hardened. “…” 

No point arguing with a fool! If she argued with a fool, she would lose!

Mo Lan saw that her daughter’s normally solemn little face was especially lively at this moment and couldn’t help feeling overjoyed in her heart. 

Xie Jiuniang’s stony expression remained as she enunciated the last word deliberately, “Mother! For dinner tonight, I want to eat…vegetables.” 

With that said, she turned and left with aloof hauteur.  

Killing a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of your own, there was no winner. 

“Hehehe…” Mo Lan couldn’t hold back her laughter in the end.

Xie Jiuniang swiftly returned to her room. When she emerged again, she had changed into the cheapest daoist robe, with a small storage pouch hanging from her waist, looking rather shabby as she exited the courtyard gate.

It had been half a month since they’d arrived in Xian City, and this was Xie Jiuniang’s first time going out for leisure. She’d been to Xian City a few times in her previous life, so the environment didn’t seem unfamiliar.

Xie Jiuniang’s destination was the central plaza that could accommodate a hundred thousand people. 

The central plaza was originally intended as the sect’s recruitment grounds. However, since sect recruitment only occurred once every decade, they couldn’t leave it vacant and wasted during other times. The city lord’s manor divided the area into different vendor stalls by category and rented them out to small merchants. Gradually, the plaza became the largest market in Xian City.

The day before the sect examination in her previous life, Xie Jiuniang had purchased a rusted broken sword from a street stall in this very market. 

At that time, her mother had recently passed away, and her father was feeling down and couldn’t take care of her. 

She had very few spirit stones on her… so she only spent a single spirit stone to buy the broken sword.

Xie Jiuniang didn’t know if the broken sword was a fortuitous opportunity because it didn’t stay long in her possession. 

The next day, during the entrance assessment, she encountered danger and was saved by a certain fellow disciple. 

She expressed her gratitude. He replied it was no big deal.

Nearby, someone jeered that gratitude shouldn’t just be words, and she should offer a tangible gift. 

Unable to refuse, she took out everything from her storage pouch and let him choose. He only took the broken sword. 

At the time, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he was rather honorable for only taking the least valuable item.

Now thinking back on it…heh! 

She’d been completely swindled yet thought the other party was a good person…

Damn it! The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. 

This was clearly a scheme!

But who was the person who scammed her? 

Two centuries had passed, and she couldn’t recall what that person looked like, only that she never seemed to have encountered him again after entering the sect.

As Xie Jiuniang approached the plaza, she noticed the pedestrian traffic gradually increasing. 

Near the entrance, she bought a spiritual vegetable pancake from a street food stall for ten spirit beads. 

She had come early, uncertain if that particular stall would still have the broken sword, so she decided to take a look first. When she’d bought the sword before, the stall vendor had mentioned it had been sitting there unsold for two to three months before she finally recognized its worth…

“Little friend, you eating the pancake there.” 

Someone was calling out to her?

Xie Jiuniang followed the voice to see an old man radiating a creepy aura, squatting in a corner with a coarse cloth laid out in front of him, haphazardly displaying a pile of junk. 

The old man beckoned to Xie Jiuniang, “Little friend, come over here! Hurry, this poor Daoist has just divined that a certain treasure here has destiny ties with you… Ai ya, little friend don’t walk away!”

Xie Jiuniang quickened her pace, taking a bite of the pancake to suppress her shock. The glib tongue of that vendor was simply akin to a man-eating wolf combined with a starving ghost—how terrifying! 

That pile of trash is destined for me?

She took another bite to calm herself…

Xie Jiuniang entered the market. It was lively yet orderly, with city guards maintaining order and powerful experts overseeing to prevent any disturbances. 

She wandered east and looked around west.

Naturally, Xie Jiuniang found herself in front of the stall where she’d bought the broken sword in her previous life. 

Scanning it briefly, she didn’t see that sword… What a pity, perhaps she could come back in a few days.

Just as Xie Jiuniang was about to turn and leave, the stall vendor noticed her intention and immediately smiled ingratiatingly, “Little Daoist friend, better late than never. I’ve just received a new shipment that I haven’t had a chance to display yet. Rumored to be fine goods excavated from an ancient immortal’s abode…”

The vendor cleared his original wares before taking out the so-called “new stock” one by one. There were only eight items, still lightly coated in fresh dirt. 

Coincidentally, there was the broken sword.

Xie Jiuniang remembered this sword because of its dragon head hilt. In her previous life, her first impression upon seeing it was a desire to purchase it. 

Seeing it again in this life, that profound, enigmatic feeling was even stronger.

With her perspective as a reincarnated person and an artificer, the dragon head hilt and sword body were forged as one, its spiritual aura restrained yet naturally formed. What a pity it was damaged. Not even one ten-thousandth as resplendent as its original glory.

The original owner of this broken sword must have experienced a life-or-death battle and most likely perished. Otherwise, who would discard such a treasure?

Xie Jiuniang squatted before the stall, examining this item and feeling that one, like an utter greenhorn bumpkin. Her entire demeanor screamed, ‘come and fleece me, quickly come and fleece me!’

She asked, “Uncle, how much for one item?” 

“Not expensive,” the vendor held up one finger.

Xie Jiuniang asked confusedly, “One finger means…one spirit bead?”  

The vendor’s expression darkened as he replied, “One thousand spirit stones per item.”

“Whew, that’s good then, not ten thousand.” Xie Jiuniang seemed relieved, causing the previously disgruntled vendor to grow tense—had he underpriced them? But judging by this girl’s ordinary Daoist robe, she didn’t seem from a wealthy family.

In the next moment, Xie Jiuniang continued with a pained look, “Uncle, can we bargain? Would you sell one item for just a single spirit stone? If you agree, I’ll tighten my belt and buy one at that price, but you must guarantee these items truly came from an ancient immortal’s abode.”

The vendor was dumbfounded. What did he just hear? One spirit stone? And she’ll starve herself to buy just one item?

His mouth twitched as he realized; she was just a poor little beggar. 

The neighboring vendors had initially thought their fellow merchant had hooked a big fish, but in the end… just this?

Xie Jiuniang blinked innocently, looking like she was betting her entire fortune. 

No matter how the vendor bargained, she insisted on just one spirit stone. In her previous life, it had only cost her that much, so clearly this uncle didn’t value the broken sword at more than one spirit stone. If that was the case, why should she overpay?

After some haggling, the vendor noticed someone watching from afar and hurriedly whispered, “Alright, alright, one spirit stone it is. Just quickly choose one.” 

“Great, thank you uncle. Wishing you booming business and an overnight fortune!” Xie Jiuniang tossed over a spirit stone, snatched the broken sword into her storage pouch, and scampered off.

She didn’t see the vendor collecting that spirit stone, then smiling ingratiatingly at the next customer and saying, “Daoist friend, better late than never. I’ve just received a new shipment that I haven’t had a chance to display yet. Rumored to be…”

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