The carriage was slightly slower than flying with a sword. After two days, Jiang Yin and her companions only reached a town near the Misty Mountains, still about ten or twenty miles from their destination.
Although the carriage was comfortable, sitting inside for two whole days made the scenery a bit monotonous. By nightfall, Tang Muxi pulled Jiang Yin to the town for some fun and rest. They had been roughing it for the past few months, resting in stone caves every day. Though Tang Muxi didn’t say it, she was already fed up. Seeing the bustling human town after so long, she naturally didn’t want to miss it.
Jiang Yin happened to have some matters to attend to, so she agreed to Tang Muxi’s suggestion.
This town was within the territory of the Nine Fiends Hall. Although it was somewhat remote, it was close to the Misty Mountains, where precious spiritual herbs and treasures often appeared. Many cultivators came here to purchase supplies, making the town lively and relatively large.
It was already night, and the streets were brightly lit. The town had a bustling market. Since it was a place where mortals and cultivators lived together, the market was unique, featuring not only ordinary snacks but also some cultivators performing magical tricks.
Tang Muxi, having lived many lifetimes mostly within the Tianji Sect, had never seen such novel sights and was quite curious.
“Senior Sister, look! The sugar figurines over there can move!” Jiang Yin followed the sound and saw colorful sugar water emitting a crystalline glow, flying and merging in the air, slowly forming human shapes. With the added spiritual light, they looked like celestial beings descending to the mortal world.
A simple trick.
This was just a basic spell. Any cultivator could do it with enough practice, so it only attracted mortals who didn’t know any better.
Jiang Yin wasn’t very interested, but seeing Tang Muxi’s eyes sparkling, she still asked, “Do you want one?”
“Yes!” Jiang Yin stepped forward, squeezing through the crowd of children watching the show. She stood out among the clueless mortal kids, drawing frequent glances from the crowd.
She didn’t mind at all, her delicate eyes fixed on the sugar figurines.
From a distance, they looked dazzling, but up close, the sugar figurines were rough, with poorly defined features. The vendor’s cultivation level was probably only at the Qi Refining stage.
“Which one do you want?” Jiang Yin tilted her head, the soft warm light illuminating her profile, making her look even more stunning. If anyone looked like a celestial being, it should be her.
Unfortunately, Tang Muxi was only interested in the sugar figurines. She blinked her eyes, looking from left to right, and finally pointed at a pair of sugar figurines, a man and a woman holding hands. “This one! Can you change the appearance of the sugar figurines?”
The vendor was just a Qi Refining cultivator with mediocre talent. Unable to make it in his sect, he gave up cultivation and decided to make a living with his limited skills. He never expected to attract two graceful female cultivators.
One of the women had a cold demeanor and stunning beauty, while the other was lively and cheerful. Their elegant attire and otherworldly aura made it clear they were not ordinary people.
The vendor was momentarily stunned by their looks. Noticing the coldness in one woman’s eyes, he quickly regained his composure. “Of course, I can. How would you like them to be changed?”
Tang Muxi’s attention was entirely on the sugar figurines. She didn’t feel offended and, after a moment of thought, smiled and said, “Change it to a woman with a thin face, snow-white skin, deep eyes, and fine willow-like eyebrows…”
Tang Muxi described earnestly, and the more the vendor listened, the more familiar it sounded. Suddenly, he realized she was describing the slightly taller woman beside her. So, he began altering the sugar figurine to resemble Jiang Yin, and then carefully adjusted the other one to match Tang Muxi’s appearance.
His cultivation level was low, and his control over spiritual power was not precise. The final sugar figurines only vaguely resembled the two women.
But even so, it was enough to make Tang Muxi happy.
“Yes, yes! Just like that!” Tang Muxi didn’t realize the sugar figurines resembled her and her Senior Sister. She just thought the vendor was clever to understand her thoughts.
After receiving them, she took the taller sugar figurine for herself and handed the shorter one, which resembled her, to Jiang Yin. “Here, this is for Senior Sister.”
Jiang Yin initially had some disdain for the vendor’s skills, but upon hearing the words “this is Senior Sister’s,” her mood suddenly improved. She looked at the sugar figure resembling “Tang Muxi” and asked, “Is this mine?”
Tang Muxi nodded dumbly, “Of course it is.” One for each person, otherwise, would she eat it all by herself?
Jiang Yin smiled, thinking of something, and reached out to take it. The soft colorful light shone on her fingertips, making her slender fingers appear even more delicate.
The vendor watched from the side and timely complimented, “The two young ladies are a perfect match, standing together.”
Hearing this, Jiang Yin felt even better and found the vendor more pleasing to the eye.
When it was time to pay, Tang Muxi searched her storage ring for a long time but found she had no mundane money, holding the sugar figure awkwardly.
Seeing this, Jiang Yin took the initiative to help, casually taking out a jade pendant and handing it to the vendor.
Although the custom-made sugar figure was more expensive, it was still just a small snack and not very exquisite, its price far from matching the value of the jade pendant.
The vendor was terrified as he accepted it, “Fairy, this is too valuable…” Judging by its color and craftsmanship, the jade pendant was probably worth a fortune, enough for him to live comfortably for the rest of his life.
However, Jiang Yin paid no attention, and after paying, she turned and left with Tang Muxi.
When the vendor tried to return it, he found that the two fairies had already disappeared into the bustling crowd.
“It’s sweet.”
Tang Muxi held the sugar figure and put it in her mouth. She liked to savor the sweetness first, letting it stimulate her taste buds before she started crunching it.
“It’s sugar, what other taste would it have?” Jiang Yin held her sugar figure without eating it, feeling reluctant to consume something that belonged to her.
“True, I thought it would sparkle like its color.”
Jiang Yin frowned, “What does sparkling taste like?”
“It tastes like sparkling,” Tang Muxi said matter-of-factly.
What kind of description was that? Jiang Yin pondered for a long time but couldn’t figure it out.
Before she could come up with an answer, Tang Muxi’s attention was drawn to the wontons on the street.
“Delicious wontons, not expensive!”
The stall was small, with only two or three tables. One cook made and sold the wontons on the spot, while a helper occasionally shouted to attract customers, reported prices, served wontons, and cleaned tables.
Tang Muxi had already chewed up the sugar figure and swallowed it. Smelling the aroma of the wontons, she couldn’t even move.
While traveling in the afternoon, lying idle in the carriage, Tang Muxi’s mouth never stopped munching on snacks. Peach crisps, flower cakes, dried meat, and spiritual fruits—she had been eating non-stop. Jiang Yin suspected that her stomach contained a small world, always insatiable.
“Want to eat?” Tang Muxi sniffed lightly, seemingly aware that eating too much wasn’t good. She swallowed and shook her head, “It’s just okay.” She spoke nonchalantly, as if she wasn’t interested at all, but her eyes lingered longingly on the food.
Jiang Yin frowned, “If you want to eat, just say so. No need to hide it.”
Tang Muxi, already lacking strong willpower, immediately nodded when she heard Jiang Yin’s indulgence, “Then maybe just one bowl? It’s been a while since I had it.”
Cultivators don’t focus on appetite. Tang Muxi had been restrained by a strange power before, living on fasting pills and rarely eating such food. Now that she was free, her original gluttonous nature was revealed.
Fortunately, she was naturally slim and didn’t gain weight easily. No matter how much she ate, her body remained slender and fragile, like a willow branch that could be blown over by a breeze.
Jiang Yin took Tang Muxi forward and ordered two servings.
However, this place was at the street corner, crowded and noisy, not an ideal place to eat. Jiang Yin didn’t eat there, instead taking out a food box and asking the waiter to pack the wontons to take back to the inn.
It was getting late, and they hadn’t booked a place to stay in advance. If they didn’t hurry, they might have nowhere to sleep.
After paying, Jiang Yin took Tang Muxi to find lodging.
Just across the street was a well-decorated inn. Jiang Yin glanced at it from the outside and found it acceptable, so she took Tang Muxi inside to stay.
At the counter, they coincidentally encountered another group renting rooms.
They were dressed in luxurious clothes, their auras concealed, but Jiang Yin immediately recognized them as not human, but transformed demons. When she saw Bai Ling beside them, she took a closer look.
Bai Ling also sensed the presence of its kind, restlessly tugging at Tang Muxi’s collar, its eyes curiously looking over.
Tang Muxi, tickled by Bai Ling’s antics, giggled and patted it soothingly, “Don’t make trouble.”
Jiang Yin ignored the others and went to the counter to ask, “Do you have any vacant rooms?” The innkeeper, seeing their beautiful appearances and elegant attire, knew they were not ordinary people and put on a flattering smile, “Fairy, the top-grade rooms have just been fully booked. Only the lower-grade rooms are available. What do you think?”
In the cultivation world, everything is ranked by grade, from highest to lowest: Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow.
Jiang Yin had chosen this inn for its decor, hoping to stay in a top-grade room. If not, an Earth-grade room would suffice. But now, only the lower grades were available, which she was unwilling to settle for.
“Is there no way to make an exception?” Jiang Yin was displeased.
The innkeeper’s forehead broke out in a thin sweat, looking troubled, “This… I hope the fairy won’t make things difficult for me.”
The guests renting the Heaven and Earth-grade rooms were all distinguished, and the innkeeper couldn’t afford to offend any of them by making exceptions.
Tang Muxi understood and hesitated for a moment before tugging on Jiang Yin’s sleeve, whispering, “Why don’t we just make do?” After all, they were leaving tomorrow and only needed to stay for one night.
Jiang Yin furrowed her brows and remained silent, creating a tense atmosphere.
After a while, a woman dressed in luxurious clothing approached, holding a black fan. She was the demon clan member from earlier. “Today is a fortunate day. How about I give you a room as a gesture of friendship?”
Earlier, she had booked three upper rooms but only had four people staying, so giving up one room was feasible.
“My name is Wen Mingyu.” As she spoke, she gently closed the black fan in her hand. Her voice was as warm and gentle as a spring breeze, polite and courteous.
Jiang Yin glanced at her briefly. Not sensing any malice, she nodded slightly. “Jiang Yin.”
Then she noticed Wen Mingyu’s gaze falling on the person beside her. Jiang Yin frowned slightly and stepped forward to shield Tang Muxi behind her. “This is my junior sister, Tang Muxi.” Although it was an introduction, she was very protective, as if on guard against something.
Wen Mingyu smiled faintly and glanced at the curious snow fox beside her. “Is the white fox Miss Tang’s spirit pet?” Tang Muxi peeked out from behind Jiang Yin and shook her head. “This is my friend, not a spirit pet. Its name is Bai Ling.”
Wen Mingyu was a bit surprised and wanted to ask more, but Jiang Yin unceremoniously extended her hand. Understanding the gesture, Wen Mingyu chuckled and handed over the room token.
Jiang Yin took the token and handed over ten high-grade spirit stones.
“No need to be so formal. Consider it my treat,” Wen Mingyu declined, but Jiang Yin ignored her. Seeing that Wen Mingyu wouldn’t accept the stones, Jiang Yin handed them to one of Wen Mingyu’s subordinates and then led Tang Muxi upstairs.
After they left, Yun Xue, who had been watching from the side for a long time, frowned. “Your Highness, that person was quite rude.”
Wen Mingyu was also puzzled. She looked in the direction Jiang Yin had gone and then advised, “Don’t speak carelessly.”
