Transmigration! The System Wants Me to Pursue the Abstinent Senior Sister - Chapter 71

The city at the foot of the Cloud Sword Mountain Sect was initially nameless, but as it gradually grew and prospered, it eventually earned the name Cloud Sword City.

Teahouses and restaurants could be found everywhere here. Qin Yiqiu vaguely remembered her master once taking her to stroll through this city.

“Yiqiu, these people have all come here out of admiration for the Cloud Sword Mountain Sect. Since they’ve built a city at the foot of our mountain, it is our duty to protect them.”

In her memory, her master’s voice was gentle and soothing.

Qin Wangyu possessed a beautiful voice clear and crisp, speaking neither too hurriedly nor too slowly.

“That’s why I’m bringing you here today. In the future, if I go into seclusion or pass away, it will be your responsibility to protect them.”

The man squinted his eyes, hands clasped behind his back, scanning everything on the street. Flowering trees lined both sides of the city’s streets, with tall magnolias just sprouting tender green buds, their colors delicate and fresh.

At that time, Qin Yiqiu followed behind her master, nodding as she held onto the hem of his robe with her small hand.

“Master, that’s why I must work hard to cultivate the Emotionless Technique!”

“That way, I can not only protect this beautiful city but also protect you!”

Qin Wangyu’s footsteps halted mid-stride, and then the corners of his lips curled upward, like the smile of a tiger after finishing its prey.

He crouched down and picked up the little one trailing beside him.

“Ah, people say only a biological daughter could be this well-behaved. Who would have thought the child the clan leader brought me would be just as sweet?”

Qin Wangyu extended his large hand and tapped the tip of Qin Yiqiu’s tiny nose. Then, carrying her, he turned a corner and arrived at a shop at the end of the street.

This shop didn’t attract many customers at its entrance. Two osmanthus trees grew there, and although it wasn’t the season for golden osmanthus blossoms, their emerald-green leaves were still pleasing to the eye.

Qin Yiqiu looked up at the shop’s signboard.

Written on it were the three characters “Wan Bao Xuan,” rendered in a bold, flowing script.

Memories slowly resurfaced as Qin Yiqiu gazed at the osmanthus trees in front of Wan Bao Xuan. Those trees, which had once only reached her master’s height, had now grown tall enough to reach the second floor.

She remembered how her master had bought her many jade pendants and some high-quality storage rings back then.

Perhaps she should go in and pick something out herself. Just as Fellow Cultivator Gu had said, the essence of an apology lies in the sincerity of the apology the gift is merely secondary.

Qin Yiqiu stepped into the Wan Bao Xuan building. She had barely taken two steps before the shop’s manager hurried over to greet her. As a store that had been rooted in Cloud Sword City for nearly a century, how could they not know the identity of the Young Sect Leader of the Cloud Sword Mountain Sect?

“Oh my, oh my! I had no idea the Young Sect Leader was gracing us with your presence. My apologies for not welcoming you properly!”

The manager was dressed head to toe in fine silks and satins, a clear indication of a life of comfort and luxury. Qin Yiqiu was already accustomed to such familiarity from others.

She understood that her status attracted flattery from many, but she had no desire to dwell on it.

“No need for such exaggeration, Manager. I’m just here to buy something.”

Qin Yiqiu’s voice was cold and detached. Such was her nature she rarely smiled, and most of the time, her face remained expressionless, like an exquisitely carved mask.

“Is that so? May I ask what the Young Sect Leader wishes to purchase?”

“Anything that catches the Young Sect Leader’s eye, our humble shop would be happy to offer free of charge.”

Qin Yiqiu shook her head gently.

“I don’t lack the spirit stones for it.”

Nevertheless, she continued walking while looking around. The first floor of the shop sold items commonly needed by cultivators, ordinary protective jade pendants, as well as decorative pieces like jade belts and jade hairpins.

The shopkeeper, of course, knew that the first floor only held mundane goods and smiled as he chimed in, “If the Young Sect Master wishes to select something special, you should head to the third floor. That’s where we keep our treasured collection.”

“Mm.” Qin Yiqiu nodded, her long legs striding directly toward the third floor. The staircase of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion was made of high-quality pearwood, exquisitely carved with patterns resembling clusters of yellow brocade flowers. A thick carpet covered the pearwood steps, and a faint, pleasant scent of pearwood filled the air indoors.

The second floor was much less crowded, and the third floor even more so, but the cultivators there wore robes that were far more expensive and rare. Quite a few people recognized Qin Yiqiu after all, most of those strolling through Cloud Sword City were scions of prominent families from the Cloud Sword Mountain Sect.

Their eyes widened one by one. “Isn’t that the Senior Sister?”

Afraid of being noticed, they communicated through spiritual sense. The previously somewhat noisy third floor instantly fell silent so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

“Could it be fake? Of course it’s Senior Sister, who would dare impersonate her in Cloud Sword City?”

Qin Yiqiu couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to her junior disciples. Once one’s cultivation reached a certain level, they could sense when others were discussing them. Though she couldn’t discern the exact words after all, she had no mind-reading ability she could roughly guess they were speculating about why she had come to the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion.

“Young Sect Master, please follow me.”

The items on the third floor clearly still didn’t meet Qin Yiqiu’s standards. While it’s often said that the thought behind a gift matters more than its value, if the gift was too cheap, it simply wouldn’t do.

Qin Yiqiu nodded and followed the shopkeeper into the inner chamber on the third floor. The architecture here was even more splendid, with a screen painted with landscapes and cranes serving as a partition. As Qin Yiqiu stepped inside, she could see various jade artifacts displayed on shelves, each resting on red velvet cloth and emitting faint spiritual glows.

“The finest jade pieces in our Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion are all here, each one a treasured collection of our young master. I wonder which one catches the Young Sect Master’s eye?”

The shopkeeper rubbed his hands together excitedly. The items stored in the most secluded inner chamber of the third floor were all expensive treasures, each worth over a thousand mid-grade spirit stones. Ordinary individuals couldn’t purchase them wealth alone wasn’t enough; one needed both power and prestige.

Qin Yiqiu’s gaze swept around the room, and she took a slight step forward, beginning to imagine which jade piece Luo Yunhuan might like. But the more she wanted to choose the perfect gift, the more indecisive she became. Qin Yiqiu had been standing there for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, utterly unsure which jade artifact to pick.

She realized her junior sister seemed to like them all. When tending the courtyard, had Luo Yunhuan shown any particular preference for a certain type of flower? Without a suitable pattern to reference, it was hard to guess.

After much deliberation, Qin Yiqiu decided to ask the shopkeeper. “Shopkeeper, are there any jade pieces that women tend to favor above all others?”

Her tone was calm, but the shopkeeper’s expression grew unusually complex upon hearing this.

Qin Yiqiu:

She didn’t understand why he would react that way, but then she saw the shopkeeper smile somewhat awkwardly.

“Young Sect Master, is this for yourself or for someone else?”

Qin Yiqiu replied immediately, “Of course it’s a gift. If it were for me, I wouldn’t need such things.”

Qin Yiqiu had never lacked for gold, silver, jewels, or jade ornaments since childhood. Every year on her birthday, she received plenty of such items, so there was no need to buy any extra.

“Ahem.”

“Then please follow me, Young Sect Leader.”

The shopkeeper gave a light cough and then pushed open a section of the wall in the room, it turned out to be a secret chamber within a secret chamber.

Qin Yiqiu hadn’t expected this shop to be so adept at hiding treasures. Without hesitation, she followed him inside, and then…

Then she wished she could gouge out her own eyes.

Because these items were strictly forbidden in the sect tools that led people into the abyss.

Qin Yiqiu had confiscated countless such items.

Of course, she knew how they were used, but that only made her wish for death even more. How could she possibly use these things on her junior sister? No, How could she even think of buying them!