Chen Xi didn’t flinch.
It might have seed strange. A girl, anyone, really, suddenly grabbed by the shoulder ought to show sothing. A jolt, a gasp, at least a twitch of surprise. But Chen Xi’s expression stayed perfectly still, her body giving nothing away.
Not because she was slow to notice. She had sensed the hand long before it landed. The shift of air against her robes, the faint rustle of fabric behind her, the subtle disturbance in the ambient spiritual energy, she had caught it all.
She just didn’t bother to move. There was no hostile intent. And besides, she knew exactly who it was.
Chen Xi turned her head and fixed the person gripping her shoulder with a flat, knowing stare. A smug little smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
“Tsk. With that look on your face, you already sensed , didn’t you?”
The voice belonged to her friend. Ma Yuanyuan. The sa Ma Yuanyuan who ran this shop.
“Sister Ma Yuanyuan,” Chen Xi said, her tone light and teasing. “What a surprise.”
Ma Yuanyuan pulled her hand back and crossed her arms, lips pressing into a thin, unimpressed line. It wasn’t Chen Xi she was dissatisfied with, it was herself. Her ambush had failed completely.
Chen Xi didn’t need an explanation. She could read the whole story in that pout. This was payback. Over the years, Chen Xi had greeted Ma Yuanyuan exactly like this more tis than she could count. Sotis it landed, sotis it didn’t, Ma Yuanyuan had built up a tolerance, but on the rare occasions when it did land, the look on her face was priceless. Absolutely worth the effort.
Today, Ma Yuanyuan had clearly decided it was her turn.
Chen Xi stepped around her, laughing softly, and patted her on the back. Repeatedly. With relish.
“If only you were a little faster,” she said. “Maybe you would’ve caught off guard.”
Ma Yuanyuan ignored her and didn’t reply. She simply rolled her shoulders as if shrugging off both the pats and the defeat.
“Anyway,” Chen Xi said, letting her hand drop.
She reached into her bag, a simple movent, unthinking, and a book materialized in her hand. She held it up, tilting the cover toward Ma Yuanyuan.
“I got the book.”
Ma Yuanyuan squinted at the title, her brow furrowing slightly.
'The Villainess’s Guide to Seducing the Immortal King.'
Then her eyes flew wide open. Realization swept over her face like dawn breaking.
“You got it!”
Chen Xi nodded, pride settling into her expression.
“Of course. You said it was good.”
Ma Yuanyuan’s hands ca forward, and she took the book from Chen Xi with careful, deliberate reverence, like it was made of spun glass.
“And you even have the latest volu.”
“Yep. I haven’t finished reading it yet, but I bought them all. It was cheaper that way, there was a discount for buying the whole set. If I’d bought each one separately, I wouldn’t have gotten the discount, and the total would’ve ended up higher than just getting them all at once.”
Ma Yuanyuan didn’t seem to be listening. Her eyes stayed fixed on the book now resting in her hands. Slowly, a warm smile spread across her lips.
“I couldn’t get this myself, too busy,” she murmured. Then she looked up, that smile still in place. “Thanks for letting borrow it. It’ll help save money too. You’re truly a kind soul.”
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“…”
Chen Xi’s brain stopped.
She stood there, frozen, her mind fumbling over the words.
Ma Yuanyuan began walking toward the shop, the book cradled in her arms, that sa serene smile still on her face.
Then it clicked.
She had taken the book first. Pretended she was just admiring it. And the whole ti—
“You—you scamr!”
Ma Yuanyuan rolled her eyes without breaking stride.
“Says the greater one.”
“What do you an ‘greater one’?” Chen Xi hurried after her, voice pitched with righteous indignation. “I have never scamd anyone in my life! I am a completely upright and righteous person.”
Ma Yuanyuan didn’t dignify that with a response. She just stepped behind the counter of her shop, finally setting the book down with care. Chen Xi stopped in front of her, still fuming.
“So,” Ma Yuanyuan said, her tone shifting, “why did you co today? Didn’t seem like you were just passing by when I saw you from afar.”
Chen Xi noticed the blatant subject change. She chose to let it go. For now.
“I ca to buy Qi Gathering Pills.”
“Qi Gathering Pills?” Ma Yuanyuan raised an eyebrow. “Why do you suddenly need those? It’s been a long ti since you bought any.”
“Rember that wolf I told you about? The one that ate my chicken.”
Ma Yuanyuan paused, thinking. Then recognition flickered across her face.
“The one you call Skinny?”
“Yes. That one.” Chen Xi nodded firmly. “I told my master about getting revenge. He refused.”
Ma Yuanyuan didn’t reply right away. She stood still for a mont, turning Chen Xi’s words over in her mind.
“Hmm. To be honest,” she said slowly, “your master is right. The wolf is stronger than you are. And I rember what you told about your first encounter with it, when you found it after it ate Skinny.”
“Yeah.”
“You said that when you fought it, you could keep up, but the wolf still had the upper hand. You had to use a talisman your master gave you just to overpower it, and even then it escaped.”
Chen Xi nodded again.
“So what makes you think you can beat it now?” Ma Yuanyuan leaned forward, her elbows resting on the counter. “If you fought it again, would you lose?”
“Nah.” Chen Xi’s voice was calm. Steady. “I’d win.”
She let the words hang in the air before continuing.
“I know the fight won’t be easy, but—” She raised a single finger. “An unplanned fight against an obstacle greater than you is a losing fight. A planned one is a winning fight.” She shrugged, as if that were simply obvious. “Besides, I’ve been preparing for this a long ti. I’m not planning a direct confrontation, that would only make things harder. I’m going to weaken it first. And I still have a lot of resources my master made for . Things that can do both, weaken and attack, very effectively.” She paused, a small glint in her dark eyes. “Plus, I’m making sothing myself right now.”
“You’re making sothing yourself?”
“Yep.”
Ma Yuanyuan let out a long breath, sothing between admiration and exasperation.
“You really do work well under serious challenges, don’t you?” she muttered, more to herself than to Chen Xi. “And a suicide mission at that.”
“…”
“I know you’ve been preparing, and it’s very unlikely you’ll lose,” Ma Yuanyuan went on, her tone turning serious. “But what if sothing goes wrong?”
“Nothing will go wrong.” Chen Xi’s reply ca quick and certain. “My master will be going with . He agreed to be there to make sure nothing bad happens.”
“Ah. Your master.” Ma Yuanyuan tilted her head. “About him, why don’t you just let him kill the wolf for you?”
Chen Xi sighed. She shook her head.
“No. I don’t want that.”
She looked up, her gaze drifting past Ma Yuanyuan to the shop’s wooden rafters.
“If I let him do everything for , more than he already does, what does that make ? A cultivator? His disciple?” Her voice lowered, softening to a murmur. “That title isn’t given. It has to be earned.”
She paused.
“He doesn’t even give proper cultivation tasks. When I ask, repeatedly, he just hands the easy ones and keeps the challenging work for himself.”
'But he agreed this ti. To this challenge. Maybe mory loss isn’t so bad after all.'
Her shoulders slumped.
'No. It’s still terrible. He doesn’t rember . He doesn’t rember anything.'
Ma Yuanyuan’s voice broke into her thoughts.
“Your master really should be giving you more challenges. You work well under them. But seriously, your master is a blessing. Imagine the cozy life I’d have with soone like that…”
“Sorry. He’s not for sale.”
Ma Yuanyuan rolled her eyes.
“Oh! That reminds .” Chen Xi straightened up. “My master gave a task to complete. Coming here is part of it. I need to buy Qi Gathering Pills. For three months, I have to dedicate myself fully to cultivation, not partially, fully, and reach the rank he set for . If I don’t…” She exhaled sharply. “No revenge.”
“Ah.” Ma Yuanyuan’s expression brightened. “That’s better!”
“What do you an, ‘that’s better’?” Chen Xi grumbled.
She didn’t truly disagree with the arrangent. So small part of her even liked it. The only real downside was the delay. Her revenge would have to wait.
'But if I cultivate hard enough, I’ll be able to literally bully that wolf. Isn’t that its own kind of blessing?'
The ntal image alone brought a surge of quiet joy.
Ma Yuanyuan chuckled at whatever expression had drifted across Chen Xi’s face.
Chen Xi rolled her eyes. As she did, her gaze caught on sothing. A figure. Standing not far from where they were, still and silent.
'Huh?'
It was looking straight at her.
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