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81.36% Learning To Live As A Cultivator / Chapter 262: Chapter Sixty Two - His pursuers cross paths

Chapter 262: Chapter Sixty Two - His pursuers cross paths

Those who love shopping, never shop for just one hour and Carmen, who suggested that she only wanted to 'explore' for one hour, never had any intention of keeping to this, which Sun soon discovered to his chagrin. While grumbling about it did him no good, it did not stop the sour words from spilling from his lips, especially when his cousin entered yet another jewellery store. He followed in her wake, understanding that if he abandoned her as he so was tempted to do, he could expect loud and likely physical reprimand from his grandfather.  Grandfather was at the beginning of Body Tempering now, his core formed.  The difference between tertiary stage and quaternary stage like night and day.  So a beating would really, really hurt!

They were welcomed as they entered and Carmen flashed a winning smile as she allowed them to flatter and pamper her; their jewellery brought to her as she sat drinking tea for her to examine. The jewellery was not as intricate and stunning as the pieces found in the capital, nor was the surroundings as comfortable, but the service was not bad, so Carmen was not displeased and viewed more of the jewellery here than she originally intended to do. 

As they took away a tray that did not capture her attention, Sun leaned over and murmured; "Just how much allowance do you have anyway?" 

"You forget," she replied, quite smug and content seeing Sun's increasingly gloomy expression, "not only am I my father's only child, without Concubine or stepmother to bear, I also happen to be Grandmother's favourite."

Eventually, she chose a few 'trinkets'; a couple of jade pendants and a filigree gold bracelet to add to the other things she had already purchased elsewhere. Not just jewellery, but a small antique vase, a piece of interesting calligraphy and embroidered handkerchiefs.  Some would be gifted away, some would be placed in storage, others she would keep in her courtyard.

"Can we please return to the Institute now?" Sun nearly begged, causing a renewed upward curve to her lips.

"I'm quite tired and thirsty," she admitted with a small nod, as if after escaping the tedium of the last few days, she would return to it after this small amount of time!  She pointed to a nearby tea shop. "We're going there next!" Sun's grumbling resumed, his shoulders slouched as he walked along in her shadow.

Suddenly, the sun's reflection caught his eye and he unthinkingly move his head to see what it had reflected upon. It was a sword. This shop was new? Drawn like a moth to a flame, he yelled his intentions to his cousin. "I'm just going..."

"Yes, yes," she dismissed him with a wave of her hand, before returning it to the warmth of her hand muff. "I will wait inside." Sun practically ran to the weapon shop without glancing back.

As it happened, he wasn't the only person being dragged from pillar to post, just the other was not quite as unwilling.

"Do you not already have a pink strapless dress with gold gauze and embroidered peonies?" Maimai asked her sister, her arm curled about the other's.

"Maimai, don't you recall," Merylin replied with patience, "mother had that dress made for me last year. Even if it still fits, the peonies were orange and the silk quite bright of colour. I think it no longer suits me. A pale pink with white peonies is more suitable for this spring."

"If you say so," Maimai allowed.  As a shu daughter, she only had a few pieces decorated with beautiful embroidery, but it never bothered her.  She did not understand the need to order clothing with such exquisite craftsmanship, that took the seamstresses and embroiderers so many ten days to complete only for it to be worn once or twice as casual attire before being thrown to the back of the closet, never to be seen again.  But things such as dresses, makeup and jewellery made her sisters and mothers happy, so she listened and agreed with them, while sticking to her plainer dresses unless the circumstances called otherwise.

Merylin was never truly bothered about what this little sister personally thought, it was enough that she accompanied her to shop.  But she was also not an unkind person and did not go out of her way to bully or suppress the shu daughters in her family and they, in turn, understood their place.  Thus despite these two sisters being close in age with different mothers, they never came to blows.  Merylin could continue to play the virtuous and guiding older sister and Maimai could continue to pretend to be the supportive and loving younger sister.  This worked for them.

As they walked arm in arm down the paved street, Maimai's eyes widened as she caught sight of the new arms shop close by and a ripple of excitement trembled down her body.  Though she tried hard at being an able alchemist, her true love was martial arts and that included weaponry.  Merylin caught the direction in which her sister's gaze had been captured and sighed inwardly, before deciding to show benevolence. 

"I'm quite thirsty," she murmured.  "This tea shop has a reasonable reputation.  Why don't I order some tea for us?  Is there anything that you wish to do while it brews?"

She had barely finished before her sister had run off and disappeared inside the shop with a 'thanks, sister!'  Merylin did not openly roll her eyes nor shake her head before turning towards the tea shop to order her favourite beverage upon being seated.

"Hmmm, I wonder if Jin Li would like this tea..."

The words that gained her immediate attention came from the mouth of a young girl seated beside herself.  The girl's hair was brown, styled in a simple bun though decorated with a gold and ruby ornate hairpin, gold and silver beads of which cascaded down the oval shape of her face.  From the silk embroidery she wore and the fur lined cloak upon her chair, it was clear that despite the lack of servants waiting upon her, she was not of poor family.  Also, her features were pretty in a vibrant sort of manner, yet her body was delicate, not like those brutish female martial artists in the Institute.  However, Merylin was certain that she had not seen the girl before, so while it was not impossible for her to attend the Institute, she could not figure out how the girl had come to cross paths with that noble and elegant man.

Inwardly, she sneered.  It was clear that from her dreamy expression, that she thought she was some sort of match for her white moonlight?  This girl thinks too highly of herself!  If this Di daughter of a mighty and well known sect leader cannot capture the rare gaze of that man, then this silly child had no hope.  Unintended, her lips curved and she let a small chuckle escape from her throat.

This broke the dreamer's train of thought and it was Merylin that became to subject of scrutiny.  Carmen's keen eye was quick to evaluate the other from dress to etiquette, from the sharp look of disdain in those dark eyes to the elegant bearing as she sat, waiting to be served.  Instinctively, Carmen felt threatened, despite not understanding why.

She gave a small nod of greeting and returned her attention to her beverage, the steaming water infused with a blend of quality leaves was unsweetened yet refreshing to taste.  Her maid had managed to bribe one of the men that had attended to Jin Li during their short stay for tidbits of information about him.  Though all that she had managed to pry was that he had a fondness for drinking tea, it had not stopped her from purchasing various types of popular tealeaves and seeking her grandmother in order to hire an etiquette teacher to learn how to brew tea.  Unfortunately, Jin Li had not returned once after he left, leaving that knowledge very much earned in vain.  Still, she believed it would be useful for the future when she was his wife willing to serve him.

"Will you prefer the White Mountain Longjing or the Kylin Umber tea better..." she softly murmured aloud as she was drawn once more into her daydream.

A snort came from across the way and the yatou nearby looked 'kindly' as she spoke aloud; "Those teas are for a mortal's palette and cannot move the heart of a man such as Jin Li. I would advise you to give up such thoughts, less you get hurt."


Chapter 263: Chapter Sixty Three - To them, this isn’t a storm in a tea cup

Dark clouds formed amid the azure sky, hinting the start of a storm and within a small tea shop in New Julip Town, a storm was stirring just as violently.

Two peoples blissfully unawares yet very much connected to the latter one, were eagerly examining weapons displayed upon the walls of an arms shop.  As was often the case in this type of weapons boutique, the swords, halberds, daggers and bows were more glamorous than perhaps was necessary for a tool meant to aid in the matters of kill to not be killed.  The handles of the swords and daggers were polished so much that they gleamed and cast artistically with scrollwork or vines and ivy wrapping around glittering gemstones.  The halberds long handle and the elegantly shaped bows were all carved from the most expensive and beautiful quality woods.  The halberds also had silk tassels dangling from silver cuffs near the sharp and deadly blade on top, while the bows had similar cuffs either side of the curved centre, these were encrusted with stones.

Whether or not these ornate weapons were better than plain weapons, the usual clientele either did not know nor care.  Seeing two silk laden youths with jade hairpins, gold cuffs and bangles upon their wrists, the shop owner naturally assumed that this pair were much the same, but suffered a rude awakening.

"Shimmering ice blade?" Sun muttered as he read the description beneath the sword.  "But it doesn't shimmer nor does it have the attribute of ice... or any spiritual energy for that matter.  Poo!"

"Swan song dagger?" Maimai giggled as she similarly amused herself.  "The blade isn't long enough to reach the heart, what 'swan song?' More like a pig's squeal!"

The former heard the latter's words and pointed out another sword and brought her attention to it.  "How about this one, Fèng máo lín jiǎo... as rare as Phoenix feathers and unicorns horns... accept the metal appears to be common steel."

"It's crystals are ordinary quartz," Maimai nodded sagely, approaching his side, her eyes filled with mirth.  "Should be Chángjiàn rú jīmáo!" Common as chicken feathers! (google translate, probably wrong).

The two cruelly continued to denounce the shop's wares, causing tears of blood to spill down the shop keeper's cheeks as he wished he could silence this disruptive pair immediately.  As a new customer turned upon his heel as he heard the words from the youths, the shop keeper had them leave; "This young master, young miss, if you aren't here to purchase, please do leave!"

Maimai chuckled inwardly, before tugging the unhappy man beside her out of the door.  "Come on," she urged Sun.

"But he was being rude!" Sun pouted, his face red.

"So were we," Maimai reminded him as she pointed out a fact.  "Although he was ostentatious enough to name those pretty toys, he did not go so far as to advertise them as spirit or soul weapons.  And they weren't all that expensive, not priced much above their worth.  We should leave the man a chance of survival."

"Fine," Sun sighed.  He did really want a soul sword that he could truly call his partner one day, but it was also true that it would not be so cheap to obtain such.  A soul weapon was not a normal weapon, as any man could use nor even a spirit weapon with a matrix embedded in its form, it was much more than that.  It was a weapon that had formed a soul of its own.  Even if one had the fortune to obtain one would not mean that the soul weapon would recognise them.  Some said that the soul in the weapon formed after hundreds of years or tens of thousands of years, others said it might be born immediately after crafting as if sensing its creators heart within its folds.  Jin Li's formerly rusty spirit weapon was good, strong, but it had not formed a soul even after the thousand years after it had been crafted.

"I'll leave first," Maimai told him, before pointing at the tea house.  "My sister is waiting for me in there."

"Oh, my cousin went to drink tea in there also," he said, just as the first cracks of thunder rumbled overhead.  He shuddered as if subject to an ominous omen.  Maimai also felt disconcerted.  Their casual steps became quickened ones as they neared the tea shop together.  Sure enough...

"History has plenty of pheasants wishing to be phoenixes, but their dreams cannot compare with this miss!" Her sister's voice echoed in her ears, the not too quiet insult seeming to come from a serene and calm throat, yet Maimai was not unable to hear the trembling anger within it. It seemed this argument had been stewing for sometime.

"Has my cousin an enmity with your sister?" Sun inquired beneath his breath as that girl's flustered face burst out with an insult of her own.

"Of course my dreams cannot compare! What dream remains a dream and what can be made into a reality, I am aware! Whether you have such an ability remains to be seen!"

Maimai had shaken her head at first, but was clearly confused. The girl with the long brown hair that Sun claimed to be related to, Merylin had not met this person before... right?

"You jest!" Merylin's voice rose by an octave. "You dream of obtaining a man that is unreachable for this di daughter of a powerful sect! Are you claiming to be a fox spirit with secret means?"

"What fox spirit? You're a fox spirit! Your whole family are fox spirits!" Carmen screamed in return, unleashing the temper that usually only Sun and his brethren had only been subject to before and even that had been away from the prying eyes of adults. Flashes of lightning brightened the sky now and then, punctuating their curses, but the rain that should have followed did not fall.

Hearing their words tossed back and forth, both Maimai and Sun had an epiphany and turned to each other. "Jin Li?!"

They both sighed in unison, though for differing reasons. Maimai was thinking of her best friend when she exhaled her exasperation; poor Leon. Yet another girl deluded themselves into thinking that they were the right or only person 'worthy' of his Jin Li. What made Jin Li so special? He was just a man! He had looks and strength, but his tongue was sharper than a sickle and blunter than any spoon! It could pierce and bludgeon at the same time without warning and yet these silly girls came back to be abused some more! He was also a bottomless pit when it came to food, what woman could afford him when poor Leon struggled to?! It was rumoured that he was born noble, but no one really knew the truth and he rarely offers explanation, his 'mysteriousness' which continued to feed the silly girls' imaginations was really just him being lazy.

Sun in the meantime was thinking far more simply. Why did all the girls like Jin Li and not him? Not that he wanted Carmen to like him, that would be gross. He didn't want Merylin to like him either, she was the sort to love not her husband but his position and reputation. Actually, forget it. Girls were all too complicated. Best stick with finding a soul sword for a partner and not worry about the rest...


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