Chapter 14: The Shop

“I—I stand~~~ in the bitter wind~~~” Qingyun hummed a half-remembered tune from her old memories as she stepped lightly back into the remote little courtyard.

The gains from the afternoon had put her in an undeniably good mood. Even the desolate little yard beneath the evening gloom seemed a little more pleasing to the eye.

“You seem to be in a very good mood.”

A cool and familiar child’s voice rang out abruptly, breaking the stillness of the courtyard and bringing Qingyun’s humming to an immediate halt. Her steps froze in place.

She turned toward the sound and saw that in the crude little pavilion in the corner of the yard, a small figure was seated on a stone stool.

It was Yueli.

“Young Miss?” Qingyun asked, somewhat surprised. “Why are you sitting outside? It is already dark, and the air is chilly. You should go back inside quickly.”

She noticed that Yueli was wearing only a white fox-fur cloak that looked to be of fine quality. In the deepening dusk and faintly cool evening breeze, her figure looked especially slight and fragile.

Yueli paid no attention to Qingyun’s attempt to persuade her. She remained seated there, steady and unmoving, her pair of golden eyes especially striking in the dim light as she stared straight at Qingyun and repeated her question:

“I heard that you went to the dispensary this afternoon?”

“Yes.” Qingyun nodded and walked to the edge of the pavilion, keeping a distance that was neither too close nor too far. “The dispensary was temporarily short of hands, so Steward Huang sent me over to help fill in. The work is already finished.”

“Then you do not need to go again after this.”

Yueli’s voice did not rise or fall, but it carried a tone that allowed no dispute.

Qingyun’s heart tightened, and she hurriedly said, “Young Miss, this... Steward Huang’s side—”

“Did Steward Huang not tell you to ‘attend me closely’?” Yueli cut her off. She lifted her chin slightly, and Qingyun’s somewhat startled face was reflected in those golden pupils.

“Since you are to attend me closely, then you do not need to go do other odd jobs. You only need to stay properly in this courtyard.”

At first hearing, it sounded like the overbearing order of a mistress to her servant. Yet if one savored it more carefully, it seemed to carry some other meaning as well.

Qingyun’s thoughts spun rapidly, while an obedient smile quickly appeared on her face as she explained,

“Young Miss, you misunderstand. Working in the dispensary does not delay my service to you.”

“You see, did I not return before supper? Besides, I think helping in the dispensary is quite good. I can learn to recognize medicinal herbs and pick up a little knowledge. If something is ever needed on your side in the future, I will understand at least a little.”

Naturally, she could not speak the truth—that she went to the dispensary in order to secretly absorb Spirit Source. Still, the excuse she found was reasonable enough.

“You!”

Looking at Qingyun’s smile—outwardly respectful, yet unmistakably steadfast beneath it—an inexplicable fire began rising in Yueli’s chest again.

She clenched the edge of her fox-fur cloak, her little face drawn tight.

‘This ignorant creature!’ she thought resentfully. ‘I already... I already told her to stop doing those menial chores and stay here in peace, did I not? Why must she insist on running outside?’

In her simple understanding, staying in a place like the dispensary and mingling with a crowd of servants to sort herbs was by no means a good assignment.

Why was this new maid so disobedient?

Yet looking at Qingyun’s face, which plainly said, “I have my reasons,” Yueli also knew that saying more would be useless.

She gave a heavy “hmph,” said nothing further, pulled her fox-fur cloak tighter around herself, and hopped down from the stone stool. Without looking back, she strode quickly toward the main room and shut the door behind her with a bang.

Qingyun was left standing alone in the thickening night, staring at that tightly closed door as she blinked.

A strange feeling suddenly crossed her heart.

If she thought carefully about it, those words just now did not seem entirely like an attempt to make things difficult for her or an assertion of a mistress’s authority. It sounded a little more like... a roundabout way of showing concern for her servant? As though she did not want her going out to do those “odd jobs”?

“Tch. This little ancestor’s temper may be strange, but her heart is not quite as bad as I imagined.”

Qingyun rubbed her nose and muttered softly to herself. Whether it was because of Steward Huang’s instructions, or because of something else, Yueli’s attitude toward her new maid seemed to carry an awkward kind of complexity.

Still, the matter of the dispensary concerned Qingyun’s most important channel for obtaining Spirit Source. Qingyun had plans and goals of her own. Naturally, she could not possibly give it up because of a single sentence from Yueli.

This “kindness” from her mistress, she could only appreciate in her heart, but she could not obey it.

“Ah, that stubborn streak...” She shook her head and swallowed back the words “rather adorable” that had almost risen unbidden in her mind.

If she actually said such a thing aloud, that little ancestor would probably explode on the spot.

Thinking no more about it, she turned and walked toward her own little side room.

The moment she stepped inside and shut the door, cutting herself off from everything outside, the calm on Qingyun’s face was immediately replaced by excitement and anticipation.

Without delay, she sat cross-legged on the hard wooden bed, gathered her breath, concentrated her mind, and silently called out:

“Open the shop function!”

The instant the command was given, she clearly “felt” the number representing 【Spirit Source】within her mind suddenly jump, dropping sharply from “126” to “76”!

A full fifty points of Spirit Source had been consumed!

A pang of pain shot through Qingyun’s heart. She had worked so hard “absorbing” the entire afternoon just to save up that little bit of wealth, and opening a single function had swallowed more than half of it! This system truly was stingy!

Yet that pain lasted only a brief moment.

Because in the very next instant, beside the familiar light screen in her consciousness, an entirely new and far more complicated “interface” suddenly unfolded.

It was as though a silent scroll had been spread open, or a virtual screen had lit up.

There was no blinding radiance, only clearly divided sections and entries.

At the very top were several ancient-looking seal-script labels. At present, only one of them glowed faintly with light:

【First Glimpse of the Path】

The others, such as 【Entering the Hall】, 【Complete Mastery】, and 【Secrets of the Grandmaster】, were all dim and dark, clearly still locked.

Beneath the lit area marked 【First Glimpse of the Path】were several smaller categories:

【Basic Cultivation Methods】, 【Low-Rank Spells】, 【Mortal Martial Techniques】, 【Introductory Pill Knowledge】, 【Material Compendium】, 【Miscellaneous Oddities】...

Each subcategory could be opened, and inside were many listed entries. But the overwhelming majority were gray, and only a very few glimmered with faint white light, showing that they could be viewed or... exchanged?

Qingyun’s attention first fell upon 【Basic Cultivation Methods】.

Inside, besides 《Longevity Art》, which she already possessed and which was marked as such, she also saw names like 《Clear Water Art》, 《Thick Earth Technique》, and 《Burning Wood Heart Method》. Behind each was the amount of Spirit Source required for exchange, ranging from eighty to one hundred and fifty points.

Inside 【Low-Rank Spells】, the few lit entries included: “Bright Eyes Art” (10 Spirit Source), “Cleansing Art” (5 Spirit Source), “Breeze Art” (15 Spirit Source), and “Flash Art” (20 Spirit Source).

All of them looked like small spells with no real offensive power, more inclined toward assistance or daily living.

Inside 【Mortal Martial Techniques】were things like 《Basic Fists and Kicks》, 《Willow Leaf Blade Art》, and 《Chasing Wind Steps》, with exchange prices ranging from thirty to eighty Spirit Source.

That stirred something in Qingyun’s heart. In this world where martial artists were held in highest esteem, learning a few martial techniques for self-defense also seemed highly practical.

As for 【Introductory Pill Knowledge】and 【Material Compendium】, they looked more like bodies of knowledge. After exchange, one would gain the related ability to identify things and the basic knowledge needed for refinement. The prices were not cheap at all, each exceeding one hundred Spirit Source.

The items under 【Miscellaneous Oddities】were the most varied of all: “Low-Rank Storage Pouch (one cubic unit)” (300 Spirit Source), “Fasting Pills (one bottle, ten pills)” (50 Spirit Source), “Luminous Pearl” (20 Spirit Source), “Sharp Little Dagger” (25 Spirit Source)...

The array was dazzling, but the prices made her click her tongue.

Her gaze swept rapidly across the list, and her heart thudded violently in her chest. So this was the system shop?

Although only the most rudimentary portion was currently open, and although her pitiful seventy-six points of Spirit Source could hardly buy more than a few things, at the very least she had seen a clear path and clear hope!

Cultivation methods, spells, martial techniques, pills, knowledge, tools...

So long as she possessed enough Spirit Source, she would be able to arm herself bit by bit, and in this dangerous and unfamiliar world, truly step onto a path that belonged to her alone!

Gradually, her excitement overcame the pain of loss.

She began carefully calculating what, among these seventy-six points of Spirit Source, she ought to exchange first to make the best use of them—what would most effectively solve the difficulties immediately before her, or strengthen her as quickly as possible.