The stall vendor was still enthusiastically persuading, but the gaze of the person beside him became increasingly sharp.
Zanxing, afraid that this person might anger Gu Baiying and provoke a fight in broad daylight, quickly took out a magic pearl and handed it over. “Hey, I’ll pay for ten, but I only need one,” she said, selecting the largest one from the branches. “This one.”
“I understand.” The vendor glanced at Gu Baiying beside Zanxing, then leaned in and whispered, “Little lover has a big temper and needs to be appeased now that he’s in love. But I’m not trying to take advantage of you. Miss, I’m here running my stall, so I’ll keep the rest of the locks for you. When you want the remaining nine in the future, just come back to me!” She then took out a small key from her pocket and raised her voice a bit. “Here, after you write your name on it, remember to lock it up. Don’t throw away the key. If one day your feelings change and you want to find someone new, just open the lock. Understand?”
Gu Baiying, unable to tolerate any more, brandished Xiu Gu and stepped forward. “What nonsense are you spouting? Is this how you do business?”
“What’s wrong with me?” The demon woman, ever brazen, sneered. “When people meet, if they click, they stay together. If not, they part ways. Isn’t that normal? Do you expect people to stay with the same person for their entire lives? How ambitious! Young man, I see this lady by your side is beautiful and must have many admirers. While you sure are charming now, once you grow old and unattractive, would you want to tie her down and prevent her from seeking a new romance? How selfish of you to say you care!”
“Selfish?” Gu Baiying stared at her in disbelief.
“Isn’t it selfish? If she finds a better option, what you should do is bless her!”
“Hogwash
1!”
“Alright, alright, enough already. Why are you still arguing?” Zanxing, seeing the clash of views on courtship between humans and demons, felt a headache coming on. She packed the silver lock and key into a bag and pulled Gu Baiying forward quickly. “People from Heishi City always speak like this. It’s just banter, why are you taking it so seriously?”
Gu Baiying, still fuming, remained silent with a cold expression.
Zanxing was about to continue persuading him when she heard someone calling her from ahead. “Junior Sister!”
Tian Fangfang was standing in front of a small stall, holding a large pile of packages wrapped with oil paper, with Men Dong beside him. Neither of them had a lover or an admirer, so they were genuinely here to browse the night market.
“Junior Sister,” Tian Fangfang waved at her, saying, “The food here is much better than what we had on Gufeng Mountain. I’ve just bought quite a few magic pearls. If you want anything, I can bring some for you to have as a late-night snack.”
Heishi City’s food is heavy on oil and spices, in stark contrast to the light and healthy food of Gufeng Mountain. Zanxing didn’t hesitate and replied, “Thank you. I’d like the scallion oil chicken, but without the scallions.”
“Got it!”
Hearing this, Gu Baiying seemed to recall something, and the coldness on his face melted away slightly as he suddenly smiled.
Zanxing asked, “What’s making you smile?”
Gu Baiying slowly replied, “Your taste hasn’t changed. You didn’t eat scallions on Gufeng Mountain, and you still don’t eat them here in Heishi City.”
“My taste has always been quite consistent,” Zanxing said.
Just then, they saw two familiar figures standing at a small stall ahead: Meng Ying and Mu Cengxiao. The stall they were at was not as lively as others and seemed somewhat quiet. Zanxing approached and saw that the stall was selling various jewelry and hairpins.
Demons had always had bold tastes, and their jewelry was naturally quite dazzling. Mu Cengxiao picked out a pink beaded chain from the array of colorful jewels.
The chain looked quite rough, with a extremely bright pink color. It was so gaudy that no one would have picked it up to look at it if it were placed anywhere. Yet, Mu Cengxiao picked it up and scrutinized it for a while. Hesitant, he asked Meng Ying, who was beside him, “Senior Sister, what do you think?”
“You have a good eye, Young Master!” The vendor was a middle-aged man in a silver robe with his hair styled in small braids and adorned with colorful beaded bracelets. He chuckled and said, “This is a Red Rhodonite Peony Pink Ghostly Snowflake Mica Bracelet. It’s the last batch we have. If a woman with poor luck in love buys and wears it, within three days, she will definitely attract romantic prospects. It’s very effective!”
Gu Baiying raised an eyebrow and replied critically, “If it’s so effective, why haven’t you sold a single one?”
The stack of pink bracelets was still large, and the business seemed rather slow. The man, however, was not bothered. He said, “Well, this is Heishi City. Demon women never lack suitors, so it’s not selling well here. If this were in the human world,” he chuckled in a cunning manner, “it would be sold out in no time!”
Zanxing cleared her throat and said, “But with my Senior Sister’s looks, she probably doesn’t need this bracelet.” Meng Ying wasn’t lacking in admirers and adding a few more wouldn’t make much difference.
Seeing his potential sale slipping away, the man quickly changed his approach. “This bracelet isn’t just for women, men can wear it too. The effect is the same.”
Gu Baiying impatiently retorted, “What man would buy something like this?”
As soon as the words fell, Mu Cengxiao pulled out a magic pearl. “I’ll buy this.”
Zanxing, Gu Baiying, and Meng Ying were all taken aback.
Facing their astonished looks, Mu Cengxiao calmly said, “I want to buy it to dismantle it and see if the Red Rhodonite inside can be used to refine pills.”
The vendor, surprised that his exaggerated claims actually led to a sale, had a complicated look on his face. He took the magic pearl, handed over the bracelet to Mu Cengxiao, and forced a smile. “Young Master truly has… good eyesight.”
Zanxing was speechless for a moment, thinking that sometimes people’s judgments can be even worse than those of dogs.
As the group was about to leave, the stall owner called out to them again, “Hey, everyone, it’s Qixi Festival today, buy a piece of jewelry and get a fortune-telling slip.” He took a black fortune-telling tube from under the table and placed it in front of everyone, “Who wants to try?”
Meng Ying and Mu Cengxiao both shook their heads. Zanxing looked at Gu Baiying, who gazed back at her with an indescribable expression. “You don’t expect me to do it, do you?”
Zanxing asked, “Draw one, let’s get a good omen.”
Gu Baiying stared at her for a moment before finally giving in. He reluctantly stepped forward. The fortune-telling tube didn’t look very big, but it was quite heavy to hold. Gu Baiying held it up and shook it a few times, and with a clink, a black iron rod flew out.
The vendor asked, “What’s your question?”
Before Gu Baiying could speak, Zanxing quickly said, “Love, ask about love!”
Gu Baiying glanced at her, said nothing, and bent down to pick up the iron slip from the ground. He read the words on it aloud: “The moon in the spring courtyard is full of love, yet it still shines on the fallen flowers of those who are parted.”
At the top of the iron slip, written in red ink, were the big characters “Very Bad.”
Really wanted to use this word after watching Fantastic Beasts haha