Gangkou Night Market

Strange enough, Zhang Min had gone out with Lu Bang that night. Since the guide was with him, Sun Yin had no choice but to track Huaban and find them. However, it was the first time Lu Bang was with a maiden—scratch that—another maiden. For some reasons, it did not sit well with Sun Yin.

Ren Junjie and Sun Yin walked the streets until they came across a wide street at a corner. The whole spot was filled with shops here and there. Hawkers and stalls were competing with one another. Unlike the daytime version, the night market was brimming with shining objects. The normal talismans and dull items were obsolete in the presence of jewels and gems. Precious stones that were said to be sold at low prices plagued the street.

Sun Yin's eyes glittered and accidentally grabbed Ren Junjie's arm to drag him around as if he was Lu Bang instead. She checked out so many things, from bracelets to necklaces, from earrings to body piercings. There were also headdresses sold in a few stalls, but nothing interested Ren Junjie.

"These things... really..." Sun Yin raised one of the bracelets in a rather visited stall. She ignored the maidens that were either looking at the beautiful things in the counter or at that beautiful man next to Sun Yin.

The male could only look at the girls to stop them from giggling. Instead of an embarrassed look or a proud smile, he glared at them. They squeaked at his unkind eyes and focused on the items sold. He was clearly not for sale—or even for pre-order.

Sun Yin knew what happened even if she ignored the women. She could still hear them after all. She turned to Ren Junjie before raising a set of necklaces she thought were good. "That's a weird reaction. Here, take a pick."

"She wouldn't wear any of those even if I buy all of them." Ren Junjie's glare wore off as he laid his gaze on the bracelets. "They're all pretty."

"What is it that you like then, master cultivator?" The old crooked man behind the counter asked with a big grin. "I have more to show you than the ones on display, but I have to warn you: they're all very delicate." He reached for a box behind the counter. He opened the gold-painted strongbox in front of them.

There was a complete mix of accessories all made of the finest jade in the box. Ren Junjie reached out and took a hairpin decorated with sapphire stones. The seller grinned widely as he closed the strongbox, keeping the other girls' filthy hands from touching the jades inside.

"Good eyes! That hairpin is very one-of-a-kind! It's the same hairpin that the last queen of Zuansha has worn! It's extremely valuable that even cultivation sects are after it!"

Sun Yin twitched a little. She was the last queen of Zuansha; she never wore a hairpin before!

"It's a secret magical treasure! It was said to make the person you gift it to... fall in love with you!" The man grinned wider. "Not only that, it could make that person bow down to your every will!"

The immortal maiden gasped. She remembered the hairpin. It was not that she forgot she wore it; it was because it was her wedding gift from the king, which she used to stab and draw blood from him!

"How evil." Ren Junjie glared at it and at the man. "How much is this? I better take it away from your hands before selling it to the wrong person."

"Ah... a string! A string of coins!" The merchant clasped his hands. He knew he had the power to control the price. However, there was no more negotiation. Ren Junjie pulled out the money and went away with the hairpin.

The people around him were dumbfounded, even Sun Yin. She soon brought down the necklaces on her hands and lifted the hem of her hanfu to catch up with the man. The maiden then found Ren Junjie sit down on a bench, staring intently at the hairpin. She stood in front of him with a giggle.

"Aren't you a spoiled rich brat? You could have lowered the price. A hairpin that tasted blood is not worth a string of coins." Sun Yin chuckled as she hoped to surprise him.

"Pure or not, it still belonged to a queen."

"The queen had never worn that before it was used to kill someone." Sun Yin hummed, confused why he did not raise his head to see her at least. Did he not care that Sun Yin knew as if she was there?

However, Ren Junjie laid the hairpin flat on his both palms. He closed his fists lightly, letting a faint light shroud the hairpin outside the view of a lot of shoppers. Sun Yin's eyes widened at the scene before her. The man dissipated the light in his hands before uncurling his fingers.

He then smiled at the hairpin. It had lost its purple color but had become quite a spotless white jade hairpin with sapphire stones dotting its sides. The sharp claws that edged from the top morphed into soft edges, looking more of a quill by then. The dangling thin chains lost their bulk, and each chain was like a lace made of pressed silver.

This was the hairpin that Sun Yin remembered. She stared at the man before him, even as he got up and showed her the hairpin.

"I cleansed the dark energy and poison that turned the hairpin into something horrible. Perhaps this would be good enough, even if it barely competed with Little Huan's beauty." The smile on his lips never left.

The maiden was about to speak when she felt fingers pat the top of her head from behind. She made no movement since she felt Huaban behind her. Without taking a look, she knew who it was.

Lu Bang was tall and had no problems fixing something on her head. He just needed to find a suitable spot for what he was giving. His hands softly worked through her hair, not exerting force to even pull on Sun Yin's hair. He soon hummed as he finished. "Not bad. Fits your head."

Sun Yin used her fingers to feel a circlet on her hair. It was rather small to not edge from her hair, protecting it from her sudden movements if she needed to fight. It had thin chains that littered her hair, acting as glitters on her hair and additional hold of the circlet. There was also a carved stone in the center; it was shaped like a flower. From afar, the circlet seemed invisible, leaving the impression that shiny objects rested on her pitch-black hair, competing with the view of a starry night sky.

"Your head looked so plain." Lu Bang said as he went to Ren Junjie's side to see if he placed it at the center.

"I-Is it?" Sun Yin chuckled as she enjoyed feeling the circlet.

"Stop touching it. You're going to break it." Lu Bang softly pried her hands off of her head. Soon, he felt a weird gaze coming from Ren Junjie. He turned to him and met with the master's intent stare. "Are you mentally taking note of something here?"

"Ah, I just wondered if I can do the same..." his words trailed, defeat streaking across his face. His eyes soon fell to the hairpin. No, he could not.

Zhang Min, who was actually with Lu Bang by then, revealed herself to the cultivators with her. "Come, we found a shop with more of those!" She then looked at the hairpin. "How pretty! You'd need a good case for that! Come on, Master Ren. Let's see if we could find one!"

He only nodded as he stored it in his robes with care. Zhang Min pulled him away from the duo from the Lin sect.

Sun Yin looked up at Lu Bang who was just staring at her. He was waiting for her to move or talk again. However, she only pouted at him as if displeased. "I was hoping to hear more from you. I didn't think your mind would be so blank even if you look at me."

"What? You read minds now?" The man tilted his head to the side a little. Then again, he waved his hand to dismiss her thoughts. "We should finish looking around if we want to make it to the ships tomorrow. I heard they'll be arriving a day earlier."

"Is that why you're here?" Sun Yin sighed in dismay, but she did it with a defeated smile. She walked next to Lu Bang and paid attention to the pretty lights of the night market. Her gaze was soon attracted to the sky. It was filled with dark clouds. "It might rain tonight. Is this because the Storm Snake made thunderclouds earlier?"

"Who knows? Then again, we should hurry if you don't want to get wet." Lu Bang turned to her, his voice bringing her gaze back at his face. "Have you gone around here? There's still a lot to see." He watched her shake her head. "Then, let's go."

Sun Yin used both of her arms to catch Lu Bang's arm and gently pulled it to her side. The male only stopped walking to let her catch up with him. Even if he said they did not have much time to sightsee, they still took the slowest pace they could manage.