061 Better Than Some, Worse Than Others
“Valuable? This black thing, could it be jade?”
“Not jade. This is… this is li crystal stone. It takes 3000 years to…”
“…”
Qin Ren took a sip of soy milk. Without turning around, he could imagine the boss’s expression.
“You should go to another shop.”
“You don’t want it?”
“Go on.”
And so, the woman’s voice behind him fell, disappointed. She said, “Excuse me,” and quickly left.
Of course, Qin Ren couldn’t just let her go. He gulped down the soy milk, swiped open WeChat, and directly paid an extra 12 yuan.
“Boss, another cup of soy milk and two buns, to go.”
It was almost time for takeout orders, so the staff in the shop had already filled many cups of soy milk. Qin Ren grabbed a cup with one hand and took the two large buns from the boss with the other, then strode out in pursuit.
“Miss, please wait.”
“?”
The young woman hadn’t gone far. Hearing Qin Ren’s voice, her delicate lotus steps came to a graceful halt. When she turned around, her simple white robe, stained with dust, had a particularly graceful and elegant air. Her fair face, without a trace of makeup, was a bit pale and looked plain, but it still couldn’t hide her beauty.
“Are you calling me?”
She looked at Qin Ren, her pale red lips slightly parted. A trace of vigilance showed in her autumn-water almond eyes. The spirit in her eyes had both the gentle charm of a married woman and a bit of a young girl’s wit, strange and captivating.
If Qin Ren were to describe it, it would probably be a kind of graceful temperament somewhere between Yu Yourong and his neighbor, Su Yu.
“Miss, I mean no harm.”
It was only after she turned around that Qin Ren noticed she was also holding an ancient-looking longsword. The bronze-colored scabbard was engraved with fine gold threads, exquisite and slender. The hilt was extremely narrow, the kind that looked very light at a glance.
“Here.”
Qin Ren held up the buns and soy milk in his hands.
“Eat.”
“…”
The other party took half a step back. Her surprised gaze shifted from Qin Ren to the bun shop, then back, and finally locked onto the buns and soy milk. Her throat moved.
“These… where did they come from?”
“Nonsense. I bought them.”
“For me…?”
“Yes.”
She looked incredulous. After a moment of hesitation, she took out a black hexagonal object.
“Thank you. This is for you.”
“No, no, I don’t want this.”
“This is called a sect token. It’s li crystal…”
“Mhm, mhm, I know. I don’t want it.”
Qin Ren waved his hand. After all, he already had two at home, so he naturally wasn’t interested in this thing.
“You’re Yu Ling’er, right?”
“Eh? How do you…”
“Hello, my name is Qin Ren. Qin as in Qin Shi Huang, Ren as in the ‘ren’ in ‘xingren,’ almonds.”
As Qin Ren spoke, he slowly moved closer. Although Yu Ling’er didn’t know who Qin Shi Huang was, she could gradually feel two familiar auras on him.
A Pixiu!
And… Yu Yourong!
Clang—
The next moment, Qin Ren instantly felt a chill on his neck. In his peripheral vision, a slender silver sword was resting on his neck.
“What did you do to Yourong!”
It was around 6 in the morning. There weren’t many people on the street. But even if there were, Qin Ren believed that no one would take the scene in front of them and the sword in Yu Ling’er’s hand seriously.
For example, the bun shop owner was now leaning against the shop entrance, holding a QR code scanner, still firmly believing that someone was filming a skit, looking around for the camera crew.
But Qin Ren could also understand Yu Ling’er’s reaction. From the Myriad Demon Continent to Earth, this was not just an unfamiliar place. Thinking the worst first was also a kind of psychological defense mechanism.
“You, you should worry about yourself first.”
Qin Ren switched the soy milk to his other hand and gently pushed aside the cold blade with two fingers.
“She’s at my place. She’s been living better than you these days.”
“She’s at your place?” Yu Ling’er suspiciously moved the sword back to Qin Ren’s neck.
“She’s been living better than you.”
Qin Ren pushed it aside again.
“The second half of the sentence is the key point. Did you know, every day she… uh… she’s been looking for you. But where have you been? Where have you been these past few days?”
“I…”
Yu Ling’er’s fair and delicate wrist went limp. She put away her longsword, and a touch of sorrow and grievance was added to her eyes.
“I drew my sword on a bus and was arrested…”
——————
After that, the two of them sat down on a bench under a tree by the side of the road. While Yu Ling’er was wolfing down the buns and soy milk, she and Qin Ren exchanged information. It was largely the same as the carrier pigeon message Tie Zhu had brought to Qin Ren before. Yu Ling’er had been in the detention center for a total of one month and 15 days. She had just been released a few days ago, but was once again in a daze, just like when she had first arrived on Earth.
“Those two officers said I was undocumented. At first, they would come and ask me every day, asking where I came from and where I was going… cough cough!”
“Eat slower, talk slower.”
Qin Ren patted her back. Yu Ling’er timidly dodged at first, then, after secretly glancing at his expression, she relaxed a little and took a large gulp of soy milk to swallow.
“…Later, I figured it out. I tried to make up some place names and didn’t mention my disciple. I said that after I got out, I would go home to find my daughter. Only then did they stop asking.”
Qin Ren had to praise her for her cleverness. It was a good thing she did it in time, otherwise they would have definitely called a doctor to assess her for mental illness.
“When I was locked up, I was the only one in the small room. They also took my sword and made me change clothes…”
“Change clothes… was there that kind of orange vest?”
“Yes!”
Yu Ling’er nodded, her eyes brightening.
“You’ve been in there too?”
“No.”
Qin Ren didn’t say he had seen it on TV. He figured she probably didn’t know what TV was yet. He shouldn’t give her too much information at once. He could take it slow later.
“Then after you got out, did you get your sword back too?”
“Mhm.”
“They gave it back to you?”
“No, a one-legged pigeon led me to a tree nearby. When I went to look, the sword was already there.”
So it was Tie Zhu who helped…
“And then?”
“Then I used my sword to chase the pigeon away.”
“…”
Isn’t that biting the hand that feeds you?
But Yu Ling’er said that at the time, she had just gotten out of the station and was suspicious of everything. Getting her sword back so strangely made her overly nervous about everything around her.
However, this nervousness quickly dissipated with the hunger of the next few days. The Flowing Cloud Sect’s Sect Master, who had lost her spiritual power, even once considered whether she should go back to the station again. At least they served food there.
But this idea was obviously not rational, a very short-sighted action.
So, the Sect Master began to exchange some of her belongings for food.
Including a pair of jade earrings and a jade hairpin. These two items were still recognizable on Earth. However, the two priceless pieces of jewelry were only exchanged for fifty yuan, which was quickly spent.
There was no other way. First, she didn’t understand the market on Earth. Second, as a cultivator, she had no concept of wealth. In addition, her original offer was to “exchange for a bite to eat.” The owners of those small restaurants either ignored her or, seeing her antique-style dress, thought she was some kind of person who specialized in situational experiences.
Just like how there are often people abroad who trade things everywhere.
In short, it was “just for fun.” Some of the owners even felt that they had lost out after the exchange, having spent money to buy a useless “fake jade” just to play along with the girl.
…
“Then do you still remember those shops?” Qin Ren’s eyes lit up.
“I do.”
As long as she remembered. Qin Ren began to silently calculate in his heart the matter of going to the shopkeepers to get his gold coins later.
He glanced at the bun on the back of Yu Ling’er’s head. What was holding it up now, instead of a jade hairpin, was a disposable chopstick.
“After you sold your jewelry, you just went hungry looking for your disciple?”
Qin Ren pointed at her chest.
“Times have changed. For the sake of survival, you didn’t consider selling your sword?”
“No!”
Yu Ling’er immediately hugged her sword tightly in unease, right in the middle, in the groove, which made her chest, which was originally hidden under her loose dress, a little more prominent. It was quite large, only a little smaller than Yu Yourong’s.
…
To be honest, it wasn’t that Qin Ren was deliberately comparing. It was just that the two were master and disciple, so it was hard not to connect them in his thoughts.
It was like when you mention Xiao Qiao, you think of Da Qiao. When you mention Cheng Siyun, you think of Cheng Siyu.
…
“This is absolutely not allowed! This is a treasure! And…”
Yu Ling’er held her longsword, her eyes very determined, but then they quickly became resentful.
“And if I sell the sword, that unfilial disciple will hit my bu…”
“…”
“Nothing! In short, it’s not allowed!”
Yu Ling’er stopped in time, her heart skipping a beat.
Phew…
That was close. The family shame was almost aired in public…
She was glad that her reaction was fast enough. She continued to drink her soy milk in large gulps. Qin Ren beside her subconsciously began to silently look at her waist.
As an architectural designer, Qin Ren could tell the size of many things at a glance.
When Yu Ling’er was standing, you couldn’t tell. But when she sat down, the curve of her hips was faintly visible and full of tension. It felt a bit wider than classmate Yu Yourong’s.
Although her chest was a little smaller than her disciple’s, her lower body was fuller.
Qin Ren couldn’t help but complain in his heart. Could this be the legendary “better than some, worse than others”…
T/N:
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Xiao Qiao / Da Qiao (小乔 / 大乔): The Two Qiaos, two famous beauties from the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. They were sisters.
