Chapter 129

She flipped out all the money from her pocket. Shang Shan stretched her hand forward, about to hand it to the Old Granny, when midway it was intercepted by another hand. The money was taken away, and her palm ended up empty.

She turned her head to look. When she saw who was standing behind her, she was scared the soul out of her body: “Master!”

Mu Qian Tan said coolly: “Buying this stuff first thing in the morning? Got money to burn, huh.”

“I, I,” Shang Shan stammered, flustered. She still decided to save her life first. She swung her arms to slap the book shut and hugged it all to her chest to cover the title. Her eyes darted around, gaze flickering: “I didn’t buy anything.”

Mu Qian Tan tossed the money up and caught it again. The fragments of silver clinked lightly: “Borrowed from Qin He again?”

Shang Shan argued: “Just a little bit.” As if remembering something, a smile bloomed on her face: “Thanks, Master, for paying for me.”

“I’m just finding an excuse to give Qin He some pocket money. Don’t flatter yourself.” She tossed the silver fragments back onto the counter with a clatter. Mu Qian Tan said coldly: “Look at whatever you want. If you dare bring it in front of me to pollute my eyes again, I’ll burn it all for you.”

The Old Granny only stuck her hands out the window. Yet it felt like a gaze peered out from the darkness, sizing up the two of them. Seeing the situation wasn’t right, she asked: “Little girl, do you still want this book? This one’s the best artwork among the master…”

“Aaah, don’t say it, don’t say it!” Shang Shan yelled to stop her. She looked at the Old Granny, then at Mu Qian Tan. Her gaze darted rapidly between the two, her whole face turning visibly red—even her neck wasn’t spared.

She had successfully stopped the Old Granny from revealing the earth-shattering secret, and from the woman’s expression, she didn’t suspect anything. Relieved, she rested her chin on the book and hugged it tighter with both arms: “I won’t look at it in front of you.”

Mu Qian Tan scraped her up and down with a sharp gaze but said nothing. She turned and left.

“Master! Wait for me!” Shang Shan hurriedly picked up the money to pay, hugged the book, and chased after the woman: “Why won’t you give me spending money, but you give it to Qin He?”

Mu Qian Tan said: “How do you compare to her in any way?”

Shang Shan quickened her steps and bent down to check her expression: “I’m great, and I’m your direct disciple.”

Mu Qian Tan said: “I don’t have a direct disciple whose head is full of that stuff.”

“That stuff? What stuff?” The woman had long legs and walked fast, so Shang Shan could only hurry to keep up: “I don’t get it, but whatever it means, it’s not that. You’re misunderstanding me. My head is full of…”

Her voice grew smaller as she spoke, stopping there. The girl slowed down, lagging behind the woman to keep some distance. She stared at her shadow and said haltingly: “I… have a little secret.”

Even a blind person could see it. Mu Qian Tan rolled her eyes: “Oh.”

Shang Shan insisted: “You and I aren’t sisters. You don’t need to know!”

“Did I ask you?”

This Big Silly Dragon was still thinking about last night when they became sworn sisters and shared secrets. She had always been unable to keep her mouth shut. If she spilled it out straightforwardly like usual, Mu Qian Tan definitely wouldn’t be interested. But since she wanted to keep the secret and acted all coy, then she absolutely had to know.

However, the timing wasn’t right at the moment. She decided to hold off on this for now.

As they neared the end of the alley, the girl behind her fell silent for a long time before saying again: “Master, what kind of relationship do we have?”

Mu Qian Tan said: “Definitely not sisters.”

“Hey!”

They exited the alley into the bustling crowd. A girl in a bright blue horse-face skirt stood at the side of the street, her hair tied in a high ponytail at the back. She wore a white shirt with crane patterns on top, looking fresh and neat. Standing there, she was like a straight little white poplar.

Mu Qian Tan spotted her at a glance. She secretly noted how fast kids this age grew. She didn’t seem that tall last year. She looked so well-behaved and refined. They were about the same age—how come this kid grew up so healthy and strong? She wouldn’t stare at lewd books.

Seeing the woman emerge from the alley, Qin He gave a light greeting. Fu Li waited idly nearby, her elbow propped on Qin He’s shoulder as she ate a square pastry. Spotting the alley entrance, she swallowed the pastry and said: “I told you Yao’e Immortal was just casually looking around and would come out soon. But you insisted on waiting here. In that time, we could’ve finished shopping at three stores.”

Qin He shifted left a step, dodging Fu Li’s arm so she couldn’t rest it on her shoulder.

Mu Qian Tan ignored them and continued walking past the alley, looking around to see if there was anything worth observing. After all, this might be her last time here—might as well take a good look.

As she walked, nothing caught her interest. Her thoughts wandered, and the words on several shop signs gradually twisted into the scene she had glimpsed—that Spring Palace Diagram of two long-haired beauties entwined in an embrace and kiss.

Though she really didn’t want this thing to pollute her mind, it was strange. The more she tried to forget, the less she could. Instead, it grew clearer and clearer.

After pondering for a while, Mu Qian Tan still asked: “Closed-Eyes Li, did you notice the books Shang Shan was looking at just now?”

In truth, she had only seen a glance and quickly looked away the moment her gaze touched it. But since Shang Shan had vanished early in the morning, Li Biyuan was curious where she went. When she saw her figure in the alley, she focused her attention, so she didn’t miss that scene.

She hadn’t thought much of it at first. But combining it with Shang Shan’s recent behavior, and the matter of her inexplicably opening her heart aperture ahead of time, an extremely terrifying idea appeared in Li Biyuan’s mind: ‘Uh, yeah, I saw it.’

After answering, she recalled even more details. Every look, every word made her feel that guess was even more plausible! Li Biyuan, the omnivore who occasionally ate other flavors, had glimpsed the truth—but in the wrong person and place. The world collapsed once again.

Mu Qian Tan said: “Did that picture seem strange to you?”

Li Biyuan broke out in cold sweat: ‘Strange? What’s strange about it? Sister Tan, what are you talking about?’

‘What are you panicking for?’ Mu Qian Tan frowned: ‘Not strange? It just felt like two with long hair…’

‘Long hair is totally normal! This is ancient times, Sister Tan. Men receive their bodies and skin from their parents, right? They don’t cut their hair.’ Li Biyuan scrambled to cover: ‘Some books are just into that—handsome pretty boys and such, even ones in women’s clothes. It’s very…’

Mu Qian Tan said in disgust: ‘Enough, shut up.’

How come they were all so familiar with this stuff?

Li Biyuan coughed dryly twice and said: ‘No need for far examples—just close ones. Think about the male protagonist. His looks aren’t that masculine either. It’s normal to mistake him for a girl.’

Thinking of Jiang Yuanqi’s face, Mu Qian Tan agreed.

Ahead, after rounding a few buildings, it suddenly opened up. A garden sat at the road junction, clusters of vibrant flowers squeezing out an oil painting-like burst of color. In the central pavilion were many tea tables, with people gathered around drinking tea and chatting animatedly.

The air floated with the cold fragrance of flowers and tea. Mu Qian Tan saw an empty table in the corner, walked over, lifted her skirt, and sat down.

The tea set on the table was ice-cold. She glanced at the three who followed and planned to use this to ask about that secret.