Originally, the group had only planned to stay in Thousand Mist Town for a single night.
They were supposed to board a merchant ship at the docks the next day and head for Youquan Town.
But now, having accepted the barbarian tribe's bet, they had no choice but to stay here for a few more days. They couldn't leave Thousand Mist Town until the New Moon Archery Tournament was over.
Staying for these extra days meant their accommodation costs would naturally multiply several times over.
Traveling together, they pooled their food, clothing, and expenses. They simply put most of their silver together and let Chai Xiaomi manage the accounts, while everyone else kept only a small portion on them.
Right now, she was searching through her lapels and sleeves, growing more panicked by the second.
This was big trouble.
"Huh? Where's my coin purse? That new cherry blossom embroidered one?"
To store the silver, she had specifically bought a purse with a cherry blossom embroidery pattern when passing through the market. How could it vanish into thin air before she even had a chance to warm it up?
Most importantly, it held everyone's entire savings.
Chai Xiaomi was so frantic she broke out in a sweat.
Her small face turned red with anxiety.
Her clothes were rumpled from all the searching.
She spun around in circles, her pretty nose slightly wrinkled, her clear, almond-shaped eyes filled with anxiety and helplessness.
The young man sitting by the table finally took his time pulling out that cherry blossom purse, twirling it on his fingertip, and asked knowingly, "Looking for this?"
"Stinky Lili! Did you steal it?!"
Chai Xiaomi lunged at him furiously.
He propped his chin on one hand, lightly observing her ferocious display. As she lunged close, he flicked his wrist, tossing the purse to the other side. The young man leaped up in a flash, leaned against the window frame, and caught the purse securely.
A half-smile played on his lips. "Is this how you treat your benefactor? If it weren't for me, this bag would have been lost in some corner long ago."
"Give it back!" Chai Xiaomi rushed up to snatch it.
But Wu Li was simply too tall. With just a slight raise of his arm, she bounced left and right on her tiptoes, her fingertips always just a bit short of reaching the purse.
She glared at him in frustration and pouted, "Are you going to give it back or not?"
"You haven't thanked your benefactor yet," he looked down at her, his tone leisurely. "Why don't you have any manners at all?"
Hearing these words come out of Wu Li's mouth almost made her burst out laughing.
He was the least well-mannered person in the entire novel, okay?!
But on second thought, having grown up with no one to teach him, how could he possibly know these things?
Chai Xiaomi pursed her lips, her heart softening. She felt she had a duty to lead by example and show him what manners were.
So she took a half step back, bowed properly, and softened her voice: "Thank you."
Only then did she hold out both hands together, look up, and curve her eyes into an obedient smile:
"Can you give it back to me now, my great benefactor?"
Who would have thought this benefactor wouldn't take the out she gave him, but instead pushed further.
The corner of his lips curled up, his gaze sweeping over her face, and his eyes suddenly curved: "Call me 'brother' and let me hear it."
"In your dreams!" Chai Xiaomi turned her head and saw the blue-and-white porcelain vase on the curio shelf. The plum blossoms that originally sat in it had been carelessly tossed to the side, and now standing perfectly straight in the vase was her sugar figurine.
He refused to call her sister, and now he was actually making her call him brother.
This was completely backward!
She frowned and turned her back to him.
Wu Li, however, relentlessly stepped in front of her, looking as though he wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted: "Didn't you call me that before?"
How could that be the same!
The first time was to save her life. Let alone brother, she would have had no problem calling him 'daddy'.
But this time, it was just for a coin purse.
He wanted her to bow down for a mere five pecks of rice?
Hmph, was she, Chai Xiaomi, the kind of person whose eyes lit up at the sight of money?
"Brother."
Yes, she was.
It only took three seconds of mental preparation.
This sudden utterance caught the young man off guard, and he froze.
His long eyelashes fluttered lightly and slowly lowered.
He saw the girl once again holding out her palm to him, righteously demanding the purse.
The soft light from the lantern hanging outside the window fell on the top of her head, giving her hair a soft, warm glow. Even those eyes shone like stars submerged in water, flickering with light.
In an instant, it was as if countless invisible flowers...
...bloomed silently in the depths of his eyes, his heart, and everywhere he looked.
Blooming recklessly, blooming clamorously.
It made him dizzy, his throat tightening.
He looked away, his voice deliberately fading: "Didn't you eat enough? You sound like a mosquito. Louder."
Pushing his luck.
Too much!
Chai Xiaomi felt a lump in her chest and simply couldn't take it anymore. The curse words she had just prepared got stuck in her throat, cut off by a sudden knock on the door.
"Wu Li."
It was Song Yueyao's voice.
Huh? She took the initiative to look for Wu Li. This was a first.
Chai Xiaomi instantly became alert.
"Just a moment, sister," Wu Li answered loudly, his tone light and natural.
This 'sister' sounded so familiar, warm, and effortless.
Look, no one even had to force him.
It just came out naturally, incredibly smooth.
But with her, even holding a knife to his neck wouldn't work. Chai Xiaomi's heart suddenly tightened with a sour feeling, inexplicably feeling like a lemon.
Wu Li looked down at her and saw the little flames in her eyes. He knew she was truly angry, and if he kept teasing her, she might start crying.
She was best at that trick.
Her watery tears were large and bright, falling at the drop of a hat, pouring down. Sometimes he couldn't even tell if they were real or fake.
Anyway, he was helpless against those tears.
So he stopped teasing her and gently pressed the purse back into her palm.
At the same time, his fingers formed a sign, he muttered an incantation, quickly stamped the back of her hand, and then lightly hooked her index finger.
Chai Xiaomi saw the Qiankun bag hanging at her waist open a corner on its own, rippling with a pale golden light.
"Put the purse in here; it won't get lost easily," he said in a low voice. "Did you memorize the incantation just now? From now on, to open it, just recite it silently once."
After giving his instructions, Wu Li hurriedly left.
Before closing the door, he specifically turned back, looking unusually serious: "Stay in the room and don't run around. This town is a mixed bag right now; there are all sorts of people."
He paused: "I'll be right back and bring you something good to eat."
He was totally treating her like a child.
Chai Xiaomi watched the tall and short figures reflected on the door as they walked away, and that sour feeling crept up in her heart again, thick enough to wring out juice.
"Host! Host!" Youtiao yelled anxiously in her mind. "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and follow them! You absolutely cannot let the villain and the female lead be alone together; you can't give him any chance to plant the love gu!"
Chai Xiaomi suddenly snapped back to reality.
The two figures had disappeared, but they seemed branded in her eyes, lingering.
In that instant just now, she had completely forgotten her mission, only feeling a stifling tightness in her chest, sour emotions churning and rising.
She pushed open the door and chased after them.
Inside the building, corridors crisscrossed, connected by sky bridges, twisting and turning.
Colorful silk ribbons fluttered lightly among the beams, colored lanterns spun and flickered, the lights and shadows blurring together.
From time to time, courtesans in fluttering dresses passed through the corridors on various floors, a fragrant breeze drifting, shadows dazzling the eyes.
Chai Xiaomi passed through the swaying gauze curtains and intersecting lights and shadows, looking around, and finally spotted the two familiar figures stepping over the threshold of the Phantom Sound Pavilion one after the other, disappearing into the dimming lights outside.
