The sun rose high in the sky just like Qingling's anger.
"How could Brother Xiao Long make a promise he has no guarantee of keeping?" She spiraled.
In a fit of fear and anger, she channeled her qi into a needle to be shoved into the clueless Long Xiao's fragile neck.
Until...
"Sister Qingling, I think you should let the Madam worry about Brother Long's neck and you worry about yours." A voice laughed faintly.
Qingling retracted the needle quickly. Long Xiao dropped the gold bars back in the box reluctantly to see where the voice came from.
"Brother Zhingsha..." Qingling gritted her teeth.
A figure emerged from the shadows. It was Zhingsha. He put his hand on Long Xiao's shoulder.
"I can see that things didn't go too well on Brother Long's first sales day."
Zhingsha laughed as he took in Qingling's face and the almost cracked jars on the shelf.
"Too well?! He messed everything up." she cackled.
"Brother Zhingsha, may I ask you a question?" Long Xiao asked quietly, eyes darting at Qingling.
"Of course!" Zhingsha pulled him gently to a corner.
"Teacher said that the customer is always right so... I applied that lesson today and got us these three boxes of gold." He gestured.
"I can't seem to understand why the teacher is furious." Long Xiao's eyes darted at the furious Qingling, running a hand through his hair.
"Brother Zhinghsha, we don't have time for this. We-I need to find a way to speak of this to the Madam." She played with her fingers in frustration.
"I asked Brother Xiao Long to sell a merchant salt from the Lianxu Realm because we didn't have the Salt of The Silent Realm he asked for. And Brother Xiao Long could not tell a simple lie to sell it. To make it worse, he accepted these gold bars and said that he'd be ready with the salt when they pass by in a century." She cackled. "Where are we going to get that salt?!"
"I guess the customer isn't always right. Isn't that right, Sister Qingling?"
Zhingsha's laughter echoed in the store as he walked towards her, leaving Long Xiao in the corner.
The tension in the antique store snapped like a cursed string as Qingling snapped at Zhingsha.
"ZHINGSHA!" Qingling's voice echoed through the shelves, rattling jars and unsettling scrolls.
"You think this is funny?" Qingling hissed, summoning a whip of spiritual silk from her sleeve.
Her qi flared, robes billowing as she launched the whip forward only to hit the ground because Zhinghsa had disappeared into the shadows.
From a corner, Zhingsha emerged with a smirk, legs crossed mid-air and eyes gleaming with mischief.
"Sister Qingling, why are you getting violent all of a sudden?"
Qingling struck her whip again only to meet the wall. "You always hide in the shadows to piss me off. Today, you face the light."
Zhingsha's grin widened. "Sister Qingling, I suggest you keep your surroundings in mind but if you're so bent on fighting me, I'll be glad to spar with you. After all, it's not everyday I get to spar with my favorite sister."
"Ohhhh this is getting interesting. I vote Brother Zhingsha." Long Xiao cheered from his corner.
The Match Began
---
Outside The Mistveil Antique Store read closed. Qingling struck first, her whip slicing through the air with a crack that split the silence. Zhingsha vanished, reappearing behind her with a flicker of shadow, his push daggers drawn but not yet glowing.
Long Xiao ducked behind a shelf of cursed mirrors, peeking through a crack. "This is either a spar or a spiritual divorce." He chuckled.
Qingling spun, her whip wrapping around a pillar before redirecting mid-air toward Zhingsha's chest. He blocked with a shadow shield, the impact sending a ripple through the store's protective runes.
"Careful!" Long Xiao shouted. "You're going to hit me!"
The tapestry above the counter shimmered ominously pulsing with crimson light, each strike feeding its glow, as if the lotus itself was drinking in their fury. Zhingsha retaliated with a flurry of shadow clones, each darting across the floor like ink spilled on silk. Qingling closed her eyes, sensing the real one, and launched a burst of qi needles that pierced three illusions and grazed his shoulder.
"You're getting slow," she smirked.
"I'm getting bored," he replied, vanishing again.
A stray qi needle ricocheted off a mirror and embedded itself in Long Xiao's sleeve.
"Excuse me!" he shouted, stepping into the fray. "Please, I'm not involved in this friendly spar.
Qingling snapped, striking her shadow whip which summoned a gust of wind that blew Long Xiao's hair into chaos.
Zhingsha reappeared beside Long Xiao, whispering, "You're in the match now, Brother."
"Oh no," Long Xiao muttered. "I refuse to spar with mortals. I'm divine."
The whip in Qingling's hand went slack. Zhingsha's playful smirk disappeared. The entire store was so silent, Long Xiao could hear the sound of his own heart beating.
"Did I say something wrong?" He covered his mouth.
They had paused mid strike to look at him. They tilted their heads in confusion. Qingling lowered her whip down harshly, echoing in the store.
"Brother Xiao Long, what do you mean by you refusing to spar with…mortals? Why are you not... mortal?" She scowled, folding her arms.
They laughed in unison.
"Brother Xiao Long, bear in mind that you're called Xiao Long, a little basket, not Long Xiao, the valiant dragon." Qingling's laughter echoed in the store.
"Brother Xiao Long thinks he's Lord Long Xiao, the strongest amongst the Five Holy Gods." Tears pricked the corner of Zhingsha's eyes as he laughed.
"Hey what's that supposed to mean?" Long Xiao frowned.
"Are they looking down me? Do I not look god enough?" He looked at himself in a nearby mirror and sighed. The rags of robes he wore sparkled in the sun's rays that drifted in the store.
"I'm not going to let this disrespect slide." Long Xiao murmured.
"But I can't say I disagree with them about being the best." He wore a smug smile, running a hand through his hair.
"Look! Brother Zhingsha's going to strike." Long Xiao smirked, stepping out of the fray to cause a distraction.