Location: Verdant Peak Courtyard - Post-Talisman Revelation
The cosmic absurdity hung thick in the crisp mountain air, heavier than the lingering scent of spirit-pine needles. Gu Qingxi stared at the innocuous piece of inscribed paper in her hand – her own creation, her own diluted Qi signature pulsing mockingly from the vermillion ink – purchased for a king's ransom by her well-meaning, tragically oblivious friend. A wave of vertigo, unrelated to flight, washed over her. She pressed a hand to her chest, feeling the frantic thud of her heart against her ribs. "You… spent how much?" The words scraped out, tight with disbelief bordering on physical pain.
"Three hundred spirit stones!" Xu Baozhu declared proudly, puffing out her chest like a satisfied songbird displaying a rare worm. "A bargain for guaranteed celestial harmony! Senior Sister Han practically wept parting with it!"
Xue Mingbai, ever the pragmatist amidst Xu Baozhu's dramatic flair, pulled out two talismans of his own, offering a slightly sheepish smile. "I also acquired supplementary aids. Though… less prestigious." He held up two slips of pristine white paper inscribed with deep blue, calming sigils – the character for Tranquility (静) surrounded by flowing water motifs. "Standard Mind-Quieting Talismans typically run twenty to thirty stones. These, however…" He traced a finger over the intricate brushwork, "…possess an exceptional resonance. Master Apprentice Brother Zhang claimed they were crafted by a nascent master, imbued with unusually pure Qi. Rare finds. Hence… fifty stones each." He flushed slightly. "Negotiated fiercely for days. Brother Zhang finally relented."
Gu Qingxi's gaze snapped to Xue Mingbai's offerings. Her breath hitched, the world tilting further into surreal territory. The specific curvature of the water ripple pattern… the subtle imbalance in the lower stroke of the Tranquility character she'd drawn while distracted… the faint, telltale echo of her Qi signature, woven into the blue ink during a late-night talisman session. Another one! Her Mind-Quieting Talisman! Fifty stones?! The sheer, staggering markup!
"You… you two…" Gu Qingxi choked, the words forced through gritted teeth, each syllable dripping with incredulous despair. "Profligate spendthrifts!" The accusation finally burst forth, sharp as a snapped blade. Buying her mass-produced practice pieces at inflated prices from opportunistic seniors! The entrepreneurial spirit within Azure Essence was thriving… at her friends' expense!
"Huh?" Xu Baozhu blinked, confused. Xue Mingbai tilted his head, equally perplexed.
"These!" Gu Qingxi practically snarled, yanking a thick stack of talismans from her dimensional bracelet. She thrust a messy pile into each of their hands – easily a dozen Peach Blossom Harmony and Mind-Quieting Talismans apiece. "They're mine! Scribbled during dull lectures! Practicing brushstrokes! I can churn these out like Spirit-Rice cakes! Why bleed stones for them?!"
Xu Baozhu and Xue Mingbai stared, eyes wide as full moons, jaws slack. They looked from the pile in their hands to Gu Qingxi's livid face, then back again. Seconds stretched into an eternity of stunned silence.
"Y-Y-You…" Xu Baozhu stammered, her voice trembling, "you crafted these? All of them?"
"Yes," Gu Qingxi groaned, the fight draining out of her, replaced by bone-deep exhaustion. She slumped against the cool stone of the courtyard wall. "Reluctant Talisman Scribe. At your service."
"But… you're a Sword Cultivator!" Xue Mingbai exclaimed, his usual calm shattered. "A nascent Sword Saint! How…?"
"Apparently," Gu Qingxi sighed, rubbing her temples, "I'm also a moderately competent Talismonger. Now," she fixed them with a stern look, "march yourselves back to those enterprising Senior Brothers and Sisters and demand refunds! Every. Single. Stone. Then," she added, her tone softening slightly despite the lingering exasperation, "if you need talismans… come to me. But," she pointed a finger, "you supply the materials. My Azure Resonance Paper stockpile looks like a plucked Spirit-Chicken."
Despite the scolding, a warm current flowed beneath Gu Qingxi's frustration. Xu Baozhu's impulsive generosity, Xue Mingbai's thoughtful selection – their desire to share perceived treasures touched her deeply. Their hearts were pure, even if their financial acumen was… lacking.
"QINGXI!" Xu Baozhu shrieked, launching herself at her friend, wrapping her in a bone-crushing hug. "You're a celestial prodigy! A dual-path comet blazing across the heavens!" She planted an enthusiastic, smacking kiss on Gu Qingxi's cheek. "Refund mission: Accepted! Senior Sister Han clutched that talisman like a lifeline when I bought it! She'll weep tears of joy getting it back! Especially since," she added conspiratorially, "rumor has it the price jumped again barely half an hour after she sold it to me!"
Gu Qingxi: "..." Lu Tianyu's market manipulation was… impressively ruthless. Supply, demand, and a hefty dose of Shixiong cunning. She felt a begrudging flicker of pride.
"I'll return shortly," Gu Qingxi managed, extricating herself from Xu Baozhu's octopus grip. "Future talisman needs? Consult me first. If I can craft it, I will. If it's beyond my current brush… then we brave the marketplace wolves." She summoned Chillspring, stepping onto the humming blade. "Fly wisely!"
She soared back towards Verdant Peak, the wind doing little to cool the lingering embarrassment and absurdity of the situation. Talismanic irony indeed.
Location: Verdant Peak Courtyard - Post Body Tempering
Gu Qingxi had just completed the forty-ninth intricate posture of the Bone-Forging Foundation Technique, sweat beading her brow despite the cool air, muscles singing with the pleasant ache of exertion, when Lu Tianyu burst into the courtyard like a human firework.
"Shimei! Market triumph!" He beamed, patting his bulging storage pouch with the satisfaction of a dragon surveying its hoard. "Mind-Quieting Talismans flew off the metaphorical shelf! Popular! Steady demand! But the true dark horse?" His eyes sparkled with mercantile glee. "The Peach Blossom Harmony Talismans! Profit margins like soaring eagles! Supply vanished faster than spirit-wine at a Peak Master's feast!"
"How many price adjustments?" Gu Qingxi asked dryly, wiping her face with a towel.
Lu Tianyu stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Modest escalation. Four? Perhaps five increments? Demand proved… unexpectedly ravenous."
Gu Qingxi shook her head slowly. Four or five price hikes in barely two days? The sheer, desperate hunger for celestial matchmaking among the Azure Essence disciples was both baffling and slightly terrifying. Who knew loneliness was such a potent market force?
"Scale production?" Lu Tianyu mused aloud, then immediately shook his head, his merchant instincts overriding greed. "No. Flood the pond, kill the golden carp. Azure Essence market nears saturation. Next venture: Skyclear City! Wider audience! Deeper pockets!" His eyes gleamed with visions of urban profit. "We'll need stock. Significant stock."
"Agreed," Gu Qingxi nodded. "And I need materials. High-grade Azure Resonance Paper, Vermillion Phoenix Ink, Spirit-Willow brushes…"
"Consider it done! Skyclear's Artisan Alley awaits!" Lu Tianyu promised. He paused, pulling out a single, pristine Peach Blossom Talisman. "Speaking of efficacy… Shimei, perhaps you should field-test one? Ensure quality control? Might attract a worthy cultivation partner? A stoic Sword Adept? A brilliant Alchemist?" He waggled the talisman suggestively.
Gu Qingxi recoiled as if offered a live scorpion. "Pass," she stated flatly, retrieving her own stack of unsold talismans from her bracelet. "Romantic entanglements? Men only hinder the sword's song." She thrust the stack towards him. "Here. Liquidate these in Skyclear. Profits split fifty-fifty post-material costs."
Lu Tianyu opened his mouth, likely to argue the merits of companionship, but his words died unspoken.
"SPOKEN LIKE A TRUE BLADE OF VERDANT PEAK!" A voice, clear as mountain spring water yet resonant as a struck bell, exploded beside Gu Qingxi's ear. She jumped, nearly fumbling the talismans, Chillspring humming a warning note on her back.
"Third Brother!" Lu Tianyu turned, his face splitting into a wide grin. "Perfect timing! Shimei, meet Third Senior Brother Long Qianli! Third Brother, this is our newest treasure, Gu Qingxi!"
Gu Qingxi turned, her breath catching in her throat. The world seemed to sharpen, colors deepening, as her gaze settled on the newcomer.
Aesthetic Revelation: The term 'beautiful' felt insultingly inadequate, a child's crayon sketch compared to a master's celestial fresco. Long Qianli stood framed by the verdant bamboo grove, the dappled sunlight catching strands of hair like spun night, secured by a single, flawless white-jade hairpin that seemed less an ornament and more a natural extension of his elegance. His features were a sculptor's dream – sharp yet harmonious, eyes like deep pools of obsidian reflecting the forest canopy, holding an unnerving intensity. He moved with a fluid grace that spoke of impossible strength held effortlessly in check, like a sheathed divine sword. His simple charcoal-grey robes hung perfectly, accentuating a frame that was both powerfully built and lithe. He wasn't merely handsome; he was an embodiment of ethereal beauty fused with lethal grace. Gu Qingxi had seen handsome men – celebrities sculpted by surgeons, cousins blessed by genetics, Lu Tianyu's vibrant charm, Master Mo's serene majesty – but Long Qianli existed on another plane. He was the living essence of the phrase jīng hóng yóu lóng – a fleeting glimpse of transcendent wonder forever etched in memory.
"Third Senior Brother," Gu Qingxi managed, executing a respectful bow, her voice thankfully steady despite the internal aesthetic earthquake. So this is Long Qianli. The legends undersold him.
"Excellent. Truly excellent, Little Sister." Long Qianli's voice was a warm baritone, smooth as aged spirit wine, yet carrying an undercurrent of steely conviction. He stepped forward, closing the distance with that unnerving, silent grace, and placed a firm, approving hand on her shoulder. His obsidian eyes held hers, radiating intense satisfaction. "Your words resonate like a perfectly tempered blade striking true steel. For you, men are mere distractions from the sword's pure path." He nodded solemnly, as if she'd uttered a profound universal truth.
Huh? Gu Qingxi blinked, momentarily wrong-footed. His gaze… it wasn't just approval. It held a strange, almost paternal… fervor?
"For me," Long Qianli declared, his voice gaining passionate intensity, his grip on her shoulder tightening slightly, "women are the ultimate impediment to sword mastery! Distractions! Tangles in the spirit-web! Obstacles on the Path of the True Edge!" His eyes shone with the zeal of a crusader. "To find a Junior Sister who shares this sacred understanding? Rare! Precious! A sign of immense potential!" He reached up, ruffling her hair with surprising gentleness, his expression morphing into one of profound, almost tearful pride. "You, Little Sister Qingxi, shall undoubtedly ascend to become a Sword Sovereign of peerless renown!" He beamed, radiating avuncular warmth mixed with martial fervor. "The Path beckons! Unclouded by earthly attachments!"
Ah. Comprehension dawned, cold and slightly alarming. That fervent gaze wasn't just camaraderie. It was the look of a fellow zealot finding his soulmate in ascetic devotion. No, worse! It was the proud, tearfully relieved gaze of a father discovering his heir apparent shares his life-long obsession with edged weaponry over romance! Why did her Senior Brothers all seem determined to adopt paternal roles?!
"I must report to Shifu," Long Qianli announced, releasing her shoulder and stepping back, his aura of serene lethality returning. "We shall converse further on the nuances of unburdened swordsmanship later, Little Sister." With a final, approving nod that encompassed both Gu Qingxi and Lu Tianyu, he turned and glided towards the main hall, vanishing into the bamboo shadows as silently as he'd appeared.
Gu Qingxi stared after him, then slowly turned wide, bewildered eyes towards Lu Tianyu. "Shixiong… was that…? Did Third Senior Brother just look at me like… like a proud father witnessing his daughter's first successful sword form? And…" she narrowed her eyes accusingly, "...sometimes you get that look too!"
Lu Tianyu chuckled, utterly unabashed. "Perceptive! Absolutely! I do regard you with paternal affection!"
"What?!" Gu Qingxi spluttered, recoiling.
"Consider the arithmetic, Shimei," Lu Tianyu reasoned, holding up his hands as if explaining basic spirit-bead counting to a child. "You stand upon the threshold of your second decade, yes? A mere fledgling beneath the celestial tapestry." He tapped his chest. "This humble Shixiong approaches his first centennial milestone." He gestured vaguely towards the main hall where Long Qianli had vanished. "Third Brother? His spirit-clock ticks past two centuries!" He leaned in, his expression earnest. "In the mortal realm, amidst fleeting generations, would our venerable ages not comfortably qualify us as… grandfathers to one of your tender years?"
Gu Qingxi: "..." The sheer, unassailable logic of it struck her dumb. By the lifespan metrics of this cultivation-soaked world… he was terrifyingly, incontrovertibly correct.
Daughter is marginally better than granddaughter, she conceded internally with a sigh of utter resignation. At least it's only one generational gap. Small mercies.