"Get lost! You dare enter our place? This is an inn, not the street. If you want lodging, there's a broken temple outside the city!"
"Scram! This is a high-class teahouse!"
"Buy something or don't touch!"
"..."
Indeed, people depend on clothes and horses depend on saddles. Wearing better clothes immediately brought flattery and fawning, while wearing worse clothes brought cold stares. Although Xiaoyao's current outfit was a bit worn, it wasn't to the point of being a beggar.
What Xiaoyao didn't expect was that when passing by a brothel, the courtesan at the entrance showed no disdain and even kindly gave him some money.
"Little beggar, here's something for you. If you're hungry, there's some food inside too!"
This truly surprised Xiaoyao. Perhaps the place he passed through happened to encounter a kind-hearted courtesan, or perhaps that courtesan was just in a good mood, or perhaps...
Regardless, because of this, Xiaoyao developed some good feelings toward the courtesans in brothels, feeling that although they were in this swamp, they could emerge from it unstained, possessing kindness that others lacked.
Throughout this journey, Xiaoyao lived by changing disguises, making it even harder for people to track his whereabouts. Even if someone wanted to follow him, they couldn't catch his trail, let alone the fact that no one was doing so now.
Even if someone wanted to investigate later, it would be impossible to find anything, because Xiaoyao kept changing back and forth, making it impossible for people to track. So much so that when people later investigated how Xiaoyao came to the Great Tang Empire's capital, they couldn't find any clues—as if Xiaoyao had appeared suddenly.
"Seventh Sister, doesn't that person ahead look like that Xiaoyao kid?"
At this moment, the Young Miss was pulling Guxing along shopping, accompanied by Nangong Suxin and Nangong Su. For some unknown reason, Third Miss had also appeared in the Great Tang Empire. The Young Miss didn't ask about this—she was just very happy to cling to Third Miss, making Third Miss very distressed.
No, she had once again used Guxing's name to trick Third Miss into coming out, and very shamelessly held Third Miss's hand, leaving Third Miss unsure whether to refuse or let her continue.
Whatever, the other party was also female, so holding hands wasn't a big deal.
Third Miss could only think this way, because she had tried to break free, but with her strength, how could she be a match for the Young Miss?
Just then, the Young Miss saw a familiar back—a back that gave the impression of a poor scholar. The figure wore scholarly robes and carried a book basket, while also leading a thin horse.
"A scholar? How is that possible? When did that little servant become a scholar? But the back does give a somewhat similar feeling!" Nangong Suxin followed the Young Miss's gaze with some confusion.
"It's not similar—that's him!" Third Miss said.
"Why are you so certain? Are you very familiar with him?" the Young Miss and Nangong Suxin asked simultaneously.
"Because Miss Guxing is already talking with him..." Third Miss pointed ahead.
"What?!"
The Young Miss and Nangong Suxin exclaimed in surprise. They saw that Guxing was indeed talking with the poor scholar who might be Xiaoyao. At this moment, they looked at their side—the position where Guxing had been was now completely empty.
How was this possible? How did she do it? A moment ago she was beside them, and the next moment she appeared over there. This speed was too fast.
They hadn't felt anything at all. It seemed Guxing's strength and realm had begun to leave them far behind.
At this moment, Nangong Suxin felt a sense of powerlessness. Guxing seemed to be someone she couldn't catch up to. When they first left Qingyun City, the gap between them wasn't very large. Nangong Suxin felt this distance could easily be bridged.
But when she strived to catch up, she discovered this distance was growing larger and larger, because while she was striving to catch up, the other party was also working hard to advance. Guxing's efforts were no weaker than her own—they could even be said to exceed hers.
Because of this, she felt Guxing's realm wasn't obtained for nothing. She wasn't jealous or resentful about this—she just felt her own efforts weren't enough and she needed to continue working hard. She believed that what Guxing could achieve, she could achieve as well.
Although sometimes, like now, she would feel powerless, this was only temporary. She would still strive with Guxing as her target. Someday, she felt she would catch up to Guxing.
Never give up—even if you know something is impossible, you must still do it. This is cultivation.
Regardless of whether she could surpass Guxing, Nangong Suxin had already surpassed herself, constantly refreshing her martial dao progress. Compared to her previous progress, this period was like heaven and earth. Unknowingly, she had already exceeded her former self by far too much.
If she looked back now, she would discover she could no longer see her previous position.
If the her from Qingyun Province could see the current her, that sense of distance would also make that former her feel powerless.
Nangong Suxin hadn't noticed any of this—she just continued walking forward. She had no time to look back at the path she'd traveled.
As for the Young Miss who was with Nangong Suxin, she didn't think so much. Her thoughts were simple—she just wanted to have the ability to bully men and dominate women. To be a tyrant of Qingyun Province, she at least had to deal with Nangong Suxin, so she had to be stronger than her.
Perhaps because of the Young Miss's single-minded focus, or perhaps her comprehension was truly quite high, her strength and realm improved very quickly, especially her swordsmanship. If she weren't so lazy, she could almost catch up to Guxing.
But once she surpassed Nangong Suxin, she would immediately slack off, making Nangong Suxin both angry and amused. However, being stimulated by the Young Miss this way also made Nangong Suxin progress faster.
Later, Nangong Suxin also discovered some reasons why the Young Miss and Guxing progressed so quickly—they spent their days eating high-grade pills, never consuming a single middle or low-grade one. This situation shocked her greatly.
After observing for several days, Nangong Suxin asked the Young Miss how she had high-grade pills. Even if these were just elementary level, having all high-grade ones was still very rare.
The Young Miss's answer was: "Is it rare? I don't know. These were all given to me by Xiaoyao. He told me to eat freely and not save for him. He said he still had plenty, and the extras were given to Chi Chi as candy!"
"..." At that time, Nangong Suxin was completely stunned. Still had plenty, extras given to Chi Chi as candy—what was this? Things that others fought desperately for without getting, he had in abundance and even fed to his little monster beast as candy.
This was too incredible.
At that time, Nangong Suxin decided she would ask Xiaoyao for some. She didn't think about getting them for free—just asking Xiaoyao to sell them to her at a cheaper price. She had done this before, having Xiaoyao help make her an outfit of clothes, and Xiaoyao only charged cost price.
This outfit was also Nangong Suxin's favorite. Of course, this wasn't because Xiaoyao made it, but because the clothes themselves were excellent. Not only was the style unique, it also better displayed her temperament and highlighted her beauty. Wearing these clothes, she could become everyone's focus.
Therefore, during these days, Nangong Suxin's longing for Xiaoyao was no less than Guxing's and the Young Miss's. Although what she longed for was somewhat different, the degree was about the same.
Now that Xiaoyao had appeared, she was naturally very excited. After discovering Guxing had gone over, she also flashed away, leaving the Young Miss and Third Miss.
At this moment, the Young Miss originally wanted to flash over too, but thinking about it, now only she and Third Miss remained. How could she let such an opportunity pass? She had seen that Xiaoyao kid before—missing him for a moment wouldn't matter.
"Xiaoyao, why are you dressed like this?"
When Nangong Suxin arrived beside the poor scholar, she heard Guxing's question. It seemed Guxing was also curious about this. If even Guxing was curious, then everyone would be curious about this matter.
Indeed, Nangong Suxin was also curious. The Third Miss who would run over later was also curious. Of course, Third Miss didn't run over because she wanted to see Xiaoyao again sooner—it was because she wanted to escape the Young Miss's clutches.
When Nangong Suxin saw the poor scholar's appearance, she could be 100% certain this person really was Xiaoyao. Previously, she could only be 90% certain.
Poor scholar Xiaoyao looked at Guxing for a while, then replied blankly: "Just playing around on the road, wanting to try various different identities to see how others treat me! I just entered the city not long ago and was looking for you guys, but you appeared instead!"
"Is this fun?" Guxing looked at Xiaoyao with some confusion.
Xiaoyao nodded and said: "Pretty fun. I can see some people's true faces. When I dress better, they treat me very well, calling me 'young master this' and 'young master that.' When I dress poorly, they chase me out with brooms, saying I only deserve to live in broken temples!"
"..."
Nangong Suxin could tell that the reason Xiaoyao's treatment varied so drastically was definitely because the clothes he wore had too great a contrast. Some people were just this superficial—this was also a human failing.
But this was also human nature—you couldn't say who was right or wrong.
"Who told you to pretend to be this and that for no reason? If everything were the same, the treatment would be the same!" Nangong Suxin said something quite philosophical.
"Yes, same things naturally get same treatment. But if I don't try it, how would I know what others' treatment is like? This needs more research. I plan to use this poor scholar identity first—none of you should expose me!" Xiaoyao said. He seemed to have become somewhat addicted to disguising.
(End of Chapter)