Welcome to Ability Store-Chapter 89 - 88: Shopping? A Date!

There’s no need to immediately inform the entire Envoy Team of this decision, as Chen Xuan has a more pressing matter to attend to.

And that is taking Liu Shuyue for a stroll.

By the time they returned from the Moon Gazing Tower, it was near dusk, with cooking smoke rising throughout the city, and the air filled with the aroma of food.

He had already asked the guards at the Barbarian Guesthouse; Chang’an City does not enforce a curfew. As long as he carried that Immortal Alliance medallion, no one would mind if he stayed out all night in the city.

The night’s air carried a slight chill here. Besides wearing her plain white long dress, Liu Shuyue had also wrapped herself in a mink fur coat, one of the specialties of the Wanshan Wilderness.

One couldn’t deny that, whether in ordinary fabric clothing, shop uniforms, or a genuine leather coat, she exhibited three completely different styles. Surprisingly, any of these styles suited her.

At this moment, Liu Shuyue resembled a young lady stepping out of her mansion, filled with curiosity about everything outside.

"Is Miss Lin really not coming with us?" she asked Chen Xuan as she descended the stairs.

"No, she said she’s not interested in a world without the internet but requested that if there’s good food, we bring her some."

"It’s just like her to say that," Liu Shuyue said helplessly.

Having worked as a shop assistant these past few days, her understanding of Chen Xuan’s world no longer left her as bewildered as before. "Let’s go."

As they passed through the gate, the guards respectfully bowed in salute to them.

Just an hour before, they hadn’t received such treatment.

Chen Xuan didn’t mind. "Where do you want to stroll?"

"Anywhere is fine, or we can just follow this street," Liu Shuyue said enthusiastically. "Let’s go where the crowd is."

Of course, Chen Xuan had no objection; he didn’t know much about Chang’an City, especially the Chang’an City revitalized by the Immortal Alliance. Anywhere he went piqued his curiosity.

"Do you know what I’m thinking now?" she asked, walking ahead.

"Thinking about Yunzhou, Jiufeng City?" Chen Xuan guessed casually.

"Why Jiufeng City?"

"I thought you were imagining what it would be like to bring the circumstances here over there."

"I can think about those things anytime," Liu Shuyue waved her hand. "Actually, I was reminiscing about the days just after descending the mountain. After leaving the Sect, everything seemed novel and interesting. Despite the heavy responsibilities, I actually slacked off for a while."

"Slacked off?" Chen Xuan asked curiously.

"Yes, I didn’t immediately choose a kingdom to head to. I lingered around towns, listening to discussions, checking if there were any legendary feats about the Lotus Cloud Sect."

Chen Xuan recalled that when he first met Liu Shuyue, she was still in the mountains hunting down bandits.

"But you said it was because you were lost..."

"There was some confusion, yes, but I stalled for almost a year," she shrugged. "At the time, we weren’t familiar. I had to maintain the image of an Immortal Master. I couldn’t just admit I was intentionally shirking duties. With such a burden on my shoulders and having just left the Sect, some avoidance was inevitable."

Using the term ’shirking’—what exactly did Lin Qing teach her?

"So strolling around here feels akin to slacking off again, reminiscent of the past?"

"Exactly," Liu Shuyue readily admitted, "that’s one of the reasons."

"And the other?"

"It can only be sensed, not expressed."

"I think you just don’t want to say..."

Before Chen Xuan could finish, Liu Shuyue’s gaze shifted elsewhere. "What’s that over there—smells delicious!"

"Go take a look."

The two followed the enticing aroma to a nearby alley, finding it filled with street vendors. The alluring smell emanated from a small cart selling rou jia mo. The vendor skillfully chopped the meat while loudly hawking his wares, surrounded by a crowd of customers waiting to buy buns.

"I didn’t expect Chang’an City to have rou jia mo," Chen Xuan laughed. "Let’s get some to try."

"Sure!" Liu Shuyue agreed.

He walked directly toward the crowd, intending to line up.

Unexpectedly, what seemed like a long wait turned out to be only minutes before it was his turn. Many in front left empty-handed, hurriedly walking away.

Chen Xuan found it odd but still said to the vendor, "I’ll have two."

The man glanced at him, his gaze slightly apprehensive, quickly wrapped two rou jia mo, and handed them over. "Please, take them."

"How much?" he asked after taking them.

"No charge, no charge; just take them!" Unexpectedly, the vendor shook his head repeatedly.

Now Chen Xuan felt something was off. "How can there be no charge? It’s not like I can’t afford it." He scanned around and noticed a small wooden plaque hanging on the cart’s handle, listing the price: two coins per bun.

"Isn’t it priced?" Chen Xuan took out a money pouch from his pocket, picked out a jade coin with a face value of 5, and placed it on the cart, "No need for change."

This action directly startled the vendor.

He took two steps back and immediately knelt down on both knees, "Sir, I really don’t want money, please take it back!"

"Chen Xuan..." Liu Shuyue walked worriedly to his side, "What’s going on?"

Chen Xuan noticed that all the eyes around him were turned his way, filled with fear, disdain, and even a bit of indignation.

A significant number of them focused on the jade plaque hanging from his waist.

"Brother, don’t trouble them." Suddenly, a young man with a golden hairpin came to the cart, picked up the jade coin, and walked towards the edge of the street, "They still need to make a living."

Seeing the money taken away, the vendor seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

No, that money wasn’t for you. Chen Xuan frowned and quickly chased after him. Just as he was about to reach out to grab the man’s shoulder, the man turned around and tossed the jade coin back to him.

Then the young man clasped his hands and smiled, "I am Su Qidong, a cultivator from the Ascension Platform. May I know your name, brother?"

Chen Xuan looked at this strange person in front of him, "Why did you take my money?"

Seeing he did not give his name, Su Qidong was not offended; instead, he smiled and said, "If I didn’t take it, how long do you want that person to kneel? For them, it’s a great deal to offer a small amount to the cultivators at the Immortal Alliance’s main altar for disaster relief. If you returned the money, wouldn’t it disrupt the order?"

Chen Xuan realized now the problem lay with his jade plaque.

He looked at the other person’s waist and found that Su Qidong also had a jade plaque, but the material and style were slightly different from his.

"It seems brother is a new rising star at the main altar, not yet familiar with the situation in Chang’an." Su Qidong suddenly said, "Why don’t you come with me, and I’ll show you a place exclusively for cultivators to enjoy themselves?"

"Exclusively?" Chen Xuan raised an eyebrow, "Aren’t ordinary people allowed in?"

"Of course not, without a sect plaque, even Loose Cultivators can’t enter." Su Qidong pointed northeast, "See those bright high towers? That’s where someone like you, young and promising, should go."

Chen Xuan followed his finger and was slightly surprised.

He was not astonished by the splendid towers in the distance, but by the fact that he hadn’t noticed just now that the crowd across the street was distinctly divided into two lanes.

The one on the right was less crowded, with people leisurely strolling around, all dressed very luxuriously. The term "silken clothes and jade belts" was a literal description. More crucially, they all had jade plaques hanging from their waists.

The left side was more crowded, mostly people in coarse linen, easily identifiable as ordinary citizens. Despite the lively chatter, they showed no intention of edging towards the right, as if an invisible wall was separating the road.

These people naturally would not go to the right city district, just as there were few cultivators in the alley on the left.

Evidently, Su Qidong had come from the main street just now.

Upon closer inspection, Chen Xuan noticed more differences—the road leading to the right city district was wider, with more uniform stone paving. The left side was not only narrower, but the ground was paved with broken bricks, and the lighting was noticeably more dim.

Considering Chang’an City had expanded severalfold by now, these newly constructed areas were evidently deliberately divided by the cultivators.

"So, brother, are you going with me?" the other person invited again.

"No, thank you." Chen Xuan shook his head and declined, "Suddenly I remembered something, I’ll head back soon."

"In that case, I won’t bother you." He clasped his hands and smiled, "It’s best if you also avoid going to the commoner areas too much, lest other cultivators mock you if they see it."

After speaking, Su Qidong strode forward and soon disappeared from their sight.

"I don’t like what that person said." Liu Shuyue whispered, "To him, it seems interacting with commoners tarnishes the status of a cultivator."

"This guy means well, otherwise he wouldn’t have specifically come over from the main street to lead us away." Chen Xuan chuckled.

Though he had underestimated the status of the cultivators in the Immortal Alliance.

No wonder Old Gu specifically warned him not to conflict with those who wear jade plaques.

Evidently, simply having this jade plaque could elevate one into the privileged class of the city.

"I hope the Six Kingdoms don’t become like this... cultivators should not distance themselves from ordinary people, as it would only weaken themselves." Liu Shuyue murmured, "It seems a Kingdom fully governed by cultivators is not without flaws. Are we heading back now?"

"Not yet, it’s still early." Chen Xuan shook his head, "Besides, you still want to continue strolling along that small street, right?"

She looked at the shopkeeper with a bright smile, "Not only that, I want to pay the bun money too."

"That’s simple, I saw a stall over there selling masks." Chen Xuan removed the jade plaque and tucked it into his chest, "Once we wear them, no one will know who we are."

"Wait, the clothes need to change too." Liu Shuyue took off her fur coat and draped it around his neck—instantly the coat became a fur scarf, "Not bad, it suits you."

"Aren’t you cold?" Chen Xuan immediately felt warmth around his neck, accompanied by a fresh fragrance.

"Did you forget I retrained in the Purifying Heart Technique? This Heart Method can ward off heat and cold, just like your..."

"Air conditioning?"

"Yes, just like air conditioning!" Liu Shuyue waved to him, "Let’s go!"