The boy quickly held in his tears and stood up. The chubby boy had cheeks that resembled cute dumplings and looked up with an adorable face. He looked to be only around five to six years old. He was also dressed up nicely in an expensive light blue robe and his skin was pale and smooth, meaning he was probably from an influential family.
The boy saluted and apologized, "Sorry!" He got too excited running over and had tripped.
With a small nod, Wu LiJing went back in line to read her book silently. The boy was curious and stared at her face for a moment before he quickly looked down with a blush. Then his curious heart gave him the courage to look again, but this time he glanced at the book title in the pretty lady's hands in front of him.
"A martial arts book?" He whispered in surprise.
Wu LiJing finally switched her gaze to him and he jumped, quickly looking away with red cheeks. Then she went back to reading her book.
It took much longer this time, but he glanced at her face once more. He would take small peeks, not feeling too daring to stare longer.
Finally, the line shortened and there was only one more person before Wu LiJing could buy some cakes. She closed her book and put it back into her sleeves. She let out a breath and her inner chi calmed down. She liked to be productive, even if it was while she was waiting.
"Young master! How could you run away like that? I would be punished if I couldn't find you!" A servant had run up to the little boy with tears in his eyes.
The adorable boy replied, "It's your fault for being slow! If the cakes run out, I won't be able to get any today. Brother is coming to visit me, I have to share my favorite cakes with him so he comes back more often." His hands were on his hips as he spoke with his chin up.
"Young master, what happened? Your clothes are dirty..." The worried servant patted his young master's robes to get rid of the dirt and dust.
The boy replied in a haughty tone, "It's nothing. I just tripped a little," as though he had nothing to be ashamed of. After all, he was doing all of this for his brother.
Suddenly a servant stepped out of the restaurant and looked towards the line, announcing, "Dear customers! Please return! There is only one more order of cakes left!" These cakes were so popular that it usually ran out fast, with only a few customers taking up the five tables and eating inside the small restaurant before leaving.
Wu LiJing was their last customer. She couldn't help but show a small smile. It seems she made it in time. It was worth the wait. If she had wasted more time eating in that restaurant with Jin RuiYing, she wouldn't have been able to buy any. These were one of her favorites and she wanted to bring some back for QiaoHua as well. They were sweet but the perfect flavoring of the cakes made her overlook its sweetness.
As she entered and paid for the last order, the boy behind had his mouth slightly open, and stood frozen in place outside. The rest of the customers who had arrived later walked away remorsefully, knowing they would have to wait another day for these coconut cakes. She accepted the packed cakes, not even checking because she knew the store could be trusted and walked away in a good mood.
"No more?..." The boy muttered quietly as he stood looking forlorn.
"Master, let's return," his servant sighed, feeling regretful and patting his master's back gently. His young master had wanted to wake up early this morning to come here, however, he overslept because he couldn't sleep due to the unending excitement of his brother's incoming visit.
"There's no more, Xiao Hai. What do I do now?" The servant saw the tears in the boy's eyes and panicked.
"Young master, don't cry! Next time! Next time, we can come much earlier!" The servant waved his hands.
"B-but brother won't be here," he sniffed as a big drop of tear fell, feeling as though the world was ending. His second brother rarely came home. So he was ready to come buy his own favorite snack today and return with this mission, in order to bribe his brother into staying longer.
Now it was no use... Would his brother still come back? What if he was disappointed? He wrote in his letter to his brother that he would have his favorite snacks ready! His head hung low as tears fell and he glanced at the store. He mustered up enough courage and walked over to the shopkeeper who was closing the shop.
"Mister! Please make me another batch of sweets! I will pay double!" He raised two short fingers with teary eyes.
The shopkeeper was shocked when a crying child suddenly came over and asked for a favor. He quickly apologized. "I'm sorry, young boy. However, it is our rule to only sell this much every day. I cannot make more even if you pay me double." This was also a reason why the cakes were more expensive. It tasted luxurious and was limited. "I am also quite tired from selling cakes all day. You can come tomorrow instead," he said in a softer tone since the child looked pitiful.
The boy shook his head and cried louder. "No, I have to get some today!"
"Young master, when Second Young Master returns, surely he wouldn't be disappointed! How about we go and buy a different snack? I'm sure Second Young Master would be understanding." Xiao Hai looked apologetically at the shopkeeper.
"No!"
"Excuse me, young boy." The boy sniffed and looked up after hearing a soothing voice. He saw the beautiful face of the lady in purple that had been in line before him. She seemed a bit scary before because of her unsmiling eyes and indifferent air, but he still thought she was very pretty so he couldn't help but stare a little.
Now she was talking to him and he was slightly surprised. He blinked and a fat tear slid down his chubby face that was still stuffed with baby fat. Because of his great genes, even when he cried and snot was running down his nose, he still looked adorable and pitiful to onlookers.
Wu LiJing sighed and handed the box of cakes to the pretty boy. She had already walked away, ready to return to the sect, but blame her great hearing. She couldn't just ignore the boy who was probably trying to please his brother. It reminded her of an event long ago when QiaoHua was a little girl.
She still remembers the little girl in pink robes who went to the market to buy her some sweets to comfort her for not improving at the speed she wanted when she first started cultivating with her father. meeting her father's expectations.
"Here, I forgot that I had already bought some much earlier. You can have this batch."
The boy blinked again. He quickly wiped his tears which made his eyes even more puffy. "B-but you already paid for it..." his voice trembled and he sniffed.
"I can afford to lose some money," she said.
He was quiet. "Really? You're really giving them to me?" His tears that seemed to have stopped flowing again. He felt very touched as he looked at her like a savior.
She nodded.
"No! Xiao Hai, quickly pay her for them!" He pulled Xiao Hai over towards Wu LiJing.
Wu LiJing smiled, making the boy a bit stunned. Her smile was so pretty and she suddenly didn't seem so scary anymore. "I don't need any money," she said.
"I insist! Brother always said to repay those who do you a favor!" He tried to speak like an adult and Wu LiJing found it amusing.
Wu LiJing hesitated but she bent down to say, "It's alright. I still have some leftover. You take this and spend some time with your brother." She placed it in his arms and walked away.
"Wait!" He held onto her sleeve. The boy quickly gave the wrapped snacks to his servant. Wu LiJing turned around and looked at the hand holding onto her with a slight frown.
"Let me apologize for bumping into you!" the boy said with resolute bright eyes.
Wi LiJing raised an eyebrow. But he didn't even bump into her? In fact, he fell on his butt... She sighed. She could just leave...
"I also want to thank you! Or else I wouldn't be able to share my favorite snacks with my brother! Please!" He stared at her with hopeful eyes. His tears had already long disappeared.
His servant gaped then quickly ran over and whispered, "But young master! You don't even know this woman!" Xiao Hai glanced at Wu LiJing with wary eyes.
Wu LiJing silently stared at the boy, then she asked, "And how are you going to..." Just then she sensed an intense bloodthirst and sharply turned her head.
Wu LiJing pushed the servant and he flew two feet away from her, then she pulled the boy up and held him, jumping to the side before a blink of an eye.
A big boom could be heard and the dirt on the ground jumped up, creating a dusty fog around them.
Wu LiJing squinted her eyes and frowned. There was a man wearing tattered clothing standing where they were earlier. He had punched the ground, creating a crack. She scanned his body and then frowned. This man was possessed. Just then, the man looked to the left with red eyes and saw a trembling woman. He smiled and ran towards her.
Wu LiJing put the boy down and flew towards the possessed man. She unsheathed the silver sword that suddenly appeared in her hands, and in one swift movement, swung it as fast as the wind. The man felt a fluctuation behind him and quickly dodged but wasn't fast enough, feeling a slight pain on his back thigh. He gnashed his teeth and glared at his attacker.
Wu LiJing observed him carefully. The dark energy surrounding his body was not small. This wasn't a low-level demon. The human body was already dead at this point and a demonic energy has already possessed the body. That meant there was no need to hold back because this was now no longer human. The demon with red eyes jumped towards her and lifted his leg for a kick. She quickly dodged and aimed for his foot but he twisted his body and escaped, landing safely.
"Don't get in my way!" he screamed.
"Don't you want the energy of female cultivators?" she said, challenging him in a low voice, as she released a good amount of chi to tempt him.
"I'll eat you!" he screamed and attacked her with his long purple nails, which were obviously poisonous.
After exchanging a few moves, she suddenly heard a deep, familiar voice call her name, "Wu LiJing!"
Wu LiJing turned her head and saw a man running over. Her eyes were unblinking and time seemed still as she watched his valiant figure rush forwards.
The man had a very handsome countenance and a strong pressure suddenly pressed down on the place when he drew his black sword. Half of his hair was tied up into a bun and the other half that was let down flowed behind him as his domineering presence neared. He wore dark red robes that were decorated with black designs, and his dark eyes that seemed endless, always full of cold indifference, looked forwards with a deadly stare.
He swung his black sword towards the demon that was currently trying to reach her, and she jumped backwards towards him. The flaming energy he released cut off the demon's arm and the demon screamed in agony.
But the demon refused to get caught again and attempted a futile resistance against both powerful cultivators, one in red and one in purple, that skillfully moved in perfect motion together and quickly kicked the pitiful demon to the ground.
"Deal with the demon!" he ordered with a fierce voice. The disciples, dressed in similar red robes, following behind him snapped out of their awe. They heeded his order and quickly got to work with sweat pouring down their foreheads.
He turned to look at her with his almost obsidian eyes and saluted. "I apologize, Miss LiJing. We had captured this demon but when I wasn't paying attention, our disciples became careless and let it escape. I hope we didn't trouble you too much."
She nodded. "It's alright, Sir WangYong. No one got hurt." Wu LiJing stared into his eyes for a moment before she lowered her gaze.
Kang WangYong nodded and looked back at the disciples who were finally able to capture the demon again and bind his arm onto his body with a special rope that would nullify his dark energy. The demon growled but one disciple quickly covered the demon's salivating mouth with a cloth to stop him from making more noises.
The disciples brought the demon over and Kang WangYong looked at them with tenacious eyes. "Make sure it doesn't escape this time," he said and they all bobbed their heads in understanding. They quickly took the demon elsewhere in order to take care of him.
Kang WangYong's chiseled side-profile reflected in Wu LiJing's pupils for a moment before she turned away casually. "How is Sect Master Gao?"
Kang WangYong turned to look at her. "Master is doing fine, always going out to find a reason to fight or drink. How is Sect Master Wang?"
Wu LiJing replied, "Besides the occasional outside tasks that keep him busy, Master is the same. He told me your cultivation has improved again." She heard from her master that he broke through to the next stage already. And seeing his skills just now, it was obvious his sword skills have also improved.
Kang WangYong nodded and observed her. "You as well, Miss Wu. I'm surprised with how fast you're improving. Perhaps we can have a spar to compare skills."
"The Sect Competition is taking place three years from now. How about we settle it there?"
Kang WangYong showed a small smile. "Very well. With your skills, I'm sure you'll make it to the top ten."
A genuine smile formed as Wu LiJing stared at him. It has been a while since she saw him because they have stopped working together on missions as they had in the past.
She sighed, "I don't know why Master wants me to be in the competition when I have a senior brother."
"You know how our masters are. They like to show off their disciples, especially if they're new." Kang WangYong's stone face showed no sign of moving even as he spoke about something he found annoying.
"Are you returning to the Dark Ruby Sect after you subdue the demon?"
Kang WangYong nodded. "Then, I shall take my leave, Miss LiJing." He saluted.
Wu LiJing hesitated as she stared at him. She wanted to invite him to a meal, but he briskly walked away. Her slightly parted lips closed and her hand that was slightly lifted, fell by her side. At least he shows her a small smile from time to time. This was enough already.
"I should still be a good sparring partner, right?" Wu LiJing whispered to herself as she stared at his solid back.
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