Chapter 54 The Gift "I don't have many friends, so I cherish them all the more."

As dusk settles, the night market is not crowded, but its lively atmosphere remains undiminished.

Simmons led them through the streets and alleys, stopping to look at pretty fabrics and ornaments, and occasionally patronizing food stalls. In less than an hour, their hands were full of various things. Qin Shiying was pulled to her side, and her hands were stuffed with a skewer of grilled fish one moment and a box of candied hawthorns the next, quickly quelling her hunger.

If the boy walked a little further away, Simmons would call out to her, telling her to be careful.

"Don't lose it if you're not looking at it for a moment."

Qin Shiying felt a headache coming on and retorted indignantly, "Immortal Master, I've been an adult for a long time."

"You weren't even born when I left home."

Simmons took a bite of the candied hawthorn, the glistening sugar crumbled in her mouth, and paired with the sweet and sour fruit juice, the rich flavors bursting on her taste buds, as if she had stolen a ladleful of the colorful lights of the night market and poured it over her.

She gestured for Qin Shiying to look behind her. Qin Shiying turned around in confusion and saw the two people holding hands tightly behind her. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, as if remembering something, and couldn't help but ask, "Are they in the kind of relationship you see in storybooks?"

"Huh?" Simmons stopped abruptly, her mouth opening dramatically into a circle as she was about to bite into the candied hawthorn. "What's the relationship?"

"It's... the senior sister and the junior sister..."

She felt that this was not right, so she thought hard and tried to summarize the exciting plot of the storybook.

"Those senior and junior sisters who would sacrifice themselves for each other..."

As she spoke, Qin Shiying secretly glanced at Qiao Yanshen, and suddenly sensed a change in her, causing her gaze to linger for a while. Her elegant white dress was softened by the lamplight, with large swaths of warm colors splashed across it, and her black hair was also affected, shimmering with a bright reddish-brown halo, lingering among the strands and depicting a few fine golden threads.

Her usually calm eyes were now beaming with a smile, a smile that was different from the one restrained by etiquette. It seemed to come from the heart rather than being for show, and the curve of her eyes was more natural and flamboyant than usual, revealing her affection without any pretense.

It was as if she wasn't holding the little finger of someone else, but a thread that allowed her to truly feel the warmth and coldness of human relationships, enabling her to temporarily escape from things like the so-called path of immortality and sword intent, and return to a peaceful life with peace of mind.

It doesn't mean one side is better than the other; it's just that after living the same way of life for a long time, people inevitably need something new to relieve boredom.

Suddenly, a cool sensation touched my forehead. I tapped it twice, and a woman's smiling voice reached my ears: "Stop looking, you're going to be discovered."

Qin Shiying blinked, touched her forehead, and felt that each of these cultivators had colder hands than the last, except for Shen Lixia, but she was cold too, with a murderous aura in her eyes that was even stronger than Qin Shiying's, who had roamed the snowfields for ten years.

After tapping her on the head, Simmons continued walking leisurely forward, holding the candied fruit she had just bought in her other hand, and handed another piece to Qin Shiying's mouth, "Eat up, snacks won't fill your stomach. Luckily there's a place selling sesame cakes up ahead, they taste pretty good, let's go try them."

Qin Shiying opened her mouth and took a bite of the candied fruit, then heard her say, "I don't know what the relationship between the two of them is like, but I hope it's not that they would sacrifice themselves for each other."

The sweet taste of the candied fruit melts on the tip of the tongue, carrying a subtle fruity aroma.

"Most of the time, the other party cannot bear the sacrifice. Besides, how can we know if the sacrifice is meaningful? Is a noble death necessarily more noble than a cowardly life?"

As if hinting at something, she squinted at Qin Shiying, making the young man feel guilty and lower his head.

"Alright, I didn't mean anything by it. I just feel that rather than sacrificing oneself, it's better to let the one who forces oneself to make a sacrifice die." Her tone was light. "Your Highness, don't you think that in this situation, the one who should die is often someone else?"

"The real culprit is someone else..."

Reaching the pancake stall, Simmons raised her voice to ask the two men if they wanted some. Receiving a negative answer, she held up two fingers. This time, she didn't try to overcharge Qin Shiying and readily paid.

Qin Shiying watched as the stall owner kneaded the dough, spread ghee on it, spread the dough out on the stove to bake, and sprinkled sesame seeds on both sides.

A rich, warm aroma suddenly wafted up, almost making her feel as if she were huddled beside a roaring fire. Though she was still sweating, it felt like summer had turned to winter, the scent altering the seasons—a truly magical experience. The feeling here was different from the snowfields; she had felt quite out of place along the way. But now, this warm atmosphere gave her a sense of belonging. The smiles of the women she had seen along the way, the strong, large hands kneading dough before her—all these images seemed to overlap with those of the armored female soldiers on the snowfields. So many images made her, someone who had been away from home for so long, finally understand the meaning of her mother's call for her to return.

She wanted to join them in tearing down the rotten high-rise buildings that had been erected there, to build a brand new world, and to reclaim the southern kingdom that originally belonged to them.

Only in this way can everything we experience last, and only then can everyone shine.

Once the sesame seed cake has puffed up and its surface is shiny with oil, the vendor picks it up and sets it aside to let the excess oil drain off. Then, he takes it back, cuts it in half, adds a spoonful of chili peppers, stuffs it with plenty of braised meat, and brushes on another layer of sauce.

The rich aroma, mixed with a spicy scent, filled the air. Qin Shiying's eyes lit up. When the oil paper bag was handed to him, he couldn't wait to open his mouth and bite into it. Even Simmons next to him heard a howl that sounded like a wolf cub.

The woman took the sesame seed cake, tucked her black hair behind her ear, and smiled, "Auntie, you have excellent skills."

The stall owner returned the smile with a friendly smile: "Come visit often, and I'll give you extra braised meat."

After walking some distance from the pancake stall, Qin Shiying suddenly looked up, licked his greasy lips, and said seriously, "I'd like to go for a walk by myself, is that alright?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Lixia and Qiao Yanshen, who had fallen behind due to walking a little slower, also came over, both frowning slightly, clearly not in favor.

“Your Highness, we have already encountered demonic cultivators, and with the news leaked, we are in some danger,” Qiao Yanshen spoke first. “If anything happens to you, it will be difficult for us to come and protect you immediately.”

Shen Lixia raised her hands and joked, "Is Your Highness finding it too tense? Let's move away."

Qin Shiying shook her head and reached out to pull her feather cloak tighter. The night air was cool, but a smoky heat still lingered around her, refusing to dissipate. It would be briefly driven away by the smoke, but then it would return, making it difficult for her to take off this heavy coat, and she couldn't stop sweating.

"Then let Your Highness go and explore on your own. Even a sixteen-year-old needs his own space, let alone an adult."

Simmons, on the other hand, looked relaxed and took out a bracelet from inside her clothes and handed it to Qin Shiying.

“I’ve infused it with my divine sense. If you’re in danger, just crush the thing hanging on it, and I’ll sense it immediately.”

Qin Shiying took the bracelet and immediately felt a cool sensation throughout her body, a faint and subtle sandalwood fragrance wafting to her nose.

Seeing Simmons like this, the other two naturally couldn't stop her anymore. They could only tell Qin Shiying not to go to any too secluded places, lest something happen. The boy nodded while biting into a greasy sesame seed cake, concealing the princess's sharpness and appearing exceptionally obedient.

The three watched Qin Shiying's figure disappear around a corner. Then, Simmons clapped his hands and said excitedly, "By the way, I asked someone for something good earlier, and she said she'd bring it to me today. Why don't you two come with me? Although that person isn't a cultivator, she's quite lucky and always manages to find some novelties. It's very interesting."

"Okay." Qiao Yanshen had already used her spiritual power to investigate, and so far there was nothing unusual, so she felt much more relaxed. She held Shen Lixia's hand tightly and followed behind Xi Mengsi. The lights swept past her eyes like clouds, and she felt inexplicably sleepy, but it wasn't from fatigue. It was as if she was about to get lost in the bustling crowd.

A wisp of scorching heat gently enveloped her from the emanating spiritual energy, almost imperceptible. She nearly mistook it for rising smoke, but then her gaze sharpened as she looked toward the source of the heat.

The moment her gaze fell upon him, that wisp of aura vanished without a trace.

Qiao Yanshen paused for a moment, extending her spiritual energy to test the area, but there was no further fluctuation. Seeing that neither Shen Lixia nor Xi Mengsi had noticed, she sighed and continued to follow Xi Mengsi.

"Senior Sister, is there a problem?" Although Shen Lixia didn't know what had happened, she had just stopped with her and waited by her side.

Qiao Yanshen shook his head. "It's nothing."

Since the other party showed no intention of coming out and did not show any malice, she decided to pretend she hadn't noticed anything for the time being.

After weaving through the crowds and passing several shops, Simmons stopped in front of a door and told the two to wait aside.

After whispering a few words to the shopkeeper, he handed her a wooden box. Simmons took the box, opened it to look at the contents, closed it, and took out silver and spirit stones from her storage bag to pay him.

After paying, she exchanged a few more words with the other party before turning to walk towards Shen Lixia. Before the two could ask her anything, she smiled and gestured for Qiao Yanshen to raise his hand, then placed the wooden box in her palm.

"The first meeting is lucky, the second is the destiny to become friends. Life and death experiences are common among cultivators, but not so common among friends."

Simmons put her hands behind her back and bent down slightly.

"I don't have many friends, so I cherish them all the more. I'm giving you two a small gift today, and I hope you'll accept it."

Shen Lixia felt a little uncomfortable with her way of speaking, and her eyes welled up with tears. Feeling embarrassed, she turned her head and went behind Qiao Yanshen, hiding her face in her hair. She muttered, "Friends don't need to be so formal... Senior Sister, please take a look at what it is."

“Li Xia, it seems a bit awkward to open the gift in person…” Qiao Yanshen hesitated, but was unexpectedly led by Xi Mengsi to open the wooden box directly.

A round bead, about the size of a pebble, lies in a wooden box, its soft glow reflecting the outside world.

“Alright, I remember you two are more used to the etiquette of the world in my dream—they like to open gifts in person over there.” Simmons waved his hand. “Just infuse it with spiritual power, and it will tell you its purpose.”

Following her guidance, Qiao Yanshen infused his spiritual power into the bead. Upon contact, it seemed as if a mechanism was activated, and a large amount of information flooded into his sea of ​​consciousness.

It turns out this is a magical artifact with its own internal space, capable of recording surrounding scenes and sounds. It is also sturdy, and will not be damaged even if dropped on the ground or submerged in water, unless struck directly by a powerful being. If more spiritual power is infused into it, it can project specific images, recreating parts of the scene at that time.

In the past, it might have just been an ordinary camera, albeit with a large memory capacity. But now, they have long since bid farewell to modern technology; they don't even have recording devices, let alone cameras. Therefore, the preciousness of this magical artifact goes without saying.

This information was transmitted to Shen Lixia through divine sense, causing a look of surprise to appear on the young man's face.

Seeing that they seemed very happy, Simmons smiled and said, "It seems that you fellow cultivators are quite fond of this magical artifact. I have made the right choice in giving it to you. Most cultivators have exceptional memories. As a dream cultivator, I can also recall past memories in my dreams. This item may not be of much use to me, but I have a feeling that you will want it."

Her gaze fell on the gradually brightening beads, and she raised her hand to make a scissor gesture.

"This item is called Jade Echo, or Image Retention Bead."

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The author's note: "Jade Echo" signifies a brief, fleeting moment. This expression emphasizes the beauty and preciousness of that instant.

I fell asleep while writing last night, and when I opened my eyes it was already daylight. I felt a sense of relief, like when a house catches fire but you find a fire extinguisher and everything is burned out. So I decided to fix it and am only posting it now...