Chapter 223 The Jade of Unity:

Rong Xie couldn't help but laugh when he heard Shen Bingsi's words.

Shen Bingsi asked in confusion, "What are you laughing at?"

Rong Xie was about to explain, but then laughed again, and it took him a while to catch his breath: "Why buy the biggest one? The jade pendant is for transmitting sound, and you have to wear it every day. It would be so ugly to have the biggest one hanging on your belt. It would make you look like a nouveau riche. Who would be embarrassed to wear it out?"

"How could I possibly accept this?" Shen Bingsi said indignantly. "You're not even going to hold a marriage ceremony with me. At least bring a bigger jade pendant to prove my status, right?"

"Huh?" Rong Xie asked in surprise, "So that's what you were planning."

“Of course,” Shen Bingsi pulled Rong Xie’s hand. “Don’t wait until tomorrow, let’s go today. The market of Liujin Sect is open 24 hours a day, so there’s no need to wait until mid-morning.”

As dawn broke, Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi arrived at the Liujin Sect Market, located ten miles outside Liujin City.

The Liujin Sect Market looks like a bustling little village, similar to Yingbin Town. However, the market is filled with all kinds of shops, but there are no residences or restaurants. Outside the market, there is a whole platform, which is used for all kinds of flying magical artifacts to take off and land.

As soon as Shen Bingsi and Rong Xie landed, a cultivator from the management platform came over and collected the landing fee from them.

"..."

Now I finally understand why the Liujin Sect is so rich; they really plunder every last drop of wealth!

As dawn breaks, the lapis lazuli-paved alleyways in the market gradually brighten, with a black sign at each alley entrance indicating in gold what kind of goods are sold there.

The alleys stretched out one after another, and Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi almost got lost in them before finally finding the alley with the sign that read "Daoist Couple".

Although the alley is not large, it is very deep and can be seen from the top to the bottom. The quaint roofs are layered one after another, and bells tied with red ropes hang under the eaves, making a nice ringing sound when the wind blows.

It was still early, but there were already some pedestrians in the alley, all couples, walking hand in hand, like conjoined twins.

Shen Bingsi reached out his hand, gesturing for Rong Xie to pull it up. Rong Xie was a little embarrassed and just tugged at his sleeve.

"Let's hold hands," Shen Bingsi requested. "Since we're not holding a formal marriage ceremony, holding hands to signify our commitment isn't too much to ask, is it?"

Helpless, Rong Xie had no choice but to take his hand. Shen Bingsi intertwined their fingers and then happily walked into Daolu Lane.

The two wandered around for a while.

As expected of the world-renowned Liujin Sect, you can find all sorts of strange and unusual goods here. The little gifts that Elder Hong mentioned being given out at the contract-building ceremony can also be found here for sale.

Shen Bingsi happily bought a pair of each item, one for himself and one for Rong Xie. However, he didn't buy the slightly eerie witchcraft doll; he was genuinely traumatized by things like flower fairies that could control people.

Before he knew it, Rong Xie had received a huge pile of gifts, and his personal pouch was almost full.

“We can’t buy any more,” Rong Xie reminded Shen Bingsi. “We came here to buy the Love Heart Jade Pendant, do you remember?”

"Since we're already here, we should catch them all in one fell swoop," Shen Bingsi said spiritedly.

"My personal pouch is overflowing," Rong Xie said with concern.

"How could that be! Your personal pouch is too small!" Shen Bingsi suddenly thought of something. "Oh right, I just saw some love pouches for sale. Let's go buy a pair. You can put your new gadgets in the love pouches."

Just as Rong Xie was about to say something, Shen Bingsi put on that aggrieved look again, and it was obvious what he was going to say, so Rong Xie had no choice but to comply.

Shen Bingsi, who never liked shopping, dragged Rong Xie to explore every nook and cranny of the shops until the sun was high in the sky, when the crowds in Daolu Alley grew larger and larger.

Rong Xie had to remind him that with more people around, there would be more competitors vying for the "largest jade pendant of love".

Finally, Rong Xie tamed Shen Bingsi, this wild horse, and the two entered a shop selling sound transmission magic items.

"Boss, is the boss in?"

Upon entering the store, Rong Xie was astonished by the dazzling array of sound transmission artifacts. The gilded market had already broadened his horizons, but this sound transmission artifact store was even more eye-opening. Rong Xie had no idea that there were so many sound transmission artifacts in the world that didn't look like sound transmission artifacts at all!

Pearl earrings, felt hats, and glass glasses—these items worn on the face could still be associated with sound transmission.

A pink sheep bladder, a long-handled four-sided brush that looks like a cleaning tool for a long-necked bottle, and a lump of something that looks like feces—these are also among the magical artifacts for transmitting sound.

"..."

While Rong Xie was still surprised, he heard Shen Bingsi's straightforward voice coming from behind the counter: "Boss, we want the largest pair of jade pendants that convey mutual affection! The biggest ones!"

The young Taoist couples who were picking out magical artifacts in the shop all looked up at the counter, but Rong Xie kept his head down, afraid that others would recognize that he was related to the "biggest" one.

However, this wishful thinking of feigning death did not save Rong Xie from disaster.

"Rong'er, come here quickly!" Shen Bingsi called out to Rong Xie, waving excitedly, almost pointing at Rong Xie and shouting, "He is Rong Xie!"

Rong Xie reluctantly moved over and grabbed Shen Bingsi's arm: "Stop yelling, which one have you taken a fancy to?"

Shen Bingsi pointed to the wall: "The boss just told me that the pair is the biggest."

Rong Xie looked in the direction he was pointing and almost couldn't catch his breath.

Just like two white jade bowls upside down on the wall, two large jade pendants hung there very conspicuously. If Shen Bingsi hadn't said they were jade pendants, Rong Xie would have thought they were decorations on the wall.

"Don't you think...they're too big?" Rong Xie asked hesitantly.

“You’ve found it,” Shen Bingsi said enthusiastically, “There are even bigger ones. These are the ones I’ve compared, and the larger ones are the ones I can accept.”

“I can’t accept this,” Rong Xie frowned. “Am I supposed to be kept on my head like a pot lid?”

“It’s not that big, is it?” Shen Bingsi examined the jade pendant on the wall, stroking his chin as he spoke. Then he said to the shop owner, “Boss, could you please take it down so that my Daoist partner and I can try it on?”

The shopkeeper said enthusiastically, "Oh, that's right. You can't just look at this jade pendant; you have to try it on to know if it fits."

Rong Xie thought to herself, "Just by looking at it, you can tell it's inappropriate... Boss, don't lie through your teeth!"

The shopkeeper called two servants who carefully took down the two jade pendants, each about the size of a bowl, and then personally went around the counter to tie them on Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi.

It's quite eye-catching, and young cultivators who like to be unconventional should like it.

“This is way too big…” Rong Xie said, “It’s the same size as when it was hanging on the wall, and the upper body isn’t any smaller…”

"But it's perfect. Look, the curve of this jade surface is just right for your waistline. This is a specially designed jade pendant. Although it's large, it won't wobble around when you walk, so it won't affect your movement. Moreover, jade is warm in winter and cool in summer, so it can regulate temperature and make you more comfortable while you're moving around..."

The shopkeeper spoke eloquently, almost making Rong Xie dizzy, as if jade pendants should be this big, and that jade pendants smaller than this size were worn by old-fashioned and tasteless people.

Rong Xie turned his head, hoping Shen Bingsi would say a few words.

Shen Bingsi stroked the large jade plate at her waist with obvious delight and said, "It's really nice, let's buy this one!"

"Boss, you have a good eye!" The boss clapped his hands and magically produced an abacus, starting to calculate "discounts" for Shen Bingsi.

“Wait a minute,” Rong Xie called out, “Put the jade pendant away first, then we’ll look at the others.”

The shop owner hesitated: "Do you feel the price isn't good enough? This is the biggest discount we can offer. I can tell you've come from afar..."

“No, I want to look at other sizes, the normal size,” Rong Xie emphasized.

Despite Rong Xie's insistence, the shopkeeper reluctantly removed the large jade pendant and took out several rows of normal-sized jade pendants from the counter.

After looking at the large jade pendant, Shen Bingsi felt that these other jade pendants were too small and glaringly ordinary. They would be unremarkable to wear on his waist and could not reflect his status at all.

Of course, the boss also played a part in stirring things up.

After listening carefully to the shopkeeper's explanation of each pair of jade pendants, Rong Xie pointed to one pair and said to Shen Bingsi, "This pair is good. This pair is practical, well-carved, and easy to carry."

"This is... too small," Shen Bingsi glanced at it, but since Rong Xie had recommended it, he still picked it up and examined it carefully. To be honest, the jade pendants were indeed very beautiful, with the carving being perfectly natural, and the jade texture being beautifully applied to the shape of a teardrop. When the two were put together, they formed a complete heart shape. Shen Bingsi couldn't find any fault with them. "They are quite pretty, but they are too inconspicuous and don't reflect my status."

Rong Xie laughed and said, "The sound transmission jade pendant is only used for transmitting sound and showing status. Didn't we buy many other things as well? Besides, external things are just decorations. Isn't the state of a relationship revealed through words and actions?"

Shen Bingsi couldn't argue with Rong Xie, but she still lingered on the pair of white jade bowls on the wall.

"Moreover, these jade pendants for transmitting sound have a special function: they can transmit images directly without the aid of incense powder," Rong Xie further explained.

"What?" Shen Bingsi's eyes lit up immediately. "Really?"

As expected, Shen Bingsi was impressed by this function and completely forgot about the white jade bowl, wanting to immediately try out the image transmission function of the pair of jade pendants with Rong Xie.

Half an incense stick's time later, Shen Bingsi paid the money and took the goods with satisfaction.

When the shopkeeper saw the two off, he was quite regretful, mentioning that the pair of white jade bowls could be reflected directly on the surface of the jade, which was more tangible than in the void.

After regaining the Jade Pendant for Heart-to-Heart Communication, Shen Bingsi was like a child who had received a new and exciting toy, always wanting to try communicating with Rong Xie.

Walking along the road, Shen Bingsi suddenly said that this road seemed wrong and he needed to ask for directions. Then, he ran into some alley and after a while, the jade pendant at Rong Xie's waist would start to vibrate.

During the meal, Shen Bingsi said she wanted to ask if there was a special local tea. She went down to the first floor of the restaurant, and after a while, the jade pendant started vibrating again.

Back in the small building that night, the two lay in bed. Rong Xie wouldn't let Shen Bing Si use the new toys he had bought. They had to be thoroughly cleaned and dried in the sun before he could use them. Bored, Shen Bing Si rolled to the other side of the bed. Rong Xie thought he had fallen asleep, but unexpectedly, something on the headboard started vibrating again.

Rong Xie: "..."