Chapter 577: Stay Long

The carriage suddenly shook and then stopped, and we arrived at the intersection of East Street.

Yun Qingqing subconsciously looked outside the car.

This is one of the most prosperous areas in the imperial capital. The annual Lantern Festival is extremely lively. The dazzling array of lanterns and the noisy voices dilute the dull atmosphere.

She calmed herself down, suppressed the worries in her heart, jumped out of the car first, stretched out her hand to Xiao Changheng, and forced a smile:

"Here we are, come."

Xiao Changheng, who was about to stand up, looked at her movements, a little stunned.

“…”

Seeing him looking at her expressionlessly, Yun Qingqing curled her fingertips slightly, coughed lightly, withdrew her hand, and looked away:

"Well, I see everyone does this. I think it's a folk custom. So... don't think too much about it."

Xiao Changheng followed her gaze and saw that there were indeed many young men and women in pairs on the street, watching the lanterns hand in hand, laughing and playing.

He got off the carriage silently, took Yun Qingqing's hand, and said calmly:

"Let's go, where are we going?"

Yun Qingqing's heart skipped a beat, but she didn't look back.

She paused, looked at the street stall on the other side, and cleared her throat:

"...Are you hungry? If not, go shopping for a while."

Xiao Changheng's clear voice came from behind:

"Okay, let's go shopping first."

Yun Qingqing pursed her lips tightly and pulled him towards the nearest street stall.

When I got closer, I found it was a rouge and powder stall.

The stall owner saw at a glance that she was either wealthy or noble in appearance, her eyes lit up, and she greeted her warmly:

"This noble lady is truly a beauty! Come and take a look at our rouge, it's perfect for your fair complexion, and I guarantee it'll make you look like a fairy!"

Yun Qingqing smiled and shook her head:

"I don't need these things..."

"Hiss..." The stall owner's eyes were a little wide open. Under the light of the night, she felt that she had never seen such a pretty girl before. She didn't expect that she was so beautiful even without makeup.

The aunt was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized what was happening and put on a smile again:

"That's because you're naturally beautiful, my lord! You don't need these vulgar things... Well, try this Hundred Flower Dew. Just a little bit will fill your nose with fragrance, making you feel like you're surrounded by flowers. It's a favorite among nobles! Today is a festival, so we're giving you a discount. This bottle is only two taels of silver. It's perfect for you to buy for yourself or as a gift!"

When Yun Qingqing heard the word "give it to someone", she seemed to be lost in thought. Her eyes fell on the exquisite glass bottles and she picked up one to examine it carefully.

Xiao Changheng stood beside her, his eyebrows were gentle, his tall figure and handsome face attracted many women to stop in front of the stall.

Seeing this, the stall owner became more enthusiastic and took the opportunity to shout. Yun Qingqing's eyelids jumped, and before the crowd gathered, he threw down a silver ingot and picked up five or six glass bottles.

"I want all of these, no need to look for them." She hugged the bottle into her cloak and actually put it into the space. She pulled Xiao Changheng up and turned to leave under the eager gazes of the young girls and wives.

After taking only two steps, Yun Qingqing saw a man with a wretched face coming towards her. He seemed to be looking around without paying attention to the road, and was about to bump into her.

Xiao Changheng frowned and was about to pull Yun Qingqing over, but he saw her eyes become fierce and she kicked the man three feet away.

The wretched man howled in pain:

"Ouch... How could you be so rude, woman! I have no grudge against you, why did you kick me? Ouch, it hurts so much... I have to go to the clinic to get medicine to heal my injuries, you have to compensate me..."

As soon as the commotion happened, many people gathered around to watch and talk about it.

"What's going on? Did you see what happened just now?"

"That scared me! Didn't you see? That guy was kicked away by that little girl. She kicked him really hard."

"I can't believe it. The girl looks so cute, why would she hit someone? If she breaks something, she'll have to pay for it!"

"You grown men, stop talking nonsense. I saw it clearly. This guy clearly has bad intentions. He saw that this girl is pretty, and he wanted to take advantage of her. If you ask me, he deserves it!"

"That's right, this is only because the little sister is capable. If it were someone who didn't know any martial arts, wouldn't they be at a loss?"

"Hiss... is that what's going on?"

"You can't hit anyone, I haven't even touched her yet!"

Amidst the clamor, the wretched man howled even louder, rolling on the ground in a rage:

"Everyone, please judge for yourself. Who bumped into her? I just wasn't paying attention to the road. Couldn't she just dodge if she wanted to? Why did she have to use force? Ouch! I think my ribs are broken... This woman must treat me and compensate me, otherwise I'll report her to the police..."

"Okay, then report to the police!" Yun Qingqing sneered.

The wretched man's face froze and he was motionless for a moment.

"Why, you don't dare anymore? Are you afraid that you'll be discovered as a habitual thief?"

The man took a breath, then started howling again with a look of grievance:

"Don't be so slanderous, little girl! You're clearly trying to delay my seeing a doctor! Kindhearted people, please help me! Please take me to the clinic first. I'll handle reporting it to the police myself..."

Yun Qingqing ignored him and pointed at the crowd of onlookers, saying loudly, "You young man in mink, you butcher in blue, and you scholar, your silver bags have been stolen by this guy. Haven't you noticed yet?"

The crowd watching the excitement was in commotion again, and their eyes fell on several people in turn following Yun Qingqing's instructions.

Sure enough, they saw a rich young man wearing a fox fur coat, a dark-faced man in blue clothes, and a weak young man. After hearing Yun Qingqing's words, they subconsciously touched various parts of their bodies, and then their faces changed.

"Huh? Where's my wallet?" The young man looked confused.

"Damn it! My purse is really gone!" The black-faced man in blue clothes suddenly looked up at Yun Qingqing, then stared at the pale-faced wretched man on the ground with a bad look on his face.

"Could it be true, as the girl said, that it was stolen by this man?" The scholar reacted a little faster, but hesitated and did not dare to step forward to search him.

But when he said that, the black-faced man reacted and rushed over immediately. Regardless of the man's panic and resistance, he held him down and touched his arms.

As a result of this commotion, seven or eight purses of various styles fell out of the wretched man's arms, and sure enough, the purses of the three men were among them.

While the black-faced man was picking up the purse, the wretched man quickly got up and ran out of the crowd, but was held down by the indignant crowd of onlookers.

"Damn it! You're really a habitual thief!" The black-faced man grabbed his collar, pushed him to the ground and started beating him.

There was a burst of cheers from all around, and some people took the opportunity to step forward and kick him a few more times, making the wretched man hold his head and beg for mercy.

The young man took back his purse, turned around and used the money to hire someone to report to the authorities.

The weak scholar quickly put away the money and turned around and suddenly said in surprise:

"Hey? Where's that brave girl just now? Did anyone see where she went? I didn't even have time to thank her!"

Only then did everyone realize that the girl who was as beautiful as a fairy and the man with outstanding temperament next to her had disappeared without a trace.

Yun Qingqing had already pulled Xiao Changheng halfway across the street.

While everyone's attention was drawn to the pile of money bags in the habitual thief's arms, she quickly cast a spell to reduce the two people's presence.

In fact, the appearance and temperament of the two people have not changed. It’s just that under the influence of the spell, they are no different from ordinary passers-by in the eyes of others, and are inconspicuous in the crowd.

The two of them left the scene in such a swagger that no one noticed them at all. Yun Qingqing finally breathed a sigh of relief and could finally go shopping properly.

She set her eyes on a lantern stall and was about to go forward when she suddenly stopped and turned to look across the street.

Seeing this, Xiao Changheng followed her gaze and saw a table, a stool and a banner in an inconspicuous corner across the street.

There were a few big words written on the banner.

Changliu is a half-immortal who can make accurate predictions.