"Sister Zhengzheng?"

On the way back from the mission hall, An Zhengzheng was suddenly called out.

Turning my head, I saw Song Juan and Su Ying not far away, standing obediently to one side.

"Sister Zhengzheng, it really is you." Song Juan waved and said, "I heard you had an epiphany, congratulations!"

An Zhengzheng smiled and said, "Thank you."

"Where are you going?" Song Juan rarely saw her.

"I've refined some pills on my own mountain these past few days. I'm here to hand them in at the mission hall and exchange them for some pill-refining materials."

An Zhengzheng is a newly promoted alchemy cultivator, so naturally she needs to work harder.

“Oh, I see…” Su Ying looked at An Zhengzheng carefully.

She does look very well.

The two girls exchanged a glance and breathed a sigh of relief.

An Zhengzheng raised an eyebrow: "What's wrong? Do you two have something to say?"

"N-nothing..."

"Are you trying to hide this from me?" An Zhengzheng couldn't help but chuckle.

The two little girls' worries were written all over their faces.

Song Juan scratched her head casually: "No, there are just too many rumors going around, and we're worried it will upset you."

"Yi Rou swore that you wouldn't worry about this, but we..." Su Ying didn't quite believe that any girl wouldn't be annoyed.

An Zhengzheng hadn't looked at the jade slip these past few days, so she really didn't know.

"Rumors? People outside are talking about me? What are they saying?"

Her story of rising from top scholar to champion in martial arts competitions meant that she was the subject of many people's secret observations wherever she went.

At first, some people said she wanted to marry a rich man, but later fewer people gossiped, especially female cultivators, many of whom devoted more time to cultivation.

What other rumors could there be without any reason?

Song Juan and Su Ying pushed each other, neither wanting to say anything hurtful.

“Outside… everyone says you’re too heartless. Zhou Xu went down the mountain because of Sister Zhengzheng, but Sister Zhengzheng only went to see her once…”

In the end, it was Song Juan who spoke, even though she had hesitated for quite a while.

There were even harsher comments, saying that An Zhengzheng was ruthless and would never be able to get married.

An Zhengzheng burst out laughing: "You guys think so too?"

Song Juan and Su Ying quickly shook their heads; they had indeed seen An Zhengzheng and Zhou Xu together.

When they met in Ghost City, Sister Zhengzheng was still somewhat indifferent.

Su Ying whispered, "Sister Zhengzheng, actually we still have some problems."

An Zhengzheng looked at them gently.

“We know that what’s being said outside is definitely not true.” Su Ying stated her position first, but her tone was hesitant. “However, for some reason… I feel that Sister Zhengzheng seems a bit cold.”

Song Juan hurriedly said, "We know this idea is wrong, but we just don't know where the contradiction lies."

If they hadn't met An Zhengzheng, it wouldn't have mattered, but since they had, they sensed something was wrong.

An Zhengzheng knew they had come looking for answers.

“Because you don’t see me as an independent person,” An Zhengzheng said casually.

She told the two girls, "I don't believe I've done anything inappropriate for Zhou Xu. I've never made any promises to him, nor have I ever made any appointments with him..."

"It was clearly his unstable Dao heart that was blamed, but I was the one who was blamed. No one blamed him, simply because I am a woman and did not follow the usual script for love."

Everyone felt she should be moved by this, after all, a prodigy had even interrupted his cultivation for her sake.

As for An Zhengzheng's original cultivation and career... who cares?

Is a woman's future more important than a man's?

"Let them say what they want," An Zhengzheng said, her conscience clear.

Song Juan and Su Ying looked at each other, and at that moment, they seemed to have figured something out.

An Zhengzheng then asked about the girls' situation: "You and Yi Rou are all talisman cultivators, have you mastered the manifestation talisman yet?"

A display talisman, as the name suggests, is a talisman paper that can display an image.

Su Ying nodded quickly: "Yi Rou has instructed us to practice."

Actually, it wasn't really An Yirou who made them practice; they had asked to see the reading list that Sister Zhengzheng had given to her younger sister.

Inside, they instructed An Yirou to learn the advanced photographic technique as quickly as possible.

An Yirou didn't hold anything back.

Song Juan and Su Ying followed suit and practiced as well. After all, An Zhengzheng was a top student and loved her younger sister, so she must have had a reason for making her do this.

"Did everything go smoothly for you at Siyue Gate? Do you have enough spirit stones?"

An Zhengzheng had observed that these two people did not come from particularly good backgrounds.

"Although we're strapped for cash, we can manage if we cut back a bit, so don't worry about us, Sister Zhengzheng."

The two girls were startled, thinking that An Zhengzheng was going to help them.

Although they also call her "sister," she is not their biological sister after all, so she can't just eat and take things from them.

"Really? Do you plan to earn some spirit stones?" An Zhengzheng was keen to promote them.

Song Juan and the other woman said, "We have a mission to receive."

When refining talisman paper, for every ten sheets produced, three are handed over to the sect, and the other seven are kept by the sect members. They will either sell them or keep them for their own use.

Sometimes they would accept tasks to refine talismans or collect materials, as they would earn more than if they sold them themselves.

An Zhengzheng asked, "What is the market price of a developer symbol?"

“One low-grade spirit stone, three low-grade revealing talismans. Five low-grade spirit stones, one mid-grade revealing talisman. One mid-grade spirit stone, one high-grade revealing talisman…” Song Juan counted.

An Zhengzheng told them, "If you're willing, try to refine and draw talismans as much as you can. I'll buy them at market price."

Su Ying was surprised: "Does Sister Zhengzheng really need it?"

An Zhengzheng nodded.

“You can get the girls around you to come together, there’s no time limit, take as many as you can… but I don’t want low-grade development symbols.”

"The Hundred Women's Brilliance" used a low-grade image display tool; after viewing the images five times, they became unwatchable.

Previously, it was to control costs.

But now that "The Hundred Women" has gained popularity, An Zhengzheng has other plans.

She said, "I only accept talismans made by female practitioners."

Only by giving female cultivators their own jobs can they focus more on their cultivation. Who wouldn't want to make higher-level talismans and sell more spirit stones?

Moreover, they can now accumulate more spirit stones, giving them more confidence.

It's not like I'll just get married because I'm getting older and the things I need to cultivate become more precious...

An Zhengzheng lowered her gaze slightly.

Song Juan and Su Ying were naturally very happy, as having more work to do would make things much easier.

“You collect the talisman paper during the last seven days of each month, and pay the market price. I will pay you your monthly salary.”

"Monthly allowance?"

"Just like Zhang Guo'er, the amount will be based on your cultivation level. The higher your cultivation level, the higher your monthly allowance."

Song Juan and her companion were quite surprised; who gives monthly allowances based on cultivation level?

Wouldn't that mean they'd have to cultivate even harder?!

An Zhengzheng smiled.

She gave the two of them a prepayment of spirit stones before saying goodbye, and on the way she sent An Mao a message that she was going to inspect the Hundred Women Pavilion.

At the end of the month, Song Juan and Su Ying had the task of collecting talisman paper, so only An Yirou went to inspect the Ghost Ancient City with An Zhengzheng.

As soon as the two sisters entered the Hundred Women's Pavilion, the manager welcomed them inside.

He said anxiously, "Miss, the master wants to see you."

An Zhengzheng found it strange: "Is something the matter?"

"I heard that someone has come to propose marriage to the young lady..."