The proprietress was a little flustered by the praise. She stood there, adjusted her clothes a couple of times, and stammered without saying a word.
The sky darkened.
She led the two into the main room, seated them, and then personally brought them tea. She pushed aside the girl who was peeking in from the doorway, ready to slip away, and led her into the main room. Then, earnestly, in front of Ai Cao and Qing Yun, she asked her, "What did the person who wanted to take you to cultivate immortality say to you?"
The little girl looked at the mugwort and the blue clouds, then raised her chin and confronted her mother: "Mom! Haven't I told you several times already!"
The proprietress took a few deep breaths and said, "Just say it again. I'm afraid you'll be kidnapped by bad people. Don't you understand my good intentions?"
The veins on the back of her hand, resting on the coffee table, bulged. The fresh wound on her neck throbbed with pain, and the proprietress now even regretted her choice. If it weren't for her only daughter, why would she have risked her life and gotten herself injured?
Artemisia slowly raised her hand and gently placed it on the hand with bulging veins.
Ai Cao reassured her, "It's alright, we're all here, you don't have to worry." She then used the bishop's speaking skills again—her words successfully calmed the landlady down.
Ai Cao smiled and asked the pouting, defiant little girl, "If you don't want to tell us, then we won't ask."
She turned to Qingyun, who was idly lying on the table, and asked, "Are there any cultivation sects nearby? Let's go raid a few for fun."
Qingyun's eyes lit up.
She chuckled and counted on her fingers: "There's one nearby. I don't see any particularly powerful people in that sect, we can..."
The little girl quickly spoke up, saying, "I'll tell you!"
After finishing his skit with Ai Cao, Qingyun lay back down on the table, idly fiddling with the porcelain cup in front of him that was half-filled with tea.
Ai Cao smiled and said, "You speak, I'm listening."
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