The Immortal Path of the White-Haired Maiden Volume 1 Chapter 46: Making New Friends

  Xiao Yao was slightly surprised, "Does this hardware store still rent out equipment furnaces?"

  The young man smiled and said: "Naturally, senior, after leaving the gate and walking a few hundred meters to the right, there is the famous 'Wu Ji Street' in the city. There are my Mei Shan Fu Island's most renowned refining equipment shops, alchemy shops and other Wu Ji related shops. Further inside, there are academies for learning Wu Ji skills, where you can apprentice by paying a certain amount of yuan crystal as tuition."

  For Xiao Yao, this was unexpectedly good news. Although the stove hadn't been purchased, she had found out where to solve the bottleneck of forging. She might as well go over and take a look, then decide whether or not to buy after understanding the situation. Thinking so, she nodded her head at the male cultivator and said: "Thanks for telling me, I'll be off." Then she left "Ming Qi Building".

  She walked to the right for several streets as the male cultivator had said, and soon found that "Wu Ji Street". This place seemed even more lively than the main street, with shops lining both sides of the street, the noise of people accompanied by the sound of metal clanging never-ending in her ears. In the middle of the road, many kinds of talismans floated in mid-air. As soon as Xiao Yao stepped onto the street, those talismans flew from all directions and stuck to her body. Upon closer inspection, they were all advertisements for various masters or academies recruiting disciples, with exaggerated claims of their achievements and fame.

  She glanced at one and then carelessly threw the rest to the side, if it were truly a famous master or academy that needed to send out invitations to recruit disciples, these invitations would only be able to deceive inexperienced cultivators. Looking around again, indeed the people passing by on the street seemed indifferent, they all picked them up and threw them away like her, without even giving them a glance.

  Xiao Yao never thought that there would be so many shops on this street, and it was a mixed bag, with no way to know which one had a good reputation. Just as she was feeling at a loss, she caught sight of a "Liang Feng Tea House" not far away. It's worth noting that the shops on this street were all related to the "Five Skills", but suddenly there was a tea house that stood out from the crowd and was quite eye-catching.

  She glanced at the tea house's gate, where guests were coming and going in an endless stream, and decided to go there first to make some inquiries, perhaps she could gather some useful information.

  It's just the right time, and it's the busiest time for tea houses. The "Liufeng Tea House" is crowded with people, and Xiao Yao walked from the first floor to the third floor, but there was no empty seat available. Helpless, she prepared to make some inquiries to the tea house owner, so as not to waste her trip to the tea house.

  "This isn't Ryu Judo's friend."

  Just as she was about to go downstairs, a woman's voice suddenly came from behind her, calling out to her. She turned around and saw that it was Liu Qianbi, the daughter of the wealthy Liu family, whom she had met in Kunlun.

  "Liu Daoyou?" Unexpectedly ran into him again here, Xiao Yao also felt a little surprised, looking at the woman in front of her, seemingly more delicate and charming than when they first met. A peach-red silk dress, dark green bodice, set off her skin as crystal clear and white, with a faint fragrance wafting around her, vermilion lips and slender eyebrows, smiling with a hint of shyness, tender and moving.

  Just as she was stunned, someone stepped forward with a gentle pace and said: "Fellow Taoist Zheng Rou is also here for the 'Guanyin Spiritual Tea'? However, it's peak hour now and finding a seat isn't easy. I reserved a private room earlier, but drinking tea alone can be quite dull. I recall that last time we parted ways, I mentioned wanting to invite fellow Taoists for tea and conversation. What a coincidence this time! Would you care to join me?"

  Xiao Yao saw Liu Qianbi speaking while her hands lightly twisted the hem of her skirt, her eyes full of shyness. Suddenly, goosebumps appeared on her body. Fortunately, after the last time, she already knew that this woman's weakness and shyness were all pretenses. The ferocity of killing the demon beast was still vivid in her mind, and she had a good impression of her. She thought it wouldn't be bad to gather information from her either, so she nodded and said: "It's better to obey than to show respect, I'm bothering you, fellow Taoist."

  Then the two of them entered the private room, Liu Qianbi had her two maids wait outside the door and set up a simple ban inside the room before inviting Xiao Yao to sit down.

  At this time, Liu Qianbi's body had already retreated from weakness and shyness, calmly and naturally pouring a cup of tea for Xiao Yao, saying: "The 'Guanyin Ling Tea' here is famous far and wide, usually if I have free time I like to come here alone to drink one or two cups, relax. It's rare that today there's someone to accompany me, my mood is very good, please don't be restrained, just drink well."

  Xiao Yao saw Liu Qianbi's carefree and self-satisfied appearance, which was more genuine than when she was outside the door, and also more pleasing to the eye. She felt that this woman had been wearing a mask to pretend in front of people for a long time, and only when she was alone could she take off her mask and relax herself, which was indeed not easy. Later, she lightly sipped a mouthful of tea, which left a fragrant aftertaste, and a stream of vital energy flowed into her five organs and six viscera. Although she didn't understand the art of tea tasting, the vital energy had no effect on her, but she could still distinguish between good and bad, and so she praised: "Good tea."

  Liu Qianbi smiled slightly after hearing this, and it was clear that the other party wasn't good at tasting tea. They only knew how to praise good tea without knowing what made it good, but being able to compliment in person meant giving face to themselves, so this woman was worth befriending. She also opened up her conversation: "I observe that you're acting naturally and calmly, don't you find it strange why I suddenly invited you? Aren't you afraid that my attitude before and after is like two different people, as if there's some trickery involved?"

  Xiao Yao's lips curled up with a smile, and she said nonchalantly: "Most people in this world have another side to them. It's not unusual for people to wear masks in front of others and behind their backs. What's rare is that you, my friend, have shed your disguise in front of me, showing your true nature and treating me with sincerity. With such good intentions, why should I worry?"

  "Turns out, Daoist friend is indeed as I thought, a straightforward person." At this, Liu Qianbi's smile deepened, her eyebrows and eyes curved like a crescent moon in the sky, "Indeed, I just feel that I have a connection with Daoist friend, and I'd like to be friends with you."

  Xiao Yao smiled and said: "The most important thing in making friends is to have a compatible temperament, be sincere and genuine. In my opinion, both of you possess these qualities, so I'll introduce you two as friends."

  That one sentence was enough, the rest didn't need to be said. The two of them chatted casually for a while and found that their personalities unexpectedly clicked, and before long they no longer felt the initial politeness and restraint.

  It was also at this time that Liu Qianbi seemed to remember something and said, "Regarding the matter you asked me last time, I didn't have a chance to answer then, but today is just right..."

  Before she could finish speaking, Xiao Yao had already interrupted her, saying: "If it's about 'rescuing you', then there's no need to say more. I probably already know what's going on."

  Liu Qianbi was slightly startled, but seeing her helpless expression, she quickly came to her senses. "He...has been bothering you?"

  Xiao Yao sighed with a bitter smile, "Alright, you've all arrived at the entrance of my cave. Let's just drop the matter."

  Liu Qianbi had dealt with Luo Jianying for a period of time, so she naturally knew that he had the ability to infuriate people to the point of vomiting blood. She could only comfort herself by saying: "This kid is very stubborn and is not my type, I can only help you pray that he finds his next target soon and transfers his attention. By the way," she said, changing her tone, "the title 'fellow Taoist' is a bit distant, my name is Qian Bian, from now on you can call me Qian Bian, and I'll call you Chong Rou, how's that?"

  Xiao Yao also thought it was very good and replied: "Good, Qian Yan."

  After exchanging greetings, Liu Qianbi took a sip of tea and asked softly with her eyes downcast: "Actually, from the beginning, I wanted to ask, Rong Rou doesn't seem like someone who came here just to drink tea. What's going on? Is there anything I can help you with?"

  Thanks to her reminder, Xiao Yao remembered his original intention and said: "Not to deceive Qian Yan, I came to this tea house to inquire about some things. I thought that with so many people here, I would be able to gather some information. However, asking you now is probably the same."

  "Oh? I don't know what you want to ask about. If I knew, I would certainly tell you everything."

  "It's nothing much to say, but who knows which master of the five skills street has the best craftsmanship?"

  Found a bug in the comments and spent some time modifying something from the previous chapter. Today is still a transitional chapter.