Most vendors were set up on the left side, while the right side was occupied by street performers. Though in truth, performers were few and far between, with merchants dominating the scene.
At the entrance of the street, stalls selling goods were most common, and only further in could one find food vendors.
Li Yingling now carried a small but exquisitely crafted lantern in her hand.
She still remembered how, as a child, she had envied others carrying lanterns and dreamed that one day, she too would have one.
Now grown up, Li Yingling finally had her own—more beautiful than anything she had imagined in her childhood dreams.
Holding up the lantern, she squinted with a smile and asked her master,
"How does it look? Pretty, right?"
Chu Xingchen had already finished his candied hawthorn skewer, leaving only the wooden stick dangling from his lips.
Hearing Li Yingling’s question, he turned his gaze toward her. The lantern’s glow cast a soft light on her face, making her fair skin seem almost luminous.
Li Yingling possessed the [Beauty] trait.
Even in her youthful appearance, she was undeniably lovely, and her current joyful expression only added to her charm, radiating warmth.
Chu Xingchen smiled sincerely. "Of course my eldest disciple is beautiful."
Li Yingling lifted her chin proudly.
"I already know I’m pretty! I was asking about the lantern."
Chu Xingchen shook his head with a hint of regret.
"Ah, the lantern… Well, compared to my eldest disciple, it falls a bit short."
Li Yingling turned away, her red dress swirling in an elegant arc as she strode forward with the lantern in hand.
"Master, you’re such a smooth-talker."
Cui Hao shot his master an admiring glance—truly, the master was a master for a reason!
Though this outing was meant to celebrate Li Yingling’s birthday, Chu Xingchen had instructed his disciples beforehand—everyone should enjoy themselves to the fullest.
So now, Chen Baiqing browsed through books at a nearby stall.
Lin Luoyu bought a hairpin for her mentor.
Cui Hao fiddled with a peculiar little trinket in his hands.
Ning Qianqian picked out new robes for her father.
Li Yingling, too, paused whenever something caught her eye.
Despite the bustling crowd, their group never strayed too far apart. Though they wandered freely, not a single one got lost.
It was as if an invisible thread of connection bound them together.
With Li Yingling still leading the way, they slowly made their way toward Zen Forest Temple.
After walking a while longer, the scent of steaming food filled the air, and rows of food stalls came into view.
Li Yingling glanced down the seemingly endless stretch of vendors and remarked,
"This festival feels even livelier than the Zen Forest Dharma Assembly from before."
Chen Baiqing tucked two newly purchased books into his spatial ring before looking up at his senior sister.
"Does Senior Sister not like it?"
"I love it," Li Yingling replied with a smile, gently pinching Chen Baiqing’s cheek.
As she turned her attention back to the stalls, her eyes landed on two familiar figures at a noodle stand.
One was tall, the other small—both dressed in matching white robes adorned with intricate patterns.
The smaller figure held chopsticks, completely unfazed by the steaming bowl of freshly cooked noodles in front of her.
Without hesitation, she scooped up a mouthful, not even bothering to blow on it before devouring it.
The stall owner watched in shock, about to intervene, only to see the girl’s face light up with pure delight.
The taller figure, meanwhile, wore a slightly exasperated expression and waved the owner off, signaling that everything was fine.
The little one was none other than Qinghe, while the other was Xie Lingyu.
Qinghe, still chewing, suddenly sensed someone’s gaze and turned to look.
Spotting Li Yingling, she immediately stood up, bowl in one hand and chopsticks in the other, waving enthusiastically.
Xie Lingyu also glanced over, offering a gentle smile and a small wave.
Li Yingling was stunned…
Hadn’t Xie Lingyu and this little dragon just returned to Tianyan Sect?
"Master, look!" Li Yingling called out, only to find Chu Xingchen already standing beside her. "Isn’t that Xie Lingyu and Qinghe?"
"Seems our group is about to grow again," Chu Xingchen chuckled. "Shall we greet them?"
Li Yingling nodded with a smile.
Together, they approached Qinghe and Xie Lingyu.
"Baiqing…" Qinghe mumbled through a mouthful of noodles. "Long time no see."
Chen Baiqing simply nodded in acknowledgment.
Li Yingling couldn’t help but ask, "Qinghe, didn’t you and Xie Lingyu just return to Tianyan Sect?"
Qinghe swallowed her noodles and grinned triumphantly.
"Where there’s fun, there’s Qinghe! With so much good food here, of course I had to come!"
With that, she was about to leap at Chen Baiqing for a reunion hug—
But Xie Lingyu swiftly grabbed her by the collar.
"Shouldn’t you think before you act?"
Qinghe immediately froze, then nodded solemnly, even casting Xie Lingyu a grateful look.
Li Yingling found the whole exchange baffling.
Qinghe picked up her bowl again. "Wait for me! I’ll finish my noodles, then we can all go have fun together."
Li Yingling turned to Xie Lingyu. "Why didn’t you come to the sect first, Senior Aunt?"
Xie Lingyu smiled. "We arrived late, and Qinghe was hungry, so I brought her here for noodles first."
In no time at all, Qinghe inhaled the rest of her meal.
Satisfied, she turned to Xie Lingyu. "Pay up!"
But before Xie Lingyu could react, Chen Baiqing stepped forward, asked for the price, and settled the bill.
Qinghe’s eyes sparkled with emotion. "I knew Baiqing was the best!"
Without further questions, their group expanded by one person and one dragon.
Qinghe immediately latched onto Chen Baiqing, dragging him to every stall that caught her fancy.
Chen Baiqing, carrying plenty of silver, bought her anything she truly wanted without hesitation.
After all, the prices here were hardly steep—at least, not for him.
Delighted, Qinghe stuck to Chen Baiqing’s side like glue.
The group continued forward.
Soon, they passed fortune-tellers offering love divinations, as well as stalls selling paintings and calligraphy.
Cui Hao lingered here for quite some time.
The long street remained aglow with lanterns, and laughter never ceased.
What had once seemed an endless stretch of road now felt far too short in Li Yingling’s heart—Zen Forest Temple was already within sight.
A pang of reluctance struck her. She didn’t want to part with her companions or this joyous atmosphere.
But she stepped inside regardless.
The moment she entered the temple grounds, a familiar voice called out from a side gate.
"Senior Sister, it’s been a while."
Li Yingling turned in surprise.
There stood Li Xingtian, dressed in a black robe trimmed with gold, looking as though he had taken great care with his appearance.
Arms crossed, he leaned against the wall with a broad smile, as if he had been waiting for her all along.
For some reason…
Li Yingling found himself thinking that his second junior brother actually had quite a charming smile.
esick Sect? Well, at least it's considered a respectable orthodox sect. Wait a minute— What kind of vibe are you all giving off? Shouldn’t this be a love-struck, romance-obsessed sect? Why does everyone here sound more like demonic cultivators? "Master, today he’s getting married. This disciple wishes to descend the mountain and crash the wedding, then toy with him to death right in front of his wife..." "Elder, I only got into your sect through connections, so why won’t you teach me anything?" "Because I also became an elder through connections." Thankfully, Su Ji was just an outer sect labor disciple. Surely, nothing too crazy would— "Junior Brother, you’ve broken through to Qi Refining. Once you sever your useless spiritual root, you can officially become an outer sect disciple." "The Great Dao is merciless. Don’t let a worthless spiritual root waste your essence and spirit, hindering your cultivation." Is this really the Lovesick Sect? ... Three years later, Su Ji sat in the seat of the Lovesick Sect’s sect master, sighing with emotion. His rise to this position all started when his junior sister adamantly insisted on preserving his "spiritual root." "Mmm... Senior Brother, what’s our relationship now?" "Stop talking. Keep going." "By the way, that newly promoted top-tier sect—didn’t they come to buy our Love Beans?" "One top-grade spirit stone per Love Bean—is that really so expensive?" "I suspect they’ve eaten too many Love Beans." "Now they’re lovesick." Well, this really is the Lovesick Sect after all.
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
e school belle recognized by the whole school, a genius girl from the kendo club. She also has a hidden identity, the youngest legendary demon hunter. Chen Shuo just transmigrated and found himself turned into a weak, helpless little vampire. He was caught by Su Xiyen and taken home at the very beginning. Since then, Chen Shuo's life creed only had two items. "First, classmate Su Xiyen is always right." "Second, if classmate Su Xiyen is wrong, please refer back to item one." Many years later, Chen Shuo, who had turned back into a human, led a pair of twins to appear in front of all the vampires to share the secret of how he turned back into a human. "It's simple, I tricked a female demon hunter into becoming my wife!"
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
