008 Gold & Dignity

We finished off our bowls of noodles, leaving nothing but a slick sheen of broth at the bottom. The meal had been satisfying—rich, savory, and exactly what I needed after a long morning of singing and wandering around the city.

Still, I wasn’t quite ready to leave yet.

I waved the server over. “Do you have any dessert?”

It was a long shot. A world like this might not have developed the sweet delicacies I was used to. But to my surprise, the server’s eyes lit up.

“Yes, Young Master! We have something quite special—

shaved ice

!”

I blinked. “Shaved ice?”

“Yes!” The server gestured excitedly. “It is a rare treat. Our family possesses an heirloom that allows us to create ice even in the heat of summer!”

That got my attention. “An heirloom, huh?”

“Yes, an old family treasure,” the server said proudly. “It has been in our possession for generations. Though it is but a low-grade artifact, it still serves us well.”

Artifact, huh?

I wasn’t exactly sure how artifacts worked in this world, but I knew they were essentially

magical equipment

. That was about the extent of my knowledge.

I wasn’t about to start interrogating the server about their family secret, though, so I just nodded. “Alright. Bring us two.”

A few minutes later, two bowls of

fluffy white shaved ice

arrived, lightly drizzled with sweet syrup.

I took a bite.

Cold. Sweet. Refreshing.

Not bad at all.

Gu Jie, sitting across from me, hesitated at first. But after watching me dig in without hesitation, she carefully picked up her spoon and took a small bite. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise, but she said nothing, focusing instead on methodically working her way through the dessert.

As we ate, I decided to bring up something that had piqued my interest earlier.

“So,” I started, breaking the comfortable silence. “About that

underground dealing

you mentioned earlier. What’s that about?”

Gu Jie perked up at the question, setting down her spoon. “Oh, right! The rumor I picked up is about the

underworld gang bosses

of Yellow Dragon City. Apparently, they’ve called a truce.”

I raised a brow. “A truce?”

She nodded. “Yes. It seems they’ve agreed to

jointly

operate a massive gambling ring for tomorrow’s dueling event.”

Now that was interesting.

“Let me guess,” I said dryly, “the City Governor is turning a blind eye to all of this?”

Gu Jie smirked. “Not just turning a blind eye. He’s actively promoting it.”

I exhaled through my nose. Of course, he was.

A gambling ring of this scale, with the gangs working together instead of fighting over turf? That kind of organization needed official backing. If the City Governor was involved, that meant this wasn’t just some illegal side hustle.

It was a fully sanctioned event.

And with all the major sects and grand clans gathered in the city, there was no doubt that the betting pool would be massive.

Gu Jie leaned forward slightly, her voice lowering. “The dueling event is already the talk of the city. People are excited, and with gambling involved? It’s going to be absolute chaos.”

I hummed thoughtfully, tapping my spoon against the edge of my bowl.

I wasn’t much of a gambler myself, but I had to admit—I was curious about the event.

Would I be attending? Absolutely.

Would I be participating? Hell no.

Right now, the spotlight was my greatest enemy.

I had no interest in stepping into the ring and drawing unnecessary attention to myself. My goal was simple: observe, learn, and avoid standing out.

That said…

I was looking forward to seeing some duels.

With a flick of my wrist, I opened the pouches Gu Jie had handed me, revealing gleaming gold coins stacked neatly inside.

I let out a hum of approval. Not bad.

These were originally LLO gold coins, which had been converted into this world’s currency. To think three mere LLO gold pieces were converted to this many gold coins was quite a sight.

Across the table, Gu Jie eyed me curiously. “Senior… why do you even need gold? You could have exchanged them for Spirit Stones instead.”

Ah. Spirit Stones.

The cultivator’s currency of choice—used for both trade and cultivation. It was a standard in pretty much every xianxia story, and apparently, this world was no different.

I scooped up a handful of gold coins, letting them clink between my fingers. “I need spending money to acquire mortal services. Pretty obvious, don’t you think?”

Gu Jie still looked confused.

I sighed, leaning back in my seat. Right. This was a xianxia world.

Mortals weren’t seen as important.

To someone like Gu Jie, spending gold instead of Spirit Stones must have seemed bizarre. After all, in her eyes, why bother with money that couldn’t enhance cultivation?

Sheesh… xianxia bullshit struck again.

Still, I had better things to do than explain basic economics to someone who had probably spent most of her life just trying to survive.

As I studied her, I couldn’t help but notice her appearance again.

Sure, she looked better than when I first met her, but that wasn’t saying much. She was still thin, her complexion rough, and her clothes—well, calling them ragged would be putting it nicely.

She wasn’t dirty, but she looked like someone who had been struggling to get by for a long time.

I exhaled through my nose, then stuffed one of the money pouches into my Item Box before sliding the other toward her.

Gu Jie blinked. “Senior…?”

“Take it.”

She frowned. “Why?”

I gestured at her with my spoon. “Because you look terrible.”

Gu Jie stiffened.

I ignored her reaction and continued. “Go get yourself some proper clothes. Maybe some skincare treatment or whatever people do to fix their looks in this world.”

She looked absolutely offended at the idea. “I don’t need—”

I cut her off with a pointed look.

“Listen,” I said flatly, “if a beggar-looking person becomes my follower, what does that say about me?”

Gu Jie opened her mouth, then closed it.

I leaned in slightly. “Do you really want to degrade my dignity like that?”

Her expression twisted into one of absolute guilt.

I could practically hear her internal monologue.

I’m shaming my benefactor! I must not bring disgrace to Senior!

Gu Jie gulped, then bowed her head slightly. “I… I understand, Senior.”

“Good,” I said, waving her off. “Now go fix yourself before I change my mind.”

She hesitated only for a second before clutching the pouch like her life depended on it. Then, without another word, she rushed off, no doubt already planning how to ‘restore my dignity’ as fast as possible.

I smirked to myself.

Guilt-tripping xianxia characters was way too easy.

Gu Jie had barely taken a few steps away when I called out to her.

“One more thing.”

She turned back, standing straight. “Yes, Senior?”

I tapped the table thoughtfully, then gestured for her to sit again.

“I want you to use any excess money as funds to bribe certain people and gather information for me.”

Gu Jie’s eyes sharpened. “What kind of information?”

I leaned back, resting my chin on my hand. I had to be careful here. If I made it too obvious that I was fishing for world knowledge, she might get suspicious. The last thing I needed was for someone to question why I was so ignorant.

So, I put on my best frivolous expression, as if I had just come up with a random whim.

“I’ve been thinking,” I said, feigning casual interest, “I feel like building my own library.”

Gu Jie blinked. “…A library?”

I nodded. “That’s right. I want every kind of book—whether it’s a mundane book, a cultivator’s book, a historical text, or even a random merchant’s log. If it has words, I want at least one copy of it.”

Gu Jie frowned, clearly struggling to understand why I, a person with no known sect affiliation, would want a private collection of books.

“…Senior, are you a Scholar?”

I let out a laugh. “Do I look like one?”

“…No.”

“Exactly,” I said, flashing a smirk. “I just happen to enjoy… knowledge.”

Gu Jie hesitated, but eventually nodded. “Understood.”

I reached into my Item Box and pulled out a dozen gleaming LLO gold coins, placing them on the table.

“These are extra funds,” I said, sliding them toward her. “Exchange them for Spirit Stones, herbs, or hiring muscles. I don’t care. Think of it as an additional test for you.”

Gu Jie, however, looked troubled.

I arched a brow. “Problem?”

She hesitated before speaking. “Senior… I’m only a First Realm cultivator.”

“And?”

She clenched her fists. “If I start moving around too much, I might attract the wrong attention. If someone suspects I have money, I could be robbed… or worse.”

Ah. Right.

A First Realm cultivator wasn’t much stronger than an

above-average mortal

. In the world of

xianxia

, she was

fodder-tier

I exhaled through my nose, then reached into my

Item Box

once again.

If I was going to send her out to do errands for me, I might as well make sure she didn’t die.

With a flick of my wrist, I pulled out three magic scrolls, each rolled up neatly and tied with a thin ribbon.

Gu Jie’s eyes widened. “What are those?”

I placed them on the table one by one. “Magic scrolls.”

She didn’t react, clearly unfamiliar with the term.

I sighed. “They contain imbued spells. All you have to do to activate them is rip them apart.”

She reached out hesitantly, as if they might explode. “What… kind of spells?”

I gestured to each one.

“This one is

Blink

—an instantaneous short-distance teleportation spell.”

Her lips parted in awe.

I moved to the second scroll. “This is

Greater Teleportation

. Unlike Blink, it requires two to three seconds of channeling, but it sends you a greater distance.”

Finally, I tapped the last scroll. “And this is

Invisibility

. Self-explanatory.”

Gu Jie stared at the scrolls like they were priceless treasures.

“Senior… these are… too valuable for someone like me.”

“They’re expensive,” I admitted, “but you’re my follower, aren’t you?”

She straightened immediately. “Yes, Senior!”

“Then it’s my job to make sure you don’t die.”

Her lips trembled slightly. Was she getting emotional?

I ignored it and continued.

“If I could, I’d just give you a magic ring with the same effects,” I mused. “It would be far less expensive than using up my limited supply of scrolls.”

Gu Jie furrowed her brows. “Then… why don’t you?”

I sighed. “Because I don’t know how it would interact with qi.”

She blinked. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, these scrolls activate by simply ripping them—no complex activation required. But enchanted rings? Those require a user to channel a special kind of energy into them.” I gave her a pointed look. “And I don’t know if qi and my kind of magic will mix well.”

Considering how ignorant she was to LLO’s brand of magic, that at least proved this world was separate from the world of Lost Legends Online. And here I was hoping at the back of my mind that this place was just some unexplored map.

Gu Jie looked like she wanted to ask more, but after a moment, she swallowed her curiosity and nodded.

“I see,” she said quietly. “Then… I’ll treasure these.”

“Good,” I said, smirking. “See that you do.”