Under the morning light, Han Shuangjiang looked at the smiling Chu Huaixu.
"Not yet," she replied, not lying, indicating that she had not eaten. Her tone was as ice-cold as ever, as if devoid of much emotional fluctuation.
The foxy-faced man looked at her and remarked, "Walking around, I've discovered that the prices in the outer sect are quite high."
"They are!" Han Shuangjiang instantly agreed, with a hint of excitement.
This was the most intense emotion Chu Huaixu had ever heard in her voice. Realizing she had lost her composure, Han Shuangjiang felt a bit embarrassed. She always seemed to be habitually carrying herself with a certain poise.
"Since you haven't eaten, shall we eat together?" Chu Huaixu said.
Han Shuangjiang instinctively wanted to refuse. However, the other party quickly said two words that made it impossible for her to refuse.
"My treat."
...
...
Outside the outer sect cafeteria, there were many small stalls competing for business with the sect's cafeteria. The two found a breakfast stall, sat down, and ordered a bowl of small wontons, a bowl of vegetarian noodles, and a steamer of soup dumplings.
For just this little bit of food, they dared to charge a damn 180 copper coins!
"What kind of tourist-trap prices are these!" Chu Huaixu complained inwardly.
Han Shuangjiang ate her small wontons with a clear conscience. The education she had received since childhood in the brothel was: if a man willingly makes advances, accept them with composure. Don't think there aren't simps in a brothel. In fact, even in the 21st century, when many people went to those "touchy-feely" karaoke bars and got a hostess's contact information, there were plenty who would start fawning over them endlessly.
Han Shuangjiang was in no mood to keep a simp, although she certainly had the assets to do so. Based on the stubbornness in her bones and the preservation of her last shred of self-respect, she would do her utmost to dissociate herself from the education she received as a child, as if it were just a nightmare from long ago.
She was accepting Chu Huaixu's treat now purely because she had taken care of him last night when he was unconscious. Of course, this was also Chu Huaixu's overt reason for the invitation.
However, he was actually a little puzzled.
"Han Shuangjiang is a World Protagonist, and has a Profound Yin Physique."
"And me... by a twist of fate, I've taken the place of the World Protagonist Xu Ziqing and gotten his script."
"But it doesn't seem like the Dao Gate has given us much preferential treatment?"
"According to the usual tropes, shouldn't prodigies like us be invited back to the sect and worshipped like ancestors!"
"All sorts of resources should be thrown at us, all sorts of pampering."
But look at the two of them—they didn't even have living expenses.
"Are the higher-ups of the Dao Gate really so impartial?"
That being said, the only preferential treatment so far was probably getting them acquainted with a man of real power in the outer sect, Deacon Niu Yuanshan. Niu Yuanshan might think they had the Sixth Elder as a backer, and if they really ran into trouble in the outer sect, he would probably help.
The problem was, Chu Huaixu didn't want to have too much contact with Niu Yuanshan at the moment. He'd rather it didn't turn into a spy rendezvous!
As for a major figure like Elder Li Chunsong, the man was in the inner sect. He would be the one to find them; they had no way of even seeing him.
The World Protagonist before him, who was currently focused on eating her small wontons with elegant table manners and had not once touched the steamer of soup dumplings, was indeed the best thigh for Chu Huaixu to hug right now.
As everyone knows, so-called protagonists are all individuals blessed with deep fortune. Their paths of growth are filled with continuous good luck, they receive all sorts of opportunities until their hands go soft, and countless chances await them.
In fact, when Chu Huaixu was playing "Borrowing a Sword", he knew of a large guild that had accepted a group quest with generous rewards. The content of the quest was to help Han Shuangjiang clear a dungeon and obtain a master's legacy!
"What is a World Protagonist?"
"A World Protagonist is someone the whole world has to revolve around!"
Chu Huaixu's current intentions towards her were simple—to rub up against her a bit. Opportunities, fortuitous encounters, main story dungeons... he wanted to see if he could get a piece of the pie.
Hug her jade legs and freeload to his heart's content!
In fact, this vast Dao Gate was filled with fortuitous encounters and opportunities, as well as many hidden dungeons. Some predecessors, before their time was up, would leave their legacy somewhere in the Mountain Beyond the Mountains for a fated person to find. They all felt this was the proper style for a master, priding themselves on their flair.
This trend was actually started by the Dao Ancestor himself.
Before the Dao Ancestor passed into immortality, he left behind a total of nine mysterious legacies, and... that sword!
Over the long course of time, seven of the nine legacies had already been found. The recipients, without exception, all became world-shaking experts!
As of now, the last person to receive a legacy from the Dao Ancestor was the current Seventh Elder of the Dao Gate, Shen Man. She was currently confining herself within a Purple Bamboo Forest in the inner sect and had been in seclusion for over a year, yet to emerge.
"It's so hard to guess who will obtain the remaining two legacies of the Dao Ancestor, isn't it?" Chu Huaixu teased himself inwardly.
"Of course it's the [World Protagonist]!"
And as far as he knew, both of these two legacies from the Dao Ancestor were obtained by Han Shuangjiang alone. This woman's fortune was terrifyingly immense!
"When "Borrowing a Sword" officially launched its open beta, the story's timeline was Xuan Calendar Year 1991, which is next year."
"At that time, Han Shuangjiang's character introduction already listed her as an inner sect disciple of the Dao Gate, and she had already obtained two of the Dao Ancestor's legacies."
According to the rules of the Dao Gate, those in the aperture-opening stage were considered in-name disciples. Once they officially stepped into the first realm, they were promoted to outer sect disciples. When an outer sect disciple cultivated to the third realm, they had a chance to enter the inner sect.
"In other words, this ice-mountain girl went from the aperture-opening stage directly to the third realm in just one year."
"She also got her hands on two legacies."
"At the time of the game's open beta, she had just entered the inner sect. It was difficult for Dao Gate players to even see her, but legends about her could be heard everywhere in the outer sect."
"That is to say, she most likely obtained the two Dao Ancestor legacies when she was in the outer sect. They are very likely both in the outer sect!"
After figuring this out, it would be impossible for Chu Huaixu not to have some ideas. He would hug her thigh and see if he could rub off some of the Dao Ancestor's legacy.
As for whether he would enter the place of legacy after rubbing up against it...
—Don't all men lie and say "it just slipped in"?!
"Just rubbing, not putting it in," is your lie.
At this thought, Chu Huaixu, who had been burying his head in his noodles, looked up at the cold-faced woman who was blowing on a scalding hot wonton on her spoon. She was so focused on eating her small wontons that she hadn't even touched the steamer of soup dumplings placed between them. It was like when you treat someone to a meal, and they are so reserved they only eat the main dish they ordered, not touching any of the other dishes on the table.
"A little interesting. Quite naive, actually," he thought.
Chu Huaixu spoke up, "Try some, these dumplings are not bad."
He wasn't lying. They were indeed delicious. If you were to rent a storefront on Earth, the monthly sales on a delivery platform would be in the thousands. It was a bit expensive, but at least they didn't skimp on the meat filling. It was real pork, and it even had a little bit of scalding hot broth inside.
Han Shuangjiang looked up at him, then moved her chopsticks to pick one up. She carefully took a small bite first, then blew gently into the opening, and only then took a proper bite, the meat filling mixing with the broth and the skin in her mouth.
"It's delicious," the cold-faced girl's heart exclaimed.
But after eating one, she stopped moving her chopsticks again. He told her to try some, and she really just tried some.
Seeing her overly reserved manner, Chu Huaixu didn't mind her. There were 8 dumplings in the steamer, and 7 of them went into his stomach.
After he was full, he drank some noodle soup and put down his chopsticks.
Han Shuangjiang ate too slowly, chewing each small wonton meticulously, her table manners beautiful. After all, that high-end brothel was training her to be a top courtesan, not just a common trollop.
There were 12 small wontons in the bowl. The starving girl had only eaten two-thirds of them.
Perhaps realizing that Chu Huaixu was staring at her, she looked up with a slightly puzzled expression and met his gaze.
This foxy-faced man, bathed in the morning light, had a sudden thought and, without any preamble, said:
"Why don't we live together from now on?"
Clatter. The spoon fell into the bowl.
Han Shuangjiang was so shocked that her beautiful eyes widened, her long, thick eyelashes trembling slightly, her mind reeling.
"I only ate 8 small wontons and 1 soup dumpling, and you want to take me for that?"
She no longer bent over her meal but sat up straight.
"I'm not eating anymore."