Chapter 135: Chapter 134: Even Female Ghosts Love Shopping

The clouds were dim, and the courtyard, long unswept, was covered in fallen leaves.

A brisk autumn wind scattered the leaves across the yard with a rustling sound.

Zhuo Qingyan walked slowly along the stone path. A gentle breeze swept all the fallen leaves away. She pushed open the main hall’s doors and saw the portrait of her father still hanging there. In it, he wore a scholar’s robe and a square cap, holding a scroll with a kindly gaze.

Dust had settled on the tables and chairs, but nothing was broken. However, the few potted plants on the surrounding stands had withered from a long lack of water.

Gu Zhao also looked at the portrait hanging in the main hall. He sent out a wisp of True Qi to scan the area. "Should we take the portrait with us?"

Zhuo Qingyan shook her head. "There’s no need. This is his home. Let the painting stay here."

Gu Zhao waved Li Erping and Silk Embroideress over. "Let’s all help tidy up."

"Alright!"

Li Erping rolled up his sleeves, and Silk Embroideress went to get a broom.

Zhuo Qingyan looked at Gu Zhao with a faint smile. With a light wave of her hand, several streams of water shot out from the well, washing the small path before landing in the two large water vats in the front yard. "Let’s do this together."

Although the Zhuo Family Courtyard was large, Li Erping was a former Hunter, and the others possessed Magical Power, so they cleaned up quickly.

As they tidied up, Zhuo Qingyan gave them a tour of the courtyard.

"This was my father’s study. He loved to read here every morning and take a short nap in the afternoon." The group had reached the rear courtyard, and Zhuo Qingyan stood before a side room, her expression serene.

She pushed open the door. The room wasn’t large, but it held four full bookshelves. By the window was a desk with the Four Treasures of the Study laid out neatly. A book lay open to the middle, held down by a writing brush, as if someone had just stepped away from their reading.

Zhuo Qingyan walked to the desk, picked up the book, and gently brushed the dust from its surface. "This is *The Gentleman’s Precepts*, the book Father read most often."

The mention of parents made Silk Embroideress’s eyes redden as she thought of her own.

A smile appeared on Zhuo Qingyan’s beautiful face. She closed the book and set it down, then placed a hand on Silk Embroideress’s shoulder and pointed out the window. "Father would read in here while Mother embroidered in the courtyard. It’s a shame I never learned, or I would embroider a handkerchief for you."

Silk Embroideress laughed too. "It’s a shame that even though my name is Silk Embroideress, I can’t actually embroider."

"Then you should hurry up and learn! Otherwise, you won’t even be able to make clothes for your husband. How embarrassing would that be?"

Bai Ke yawned off to the side and pointed at Gu Zhao. "No wonder he’s always just rotating between those two outfits. Winter’s almost here, and he still has nothing new to wear. So it’s because you two are useless!"

The smiles on Zhuo Qingyan and Silk Embroideress’s faces vanished instantly.

Bai Ke suddenly felt a chill and shivered. He then turned to Gu Zhao. "You too! We finally make it to the county seat, and you don’t even think to buy some fabric for Miss Zhuo to make a few new sets of clothes."

Gu Zhao couldn’t help but sigh. "The weather’s getting cold. Clothes made from a few pieces of fabric won’t be warm enough. I plan on making Qingyan a White Fox Fur Coat. It’ll be warm for the winter, and it’ll look beautiful."

The fur on Bai Ke’s tail stood on end. He leaped into Silk Embroideress’s arms. "We have bear pelts, wolf pelts, and leopard pelts at home! They’re all very warm. You don’t need to get any ideas about little old me, right?"

Gu Zhao snorted, then looked at Zhuo Qingyan and Silk Embroideress.

He had to admit, even though Bai Ke was a loudmouth, he had a point. They had been living in the village before, and Gu Zhao himself only had two sets of clothes to rotate, so he hadn’t noticed.

But now that they were back in Xiuyue County, he saw that many people had already changed into their autumn and winter attire. There were even ladies and madams wearing cloaks and fur coats in all sorts of styles.

"It was my oversight," Gu Zhao admitted with a nod. "Once we finish cleaning up here, let’s go out for a shopping spree!"

Hearing the words "shopping" and "shopping spree," Silk Embroideress couldn’t help but smile. Even Zhuo Qingyan’s eyes flashed with a hint of excitement.

...

As it turned out, not even a Female Ghost could resist the allure of shopping.

Besides, Zhuo Qingyan hadn’t gone out shopping much when she was alive. The rare times she left home were on official holidays, either to browse the streets or enjoy a spring outing and see a bit of the outside world.

After dying, she had spent thirty years as a ghost. In the beginning, her Cultivation was too weak for her to bear the sunlight. Later, she always moved about at night and rarely went out during the day. It had been a long, long time since she’d seen such a lively, worldly scene.

Well, she had seen it on their last trip to Wuhe County, but that was a foreign place to her. It wasn’t as familiar or comforting as Xiuyue County.

But with autumn drawing to a close, the weather was growing colder. There weren’t many pedestrians on the streets, mostly just merchants and laborers, with few Scholars strolling about to enjoy the scenery.

Seeing a street vendor selling pastries and fruits, Gu Zhao gestured for Silk Embroideress to buy some. The group ate as they walked, and soon they arrived at a very conspicuous clothing store.

Why was it conspicuous? Because the women going in and out were all extravagantly dressed, each vying to outshine the others.

Gu Zhao’s eyes lit up, and he was about to enter when Zhuo Qingyan pulled him back by the arm.

"What’s wrong?" Gu Zhao asked.

"Don’t go in," Zhuo Qingyan said.

"It looks like they sell women’s clothes. Let’s take a look for you. You can’t just wear white all the time," Gu Zhao said.

Zhuo Qingyan shook her head again. "Let’s go to the one next door."

Gu Zhao turned and saw that the shop next door was deserted. "Why?"

Li Erping leaned in cautiously to warn him, "Something’s not right with the women from this shop."

Gu Zhao sized up the women entering and exiting the shop for a moment. He saw two or three of them shoot him flirtatious glances as they left.

Gu Zhao’s eyes lit up again, and he rubbed his chin. ’Seems pretty right to me.’

Just then, a woman walked out of the clothing store. As she passed by the group, she glanced at Zhuo Qingyan. The moment she was shoulder to shoulder with Gu Zhao, she let out a low, soft laugh. "If you visit Zhenxiang Courtyard, Young Master, be sure to ask for Ning Shuang to attend you."

Gu Zhao: (〃’▽’〃)

After the woman had walked away, Gu Zhao glanced at Zhuo Qingyan, whose expression was cold, as if she hadn’t heard a thing. He then pointed to the shop next door with a serious face. "I think this shop looks good. Let’s go check it out."

Li Erping shrank back and said nothing. Silk Embroideress stifled a quiet laugh and took Zhuo Qingyan’s hand.

Zhuo Qingyan couldn’t hold back a smile. The corners of her lips curved up as she nodded. "Winter is coming, and it will get cold soon. We should buy some clothes for Elder He and the other seniors as well."

Silk Embroideress nodded eagerly. "Winter is very cold. It snows heavily in the mountains. We never dared to go outside before."

Gu Zhao led the way into the store, saying, "This winter will be easier. Martial Uncle Yan Song and the others brought back a lot of furs last time."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Five Thunders Order in Gu Zhao’s Sea of Consciousness trembled slightly, directing his attention toward a woman not far away inside the shop. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Gu Zhao raised an eyebrow. The woman appeared to be looking down and choosing clothes, but the corner of her eye was angled slightly, secretly observing him and his companions.