"Whoa! There’s so much stuff!"

"Wow! It’s all so pretty!"

The two women had already done their research and brought Gu Zhao to one of Yangcheng’s shopping meccas: Anime City.

Billed as Yangcheng’s Akihabara, Anime City was a haven for all things otaku. Centered around anime, it was a hub of countless shops, exhibits, and events. Even on weekdays, it was packed with people.

Besides anime merchandise, gaming equipment, comic book stores, and themed restaurants, the main attractions were, of course, the clothing stores.

These clothing stores didn’t just sell regular seasonal attire. They also carried all sorts of anime costumes. While most were from Sakura Paste anime, the rise of domestic games and animation in recent years meant there was also a growing variety of ancient-style Celestial Xia clothing.

"This must be Flame Spirit Lady’s outfit from *Qin Shi Ming Yue*, right? It’s so beautiful!"

"And Ning Hongye from *Eternal Damnation*!"

"Look at that girl over there! She’s so tall. She’s cosplaying the Empress from *One Piece*."

The trio strolled along, people-watching the numerous cosplay enthusiasts as much as they were browsing clothes. From old-school series like *Saint Seiya* and *Seven Dragon Pearls* to more recent ones like *Naruto* and *One Piece*, most of the cosplays were still from Sakura Paste anime.

But the ones drawing the biggest crowds were a Black Monkey and an Ao Bing.

Jiang Shishi looked at the Ao Bing, then back at Gu Zhao. "If you cosplayed Ao Bing, you’d definitely be more handsome than him!"

Gu Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you for not suggesting I cosplay Taiyi Master."

Just then, a detached voice spoke up from behind them. "Excuse me, please let me through."

The three turned around to see a chubby, pale man dressed in a blue, open-chested Daoist robe, a nine-petaled lotus crown on his head, and a thin, two-pronged mustache on his upper lip.

Gu Zhao: "..."

Gu Zhao quickly stepped aside, only to hear the faint "HONK HONK HONK" of muffled laughter from his left and right. Jiang Shishi and Xiao Ya had their heads down, their shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

"Did you two do that on purpose?" Gu Zhao asked, exasperated.

"We didn’t say a thing!" Jiang Shishi’s laughter caused a certain... ripple effect, making Gu Zhao unable to resist a glance before quickly looking away.

After shooting Xiao Ya a suggestive eyebrow-raise, Jiang Shishi finally said to Gu Zhao, "Now we’re even for what happened on Qingcheng Mountain."

Back on Qingcheng Mountain, Gu Zhao had been complaining about the Quanzhen Dao sect ganging up on the Zhengyi Dao sect. Jiang Shishi had flippantly chimed in, right when a Daoist happened to overhear them, making for a very awkward moment.

Xiao Ya glanced at Gu Zhao, then at a nearby shop window. "Actually, you could try on that outfit."

In the window, a suit of bright silver Battle Armor was displayed on a mannequin. It featured double-layered pauldrons, a silver dragon gorget, a body of myriad scales, and a dragon-head belt, all trimmed with a white mane-like fringe. Next to it stood a Great Saber with a nine-toothed spine, looking majestic and domineering.

Gu Zhao waved his hand and shook his head. "That looks like a pain to put on."

The three chatted and laughed as they walked. The two women bought several articles of clothing, but they didn’t make Gu Zhao carry their bags. Instead, once they had a decent haul, they just had everything shipped home.

"To shoot ancient-style videos, we need some ethereal, flowing clothes."

Xiao Ya and Jiang Shishi lingered in a few historical costume shops. These stores likely catered to film and television productions, as they carried functional costumes in addition to anime outfits. Gu Zhao spotted Knight’s Armor, a Flying Fish Robe, a Scholar’s Robe, and even a Bright Yellow Daoist Robe complete with a Nine Ridge Hat.

The shop was quite large. Besides them, a few other people were browsing in small groups. From the sound of their conversations, they were either independent content creators or short-form drama crews.

Having seen Gu Zhao’s videos, Jiang Shishi had a good idea of what he was thinking. She put her palms together and pleaded again, "Come on, big bro, help us out. If you don’t want to show your face, you can wear a mask."

Gu Zhao thought for a moment and didn’t refuse, but said, "I don’t know many martial arts techniques right now. If we’re going to film a video, we’ll have to wait a while."

Xiao Ya immediately agreed. "That’s fine! We’re not in a hurry. We can’t get in the way of your Cultivation."

Thanks to Gu Zhao having shown a bit of his abilities—with Taoist Yan Song from Qingcheng Mountain as one witness and Taoist Yi Hong backing it up for Xiao Ya—the girls were completely convinced about his frequent closed-door Cultivation sessions and his unresponsiveness during those times.

"I’ll be as quick as I can," Gu Zhao nodded, though he was actually quite looking forward to it.

’Right now, I only know White Crane Fist,’ he mused. ’I haven’t learned any other Fist Techniques, let alone any Swordsmanship, Saber Techniques, Spear Techniques, or staff techniques. My performance definitely won’t be as polished as a professional martial arts student’s. However, I now possess Magical Power. My strength, speed, reflexes, and coordination have all been massively enhanced. While I can’t compare to the corpse-refining Corpse Ghosts or the physically formidable Great Demons of the Otherworld, among ordinary humans, I’m basically at the ceiling. With such a foundation, learning Martial Arts will be a breeze and won’t take much time. Once I learn Tai Chi, Eight Trigrams, and Xingyi, and then maybe the Tai Chi Sword, Eight Trigrams Saber, and Xingyi Spear, I can probably get started... getting started here, and getting started over there.’

Gu Zhao: ୧꒰•̀ᴗ•́꒱୨

"Here, here, try this on!" Jiang Shishi handed Gu Zhao a Knight’s Armor set and a conical hat.

"And this one, for a scholar dancing with a sword." Xiao Ya also had a Scholar’s Robe draped over one arm and a wig in her other hand. "A little bit of contrast would be nice, too."

Jiang Shishi glanced back, then looked Gu Zhao up and down. "The Gentleman’s Sword?"

Gu Zhao: ???

In fact, Gu Zhao’s premonition was correct.

They shopped from morning until nearly dinnertime. The two women didn’t make him carry their bags, but after having him change into a few outfits, their eyes lit up and they began treating him like a mannequin, enthusiastically making him try on clothes.

Even with his Magical Power, Gu Zhao was left feeling a bit exhausted.

In the end, all three bought several outfits. The two women even bought a set for Gu Zhao each, as a thank-you for being their shopping companion for the day.

...

When Gu Zhao got home, he collapsed onto his bed, feeling completely drained.

"The only thing more terrifying than shopping with one woman is shopping with two women at the same time." Gu Zhao muttered an old trope before his father’s call came in.

"The horse-drawn carriage you wanted is finished. When are you coming back to take a look?" Gu Qi said over the phone.

"It’s finished? That was fast!" Gu Zhao shot up with a carp-like leap.

"Don’t you forget who your old man is!" Gu Qi said smugly. "A mere replica of an ancient carriage? That’s a piece of cake, easy as pie, simple as ABC!"

"Right, right, you’re the man, Dad. I’ll come back to pick it up tomorrow!" Gu Zhao said, laying on the flattery.

He had just been talking to Zhang Hang about buying a car; he never thought his vehicle for the Otherworld would be ready first. He remembered their last trip to Xiuyue County—the thirty-li journey had taken quite a while. ’I’ll have to travel all over the Otherworld in the future, so I really need a mode of transportation. I wasn’t about to buy one there, though. Ancient carriages have neither rubber tires nor shock-absorbing springs; you have to rely entirely on cushions to protect your butt, which is an experience I have no desire for.’

That was why he had decisively come back to ask his old man for help, tasking him with building a carriage that looked ancient but was comfortable to ride in.

He never expected his dad to deliver in just a few days.