009 Goldfish Wins

  Gu Jie’s expression ged the moment she was out of Senior’s presence.

  The faint traces of hesitation, embarrassment, and unease disappeared—repced by a cold, calg gaze.

  She strode forward, posture loose but trolled, like a predator walking through its territory.

  Survival had taught her well.

  The gold s Senior had handed her weren’t ordinary currency. Ah half a brain could tell they were relics of a fn in—the kind that could fetch a small fortune in the right hands.

  Gu Jie knew better than to carry them carelessly.

  She stopped in a secluded alleyway and carefully distributed the s.

  Some she hid within the folds of her ragged clothes, slipping them between yers of fabric where they wouldn’t jihers she tucked into the bandages ed around her arms, pressing them against her skin.

  Finally, she reached down and slid the pouch of local gold s into her boot, ensuring quick access in case she o bribe or buy her way out of trouble.

  With her funds secured, she resumed her path, weaving through the city’s back alleys like a ghost.

  The streets here were different from the bustling, respectable parts of the city.

  Here, the walls were covered in faint, peeling talismans, remnants of half-hearted wards meant to deter crime but long since fotten. The air was thick with the st of cheap liquor, damp wood, and desperation.

  Every now and then, she caught glimpses of other shadows—ruffians, indepe cultivators, and beggars who weren’t truly beggars.

  She paid them no mind, and in turn, they ignored her.

  This was ral ground—a pce where unspoken rules governed iions.

  Once upon a time, Gu Jie dreamed.

  She dreamed of cultivation, of immortality, of a happy ending.

  Even after she was born an orphan, she never lost hope.

  Even after she was taken by a demonic cultivator, she never lost hope.

  Even after her master had nearly crippled her, draining her life force to fuel his own path, she didn’t lose hope.

  Even after losing everythihird Realm cultivatiorength, her future—reduced to a mere First Realm i in the blink of an eye, she still g to hope.

  She thought fate had finally answered her prayers when the righteous sects attacked.

  When the heroes of justice came, bdes gleaming with holy light, she rejoiced.

  One day, she would bee like them, she had thought.

  But life was crueler than fi.

  She was branded as wicked.

  She remembered standing alone, her weak body trembling, as they surrounded her—young heroes, eager-eyed and ambitious, whispering among themselves about who would take the credit for her severed head.

  Her heart broke that day.

  It shattered even further when her demonic master—the very mohey sought to destroy—resurrected in a burst of malicious Qi and sughtered them all.

  The same people she had admired.

  The only silver lining?

  She escaped.

  But freedom came with its own price.

  Her body, ed and frail from the fwed demonic teiques forced upon her, could not sustain itself.

  Hunger g her. Cold nights stole her sleep.

  She became a bandit to survive.

  She robbed the weak. Threatehe helpless. Hurt those who resisted.

  She came close to killing i people, but never dared.

  Even at her lowest, she khat crossing that final li urn.

  Still, her targets were always mundane people—those who could not fight back.

  It athetic, but it was the only way she could live.

  Then came her greatest mistake—and perhaps her greatest fortune.

  She misidentified her target.

  She thought he was just another mortal—some young master of a poor , walking alone during the festival.

  Cultivators, especially the powerful ones, didn’t like mingling with mortals.

  This man had no ons. No treasures. Ne aura.

  He spoke to mortals easily, though he didn’t show it much.

  He was too normal to be a cultivator.

  Gu Jie trusted her instincts, her hard-earricks to detect Qi users.

  A, she had been s.

  She had thought it would be a simple robbery.

  Instead, she almost died.

  Only to be miraculously healed.

  That was the day she met him.

  And now, here she was—walking through the alleys with his gold in her boot and his instrus in her mind.

  Perhaps, just perhaps—hope was not lost after all.

  But then again, life was crueler than fi.

  Gu Jie was not naive, but she was desperate.

  Her iions towards the mysterious Senior were irely pure—perhaps hopeful, perhaps selfish.

  If she could show enough siy, if she could make him sympathize, then maybe—just maybe—he would take her as his disciple.

  She had seen his movement teique.

  Even now, she could recall the fwless execution, the way he flowed like the wind, disappearing and reappearing as if he had stepped outside the ws of the world.

  It was not Qi-based.

  While she didn’t have Qi Sense, she had enough on Seo deduce the ck of Qi when he performed the teique. For example, there was a ck of visual cues, like a spark of something, or a prig feeling that pervaded the area when qi was used.

  It was not something Gu Jie had ever seen before.

  And it terrified her just as much as it fasated her.

  Was he a cultivator? A rogue immortal? Something beyond prehension?

  She did not know.

  But what she did know was that he was her only ce.

  Her only hope.

  And he had shown already enough.

  Gu Jie walked with purpose through the dimly lit back alleys. The air was thick with the stench of cheap liquor, unwashed bodies, and rotting food. Rats scurried past her feet, and distant murmurs of shady deals echoed in the distance.

  She paid them no mind.

  Her steps carried her to a familiar pce—a small, rundown teahouse with faded red nterns swayily in the night breeze.

  There, seated at a wooden table, was an elderly man dressed in tattered gray robes. His wispy beard, once a sign of wisdom, had grown u and uneven. His eyes, half-lidded and cloudy, still held a sharphat belied his frail frame.

  Old Song.

  A relic of the past. A man who koo much, yet lived too little.

  He was hunched over a cup of steaming tea, fingers yellowed from years of handling a scrolls and hiddes.

  As Gu Jie approached, his gaze flicked up—pierg, unreadable.

  A slow, knowing smirk curled his lips.

  “Old Song,” Gu Jie said, her voice steady. “I have an errand for you.”

  The old man chuckled, shaking his head. “I am an information broker, not your errand boy.”

  Uerred, Gu Jie tinued, ign his protest.

  “I want you to procure books, whether it be mundane or a cultivation manual. I will pay market prid more. Let’s say… five pert ission for the total value of the books you mao gather.”

  Old Song raised a bushy brow. “Five pert? Hah! You must have found yourself a very generous master.”

  Gu Jie’s expression did not waver.

  “My beor is none of your .”

  The old man took a slow sip of tea, his lips curling into a knowing smile.

  “Oh, but it is, little girl. It always is.”

  Gu Jie’s patience was thin.

  She had no time for Old Song’s games.

  “Don’t test my patience,” she remarked, her to, unwavering. “Or we are going to have a problem.”

  Old So out a sloy chuckle. “Oh? And here I thought you were a little beggar girl not too long ago. Look at you now— me around like a young miss of a noble house.”

  His cloudy eyes held amusement, but he knew better than to push further.

  Gu Jie remained silent, simply staring at him, waiting.

  A moment passed. Then another.

  Finally, Old Song sighed. “Fine. What else do you need?”

  Gu Jie crossed her arms. “Dires.”

  The old man raised a brow. “For what?”

  “The famous salon, tailor shop, and spa treatment in Yellon City.”

  That caught him off guard.

  “…What?” He bli her, looking genuinely fused.

  Gu Jie didn’t bother repeating herself.

  Old Song leaned back, rubbing his . “You? Ied in such things? Didn’t take you for the type.”

  She wasn’t, not really. But things had ged.

  She had no time for vanity in the past. No opportunity for luxury. But now… she had no excuse either.

  Her Senior had givehe means—the and even.

  It would be shameful not to use them.

  “…Well,” Old Song muttered, shaking his head. “I suppose even wolves like you have to up on a while.”

  Gu Jie narrowed her eyes.

  Old Song waved a hand, chug. “Fine, fihere’s a tailor shop he southern market square—name’s ‘Golden Thread Pavilion.’ You’ll know it when you see it. The best salon? ‘Moonlit Silks’ over at the eastern district. As for spa treatment… well, you’ll want ‘Jade Serenity Bathhouse.’”

  He tapped the table. “Expensive pces. You sure about this?”

  Gu Jie simply nodded.

  Old Song exhaled sharply, looking at her with something that was not quite , not quite amusement.

  “Hah… Well, well. Maybe you really have found yourself a master worth serving.”

  Gu Jie said nothing.

  She merely turned on her heel a.

  Shortly after…

  The experience had been… fortable yet overwhelming.

  Gu Jie had never indulged in such luxuries before. Not once.

  The Jade Serenity Bathhouse was far beyond what she was used to. She expected simple hot water, perhaps some herbs, but instead, she was met with fragrant steam, silk robes, and expert attendants trained in massage and acupressure teiques. The moment she stepped into the water, she nearly colpsed from sheer rexation.

  She hated how much she e.

  Then came Moonlit Silks, the salon. There, delicate hands bed through her tangled, brittle hair, trimming away the damaged ends, washing it with sted oils, and weaving strands into soft, flowing locks. For years, her hair had been rough, uneven, and ed. Now? It felt light, smooth, ahy.

  And then, Golden Thread Pavilion.

  The tailor had raised a brow wheered, taking in her previously ragged state. But the moment she produced gold, their attitude shifted instantly.

  The result?

  She stood now, in front of a full-length bronze mirror, wearing a bd gold ensemble—elega practical. Dark brown hair, freshly cut and styled, cascaded over her shoulders.

  She barely reized herself.

  A straared back at her.

  For a brief moment, she looked like the heroic cultivators she had idolized in her youth.

  Strong. Proud. Untouchable.

  But then—

  "Hic!"

  A small hiccup escaped her lips.

  Gu Jie froze, eyes widening slightly.

  Her fiightened against the folds of her new robes.

  She had spent years hardened by survival, reduced to nothing but a shadow, a sger, a ghost lurking in the underbelly of the world.

  A…

  In this moment, before the mirror—

  She saw the dreaming girl she had once been.

  And that terrified her more than anything.

  Gu Jie atient hunter. She had survived by her wits and instincts, so finding her Senior—a man who stood out like a sore thumb in his emerald robes—was ughably easy.

  After gathering information about the book purchase, one of the "rats" informed her that the books she had ordered would be ready for pickup at first light the day after tomorrow. That business handled, she turned her focus toward log her mysterious beor.

  Normally, it would take her an hour at most to track a person of i down in this crowded city, her miraculous Sixth Sense doing most of the work. Today, however, she was fortunate.

  She spotted him immediately.

  There, at an arcade stall.

  Pying a children’s game.

  Her footsteps slowed as she took in the surreal sight.

  The Senior—who she still had no name for—was sitting in front of a shallow tub filled with small, darting goldfish. He held a thin, paper scoop, attempting to cate without tearing the fragile material.

  The stall owner, an elderly man, watched in amusement.

  The Senior, however, was not amused.

  His expression was one of intense focus, his brows furrowed in deep tration as he stared down his tiny, fishy oppos.

  Gu Jie’s lips twitched at the sight.

  Still, she approached, stopping just behind him. The Senior flicked his gaze up, instantly reizing her.

  For a brief sed, his eyes swept over her neearaaking in the freshly ed dark brown hair, the bd gold attire, the overall refined look.

  And then—

  "You look good," he ented.

  Gu Jie froze.

  She had no idea how to react to such a simple, offhand pliment. No one had ever told her that before. Was it a test? A trap? A meaningless remark?

  Swallowing her hesitation, she quickly regained her posure.

  "Senior," she said, bowing slightly. "How may I be of service?"

  She had hoped for some kind nition. A sign that he approved of her dedication. That she had dohe right thing in following him.

  Instead—

  The Senior frow her.

  Then, in a ft, aone, he said:

  "Fuck off."

  Gu Jie’s lips twitched violently.

  "Senior…?"

  "Go enjoy the festival or something." He flicked his wrist dismissively, not even sparing her a prnce. "I gave you money, didn’t I? Stop b me."

  She stared at him.

  Her fearsome, mysterious, impossibly skilled beor.

  Fighting a goldfish with a paper scoop.

  …

  Gu Jie took a deep breath.

  She lowered her head slightly, her expression perfectly posed.

  "Uood, Senior."

  Then, she turned on her heel and walked away, resisting the urge to rip her own hair out in frustration.