Jiangbei, Jianghe District.
Chen Xiao stepped out of the vehicle and strode into the base like he owned the place. Ouyang Miao followed at his heels.
He was quietly counting spoils in his head. This trip had been a smash hit.
At the top of the list sat the Mountain and River Map — an opportunity worth half a million Evolution Points. Dachang had pooled the whole city's resources and held three auctions and still couldn't raise enough. Chen Xiao had walked off with the prize for free.
Next came Zhou Xun's Bright Lamp, a coveted defensive artifact, and Li Tailong's Green Snake Jasper Sword, the heirloom of Shu Mountain and the pride of ancient martial arts. The sword was beautiful enough to make people drool — though Chen Xiao didn't even use swords. Wrapping All Things Water around it usually made it less practical than his Water Long Saber, but he nevertheless hung it at his waist. It made him look handsome, and that was enough. A treasure others coveted was, to him, merely an accessory — and that fact put him in a remarkably good mood.
"Chen Xiao, why didn't you finish her off?" Ouyang Miao, who'd been uncharacteristically quiet, tugged at his sleeve.
Chen Xiao paused. "Because she still has value."
Ouyang Miao snorted. "Oh? I thought that little quirk of yours was acting up again."
He sighed. "Do you take me for a womanizer?"
She grinned wickedly. "Aren't you?"
They hadn't gone far when two familiar voices called out. "Brother Chen Xiao!" "Xiao Ge, you're back!"
Jiang Chuxue and Tang Shirou came running. Jiang Chuxue's bright, teasing energy wrapped around him like sunlight; even in the apocalypse she managed to be one of the few eternally cheerful faces. Tang Shirou, tempered by hardship, was quieter and gentler — the sort of steady warmth Chen Xiao found unexpectedly soothing.
"If you'd been any later, Sister Tang would've petrified waiting by the window," Jiang Chuxue crowed. "She'd literally turn into a 'husband-watching stone'!"
Tang Shirou nudged her with a shy noise, scolding in the softest way. Chen Xiao felt something warm tug at his chest. Tang Shirou wore a pale pink dress that softened her features; Jiang Chuxue had on a white blouse and dark-blue high-waisted skirt, the schoolgirl charm still intact despite everything.
"Long time no see — I missed you two," Chen Xiao said, smiling as the girls each slipped an arm through his and beamed.
Ouyang Miao, feeling left out, huffed and stalked off toward Jianghe Building. Once she was gone, Jiang Chuxue shot Tang Shirou a conspiratorial wink; the two shared a grin.
"Brother Chen Xiao — you promised not to take me or Sister Tang. So why'd you take her?" Jiang Chuxue pouted, faux-offended, shaking his arm.
"I had my reasons," Chen Xiao said breezily.
"Hmph. You just like pretty things," she teased.
Chen Xiao coughed, glanced at Tang Shirou, who clung to his arm and tilted her head with impossible softness. Chuxue's teasing barely registered now.
"Of course I didn't forget you two. I brought gifts from Dachang." He opened his hands with a flourish.
"Really? Thank you, Brother Chen Xiao!" the girls squealed.
"What are they?" Jiang Chuxue demanded.
Chen Xiao smiled. "Lots. Let me pull a few out."
With a thought he accessed the Mountain and River Map — stocked to bursting. These weren't purchases; they were loot. He'd cleaned out eight warehouses of the Star-Moon Base, the consolidated storerooms Li Tailong had assembled for plunder. The map's space could swallow the inventories of tens of thousands of bases; eight paled before it.
What happened to the Star-Moon Base's people without those supplies? That was not his problem.
He couldn't help a snicker. Then, as if conjured, a red-and-black miniskirt appeared in his hands — exquisite, featherlight: the red one hot and bold, the black one all mystery.
Jiang Chuxue and Tang Shirou froze, mouths open.
Chen Xiao grinned. "Which one, ladies?"