Zhang Qiling's black hooded jacket was once again gloriously ruined after their trip to the Emei Forbidden Land.
"Good heavens, Xiao Ge," Wu Tianzhen said, holding the dusty jacket, which had a large tear at the hem, and couldn't help but twitch his lips. "Your clothes are quite the adventurers, aren't they?"
Zhang Qiling was quietly picking vegetables by the kitchen, a task Fatty had just assigned him. Wu Tianzhen glanced at his overly serious expression and for a moment, it felt as if he might be engaged in some exceptionally dangerous forbidden activities.
Hearing Wu Xiao's words, Zhang Qiling looked up blankly from the pile of vegetables. The moment he did, he precisely grabbed the furball attempting to sneak a bite from within the greens.
During his time back at Wu Shan Ju, Xiao Zhang had often been lectured by the two of them. Thus, when he caught sight of the tattered clothing, he momentarily thought it was another instance of "Wu Tianzhen's Frugality Class is Now Open," and quickly sat up straight.
Wu Tianzhen, who had merely spoken casually: ...
"No, Xiao Ge, I didn't mean to say you were wrong," Wu Tianzhen waved his hands, finding it rather amusing.
... Xiao Ge always walked in the most dangerous places, and this jacket also served as a knife-wiping cloth, a raincoat, and a temporary bandage, among other uses. It was rather unreasonable to expect him to keep it clean.
Thinking of this, Wu Tianzhen sighed.
Zhang Qiling, now realizing that Wu Tianzhen's lecture was not in session, had already refocused his attention on the vegetables. With a stern gaze, his Fa Qiu fingers moved like lightning, and with a swift, uncatchable movement, he decisively plucked off a withered leaf.
To be honest, watching him like this, Wu Tianzhen vaguely felt he didn't deserve to eat the stir-fried vegetables they would soon have.
The furball was cruelly deprived of its right to eat the entire vegetable and could only huddle to the side, waiting for the withered leaves. However, judging by its appearance, it seemed to be enjoying itself, and soon began stamping its feet, urging Zhang Qiling to speed up the supply of withered leaves.
One had to admit, this rabbit truly embodied the saying "give them an inch and they'll take a mile."
Just as Wu Tianzhen was about to step forward and take away the furball that was disturbing Xiao Zhang's work, he heard Fatty's voice from the doorway:
"Holy crap, finally back, Fatty is dead tired!"
Fatty had just returned from an outing to procure supplies.
He was laden with shopping bags, each one bulging, testifying to Fatty's formidable shopping prowess.
Wu Tianzhen took a general look and almost thought the fatty had emptied the entire supermarket next door.
"Good grief... what did you buy?" He stepped forward to help Fatty lighten his load, and the instant he was pressed down, his face contorted, and he hastily threw all the bags onto the sofa.
"You asked the right question! Quick, quick, let Fatty show you the world I've conquered!"
Fatty had always been in charge of the daily needs of the Wu Shan Ju members. This outing had covered all aspects of their lives, from food and clothing to shelter and transportation. Even the furball, upon arriving home, had proudly received several custom-designed rabbit outfits.
"Especially this one!" Fatty mysteriously took out a finely crafted box. Upon opening it, a pendant made of cold iron inlaid with mutton-fat jade was revealed.
The cold iron was intricately carved with a lifelike Qilin in ink lines, exuding a majestic aura, as if about to step out of the clouds.
The materials looked familiar. Wu Tianzhen carefully identified them and suddenly realized these were the items Fatty had found in the Zhang family's sacred tomb. It appeared these items had been repurposed by Fatty to create a sword tassel for Zhang Qiling.
"...Originally, Fatty planned to inlay all those things, but I thought our Xiao Ge is out in the wind and rain all day, and such delicate things wouldn't be practical. So, in the end, I had to make do with the most durable one."
"Heh heh, I made similar ones for you and me with the remaining materials. Let's call them team badges!"
Fatty was still rambling on with his introductions, but as he spoke, he suddenly noticed Wu Tianzhen's expression was not quite right, looking somewhat disbelieving:
"No, Tianzhen, what's with that look!?"
As Fatty spoke, he suddenly realized something:
"Holy crap, you didn't actually think Fatty was just blowing smoke when I said I'd sort these things out for Xiao Ge, did you?!"
"Am I the kind of person who can't move when I see good things?"
Wu Tianzhen: ...? Do you have no self-awareness about your image?
Wu Tianzhen really wanted to show Fatty a world-famous painting titled "Black-Haired Fierce Ghost Betrayed, Fatty Slaps Himself Publicly," but unfortunately, he hadn't had the chance to take a photo at the time. He had to reluctantly hold back his words and put on a forced smile.
Fatty: ???
This expression made Fatty feel his personal integrity had been challenged. He "humphed" and decided not to bother with the young Wu, turning instead to Xiao Zhang by the kitchen door.
Fatty had returned faster than expected, and feeding the rabbit had slowed things down, meaning Xiao Zhang hadn't finished picking vegetables yet. He was currently focusing all his energy on the vegetables when he suddenly felt a large shadow cast over him.
Looking up, Fatty's peculiar, affectionate yet slightly lewd, large face was right before him.
"Xiao Ge, guess what gift Fatty brought back for you?"
Zhang Qiling, who hadn't joined the commotion but wasn't deaf: "...A sword tassel."
"Holy crap, our Xiao Ge is so smart!" Fatty put on an exaggerated expression of "You already know this?", and busily shoved the sword tassel into Zhang Qiling's hand, letting the expensive pendant nestle amongst the vegetables in Xiao Zhang's grasp.
It was only then that Fatty noticed the pile of vegetables in front of Zhang Qiling: "Alright, alright, Xiao Ge, go play with the sword tassel on the sofa. We have enough vegetables, let Tianzhen pick the rest!"
This sounded like when parents give a child a piece of dough to play with while they're making dumplings, because they're being disruptive.
Fortunately, Zhang Qiling had never made dumplings, nor had he had parents, so he didn't feel any sense of elder affection from this statement. He quickly washed his hands, accepted the situation well, and went to the sofa with the sword tassel.
The Black Gold Ancient Saber had always had the spikes left by the Spike Cat hanging from it, leaving Zhang Qiling in a dilemma about the vacant position for a sword tassel.
He removed the spikes and placed them alongside the Qilin cold iron, unsure how to proceed.
The furball sneakily tried to come up and eat the spikes, prompting Zhang Qiling to lightly tap its head. It then unhappily scurried to the side to continue gnawing on Fatty's chair legs.
It seemed to have a particular fondness for Fatty's chair legs, having already ruined no less than three chairs in the few days it had been here. The broken chairs were all consumed by it, making it hard to say if this wasn't a vicious cycle.
And just as Zhang Qiling was staring at the two pendants in a daze, the screen in front of him suddenly flickered.
Following that, a trace of warmth came from his palm, and within this warmth, the pendant belonging to the Spike Cat quietly disappeared.
On the screen, an icon labeled "Warehouse" flashed, and the "1" on it turned into "2."