Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
When Yang Kai turned around, he realised that no one was in sight.
He frowned and looked down, only to see a little girl standing in front of him. With her big eyes, she stared fixedly at the sugar-coated hawthorn fruits in his hand.
[A little girl?] Yang Kai was stunned.
Upon closer look, he realised that she was indeed a little girl who was seven or eight years old. Although she was clad in simple clothes, she looked quite adorable. Her eyes were bright, and her jet-black hair hung low at her waist.
[Why is there a little girl in Yin-Yang Pass?] Yang Kai instinctively thought that she was an Open Heaven Realm Master who had cultivated some kind of unique Secret Art. Such Secret Arts did exist in this world. Or maybe an accident happened when she was cultivating, which was why she never grew taller and appeared to be a child.
However, after examining the little girl, he realised that even though she had cultivated before, she wasnât very strong. She was in the Origin King Realm at most.
With that said, it was inconceivable that she was already an Origin King at her age. Yang Kai still hadnât started cultivating when he was eight years old, which showed that this little girl had extraordinary aptitude. Her achievements would surely be staggering in the future.
Nevertheless, on the Black Ink Battlefield where everyone was an Open Heaven Realm Master, an Origin King was indeed too weak.
Those from the Cave Heavens and Paradises would only send cultivators who were at least in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm to the Black Ink Battlefield. Those who were below the Sixth Order wouldnât be asked to come here. What could an Origin King do in such a place? This little girl would probably be turned into a Black Ink Disciple the instant she came into contact with Black Ink Strength.
Yang Kai was greatly puzzled about where this little girl came from.
She was only seven or eight years old, so there was no way she was sent to this place from the 3,000 Worlds by the Cave Heavens and Paradises. The only possibility was that she was born in Yin-Yang Pass.
It wasnât that there were no couples in the Great Passes. As they had to fight against the Black Ink Clan all year long, they might lose their lives at any moment, so special feelings would naturally develop among people when they were under such immense pressure. In fact, there were a lot of couples in different Great Passes.
However, none of them would rashly make a decision to give birth to children in such a place. That was because no one could guarantee whether they would survive the next battle. It would be the height of irresponsibility to bring a child into the world in this kind of place.
Therefore, it never crossed Yang Kaiâs mind that he would come across a little girl who was in the Origin King Realm in the Marketplace in Yin-Yang Pass.
On the other hand, the cultivators in the Marketplace didnât seem curious about the little girl, which showed that she had been around here for quite some time.
Seeing that she was just a little girl, Yang Kai didnât intend to probe her, he just asked in a gentle voice, âWhere are your parents, little girl?â
Just then, a passing cultivator crashed into a rack with a thud, which caused all the goods on it to fall to the ground. The merchant cursed at him while the cultivator apologised and picked up the goods.
The little girl, who was standing in front of Yang Kai, never moved her eyes away from the sugar-coated hawthorn fruits in his hand. Without replying to his question, she gulped and asked, âAre you going to eat them?â
Yang Kai looked down at his hand and realised why she had been following him. As he broke into laughter, he passed the remaining 4 skewers of sugar-coated hawthorn fruits to her, âYou can have them all.â
The little girl beamed at him and took the skewers. After thanking him, she started munching on the fruits and said in a muffled voice, âYouâre a good guy. For some reason, the old man who sells sugar-coated fruits is missing today. I still couldnât find him after looking for him for a long time.â
Yang Kai secretly snorted. The old man must be worried that Yang Kai would settle the score with him after conning the latter into buying 5 skewers of sugar-coated hawthorn fruits, which was why he had left in a hurry.
Seeing that she was enjoying her food though, Yang Kai felt the displeasure in his heart melting away. He felt that the Sixth-Order Yellow Crystal he had spent was finally worth it. He thus patted and stroked the little girlâs head before saying, âGo home after youâre done having your food. Donât make your parents worry.â
*Dong!*
Right then, the same rack was hit again and the merchant quickly squatted and picked up the goods.
At the same time, Yang Kai furrowed his brows. For some reason, he had a feeling that time was frozen for a moment, as though the entire Marketplace had fallen silent. However, when he looked around, he realised that everything had become normal again.
The little girl, whose head was being stroked, grinned from ear to ear.
Yang Kai nodded at her and turned around to leave.
However, he soon turned his head and gazed at the little girl, who was still tailing him, âWhy are you following me? Iâve given you all my sugar-coated hawthorn fruits. Thereâs none left.â
It only took the little girl a short time to finish having all 4 skewers. It was surprising that she had such a huge appetite. After tossing the skewers away, the little girl put on a faint smile, âSince youâve given me some sugar-coated hawthorn fruits, Iâll treat you to a meal. How about some steamed stuffed buns?â
Yang Kai smiled helplessly, âThereâs no need for thatâŚâ
After getting conned into buying the sugar-coated hawthorn fruits and the hairpin, he was certain that all the things being sold in this Marketplace were just ordinary items. There wasnât a need for him to pay any attention to this place anymore.
Since he had some free time, heâd rather go back and refine materials to strengthen the heritage of his Small Universe.
Nevertheless, before he finished speaking, he sported a helpless expression, âWhatâs wrong?â
The little girl appeared to be on the brink of breaking into tears, as though she had just suffered from the greatest grievance in the world.
She sobbed and said, âI want to get some steamed stuffed buns! The steamed stuffed buns from Linâs Steamed Bun Restaurant are the best!â As she spoke, she sucked the drool back into her mouth.
A speechless Yang Kai massaged his temples, âIf you want the steamed stuffed buns so badly, you can go ahead and buy them.â
The little girl hung her head low and said in a small voice, âI donât have any money.â
Yang Kai was torn between tears and laughter, âBut you said youâd treat me to a meal.â
âIâll treat you to a meal, but youâll have to payâŚâ There was an embarrassed expression on the little girlâs face.
âThatâs ridiculousâŚâ Yang Kai was lost for words. He wanted to tell her that he also didnât have any money as the copper coins he had traded for the Sixth-Order Yellow Crystal were used up.
However, the little girl walked up to him and took his hand before swaying it, âPlease. Steamed stuffed buns are deliciousâŚâ She gulped.
Yang Kai was unable to bear the little girl pleading with him in such a way. He thought that her parents were irresponsible by giving birth to her as they never even bothered to give her some allowance. It was simply outrageous.
âPlease⌠I really love their bunsâŚâ The little girl was relentless.
Left with no other choice, Yang Kai could only agree to it, âAlright, alright. Stop swinging me. Iâm feeling dizzy!â
âSo you agree?â The pleasantly surprised little girl asked.
âYes, Iâll treat you to a proper meal,â Yang Kai nodded. In any case, he could trade materials for some copper coins, so he didnât have to worry about not being able to foot the bill.
âYou really are a good guy!â The little girl was ecstatic.
Yang Kai let out a sigh. He wasnât aware that being nice meant he had to treat someone to a meal. With that said, the world of a little girl was simple. It wasnât a bad thing to experience some innocence on this dangerous Black Ink Battlefield.
Linâs Steamed Bun Restaurant was filled with the aroma of steamed stuffed buns. There were only a few tables, and they were all occupied. A bowl of soup and a small bamboo basket of steamed stuffed buns were all it took for one to wind down and observe the Marketplace.
The owners of the restaurant seemed to be a couple. One of them prepared dough while the other formed the buns. They appeared skilful in their craft. There was also a shop hand to serve the customers.
The instant Yang Kai stepped into the restaurant, hand in hand with the little girl, the shop hand became rooted to the spot as if struck by lightning, staring fixedly at their hands.
The owners, who were preparing dough and steamed stuffed buns, shook a little.
Meanwhile, the customers in the shop, who were eating the steamed stuffed buns and soup, felt their brows twitching.
âHere it is! Linâs Steamed Bun Restaurant!â The little girl said joyfully.
Yang Kai swept a glance over this place. Despite knowing that there were no ordinary people here, he still felt ill at ease.
The owners of the steamed stuffed bun shop were apparently Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. On the other hand, the shop hand, who was responsible for serving the customers, was a Seventh-Order Master.
Yang Kai had never seen any Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters whose faces were covered in flour as they were preparing dough and steamed stuffed buns. He had the luck to see it in this Marketplace.
âThere are a lot of people today,â the little girl took a glance around the shop. Seeing that all the tables were occupied, she turned to Yang Kai, âIt seems that weâll have to wait.â
As soon as she finished speaking though, the customers started stuffing steamed buns into their mouths and gulping down the soup.
âGet me the bill!â
They all started shouting. The shop hand quickly went around to collect money from them. In just a moment, all the customers in the restaurant were gone.
âOh, there are seats now!â The little girl appeared elated as she pulled Yang Kai into the shop and took a seat at one of the tables. Since the chair was too tall, her feet couldnât come into contact with the ground as they swayed in the air.
While cleaning up the things on the table, the shop hand asked with a smile, âWhat would you like to get?â
Yang Kai replied nonchalantly, âGet me 2 baskets of steamed stuffed bunsâŚâ
Before he could finish speaking though, the little girl cut him off by shouting, âIâll have 10 baskets!â
Yang Kai batted his eyes, then said to the shop hand, âWeâll have ten baskets of steamed stuffed buns and two bowls of soup, then.â
âAlright, Iâll be right back,â the shop hand replied and headed to the kitchen.
A moment later, 10 baskets of steamed stuffed buns were served, piled up on the table. The little girl then began wolfing them down as her cheeks bulged.
Yang Kai took a steamed stuffed bun and had a taste. He realised that even though it was delicious, it was just some ordinary food. It was unable to help increase a cultivatorâs power. Still, he remained silent and waited for the little girl to finish having her food.
âWhy arenât you having any?â The little girl asked curiously.
Yang Kai replied with a smile, âYou can have them all.â
The little glutton smiled happily and continued devouring the buns.
Yang Kai helped her wipe the crumbs off her mouth and said, âTake it slow. No one is going to take them away from you.â
He was curious about what was going on with her parents. Had they never given her enough food? Why did she look like she was starving?
The little girl devoured all ten baskets of steamed stuffed buns and two bowls of soup on her own. Yang Kai couldnât help but wonder how the petite little girl was able to wolf down so much food. It was no simple feat.
More importantly, her belly didnât bulge at all. He wondered where all the food went.
âAre you full?â Yang Kai asked.
The little girl nodded, âYes.â
Yang Kai then shouted, âGet me the bill!â
The shop hand promptly came over and said with a smile, âThat will be 100 copper coins for 10 baskets of steamed stuffed buns. The bowls of soup are on the house.â
âMany thanks.â Yang Kai nodded, âBut I donât have any money with me. Can I cover the bill with this?â