Going all the way to the capital with Daba, Lingling felt as if she was faster than before, covering a journey that should take four days in just two days.
Initially, Lingling thought her cultivation had improved again, but after realizing it wasn't the case, she couldn't help but exclaim that the Taskmaster was really unreliable, getting the distance all wrong.
However, as a result, the cost was significantly lower than originally calculated. This time, she not only didn't make less, but even made more than a regular case.
Lingling hadn't anticipated the hustle and bustle of the capital. In this world, except for the disturbances of demons and monsters, there were no human turmoil such as war, so the country's wealth accumulated quickly, resulting in a vibrant scene in the capital.
Lingling was amazed. Despite having been in this world for a while, she had spent most of her time in the Forgetfulness Palace. Even her only excursion had been to the small town at the foot of the mountain. The original owner, in her pitiful childhood, hardly had any memory; she had either been practicing pure cultivation or undercover at the Forgetfulness Palace, and had never seen the world.
Having been born and raised in modern times, Lingling had never experienced such a richly vibrant scene in ancient times.
"Daba, look at this bustling street. Did you know that while the place where your mother used to live was crowded, it was never this lively?"
Daba looked around at the bustling surroundings, remnants of the spiritual power from his teleportation still on his fingers. With a light wave, it dissipated in the air where Lingling couldn't see it. He did not find the bustle appealing; the enthusiastic invitations and friendly conversations only seemed noisy to him.
However, hearing Lingling's interest, Daba reluctantly turned his head slightly to look, despite not enjoying it. Lingling mustered warm feelings for him.
With his hands around Lingling’s neck, Daba leaned on her chest, listening to her rhythmic heartbeat and the faint fragrance lingering on her body. He was lost in thought for a moment until Lingling stopped, and only then did Daba move his gaze.
Lingling stood in front of a vendor selling candy people, with many lifelike figures, including burly men, beautiful women, mischievous children, and various animals.
Lingling was drawn to a cute candy child far away and went straight to it.
"Daba, do you think this candy person looks like you?"
Carefully, Lingling picked it up and raised it to Daba's face. The round face, big eyes, and a simple topknot on its head—it didn't look like Daba, but more like a doll in a New Year's picture. However, Daba didn't want to argue with Lingling, so he just agreed with her.
Seeing Daba only giving it a lazy glance without showing any obvious aversion, Lingling happily paid for it and bought it.
"Here, try it."
Daba frowned. He didn't deny that the vendor was skilled, but he couldn't bring himself to eat the colors used on the candy figure. Being clean, he had never liked eating street snacks since he was young.
Seeing Daba hesitate, Lingling thought he was just shy, amusingly hiding her amusement instead of exposing him, knowing that Daba wanted to save face despite being young.
"It's especially delicious; let your mother taste it."
Lingling pretended to put the candy at her mouth, hoping to pique Daba's interest. But as the sweet scent wafted into her nose, used to eating only vegetables and rough grains every day, Lingling felt a craving for snacks. Unwittingly, before she knew it, she had bitten off half of the candy's head.
Gu Lingling looked at Da Bao awkwardly and then handed the candy figurine to Da Bao.
Da Bao, with his eyes shining, looked at Gu Lingling, whose mouth was puffed up, and then at the half-headed candy figurine. He took it, licked it lightly, and a sweet and greasy taste filled his mouth.
He clearly didn't like such heavy-flavored food, but he still accepted it.
Since she had come early, Gu Lingling decided to take a stroll first. As she looked at this and that, everything seemed new and fresh, but besides the candy she bought earlier, Gu Lingling hadn't spent a single penny.
However, shopping and strolling around is a woman's nature. Although there were no modern accessories on display here, the unique charm of the ancient silver hairpins intrigued Gu Lingling.
"Customer, would you like to buy a silver hairpin? You have a good eye, this is a palace style, unique in the entire city."
The vendor smiled and rubbed his hands, waiting for Gu Lingling to take out money from her purse.
Gu Lingling felt embarrassed, she ran her hand over her purse and said, "I'm just browsing, I won't buy anything."
The vendor sneered, realizing that she was broke, his expression immediately changed, and he impatiently said, "If you're not buying, move aside and don't block my business."
Gu Lingling felt bitter, but she had no choice. After all, she really didn't have any money.
Da Bao obediently snuggled in Gu Lingling's arms, unaware of what was going on.
With this little incident, Gu Lingling lost her interest in shopping. Following the address given by the shop owner, she wandered around the city for a while and finally found the mansion of the person in charge in a wealthy area.
Gu Lingling knocked on the door, and soon a middle-aged woman came and opened it. Gu Lingling stated her purpose, and the woman's guarded expression turned into warmth.
She hastily let Gu Lingling into the courtyard and shouted inside, "Master, the master from the Forget Worry Pavilion has arrived."
This was a quadrangle courtyard, and as Gu Lingling looked inside, she didn't see any other doors, it seemed that there was only one entrance.
This didn't seem to match with the grand and imposing gate.
There was no response from inside the house for a while, until a man walked out, walking unhurriedly.
When he came over, he said to the woman, "What's the rush? You should pay attention to your demeanor."
The woman seemed accustomed to this, and she still smiled with her eyes full of fine lines: "The master is here, so we don't need to worry anymore."
As she spoke the words "don't need to worry", the composed man from earlier showed an undisguised fear in his eyes.
"Can you tell me about the incident?"
Reconfirming the incident with the person in charge was a usual procedure for the Forget Worry Pavilion. After all, sometimes details might have been missed in the initial statement, and asking again could effectively fill in those gaps and increase efficiency.
The woman suddenly sighed, her smile gone, replaced with a worried expression.
The author has something to say: This is considered an indirect kiss~~