I Ruined the Long Ao Tian Script-Chapter 71

The Taste of Life Noodles

"To think that neither of them truly loved her," Yue'er mused wistfully, twirling her wine cup. "How could that be? I heard both the Immortal Venerable and the Demon Venerable were exceptional men."

Bai Roushuang's tone turned sardonic: "Exceptional men who met their demise one after another."

Yue'er looked at her in surprise.

Bai Roushuang shook her head. "My apologies, that wasn't directed at you. I just find those two rather absurd—starting a war over competing for a woman's affection."

"But they were deeply devoted..."

"That wasn't devotion, just selfishness," Bai Roushuang countered. "I wonder if either bothered to ask Luo Xiaoxiang whether she wanted to bear the weight of all those lives lost in their war."

Peng Wanxi nodded in agreement. "Bai Roushuang is right. Devotion that brings harm to others isn't worthy of praise."

Yue'er seemed to half-understand, bowing her head in contemplation.

The group selected another jar of wine—this one brewed by a sword cultivator. The first sip was bitterly harsh, but the aftertaste gradually mellowed into sweetness. A blade's edge is honed through grinding; a Daoist heart is tempered through suffering.

"What a perfect 'bitterness yielding to sweetness,'" Xu Shulou praised. "This senior must have been no ordinary figure."

Xi Cheng examined the name on the jar. "A pity later generations never heard of him."

Bai Roushuang set down her cup. "It's regrettable that someone who worked so hard remains unknown."

Peng Wanxi added, "The cultivation world has many such admirable cultivators. Even without exceptional talent, they refuse to bow to fate. They don’t seek fame or shortcuts—just relentless dedication."

"Really?"

"Of course," Xu Shulou smiled. "If the cultivation world were full of self-aggrandizing opportunists like Wei Xuandao, it’d be a truly despairing place."

"True enough," Bai Roushuang laughed. "There ought to be more good people than bad in this world."

Peng Wanxi chuckled. Moments ago, Bai Roushuang had sounded mature while chatting with Yue'er, but now her words carried a touch of naivety.

Xu Shulou, however, nodded. "Yes, there are always more good people."

The Green-clad Woman asked, "Do any of you have other stories you'd like to brew into wine?"

Xu Shulou declined. "I’ve no stories to share."

The woman produced a wooden box and opened it. "If you won’t tell a story, you may instead channel a strand of spiritual energy into this. I’ll brew wine based on its essence."

Recognizing it as a basic spirit-containment artifact, Xu Shulou grew curious. She extended a hand and infused the orb inside with a wisp of energy.

The Green-clad Woman nodded. "Done. Return in a year for the wine."

Xu Shulou asked with interest, "If years pass and my circumstances or state of mind change, would wine brewed from my spiritual energy then taste different?"

The woman inclined her head. "Perhaps. To know, you’d need to visit again and provide fresh energy."

Xu Shulou laughed. "You’ve a knack for business."

Bai Roushuang also stepped forward to leave a strand of energy. "I wonder what my wine will taste like, but I’m already eager to try Senior Sister’s."

Xu Shulou smiled. "Aside from story-brewed and energy-brewed wines, what other novelties do you offer here?"

"We also have poetry wine," the woman gestured toward shelves along the opposite wall. "A new offering. Might you be interested?"

Bai Roushuang approached curiously. The jars bore elegantly inscribed verses. She sampled "Silk Quilts Can’t Ward Off Dawn’s Chill" and instantly felt her entire body freeze over.

Xu Shulou poked the frost forming on Bai Roushuang’s lashes. "The effect is... impressively excessive."

The Green-clad Woman mused, jotting "Needs adjustment" on paper.

Bai Roushuang peeked at the note and sighed. "Are we your test subjects?"

The woman met her gaze. "Mutual consent."

"..."

Consent indeed, for the recently frozen Bai Roushuang promptly forgot her ordeal and reached for a jar labeled "A Thousand Blossoming Pear Trees."

Xu Shulong tried "Drunken Revelry Resolved in Madness" and, upon drinking, actually felt intoxication—a sensation long foreign to her.

A faint flush rose to her cheeks, enhancing her radiance, though the effect faded as swiftly as it came.

Yue'er sampled "No Regrets for the Withering Waist," while Peng Wanxi and Xi Cheng both chose "If Love Lasts Beyond Time."

Their expressions suggested drastically different outcomes.

The group tasted several more—sweet, sour, bitter, spicy—a full spectrum of flavors, until they finally conceded: "Story-brewed wine lives up to its name."

As they departed, the Green-clad Woman saw them out and mentioned softly, "Across the street, we also run a noodle shop called The Taste of Life, though business is poor."

They exchanged glances. "Let’s give it a look."

The group, still in high spirits, crossed the street together.

The noodle shop was indeed struggling—even Peng Wanxi and Xi Cheng, longtime residents of the Nightless City, hadn’t heard of it.

They entered. Half an hour later, they staggered out retching.

Xu Shulou was baffled. "Why would anyone make noodles called 'A Murderer’s Remorse'?"

The others, reminded of her bowl—filled with pig blood, duck blood, pork brains, and ox marrow, all woefully under-seasoned—felt their stomachs churn anew.

Yue'er was even more perplexed. "Why did you order it? The name alone screams 'inedible.'"

Xu Shulou shot her a look. "Was your 'Heartless Scoundrel’s Core' any better?"

Yue'er rubbed her jaw. "...I didn’t expect literal iron and rocks."

Peng Wanxi said, "My 'Healer’s Benevolence' was passable, though walnuts mixed into noodles were odd."

Bai Roushuang and Xi Cheng, still leaning against the wall dry-heaving, remained silent.

Xu Shulou handed them water and mint balm.

Peng Wanxi sighed at Xi Cheng. "'A Cannibal’s Atonement'—what possessed you? And you talked Bai Roushuang into ordering it too?"

"Curiosity! I figured it couldn’t actually be human flesh," Xi Cheng paled. "Even carved from flour and radish, those 'hands' were vile."

Bai Roushuang weakly glared. "Worse than the eyeball floating in my bowl? It’s a miracle this place hasn’t been torched."

Xu Shulou gazed skyward. "Let’s all agree to forget this happened."

Unanimous nods. "Sworn silence. Never speak of it again."

———

Xi Cheng and Peng Wanxi continued guiding them through the city, pointing out curiosities: "That’s another new shop—'Palm-Sized Darling.'"

"'Palm-Sized Darling'?" Bai Roushuang, familiar with mortal-world romance novels, looked uneasy. "What do they sell?"

Peng Wanxi clarified promptly: "Spiritual pets."

"Oh, selling spirit pets, that makes sense..." Bai Roushuang instantly relaxed and began reflecting on what exactly had been going through her mind.

Xi Cheng added, "They mainly sell small spirit pets, the kind you can hold in your palm. Most of these have very little spiritual power and aren’t useful in battle, but they make up for it with their adorable appearances. Many people buy them for their children."

The group couldn’t help but grow curious and stepped inside to browse. The tiny spirit pets were indeed exceptionally cute, each one lively and playful. Bai Roushuang extended a finger, and a small white flying dog stretched out its paw to touch her.

Xu Shulou tried her best not to make eye contact with any of them, lest she grow too attached and want to take one home. But the little flying dog enthusiastically landed on her shoulder and nuzzled her cheek.

Xu Shulou stroked it gently. "I’m sorry, but I can’t take you with me."

The little flying dog promptly turned its backside to her and flew away.

Yue'er found everything adorable, petting each one with great delight.

Bai Roushuang asked curiously, "Do they have spirit pets in the demon realm?"

"They do, but they’re anything but cute," Yue'er gestured as she explained. "Back home, I have a Yellow-Ear—it looks like a dog, but it’s ten times taller and ten times bigger than me, with fangs as long as my leg."

"...That sounds truly majestic."

After leaving the spirit pet shop, they continued strolling around. Bai Roushuang noticed a shop with an eerily gloomy and terrifying decor and asked, "What do they sell there?"

"That’s a rather unique jewelry store," Peng Wanxi explained. "Only cultivators with special requests go there to place custom orders. From what I’ve heard, the last female cultivator who visited commissioned a set of ruby butterfly hair ornaments—as a tally. For every person she killed, she would add another ruby to her hair."

Bai Roushuang grinned at her senior sister. "Want to give it a try?"

Xu Shulou imagined the scenario and immediately shook her head. "A head full of them? That would look far too festive. No thanks."

A head full? That did sound rather festive... Wait, had she just unintentionally revealed just how many people she’d cut down?

"..."

Xu ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‍Shulou didn’t notice why everyone had suddenly fallen silent and instead turned her attention to the signboard of another shop. "They even sell clouds here?"

The group entered the store, where a maid greeted them warmly. "Would you like to buy a cloud, ladies? We have auspicious clouds, floating clouds, layered clouds, misty clouds, storm clouds, and sunset clouds."

Bai Roushuang poked a nearby fluffy cloud. "What do people do with these?"

"You can tie a string to them and play, or sit on them and float around," the maid explained patiently. "They’re freshly plucked from the sky, and we use a special method to infuse them with spiritual energy so they keep their shape."

"How much for that storm cloud?" Xu Shulou asked.

"Ten high-grade spirit stones per cloud."

Xi Cheng whistled. "Not cheap."

"But one lasts a long time! Besides, we pick, craft, and sell them fresh—we never sell day-old clouds."

"..." Was there even a difference between fresh and day-old clouds?

Xu Shulou watched as the little storm cloud rumbled and released a light drizzle, growing quite fond of it. "I’ll take one."

"Wonderful! Would you like to take it out on a leash, or is this a gift? If it’s a gift, I can wrap it up for you."

"No need, I’ll just take it out as is," Xu Shulou turned to the others. "What kind of cloud do you want? I’ll buy them for you."

Bai Roushuang picked a sunset cloud, while Yue'er chose a clear sky cloud.

Peng Wanxi and Xi Cheng politely declined, not wanting to spoil their fun by mentioning that these were usually toys for children.

Once outside, the three immediately sat cross-legged on their clouds, which lifted them about four feet off the ground.

Peng Wanxi and Xi Cheng each held a couple of leashes as they walked ahead, while Xu Shulou and the others floated behind them, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

However, Xu Shoulou soon encountered a problem—every time her storm cloud thundered and rained, it dissipated into nothingness before slowly reforming.

Bai Roushuang invited her to share her sunset cloud instead.

Occasionally, passersby on the streets of the Nightless City would glance at them and remark, "What a happy family of five."

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