Chapter 363 - A Reason to Remain and a Familiar Seller

Chapter 363: Chapter 363 - A Reason to Remain and a Familiar Seller

Ning Shuang searched his expression.

She was accustomed to finding the expectation behind an offer. There would be something wanted, something withheld, or a price the speaker preferred to leave unspoken until she had already agreed.

Su Bai waited without pressing her.

The invitation was sincere.

That realization made it much harder to refuse.

For an instant, she imagined entering Radiant Sky Sect beside him.

She would no longer have to watch the people traveling with her for signs that they wanted her position or something worse. The thought was tempting enough that she almost answered before considering what would follow.

Then her gaze fell on the place where his jade slip had rested.

He had sought her out because she could tell him things he could not easily learn elsewhere.

Inside the demonic sect, she possessed knowledge that mattered to him. When they met, she had something to offer.

If she left, what would remain?

The question arrived before she could stop it.

Su Bai would have his cultivation, his master, and the people already close to him.

She would become another disciple living somewhere within the same mountains.

Would he still come looking for her when there were no orders to discuss and no secrets she could uncover?

She knew how unfair that thought was.

He had helped her when she possessed very little worth taking. He had given her the ash, treated her without contempt, and invited her to leave even though her departure would end his easiest access to information from her sect.

But none of that prevented the unease inside her.

Years inside Abyssal Lotus Sect had taught her to measure safety through usefulness.

Escaping the conditioning that demanded obedience had left other habits buried deep within her. She could recognize them now, but recognition had never made them disappear.

Being useful to Su Bai felt different.

He listened when she spoke. He smiled at her without treating her as something he owned. For the first time, she found herself wanting to help someone even when no punishment waited behind refusal.

The possibility of losing that place beside him frightened her more than she wanted to admit.

Ning Shuang drew a quiet breath.

"That is a tempting offer, Brother Su."

Her smile became wry.

"But I cannot accept it yet."

Su Bai studied her for a moment, then nodded.

He had expected hesitation.

Her master remained inside the sect, bound into the same Gu hierarchy that restrained Ning Shuang herself. Offering one person a place in Radiant Sky Sect did not resolve what would happen to the woman she regarded as family.

"We do not have to decide everything today," he said. "The offer remains."

Ning Shuang looked back at him.

She could feel that he meant those words too. The reassurance brought warmth with it, although the doubts she had kept to herself remained. She lowered her head slightly before he could examine her expression for too long.

Just then, Su Bai reached into his storage.

Several Nascent Soul-Level Talismans appeared on the cleared portion of the table. He placed a few Small-Scale Formation Plates beside them, then added several High-Grade Spirit Stones.

Ning Shuang’s eyes widened.

"Brother Su—"

"Keep these."

She looked from the treasures to him.

The talismans carried power far beyond what she could produce through her own cultivation. The formation plates were compact enough to carry discreetly, and Su Bai separated them long enough to explain which were intended for defense and which could be used against an attacker.

"These can help you protect the place where you cultivate," he said. "Learn how to activate them before relying on them."

Ning Shuang reached toward one plate, then withdrew her hand.

"This is too much."

"You have helped me a great deal."

Su Bai pushed the items closer.

He could have selected more conspicuous treasures, but he had considered what she would have to carry among her companions. An artifact that attracted everyone’s attention might create another danger before she ever needed to use it.

The people who obeyed her today could judge an opportunity differently tomorrow.

A few hidden talismans and formation plates would be easier to keep to herself. The Spirit Stones would also give her resources she could use without explaining an extraordinary treasure’s origin.

Ning Shuang remained motionless.

Su Bai’s expression softened.

"Please take them, Sister Ning. I would feel much better knowing you have something to rely on if an assignment goes wrong."

She looked into his eyes again.

There was concern there, along with an expectation so simple that it unsettled her.

He wanted her to survive.

After a while, Ning Shuang gathered the gifts.

She examined where each item could be stored without having to search through her other possessions, then placed them carefully inside her ring.

Su Bai explained the remaining details while she listened with an attention that reassured him she would remember.

When everything had been put away, she rested her hand over the ring.

"Thank you, Brother Su."

He smiled.

"Perhaps the next time I invite you to my sect, you will agree."

Her fingers tightened slightly.

"Perhaps."

The answer came more quietly than she intended.

Su Bai did not press her. He checked that the room had been cleared of anything he meant to keep, then washed the remaining leaves from his Soul-Steeping Teacup and stored it.

Ning Shuang brushed away the water map before collecting the room’s restriction token.

There were still matters he would have to examine privately.

The new Stele inscription remained unread, and he needed time to organize what she had told him before deciding how best to report it.

For now, they had reached the end of what either could usefully add to the conversation.

Ning Shuang stood.

"You have only just arrived in Jadeleaf City," she said. "Would you like me to show you around?"

Su Bai glanced toward the window.

The city had grown busier while they spoke. Voices reached them from the street below, and the scent of freshly prepared tea drifted through the courtyard whenever someone opened a downstairs door.

He had come here expecting to find her. He could spare a little time to see where he had arrived.

"I would."

Ning Shuang’s smile came more easily.

Su Bai wore the Glacier-Lung Bone Mask again before they left the room.

She returned the restriction token downstairs, and they stepped out into the street together.

People moved around them without much interest.

Ning Shuang knew which turn led toward the market and which streets became crowded with carts later in the day.

She pointed out several tea shops and explained that the leaves sold near the main entrance often cost more than the same varieties found a little farther inside.

Su Bai listened with considerable interest.

Now that he could actually enjoy a properly prepared drink, buying tea had become a matter worth understanding.

Ning Shuang seemed amused by how closely he attended to that part of the tour.

They continued toward the market at an unhurried pace.

Within Jadeleaf City, her faction and his sect drew less attention than the people arguing over prices beside the stalls.

For a little while, they could walk together without either needing to explain it.

Su Bai was looking at a display of sealed tea containers when his gaze caught on someone beyond the stall.

He slowed.

A narrow alley opened between two shops farther down the street. Near its entrance sat a man whose appearance stirred a memory Su Bai had not expected to revisit here.

He looked again to be certain.

Su Bai smiled.

It was the man who had given him the cursed jade slip.

At the time, Su Bai had gained the Starving Wraith’s Devouring Maw from it. Since then, the technique had become useful enough that he had rarely stopped to consider the person through whose hands it had reached him.

The prisoner’s voice returned to his thoughts.

Hungry Ghost.

Ning Shuang noticed that he had stopped.

"Brother Su?"

Su Bai’s eyes brightened as he watched the familiar seller.

Of all the people he might have encountered in Jadeleaf City, this was someone he suddenly had a great deal to ask.