Chapter 417: 417,【Open Favoritism】
 

Treasury Pavillion, inside an elegant courtyard.

Lu Xiaoyu was staring at the “Gu Rabbit” listed in the little booklet, unable to take her eyes off it for a long time.

Xiao Long Bao was flipping through the booklet like she was browsing through a fashion magazine, and soon reached the end.

She turned her head to look at Lu Xiaoyu, glanced at the “Gu Rabbit” in the booklet, and asked, “Do you like it?”

Lu Xiaoyu didn’t deny it, she nodded her head.

Feeling it was time to show off her guild leader’s generosity, Xiao Long Bao waved her small hand and declared, “Hmph! This missy will buy it for you!”

Saying so, she stood up, walked behind Lu Xiaoyu, bent down, resting her chin on Lu Xiaoyu’s shoulder, and glanced at the price written in the booklet.

“Hehe! Can’t afford it~~”

Shamelessly, Xiao Long Bao hopped back to her seat with a spring in her steps.

“Once we’ve made big money, I’ll buy it for you!” Xiao Long Bao started writing checks her ass couldn’t cash, sounding very much like those dishonest guys with their deceitful promises.

At this moment, the receptionist girl who had gone to fetch the “Skill Book” returned.

She bowed slightly to Lu Xiaoyu and Xiao Long Bao, showing her professional demeanor, then hurried into the room, eager to see the stunningly handsome Lu Xun once again.

Soon, she reluctantly came out of the room. As she did, she heard Lu Xiaoyu gasp in surprise.

The receptionist went over, and at a glance understood why Lu Xiaoyu had made a sound.

For the page she had just been looking at, had suddenly turned blank.

The white jade bracelet named “Gu Rabbit” that was recorded in the booklet had disappeared.

“What happened?” Lu Xiaoyu asked with her head raised.

The receptionist smiled and explained, “As soon as the item is sold, it can no longer be seen in the booklet.”

Then the receptionist glanced at Lu Xiaoyu, glanced back into the room, and there was a hint of envy in her eyes.

Hearing this, Lu Xiaoyu nodded gently, feeling a little regretful.

She really liked this white jade bracelet named “Gu Rabbit”. Whether it was the arty and cute name, or the beautiful design, it was all to her liking.

Unfortunately, the price was too high. Not to mention her, even in all of “Heavenly Dust”, there were probably only a few players who could afford it.

Right now, the game was at a stage where possessing an Inferior Blue Equipment was enough to shake the forums. Average Blue Equipment was something players could only dream of.

Although the reality was as such, watching something you liked being bought by someone else right in front of you still brought a twinge of disappointment.

Xiao Long Bao ran over to comfort Lu Xiaoyu. After the receptionist left, she patted her own luxurious private airfield cheekily and said:

“I’ve taken a screenshot just now. When I log out, I’ll send the picture to my family butler. My family is involved in the jade business, I’ll ask them to make one exactly like this! Hehe, ain’t I great?”

“Here you go again!” Lu Xiaoyu glared at her.

Even if they were best friends, she couldn’t possibly accept such an expensive gift.

“Okay, okay, such beautiful eyes, and all you know is to glare at people?” Xiao Long Bao smirked and didn’t continue the conversation.

Soon, they saw the receptionist come running back with a Storage Ring, hurriedly rushing back and then diving into the room again.

“Xiaoyu, it seems that Purple Palace bought a lot of things!” Xiao Long Bao whispered, “And, did you notice that NPC just now? She was utterly smitten by the handsome and wealthy guy from the Purple Palace.”

“You’re the only one with a mouth, talking non-stop all day.” Lu Xiaoyu gently pinched her waist.

“Ouch, it tickles madly!” Xiao Long Bao pushed her away.

With a creak, the wooden door of the room was pushed open by the receptionist, and Lu Xun, dressed in a black robe, slowly walked out.

He looked at the two girls, smiled gently, and asked, “Would you like to look around the other parts of the Treasury Pavillion?”

Both girls shook their heads, clearly not interested.

Hearing this, Lu Xun nodded, “Alright then, let’s go.”

With that, the group prepared to leave the Treasury Pavillion.

The receptionist was left standing there, watching Lu Xun’s retreating figure, her gaze lingering.

After seeing a man like him, she probably won’t be amazed for the rest of her life.

…

…

“Sword Qi is Near” and the Sword Sheath remained suspended in mid-air, not taken into the Treasury Pavillion by Lu Xun.

Because “The Sword Qi is Near” was too terrifying, it never retracted its aura. If it was brought in, it might cause a commotion.

After Lu Xun got back on the paper crane, he waved at the Sword Sheath not far away, and it flew back into his hand.

[The Sword Qi is Near] naturally followed his wife and flew back to Lu Xun’s side.

While controlling the paper crane, he addressed the two women, “Earlier, you protected me, and I promised to give you some small tokens of appreciation. Now, I will give them to you.”

With that, he took out two storage rings engraved with the characters [Treasury Pavillion]and handed them to the two women.

When cultivators buy things, they don’t have shopping bags. The storage ring serves as the shopping bag.

“Thank you, Elder Lu!” Xiao Long Bao spoke loudly.

“Thank you, Elder Lu,” Lu Xiaoyu’s voice was much softer.

“You’re welcome, you deserve it. Open them and have a look,” Lu Xun said with a smile.

Xiao Long Bao was the kind of person who gets excited easily. She quickly opened the storage ring, completely disregarding the concept of restraint.

Her large eyes immediately brightened, her mouth gaping open, just shy of emitting a cry of “wow”.

Inside her storage ring was a red wooden tablet.

The tablet was half the size of a palm, engraved with two spirit beasts resembling deer. It was remarkably lifelike.

There was a circle of gold inlay around the tablet, making it look very luxurious.

“It is called [Lu Ming], a mid-grade Spiritual Artifact, a defensive Magical Weapon. You can study it yourself.” Lu Xun said with a smile.

When he chose this magic weapon, he didn’t put much thought into it. His primary consideration was practicality, but he didn’t expect Xiao Long Bao to like it so much.

Xiao Long Bao joyfully hung [Lu Ming]around her waist and turned her head curiously, “Xiaoyu, what did you get?”

Lu Xiaoyu took out a magical weapon from her storage ring. Her eyes immediately brightened, filled with infinite joy.

What she held was a white jade bracelet named [Gu Rabbit].

“Wow! It’s your favorite [Gu Rabbit]!” Xiao Long Bao managed to give an impressive assist at just the right moment.

“Really? But did you set your sights on this jade bracelet while flipping through the catalog earlier?” Lu Xun started his Oscar-worthy acting performance again.

Lu Xiaoyu’s cheeks flushed slightly, seemingly a bit embarrassed, but she still honestly nodded her head.

“What a coincidence. It suggests you’re destined for this item.” Lu Xun casually said.

He didn’t boast about his unique insight in choosing something that she liked the most. He simply said as much as needed, which was sufficient.

You all should learn from this, although there may not be an occasion to apply what you’ve learned.

With the [Gu Rabbit] in hand, under the sunlight, this jade bracelet was stunningly beautiful.

It not only had the clarity of jade but also had a white light circulating within the bracelet that was not noticeable unless looked at closely.

Lu Xiaoyu looked at the [Gu Rabbit], and the more she looked at it, the more she liked it.

The actual object was much more beautiful than what was shown in the catalog!

The disappointment she felt earlier had now become the preamble to joy.

The twists and turns that happened added to the surprise.

She couldn’t help steal a glance at Lu Xun, who was steering the paper crane with great concentration, his eyes focused straight ahead.

Meanwhile, a strange feeling arose in Lu Xiaoyu’s heart.

Even though this was just a game, the gift was nothing more than an award from an NPC.

Although the NPC seemed too generous, giving away such valuable [equipment] as gifts, he was after all just an NPC. After all, this was just a game.

All of this was just a bunch of data.

But in her heart, she felt a strange sensation as if she had received a valuable gift from her elders in reality, and felt happy yet disinclined to accept it.

It reminded her of the time when her elder brother gave her a new phone.

She felt both heartache for the money spent and an intoxicating sense of affection.

What people often find most irresistible is explicit favoritism.

For some unknown reason, when she looked at the man in the black robe, she seemed to see her elder brother, and the images of the two momentarily overlapped.

“Lu Yu, wake up. This is just a game, he’s just an NPC who happens to share the same name as your brother,” she held the bracelet tightly and thought to herself.

“But… ”

“I am really, really happy.”

…

(PS: The second update… It seems like there are double monthly tickets for the last three days of the month.)