"Are you done yet?" Mei yelled into the building before her.
"Ten more minutes!" the beggar, Bagai shouted back.
Mei put her hands to her face. This guy... Right now, she was standing outside a public bath house. For the last two hours, the beggar had gotten her to visit all kinds of clothing shops.
"Do I look good in this?" he would ask her with every outfit he tried on, making weird poses.
What was he trying to be, a rich noble girl impressing a boyfriend?! To ensure the owners wouldn't chase him out, he had already taken a bath beforehand. But after he got a haircut, cleaning up his messy long hair and beard, he insisted on taking yet another bath...
Mei pitied the other patrons, having to bathe in a hot spring full of "freshly cut" beggar hair bits.
...
Finally, Bagai walked out of the bathhouse happily, holding his pillow. Now dressed in fancy clothing and his hair tidied, the beggar was much more presentable.
"Phew, I even managed to clean my favourite pillow! I never got the chance to wash it in a month!"
Urgh.
"Hurry up and stop delaying!" Mei grumbled.
"Alright, alright."
...
The two of them headed right to Baiwan yet again. Bagai was humming to himself happily, while Mei stomped around in an annoyed manner. It was a rather strange sight.
At the pharmacy's doors, he presented his card to the attendant a bow, before walking in. So lax? Mei wondered if she could have snuck past with a fake card. But then again, she had a mask on... This guy seemed completely unreliable; she didn't trust him in the slightest.
But after so much time spend waiting for the stupid beggar taking his sweet time, wasting 35 Jade on an outfit, a haircut, food and two bathes... Mei had ample time to figure out a plan. Though, her heart hurt from how much money he wasted...
Soulsense!
Months ago, she would get tired after using it, but now, she had higher cultivation, so that was no longer a problem! As her soulsense swept over the building, she could sense where everyone was. Heheh, perfect. With how the walls were conveniently glass, Mei was easily able to teleport right in to somewhere out of sight.
Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
She tip toed from behind a shelf, peeking out to see Bagai, who was talking to another attendant. He was still carrying his soggy pillow under his armpit?!
"You are in luck, good sir! These Frigid Qi pills are on discount today!" she said enthusiastically.
Discount? Craning her neck even further, Mei saw a poster.
"Was 120 Jade. Now only 89! Limited offer!"
The heck? This was a pharmacy, not some kind of discount shop!
Bagai nodded thoughtfully, a serious expression on his face.
"Thank you! But what's the most expensive pill on discount you have?"
"Huh?" the attendant blanked out. "Sorry?"
She looked slightly baffled. Shouldn't someone looking for discounts look for cheap options instead? What type of logic was that?
"Yes."
What type of response was this?
...
"I understand. Sir, what type of pill are you looking for?"
"A very strong one! The stronger, the better!"
"...I see." she said, her face rather strained.
Mei felt oddly satisfied watching the ridiculous exchange.
The attendant showed him around regardless, showing him all sorts of items. Talismans, formation plates, potted plants, fancy jades... Mei thought they would only sell pills and elixirs, but now that she thought of it, it made sense for them to sell other health related items too.
Hm?
She sensed a familiar soul in the talisman section!
Mei snuck over, carefully avoiding people with soulsense. Why was sneaking around actually kind of fun? The person now in sight, to her surprise, it was the driver from earlier, talking to a different attendant! To think she'd find him here!
"M-madam, do you think these Spirit Warding Talismans would work against ghosts?" he stammered.
"Rest assured! These talismans ward souls to be specific, so if ghosts exist, then they would work on them too!" she smiled.
"Thank you!"
Suddenly getting an idea, Mei ran behind the talisman shelf with a grin. She floated up a little and flailed her hands above it.
"Ahhhh! The ghost!" the driver yelled. "Behind you!"
The attendant turned around, but Mei had already teleported away. She watched gleefully as attendants rushed over to placate him.
Wait... there was another strange soul around!
Using soulsense, Mei realised one of the attendants lacked a human soul, instead having three crows cramped inside of him! What the... were they the spirit crows the driver mentioned? They were way more formidable than she expected, able to disguise as human, and even an employee at that! She couldn't help but laugh as she imagined three crows in a suit taking an interview.
The "crow man" marched over to the driver, patting his back.
"Calm down! As a cultivator, you should know ghosts can't exist!" he said firmly.
"That's right!" another attendant joined in. "Don't worry, it's likely just someone playing a prank!"
Reassured by the attendants, the driver began to relax, nodding gratefully.
Huh. So these crows actually cared about him despite their mischief? Just as Mei was thinking that, imagining a heartfelt scenario between the driver and the birds, the crow man abruptly froze, reaching for his neck.
"No... what is this..." he said weakly. "I am... being possessed!"
Pale, he walked with shaky steps, his body trembling. Finally, he fell face first, reaching up a hand desperately, before it too hit the ground. Mei couldn't help but begin laughing uncontrollably. These crows were too much!
As pandemonium unfolded before her, screams echoing through the store... she suddenly remembered she was here to supervise the beggar.
Where did he go?