Chapter 140: Why Can’t You Misguide Your Way?
Shui Miao Miao reached out and grabbed one of the items. The “Image Retainer” in her hand looked quite different from the sample machine she’d seen earlier—more eye-catching, more beautiful, like it was dressed up for a fancy party.
The shell of the Image Retainer was a milky white square, with rounded edges that looked smooth enough to slide an entire hand around. In the bottom right corner, there was a shiny golden dragon carving, making it less dull and more… dragon-tastic.
“Nice! I really like this one,” she nodded happily, tucking the other two into her pouch. “Alright, you guys rest up now. I’m heading back.”
And just like that, she dashed off faster than a cheetah with a caffeine addiction.
Meanwhile, the librarian maid who had been hiding the books let out a huge sigh of relief. She pressed her hand to her chest and said, “Phew! Nearly had a heart attack. I thought I was gonna be totally done for.”
Another maid, who’d been watching Shui Miao Miao for a while, chuckled and patted her on the shoulder. “No worries. The princess is a good girl. She’s just going to confiscate the books, that’s all.”
“Yeah,” chimed in a third maid, smiling. “Remember that time Xiao Jin was sneaking a look in the corner—she just took the books, no big deal.”
“Don’t mention that again,” the first maid snapped, shooting a glare. “I was younger then, all excited over new books and couldn’t wait to read. Now? Nope, not happening anymore!”
The first maid reached out her hand and asked, “But… didn’t we just get those books confiscated again?”
Xiao Jin looked speechless: “……”
Who’d have guessed that the princess would just barge straight into our room like that? And spring was definitely not the type of book she’d be interested in—just some female figures a bit too revealing, but no greasy hugging scenes or anything. Nothing that exciting.
“Alright, alright,” Shui Miao Miao mused, “We’ll just buy more later. I’m really curious about the little comics in Spring and Autumn stories later on. They’re not as detailed as the earlier illustrations, but the stories inside are super fun. Next time, let’s buy a Spring and Autumn with comics first.”
While her maids were discussing the Spring and Autumn comics, Shui Miao Miao had already returned to her quarters.
She first cast a quick glance around, then pulled the curtain closed, sat on her bed, and eagerly flipped open the confiscated Spring and Autumn book.
Wow—such exquisite art! How come the Northern Region’s books are better than those from East Continent?
She kept flipping through, marveling at the shadows, the detailed human anatomy—way better than the juvenile drawings she’d seen earlier.
But as she went along, a puzzled look crept on her face. Why all female characters wearing so little? No couples hugging, no romantic scenes—just a bunch of women standing scantily clad. Where are the men?
Until she got to the last page, and saw a cute little romance comic showing the male and female leads embracing happily, her face fell into despair. That’s not what she wanted!
Why?
The drawings are so erotic, why not just take a bigger step forward? Why can’t you take a wrong turn into a more… adventurous path?
Shui Miao Miao tilted her body back, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.
She was mulling over how to find the author of this book, and how to get him or her to draw those embracing scenes. Such a delicate art style wasted on these simple, bland stories!
“Ugh, so frustrating,” she sighed, clutching the book. Her heart was itching for something more daring but knowing she shouldn’t.
After seeing outside illustrations so breathtaking, she simply couldn’t stomach the other trashy books anymore.
“d*mn it!”
She ground her teeth in frustration. But then, she opened her stash of old books—the ones she kept hidden away—grateful that she still had a decent collection of text works. At least she’d have something to read.
Nope—wait a second! The moment hit her. She glanced at the book she had just tossed aside, and her resolve hardened instantly.
“I’ve made up my mind! No more of this stuff. I absolutely won’t look at this kind of thing again!” she declared, her eyes firm as she stared at the ceiling.
For a few minutes, she reached out tentatively toward the discarded book. When she snapped back to reality, her hand had already flipped open the first page.
“Hmm… three days of resisting is already pretty impressive. Just a little peek today as a reward,” she muttered, her eyes involuntarily fixated on the text. “And it’s all Spring and Autumn’s fault—if not for Spring and Autumn, I wouldn’t be reading this trash. So, totally Spring and Autumn’s fault!”
…
“Little Brother, great news!” Yao Yao kept knocking on Bai Feng’s door with enthusiasm. “Open up!”
“Senior Sister, are you ever so diligent that you’re turning into a stalker?” Bai Feng sighed, pushing the door open. “What’s this time?”
“The Retainer is sold out!!” Yao Yao’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “I splurged and bought some top-quality spiritual beast meat, and I want to celebrate with Yu Mo and all of us!”
‘A camera? That popular? No way!’
Bai Feng blinked in surprise and couldn’t help but mumble inwardly.
But then he thought about it—this world already has “Shadowing Stones,” and lots of folks carry a few on them. They already have an audience. The “Image Retainer” is just a upgraded version, more complete, more convenient—perfect to replace Shadowing Stones.
Add in Yao Yao’s pretty shells, plus the advertising push and celebrity endorsement (courtesy of Bai Feng asking Gu Yue Qing to help push sales), and explosive sales aren’t so surprising after all.
“Alright, then! Let’s celebrate tonight!” Bai Feng nodded. “Since Yao Yao’s paying, I’ll just eat and drink with everyone. I’ll go call Yu Mo over.”
“I’m coming too!” Yao Yao declared, already marching to the neighboring house.
Because Bai Yu Mo’s sword technique recently made a breakthrough, Chu Ning Yan advised her to first advance to the late Golden Core stage before fine-tuning her sword skills. So during the day, she mostly stayed in her own abode meditating.
Bai Feng knocked on her door. Just then, Yao Yao tugged his sleeve. “That’s the princess from East Continent, right? Wow, does she really have dragon horns?”
He instinctively looked where she pointed, and saw Shui Miao Miao gracefully walking over.
“Yeah, her name’s Shui Miao Miao,” Bai Feng nodded, then shot Yao Yao a puzzled look. “I think she’s been living at Green Bamboo Peak for a while. Haven’t seen her?”
“Senior Sister’s been busy lately, so I haven’t left the house except to find you,” Yao Yao shook her head. Then she eyed Shui Miao Miao again, squinting thoughtfully for a few seconds. “Hmm… I thought dragon clans had super tough bodies? But this princess looks kinda… fragile?”
Yao Yao’s comment made Bai Feng notice too—the way Shui Miao Miao was walking seemed a bit unsteady. “Maybe she’s been working hard at her cultivation? I saw her asking Bai Yu Mo for sword tips before. Even though she’s a princess, she’s not some spoiled brat; she trains pretty diligently.”
“Hmm,” Yao Yao nodded. “Is she coming this way?”
“Probably here to ask Yu Mo for sword pointers,” Bai Feng guessed, stroking his chin.
At that moment, Bai Yu Mo pushed open her door. She looked at the two outside her door, then towards the other side—her gaze went past Bai Feng and Yao Yao, and she looked a little confused: “Brother, Senior Sister, what exactly are you looking at?”
