Chapter 71: Shopping

“Wow! So much!”

“Wow! So beautiful!”

The two girls had already planned everything and brought Gu Zhao to Yangcheng’s one of the top shopping destinations: Animation City.

Animation City claims to be Yangcheng’s Akihabara, a paradise for otaku culture, centered on anime and gathering countless shops, exhibitions, and events—even on weekdays, it’s packed with crowds.

Besides anime merchandise, gaming equipment, manga bookstores, and themed restaurants, the main attraction is undoubtedly clothing stores.

These clothing stores offer not only regular seasonal wear but also various anime costumes; besides a flood of Japanese anime outfits, in recent years, with the rise of domestic games and anime, there are now many Tang-Xia-style ancient costumes.

“That’s Yan Lingji’s outfit from ‘Qin Shi Ming Yue,’ right? So beautiful!”

“And Ning Hongye from ‘Yong Jie Wu Jian!’”

“Look at that girl—she’s so tall! She’s cosplaying the Empress from ‘One Piece.’”

The three wandered around, not only admiring clothes but also observing the many cosplay enthusiasts nearby—from classic Saint Seiya and Dragon Ball to more recent Naruto and One Piece—most cosplays still centered on Japanese anime.

But the most crowded group was a black monkey and Ao Bing.

Jiang Shishi looked at Ao Bing, then at Gu Zhao, “If you cosplayed Ao Bing, you’d be way hotter than him!”

Gu Zhao sighed in relief, “Thanks for not making me cosplay Taiyi True Person.”

The next moment, a cold voice came from behind: “Excuse me, move aside.”

The three turned around and saw a white, fat man wearing a blue open-chested Daoist robe, a nine-petaled lotus gold crown, and a pair of tiny mustaches on his lips.

Gu Zhao: “…”

Gu Zhao quickly stepped aside, and from left and right came the faint sound of “e-e-e”—Jiang Shishi and Xiao Ya lowered their heads, shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

“Are you two doing this on purpose?” Gu Zhao said helplessly.

“We didn’t say a thing!” Jiang Shishi laughed, her laughter rippling, making Gu Zhao involuntarily glance, then immediately look away.

She raised an eyebrow at Xiao Ya, then turned to Gu Zhao: “What happened on Qingcheng Mountain is evened out.”

On that day on Qingcheng Mountain, Gu Zhao had mocked the Quanzhen Sect’s attack on the Zhengyi Sect; Jiang Shishi had playfully joined in, and a Daoist priest overheard them—it was terribly awkward.

Xiao Ya glanced at Gu Zhao, then at a nearby display window: “Actually, you could try on that outfit.”

Inside the window, a bright silver battle armor hung on a stand: double-layer shoulder guards, silver dragon-headed collars, scaled armor body, dragon-head waistband, surrounded by a fringe of white mane, beside it stood a great sword with nine teeth on its back—majestic and imposing.

Gu Zhao waved his hand and shook his head: “Too much trouble to put on.”

The three chatted and laughed as they walked; the two girls bought several outfits, but they didn’t make Gu Zhao carry bags—instead, once they had enough, they shipped everything home directly.

“For shooting ancient-style videos, we need some ethereal, fairy-like clothes.”

Xiao Ya and Jiang Shishi lingered in several ancient costume shops; these stores seemed to cater to film and television productions too—besides anime outfits, they carried functional costumes: martial artist attire, flying-fish robes, scholar’s gowns, even a bright yellow Daoist robe with a nine-barred headband.

The shop was large; besides them, a few others browsed in small groups—seemingly either self-media creators or short-film crews.

After watching Gu Zhao’s videos, Jiang Shishi understood his intentions, clasped her hands together, and asked again: “Big brother, please help! If you don’t want to show your face, you can wear a mask.”

Gu Zhao thought for a moment and didn’t refuse, only said: “I don’t know many martial arts yet. To shoot videos, I need to wait a while longer.”

Xiao Ya immediately agreed: “No problem, there’s no rush—don’t let it interfere with your cultivation.”

Thanks to Gu Zhao having shown a bit of his ability—with Daoist Master Yansong from Qingcheng Mountain as a witness, and Master Yihong vouching for him on Xiao Ya’s side—they firmly believed his frequent retreats for cultivation and unresponsive messages.

“I’ll hurry,” Gu Zhao nodded, actually looking forward to it.

He only knew White Crane Fist and hadn’t learned any other martial arts, nor sword, saber, spear, or staff techniques—his movements would look nothing like those of professional martial artists.

But now he possessed magic power; his strength, speed, reflexes, and coordination had all been dramatically enhanced. Though he couldn’t match the undead corpses of otherworldly necromancers or the flesh-strong great demons, among ordinary humans, he was at the absolute peak.

With this foundation, learning martial arts would be effortless, not taking long at all—once he mastered Taiji, Bagua, and Xingyi, then learned Taiji Sword, Bagua Saber, and Xingyi Spear, he could start filming.

Whether starting here or starting there.

Gu Zhao: ୧꒰•̀ᴗ•́꒱୨

“Come on, try on this outfit!” Jiang Shishi handed Gu Zhao a martial artist’s robe and a conical hat.

“And this one—the scholar dancing with a sword,” Xiao Ya said, one hand holding a scholar’s gown, the other a wig. “A little contrast wouldn’t hurt.”

Jiang Shishi turned back, looked Gu Zhao up and down, and said: “Gentleman Sword?”

Gu Zhao: ???

In fact, Gu Zhao’s intuition was correct.

From morning until just before dinner, the two girls didn’t make Gu Zhao carry bags, but after making him change into several outfits, they lit up with excitement and turned him into a model, enthusiastically trying clothes on him.

Even with his magic power, Gu Zhao grew somewhat tired.

In the end, all three bought several outfits; the two girls each bought him a full set as thanks for accompanying them today.

…

Gu Zhao returned home, collapsed onto his bed, feeling utterly drained.

“More terrifying than taking one woman shopping is taking two women shopping at once,” Gu Zhao muttered an old joke, then received a call from his father.

“The carriage you asked for is done. When are you coming back to pick it up?” Gu Qi said on the phone.

“Done already? So fast?” Gu Zhao sat up like a leaping carp.

“Don’t forget who your old man is!” Gu Qi said proudly. “A simple replica ancient carriage? Easy as pie, effortless, a breeze!”

“Yes yes, Dad’s awesome! I’ll come back tomorrow to pick it up!” Gu Zhao flattered.

He had previously told Zhang Hang he wanted to buy a car, but his otherworldly vehicle arrived first.

Last time they went to Xiuyue County, the thirty-li journey took a long time; considering he’d need to travel across the otherworld, he needed transportation.

Gu Zhao had no intention of buying a car in the otherworld—ancient carriages had no rubber tires or shock absorbers, relying entirely on cushions to protect the buttocks—he had no desire for them.

So he decisively returned and asked his father to build a carriage that looked ancient but was comfortable to ride in.

He hadn’t expected his father to deliver it in just a few days.