In the frigid lands, after my exile, I began to slay demons and monsters.

Chapter 159 Preparations for Leaving the City

This involves not only eliminating the physical forms of demons, but also eradicating any trace of them from the minds of humanity. Before leaving the royal city, wasn't she also completely unaware that demons existed in this world?

If there were no demons in the world, would the Celestial Master Pavilion still have a reason to exist?

Ning Xiaoxi suddenly looked up at Ning Shi.

Ning Shi smiled, his little daughter was indeed clever, "Existing for nearly a thousand years, it must have its own foundation. You, girl, you've emerged as a dark horse!"

Yes, without any foundation or backing, she became a trusted official of the Heavenly Secrets during her short exile. Even though the affairs of the Tushan and Kuafu clans were not reported to the Heavenly Master Pavilion, her appearance still disrupted some of the balance.

Ning Shi stacked the three bowls of soup that the three of them had finished drinking together. "After all, this is a small county town. Even the Earthly Lord only brought one subordinate official with him. As a Heavenly General subordinate official, you should at least show some sincerity." He got off the kang and went to the kitchen.

Sincerity? Is it sincerity to take advantage of her?

“Brother.” Ning Xiaoxi nudged Ning Ziqing’s shoulder with her own. “Today at the camp, we discovered traces of a demon. It was a demon general.”

Ning Ziqing was stunned. "What a bold demon general! Daring to trespass into the Celestial Master's Pavilion's territory alone?"

"Oh dear, stop embellishing it. What kind of base is this? All it has is one Earthly Fiend and one subordinate official, at most one Earthly Fiend for handover and me, the subordinate official. If it weren't for the fact that it was a clone that came, it's hard to say who would win or lose!"

Although he is already a Celestial Master, Ning Ziqing is a half-baked Celestial Master, having been raised by his younger sister. He has not received a systematic education and still doesn't know many things.

"Hiss! It smells so good!" Ning Xiaoxi sniffed and swallowed.

Ning Ziqing turned around and opened the door. Ming Luoying walked in carrying a large soup bowl, which was full of steaming, reddish-brown rabbit meat.

Ning Xiaoxi's eyes sparkled as she looked at the abundance of meat. Ning Shi carried a large tray with a basket of steamed buns and four bowls of sorghum porridge. Ning Ziqing followed behind, carrying a plate of braised fish in one hand and a plate of scrambled eggs in the other. Ming Luoying brought in another large bowl, also filled with meat, though Ning Xiaoxi didn't recognize what kind of meat it was.

“This is a roe deer. This morning, after receiving his appointment letter, Father went to report to the county government. On his way back, he saw this fresh wild game in the market and bought it.” Ning Shi moved the roe deer meat in front of Ning Xiaoxi.

The family of four sat around the kang table and enjoyed a warm meal.

After dinner, Ning Xiaoxi sat on the warm kang (heated brick bed) and told Ning Shi and Ming Luoying about her plan to go to the northern city to investigate.

“Xiaoxi, it’s dangerous outside the city. The border troops and the Taoist priests don’t go. Why do you want to go?” Ming Luoying felt that since the family had already arrived in Fufang and had been exonerated, and now that her husband could work in the county government, the family’s shop would soon be open. There was no need for her little girl to take any more risks.

“Mother, there is no spiritual energy here, so brother can’t cultivate. If this goes on for too long, his cultivation will be damaged.” Ning Xiaoxi didn’t intend to hide it from Ming Luoying. Not telling her would give her unpredictable ideas, and if something really happened, it would be terrible. “I’m just going out of the city to check the situation. If it’s dangerous, I’ll come back immediately. If we can find out the reason and find a way to restore his spiritual energy, brother won’t have to look for another way out.”

Ning Shi patted Ming Luoying's hand, "Our son has chosen the path of the Celestial Master. In any case, their future achievements will be linked to the Celestial Master Pavilion. Don't worry, my wife, Xiaoxi knows what she's doing."

Ming Luoying looked at her daughter, then at her son, both of whom were on her mind. "Ziqing, take your sister to the market and see what she needs to bring when she goes out to investigate. Prepare everything for her. Last time Xiaoxi went out alone, we didn't have the means to prepare those things, so prepare whatever she needs this time."

Ning Ziqing smiled and nodded to Ming Luoying, "I know, Mother, don't worry, we've prepared plenty of things."

The brother and sister drove their carriage to the West Market.

The market town was a hub of shops, with rows of stores lining both sides of the crossroads. However, due to the cold weather, all the shops had heavy curtains blocking their entrances, and the windows were tightly closed. The only way to identify a shop was by the signboard hanging above its facade.

The shops in this market are all long-established businesses. My own shop is on the east side, in a more remote location. As a newcomer, I always have to test the waters first.

Ning Xiaoxi's main focus this time was buying food. Since nothing grew outside the city, there was no wild food available, so she had to prepare everything herself. She prepared anything she thought might be useful; it didn't matter if she didn't need it, but it would be a big problem if she didn't have it when she did.

There was a dried fruit shop here, where I bought a lot of candied fruits and dried fruit. They even had dried meat, but it was pork jerky, and not much of it. There was also a pastry shop where I bought cloud cake, dragon beard candy, hawthorn cake, and shortbread.

There was a general store that bought a clay pot, a pottery jar with hanging handles, a bamboo basket, a wood-chopping knife, a kitchen knife, and a small axe. It also bought a tinderbox, thin hemp rope, thick hemp rope, waterproof oilcloth, cotton felt to block out the cold air, and even bought the store's only felt tent.

While shopping, Ning Xiaoxi couldn't resist decorating the bare main hall in her cave dwelling. She bought several four-season screens to partition off a bedroom, set up a canopy bed, hung curtains, laid animal hides on the bed, and bought two sets of thick cotton mattresses and quilts. She also bought a table and chairs, a tea set, a clay stove, and two baskets of fine charcoal. A desk was also provided, along with the Four Treasures of the Study (writing brush, ink stick, inkstone, and paper), an incense burner, and a box of sandalwood. On the dressing table were exquisite bronze mirrors, combs, rouge, hairpins, and other items.

Ling Jingxin stayed in the partitioned-off little room, watching as one item after another was added. Slowly, the little room became warm and cozy. Ling Jingxin felt a pink glow emanating from it, her whole heart fluttering with joy.

Ning Ziqing's legs were about to give way, but he gritted his teeth and persevered. His younger sister was incredibly meticulous when it came to shopping. He wondered how large the spatial talisman Master Tianji had given her was, as she had bought so much stuff. Especially that canopy bed; he had to hire someone and a cart to move it to an empty alley before his sister could put it away. He felt that in the future, it would be more appropriate for their father to accompany his sister shopping; he was still too young for such tasks.

By the time Ning Xiaoxi had finally bought all the food and supplies she wanted, it was already getting dark.

Ning Xiaoxi stood at the crossroads, pondering whether to go to the camp to inquire about the situation, but ultimately decided against it. What she needed to know, the adults would naturally tell her; it was best not to remind them of anything embarrassing at this time.

When the siblings returned home, Ning Shi told them that Liu Xing had come and left a message for Ning Xiaoxi: Lord Di Kui would be reappointed for another term.

Ning Xiaoxi's expression was rather unpleasant.

"Xiao Xi, what's wrong? Wouldn't it be better for Lord Di Kui to renew his term for another year?"

"Father, is it possible that during the luncheon today, I detected the demon's aura a little earlier than you, and even managed to capture the remaining traces of the demon?"

"hiss!"

"hiss!"

The two gasps rang out in perfect unison.