Chapter Fifty-Six: The Only Daughter of the Hidden Clan

“Manager, please suspend business for the next three days!”

First Pavilion acted swiftly; all guests were ushered out one by one. The other inns and taverns benefitted from this, picking up the stray clientele. After all, First Pavilion had monopolized countless customers over the years.

At this moment, Tao Tao stood on the second-floor corridor, holding a feather duster, surveying every nook and cranny with the air of someone in command.

All attendants lined up neatly on the ground floor, awaiting instructions.

Tao Tao pressed her hands to her belly, displaying a smile with eight teeth:

“First, let’s start with welcoming guests! Repeat after me, ‘Honored guests, welcome!’”

“Honored guests, welcome!”

“No, no, repeat after me, ‘Honored guests, welcome!’ The tone on ‘welcome’ should rise at the end—‘welcome!’”

Tao Tao demonstrated with her index finger, tracing a curve in the air.

The attendants seemed to grasp the nuance this time:

“Honored guests, welcome!”

Tao Tao listened and finally heard the correct pronunciation, reminiscent of her visits to hotpot restaurants:

“Yes, that’s it! The ‘come’ in ‘welcome’ must have a twist. Practice this often!”

“Yes!”

Tao Tao placed her hands on her hips, exuding the aura of a seasoned hostess. “You few on the left, yes, you who keep glancing at each other, go find some light gauze!”

“Manager, do you have any cloth or paper that can be written on and then erased for repeated use?”

Gu Zhou, the manager, pondered, and Gu Hua, standing nearby, offered, “I remember there’s a kind of spirit stone in the ancient clan. It can be written on, and when spirit energy is infused, the writing disappears, so it can be reused.”

Gu Zhou scratched his head, and upon this reminder, suddenly recalled,

“Ah, yes! Young master, your memory is remarkable! Cloud Concealment Stones—they’re just what Miss Tao Tao needs!”

“Good! Prepare as many as there are auction participants! Make sure they’re smooth and can be mounted on wooden boards and held up!”

“It may be a bit tricky… but not impossible. I’ll write to the clan chief shortly, and someone will bring them.”

Tao Tao folded her arms, surveying the arc-shaped interior of First Pavilion. With only three days to prepare, completing everything was near impossible, so she could only add what embellishments she could.

After delegating tasks, Tao Tao decided to return to her room to rest—and also memorize the auction item details.

After all, she knew little of this world; preparing in advance would at least prevent any major mishaps on stage.

Night fell.

Tao Tao was still burning the midnight oil, wrestling with the auction items. Thankfully, she was literate and could read the traditional script.

There were so many auction items, a whole stack, densely written.

“Knock, knock.”

Tao Tao set down her papers, “Who’s there?”

“It’s me.”

She hurried to open the door, “Sister Gu Hua!”

Seeing it was Gu Hua, she flashed two small tiger teeth, “I wondered who was up so late—it’s you, Sister Gu Hua.”

Gu Hua casually found a seat, “I’ve consulted some ancient texts about your special ability. It mentioned that some people are born with heterochromatic eyes, able to discern good and evil, and sense the balance of yin and yang. They are collectively called Word Spirits.”

“So, I have heterochromatic eyes?” Tao Tao couldn’t believe it, pointing to herself.

“It’s essentially confirmed.”

Tao Tao exhaled, “Well, I didn’t know I was so formidable—able to discern good and evil, sense yin and yang…” She kept repeating those words.

Suddenly, “Yin and yang? Does that mean living people and ghosts? But I can’t see ghosts.”

“Here, yin and yang doesn’t refer to ghosts. If I’m not mistaken, it means divination.

Long ago, I read a book stating that the Word Spirit clan could use divination to know events days or even centuries ahead, but such acts defy the natural order and reveal cosmic secrets.

To ensure the clan’s survival, the heavens decreed that every act of divination must be paid for in equal measure. Thus, the great Word Spirits were always short-lived geniuses.”

It was the first time Gu Hua had spoken so much. “So, Tao Tao, the choice is yours. You might think in this spirit-cultivating world, an ordinary person like you can hardly find a footing—but that’s not true. Your confident demeanor today impressed me.”

Tao Tao felt she had truly met a kindred spirit.

She’d used her abilities to avoid many disasters; though learning Word Spirit arts might shorten her life:

“Well, I’m no big shot. If I learn Word Spirit arts, I’ll just divine tomorrow’s weather or the feng shui the day after. I won’t predict fate, so as long as I don’t reveal the heavens’ secrets, my lifespan shouldn’t be affected!”

“So, you’ve decided to learn Word Spirit arts?”

“Absolutely!”

“Are you sure?”

“Sure and certain!”

“Alright, since it’s your own choice, I won’t stop you,” Gu Hua produced a secret manual from her spatial ring. “This is the basic Word Spirit manual. It’s mostly incantations and general knowledge—start with this.”

Tao Tao took it in both hands and flipped through a couple of pages. “Wow! Sister Gu Hua, you’re just like Doraemon!”

Gu Hua furrowed her brow, “What’s Doraemon?”

She’d never heard such a strange name.

“Um… it means you’re really amazing!”

Gu Hua chatted a bit more with Tao Tao, “Alright, it’s late. Rest early. Uncle Gu Zhou said another batch of goods just arrived, and more auction item details will come tomorrow.”

Her cheerful mood instantly dampened. “Sister Gu Hua, good night…”

“Good night.”

Tao Tao watched Gu Hua’s silhouette recede, glanced at the Word Spirit manual in her hands, then at the scattered draft papers covered in writing on the desk, and fell onto her bed with a muffled sigh, “May there be no auctions in heaven!…”

Returning to her room, Gu Hua didn’t go to sleep but entered her spatial domain to practice String-Kill Arts.

Gu Hua had great talent for the ancient zither; in a short time, she’d already reached the second tier of String-Kill Arts.

The second tier emphasized visualized effects.

Just like the piece she played for the manager and others at noon, Gu Hua not only infused her spirit energy into the music, allowing it to carry her intent, but also overlaid it with a basic illusion spell. The results were far beyond her expectations.

With Gu Zhou and the others as test subjects, Gu Hua realized she’d achieved mastery over the first tier.

[Master, there’s a very familiar aura outside!]

“Who?”

[I can’t see clearly, but it feels familiar—like… like Lord Chong Li! Hey, hey! Master, you should let me finish before rushing out…]