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"Wow, so shiny and beautiful!" Bai Tang exclaimed, holding a Silver Hairpin. The silver hairpin featured dozens of connected Silver Flowers arranged in a fan shape, adorned with green, yellow, red, and white beads for the flower centers. Five silver winds stood proudly at the center of the fan. The arrangement was both sparse and dense. The hairpin extended flatly behind, spreading out like a bird's tail, looking quite lovely.
"I knew you would like it!" Cao Xue said happily. Bai Tang had helped her so much, and she had always wanted to thank Bai Tang. However, since Bai Tang was powerful and lacked nothing, after thinking for a while, she finally decided to gift Bai Tang a set of clothing with the ethnic characteristics of YN Province. "Try on this Silver Hat."
The Silver Hat was a traditional Miao headdress made up of numerous Silver Flowers and various shaped birds, butterflies, animals, and silver bells. It gave an impression of being adorned with jewels and was quite luxurious. There were three styles: Zhong'anjiang Style, Leishan Style, and Gedong Style. Cao Xue held the Zhong'anjiang Style; the Silver Hat was semi-spherical with a full top and consisted of two layers. The inner layer was made from wrapped wire suitable for wearing as a hatband, while the outer layer was divided into three sections. The upper section formed the hat's top, covered with hundreds of Silver Flowers clustered densely together. At the center of the hat's top stood a tall silver fan. Surrounding the silver fan were several Phoenixes, butterflies, and Mantis perched atop flower clusters, all depicted realistically. The middle section of the hatband featured embossed silver pieces with a Two Dragons Playing with a Pearl pattern, flanked by images of children playing. The lower section had a row of hanging tassels connected by silver chains that jingled.
"Forget it!" Bai Tang shook her head vigorously. "Although it looks beautiful, it's so heavy that it would break my neck if I wore it."
"Alright then!" Cao Xue reluctantly set down the Silver Hat and picked up a pair of Silver Earrings. "How about these earrings?"
Though the Silver Earrings were also heavy and extravagant, they were much lighter than the hat. Bai Tang nodded: "I'll wear them!"
In addition to the Silver Earrings, Bai Tang also wore a Silver Collar, Silver Bracelet, Silver Ring, Silver Clothing Piece, Silver Waist Chain, Silver Buckle, Silver Back Pendant, Silver Back Plate, Silver Belt, and Silver Waist Pendant… She looked dazzlingly silver all over. The Silver Collar earned its name because it could lay flat against her clothing when worn; it evolved from the Longevity Lock design. The Silver Collar had deviated significantly from its original Longevity Lock form; it was semi-circular or kidney-shaped and had increased in size several times over. It featured intricate patterns with an openwork design of Two Dragons Playing with a Pearl and hung ten butterflies below it. Each butterfly had three silver chain leaves dangling from it. The sixteen-centimeter-long silver chains cascaded down like waterfalls over her abdomen, surrounded by clusters of Silver Flowers.
"How does it look?" Bai Tang twirled around to ask Cao Xue.
"It looks great!" Cao Xue nodded enthusiastically like a chicken pecking at rice as she took out a treasured Mobile Phone from her bedside table. "I'll take some pictures!"
"Sure!" Bai Tang eagerly responded to Cao Xue's instructions and posed in several ways while Cao Xue snapped plenty of photos.
"Bai Tang, you look great on camera! Every shot is beautiful!" Cao Xue exclaimed as she flipped through the photos on her Mobile Phone, praising her repeatedly. "I'll send them to your Mobile Phone."
Bai Tang took out her Tablet: "Just save them on my computer!"
"You're really extravagant!" Cao Xue took the computer and tapped on it with her finger. In the early days after the apocalypse began, Computer Appliances were useless junk that couldn't be eaten or used as weapons. A computer couldn't even be traded for a single Mantou (steamed bun). However, after humanity reclaimed cities and life gradually stabilized, Computer Appliances began to regain their utility. But since manufacturers hadn't resumed production yet, most computers had been damaged during the apocalypse—at least seventy to eighty percent of them were broken. The remaining ones became hot commodities with prices soaring accordingly.
"And you? Aren't you the same?" Bai Tang pointed at the desktop computer beside her where several game discs and movie DVDs were piled on top of the case. "Killing time?"
Cao Xue smiled: "Those movies and TV shows are all works by Sheng Qingxi; they are his treasures used to reminisce about his days as an Assistant."
"Then it must be well preserved. Once the apocalypse is over, these discs will be valuable and might even become precious materials."
Bai Tang took off the silver items from her body, while Cao Xue had already opened the Tablet and was copying the photos from the Mobile Phone to the computer.
"Here, take this back to show Karen Adrian. He will definitely be captivated by you."
Bai Tang calmly packed the computer back into her backpack. "He has already left."
"Left?" Cao Xue reacted like everyone else. "Did you two have a fight?"
Bai Tang replied, "You all misunderstood. I didn't have a fight with him, and it's not what you think about our relationship. Karen Adrian and I are just temporary companions; it's normal for us to part ways!"
"What a pity..." Cao Xue thought they were a good match. "How about I introduce you to a boyfriend? What do you think of Teng Yunzhong?"
"Not interested!" She certainly wouldn't want someone who harbored who knows how many venomous snakes. "Now that the base is stable, aren't you and Sheng Qingxi planning to have a child?"
"Sheng Qingxi and I are both Ability Users; can we even have children? Isn't it the Zombie Virus that destroys human fertility?" Cao Xue also wanted a child. With Zhang Family's conditions, even if she got pregnant, she could safely give birth and raise the child.
Bai Tang rolled her eyes. "Please don't take everything written online seriously. If Ability Users lost their fertility, wouldn't humanity be doomed?"
"But there are ordinary people! They can still reproduce," Cao Xue argued.
Bai Tang scoffed. "If an ordinary person gives birth to an Ability User, they would still lack reproductive ability, leading humanity to decrease generation by generation. If they give birth to an ordinary person, can they kill the Zombies and Mutated Beasts outside? They would just be eliminated by the harsh environment. So what you should hope for is that Ability Users can reproduce, not that they can't. Just look at those online sources; don't delve too deeply into their content."
"There is also a lot of useful information online! For example, when dealing with Zombies, aim for their heads; they have Crystal Cores in their brains, which played a significant role in the early days of the apocalypse. We shouldn't overlook their contributions. We need to take it seriously, extracting the essence while discarding the dross."
"Alright, enough lecturing. Your husband is pacing outside so much that he’s about to wear a circle into the floor. I'm returning you to him now; I'm leaving!"
Bai Tang opened the door, and Sheng Qingxi was indeed pacing at the doorway with her head down. Bai Tang chuckled and patted Sheng Qingxi on the shoulder before returning to her own room.
After leaving Base of D City, Bai Tang continued her journey of hunting monsters and teaching bss a lesson. She had visited deep mountains and forests all over the country. Just as she was preparing to take a trip abroad, a month had passed, and Bai Tang returned to the world of Dream of the Red Chamber.
Bai Dad and Bai Ma placed great importance on Wu Xuemei's wedding. Since they were not short on money, they spent a large sum to host a banquet for people from the village and town. Of course, the banquet was not held in their estate but in an open space at the village entrance and in a tavern in town. As long as one offered a Blessing, they could join the feast for food and drinks. The smile on Yu Bao's face never faded; Bai Tang couldn't help but admire her—didn't her face get tired?
Wu Xuemei was dressed up by Bai Tang and Bai Ma. Bai Tang applied powder to Wu Xuemei, while Bai Ma styled her hair. Both were essential rituals for a Bride. The application of powder, also known as "opening the face," is done before the wedding to beautify the bride's appearance. A woman only has her face opened once in her lifetime, indicating that she is married, typically performed by a so-called "full-fortune woman" who has complete family—parents-in-law, husband, and children. Wu Xuemei jokingly said that with Bai Tang's status as a Half-Immortal, no woman's fortune could compare to hers, so she boldly let Bai Tang, who only had theoretical knowledge (learned from Baidu), perform the ritual on her.
"Be gentle! I'm a novice; don't scream if it hurts!" Bai Tang said timidly, unlike her usual bold self with other people or matters.
"It's fine; just go ahead! I can endure it!" The happiness on Wu Xuemei's face made any pain seem trivial!
Looking at the rope in her hand, Bai Tang gritted her teeth and got to work. First, she applied talcum powder to Wu Xuemei's face, then used a thin hemp thread, pulling it with one hand while tying both ends around the thumb and index finger of the other hand to form an intersecting triangle. This was used to remove fine hairs from Wu Xuemei's face. After a while, the hairs were pulled out, her eyebrows were neatly shaped, and her face looked much smoother and fairer.
"Not bad!" Bai Tang proudly admired her first creation.
Wu Xuemei rubbed her cheeks; it did hurt a bit: "Once is practice; twice is skill. Tang Tang, next time you do my face again, no one will complain."
Bai Tang raised her nose proudly: "You're my sister; I wouldn't do it for anyone else! Mom, it's your turn to style Mei Mei's hair."
Holding a comb carved from purple jade, Bai Ma wiggled her hips to push her daughter aside: "I've been waiting for this; move aside and don't block me from doing my job!"
Bai Tang pouted: "As if what I'm doing isn't important."
Bai Ma gave Bai Tang a shove: "Stop complaining and quickly help me fetch a bowl of clean water."
Bai Tang asked curiously: "What do you need clean water for?"
Bai Ma: "What else can we do? We need to style it! How can we achieve the hairstyle we want without water?"
Bai Tang: "Good morning! I have some setting spray and mousse over here."
Bai Ma was surprised: "You even brought that kind of stuff?"
Bai Tang proudly replied: "Of course!"
Bai Ma glared: "Hurry up and get it!"
Wu Xuemei originally had long hair that fell to her shoulders, and after arriving in ancient times, she hadn't cut it, so it had now grown down to her waist. Her black, shiny hair naturally hung down, smooth and soft like black satin.
Bai Ma held a jade comb, brushing it again and again while reciting a combing song: "One brush to the end; two brushes for white hair to the eyebrows; three brushes for children and grandchildren all around; four brushes for the master to have good fortune, encountering noble people on the way; five brushes for five sons to succeed in their exams; six brushes for friends and family to come celebrate; seven brushes for the Seventh Sister to descend and pair with Dong Yong, the magpie bridge high above connecting them gently; eight brushes for the Eight Immortals to celebrate longevity, precious ducks wandering outside the lotus path; nine brushes for the Nine Sons, each with their own specialties; ten brushes for the couple to grow old together."
"Mom, what combing song are you reciting?" Bai Tang scratched his head, "I've never heard of it before." (To be continued)
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