Xingtie: My silly online friend is actually a raccoon!

Springtime in Chang'an, the thirteenth year of the Zhenguan era.

On Zhuque Street, vendors and peddlers came and went in an endless stream, their cries rising and falling.

The air was filled with the aroma of burnt pancakes, the sweet scent of cosmetics, and the pungent smell of horse manure, the three odors vying for the attention of passersby.

In a teahouse on the street, a storyteller was striking his gavel, and as he got to the exciting part of his tale, the tea drinkers cheered and applauded.

Suddenly, three people appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the street.

Lu Ze remained calm, his hands in his pockets, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding ancient-style buildings. He nodded slightly, as if confirming something.

Xing looked completely bewildered, her golden eyes filled with the question, "Who am I? Where am I?"

Spark was holding Xing's clothes by the hem with one hand and holding a selfie stick in the other. The comments on a live streaming platform on her phone screen were scrolling wildly.

She was introducing her new clothes to her fans outdoors when she happened to run into Little Gray Hair on the street. She thought she could make a video with her to gain some popularity, and during the struggle, they were teleported together.

The surrounding noise seemed to have been paused by someone.

"You monster—!"

Screams erupted.

The vendor dropped his load and ran, scattering the steamed buns all over the ground.

Pedestrians scattered in panic, while a few bolder ones hid behind stalls, peering around and glancing at Xing and Huohua's exposed legs.

An old scholar covered his grandson's eyes, but didn't cover his own. He stared intently at the boy, shouting with anguish:

"Indecent and immoral! Offending public morals!"

Xing looked down at her coat and skirt, then at Spark's sweet and spicy outfit, and confirmed.

"I think the problem is mainly yours."

Spark was not convinced and almost poked Star's nose with the selfie stick.

"Why blame me? Your skirt isn't much longer than mine!"

"But there are no pixelated mushroom rabbits floating around me," Xing said smugly.

The translucent pixelated bunnies floating above Spark's head were hopping around and scattering colorful confetti, making them stand out conspicuously in the ancient-style market.

"That's my live stream effect!" Spark was so angry that her pigtails were shaking.

Lu Ze sighed.

In the distance, the city's defenders were pushing through the fleeing crowd and rushing towards them, the sounds of clashing armor growing ever closer.

He reached his finger to his chest and gently stroked the exquisite brooch.

The flying sword, Du'e, surged in size, transforming from a palm-sized ornament into a giant sword over ten feet long and nearly one foot and six inches wide, its blade shimmering with pale golden spiritual light, lying horizontally beneath the three's feet.

Lu Ze pulled Xing up, Xing pulled up sparks, and the three of them formed a chain.

Du'e, carrying three people in a streak of light, sped toward the city gate.

Several soldiers who had just caught up with the sword on the street missed their target. They looked up at the receding sword light, their mouths agape, wide enough to fit an egg.

The old scholar, who had just been shouting "This is indecent," suddenly knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly in the direction where the sword light had disappeared.

"A deity! A deity has appeared!"

The surrounding people followed suit and knelt down, and in an instant, a large number of people knelt down on the entire Zhuque Street.

Du'e slowly descended onto a desolate mountain peak outside the city.

The mountain is not high, and the top is bare, with only a few weathered rocks and clumps of withered shrubs.

Lu Ze retrieved the flying sword, which transformed back into an inconspicuous brooch. He then turned to look at Xing and Huohua.

"Hoshi, tell me, why did you bring fireworks with you?"

Before Xing could answer, Huohua became unhappy.

She put away the selfie stick, put her hands on her hips, and corrected him.

"It's a sparkling flower! It's not an old model." Her tone was filled with disdain for her past self.

"Whether it's fireworks or sparks, all you need to know is that you're no longer in the Milky Way," Lu Ze said bluntly, his tone as calm as if he were telling her today's weather forecast.

Spark paused for a moment, looked down at her sweet and spicy streetwear outfit, then looked at the genuinely backward ancient city in the distance, her lips opened and closed.

After a brief silence, she shrugged, took her sunglasses off her head and perched them on her nose, then said coolly:

"Okay, it's all about having fun, no matter where you are."

Lu Ze took out two plain-colored robes from his storage bag and handed them to Xing and Huohua.

"Let's change our clothes first. If we enter Chang'an in this outfit, the next time it won't be the city guards, but the entire Imperial Guard."

Neither Xing nor Huohua accepted the two ugly-looking robes.

Xing raised her arm, revealing the transformation bracelet on her wrist, and smiled smugly: "I can transform myself."

"I can transform too," Spark added.