Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Trading with an Acquaintance
After Ye Cong Xin’s sweet acting and soft words, Fang Cheng Lang felt his heart bloom. Most of the anger stuck in his chest faded away.

Lan Zi Yu and Su Ming both felt much more at ease and were even more grateful that Ye Cong Xin had shown up.

Just then Ye Cong Xin suddenly asked: “I heard Fifth Senior Brother is coming back soon. I wonder when Fourth Senior Brother will finish his closed-door cultivation? When they find out that I have become Lone Moon Peak’s Junior Sister, they will definitely be shocked.”

Back then, the reason Ye Cong Xin had been able to formally become a disciple so smoothly was not only because she got along well with everyone on Lone Moon Peak. The more important reason was that Yu Zhao had seriously injured her in front of everyone.

To cover up this scandal, Master Qing Yan had finally agreed to it, so although Ye Cong Xin’s ceremony to become a disciple had been lively, it had also been a bit rushed.

Cui Jue, who ranked fourth on Lone Moon Peak, and Quan Ye, who ranked fifth, had happened to miss the ceremony. One was in closed-door cultivation for alchemy, and the other was out training.

When Fang Cheng Lang heard Ye Cong Xin mention Quan Ye, his brows knit for a moment, then smoothed out quickly. [It is better not to tell Junior Sister about Quan Ye, so she will not worry. With me here, I will definitely protect Junior Sister and never let her suffer the same thing as Little Six!]

“Fourth Brother should be done soon,” Su Ming said as he rubbed his chin and winked at Ye Cong Xin. “Don’t worry, Junior Sister. Fourth Brother might have even prepared a surprise for you.”

Ye Cong Xin’s eyes lit up slightly, and she could not help feeling a bit secretly pleased.

She had heard that this time Cui Jue was in closed-door cultivation to refine a special pill. It seemed it was probably for her, so it was no wonder she had invested the most effort in him.

Among her five Senior Brothers, the one she valued most was Cui Jue.

It was because Cui Jue was the most gifted alchemist in the cultivation world. Even the arrogant alchemists of the Greenwood Sect wanted to snatch Cui Jue to their own sect. That alone showed how great his talent in alchemy was.

Ye Cong Xin had only asked casually at first, but now she could not help feeling expectant.

Seeing that the mood was just right, Su Ming eagerly pushed a jade box in front of Ye Cong Xin as if presenting a treasure.

Ye Cong Xin tilted her head and asked: “Third Senior Brother, what is this?”

Su Ming rubbed his hands together: “Hehe, Junior Sister, this is a welcome gift Third Senior Brother prepared for you. Hurry and open it to see if you like it.”

“Okay!” Ye Cong Xin nodded hard and opened the jade box under Su Ming’s eager gaze.

Inside the jade box lay a single jade bead the size of a thumb, glowing with flowing colors.

Ye Cong Xin reached out and gently picked up the bead between her fingers. At once she felt a warm current flow from her fingertip into her meridians.

She let out a soft exclamation, then looked at Su Ming with a face full of joy.

Su Ming lifted his chin proudly: “This is a Fire Spirit Pearl from the Fire Cloud Sea. It can ward off fire and drive out cold. It is perfect for nourishing the body.”

Ye Cong Xin’s body ran cold, so this Fire Spirit Pearl was practically a treasure made just for her. It showed how much thought Su Ming had put into it.

Ye Cong Xin said: “Thank you, Third Senior Brother. I like it very much.”

Su Ming’s smile grew even wider.

Beside them, Fang Cheng Lang’s face darkened.

It was obvious at a glance that this Fire Spirit Pearl was very valuable. It had definitely been bought with Little Six’s spirit stones again.

But because Ye Cong Xin was here, no matter how dissatisfied Fang Cheng Lang felt, he pushed it all deep down.

He could not ruin Junior Sister’s smile again.

…

At the Eight Treasures Pavilion, Steward Liu was very puzzled when he saw Yu Zhao return again.

He walked forward quickly to greet her and said warmly: “Immortal Maiden, Young Master Su is not in our Eight Treasures Pavilion. He must have gone elsewhere.”

He did not dare look down on this thin-looking young girl at all. What had happened this morning was still fresh in his mind.

Yu Zhao smiled slightly: “Steward Liu, I am not here for Su Ming. I am here for you.”

Steward Liu pointed at himself in surprise and asked: “For me?”

Yu Zhao said calmly: “I want to make a deal with you, Steward Liu.”

Steward Liu’s expression turned serious: “Please come with me.”

The two of them went up to the second floor and entered a secluded private room.

Steward Liu invited Yu Zhao to sit, then personally served her tea. Only after he had treated her properly did he ask: “I wonder what kind of deal Immortal Maiden wishes to make with me?”

He did not know what Su Ming and Yu Zhao had talked about in the private room earlier, but he was sure Yu Zhao had not suffered any loss, because Su Ming’s face had been extremely dark when he left.

Yu Zhao was also on his list of important clients.

He did not mind doing her a favor and making a good connection.

Yu Zhao took out a black-gold, eight-sided ore, placed it on the table, and pushed it in front of Steward Liu: “Steward Liu, please help me see how much this is worth.”

After thinking it over, Yu Zhao had still decided to do business with someone she knew.

She had no connections in the Five Elements Dao Sect, and she did not trust the people of the Five Elements Dao Sect either.

It was better to trade directly with Steward Liu of the Eight Treasures Pavilion. He was a businessman and knew where she came from, so he would not be foolish enough to try to rob her after the deal.

Steward Liu looked at the ore on the table, a bit puzzled, and glanced at Yu Zhao.

He had already recognized this piece of ore. It had once been one of Young Master Su’s collection.

Steward Liu had seen Su Ming show it off more than once.

But wasn’t this just a piece of black crystal stone, an ordinary material for artifact forging that was usually used to make low-level magical artifacts?

The only special thing was that its shape was a bit more unusual than other black crystal stones, so it could be used as a collectible to look at.

He grumbled in his heart but still carefully examined it for a while before saying: “This is a piece of black crystal stone. It is worth… one mid-grade spirit stone.”

Yu Zhao’s eyes flickered.

Black crystal stone was not worth a whole mid-grade spirit stone, especially not a piece only the size of a palm.

Steward Liu really wanted to make friends with her. He was even quoting her a higher price on purpose.

But one mid-grade spirit stone was still far from what Yu Zhao had in mind.

Yu Zhao then pulled out a sheet of paper covered in writing and pushed it in front of Steward Liu, saying softly: “I want to exchange it for these.”

Steward Liu picked up the paper and glanced over it. His eyes immediately widened: “This… Immortal Maiden, y-you must be joking with me, right?”

Heart-Guarding Pill, Spirit-Nurturing Herb, Rootless Elixir…

The list was packed with more than ten items, each worth far more than a single mid-grade spirit stone, and the quantities were not small either.

There was already a hint of hostility in the way Steward Liu looked at Yu Zhao, and a talisman quietly appeared inside his sleeve.

Yu Zhao acted as if she did not notice and still wore a calm, light smile: “Steward Liu, I never joke with people. This is not black crystal stone.”

The rules of the Five Elements Dao Sect were strict. Disciples were not allowed to use the sect’s name to cheat others.

Once such a thing was confirmed, they would be expelled from the sect at once and never taken back.

So no matter how arrogant Su Ming was, he would not dare to bully others in business like that.

Yu Zhao also disdained using the name of the Five Elements Dao Sect to scare people.

She stretched out a finger and gently tapped the surface of the black crystal stone.

Droplets of water gathered into a small stream and spread over the black crystal stone. Very soon a thin layer of water covered it, and the black color slowly faded.

The casual look on Steward Liu’s face was slowly replaced by shock. In the end he stood up outright, pointed at the colorless liquid on the table, and exclaimed in horror: “Black Crystal Marrow!”

Yu Zhao pulled back her finger and praised lightly: “Steward Liu, you have good eyes.”

Steward Liu stayed stunned for a while before he slowly came back to himself and gave a bitter smile: “Immortal Maiden, you flatter me. My eyes are dull. I could not even tell the difference between real pearls and fish eyes. I am ashamed, truly ashamed.”

Yu Zhao said: “Then do you think this deal is workable?”

“Of course!” Steward Liu said. “Immortal Maiden, please sit for a while. I will prepare everything for you right away!”

Steward Liu could not hide the excitement in his voice.

There was only one word different between black crystal stone and Black Crystal Marrow, but the difference between them was like heaven and earth.

Just this one piece of Black Crystal Marrow was more than enough to buy the entire Eight Treasures Pavilion!