Ming Yi was puzzled. The Yuan Shi Academy must truly be a place of high status if even pig feed required Ji Bozai to buy it personally. She had originally thought to take a piece, but it seemed that was no longer possible. She shrugged and returned to the Forging Institute to pack her clothes.
Si Tu Ling had bought many clothes, but the size didn’t seem quite right. She tried them on and decided to ask Xiu Yun to alter them in the evening.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed several additional boxes. She made a puzzled sound, trying to recall how many boxes Si Tu Ling had brought earlier.
Unable to remember, she walked over and opened the lid.
Inside were a pearl-embroidered floral dress with a red silk lining, and a thin crimson robe with hibiscus cloud shoulders – all very bright and vibrant.
Her fingers paused. She narrowed her eyes and held up the dress against herself.
It fits perfectly.
Recalling Ji Bozai’s annoyed expression earlier, Ming Yi suddenly understood. His intentions had been exposed by Si Tu Ling, so he’d rather feed scallion pancakes to pigs than give them to her.
Not only was human nature vicious, but it was also wasteful.
Ming Yi frowned and closed the box.
After the two-day Visitation period, Qin Shangwu led the team as they set off for Feihua City.
Ming Yi thought Xiu Yun would be excited, but when she turned to look at her, she saw a face full of gloom. Xiu Yun hadn’t said a word the entire journey.
The beast carriage that flew through the azure clouds was very spacious, able to accommodate over a hundred people at once. Qin Shangwu was currently lecturing the students. Ming Yi pulled Xiu Yun to a corner and asked her quietly, “Did you forget something?”
“No,” Xiu Yun smiled bitterly. “I just never expected… I thought they came to visit because they missed me, but it turns out they somehow learned that I admired a fighter from Feihua City. They carefully arranged for me to capture his heart and bring them to resettle in Feihua City.”
Ming Yi raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Isn’t Mu Xing City good enough?”
“They don’t think so. Every year they have to pay tribute and are looked down upon. Although Feihua City isn’t among the top three cities this year, it has been there many times in past years, so its status is higher than Mu Xing City.” Xiu Yun sighed deeply. “My second brother does business in Feihua City and has accumulated quite a fortune over the years. My father wants to resign from his official post to enjoy life, but he’s afraid of being accused of consorting with the enemy. So he wants me to find a way to get them there under the pretext of a marriage alliance.”
Talking about a marriage alliance was easy, but how could she have such an ability? At present, she didn’t even know if Zheng Tiao still remembered her, let alone anything else.
Ming Yi patted her head. “You’ve already left. Why bother with them anymore? Whether you can do it or not in the future, they won’t be able to reach you.”
Xiu Yun blinked, then realized, “Oh, that’s right!”
Once she went to Feihua City, it would be so far away that no one could control her. Her second brother didn’t like their family anyway, so he certainly wouldn’t help them restrict her.
Thinking this way, Xiu Yun smiled again and hugged Ming Yi, kissing her. “Let’s go look at the clouds!”
They were still dressed as men, so this kiss caused many people around to look at them with strange expressions.
Ming Yi was unapologetic. She met their gazes one by one until they lowered their heads in embarrassment. Only then did she snort lightly and look in the direction Xiu Yun was pointing to see the clouds.
The azure realm was a vast sea of clouds. No one knew what was beneath them, but when the mist cleared, the colorful Feihua City would be visible to the southwest.
In Feihua City, different flowers bloomed vibrantly and brilliantly throughout the four seasons. When the wind blew, the entire street was filled with floral fragrance. Delicate flower species that were difficult to grow elsewhere thrived here, growing larger than cabbages, and clustered together in spectacular displays.
As soon as the beast carriage landed, Luo Jiaoyang sneezed several times in succession and had to tie a cloth around his mouth and nose. “I hate flowers!”
Fan Yao and the others were fine, but before they could move their luggage to their lodgings, many people surrounded them.
They immediately raised their protective shields in alertness.
However, the people around them were mostly women, children, and the elderly. After gathering for a while, they began throwing large flowers into Ji Bozai’s arms.
If they were ordinary flowers, he would have accepted them, considering the good intentions of these aunties. But the flowers here were larger than his head, and each one that fell was quite heavy. Ji Bozai could only dodge sideways.
“This young man is so handsome, don’t dodge! I have two pretty daughters, I can give you both.”
“My girl is no less beautiful than hers, come to my house.”
“So handsome, you should wear some flowers!”
Laughter erupted all around, and even the students started to tease. Ji Bozai was having a hard time dodging and glared fiercely at Ming Yi.
Ming Yi:?
What did this have to do with her?
Since they had arrived in Feihua City, Ming Yi planned to live separately from them, only saying that if they needed any divine weapons or needed to repair any parts, they could come to find her.
Qin Shangwu wanted to keep them together but couldn’t. Ming Yi had so much money that with a wave of her hand, she bought a large courtyard in Feihua City and moved in with Xiu Yun that very day.
Helpless, he could only take the students to scout out the competition venue first. However, when they looked for an inn in the evening, they found that several large inns were already full of teams from other cities.
Mu Xing City’s low status meant they couldn’t compete with these cities for inns, but staying at more remote inns would affect the students’ rest. Qin Shangwu was very troubled.
“Follow me,” Ji Bozai beckoned to Luo Jiaoyang and the others.
Luo Jiaoyang was very reluctant to listen to him, but seeing his confident demeanor, he followed unwillingly. “Where are we going?”
“To buy things.”
They didn’t even have a place to stay, yet they were buying things? Luo Jiaoyang frowned, while Fan Yao and the others were mostly curious. They followed him to an antique shop, where they heard him instruct, “Each person carry one item, chairs, vases, anything will do.”
While Luo Jiaoyang was still puzzled, Chu He’s eyes lit up, and he immediately complied. Soon, all the students, including Qin Shangwu, were holding jade ruyi scepters.
Although it was a small, unpopular antique shop, this collection of items was quite valuable. Ji Bozai paid a gold piece without blinking, then led them to knock on the door of Ming Yi’s new residence.
Ming Yi opened the door, saw his face, and sighed, “Not even a ghost could be as clingy as you.”
“Congratulations on your new home. Will you accept the gift?” He raised the jade Guanyin in his hand.
The jade was of good quality and color. Ming Yi hesitated for a moment before opening the door wide.
Then she saw the various gifts flowing in like a stream behind him.
“The inns outside are full,” Qin Shangwu, walking last, told her. “We need to stay for a few days. You don’t mind, do you?”
Not only did she not mind, but she could even provide breakfast.
Ming Yi took the jade ruyi from his arms, her eyes gleaming as she wiped it with her sleeve. “It’s only right to look after each other when away from home. Master, you’re being too formal.”
She had been regretting spending so much money on buying the house and had no money left to furnish it. Unexpectedly, they were so thoughtful to bring all these items.
Never mind the vicious human nature now. Even the most vicious human nature would shine brightly when reflected in the light of a large amount of money!