Feng Miaojun had to admit that Tan Qingshuang had excellent taste. Such a stunning beauty in this mortal realm—only she didn’t understand why Tan Qingshuang was so good to Yun Ya. Was it because his outward appearance was pleasing to others?
Beauty is justice—this is truly a universal principle.
“I paid three times the price, and she transferred it to me,” Tan Qingshuang stroked her forehead and sighed deeply. “Had I known we were sending it to the same person, why would I have wasted so much money?” Even for the daughter of the fabulously wealthy Lord of Fengyang City, this was a large sum.
“Such a complicated journey? I’ve made you spend unnecessarily, truly apologetic.” Yun Ya’s face showed surprise, and then he glanced at Feng Miaojun, his tone deepening, “Why aren’t you putting it away?”
You know you should be embarrassed, yet you accept gifts so readily? While internally criticizing, she maintained her smile with perfect skill. Feng Miaojun sweetly responded “Yes,” and quickly took the Dragon Tooth Halberd.
My precious, you’ve made a round trip outside and returned, and conveniently earned us a hefty sum of spirit stones.
Yun Ya showed no sign of blame, though his emotions never showed on his face, so no one could tell if he was angry or not. Tan Qingshuang looked at Feng Miaojun and couldn’t help saying: “I’m just curious, did your servant know my intention in buying the Dragon Tooth Halberd?”
Following her gaze, Yun Ya looked at Feng Miaojun, his eyes seemingly mocking: “Did you know?”
“I had no idea.” Feng Miaojun wore a completely bewildered expression. “This Yinzi City has hundreds of thousands of people—how could I know who Lady Tan wanted to give the Dragon Tooth Halberd to?” Joking aside, if she admitted it, wouldn’t that confirm she was extorting money?
She referred to herself as “I,” not as a servant. Tan Qingshuang’s eyes flashed: “Being by Yun… Brother Chi’s side, you shouldn’t lack money. Why were you willing to exchange with me?”
Because she knew the Dragon Tooth Halberd wouldn’t have much effect on Yun Ya. Joking aside, if the Blood Tree’s pollen couldn’t cure him, what use would the Dragon Tooth Halberd be? Of course, she couldn’t say this in front of Tan Qingshuang and Yun Ya. What troubled her more was that Tan Qingshuang was implying she had given up buying medicine for her master in exchange for money.
Someone as shrewd as Yun Ya, how could he not understand? If he thought that Feng Miaojun had decisively chosen money over people, ummm~ she would face consequences when they returned.
She pouted slightly: “I have no money. Those fifty spirit stones were almost all my savings.”
The emphasis was on “my”—she hadn’t used any of Yun Ya’s money! How much wealth could a mere servant have?
Tan Qingshuang was slightly surprised, then smiled: “I didn’t expect that at your young age, you’d be so wealthy.” Fifty spirit stones weren’t much to Yun Ya, but to ordinary people, it was a fortune that would take several generations to accumulate. Yet this young girl could produce it to buy medicine for Yun Ya—her loyalty was impressive.
Yun Ya also smiled at her: “My An’an is indeed very considerate, but why did you transfer the medicinal herb, hmm?”
He was indeed concerned about this, ugh. Feng Miaojun had prepared an explanation, and now she looked at Tan Qingshuang a couple of times and said softly: “Lady Tan’s cultivation far exceeds mine, and it was almost dark then.”
The two were puzzled for a moment before understanding. Tan Qingshuang’s cherry lips pressed tightly together, caught between laughter and tears, while Yun Ya let out a hearty laugh: “You were afraid she would rob you of the medicine?”
Feng Miaojun lowered her head in embarrassment: “At that time, I didn’t recognize Lady Tan. I was afraid of angering her…” Forceful buying turning into forceful robbing—wasn’t this a common plot in many novels? Rather than losing both money and medicine, she’d rather exchange for more money. “It’s all because the pharmacy owner couldn’t keep his mouth shut and revealed that I had ordered the Dragon Tooth Halberd. Otherwise, the herb would already be on Master’s desk.”
Her words made some objective sense, but Tan Qingshuang still couldn’t quite believe that the servant of the formidable State Preceptor would readily give up medicine meant for her master. However, by now Yun Ya was already shaking his head and smiling: “What a confused account! My servant lacks discipline, making Little Seven laugh at us. I will certainly punish her severely when we return!”
Tan Qingshuang’s eyes flickered, and she let it go: “Don’t punish her; she meant well for you. Why don’t I have such a clever and charming servant?” As the noble daughter of Fengyang City’s Lord, and since Yun Ya himself didn’t take it to heart, merely calling it a “confused account,” she couldn’t lower herself further to trouble his servant.
Let it be. Those spirit stones would be a reward for this young girl—after all, with this matter cleared up, Yun Ya would be indebted to her.
At this moment, delicious dishes were presented in succession, making one’s mouth water just from the aroma.
Feng Miaojun could only smell them—what right did a servant have to sit at the same table as the master and guest? She didn’t mind, standing behind Yun Ya, eyes fixed straight ahead, pondering the mantras she had been practicing recently. Speaking of which, although her main practice, “The Mortal’s Path to Immortality,” was the first she had learned, the further she practiced, the slower her progress became. Even cultivators found the original version supplemented by Emperor Haoli’s handwritten notes extremely difficult, let alone ordinary mortals.
Indeed, there was no need for such versions to circulate among common people—it was like ordinary students not needing to write exam papers of Olympic mathematics difficulty. But for Feng Miaojun, who could practice it, each time she mastered a technique, it was effective, like going through small rebirths again and again.
The feeling of spiritual power depositing in her flesh, bones, and blood, being washed and refined, was endlessly fascinating. If she studied other minor arts and divine skills during this time, she often achieved twice the result with half the effort.
Meanwhile, Tan Qingshuang used tea instead of wine, and raised a cup to Yun Ya: “Brother Chi’s body hasn’t recovered, so I won’t order Heman Tower’s famous winter honey brew.” Then she asked with concern, “Seeing your poor complexion, has it flared up again recently?”
“Some time ago, I exerted myself,” Yun Ya picked up some eel strips with his chopsticks. “It’s nothing serious, I’ll get used to it.”
“Some time ago.” Tan Qingshuang pondered these words. “Ya Mountain suddenly became an active volcano, and the shortest passage between Peak and Jin Kingdoms was destroyed. The Spider King who originally lived in the underground palace went berserk and massacred three cities on the Jin Kingdom’s border. Did you know?”
Feng Miaojun hadn’t heard the last part, so she perked up her ears. “Such a thing happened?” Yun Ya sighed. “That Spider King is quite pitiful. It had been ruling in the underground palace for hundreds of years, and now countless of its descendants must have been burned to death.”
If Feng Miaojun hadn’t known he was the instigator, she would have almost believed he truly felt compassion for all living beings. After the Ya Mountain underground palace was destroyed, the communication between the eastern and western sides of the White Elephant Mountain Range became extremely difficult, so it wasn’t surprising that news of the Spider King’s rampage only came out months later. She hadn’t gone with Yun Ya to eavesdrop on Mo Tizhun and others’ intelligence, so she only learned of this today, but judging from Yun Ya’s unsurprised expression, he had known for some time.
Tan Qingshuang looked at him with a half-smile: “The demon king invaded cities, convinced that Jin Kingdom was targeting it, which triggered the active volcano beneath Ya Mountain. The Jin Kingdom deployed its army, barely managing to quell the chaos. This Spider King was deeply skilled in the Dao and wasn’t killed in battle, but fled with serious injuries into the southern forest of the White Elephant Mountain Range. Who knows how it will take revenge on the Jin Kingdom next?”