After Breaking Off the Engagement, I Started Pursuing My Master - Chapter 241

Chapter 241: But

“Really don’t want it?” Jiang Huai turned back, looking into Luo Yueguan’s eyes.

“I didn’t like it that much anyway, just wanted to pick a fight with someone,” Luo Yueguan pouted, and Jiang Huai looked at her helplessly, “What if she starts a fight?”

“She’s at the third level of Mahayana, and I’m at the fifth level. Do you think I’m afraid of her? If she dares to make a move, I dare to draw my sword. I’m in the right no matter what, even if her partner is at the eighth level of Mahayana. Her partner is a reasonable person, not like her.”

“But this time, we’re actually not in the right.”

“Then why did you speak up for me?”

“Of course, I’ll side with my own people rather than reason.” Jiang Huai looked at Luo Yueguan helplessly. Their whispers actually reached Mu Lanyan’s ears. She was truly so angry she wanted to split the two in front of her with a sword, but indeed, there was a whole two minor realms difference between her and Luo Yueguan.

At this moment, Mu Jiaoyang, who had just been casually insulted by Jiang Huai, was slowly drawing his sword, looking at Jiang Huai in front of him, “You, dare you have a sword fight with me?”

Jiang Huai shook his head, “Everyone knows you were almost hung up and beaten by me last time. What’s the point of comparing again?”

“That was then, I’m asking you now… do you dare?!” Mu Jiaoyang’s forehead veins were bulging.

“I don’t,” Jiang Huai shook his head.

“I’ll beat you again when we get to Qingmu Immortal Palace. I’m too lazy now.”

“You!”

“If you point your sword at me again, you’ll be violating Ziyun Pavilion’s rules. No fighting is allowed in Ziyun Pavilion. If you have a grudge, you must compete on the designated sword-fighting platform. Point your sword at me again, and believe me, I’ll immediately call someone to kick you out.”

Jiang Huai shook the purple jade card in his hand again, “If you don’t recognize this, your mother should.”At this moment, Jiang Huai’s smug look was so despicable that it seemed ingrained in his bones. Luo Yueguan was laughing so hard on the side that she was trembling like a flower in the breeze, yet Mu Jiaoyang was so flustered that his face turned red and he couldn’t utter a single word.

“Let’s go.” Jiang Huai looked at Luo Yueguan and turned to leave.

Luo Yueguan hurriedly followed, coming to his side. The crowd naturally parted, creating a path for the two of them. Even after they had walked more than a dozen steps away, Mu Lanyan and Mu Jiaoyang, who were still standing there, didn’t say another word.

…

Ziyun City had a dedicated area for selling spirit pets.

Jiang Huai and Luo Yueguan walked through various pet markets, and at this moment, Jiang Huai couldn’t help but admire the talent of the Ziyun Pavilion’s master. Everything within Ziyun City was orderly and thriving.

After visiting several shops, Jiang Huai first asked for Luo Yueguan’s opinion. Luo Yueguan wasn’t interested in dogs, finding them too bothersome, nor did she like fish, considering them too boring. Instead, she dragged Jiang Huai into several shops selling snakes as spirit pets. Even though Jiang Huai had come to accept little Bai Li, he still felt uneasy at the sight of snakes. Luo Yueguan, after much deliberation, didn’t find any particularly appealing, finding snakes too cold and uninteresting.

As for lions, tigers, or spotted deer, Luo Yueguan dismissed them all as too ugly. In the end, they ended up at a shop selling spirit cats.

Most of these cats were kept in cages, each one aloof and indifferent to people. Luo Yueguan spotted a mother cat surrounded by a litter of kittens, seven or eight of them, but two kittens looked much weaker than the others.

“How much for a cat?”

“Two hundred spirit stones each, and you’ll get some little toys that kittens like. These cats don’t have any special talents except for their exceptionally long lifespans; they can live for three to four hundred years on average.”

Luo Yueguan picked up a cat teaser and gently waved it outside the cage. The kittens all crowded over, except for the two in the corner who seemed less interested. Luo Yueguan asked softly, “Why are those two kittens so weak?”

“If they can’t get enough milk, they naturally get thin. It’s nothing serious; they’ll fatten up with more food later on. If you like them, I can give you a discount on the spirit stones.”

Luo Yueguan pinched some cat treats with her fingers, and the two kittens quickly approached, extending their small barbed tongues through the cage to gently lick her palm, tickling Luo Yueguan’s hand.

“Are they both female?”

“Yes, both are little females.”

“Let me see them.”

The shopkeeper picked up the two kittens and handed them over. Jiang Huai didn’t understand where the cats in this world came from, but they all seemed quite intelligent. At this moment, the two kittens were nestled in Luo Yueguan’s arms, looking at her with innocent big eyes.

“Then it’s you two,” Luo Yueguan said as she gently rubbed the kittens’ heads.

Jiang Huai also leaned in to stroke the kittens’ heads. The two cats climbed onto his shoulders, one on each side, creating a somewhat comically absurd scene. Luo Yueguan’s lips curved into a smile, and Jiang Huai took out a spirit stone note to pay the shopkeeper.

“What’s this supposed to be?” Luo Yueguan looked into his eyes.

“A gift for the elder.”

“Oh.” Luo Yueguan nodded reluctantly, no longer as petulant as before. She then picked out some snacks and toys suitable for the kittens’ youth and set off with Jiang Huai once again towards Ziyun Pavilion.

Tonight’s auction was about to begin.

…

The auction was held on the ninety-sixth floor of Ziyun Pavilion. When Jiang Huai and Luo Yueguan arrived, there weren’t many people. This auction seemed to be of particularly high caliber. Jiang Huai learned from the pamphlet given at the entrance that to participate in this auction, one needed to have at least two million spirit stones to start.

Most of those heading to the auction were likely from sects or noble families. Jiang Huai and Luo Yueguan took seats towards the back. The two cats were still comfortably perched on his shoulders.

Seats were chosen randomly, and it was clear they wouldn’t fill up. The lighting over the auction seats dimmed slightly, adding a hazy atmosphere. Jiang Huai’s eyes wandered boredly around the room, but then he suddenly caught sight of a girl in a white dress entering not far away.

It was Xu Qing.

Jiang Huai was about to look away, but her gaze fell on his face. He saw her approaching, then she looked at the empty seat next to him and asked timidly, “May I sit here, Jiang Huai?”

“Can I say no?”

Xu Qing bit her lip, her eyelashes drooping as if she was about to walk away. After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Huai said softly, “You can sit.”

So Xu Qing sat down beside him.

Xu Qing had a slender and graceful figure. Sitting quietly, her slim waist was straight, her fair hands resting on her lap, and there seemed to be a hint of unease in her eyes. She would occasionally sneak a glance at Jiang Huai’s profile before quickly looking away.

Jiang Huai pretended not to notice.

Cultivators attending the auction arrived one after another. The lighting remained dim, with the stage area brightly lit. As people gradually filled in, the auction was led by a purple-robed elder Jiang Huai hadn’t seen before, clearly giving face to the guests who had come.

Jiang Huai started to flip through the pamphlet handed out at the entrance, listing the items for auction. The elder on stage began the proceedings, with the first item being a sword manual left by a ninth realm sword immortal, Immortal Venerable.

Jiang Huai wasn’t particularly interested; he was there just to join in the fun.

Bids were called out one after another, and eventually, the sword manual was sold for 1.11 million spirit stones. During a lull, Jiang Huai glanced at Xu Qing. Her snow-white cheeks seemed to glow faintly in the dim light.

“What are you planning to buy?” Jiang Huai asked curiously.

“A spirit medicine,” Xu Qing replied softly.

“How many spirit stones did you bring?”

“Two million.”

“That much?” Jiang Huai was somewhat surprised.

To know, an inner disciple like Wen Wanwan previously only earned fifty spirit stones for a month’s tasks, while someone like the sect master of Qingxuan, Luo Yueguan, only had five to six million spirit stones at her disposal. Yet Xu Qing, a holy maiden of Guangxue Sect, had brought a whole two million spirit stones with her.

“I have saved two hundred thousand myself, and the rest was given by my parents…” Xu Qing answered timidly.

“Oh, I see,” Jiang Huai nodded lightly.

Items were displayed and sold one by one, and soon it was time for the spirit medicine Xu Qing wanted. It was a green fruit cultivated from a branch of the Tree of Life, which had been nurtured for hundreds of years to bear fruit. It was greatly beneficial to Divine Transformation stage cultivators, especially those focusing on body cultivation, as it could nourish muscles and marrow with its particularly pure life essence. Jiang Huai remembered that Xu Qing was also a body cultivator, so it would be of great use to her.

The bidding for the fruit started at five hundred thousand spirit stones. Xu Qing called out six hundred thousand in the first round, but as the bids from below continued to rise, she didn’t give up. She kept raising her bid until it reached one million two hundred thousand spirit stones, and finally, there were no more voices bidding from below.

“Does anyone else want to raise the price?” the purple-robed elder on stage asked with a smile.

There was no response from below, and Xu Qing quietly glanced at Jiang Huai’s profile, secretly relieved. But moments later, a cold female voice suddenly rang out from below.

“One million four hundred thousand,” Mu Lanyan said coldly.

Xu Qing, who had just relaxed, straightened her back and bid again, “One million five hundred thousand.”

“One million six hundred thousand,” Mu Lanyan said, unhurried.

“One million seven hundred thousand,” the girl’s clear voice trembled slightly.

“One million eight hundred thousand,” Mu Lanyan’s voice was particularly languid. Her eyes glanced at Xu Qing, then fell on Jiang Huai’s face, and immediately darkened. Jiang Huai saw her lips move, mouthing, “I won’t let you have it.”

Jiang Huai was taken aback.

He didn’t need this.

After a moment, he realized that perhaps Mu Lanyan thought… he had asked Xu Qing to bid on the life fruit for him, so she was deliberately raising the price to annoy him, especially since the current news throughout the Eastern Region seemed to suggest he didn’t have many years left to live.

He felt somewhat helpless. Was this his fault for getting Xu Qing involved?

“One million nine hundred thousand,” Xu Qing bid again, her hand already clutching her skirt, her voice slightly strained.

“Two million,” Mu Lanyan’s voice remained proud and languid.

Jiang Huai leaned close to Xu Qing’s ear and asked softly, “Is this very important to you?”

Xu Qing nodded emphatically, but she seemed anxious, her fingers clutching her dress tightly, “I only brought two million spirit stones with me. I think… I’ll try to owe some more to Ziyun Pavilion, I don’t know if it will work…”

Jiang Huai blinked at her, “How about this, I’ll help you bid up to four million. If we win, I’ll sell it to you for one million six hundred thousand spirit stones, okay?”

Xu Qing was taken aback, not quite understanding Jiang Huai’s intention. Jiang Huai shook the purple jade card in his hand and whispered in her ear, “My purple jade card gets a sixty percent discount at the auction, so even if I bid four million, I’ll only have to pay one million six hundred thousand in the end. Mu Lanyan probably thinks you’re bidding for me, so she’s deliberately raising the price to annoy me. I have some grudges with her, and I’m sorry for dragging you into this.”

“But…”

Jiang Huai didn’t wait to hear the ‘but’ because Mu Lanyan had already bid two million one hundred thousand spirit stones. She gave Jiang Huai a challenging look and smirked.

“Four million,” Jiang Huai said expressionlessly, “Are you going to raise the price again?”

“Then congratulations to you,” Mu Lanyan finally showed a relieved smile.

Clearly, she was unaware of the specific function of Jiang Huai’s purple jade card. Mu Lanyan’s face was filled with cheerful laughter, “This life fruit, worth at most one million five hundred thousand spirit stones, since you have so many spirit stones, then take it for four million spirit stones.”

“Eh, I thought you were going to raise the price again, turns out even senior Mu can be short on cash sometimes.”

“You’ve already offered four million, how could I have the nerve to snatch your favorite?” Mu Lanyan said with a forced smile, her eyes revealing a hint of smug mockery.

Unfortunately, human emotions are not always shared. Jiang Huai simply shrugged innocently and turned to Xu Qing in front of him. He leaned close to her delicate, pearly ear and whispered, “Alright, later you give me 1.6 million spirit stones, and I’ll give you that Life Fruit.”

“But…” Xu Qing hesitated.

“But what?” Jiang Huai was taken aback.

Xu Qing stammered and couldn’t speak for a while, eventually bowing her head slightly.

It seemed that Jiang Huai had leaned in too close, causing her earlobe to turn a faint pink.