The Lay Flat Life: My Wife's Cultivation Makes Me Stronger - Chapter 9

After entering the first floor of the pavilion, Jiang Surou sat down on a cushion across from a low table. She gestured toward the cushion opposite her and said,

“Junior Brother, please sit.”

Han Feng took the seat across from her. Jiang Surou picked up a teapot, poured a cup of tea, and handed it to him.

“Thank you, Senior Sister.”

Maintaining his polite demeanor, Han Feng then pulled out his Ice Dagger and said,

“Senior Sister, a friend gifted me this dagger last night. I’m not sure whether it’s good or bad, so I’d like to ask for your expert opinion.”

Han Feng’s intention was to test something: he wanted to see if his Ice Dagger would still work when given to someone else. After all, the Marriage Blessing had stated that any gifted items could not be passed on to others.

He needed to know if “unable to give” meant he couldn’t hand it over to someone, or if it meant that even when someone else received it, they wouldn’t be able to use it.

If it was the first case, his plan to trade a 30-year-old Three-Needle Flower for a 300-year-old one and sell it for money would be ruined. After all, if he couldn’t give something away, it would be worthless to sell.

But if it was the latter case, he could figure out a way to disguise the transaction and still sell it for spirit stones.

Jiang Surou took the dagger, then tried channeling her spiritual energy into it. After a moment, the dagger didn’t react at all.

She shook her head and said,

“This is just an ordinary piece of iron. It can’t even hold spiritual energy. It’s useless and not even worth as much as that rusty low-grade spirit weapon you had yesterday.

But, since it’s a gift from your friend, you should keep it for sentiment’s sake.”

With that, she handed the dagger back to Han Feng.

Taking the dagger, Han Feng put it away. So, it meant that even when someone else received his items, they couldn’t use them.

This was good news. It meant that even if someone tried to steal his blessed items, they wouldn’t be able to use them anyway.

In the world of cultivation, most spirit weapons and treasures could be used by anyone. Once an item reached the level of a magic treasure, however, it would need to be bound to its owner to be used, though powerful cultivators could forcibly wipe the original owner’s mark and claim it.

But with this blessing, anything Han Feng received would be useless to anyone else, no matter what.

This blessing was truly a good thing.

In hindsight, he should have tested it with Wang Mian for safety, but since he hadn’t thought of it until he arrived here, Jiang Surou would have to do for now.

Since the item could be given away, that meant his plan to exchange the Three-Needle Flower for a 300-year-old one and sell it for a fortune could proceed.

Han Feng retrieved his storage pouch and gave it a pat, producing a Three-Needle Flower so tall it towered like a house.

“Hmm? What’s that smell? So fragrant, so delicious!”

The little fox, who had been dozing in Han Feng’s collar, suddenly opened its eyes wide, staring in awe at the Three-Needle Flower.

Jiang Surou glanced at the little fox. She had thought it was just a scarf around Han Feng’s neck, but it turned out to be a spirit beast.

“What an adorable little spirit beast. Can I hold it?”

Despite her cold demeanor, Jiang Surou was still a teenage girl, and cute creatures like the fox held a certain charm she couldn’t resist.

Han Feng awkwardly laughed and laid the Three-Needle Flower across the table, saying,

“Senior Sister, how about you take a look at this Three-Needle Flower?”

Jiang Surou gave it a once-over and said indifferently,

“This Three-Needle Flower is the main ingredient for crafting Rejuvenation Pills, right? Judging by its size, it’s probably a few decades old. It could be worth a few hundred spirit stones.”

To Jiang Surou, a few hundred spirit stones weren’t much, so she wasn’t particularly impressed. If it were a hundred-year-old Three-Needle Flower, that might have caught her attention.

“In that case, I’d like to gift this flower to you, Senior Sister.”

“To me?”

Jiang Surou raised an eyebrow, looking at Han Feng in surprise before saying,

“A Three-Needle Flower with decades of medicinal age is quite rare and worth a few hundred spirit stones. That’s not a small sum for you. Why would you give it to me?”

“Senior Sister, my cultivation talent is mediocre, and using this flower would be a waste. You, on the other hand, are talented and skilled in alchemy. This flower would be best put to good use in your hands.

I’m just a humble servant responsible for tending herbs, with nothing much of value to offer. I’m grateful for your favor, so I hope you’ll accept this small token.”

Jiang Surou wasn’t someone who liked to take things from others for free, but she did feel a bit indebted to Han Feng. If she refused his gesture, it would make her seem heartless as a Dao partner.

After all, because of her, Han Feng had become the target of Ye Longyuan’s hatred and murderous intent.

“Alright then. Since I do need this herb for my alchemy, I’ll accept it. But I can’t take it for free. I’ll buy it from you at 120% of the market price.

It’s worth 300 spirit stones. I’ll pay you 360.”

“No need, no need. It would be rude to talk about money between Dao partners. Besides, I don’t have much use for spirit stones anyway.”

Does Han Feng need spirit stones? Absolutely. He needs them desperately.

But he couldn’t sell the flower to Jiang Surou.

The Marriage Blessing only worked if he “gifted” her something. If he sold it to her, Han Feng wasn’t sure if the blessing would still work.

Jiang Surou looked at Han Feng strangely. Is this guy really treating me like his Dao partner?

“Hmm… alright. I suppose it would be inappropriate to discuss purchases between Dao partners. In that case, I’ll return the favor by gifting you something instead.”

Jiang Surou pulled a jade pendant from her storage pouch and handed it to Han Feng, saying,

“You’ve caught Ye Longyuan’s attention because of me, and that’s my fault. I’ll deal with this matter through my family as soon as I can.

In the meantime, you need to protect yourself. This is a protective jade pendant imbued with defensive power and an array set up by my family’s elders. It should be able to block three attacks below the Foundation Establishment level.

All you need to do is channel some spiritual energy into it to activate it. Oh, you can do that now, right? I see you’ve managed to open a storage pouch.”

“Yes, after taking the Qi Condensation Pill you gave me, I’ve gathered enough spiritual energy to start cultivating,” Han Feng lied. He was still a “waste” who couldn’t cultivate.

“That’s good. However, if you’re willing to give me that little spirit beast, I could even gift you a better spirit treasure.”

Jiang Surou’s eyes shifted toward the little fox, a glint of affection and fondness in her gaze.

Hearing this, the little fox’s fur bristled as it glared at Han Feng.

“You said you weren’t here to sell me off!”

“I’m not trying to sell you.”

“Then are you going to give me away?”

“I’m not giving you away either.”

“If you dare, I’ll scratch up your face so badly you won’t recognize yourself!”

The little fox waved its tiny paws menacingly, trying to show how fierce it was. But its childish voice and serious tone only made it look even cuter and more endearing, further melting Jiang Surou’s heart.

“Senior Sister, I’m sorry. I’ve had this little fox for years, and we’re deeply attached. I can’t give it away. I hope you understand.”

“That’s alright, it was rude of me to ask. My residence is rather lonely, so I thought it would be nice to have a little spirit pet to talk to. But it’s fine if it’s not meant to be.”