"Elder Gao!" Yang Kai cupped his fists and bowed in greeting.
Gao Xueting nodded lightly, asking with concern, "Did your retreat go smoothly this time?"
Yang Kai replied, "I have Elder Gao to thank for that. Nothing unexpected happened."
"Flatterer!" Gao Xueting shot him a glare. "Your retreat has nothing to do with me."
"Uh…" Yang Kai had clearly stepped on a landmine. He hadn't expected Gao XuETING to be so blunt, and his face flushed with embarrassment.
"Tell me, what brings you here?" Gao Xueting resumed her usual composed demeanor.
"Oh, it's like this." Now that the conversation had turned to business, Yang Kai quickly straightened up. "I wanted to ask whether the Azure Sun Divine Temple has any Formless Mystic Grass."
"Formless Mystic Grass?" Gao Xueting's delicate brows furrowed at the mention.
"It's a mid-grade Dao Source tier spirit herb—nothing particularly rare," Yang Kai said. As an alchemist himself, he was intimately familiar with all manner of spirit flowers and exotic grasses.
"What do you need it for?" Gao Xueting asked curiously.
"Refining pills." Yang Kai's gaze drifted elsewhere, clearly not being entirely honest. "Elder Gao knows I'm an alchemist. If I'm asking for spirit herbs, it must be for pill refining…"
The corner of Gao Xueting's lips curved ever so slightly, as if a barely perceptible smile flickered across her face. But rather than press him on his transparently poor excuse, she produced her communication compass. Infusing it with spiritual sense, she said flatly, "I'll ask for you. Since this herb isn't particularly rare, the treasury should have some in stock."
"Many thanks, Elder Gao." Yang Kai quickly expressed his gratitude.
What followed was a lengthy silence.
Sitting there in the cave dwelling, Yang Kai felt like he had pins and needles running down his spine, his entire body restless. He wanted to make small talk with Gao Xueting but was afraid she'd find him annoying, so he kept his silence, figuring that was the wiser course.
Gao Xueting showed no inclination to speak with him either. She simply closed her eyes in meditation, treating him as though he didn't exist, completely undisturbed by his presence.
After quite a while, the communication compass in Gao Xueting's hand finally buzzed.
She opened her beautiful eyes, checked the response, then looked at Yang Kai and said, "We do have Formless Mystic Grass, and in considerable quantity. How much do you need?"
"The more the better!" Yang Kai's expression turned serious.
"It seems… you're planning to refine quite a lot of pills." Gao Xueting let out a soft hmph.
Yang Kai scratched his head with a sheepish grin.
"What will you trade for it?"
"Huh?" Yang Kai was taken aback.
Gao Xueting said, "The Formless Mystic Grass can't just be given to you for free. It belongs to the Divine Temple. What will you offer in exchange?"
"Elder Gao, are you doing business with me?" Yang Kai was stunned. He never imagined there was this side to Gao Xueting.
"Let's say I am." Gao Xueting nodded. "Judging by your attitude, you were planning to just take it for nothing?"
Yang Kai hurried to respond, "Of course not! I fully intended to purchase it." He paused for a moment, then asked timidly, "Would Source Crystals work?"
"The Divine Temple isn't short on Source Crystals," Gao Xueting replied, her face expressionless.
Yang Kai looked utterly speechless. "If this is a transaction, then if not Source Crystals, what do you use?"
"Hmph!" Gao Xueting let out a cold laugh, looking at him with a meaningful gaze. "Never mind. Let me ask Junior Sister Chen what the actual price is."
"Much appreciated, much appreciated…" Yang Kai hastily wiped the sweat from his forehead.
For some inexplicable reason, being around Gao Xueting put enormous pressure on him—something that hadn't even happened when he was with Wen Zishan. He couldn't figure out why.
A moment later, Gao Xueting looked up again and said to Yang Kai, "Junior Sister Chen says the Formless Mystic Grass is one thousand Source Crystals per stalk."
"A reasonable price." Yang Kai's face immediately brightened with delight.
"Superior grade," Gao Xueting added.
Yang Kai froze for a moment, then sprang to his feet. "Are you robbing me?!"
Gao Xueting maintained her indifferent expression. "Junior Sister Chen manages the Divine Temple's treasury. Everything inside is up to her. She says it's one thousand superior-grade Source Crystals, so it's one thousand superior-grade Source Crystals."
She paused, then continued, "What? Are you poor?"
"Not exactly…" Cold sweat poured down Yang Kai's forehead, his expression a colorful mix of emotions. "It's just that this price doesn't make sense. Elder Gao, are you sure you explained things properly to Elder Chen? The Formless Mystic Grass is a mid-grade Dao Source tier herb, and it's not even a rare one. Major sects can cultivate it themselves—why would it cost so many Source Crystals?"
"And what do you take me for? Your messenger pigeon? If you want to ask, go ask yourself." Gao Xueting's already cold expression grew even icier.
Yang Kai had no idea what had set her off. His face flushed with embarrassment once more, and he had no idea how to respond.
"However…" Gao Xueting suddenly shifted her tone, her beautiful eyes roaming over Yang Kai, which sent a chill down his spine. He secretly wondered whether this Elder Gao, who appeared frosty on the surface, was perhaps burning with passion within?