Thanks for all the concern — this cold didn't come with a fever, just a cough and zero energy. I woke myself up coughing in the middle of the night last night.
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Yang Kai scratched his head. He'd thought that over one hundred and fifty crystals was a decent fortune, but now that he actually needed to spend them, he realized it was nowhere near enough.
"Don't look at me — I don't have any crystals on me," Shui Ling said helplessly. She'd lived in Zhongdu for over two years, and whatever crystals she'd brought along had long since been used up.
Yun Xuan had been listening quietly to the side the whole time. Only now did she grit her teeth and speak up: "I have a piece of Empty Cicada Jade."
Yang Kai stared at her in surprise.
"I have no real use for it anyway. You can have it." As she spoke, Yun Xuan reached into the Qiankun Bag at her waist and pulled out a fist-sized chunk of jade, pure white and translucent, as luminous as fine gemstone.
Yang Kai furrowed his brow, hesitated for a moment, then reached out and took it. "I'll consider it a loan."
"No need." Yun Xuan gave a faint smile.
Master Ma looked at Yang Kai, then at Yun Xuan, somewhat puzzled as to why Miss Yun seemed to think so highly of this young man — enough to hand over a material as precious as Empty Cicada Jade without a second thought.
Was a boy from some backwater corner worth investing in? Master Ma pondered.
He accepted both the Empty Cicada Jade and the Ice Flame Star Sand. Clearing his throat, he said: "You're not a disciple of my Duo Ao Alliance. Strictly speaking, the fee for refining and restoring an Artifact should be increased by twenty percent…"
With that, he glanced at Yun Xuan and offered a small smile. "But for Miss Yun's sake, I'll charge you a hundred crystals this time. You should have that much, at least?"
The boy looked broke down to his last coin. Master Ma didn't dare ask for more — no point making Yun Xuan lose face.
Yang Kai nodded and handed over one hundred crystals.
Master Ma's expression turned satisfied. "Come back in ten days to pick it up. I'll return to you a brand-new Artifact. Guaranteed — you won't be disappointed!"
"Then we'll take our leave," Yun Xuan said with a slight nod, leading Yang Kai and Shui Ling back the way they'd come.
Once they were outside the Artifact Hall, Yang Kai finally asked: "That piece of Empty Cicada Jade — how many crystals was it really worth?"
Yun Xuan just smiled without answering. Shui Ling quietly gestured a number with her hand.
Yang Kai's face darkened.
He didn't have much of value on him that he could offer Yun Xuan as compensation. The Myriad Medicine Spirit Liquid and such — he wasn't about to reveal those. The Ice Flame Star Sand had all been handed over to Master Ma. He'd originally planned to share some with Shui Ling, but now that was off the table.
Well, Shui Ling was the little princess of the Water God Palace. She probably didn't care much about such things anyway.
"I'll pay you back," Yang Kai reiterated. He didn't like owing favors — especially to people he barely knew. Yun Xuan's goodwill was obviously on account of Shui Ling.
He knew perfectly well what he was worth. Yun Xuan wouldn't hand over a material that precious just to build a connection with him.
"I told you, no need. You men…" Yun Xuan pursed her lips and laughed softly, shaking her head. "All right, if there's nothing else, let's head back."
"I still want to buy a few things," Yang Kai said.
"Oh? What do you need? I'll show you the way." Yun Xuan looked at him with interest.
"Some medicinal herbs."
"What do you need herbs for?" Yun Xuan asked — then her bright eyes suddenly lit up. "Are you an alchemist?"
Yang Kai shook his head. "I'm just interested in pill refining. I want to study it a bit."
"You're kidding?" Shui Ling was stunned. She'd spent quite a bit of time with Yang Kai and had never once seen him refine a pill. She knew he was very close to Xia Ningshang, who had deep expertise in alchemy — but someone who had never even touched the art of pill refining suddenly saying something like this? She couldn't quite wrap her head around it.
"Just playing around," Yang Kai said with a smile.
There was nothing else to do right now, anyway. Master Ma had said the bone shield wouldn't be ready for ten days, so Yang Kai naturally wanted to make good use of the time.
And alchemy was something he'd always wanted to do but never had the chance.
"Don't attempt pill refining until you reach the Shenyou Realm — that was the teaching of Xiao Fusheng from Cloud Hidden Peak of Medicine King Valley. Yang Kai had long since advanced to the Shenyou Realm and met that requirement.
In the past, he hadn't needed to worry about the pills he used for cultivation. With his little senior sister around, any pill could be produced on demand. But now, he'd come to the Tongxuan Continent alone. Manager Meng and the others were nowhere to be found. Yang Kai had to plan for his own future.
Having a skill was always better than having none.
"You're impossible to figure out," Shui Ling said, shaking her head.
"Then come with me — I'll take you to buy whatever herbs you need. What are you looking for?"
"The lower grade, the better!" Yang Kai said seriously.
Yun Xuan was taken aback. "The lower grade, the better? Have you truly never refined a pill before?"
Only novices who had just entered the path of alchemy would choose low-grade herbs to practice on.
"He really hasn't!" Shui Ling said with a grin.