A Chance Encounter with a Mysterious Girl

Following the sound, he saw a girl of about eleven or twelve standing beside him.

Her brows were like distant mountain shadows, her eyes like autumn waters, and her black hair cascaded down like a waterfall. She had an oval face.

Though not breathtakingly beautiful, she possessed a delicate charm that grew more pleasing the longer one looked.

She wore a floor-length red dress that outlined her nearly perfect young figure. Especially when her long lashes fluttered, they seemed to shimmer with flowing light, carrying a soul-stealing allure.

Tuoba Yan lightly sniffed the sachet and said firmly, "Sorry, I don't want to give up this sachet."

"Little brother..."

The girl in red blinked her lively eyes, her tone carrying a touch of sweet innocence.

Tuoba Yan frowned slightly at her words.

"Little brother?"

Tuoba Yan cast a sidelong glance and looked the girl in red up and down once more.

Though he was only six, thanks to the Tuoba Clan's White Armored Earth Dragon bloodline, he was tall and far larger than ordinary children.

At first glance, he was nearly the same height as the girl before him. She was only a few years older than him at most, and besides, what exactly about him was small?

Even stranger, the girl's voice seemed to contain magic. The moment it entered his ears, it made his mind feel faintly dizzy.

The girl in red raised a hand and brushed aside the bangs over her forehead.

It was an ordinary gesture, yet when she did it, she seemed to glow with charm. The perfume shop owner stared dumbfounded, utterly bewitched.

She continued in a sweet, syrupy voice, "I truly love the scent of this sachet. Can't you really give it to me?"

Her voice carried a bone-deep seduction. An ordinary person would have long since been intoxicated.

"No!"

Tuoba Yan's voice was cold and unwavering.

His resolute refusal made the girl in red tremble slightly. She was not angered by the rejection, but shocked that the child before her could resist her Charm Arts.

Having received specialized seduction training since childhood, she had always been invincible among the nobility with this skill. Even adults could not escape her charms. Who would have thought she would stumble before a child?

"Fine." The girl's gaze turned cold, but when she faced the stall owner again, her gentle allure returned. "I'll take this sachet. I'll pay double."

Tuoba Yan's expression darkened. "Everything has an order of arrival. Isn't the way you're acting rather overbearing, miss?"

"In the marketplace, the highest bidder wins. How is that overbearing?"

Her tone was seductive as her fingers moved lightly. She took a bag of Gold Soul Coins from her Storage Soul Guide Device, and her magic-filled voice made the stall owner nod in agreement without realizing it.

Catching Tuoba Yan off guard, she slapped the Gold Soul Coins onto the stall, snatched up the sachet, gave a smug little laugh, and disappeared into the bustling crowd.

Tuoba Yan did not give chase. Instead, his sharp gaze shot toward the stall owner like a blade.

The stall owner gave an awkward smile. "Young master, she has her reasons, and you're not wrong either. When you're out and about, there's no need to hurt everyone's feelings. Besides that sachet, I have plenty of others here. They're all good, all good. There's bound to be one your girlfriend will like."

Tuoba Yan swept his gaze across the stall and sniffed lightly. "Only that sachet had a unique scent. Tell me honestly, what exactly did you add to it?"

Hearing that he was asking about the formula, the stall owner put away his fawning smile and sneered. "This is how I make my living. Why should I tell you?"

"You won't tell me?" Tuoba Yan raised a brow.

The stall owner hurriedly waved his hands. "Please don't do anything rash. Spirit City is a place governed by Wangfa!"

"Heh." Tuoba Yan sneered. "Do you know who I am? I am Tuoba Yan. My grandfather, Tuoba Xi, is the Platinum Bishop of Spirit Hall's Soul Hunting Squad. Most of the people in charge of this city serve under my grandfather. Are you sure you won't tell me?"

The stall owner's face changed drastically. He hurriedly apologized, "It's really nothing special. Just mugwort, perilla, cloves, mint, and honeysuckle. It's for repelling mosquitoes."

"That's not right!" Tuoba Yan snapped. "I've studied books on medicinal herbs. There were clearly other fragrances in it as well. Speak!"

"There really aren't..."

"Looks like you won't talk unless I teach you a lesson."

"I'll talk, I'll talk!" The stall owner was terrified out of his wits and dropped to his knees with a thud. "Besides those things, I also added a little... Dragon Secretion."

"Dragon Secretion?"

"Yes, yes. It smells nice, but the name doesn't sound very pleasant. Still, quite a few young ladies have liked it lately. Please show mercy, young master. It's not easy for a small business like mine to make a living!" As he spoke, the stall owner tried to hand the Gold Soul Coins left by the girl in red to Tuoba Yan.

Tuoba Yan tossed the money pouch back onto the stall, frightening the stall owner into kowtowing repeatedly.

He knew that nobles valued their reputations most. If they found out they had been using whale excrement, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Do you have any more in stock? Bring it out!"

The stall owner hurriedly took a box from beneath the stall. When Tuoba Yan opened it, he indeed saw blackish-brown, amber-like powder inside.

He dipped a fingertip into it and sniffed. At once, he felt refreshed, and wild joy surged in his heart. This was the rare cultivation material he had searched everywhere for—the secret treasure known as "Dragon Saliva Incense" on Blue Star!

Tuoba Yan was thrilled.

This was the cultivation resource he had been having people search for all along.

It had another name that was known to everyone on Blue Star: Dragon Saliva Incense.

The stall owner had not lied. This thing really was excrement.

Dragon Saliva Incense was essentially the dried intestinal secretion of Sperm Whales. Some Sperm Whales vomited it out, some expelled it through their intestines, and only a small number kept it inside their bodies.

It began as a light black color, then gradually turned gray, light gray, and finally white under the effects of seawater. Some were blackish-brown, while the finest specimens came in brilliant multicolored shades.

At the same time, it had another effect: it could enhance a person's spiritual power.

With this, he would no longer need to increase his spiritual power by getting beaten up for some time.

Tuoba Yan immediately took three bags of Gold Soul Coins from his storage ring and said in a deep voice, "Pack up your stall. Sell me all your Dragon Secretion, and tell me where you get it from. I'll reward you generously and guarantee prosperity for three generations of your family!"