Jia Lie'ao Makes an Appearance

After Xiao Yan returned to his room in the Xiao Clan, he began cultivating again. He first ate a piece of Peanut Candy, then a piece of Peach Pastry before starting his cultivation.

He had previously only eaten Peach Pastry while cultivating with Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, and the results had already been much better.

Now, with Peanut Candy boosting his cultivation speed as well, Xiao Yan felt that his cultivation speed had increased by at least twice as much, which delighted him immensely.

This brought him even closer to the seventh stage of Dou Qi.

Meanwhile, in Xiao Ning's room, only one piece of Peach Pastry remained in the paper packet on the table. He had eaten all the rest.

Xiao Ning, who had been cultivating, suddenly opened his eyes. Feeling the abundant Dou Qi within him, he could not help but laugh.

"Hehe, I never expected my Eighth Stage of Dou Qi strength to improve so much in just two short hours."

Excited, Xiao Ning glanced at the paper packet on the table. As if he had made up his mind, he got out of bed, pushed open the door, and planned to make another trip to Ruyi Zhai.

Even Xiao Cheng did not know that Xiao Ning would actually visit the shop twice in a single day.

Xiao Cheng had accepted the new Main Quest and did not feel much pressure. He simply thought that the Honeyed Shortbread would probably not sell very well.

Its price might put some people off, and more importantly, no one would spend a hundred Gold Coins on something whose value they did not know.

At that moment, Jia Lie Te, the man who had come last time, arrived again.

"Hello. What are you buying this time?"

Jia Lie Te had heard that Ruyi Zhai had released a new pastry, so he had come to gather information and buy some for Jia Lie Bi to inspect.

"I heard your shop has a new pastry. Is that true?"

Hearing him ask about the Honeyed Shortbread, Xiao Cheng immediately brightened up. Wasn't he worrying about the quest for the new pastry?

"It's all written on the board."

Xiao Cheng gestured toward the area in front of the Glass Cover.

When Jia Lie Te swept his eyes over it and saw the price on the board, his eyelids twitched uncontrollably a few times.

Honeyed Shortbread cost one hundred Gold Coins per jin.

The price was neither outrageously expensive nor particularly cheap, but it was still quite extravagant for guards like them.

"Give me one jin of Honeyed Shortbread and five pieces of Peanut Candy."

In the end, Jia Lie Te decided to buy one jin of Honeyed Shortbread to take back for the family head to see.

As for the Peanut Candy, it was naturally for his own use.

"Sure, no problem."

The first order of Honeyed Shortbread for the new Main Quest was complete.

After handing Jia Lie Te the paper packet containing one jin of Honeyed Shortbread, Xiao Cheng called out to him just as he was about to leave.

"Sir, I know who sent you, but I don't want to pry. Just tell that person not to interfere with my business. Bye."

Upon hearing Xiao Cheng's words, Jia Lie Te stopped after taking only a few steps. He was startled inwardly, but his expression remained calm and composed.

He looked back at Xiao Cheng, then left Ruyi Zhai.

After avoiding the patrols of the Xiao Family Guard, he returned to the Jia Lie Family.

In the Jia Lie Family's main hall, Jia Lie Te relayed everything he had seen at Ruyi Zhai, as well as every word Xiao Cheng had said to him, to Jia Lie Bi, who sat in the seat of honor.

After hearing Jia Lie Te's account, Jia Lie Bi furrowed his brow. His fingers repeatedly tapped against the armrest as though he were deep in thought.

Suddenly, his tapping fingers stopped. He looked at Jia Lie Te and asked, "You said that shop owner named Xiao Cheng claimed to know that I was the one who sent you?"

"He probably knows, but I can't be certain," Jia Lie Te replied cautiously.

"Interesting. I, Jia Lie Bi, have never been threatened before. Xiao Cheng and Ruyi Zhai will sooner or later be mine."

Jia Lie Bi's expression turned slightly sinister, but it quickly returned to normal. He gave Jia Lie Te an order.

"Keep watching Ruyi Zhai's every move at the Xiao Family Market. Report back to me if there is any new information."

Jia Lie Te acknowledged the order and left.

At that moment, Jia Lie'ao arrived. Seeing that his father seemed to be pondering something, he asked, "Father, what are you thinking about?"

Seeing his son, Jia Lie Bi rarely showed a smile. He said with a chuckle, "A shop called Ruyi Zhai has opened at the Xiao Family Market. The pastries it sells can increase Dou Qi. I'm thinking about how to get that shop into my hands."

Jia Lie Bi unconsciously clenched his hand into a fist, then loosened it again.

"Father, I think I heard about that shop a few days ago, but I've never gone inside."

Hearing his son say this, Jia Lie Bi thought for a moment before saying, "Go test the shop owner and see whether you can convince him to cooperate with our Jia Lie Family. As long as he cooperates with us, we won't have to worry about getting the recipes for those pastries. Hehe."

As he spoke, Jia Lie Bi let out several sinister chuckles.

"I understand, Father."

Following his father's arrangements, Jia Lie'ao left the family estate and headed toward the Xiao Family Market.

At this time, Xiao Cheng was trying to promote the Honeyed Shortbread to several Xiao Family Disciples who had come in groups of two or three to buy pastries. The results were disappointing—none of them bought any.

"Sigh, why is this so difficult? What a miserable fate I have."

He sighed.

Just then, several Xiao Family Disciples had just left, and Xiao Xun'er arrived again.

The last time Xiao Xun'er bought some Peach Pastry from Ruyi Zhai, she had unexpectedly broken through to the Dou Zhe realm.

Now, she only needed an opportunity to advance another step.

"Miss Xun'er, what brings you here today?" Xiao Cheng asked in the tone of a young wastrel.

"Shop Owner Xiao, do I need to notify you in advance when I come to buy pastries?"

The implied meaning was clear: she was here to buy pastries and nothing else.

"Fine. What would you like, Miss Xun'er? We've just introduced a new pastry. How about buying some?"

Xiao Cheng raised his brows suggestively.

"A new pastry?"

Seeing Xiao Xun'er's puzzled expression, Xiao Cheng could only point at the board in front of the Glass Cover.

"It's all written there. Take a look yourself."

Xiao Xun'er's beautiful eyes swept over the prices on the board, and she was slightly surprised as well.

One hundred Gold Coins for one jin of Honeyed Shortbread. Though that was merely a trivial sum to a young lady of the Ancient Clan like her, something she could disregard entirely...

In this little Wutan City, selling something for one hundred Gold Coins was still rather expensive.

"Honeyed Shortbread? That's quite a strange name. Then... give me one jin."

After thinking it over, Xiao Xun'er decided to buy one jin to try it first. Whether she bought more would depend on whether it tasted good.

She then bought another five pieces of Peanut Candy and had Xiao Cheng wrap them up.

After handing Xiao Xun'er the wrapped paper packet, he inexplicably said to her, "Miss Xun'er, Xiao Yan and I are close, so there's no need for you to send anyone to investigate me."

After paying, Xiao Xun'er had just turned around when she heard those words. Her pupils suddenly contracted, but she quickly returned to normal. Taking a deep breath, she hurriedly left Ruyi Zhai.

She had never imagined that Xiao Cheng would know she had sent someone to investigate him. Xiao Xun'er simply could not understand how.

When Xiao Xun'er reached a secluded place, she asked the air in a certain direction, "Elder Ling, were you discovered when you investigated him?"

"Miss, that Xiao Cheng is only at the Ninth Stage of Dou Qi. It is impossible for him to know of my existence. Perhaps the force behind him—or his master—noticed my presence and told him."

Xiao Xun'er knew that no outsiders had known when she sent Elder Ling to investigate Xiao Cheng. Elder Ling was a Seven-Star Dou Emperor. If the force behind Xiao Cheng could detect Elder Ling's existence, then it had to possess an expert at least at the Dou Zong realm or above.

What Xiao Xun'er did not know was that Xiao Cheng knew of Elder Ling entirely because he knew the full plot of Battle Through the Heavens. Combined with Xiao Xun'er's previous questions about Xiao Yan, he had vaguely guessed that this girl would send someone to investigate him.

Xiao Cheng was sitting in the shop when someone he had not expected arrived at Ruyi Zhai: Jia Lie'ao, the arrogant young master with the temperament of a wastrel.