Rich Lady, I'm Hungry! Qi Gathering Bead!

At the Mitel Auction House, Ya Fei dragged her exhausted body back to her room.

Yet despite her fatigue, the thought of the person she was about to meet quickened her pace.

When she opened the door, the young man's face seemed just as it had been yesterday, except it now bore a trace of maturity and the weathering of experience.

Had his nearly month-long training really produced such results?

"Sister Ya Fei, the moment I got back, I came to see you without stopping."

Xiao Ze stood and said with a smile.

At that, Ya Fei shot Xiao Ze a pretty glare and said reproachfully, "Do you really think I'm just an auctioneer?"

"Didn't you bring a little girl back to the Xiao Family the moment you returned?"

"Then you went to reunite with your childhood sweetheart... You probably only remembered me after quite a while, didn't you?"

"Uh... Sister Ya Fei, did you plant spies at the Xiao Family's gate? You even know something like that so clearly."

Xiao Ze looked awkward. What he had just said had only been a polite greeting, like saying, "Nice to see you."

"But Sister Ya Fei, were you really so eager for me to return? You even sent people to watch the Xiao Family?"

A trace of unease flashed across Ya Fei's face. She sat down in a chair and tossed her fur scarf aside.

"Ah... I've been busy all day. I'm so tired! I wonder if anyone could come give me a massage?"

Xiao Ze secretly laughed. What a stiff change of subject.

Seeing that Ya Fei did not wish to bring it up, Xiao Ze sensibly stopped pressing the matter.

"Sister Ya Fei has worked so hard. Let this little brother give you a massage."

Ya Fei relaxed her body and half-closed her eyes, clearly intending to let Xiao Ze do as he pleased.

Seeing this, Xiao Ze did not stand on ceremony. He promptly moved behind Ya Fei.

Xiao Ze lowered his gaze. Before he could even see her knees, he was already met with a breathtaking sight!

The girls he was close to were mostly around his age, or only a few years older.

None of them could compare to Ya Fei in that regard!

Taking a deep breath, Xiao Ze placed both hands on Ya Fei's shoulders.

Carefully controlling his strength, he massaged Ya Fei until her face was full of contentment and her expression relaxed. Unconsciously, soft nasal hums of "mm... ah... ngh..." escaped her.

After finishing the massage, Xiao Ze returned to his chair.

Ya Fei's face was still flushed, and her eyes were half-lidded with pleasure as she said lazily.

"I never expected little brother Xiao Ze to have such a skill."

"If I said it was my first time giving one... would you believe me?"

"Pfft~ I believe you. Of course your sister believes you!"

Only after resting for a while did Ya Fei comfortably straighten up, her expression still languid.

She felt as though the blood and energy in her body had become much more active. Did Xiao Ze's massage also have the effect of relaxing the tendons and invigorating the blood?

Ya Fei suddenly felt that the little brother she had taken in truly seemed to possess countless treasures, giving her little surprises from time to time.

"These are the magic cores I obtained while training in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Please help me estimate their value, Sister Ya Fei..."

With a wave of Xiao Ze's hand, a pile of magic cores appeared on the table.

Earlier, he had taken Xiao Yi Xian to gather medicinal herbs in the outer regions of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Generally, the more useful herbs were guarded by magical beasts, so encounters with them were unavoidable.

Once, they had even accidentally run into a small Beast Tide. Xiao Ze killed dozens of magical beasts, terrifying the remaining ones into fleeing.

From that single incident alone, Xiao Ze had obtained nearly twenty magic cores.

Though they were all first-tier magic cores, at five hundred Gold Coins each, that alone had earned him nearly twenty thousand Gold Coins!

Including his other miscellaneous gains, he had made several tens of thousands of Gold Coins on this trip!

Once Jia Nan Academy finished its admissions, he would be leaving Wu Tan City.

When traveling outside, a fuller purse brought greater peace of mind.

Looking at the table full of magic cores, Ya Fei's mouth fell open into a round shape as she stammered.

"You hunted all of these?"

After Xiao Ze nodded in confirmation, Ya Fei could not help saying.

"Little brother Xiao Ze, just what is your current strength? I can hardly see through you anymore."

"Uh... Sister Ya Fei, have you ever really seen through my strength?"

Xiao Ze looked Ya Fei up and down. He had just touched her personally, so he knew that Ya Fei had not even reached the Dou Zhe level yet!

Seeing Ya Fei's slightly annoyed expression, Xiao Ze hurriedly raised his hands and soothed her.

"All right. I was a Dou Shi before I left, and now I'm a Da Dou Shi."

"Gasp!"

Ya Fei's beautiful eyes widened in shock, her expression slipping out of control as she sharply drew in a breath!

A Da Dou Shi not even twelve years old!

There was probably no one like that in the entire Jia Ma Empire!

Only then did Ya Fei truly realize just how fortunate she was to have accepted this little brother.

In the future, Xiao Ze would surely soar into the sky and stand at the peak of the Jia Ma Empire!

After a while, Ya Fei finally calmed her shocked emotions and began counting the magic cores on the table.

"Magic cores are always in short supply and easy to sell. Do you want the Gold Coins now, or should I give them to you after they're sold?"

"I'll take them now. A rough estimate is fine; there's no need to fuss over it."

Xiao Ze said indifferently.

"That won't do. How could I let my little brother suffer a loss?"

After thinking for a moment, Ya Fei got up and entered the bedroom. A while later, she returned with a pale gold card.

"There are one hundred thousand Gold Coins on this card. Now that you're a Da Dou Shi, your cultivation will surely consume even more resources."

Ya Fei offered the card with a smiling face, her eyes carrying a hint of unquestionable resolve.

Xiao Ze fell silent for a moment before accepting it with gratitude in his heart.

"Sister Ya Fei, I will surely repay today's kindness a hundredfold in the future!"

Even at the highest estimate, this pile of magic cores on the table was worth no more than fifty thousand Gold Coins, yet Ya Fei had given him a Gold Storage Card containing one hundred thousand Gold Coins!

"From the sound of it, you're going away again?"

Ya Fei caught the meaning behind Xiao Ze's words.

"Mm. I plan to apply to Jia Nan Academy and see a wider world."

"I see."

Ya Fei spoke thoughtfully, a barely noticeable trace of disappointment flashing through her eyes.

"By the way, Sister Ya Fei, I'd like to buy a few things from you as gifts for my family."

"All right. Wait a moment, I'll get you the inventory list."

Ya Fei rummaged through the table, found the list, and handed it to Xiao Ze.

For a while, the two fell silent. Xiao Ze lowered his head and browsed through the items, while Ya Fei quietly watched him.

Since Xiao Ze was going on a long journey this time, he planned to prepare a gift for everyone he knew well.

He had already picked out gifts for everyone else, but he was still hesitant over what to choose for his third brother.

Suddenly, Xiao Ze spotted an item called the Qi Gathering Bead in the section for unsold goods.

"Sister Ya Fei, this Qi Gathering Bead is..."

"That? I heard it was obtained by a mercenary while exploring ruins in the Magical Beast Mountain Range."

Ya Fei thought for a moment, quickly recalling the Qi Gathering Bead's origin.

"That person wanted to put it up at the Auction House to see whether anyone could recognize its value, but after it failed to sell three times in a row, he sold it cheaply to the Auction House."

Xiao Ze continued listening. To fail to sell three times in a row...

The Qi Gathering Bead's effect must have been rather disappointing.

Yet its description stated that it could automatically absorb Dou Qi!

That made it somewhat baffling.

"The reason it became an unsold item is naturally because of its peculiar nature."

"Although this strange item can automatically absorb Dou Qi, it is incredibly difficult for others to absorb the Dou Qi within it!"

"Even the Auction House's Da Dou Shi tried it and could only extract a trace of Dou Qi, making it utterly useless!"

After hearing Ya Fei's explanation, Xiao Ze's eyes lit up instead.

Wasn't this perfectly suited to Xiao Yan's current situation?

Dear readers, please keep reading! Recommendation promotions now depend entirely on continued reading, so please lend a hand and scroll to the very last page of the book. I beg you!

Thanks to "Love Addiction e°," "Heaven and Earth Hua King," and "Tsundere Rabbit" for their monthly ticket support!

My utmost thanks!