Unexpected Gains

Late at night.

Su Yi sat cross-legged, the vital force throughout his body circulating, ceaselessly nourishing and tempering the strength of his blood and flesh.

This was the tempering method recorded in the Pine Crane Body Forging Art for the second stage of the Blood Moving Realm, the "Flesh Refining" phase.

"My cultivation progress is clearly not as good as it was during the 'Flesh Skin phase'..."

After a long while, Su Yi opened his eyes, his brows slightly furrowed.

It was not that he disliked the slow speed of cultivation, but that the results he obtained from cultivating were far inferior to before.

First, it was because the medicinal herbs he consumed in day-and-night cultivation were mostly ordinary goods.

Second, it was also because "Flesh Refining" was the second stage of the Blood Moving Realm, and cultivating it was already far more difficult than the Flesh Skin phase.

"At this rate, by the time I cultivate the 'Flesh Refining' level to perfection, I'm afraid it will take at least half a month."

Su Yi pondered.

Half a month was not considered long.

But if he could save more time in cultivation, that would naturally be even better.

"I wonder what the quality of the pair of Nine Leaves King Ginseng Huang Yunchong gifted is like. If I could make use of them..."

Thinking of this, Su Yi could not help shaking his head.

He understood his mother-in-law Qin Qing's personality far too well. Once such treasures fell into her hands, she was destined not to spit them back out.

Just as he thought this, the courtyard gate was pushed open from outside, and Qin Qing's voice rang out after it:

"Rice-eating Loafer, get out here and see me!"

Her voice carried the flavor of ordering people about with her chin and fingers.

Su Yi was startled. What a coincidence.

He immediately rose and walked out of the room.

There, beneath the moonlight, Qin Qing wore a dark-green finery, her mature and charming figure swaying with grace.

Though she was already middle-aged, her face was smooth, bright, beautiful, and dignified, her skin snow-white, maintained extremely well. It was no wonder that both her daughters' appearances were so outstanding.

"You needed me for something?"

Su Yi walked forward. In the year since he had married into the Wen Family, he had never once called the couple Wen Changtai and Qin Qing father and mother.

Qin Qing did not care either.

Today at the Longevity Banquet, the arrival of Fu Shan, Huang Yunchong, and the others had allowed her to hold her head high before a crowd of important figures and steal the limelight, putting her in an especially good mood.

Even when she looked at Su Yi now, she felt he seemed somewhat more pleasing to the eye than before.

She said directly, "You know as well that today, Huang Yunchong gave our family a pair of Nine Leaves King Ginseng, and Lord Fu Shan also gave a gift box. I want to ask you how you plan to deal with them."

Su Yi was inevitably surprised. His mother-in-law was so shrewd, yet she had actually taken the initiative to come discuss it with him?

He said casually, "I have nothing to say."

Qin Qing gave a cold snort and started grumbling, "I have no idea what Old Madam was thinking, insisting on handing these two gifts over to you, this Rice-eating Loafer!"

Su Yi immediately understood.

Old Madam knew the inside story and knew that the gifts Fu Shan and Huang Yunchong had given were meant for him.

Under such circumstances, she naturally would not allow Qin Qing to pocket them. Otherwise, if Fu Shan and the others learned of it, they would very likely pin that account on the Wen Family.

Qin Qing glared at Su Yi and said, "Listen well. These two gifts are for you and Wen Zhao. In other words, you can only take your own share!"

She took out the two gift boxes she was carrying and opened the first one.

Inside lay two snow-white king ginsengs, their ginseng whiskers like floss, every root crystal-clear, and a delicate fragrance then spread through the courtyard.

Just one sniff made one's spirits lift, the heart broadened and the mind delighted.

Qin Qing secretly swallowed, her heart increasingly bitter with resentment at Old Madam for forcing her hand.

Otherwise, for treasures as incomparably precious as these, she would not have given Su Yi a single ginseng whisker!

"Pick one."

She opened her mouth through gritted teeth, pretending to be calm.

Su Yi found it secretly amusing. With one glance, he could see that his mother-in-law's heart was dripping blood at that moment.

He said, "You should pick. The one left over will be mine."

Qin Qing's expression eased quite a bit, and she said, "You brat, at least you still have a little filial piety. It wasn't in vain that our family fed you for free for a whole year!"

As she spoke, as if afraid Su Yi would go back on his word, she was quick-eyed and swift-handed, taking out a king ginseng that looked obviously a size smaller and handing it to Su Yi. "Here, this one is for you."

Su Yi's gaze turned strange, and he reached out to take it.

Nine Leaves King Ginseng could already be considered a spiritual medicine, and the quality of a spiritual medicine was not judged by its size.

For example, this smaller king ginseng was actually of even more outstanding quality...

Though Qin Qing was beautiful, she had never cultivated. How could she understand such tricks of the trade?

She cheerfully fastened the gift box shut and said, "This big one can be saved for Wen Zhao. She's cultivating at Heavenly Origin Academy now, so she'll definitely have use for it."

"And there's this gift box too. Lord Fu said it had to be opened by you and Wen Zhao. Open it yourself and take a look."

She took out the second gift box as well and handed it over, curiosity showing in her eyes too.

At today's Longevity Banquet, she had clearly seen that when those important figures learned Fu Shan had come to present a gift on behalf of a noble person, every last one of them was stunned!

Who was that noble person who could order Fu Shan around?

To this day, it was still a mystery.

But the more mysterious something was, the more it inspired awe and curiosity.

Qin Qing was naturally no exception.

As Su Yi exerted force with his fingers and palm, the gift box carved and polished from rare black jade opened. At once, a pale golden radiance spilled out like mist, dazzling in the night.

Qin Qing's eyes widened, her breathing stalled slightly, and shock, infatuation, and fervor surged across her expression.

It was a pair of rings, purple-gold in color, crystal-clear and dazzling. The ring face on the left had been carved into a hollowed-out phoenix, lifelike and vivid, its pair of eyes inlaid with two tiny rubies.

The ring face on the right, meanwhile, was a coiling dragon, head raised toward the sky, curly whiskers drifting, so lifelike it seemed alive.

This was a pair of rings, Dragon and Phoenix Auspiciousness!

"We're rich, we're rich! These are absolutely rare treasures of the world, priceless beyond measure!"

Qin Qing's heart thumped wildly, her eyes shone, and the wild joy on her Pretty Face was completely undisguised.

Even Su Yi could not help but be surprised at this moment.

This pair of rings was indeed not simple. They had been made from top-quality Purple Veined Red Gold, which was itself a kind of "spiritual material," containing Spiritual Qi, far beyond ordinary gold and silver.

For example, the Phoenix Ring's eyes had been carved from Scarlet Spirit Diamonds. Though each was only the size of a sesame seed, they were worth ten thousand gold!

Looking again at the Dragon Ring's eyes, they were made from Obsidian Spirit Crystal. This was spiritual material containing abundant Spiritual Qi; placed in Great Zhou's mundane world, it could be called a priceless treasure!

"Xiao Tianque and Zi Jin, grandfather and granddaughter, really are generous."

Su Yi thought to himself.

If this pair of rings were placed in the Great Wilderness Nine Provinces, they could not be called rare.

But within Great Zhou's borders, they absolutely deserved the word "treasure."

Qin Qing suddenly cleared her throat, her gaze burning as she said, "Su Yi, how about... I keep this pair of rings safe for you two, and when Ling Zhao comes back, I'll hand them over to you together?"

Su Yi laughed. How could he not see through Qin Qing's little scheme?

He said readily, "Do as you see fit."

Qin Qing's Jade Face shifted between light and dark. What did he mean, do as she saw fit?

She wanted to cling to them and never let go, but the key was that the Old Madam would not agree!

"For a Rice-eating Loafer like you to obtain treasures like these is simply a reckless waste of heavenly gifts!"

Qin Qing gnashed her teeth, picked up the Dragon Ring, and viciously handed it over. "Here! Take it! Don't lose it!"

"Then I'll accept it."

Su Yi came over with a smile.

He knew very well that no matter how shrewish and sharp Qin Qing was, she absolutely would not dare defy Old Madam Wen's orders.

"Hm? There's a letter here too."

Qin Qing took a sealed letter from the bottom of the gift box.

When she saw the words "For Mister Su's personal attention" written on the envelope, she could not help but freeze. "Mister Su? Who is that?"

"It's for me."

Su Yi directly took the letter.

"You? Mister Su?"

Qin Qing let out a sneering laugh, as if she had heard a joke.

However, in the entire Wen Family, only Su Yi bore the surname Su, and this gift had been meant for Su Yi and his wife to begin with, so Qin Qing did not suspect anything.

"If there's nothing else, I'll return to my room first."

Su Yi smiled faintly, ignored the mockery in Qin Qing's words, turned, and left.

"When Ling Zhao comes back in the future, we absolutely have to take that ring back!"

Qin Qing secretly gnashed her teeth, stomped her foot hard, then turned and left.

When she returned to her residence and her gaze swept over the mountain of gifts piled up in the room, Qin Qing's mood instantly improved.

At this Longevity Banquet, she and Wen Changtai had not only stolen the limelight, but many important figures had also taken the initiative to show goodwill, even giving the couple quite a few gifts in passing.

At this moment, looking at the dazzling array of gifts, Qin Qing smiled until her pair of phoenix eyes narrowed. Ling Zhao, that Girl, really had made something of herself!

"My lady, shouldn't we rest?"

Wen Changtai walked over and wrapped an arm around Qin Qing's slender, soft waist, his lips already moving toward Qin Qing's Snow-White Swan Neck.

He was in an incomparably good mood today as well. He had drunk a little more wine, and his spirits were high.

Smack!

Qin Qing slapped Wen Changtai's hand away, propped herself free of his arm, and snapped irritably, "Get lost. Every time, you leave me hanging neither up nor down. When you've trained that body of yours properly, then we'll meet in bed."

Beaming with delight, she went over to the pile of gifts and began taking inventory.

Seeing this, Wen Changtai let out a long sigh.

Beneath the same night sky.

Su Yi sat before his desk, opened the letter, and took out a sheet of stationery.

The letter had been written by Xiao Tianque. Respect seeped through every line, and most of its contents were polite pleasantries.

Only at the very end did he say that because the clan had urgent matters to attend to, he and his granddaughter Zi Jin had already set off for Cloud River County. If Su Yi had any business, he could ask City Lord Fu Shan to resolve it.

In short, this was a farewell letter.

After reading it, Su Yi casually lowered the stationery to the candle flame and lit it.

As for Xiao Tianque and Zi Jin's thoughts, he could more or less guess at them. It was nothing more than wanting to further stabilize their relationship with him, and there was nothing worth minding about it.

"With this Nine Leaves King Ginseng, I can save a great deal of cultivation time."

Su Yi's gaze returned to the desk. A snow-white spirit ginseng lay there quietly.

According to their quality, the world's spirit medicines could be divided into nine grades.

First grade was the lowest; ninth grade was the highest.

The Nine Leaves King Ginseng before him was a kind of Second Grade Spirit Medicine, enough for figures of the Qi Gathering Realm to regard it as a precious treasure!

"To mend his relationship with me, Huang Yunchong was actually willing to spend heavily."

Su Yi thought to himself.

A pair of Nine Leaves King Ginsengs at the level of Second Grade Spirit Medicine was extremely precious in value. At the very least, in the markets of Guangling City, they simply could not be bought!

After that, Su Yi's gaze shifted again to the dragon-shaped ring made from Purple Veined Red Gold, and his heart stirred slightly.