Feelings Deepen

Xiao Jin had been free lately. Whenever he had nothing to do, he would head to the Mite'er Auction House to spend time with Ya Fei and deepen their relationship. Otherwise, he would lie in the recliner at home all day. There was also still no news from Ya Fei regarding the powerful figures in the Jia Ma Empire who needed pills refined.

That day, Xiao Jin once again strolled into the Mite'er Auction House. "Young Master Xiao Jin, here to inspect our work again?" a guard teased him.

Recently, Xiao Jin had been visiting the Mite'er Auction House constantly. There was not a single Mite'er guard who did not know him. They all thought highly of this young man, whom the auction house's manager treated as an honored guest, yet who carried no airs himself.

"Oh, Old Wang. You're on duty again today?" Xiao Jin greeted him warmly. "That's right. We can't be as carefree as Young Master Xiao Jin. We still have to work hard to improve our strength," Old Wang replied with a faint smile.

"Fine, work hard. I'm going to find Sister Ya Fei." After bidding Old Wang farewell, Xiao Jin headed into the auction house.

When the maidservants inside saw Xiao Jin arrive, they had just prepared to step forward and greet him when he stopped them. "Take me directly to Sister Ya Fei."

Xiao Jin instructed them. The maidservant said nothing more and directly led him toward the Appraisal Room. When they arrived, Ya Fei was discussing something with Gu Ni. The two stopped talking when they saw Xiao Jin enter.

"Stinky brat, why are you here again?" Ya Fei rolled her eyes at Xiao Jin. "Because I missed Sister Ya Fei, of course," Xiao Jin said jokingly.

"All you do is tease your sister. I think you're here to ask whether there's been any progress with our cooperation." Ya Fei had long grown accustomed to Xiao Jin's teasing and naturally did not take it seriously.

Watching the two chat and laugh, Gu Ni rose to his feet and slowly headed for the door. "All right, I won't disturb you two any longer."

"So, Sister Ya Fei, have you found any leads?" Xiao Jin asked expectantly. This was a major deal. Refining a fifth-grade pill would earn him at least a million gold coins, and a sixth-grade pill would bring in even more. Of course he cared about it.

"Not yet. Little Brother Xiao Jin, don't be impatient. I'm also mobilizing my resources to contact those powerful figures," Ya Fei replied helplessly. Xiao Jin had come to ask about it every day these past few days. It was truly starting to irritate her.

Xiao Jin was somewhat disappointed. It seemed his plan to quickly amass wealth by refining high-grade pills, then rapidly raise his strength, had temporarily fallen through. Where else could he quickly obtain gold coins?

Suddenly, Xiao Jin's eyes lit up. He remembered the Cave that Xiao Huohuo and Xiao Yi Xian had visited together in Qingshan Town in the original story.

Wasn't there several hundred thousand gold coins inside? There were also large quantities of medicinal ingredients, cultivation methods, and Dou Techniques, as well as a fragmentary map of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame. It seemed it was time to make a trip to Qingshan Town. While he was there, he could also see whether Xiao Yi Xian was truly as fresh and ethereal as the original story described.

Seeing Xiao Jin's disappointed expression, Ya Fei seemed to make up her mind and said, "Little Brother Xiao Jin, I'll be leaving Wutan City in a couple of months. Will you miss me?"

Ya Fei gently walked up to Xiao Jin and straightened his somewhat rumpled clothes for him.

Breathing in Ya Fei's faint fragrance, Xiao Jin's thoughts began to wander. It was only when he heard that Ya Fei was leaving Wutan City that he came back to himself.

"Sister, where are you going?" Xiao Jin asked in confusion. "I'm returning to the Jia Ma Imperial Capital. That is where my home is," Ya Fei said softly.

"Then why did you come to manage the Mite'er Auction House in Wutan City?" Xiao Jin had always found this somewhat puzzling. With Ya Fei's business acumen and shrewd competence, she would likely have been exceptionally rare even within the Mite'er Family.

A clan member of such ability might not have had much cultivation talent, but she could still have managed the auction house at the Imperial Capital headquarters for the Mite'er Family. Why had she come to manage a branch in a small place like Wutan City?

Ya Fei hesitated for a moment before saying, "I offended someone in the Imperial Capital, so I was driven out of the family headquarters." Her tone was calm.

"Who did you offend? Do you need your little brother to stand up for you? Even if I can't, I still have my teacher." Xiao Jin spoke indignantly.

Looking at the youth before her, Ya Fei was slightly dazed. When was the last time someone had wanted to stand up for her? It seemed to have been back when her parents were still alive. Her parents had been just as indignant as Xiao Jin was now.

"There's no need. I can already return to the family headquarters, and that is all thanks to the Azure Nether Longevity Pill the old gentleman refined." Ya Fei looked at Xiao Jin gratefully.

"How so?" Xiao Jin asked curiously.

"I prepared this Azure Nether Longevity Pill for the father of the family head. He does not have much time left to live. The family head has recently been searching for medicinal ingredients or pills that could extend his lifespan, and this Azure Nether Longevity Pill happened to solve his urgent problem. The family head was overjoyed and asked me to hand over my current work before returning to the Imperial Capital."

Ya Fei looked gratefully at Xiao Jin. She knew that Xiao Jin himself was the so-called teacher. As for why he concealed his identity, she could understand that as well. After all, a sixteen-year-old Sixth-grade Alchemist would likely attract certain people's attention and bring endless trouble.

"Sister Ya Fei, don't take it to heart. The Azure Nether Longevity Pill was only refined because you made a deal with me. My teacher received the compensation he deserved, so you owe neither him nor me anything," Xiao Jin said with a smile.

After straightening Xiao Jin's clothes, Ya Fei said, "The payment for asking a Sixth-grade Alchemist to refine a pill is not low. The items I gave the old gentleman in that Storage Ring would not have been enough to hire a Sixth-grade Alchemist. I took advantage of you and your teacher." Ya Fei spoke somewhat embarrassedly.

Breathing in Ya Fei's scent, Xiao Jin could no longer hold himself back. He wrapped an arm around her slender waist and whispered in her ear, "I want Sister to take advantage of me. You can take advantage of me for a lifetime." Xiao Jin spoke affectionately.

The reason he had kept coming to the Mite'er Auction House during this time was not entirely because of his deal with Ya Fei. More importantly, it gave him a good excuse to meet her. Through their recent interactions, he had come to like Ya Fei more and more.

He liked her beauty, her intelligence, and even more, the way she occasionally acted spoiled around him. He no longer had any intention of tricking her into becoming a tool for his own use. Now that he had heard Ya Fei might leave Wutan City, he could no longer suppress the feelings in his heart and finally acted on them.

Ya Fei was startled by Xiao Jin's actions. Once she recovered, she began to struggle lightly. When she realized Xiao Jin had no intention of letting go, she simply allowed him to hold her.

She also held a favorable impression of Xiao Jin. At only sixteen, he was already a Sixth-grade Alchemist, while his own strength was unfathomable. She had never seen such a peerless young genius.

What moved Ya Fei even more was that she could tell Xiao Jin genuinely liked her. Otherwise, he would not have blushed every time she teased him without taking any further action. With his strength, if he wanted to abduct her and turn her into a plaything, it would have been effortless.

Yet he had not done so. That was enough to prove that he was not someone who bullied the weak by relying on his strength. Such people were truly rare on the Dou Qi Continent, after all. This was a world where the weak were prey to the strong.