A Shopping Trip

The two of them decided to do their shopping in the Xiao Clan Market. At least there were Xiao Clan guards here, so they wouldn't run into too many unexpected troubles.

With Xiao Jin's strength, he naturally didn't care about the hostile forces in Wutan City provoking him.

He was simply tired of those scenes where someone showed off, only to be slapped in the face.

With his cultivation at the Nine-Star Dou Ling level, killing Jia Liebi, the biggest boss in the early part of the original story, would take no more than one move.

If they really ran into each other, he would neither be able to pad the word count nor raise his prestige. For Xiao Jin, it would be a completely losing deal.

Fortunately, this shopping trip went rather smoothly. Listening to the waves of vendors calling out from both sides of the Marketplace and feeling the thick atmosphere of everyday life, Xiao Jin was in a very good mood.

Xun'er was in a good mood too. It was just that she kept glancing at Xiao Jin's hands, which hung at his sides and swung back and forth, hesitating over whether she should simply hold one.

Just as Xun'er made up her mind and planned to be brave for once, Xiao Jin suddenly stopped walking.

The girl hadn't yet realized what was happening when Xiao Jin took a necklace in his hand and began comparing it against her snow-white neck.

"Xun'er, do you like this?" The necklace Xiao Jin held was made from a Magic Core.

Magic Cores came from Magical Beasts, and their drop rate wasn't particularly high. The higher the Magical Beast's rank, the more this was true.

Thus, as the rank of a Magic Core increased, its price also rose exponentially.

The necklace in Xiao Jin's hand had been made from the Magic Core of a second-tier water-attribute Magical Beast. The craftsmanship was excellent, clearly the work of a master.

Finding a necklace of this caliber in a small place like Wutan City was quite rare.

Xun'er was slightly dazed. She instinctively lowered her head to look at the large hand near her collarbone, and only afterward realized what had happened and blushed.

A moment later, she murmured, "Xun'er likes it."

After receiving her affirmative answer, Xiao Jin smiled and asked the shopkeeper, "How much is this necklace?"

"Young master certainly has a good eye. This necklace was crafted by Master Fike himself, embodying Master Fike's lifetime of craftsmanship..."

The shopkeeper was about to launch into a lengthy introduction when Xiao Jin cut him off.

He felt that no matter which customer came in, the shopkeeper probably gave them the exact same speech.

Besides, he didn't know who Master Fike was. As long as Xun'er liked the necklace, he was willing to pay for it.

"Shopkeeper, just tell me how much it costs."

"Five thousand gold coins." The shopkeeper was a straightforward man as well, quickly raising one hand.

Even in the Imperial Capital, five thousand gold coins wasn't a small sum. Few people were willing to spend that much on a piece of jewelry.

Magic Cores could be used to refine pills. On the Dou Qi Continent, where strength reigned supreme, people cared more about whether they could become stronger than whether they looked good.

Xiao Jin didn't care about this little bit of money. He was an Alchemist, after all. Had anyone ever heard of an Alchemist who lacked gold coins?

Still, he shook his head. "Shopkeeper, that's exaggerated. A second-tier Magic Core is worth two thousand gold coins at most. Even adding the labor and material costs, this necklace should be worth three thousand five hundred gold coins at the absolute most. How about this? If you're sincerely selling it, I'll pay four thousand gold coins."

The shopkeeper quickly calculated in his heart, then immediately revealed a brilliant smile. "Young master truly knows how to bargain. At this price, this old man won't make any money. But who could blame me for feeling that we were fated to meet? Since young master sincerely wishes to buy it, this old man can't refuse to help make your wish come true."

Xiao Jin was speechless. This shopkeeper was truly skilled with words.

Fortunately, he still managed to buy the necklace. After paying four thousand gold coins, a brand-new necklace appeared around Xun'er's fair, slender neck.

Although this wasn't the first time Xiao Jin had given her a gift, Xun'er was still extremely happy and put on the necklace right there.

Feeling the warm, smooth touch of the water-attribute Magic Core, the girl was so delighted that, in a burst of excitement, she directly took hold of Xiao Jin's broad hand.

She lowered her head, yet she could clearly feel Xiao Jin's puzzled gaze. Even though her face felt as if it were burning, she bravely refused to let go.

Xiao Jin was puzzled for only a moment and didn't ask further.

Over the years, Xun'er's attachment to him needed no explanation. Ever since Xiao Jin had resolved the problem with the girl's meridians, intimate gestures like this had often occurred between them.

If not for that, Xiao Jin wouldn't have treated Xun'er like his own younger sister.

When her tender little hand wasn't shaken off, all the nervousness in Xun'er's heart instantly vanished, and her mood soared even higher.

The two of them held hands and continued wandering around the Marketplace until the afternoon.

They even had lunch at a restaurant in the Marketplace. That one meal alone cost Xiao Jin nearly a hundred gold coins.

Considering that the restaurant provided fairly high-grade ingredients and that they had both enjoyed the meal, Xiao Jin didn't feel he had wasted his money.

It wasn't until the sun began to set that Xiao Jin said, "Xun'er, big brother has to go to the Miteer Auction House. Are you coming with me, or are you going back to the Xiao Clan first?"

The girl tilted her head and thought for a moment before asking, "Can I accompany you, Xiao Jin?"

This wasn't Xiao Jin's first time going to the Miteer Auction House. Although Alchemists didn't lack money, they still needed a way to turn their goods into cash.

Everything about his Storage Ring was good, except that it didn't contain many gold coins.

So, from the age of twelve onward, Xiao Jin had often used the materials provided in his Storage Ring to refine pills, then exchanged them for gold coins through the Miteer Auction House's channels.

This allowed him to study alchemy while also obtaining enough gold coins. It was truly killing two birds with one stone.

Xun'er knew about this as well. She understood very clearly that Xiao Jin was going to the Miteer Auction House to take care of serious business.

But she still felt somewhat uneasy, because the woman at the Miteer Auction House was simply too beautiful.

Even though Xun'er was a girl herself, she had no choice but to admire Ya Fei's looks and methods.

What made Xun'er even more wary was that Ya Fei's cultivation talent had suddenly improved dramatically two years ago.

Originally, Ya Fei could only rely on commercial methods and the Mite'er Family to dominate Wutan City. Yet in just two short years, she had gone from being a One-Star Dou Zhe to reaching the realm of a Seven-Star Dou Grandmaster.

Xun'er had even sent Ling Ying to investigate. He confirmed that Ya Fei's aptitude had genuinely improved by a great deal, rather than her having used some evil method to exhaust her potential.

How could she not know that all of this was definitely related to Xiao Jin?

As far as Xun'er knew, only high-grade pills could alter a person's cultivation aptitude.

In the entire Wutan City—no, in the entire Gama Empire—only Xiao Jin's mysterious teacher was capable of refining high-grade pills.

Thus, Xun'er was extremely worried. If Xiao Jin really were seduced away by that woman, she wouldn't even know where to cry.

Fortunately, Xiao Jin was quite open about things. Whenever Xun'er was present, he would ask for her opinion before going to the Miteer Auction House.

If Xun'er was willing, she could go with him as well.

This made Xun'er feel a little more at ease—but only a little.

Because she knew that although Xiao Jin had no such intentions toward Ya Fei, that woman wasn't nearly so forthright.

Besides, Xiao Jin not only had no feelings for Ya Fei, he seemed to have no feelings for her either.

She had already tried so hard, yet in Xiao Jin's heart, their relationship was still nothing more than that between brother and sister.