Accepting a Hundred Million Gold Cards
On the fifth day at the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect.
Dai Huabin leaned against the stone railing in the backyard, holding a cup of spiritual tea that Ning Qiushui had specially sent over.
In the past few days, Ning Qiushui has brought out almost all the good things in the entire sect to show them.
From rare ores to high-grade Soul Tool materials, from spiritual herbs in the herb garden to the inventory list of the underground treasure vault, they practically laid out the entire wealth of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect School in front of him.
Dai Huabin was fully aware of this; Ning Qiushui was simply expressing her sincerity.
If a sect wants to retain a genius, it's not enough to simply marry off its daughter; it also needs to make the genius believe that cooperating with the sect will be profitable.
"Are you spacing out again?"
Zhu Lu's voice came from behind her. She carried a plate of candied fruit to Dai Huabin's side, leaned against the stone railing, and naturally offered him a piece to his lips.
Dai Huabin opened his mouth, took a bite, chewed twice, and said, "I'm thinking about when to leave."
"So hasty?" Zhu Lu turned her head. "You just captured someone else's young sect leader, and you're already trying to run away?"
"I've taken everything I was entitled to, what am I waiting for? To wait for Ning Qiushui to hand over the position of sect leader to me?"
Zhu Lu couldn't help but laugh.
In the distance, by the flowerbed, Di Lingxi was squatting in front of a clump of Purple Star Grass, her chin resting on her hands, looking conflicted.
Ice Empress stood beside her, arms crossed, her emerald green twin tails swaying slightly in the wind.
"Are you going to eat or not?" Ice Empress asked impatiently. "I've been watching you all morning."
Di Lingxi shook her head, feeling wronged. "Huabin said that we can't just eat things from other sects."
"Then why are you staring at it? Just to tempt yourself to play with it?"
Di Lingxi felt even more aggrieved. "I'm saying goodbye to it."
Ice Empress rolled their eyes, turned around, and left.
Snow Empress sat in the pavilion opposite the flower garden, dressed in a white dress, looking dignified and quiet, holding an ancient book borrowed from Ning Qiushui's study, engrossed in reading it.
Life had been quite comfortable these past few days, but Dai Huabin knew he couldn't delay any longer.
His vacation time was limited, and his next stop was the Star Dou Great Forest.
It's time to take Di Lingxi back. Of course, there's another matter: the Golden Tortoise that stole a piece of the Life Gold.
"I'll leave tomorrow," Dai Huabin decided.
Zhu Lu nodded. "I'll go tell Sister Bing'er and Sister Xue'er to pack their things."
"Yes, I'll tell Ning Qiushui at dinner."
At the banquet, when Ning Qiushui heard that Dai Huabin was leaving, the smile on her face visibly froze for a moment.
"So soon?" She put down her chopsticks. "Couldn't I stay a few more days? There are still several secret vaults in the sect that I haven't had time to..."
"Sect Master Ning," Dai Huabin interrupted her, his tone casual but carrying an uncompromising air, "I have other matters to attend to and cannot stay long. Rest assured, I have kept the matter of Aromatic Silk Beauty in mind. When the time is right, I will definitely take Ning Tian there."
Ning Qiushui opened her mouth, but ultimately swallowed her words.
She's a smart woman; she knows some things can't be rushed. This young man, though young, has his own pace, and pushing him too hard would backfire.
"Alright." Ning Qiushui picked up her wine glass, her smile returning to normal. "Then Huabin all the best on this trip. Tomorrow morning, I will personally see you off at the mountain gate."
Ning Tian sat down next to her mother and stopped picking up food with her chopsticks.
She kept her head down, poking at a piece of pastry on her plate with the tip of her chopsticks, without saying a word.
Wu Feng sat opposite Ning Tian, looking at his young master's appearance, his heart filled with mixed feelings.
You're reluctant to part with it, aren't you?
She sighed silently to herself and pushed the soup in her bowl towards Ning Tian.
Ning Tian looked up at her but didn't answer.
The next morning.
At the entrance to the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, guards lined up neatly on both sides of the stone steps, and Ning Qiushui personally saw them off with several elders.
It was quite a grand affair.
Dai Huabin glanced at the display and knew that it was for the benefit of the others in the sect, to tell everyone that this young man was a distinguished guest of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, and no one was allowed to neglect him.
"Huabin, be careful on the road." Ning Qiushui stepped forward, took out a gold card from her sleeve, and handed it to Dai Huabin.
The card felt slightly heavy in my hand. The front was printed with the emblem of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect School, and the back was engraved with a series of complex soul-guiding patterns.
"This is?"
"Gold Card with a limit of 100 million Gold Soul Coin." Ning Qiushui smiled generously. "It can be used at the Nine Treasures Pavilion branches of the three great empires: Heaven Soul Empire, Spirit Battle Academy, and Star Luo Empire. You can withdraw and use it at any time."
One hundred million.
Zhu Lu stood to the side, and upon hearing the number, her eyelids didn't even twitch.
But Di Lingxi was different. Although she didn't quite understand the concept of Gold Soul Coin, she could still understand the number "one hundred million".
"One hundred million?" Di Lingxi tugged at Dai Huabin's sleeve and asked in a low voice, "How much barbecue can that buy?"
Ice Empress coldly chimed in from behind, "Enough for you to eat until you're stuffed to death."
Di Lingxi's eyes immediately lit up.
Dai Huabin did not refuse and directly put the Gold Card into his pocket.
"Thank you, Sect Master Ning."
Ning Qiushui waved her hand. "We're family, no need for formalities."
She stepped back, making room for Ning Tian.
Ning Tian stood on the stone steps, a few strands of his short, silver-gray hair blowing in the morning breeze, his fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of his school uniform.
Her lips moved, as if she wanted to say something, but she didn't know how to begin.
So many people were watching: the elders, the guards, Wu Feng... and her mother.
Spending these past few days together has made her even more certain of her feelings.
Dai Huabin rarely did anything intentionally to her, but every unintentional act of care, reminding her of the details of her cultivation, or even gently tapping her head when she was distracted, made her heart race.
"Um..." Ning Tian looked up, his voice much softer than usual, "Be careful on the road."
Looking at her awkward and hesitant manner, Dai Huabin suddenly found it a little funny.
He stepped forward.
Ning Tian subconsciously took half a step back, but behind him was the edge of the stone steps, leaving him nowhere to retreat.
Dai Huabin raised his hand and put his arm around her waist.
Ning Tian froze completely.
There was a moment of silence.
Ning Qiushui's lips curled slightly, and she tactfully turned her head away.
The elders exchanged glances and then looked away.
Wu Feng clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms, and forced herself to lower her head, staring at the stone bricks on the ground.
"Wait for me to come back," Dai Huabin whispered, then leaned down and kissed him.
Ning Tian's mind went completely blank.
The touch on her lips was warm and gentle, lasting only a moment, yet it sent all the blood rushing to her head.
When Dai Huabin released her, Ning Tian's face was already bright red, her ear tips looked like they were on fire, and even her neck was flushed pink.
"You...!" she stammered, trying to say something but unable to form a single word.
Dai Huabin released his grip, took two steps back, and wore a smug look on his face.
After all, Ning Tian was practically his fiancée.
Getting a first kiss is perfectly reasonable.