Qian Xunji: Consider it saving up her dowry

It was high noon.

Qian Xunji set aside the documents he had been reviewing all morning, stretched his stiff neck, and prepared to stand up and go for a walk to relax his nerves, which had been taut for days.

"Your Holiness, the Spirit Master guarding the treasury requests an audience," a voice announced from outside the hall.

"Let him in," Qian Xunji said, rubbing his temples with a casual tone.

Footsteps echoed as a figure hurried inside.

The man wore a black robe and had a lean build. He walked with hurried steps, stopped in the center of the hall, and bowed respectfully.

"Your Holiness."

His voice was tight, and his hands, hanging at his sides, trembled slightly as he held out a neatly folded list with both hands.

Qian Xunji took the list and unfolded it nonchalantly.

The paper made a faint rustling sound in his hands as his gaze swept over the first line and drifted downward carelessly.

"Hmm?"

Qian Xunji's fingers suddenly froze. The handwriting on the list was dense, line after line, covering almost the entire page.

No, it was several pages, folded together, each one filled to the brim.

Century-old medicinal herbs, millennium-old medicinal herbs, rare mineral deposits, gold soul coins, spirit bones, materials for soul tools... Every item was clearly marked, with quantities precise to the single digit.

Qian Xunji's gaze lingered on the list for a long time.

He looked up at the Spirit Douluo before him, who was already drenched in sweat, and asked in an unnaturally calm voice, "What is this?"

The Spirit Douluo's Adam's apple bobbed violently, and his lips moved a few times before he could force out a sound.

"Your Holiness, this morning... this morning, someone came to the treasury to collect treasures with your note."

His voice grew quieter. "Seeing the Holy Maiden accompanying him, and having your handwritten authorization, I... I didn't dare to stop him."

Qian Xunji did not speak; he looked down at the list, flipping through it page by page.

The Spirit Douluo stood in place, feeling the air in the hall grow heavier, pressing down until he could barely breathe.

He cautiously glanced at Qian Xunji's expression, then quickly lowered his head, tentatively saying:

"Your Holiness... if... if he really was an intruder, I shall lead men to..."

"No need," Qian Xunji's voice cut him off. "He is one of our own."

He waved his hand. "You may leave."

"Yes!"

The Spirit Douluo felt as if he had been granted a pardon and practically fled the hall.

The hall fell silent once more.

Qian Xunji stood alone in the center of the vast hall, clutching the list and flipping through it again, page by page.

His gaze swept slowly over the dense handwriting, and with every line he read, the corner of his mouth twitched.

Millennium-old lingzhi, one hundred and fifty stalks.

Millennium-old snow lotus, fifty stalks.

Gold soul coins...

Spirit bones...

He had assumed that Zhao Linchuan would take at most a few tens of millions of gold soul coins, some rare herbs, and perhaps two or three spirit bones at the absolute limit.

But that bastard—!

Qian Xunji took a deep breath, his fingers trembling slightly as he flipped to the last page.

That bastard had brazenly emptied sixty percent of the treasury's resources!

Sixty percent!

He slammed the list onto the desk, the sharp crack echoing through the empty hall.

He braced his hands on the edge of the desk, head bowed, his chest heaving violently.

Heaven help him, he truly had no idea that the bastard was such a scoundrel!

The hall remained quiet for a long time.

Qian Xunji slowly raised his head, his expression shifting from anger to dejection, and then to resignation.

He let out a long sigh and murmured, "My precious student..."

He spoke to himself, his voice so low it sounded like he was talking to his own heart, or like an old father worrying over a wayward child.

"You must put in the effort to hook that bastard."

He pressed his hands against the desk and ran his fingers through his hair, rubbing vigorously until his once-meticulous bun was a tangled mess.

"As long as you can hook him..."

"Consider this little bit of wealth as the dowry I've saved up for you."

He felt the absurdity of his own words as he spoke, his lips twisting into a grimace uglier than a sob.

He took a deep breath, deciding to go for a walk.

If he stayed in this hall any longer, he feared he would be unable to stop himself from tearing that list into shreds.

Yet, the moment he took a step, he suddenly froze.

The figures on that list surfaced before his eyes once more: thousand-year spirit mushrooms, thousand-year snow lotuses, gold soul coins, soul bones...

In an instant, a surge of uncontrollable, wicked fire erupted, shooting straight to his heart!

Qian Xunji spun around violently and kicked the desk in front of him, sending it crashing over!

"Crash—!"

Documents, brushes, inkstones, tea sets, that list... everything went flying, shattering into pieces upon the floor.

Ink splattered onto his pristine Pope robes, but he remained completely oblivious.

"Go to hell—!!"

His roar echoed throughout the Pope Hall, startling the guards outside into shrinking their necks and exchanging uneasy glances; no one dared to enter.

Meanwhile, outside Spirit City.

Zhao Linchuan, Yan Lingji, and Bibi Dong walked out of the city gates side by side.

Bibi Dong walked beside Yan Lingji, her almond-shaped eyes never leaving the woman since they had stepped out.

She scrutinized Yan Lingji's figure from head to toe, muttering to herself and occasionally gesturing with her hands.

"Sister Lingji," Bibi Dong couldn't help but say, "you truly are a peerless beauty. Look at how you've bewitched Linchuan; he's absolutely head over heels for you."

She mimicked Yan Lingji's gait, swaying her waist slightly, but feeling it wasn't quite right, she stopped and pouted.

"You have no idea," she leaned in closer, lowering her voice to a whisper, "he spent his entire life savings just to buy you those clothes and accessories."

"Is that so?" Yan Lingji turned her head, her gaze passing over Bibi Dong to land on Zhao Linchuan.

Those pitch-black eyes reflected the sunlight of the blazing day.

A blissful smile curled the corners of her lips, her voice soft and gentle.

"Then I must be truly lucky to have picked up such a wonderful man for nothing."

"Picked up... for nothing?"

Bibi Dong blinked, confused, and was about to press for more when Zhao Linchuan's voice came from the other side, calmly steering the conversation away.

"Dong'er, your teacher is truly generous."

He looked back at the towering city gradually receding behind them, his tone filled with emotion.

"I took so many things from him, yet he didn't even send anyone to chase after me."

Distracted by his remark, Bibi Dong's attention shifted as expected.

She lifted her chin slightly, a touch of reflected pride on her face.

"Of course, my teacher is a gentleman."

"If a petty man were Pope, you'd surely be sitting in the Pope Hall right now, emptying your pockets."

"Indeed." Zhao Linchuan nodded, secretly lamenting in his heart.

Qian Xunji's character was truly different from what he had previously imagined.

Testing the waters; if you like it, please follow and cast a recommendation vote.

(Note: The protagonist will start having children after unifying the continent.)