After wandering around for half the day, Mu Feng realized that no matter which tourist attraction he visited, none could escape the "souvenir stall rule." Every five or six stalls sold pretty much the same things. His interest waned, and he quickened his pace toward the city gate.
Naturally, this caught the attention of Di Qiuli, who had been quietly watching him from the side.
"Why did you suddenly start walking so fast?"
Mu Feng answered honestly, "Because the stalls here are really boring. I haven't found anything interesting."
But even more terrifying than a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was a sensitive woman. Di Qiuli seemed to hear only the word "boring" from Mu Feng's mouth. Her tone suddenly turned cold as she said, "If you find it so boring, then go ahead and leave."
"???"
Mu Feng was utterly baffled. If he were not afraid that Di Tian would unleash a beast tide, he truly wanted to pry open Di Qiuli's head and see what she was thinking.
Mu Feng took a deep breath and calmed himself, reminding himself to stay composed. After all, she was only an eleven-year-old child.
After taking another breath, Mu Feng finally soothed his somewhat irritable mood. He looked around and eventually found a jewelry stall. He casually picked out a rather nice silver hairpin, paid for it, then walked over to Di Qiuli and, without giving her any say in the matter, pinned it into her cascade of golden hair.
The silver hairpin stood out brilliantly against her soft golden hair.
Giving a small gift was a method Mu Feng had often used on children in his past life. Kids at this age only needed a little comforting; there was no need to make a big fuss over some minor unpleasantness.
Sure enough, after seeing Di Qiuli put on the hairpin, Mu Feng found that she had quieted down considerably. He could not help nodding in approval of his own wisdom.
Di Qiuli stood there in a daze. She raised a hand to touch the hairpin on her head, and her previously gloomy expression immediately relaxed. She obediently followed beside Mu Feng, still replaying the moment when he had put the hairpin in her hair.
His movements had been too fast just now. Di Qiuli had only reacted after his hand had already touched her hair.
Without Di Qiuli's antics, Mu Feng finally squeezed past the vendors and reached the registration area.
But he soon discovered another serious problem: the enormous line before him. By the time it reached him, night would probably have fallen.
Beside the long queue was a "member passage" specifically cordoned off with barriers.
It was for specially recruited students who had entered through other channels, as well as direct descendants of major sects. Naturally, Mu Feng and Di Qiuli, who were enrolling through ordinary means, did not have such privileges.
"Why was I still stuck in the regular line even after transmigrating?"
Mu Feng was deeply frustrated. He did not want to waste so much time standing in line. Then, a thought struck him, and he looked toward the Shrek students maintaining order nearby. They wore yellow fitted uniforms with green insignias on their chests.
Mu Feng called out to one student with a tall, thin build, narrow eyes, a high nose, and a gaunt face. "Senior."
"What is it, little brother?" the man asked with a smile as he approached Mu Feng.
His facial features were rather too distinct, however, and when he smiled, they seemed to bunch together even more, making him difficult to look at.
Still, when asking someone for help, one had to show some tact. Mu Feng pointed at the lengthy queue ahead and smiled. "May I ask your surname, Senior?"
"Fang. My name is Fang Xu."
"Senior Fang, look at that line. It will probably be afternoon before it reaches me. I was wondering if you could—"
Mu Feng did not finish his sentence, drawing out the last word. Di Qiuli, standing nearby, looked confused, unable to understand why Mu Feng's smile had become so peculiar.
Senior Fang understood immediately. Although Mu Feng had spoken quietly, Fang Xu still pulled him out of the line for safety's sake and whispered in his ear, "There are too many people here. Let's talk somewhere else."
Mu Feng took Di Qiuli by the hand and followed Fang Xu to a secluded, empty spot.
As soon as they arrived, Fang Xu wore a troubled expression and hesitated before saying, "Well, Junior, you can see how many people are waiting up there. Cutting in line really is rather difficult."
Seeing Fang Xu's "difficulty," Di Qiuli furrowed her delicate brows and turned to Mu Feng. "Since Senior says it is difficult, we should just go back and continue waiting in line."
Fang Xu had not expected his subtle hint to be taken as a refusal by the stunning girl before him. Anyone with even a little worldly sense should have understood what he meant. He did not know whether this golden-haired girl had failed to grasp his meaning or simply wanted to force her way into the line.
Mu Feng, however, noticed that Fang Xu had rubbed the fingers of his right hand together after speaking, and instantly understood. He quickly pulled the innocent Di Qiuli aside.
He narrowed his eyes and said, "We certainly won't trouble Senior for nothing. The price is negotiable."
Just as the dazed Fang Xu was worrying that the deal might fall through, the boy before him proved far more savvy.
Fang Xu sighed in relief and continued, "For just ten Gold Soul Coins, I can take you through the special access passage at the side."
Mu Feng was delighted. Fortunately, he had kept his wits about him instead of foolishly standing in the sun to wait in line. Still, ten Gold Soul Coins was no small expense for an ordinary Soul Master family.
Given that one copper Soul Coin could buy a loaf of bread and had purchasing power roughly equivalent to six or seven yuan in his past life, while one Gold Soul Coin equaled one hundred copper Soul Coins, each Gold Soul Coin was worth around six hundred yuan. That meant his fee for cutting the line came to more than six thousand yuan.
Clearly, he could not have been the only person to think of this method. With a simple calculation, Fang Xu could rake in at least several hundred Gold Soul Coins over the few days of registration. That was far quicker than Huo Yuhao's miserable effort of setting up a stall outside the city gate.
The moment Fang Xu accepted Mu Feng's twenty Gold Soul Coins, his bitter expression relaxed like a blooming chrysanthemum. With him clearing the way ahead, Mu Feng and Di Qiuli passed through without obstruction. At the various "checkpoints," Fang Xu would occasionally produce a few Gold Soul Coins to smooth the way.
Only then did Di Qiuli realize that Fang Xu's earlier difficulty had been an act. If Mu Feng had not been there, she would really have foolishly gone back to wait in line.
Before long, the two arrived inside a room, where two people were already having their Soul Power tested.
They were two girls, one with short golden hair and the other with red hair. The golden-haired girl had both hands pressed against the crystal ball before her, and the azure crystal ball shone with dazzling light.
The middle-aged man in charge of testing, standing behind the desk, said, "A level-thirty Soul Elder. As expected of the next heir of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."
"The heir of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?" Mu Feng looked over the short-haired girl. This must be Ning Tian, and the one beside her must be her personal guard, Wu Feng.
Mu Feng did not notice at all that as his gaze lingered over the two striking girls, Di Qiuli's expression beside him became somewhat strange.
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