Shen Luo watched the scene unfold before him, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes, but asked no questions.
Seeing this, Tu Xue secretly breathed a sigh of relief and put away the white jade.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Shen, for agreeing to part with this white jade. I will certainly repay your kindness someday," she thanked him again.
"You're too kind, Miss Tu. This was a fair exchange of money and goods, so there's no kindness to repay. But you have a wide network of contacts, and I urgently need another spiritual material, nine-heavens metal essence. Could I trouble you to keep an eye out for it? Price is no concern." Shen Luo swept his sleeve, putting away the five lengths of ten-thousand-year fire qilin wood.
"Nine-heavens metal essence! That won't be easy to find, but I'll keep an eye out for you, Fellow Daoist Shen." Tu Xue was startled at first, then nodded.
"Then I'll leave it in your hands, Miss Tu," Shen Luo said, cupping his hands.
With their business concluded, Tu Xue rose to take her leave and soon departed with the yellow-clad girl waiting outside.
Shen Luo did not leave immediately. He poured himself a cup of tea, took a leisurely sip, and asked softly, "Fellow Daoist Fire Spirit Child, could you tell anything about Tu Xue's origins from the spell she just cast?"
"What's so hard to recognize? She's just a little girl from the Fox Clan. I don't believe you failed to see that, Fellow Daoist Shen," Fire Spirit Child said disdainfully.
"Naturally, I could tell she belongs to the Fox Clan. But the Fox Clan has many branches. What I wanted to ask was whether you could identify which branch she belongs to," Shen Luo said calmly.
"Well... ahem. I don't know