Chapter 25: Market Conflict
Stepping into the Amethyst Winged Lion King's cave and taking in the scene within, Hun Changqing couldn't help but curl his lip and sigh.
"This Amethyst Winged Lion King is truly broke. It's worlds apart from those magical beasts in the Soul Clan Space Secret Realm; only the Companion Amethyst Source has any value. No wonder a beast of its strength could set itself up as a king here-turns out this ghost of a place is so dead broke that nobody else even deigned to look at it."
Though Hun Changqing complained about how poor the creature was, his hands were not slow in the slightest, moving fast enough to leave afterimages as he swept up the resources.
Just as Hun Changqing was concentrating on gathering the resources, he suddenly felt a trace of subtle contact.
Lowering his head, he saw a miniature version of the Amethyst Winged Lion King clutching his trouser leg, looking up at him with a thoroughly naive and adorable expression.
Hun Changqing raised an eyebrow, having completely forgotten that the Amethyst Winged Lion King also had a cub. He used his hand to pinch the loose flesh at the back of the little beast's neck, hoisting it up before his eyes. The little beast put up no resistance, meeting Hun Changqing's gaze with watery, oversized eyes without a shred of fear.
Hun Changqing fell into contemplation as he looked at the little beast.
Has it not gained its memories yet, or does it not know I'm its father's killer? How should this Little Amethyst Winged Lion King be dealt with?
Should I kill it, or kill it, or kill it... Oh well, in my past life I quite liked keeping dogs; I'll just take it back and raise it like a dog. This Little Amethyst Winged Lion King actually has quite a good appearance.
Hun Changqing still quite liked things of this cute variety; to Hun Changqing, cultivation was his career.
For the sake of cultivation and cultivation resources, Hun Changqing could be ruthless, cold-blooded, and devoid of emotion.
Yet outside of cultivation, he also possessed some personal hobbies and interests. After all, work was work and life was life, and the two could not be lumped together.
When his own interests weren't involved, Hun Changqing could still be quite "good-natured."
Hun Changqing put the little beast down and tossed it a few chunks of magical beast meat with relatively fresh textures.
Upon seeing Hun Changqing produce the meat chunks, the little beast's eyes went straight, filled entirely with longing.
Seeing Hun Changqing drop the meat, the little beast lunged to embrace a chunk, chewing on it with joyous enthusiasm and eating with relish.
Before long, the little beast finished off that chunk of meat, crawled back to Hun Changqing's feet, tugged at his trouser leg, lifted its head, and stared fixedly at Hun Changqing with watery, oversized eyes.
Hun Changqing: ...
Hun Changqing slapped the little beast lightly on the head.
"Gone. Eat less, you'll get fat."
If I give it all to you, what am I supposed to eat? Don't you know this magical beast meat is also quite valuable? What a prodigal.
The little beast aggrievedly rubbed the spot where Hun Changqing had struck it with its chubby paws.
Hun Changqing paid the aggrieved little beast no mind, scooped it up in one motion, and left the cavern.
Hun Changqing stayed in the Magical Beast Mountain Range for another two days, during which time he swept clean all the Fifth-Order Magical Beasts and a number of Fourth-Order ones.
After all, even if these magical beasts were low in rank and the materials on them weren't particularly valuable, every little bit added up.
Accumulate it bit by bit; accumulating a bit more would always be enough to trade for a Seventh-Order herb. Hun Changqing was truly rather poor right now, fleecing whatever wool he could find.
"It's been two days; Yao Chen's pills should be about done refining. It's time to head back."
Tidying up, Hun Changqing scooped up the rolling little beast from beside him, shot straight into the sky, and flew away from the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
Walking leisurely down the main street, thinking that he would soon be able to advance to Dou Zong, Hun Changqing's mood was quite pleasant.
Back in Wutan City, fearing that he might draw the attention of that Gu Clan Old Servant, Hun Changqing hadn't flown directly back to his dwelling, choosing instead to walk-treating it as a casual stroll.
Just as Hun Changqing was passing by the Xiao Family Market, the sound of an argument from not far away caught his attention.
Curious, Hun Changqing cast his gaze toward the place of dispute, freezing at first upon seeing the situation clearly, before growing somewhat speechless.
When he first arrived in Wutan City, he had run right into Xiao Yan breaking off his engagement, and then after holing up for a few days, the moment he finally ventured out he got to see Xiao Yan showing off again. Was he really so intertwined with this Xiao Yan?
Not far away, a youth with black hair and black eyes and a resolute expression was accompanied by a young girl dressed in a light green long skirt. She possessed a full hips, long legs, breasts that were beginning to develop, skin like mutton-suet jade, and was brimming with vitality and a seductive, youthful aura.
The two were none other than Xiao Yan and Xun'er. At that moment, they were arguing with a richly dressed yet arrogant young master of a wealthy family standing before them.
That wealthy young master held a delicate, light green necklace, extending it in Xun'er's direction, while Xiao Yan also held a crudely made blue necklace, likewise extending it toward Xun'er.
It looked as though he were asking Xun'er to make a choice between these two necklaces.
Upon seeing the necklace produced by Xiao Yan, the man with the appearance of a wealthy young master burst into loud laughter, directing taunts at Xiao Yan.
"Haha, Young Master Xiao Yan, while I've long known your status within the clan isn't high, still... still you needn't be so wretched as to treat Miss Xun'er with this!"
Yet Xiao Yan paid no heed to the wealthy young master's sneers, instead turning his head to wave the item at Xun'er-who was staring in a daze at what he held-and said with a measure of impatient irritation:
"Do you want it or not? If you don't, I'm throwing it away. It only cost two or three gold coins anyway."
"Snort."
Not only did the wealthy young master chuckle, but even the guards and servants at his side broke out in derisive, boisterous laughter.
One had to know that the necklace in the wealthy young master's hand was an exquisitely crafted piece worth a thousand gold coins, and it even possessed the function of recovering Dou Qi.
For Xiao Yan to pull out a beat-up, worthless necklace worth three gold coins, how could it possibly compare to the wealthy young master's necklace?
However, the crowd's jeers quickly ground to an abrupt halt, because after a momentary daze, Xun'er eagerly snatched the necklace that Xiao Yan had been about to pull back.
Seeming to feel that her reaction had been a bit too eager, a trace of a blush appeared on Xun'er's mutton-suet-white cheeks.
Yet after her shyness passed, she unhesitatingly and gracefully placed the necklace around her smooth, white neck, raising her head to reveal a refined, charming smile at Xiao Yan.
"Thank you, Brother Xiao Yan."
The wealthy young master and his servants and guards standing to the side all wore expressions as ugly as if they had swallowed a fly, staring gloomily at the two people before them.
Seeing that the wealthy young master still had no intention of leaving, Xiao Yan curled his lip, spoke lazily, and said unceremoniously,
"Young Master Jia Lie Ao, everyone knows your dissolute nature. You'd better go plague other families' maidens and stop setting your sights on Xun'er."
He then turned his head toward Gu Xun'er and said with an air of old-fashioned seniority, "Stay away from him in the future!"
"Oh!"
Gu Xun'er blinked her autumn-water-clear eyes at Xiao Yan, a smile blooming at the corners of her mouth as she felt happy that Xiao Yan was so protective of her and so domineeringly told others not to harass her.
Watching this scene unfold before him, Hun Changqing wore a somewhat peculiar expression, thinking that the situation of these three people right before his eyes might just be:
What is unattainable is always restless, while those who are favored grow bold and fearless.