At that moment,
A dense crowd had already gathered outside the Great Evolution Stone Workshop.
Word that the Luo Family's little princess had left the Luo Residence again had spread throughout Luo City.
There was no keeping news like this under wraps. The entrance to the Great Evolution Stone Workshop was now packed with spectators who never minded trouble getting bigger and had come to enjoy the show.
"Little Yue, if any stone catches your eye, just buy it! Don't worry about running out of money!"
"Exactly! The Great Evolution Sacred Land has vast wealth and holdings. Surely they won't care about this tiny amount. Little Yue, don't stand on ceremony with them. Just don't hold back!"
The Luo Family's youngest aunt and Third Master were both beside their little niece, gleefully fanning the flames.
Jiang Wei, standing nearby in his cloud-patterned robe, also gave Luo Yue a look of approval and support.
Faced with their encouraging gazes, Luo Yue remained silent. She truly had no idea what to say.
She had seriously underestimated how shamelessly thick-skinned this lot around her could be. They probably even thought the trouble she had stirred up earlier was too small.
A mere hundred and ten thousand pounds of source wasn't enough to damage the Fire Cloud Palace's sinews and bones. It would take at least one or two million!
Just look at the armored guards from both families behind them, bristling with murderous intent. Anyone who didn't know better would probably think they had come to collect protection money from the Great Evolution Stone Workshop...
As it turned out, that was exactly what Luo Qingying and Jiang Wei were thinking!
In Luo Qingying's eyes, the Great Evolution Sacred Land had come into their Qingyun Province to open a Gambling Stone Workshop without even greeting the Luo Family!
How outrageously arrogant!
They didn't even want to pay taxes. This went well beyond the bounds of an ordinary merchant from elsewhere!
They needed to be dealt a heavy blow!
As Jiang Wei saw it, this was the perfect chance to demonstrate his commitment to an alliance with the Luo Family. He could also strike the mountain to frighten the tigers, giving a harsh warning to certain people nearby who wanted to lay hands on that Divine Source Ancient Mine.
Both men had their own calculations, but at this moment, they shared a common enemy. Without wasting time, they joined forces against outsiders, intending to make an example of the Great Evolution Sacred Land and knock the arrogance out of those beyond their borders.
They arrived at the Great Evolution Sacred Land's Gambling Stone Workshop.
Yanlong, reputedly one of the Great Evolution's ten foremost disciples, was already waiting at the entrance. He had personally come out with a group of attendants to welcome them.
"Brother Qingying, Brother Jiang Wei, what rare visitors you are." Even knowing they had come to wreck the place, Yanlong had no choice but to greet them with a smile.
After all, these two were outstanding young talents no weaker than himself. Both came from extraordinary backgrounds and would surely become leading figures commanding their own domains.
"No need for formalities, Brother Yanlong. Our old master has just recovered from a grave illness. We've come especially to this treasured establishment of the Great Evolution to seek a precious medicinal herb, celebrate his birthday, and wash away his bad luck. We hope your esteemed establishment won't hide its treasures!"
Luo Qingying spoke with an utterly solemn expression.
His words sounded lofty and righteous. He had plainly come to wreck the place, yet insisted that he was here to celebrate the old master's birthday.
Though Yanlong's expression remained unchanged, he cursed inwardly. Outwardly, he remained courteous:
"Not at all, not at all. It is an honor for this emporium to welcome Brother Qingying and Jiang Wei. Yanlong, too, hopes Old Master Luo recovers fully soon. Thinking back to when that venerable hero reigned over Qingyun Province, what soaring spirit he possessed! Truly admirable."
Though he showered them with lavish flattery, he never forgot to slip probing questions into his words. Clearly, he was eager to learn the Luo Family patriarch's true condition.
Naturally, Luo Qingying refused to take the bait. Whenever Yanlong brought up the old master's heroic deeds, he veered off in every direction, praising how incredibly formidable the Great Evolution Sacred Land was. The two went back and forth, each heaping praise upon the other.
Listening beside them, Luo Yue kept rolling her eyes.
She really couldn't stand their hypocritical faces. Both were clearly plotting how to kill the other, yet here they were, smiling and exchanging pleasantries.
Unable to bear it any longer, Luo Yue lifted her little foot and stepped on Luo Qingluan's embroidered shoe beside her.
Caught in the crossfire for no reason, Luo Qingluan gave her a resentful look, then immediately switched into battle mode.
"Third Brother, why waste your breath on this old bastard? I just saw several people inside their emporium sneaking stones away!"
"I bet they're hiding all the good stuff and stalling you here!"
Luo Qingluan was still Luo Qingluan. The young lady's fiery temper was no idle boast. She stopped just short of pointing at his nose and cursing him outright.
At his younger sister's warning, Luo Qingying's gaze instantly sharpened. He stopped exchanging pleasantries with Yanlong and marched into the emporium with his entire entourage, looking as though he feared they would move too quickly and hide all the good things.
"To the Heaven-Class Stone Garden."
Luo Yue spoke in her clear, youthful voice.
Then her tiny figure took the lead, walking at the very front as she brought the whole crowd surging into the emporium.
Only Yanlong remained behind, his smile frozen after Luo Qingluan had just called him an "old bastard."
Being called an old bastard in front of so many people had stirred anger in him, despite all his practiced composure.
"Go invite Mr. Ghost Eye over!"
Yanlong took a deep breath and gave the order to an attendant beside him.
He wanted to see for himself whether that little brat really was as uncanny as the rumors claimed.
Everyone followed Luo Yue. They didn't even stop at the Earth-Ranked Stone Garden, heading straight for the Great Evolution Sacred Land's Heaven-Class Stone Garden!
Upon reaching the Heaven-Class Stone Garden, a young man in white within the Luo Family's group rolled his eyes craftily and called out loudly to everyone around them:
"Third Brother! Our little sister was right! A few stones are missing from the Heaven-Class Stone Garden. I counted them. They must have been hidden away! The Great Evolution Sacred Land is downright underhanded!"
The young man in white was Luo Yue's sixth uncle-Luo Qingsun.
Luo Yue glanced at her sixth uncle.
He really lived up to his name. He was sharp as a falcon.
After he said that, some sharp-eyed spectators in the surrounding crowd really did notice a difference.
"Huh? It looks like a couple really are missing!"
"They're the Immortal Guiding the Way, the Eight Dragons Playing with a Pearl, and the Big Black Bull! Those three stones were priced at a sky-high total of eighty thousand pounds of source!"
"Oh, would you look at that! I was wondering why several were missing!" Someone from the Luo Family joined in the uproar.
"How strange. I saw them just yesterday morning."
"Could the Great Evolution Stone Workshop really have hidden them away?"
"Tsk, tsk. A stone emporium belonging to a dignified sacred land, doing something like this..."
The stones in the Heaven-Class Stone Garden were far more expensive than those in the Earth-Ranked Stone Garden they had visited last time. Few people came here to browse. Only white-haired elders of the Immortal Platform realm had the wealth to buy them.
And because the prices were far too steep, the stones that could be sold
Were few and far between. Going several days without selling a single stone was perfectly normal here.
Thus, if even one stone went missing from the garden, anyone paying attention could notice.
Hearing everyone's overlapping remarks, the Great Evolution's elderly steward in charge of the Heaven-Class Stone Garden immediately explained with a bitter smile:
"Everyone, those three remarkable stones were purchased by an old gentleman yesterday around noon. Our Great Evolution Stone Workshop has always been open and aboveboard. We never do such things!"
He was indeed telling the truth.
But he would have been better off saying nothing. His explanation only made the surrounding spectators more animated:
"Heh, this old bastard is still making excuses."
"Aboveboard, my ass! Haven't I bought enough counterfeit filled stones from your Great Evolution Stone Workshop?"
"Exactly! Last time, I lost even my damn underwear! Is this how your Great Evolution Stone Workshop does business?"
"Well, isn't that convenient? The Heaven-Class Stone Garden goes so long without a sale, and when it finally makes one, three disappear at once!"
People in the crowd spoke without restraint, openly mocking them.
A chorus of mouths could melt metal. This was a case of yellow mud falling into your pants-even if it wasn't shit, it was shit now!
Yanlong, who had just followed them in, saw this scene and his face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot. Seeing the Luo Family's people constantly fanning the flames among the crowd made him want to kill someone.
Even if the Great Evolution Sacred Land's elderly steward grew a hundred mouths now, he couldn't explain his way out of this. He could only watch helplessly as his emporium's reputation was ruined, standing there wanting to weep but finding no tears.
Like an impotent husband...