An Zheng measured: "With the speed of Zhong JiuGe, he still needs more time to go to the Clear Sky Palace in f.u.xi." Because he had saved Xu Mei once, from then on, the princess of the Clear Sky Palace had always put him in her heart. Xu Mei was a pre-eminent talent. People knew that she started to practice when she was only seven, but they did not know clearly about her practicing progress. However, when she had taken over the Clear Sky Palace, she was only twenty-seven.
Twenty years was not long for a pract.i.tioner, but twenty years of each person was completely different.
An Zheng was free for most of the time during the day time, so he took Du ShouShou out of the martial school after he had arranged the practicing regimine to Xiao QiDao and Qu LiuXi. When he left, he asked old Huo and Qu FengZi to take guard of the Repugnant seal because if there were any greedy people breaking in, it would be hard for people of the martial school to cope with.
An Zheng held the kitten in his arms. On the kitten"s neck was the bronze bell.
An Zheng had openly done so with the intention so that the people who were watching the bronze bell knew that they could not find it in the martial school.
– "Go where?"
Du ShouShou asked.
An Zheng looked at the South Mountain town:
– "To the Value a.s.sembly Courtyard!"
Du ShouShou:
– "Why are you asking me to go hang out with you today?"
An Zheng said:
– "Your practice rate is not slow. With the Repugnant seal here, your practice time will be thousands of times faster than other people"s. Therefore, if it takes other people very long time to reach the Sumeru Stage, it will take yours many times less. Once you reach the Sumeru Stage, you need a magical weapon which fits you. Therefore, I am planning to go to the Value a.s.sembly Courtyard to see if they have any good items."
Du ShouShou:
– "Can you distinguish between good or bad items?"
An Zheng looked at the kitten:
– "We still have Shan Ye here. Why worry?"
Du ShouShou:
– "I"m just afraid that you cannot wake it up."
An Zheng:
– "No matter how well you are sleeping, if I put a delicious piece of meat in front of your nose, you have to wake up. It is the same to Shan Ye, we just need to present it with a treasure, and it will automatically wake up."
While they were talking, the kitten suddenly raised its head to look at the sidewalk.
There were many items on the sidewalk of the Illusory Perennial Domicile. There were daily tools. There were also some people who were appointing themselves the master of weapon refining were shouting to sell magical weapons. The kitten looked at a small tavern on the sidewalk and made a low voice. An Zheng was sure that it had found something good, so he pulled Du ShouShou"s sleeve in order to ask him not to reveal anything. After that, the two went to a small stall.
The merchant was a thin middle-aged person. His face was as yellow as turmeric powder. Obviously, his business was not very good. He was unfolding the dirty burlap, displaying some jars. There were also some combs and mirrors. An Zheng moved towards and looked at them, finding nothing special.
– "Aren"t you the sect head of TianQi Sect, are you?"
The middle-aged man immediately stood up and had a smile on his face:
– "Formerly, when you had competed with the academy, I was also there. I really admire you."
He gave a thumbs up and praised.
An Zheng smiled a bit:
– "You"re overpraising. It was just our good luck."
The middle-aged man said:
– "Don"t say good luck. Everyone has good luck, but not everyone can be famous. An ye, you are just ten years old but you have already been famous all around the Illusory Perennial Domicile. Your future will be more and more difficult to measure. As I guess, when you leave the Illusory Perennial Domicile, you will be a true sect head."
Du ShouShou:
– "Having respect for you, we will buy some items."
– "No need, no need."
The middle-aged man said:
– "The items I"m selling are not good enough for you to place your green eyes upon. If there are any items that might possibly satisfy you two, I will give it to you for free."
An Zheng sat down, and the kitten raised its nose to sniff stealthily. Finally, it stopped at a small plate. It looked back and said meow to call An Zheng.
An Zheng looked at the plate. It had nothing special. Moreover, it was made of porcelain. It was surely not a magical weapon. However, because the kitten had the Eyes of Nine Cycles of Reincarnation, it must not be wrong. Although the Eyes of Nine Cycles of Reincarnation of the kitten had not opened all, it would be too poor of the kitten if it could make a mistake. The plate looked quite old, and it was put on a blue cloth.
– "Is it choosing a meal plate for itself?"
Du ShouShou asked.
An Zheng laughed and thought to himself: "Hope it will not be like Du ShouShou"s guessing."
– "How much does this plate cost?"
An Zheng asked.
The medium-aged man shook his hand:
– "I have told you at the first time. Whatever you two like, I will give it to you for free. Telling you the truth, more than half of them were picked up by me in the mountain, and the rest of them were collected in the poor village. They are all common items. There are no magical weapons among them, and that plate… I guess it is an ancient item which costs about a few liang"s, but I will still dedicate it to you two."
An Zheng incidentally asked:
– "How was it that you happened to have come about this old plate?"
The middle-aged man replied:
Some days ago, there was an outsider coming here. He looked quite hasty. He asked me if I would buy this plate. He still had some other items, and all of them were covered with that blue cloth. When he took it out, I looked over them and bargained so that he would sell them to me. Obviously, that man might have dug the items from somewhere, but I didn"t ask in detail. These items were really antique, but time was too short then."
Du ShouShou:
– "How much did you pay for this plate?"
The middle-aged man stretched two fingers, and then he raised one more finger silently:
– "Three thousand liangs!"
An Zheng smiled a bit, and he asked Du ShouShou to give the man a three-thousand-liang check. At first, the middle-aged man did not take the check. He gave them high price not that he wanted to earn profit. He wanted An Zheng to carefully remember him. In case he needed An Zheng"s help in the future, it would then be easier for him to open his mouth. An Zheng obviously did not take people"s properties, so he still left the check to the man, and then he left with the plate.
However, the kitten did not leave. It stood there and said meow.
Du ShouShou laughed:
– "The kitten was annoyed because you have not packed it."
When the middle-aged man heard so, he immediately took the ragged blue cloth to pack the plate. Du ShouShou received the plate and put into a small bag which he brought with him. The bag inflated because it did not only contain the checks but also half a grilled chicken. Moreover, only a moonstruck like Du ShouShou put the grilled chicken and money into the same place.
The kitten stared at Du ShouShou nonstop. Finally, it jumped out from An Zheng"s chest and moved to Du ShouShou"s. This made Du ShouShou satisfied:
– "Oh no Shan Ye, you cherish me in such a way in broad daylight. I can"t take it anymore."
An Zheng glanced at him:
– "We"re on the main road. Watch your mouth!"
Du ShouShou laughed out loud:
– "Don"t tell me on the main road! Even in the f.u.xi Palace, if Shan Ye asks me to raise my f.a.n.n.y, I will dare not to refuse."
Du ShouShou rubbed Shan Ye"s soft fur and he realized that Shan Ye could not help sneaking into his bag. He took out half a chicken and gave it to Shan Ye, but Shan Ye did not bite such a piece of meat. Finally, Shan Ye sneaked into the bag and occupied the position of the grilled chicken as if it did like the place. It curled up and slept.
Du ShouShou incidentally enjoyed the grilled chicken. He said while eating:
– "An Zheng, when we return to the South Mountain Town this time, so is it necessary for us to show off? No matter how good or bad you are, you are still a sect head, and I am also a disciple of the TianQi Sect. If we return like this, it is not so monumental. Why don"t we hire some girls in opposite parlor house and ask them carry us back?"
– "Roll away!"
– "Rolling ahead with a beautiful girl in my arms? It"s quite shameful."
– "I told you to roll."
– "You watch me rolling? So, it"s more ashamed."
An Zheng:
– "If you"re still crazy, I will take back the position of treasurer from you."
Du ShouShou:
– "I"m just joking! Don"t be serious. I am used to sleeping on money. If you take it back, I will be sleepless."
Actually, the Illusory Perennial Domicile was very huge. Fortress had been built on mountainous terrain. Therefore, almost the road was for walking. However, An Zheng and Du ShouShou were not used to sitting on a sedan because it was not slow enough for them to talk and snack with each other while walking. Du ShouShou was holding a preserved fruit in his mouth. When they arrived at the door of the Value a.s.sembly Courtyard, they were stopped by a guard.
– "Do you two have an invitation letter?"
Du ShouShou was surprised:
– "What"s the invitation letter? Do we still need an invitation letter to come and buy something here?"
The guard realized An Zheng and Du ShouShou, especially An Zheng who was now quite famous. Therefore, he talked quite politely:
– "An ye, Du ye, it is because today is quite special since it is a closed auction. Few days ago came a good wages to the Value a.s.sembly Courtyard, and the items were extremely priceless. However, those items cannot be publicized, so we have invited some seniors from the Illusory Perennial Domicile to come to see and evaluate. If you don"t have an invitation letter, today is not convenient for you to get in. How about waiting some more days until we publicize the auction, and then I will come to inform you at your martial school?"
While he was talking, they smelled a sweet scent from inside the Value a.s.sembly Courtyard, and appeared the mysterious manager as well as the beauty of the Value a.s.sembly Courtyard.
– "I thought that someone else came here, but you did, An ye."
Today she still wore the purple dress, quite elegant, which was more attractive to gentlemen.
– "Hi senior!"
An Zheng smiled and clasped his hands to greet.
The girl in purple said:
– "My name is Zhuang FeiFei. If An ye does not hesitate, just call me sis Zhuang."
An Zheng thought to himself: "In the past when I met you, you insisted not telling me your name." However, he did not reveal any disappointment. He smiled while saying:
– "Calling me senior would be better, and it is more respectful."
Zhuang FeiFei said:
– "It"s up to you. Follow me."
She looked through the two guards:
– "From now on, carefully keep in your mind. At any time An ye wants to get in, you are not allowed to stop him."
Du ShouShou smiled cruelly:
– "How about coming in at night?"
Zhuang FeiFei turned to him:
– "Night is still fine, at any time."
Du ShouShou felt hot in his lower part, and then he realized that he was played back.
Zhuang FeiFei led An Zheng and Du ShouShou into the Value a.s.sembly Courtyard. There had already been some people in there. At first sight, they were honorable and prestigious people. When An Zheng came in, he heard someone calling him.
– "An ye, here, here."
An Zheng followed the voice and saw Gao SanDuo, the boss of casinos.
– "Mister Gao!"
An Zheng immediately went to greet him, but he was pulled down to sit on the chair by Gao SanDuo:
– "Don"t need to be formal. You and I don"t need to be unfamiliar like that. I can"t believe that you finally came here. I have heard that you have a keen eye in evaluating treasures. However, because no items are being showed there, we should wait for a while here. While we are waiting, let me introduce you to the people here…"
While he was talking, the vice dean Zheng ZhuangBi from the Illusory academy gently flapped his fan and came. He most likely wanted to flap the fan on Zhuang FeiFei"s f.a.n.n.y. However, Zhuang FeiFei could avoid. This made Du ShouShou angry.
It was not because of Zhuang FeiFei, but Du ShouShou really hated Zheng ZhuangBi.
Zheng ZhuangBi also saw An Zheng, but he just had a cold sigh and got in.
The kitten Shan Ye jutted out from the bag. It said meow and the star in its eyes started to move.