The Attack of the Wastrel

“May I ask if you are the Black Thorn from the capital city of the North Qiu Kingdom?”

Walking through the East City, she was approached by a man of about fifty years of age smiling with bright eyes. The look at which he was giving Wei Hanzi was as if he had found a gem.

From the corner of her eyes, Wei Hanzi gave Gu Lingzhi a look. Gu Lingzhi responded with a subtle nod, before Wei Hanzi smiled slightly and nodded at him, responding warmly, “Yes, that’s me. Who are you? Why are you looking for me?”

The man laughed softly and his eyes glittered more, “I am merely a shopkeeper from the Baina Court - I wonder if the Black Thorn has any interest in doing business with me?”

The Baina Court was the largest shop in the city and also the leading family business in the North Qiu Kingdom. It held a status that was just below that of the Royal Family of the North Qiu Kingdom.

“Sorry, I am shopping with my friends now and I am afraid that this is an inconvenient time.” She had to politely reject him.

The man acted as if he already knew that she was going to reject him and smiled with twinkly eyes, “Don’t you want to know what kind of business I am looking for? As long as you do business with the Baina Court, you won’t lose out. We…”

“Excuse me? You’re blocking my way.” A warm voice suddenly interrupted the words of the man.

The voice belonged to a young man with large round bright eyes, giving off a very good vibe. This was Nie Sang, who was currently first place on the Golden List. Next to him, stood the elegant and beautiful Xin Yi. These two young handsome men standing together dazzled anyone who looked their way.

“Oh… I’m sorry.” The middle-aged man stepped back and apologized profusely, momentarily losing his composure.

As the shopkeeper of the Baina Court, he might be slightly chubby, but he had the cultivation of a Martial Lord. How on earth could he lose his composure in front of a teenager? It was unbelievable that he had apologized just because of the charm that the two men emanated. 

Ignoring how taken aback the man was, Nie Sang left his position bent over and said, “Lady Gu, care to take a walk with me?”

She replied smiling, “Sure, let’s go.”

As they finished exchanging pleasantries and walked off, they left the man in the dust.

The man was left standing with his mouth wide open, his green eyes blinking in disbelief. Still surprised, he made a hundred eighty degrees turn and walked off in the opposite direction.

Even though Nie Sang was specially invited to the Royal School by Rong Yuan just like Gu Lingzhi, it was her first time interacting with him.

After a moment of silence as they were walking, Nie Sang finally opened his mouth, “I’ve heard His Highness mentioning you before, if there is anything that you need within the Yan Capital, please do feel free to let me know. I, Nie Sang, will do my utmost best to help you.”

“Senior Nie, you’re too kind.” Lady Gu raised her eyebrows slightly, never thinking that her first conversation with Nie Sang would be so pleasant.

“Nie Sang was rescued by His Highness when he had been assaulted by bandits. He has vowed your loyalty and devotion to His Highness. As the Princess Consort, if you encounter any problems in the Royal School, you can go to him for help. He would be really happy to help you with any difficult problems,” Yuan Zheng’s voice floated into Gu Lingzhi’s ears.

The sound was quiet and delicate, and only she could hear it.

It was unbelievable that someone as talented as Nie Sang was Rong Yuan’s subordinate. Also… what was with Yuan Zheng addressing her as the ‘Princess Consort’? He should change the way he was addressing her. 

Nie Sang playfully blinked at her and said, “No need for any politeness. It is my honor to be of service to Lady Gu.”

Yan Liang stood at the side looking at Nie Sang, pursing his lips as if he wanted to say more. Because of his eloquent personality, he ended up not saying anything. He merely looked at Nie Sang’s demeanor with jealousy.

This was how the party of six began their exploration of North Qiu Kingdom.

You could practically find all sorts of things in the Yan Capital. There were cultivation resources of every kind to suit every need, which made Gu Lingzhi extremely excited.

“The Thousand Leaf Jade? Senior, quick, come look at this, there is the Thousand Leaf Jade on sale!” A clear voice rang out. It was a young lady’s voice.

Lady Gu immediately dropped what she was looking at and turned around to look at the Thousand Leaf Jade.

The Thousand Leaf Jade was a type of plant with many leaves, almost a thousand of them. On every leaf is a red beautiful flower, hence deriving the name – Thousand Leaf Jade. Most importantly, it was an important and precious ingredient in cultivating Earth-Level Spiritual Medicine.

As per Gu Lingzhi’s current level in Alchemy, it would not be possible for her to cultivate an Earth-Level Spiritual Medicine. However, the Thousand Leaf Jade was an important ingredient in cultivating an Earth Spiritual Pill, which could awaken the earth-based Spiritual Root in anyone who took such a pill. It was extremely rare - there was no way that Gu Lingzhi would give up on such an opportunity to purchase it.

“How much are you selling this plant for?” Before Gu Lingzhi could do anything, a male voice rang out. This was the senior that the young lady had called out for previously.

“Sorry, but this Thousand Leaf Jade is meant to be sold at the auction that’s being held three days later, so it’s not for sale now. If you are interested in it, you can bid for it during the auction three days later,” the shopkeeper kindly explained.

“Meh, why leave it at the front of the store if you are not going to sell it? The Baina Court is getting better and better at doing business,” the young lady sighed loudly whilst she continued to appreciate the Thousand Leaf Jade with her senior before turning her attention to other products.

Actually, she did not really plan to buy the Thousand Leaf Jade, but because it is so rare, she was curious to see how much it would have cost.

“Princess Consort, if you really want it, His Highness can get it for you,” Yuan Zheng whispered to her from behind.

“There’s no need for that,” Gu Lingzhi shook her head, looking towards the back, she asked, “Could you please change the way you address me? I do not want to hear the term ‘Princess Consort’ again.”

“That’s not possible,” Yuan Zheng said as he looked at Yan Liang, “If His Highness knows that I’ve not been addressing you properly, he will deduct my salary.”

Gu Lingzhi looked silently towards the sky, pondering how Rong Yuan could be so petty to have put in place measures in the event that she spent time with her suitors without him. She was wondering why Yuan Zheng had addressed her differently today all of a sudden - it turned out that he was merely following orders!

After choosing a few items to purchase, Gu Lingzhi turned around to consider the Thousand Leaf Jade left at the front of the store.

Of all Earth-Level spiritual objects, the Thousand Leaf Jade was not a very popular one. It was the reason why its owner had carelessly displayed it at the front of the store.

“It must have been hard for you,” Gu Lingzhi sighed at the Thousand Leaf Jade.

The Thousand Leaf Jade had obviously contained a vast amount of spiritual power, yet no one recognized its potential. She decided that in three days, she would definitely buy it and nurture it to grow even better.

After shopping for the whole afternoon and returning to their dorms, Gu Lingzhi sighed loudly and tiredly as she looked into her Storage Ring. She could only lament that spirit stones were not easy to earn.

It felt like her entire fortune had been spent in just one afternoon, and she could not even get her hands of the Thousand Leaf Jade.

After some deep thought, Gu Lingzhi locked the door tightly to ensure that no one could enter, before going into her Inheritance Space.

She entered the garden which was not very big, a space where she had grown many different kinds of spiritual plants.

As usual, she went to check on the growth of her plants before heading to the wooden hut in the center of the Inheritance Space.

Though it was originally just a small wooden hut, it had now become a small pavilion. It used to occupy a very small space of about ten square meters, but it had now expanded to occupy about a hundred square meters of space.

Lady Gu pushed open the main door and saw a small red colored side table. The table laid some materials to make tea. There was also a similar-colored couch next to the table. On the two sides of the living room, one contained a table with tea materials for guests to use and a painting of mountains and a lake, while a small cabinet sat on the other side.

The furniture looked rather simple, but it would have been a mistake to underestimate the value of these furniture.

The tea table and couch were made from a special kind of wood - the Awakening Soul Wood, which had the effect of purifying one’s soul. Just by lying on the couch for a short while could replenish one’s energy to the fullest.

As for the painting, it was a Heaven-Level spiritual treasure. It was a pity that Gu Lingzhi’s cultivation was too low for her to utilise it. As for the cabinet that was on the other side of the room, there were different types of Spiritual Weapons displayed on top of it. The most inferior weapon was still a Black-Level one.

Basically, the spiritual objects that were present in this room were comparable to what a Demigod would have. Additionally, she had the Spiritual Essence Spring, which was priceless.

However, Gu Lingzhi’s motive for entering the Inheritance Space was for the Weapon Forgery Room on the second level of the pavilion.

The Baina Court had offered to work with the Black Thorn - it must have been that they had heard of her workmanship in crafting good Spiritual Weapons, otherwise it would be for her Spirit Cleansing Pill. She would fulfill the shopkeeper’s wishes then.