Chapter 396: Chapter 395: The Golden-eyed Spiritual Cat, Enters the Palace

Hearing what Liu Sisi said, Li Jing couldn’t help but re-examine the girl locked in the cage.

Just as he looked at her again, the girl, who had been hanging her head in the cage, suddenly looked up.

Across the street, their eyes met and Li Jing was slightly taken aback.

The pupils of the girl’s eyes were golden.

They were very beautiful.

Over at the other side.

The girl’s gaze lingered momentarily on Li Jing before quickly shifting to Liu Sisi.

Upon looking at Liu Sisi, her eyes illuminated as if she had seen hope.

But upon closer inspection, the light in her eyes dimmed again, silently withdrawing her gaze without looking this way again.

Such changes in her demeanor were noticed by both Li Jing and Liu Sisi.

Seeing the girl lower her head again, Liu Sisi blinked twice and turned her head to look over.

"Did she... just mistake me for one of her own kind?"

"From the way she looked just now, it did seem that way."

Li Jing nodded.

Liu Sisi had said earlier that the freezing power within her resonated faintly with the girl.

If this wasn’t an illusion.

Certainly, it would not just be her who felt it, but the girl as well.

The girl suddenly looked over, fully proving that Liu Sisi’s words were not her own delusion.

Just now, the girl did indeed have a brief moment of joy when she saw Liu Sisi but that quickly turned into disappointment and despair.

It looked like she really did mistake Liu Sisi for a companion.

After a brief hesitation, Li Jing said.

"Let’s go take a look and buy her."

Hearing this, Liu Sisi’s face lit up with joy.

Just as she was about to respond, Li Jing added,

"But we must agree beforehand that we cannot keep this girl around Xia Qianqian. From our brief interaction, you should have realized that though that woman seems peaceful, she lacks capital. As you say, this girl child is quite unusual, and if kept around Xia Qianqian, she will eventually be used as a tool for her ’value’."

Having said that, Li Jing added,

"We will take her with us first and assess the situation. She mistook you for her own kind, suggesting she must not be alone. If things do not work out, we should follow through on our kindness and send her home."

Liu Sisi has always been astute.

After hearing Li Jing’s words, she also realized that keeping the girl with Xia Qianqian wasn’t appropriate, and she had oversimplified the situation.

Sometimes goodwill might lead to worse outcomes, she understood this principle.

Upon hearing Li Jing’s statement about "following through on the kindness," Liu Sisi quickly nodded in agreement.

While abroad, she always followed Li Jing’s instructions.

Indeed, she realized that Li Jing’s considerations were far more comprehensive than her own.

With a plan in mind, they approached the cage at the shop entrance.

Barely standing still, an enthusiastic shopkeeper with a health total of 3669 welcomed them saying,

"Good evening, customers."

Upon greeting the shopkeeper, Li Jing pointed directly at the cage at the entrance, disregarding any other discussions,

"I want her, will you sell her for a hundred thousand spiritual stones?"

Li Jing directly made an offer, catching the shopkeeper off guard.

Those who are purchasing usually inquire about the price first before haggling.

Li Jing, instead, named a price himself.

But you can’t deny it –

The price is truly beautiful.

In Da Xia, unlike the modern world, spiritual beasts are rarely seen.

You can easily catch some in the Imperial wilderness grounds.

The selling price depends mainly on the breed, potential, and realm.

The girl locked in the cage is a transformed spiritual beast, making her exceptionally unique.

However, because she appears as a young girl, the value greatly depreciates.

If she were a stunning woman capable of satisfying certain special preferences, then the price would be fair.

Given Li Jing’s current offer-

Not to mention buying a girl-form spiritual beast, he could buy two adult versions with no issue.

Clearly, he was a fool with too much money, making the shopkeeper thoughtful.

Casting a glance at the girl in the cage who looked up at Li Jing since he said he wanted to buy her, the shopkeeper rubbed his hands together and said with a fawning smile,

"Sir, with all due respect, the price you named isn’t quite right. This girl, after all, is a North’s Golden-eye Cat that has transformed into a human shape. If our shop were to sell her to you at the price of a hundred thousand spiritual stones, I’m afraid it would be a loss."

Li Jing paused at his words and asked with confusion,

"North’s Golden-Eye Cat? You mean to say, this girl is a spiritual beast that was captured from the Northern Polar Region?"

Clearly, the man had no interest in his attempt to raise the price, and was instead very interested in the term ’Northern Polar Region’. The shopkeeper smiled and nodded,

"Exactly. This girl was brought back from the Polar Region by some disciples of a sect who went hunting for Ghostly Evil Beasts recently. She was sold to our shop. At that time, the price we paid for her was about a hundred thousand spiritual ..."

Before he could finish explaining, Li Jing interjected,

"What price your shop bought her for — you should think clearly before you speak."

As he spoke, he took out the waist token Xia Qianqian had given him,

"I may not know the market price of spiritual beasts, but a hundred thousand spiritual stones is already a very reasonable price. If you are too greedy, the consequences might be something you cannot bear."

Li Jing suddenly changed his demeanour and displayed the Royal Family’s golden token, which changed the shopkeeper’s expression.

This man...

Doesn’t he follow the rules?!

What happened to the wealthy fool they had agreed upon?

Cautiously, the shopkeeper looked at the waist token in Li Jing’s hand. Seeing the two words, Wenqu, engraved on it, he immediately associated it with the wastrel princess of the Royal Family.

Xia Qianqian was nothing but a laughing stock.

But even a laughing stock of the royal family was not someone a businessman could afford to antagonize.

What should he do now?

Should he reveal the true price?

Or...

Should he agree to Li Jing’s price, banking a large profit in the process?

The shopkeeper was hesitant.

Not knowing what to do, Li Jing spoke,

"Just now, my offering price was a hundred thousand. Now, I will only give ten thousand, whether you want to sell or not."

?

Clerk.

No!

What does Li Jing mean by that?

The price is discounted tenfold.

And then he must sell even if he doesn’t want to?

Liu Sisi watched her husband’s acting, and was completely confused by his blatant bullying.

The price of one hundred thousand that Li Jing initially gave was indeed over the top.

To put it precisely.

This price pierced through the sky.

Taking the prices of the current world as a reference.

Then benchmarking the spiritual stone to the Spirit Crystal of the real world.

Chen Yuran’s stinky tofu is worth about three hundred Spirit Crystals...

The girl is a Four Realm spiritual beast and has transformed into a human form. Combining these two factors and raising the price a bit, even if it’s increased tenfold, it would only be three thousand Spirit Crystals.

Perhaps the value of the spiritual stone in this world’s monetary system doesn’t match the value of Spirit Crystals in the real world, but it’s certainly not enough to make the girl’s price reach one hundred thousand.

Liu Sisi, thinking that the Crystal Stones weren’t gained for nothing and had no use anyway, didn’t make a sound.

But she was a bit confused by Li Jing’s actions.

While she was puzzled, Li Jing said casually,

"People I hate the most are swindlers. If they don’t appreciate kindness, then I don’t need to leave any room for negotiation."

While saying this, he looked at the not-so-small facade of the Spiritual Pet Shop, with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.

"Your shop isn’t small. If I were to write a short story about what just happened and spread it through the royal channels in the market, what do you think the end result would be?"

"..."

Clerk.

Before he could say anything, Li Jing had already threatened him.

But he didn’t dare to get angry.

No doubt about it, he was just being greedy earlier.

Li Jing’s operation was quite remarkable.

Writing a short story about what just happened and spreading it through the royal channels.

This...

It’s even more disgusting than using cultivation level and identity to suppress people!

If he made such a fuss, his shop would inevitably be labeled as cheating customers and might not be able to continue operating in the Imperial City.

This responsibility was something he couldn’t bear.

But if he sold the Arctic Golden-Eyed Cat for ten thousand spiritual stones, the shop would suffer a huge loss, and he wouldn’t be able to bear it either.

Li Jing was pushing him into a corner!

The clerk was sweating buckets.

Normally, it’s the merchants who are heartless, but when has there ever been a customer whose heart is so black?

Just as he didn’t know what to do, a gentle and creamy male voice echoed from inside the shop.

"Ten thousand spirit stones it is, we will sell this North’s Golden-eye Cat."

As the sound echoed, a young man walked out of the shop.

The clerk trembled at the sight of the youth and bowed his head respectfully.

The young man glanced indifferently at him without speaking, looked at the waist card in Li Jing’s hand, and said with a smile.

"We purchased this North’s Golden-eye Cat for thirty thousand spirit stones. Considering that the clerk here was indeed greedy and made a mistake, the shop eating this loss can be considered as a lesson learned. We hope that you will be understanding and not complicate matters further."

Before anyone could respond, the youth bowed slightly.

"I am Wen Anyi, the shopkeeper of this Spiritual Pet Shop."

Li Jing blinked his eyes at the sight. He released ten thousand spirit stones with a wave of his hand, then backhandedly shattered the cage imprisoning the girl with a slap.

Wen Anyi and the clerk shuddered at the sight.

The cage that had imprisoned the girl was made of special spiritual materials, which were extraordinarily hard and had a formation inscribed in them to increase its toughness.

Imprisoning a Four Realm spiritual beast wasn’t something casual.

Under normal circumstances.

Even if you used a high-level spirit weapon to slice it, you might not be able to break the cage open.

Li Jing casually shattered it with one slap, without any fluctuations of cultivation energy, how formidable must his physical body be?

If someone with such a formidable physique, how high must their cultivation be?

Before the two had a chance to react, Li Jing looked at the girl.

"Come with me."

The girl was rather stupefied at this point.

Li Jing had casually shattered the cage imprisoning her, which she couldn’t have broken even if she tried. This undoubtedly caught her by surprise.

At this moment, hearing Li Jing’s words, there was a trace of fear in her eyes.

Spiritual beasts are intelligent and friendly towards humans.

But that doesn’t mean that spiritual beasts are naive.

As a spiritual beast who was forcefully captured and imprisoned as a merchandise, she does not have a good impression of humans.

Facing Li Jing, she didn’t dare to resist.

She knew.

She was now his property.

Just as she was about to stand up, Liu Sisi reached out with a smile.

"Let me hold you."

The girl seemed a bit startled when she heard this.

Before she could react, she found herself in a warm embrace.

She instinctively snuggled up into Liu Sisi’s embrace, looked at her blossoming smile, her originally unsettled heart quietly calmed down, and due to cat instinct, she rubbed her face against Liu Sisi’s cheek.

This delighted Liu Sisi.

Even though the girl was dirty from being kept in a cage, she didn’t mind at all, and left with Li Jing holding the girl.

Watching the two adults and child walk away, the clerk’s face was turning green.

"Boss, are we just going to let this go?"

"What else?"

Wen Anyi snorted coldly.

He wasn’t intending to let it go at that.

Originally, his idea was to appease Li Jing for the time being and swallow this loss.

He has a lot of connections behind the large storefront of this Spiritual Beast Shop he was able to open in the Imperial City’s cultivation market.

A person from a dumped princess, who doesn’t have plans to develop in the Imperial City, as long as he has time to make connections, it wouldn’t be hard to deal with it.

But Li Jing didn’t even leave a name.

The hand he revealed explicitly told him this.

I’m not someone you can afford to provoke.

Watching Li Jing and Liu Sisi’s retreating figures, Wen Anyi exhaled deeply, his cold gaze turned towards his assistants.

"From now on, be more careful with your actions. Especially now, when many people from the Big World are coming to the Da Xia Imperial City. Every major Sect has people going to the Imperial City. If you dare to cause such a disturbance again, don’t blame me for not looking after our years of camaraderie."

...

About a quarter of an hour later, Li Jing and Liu Sisi returned to Xia Qianqian’s palace with the little girl.

On the way back, Li Jing did not maintain his high-cold Strong One persona.

He was not the kind of person to put on airs.

Out in the open, it’s all an act.

However, the little girl did not want to get close to him, the one who paid to rescue her.

If he spoke, she immediately showed a scared face and hid in Liu Sisi’s arms.

This left Li Jing rather helpless.

He had no choice but to let Liu Sisi communicate with the little girl.

It might be a resonance of their powers, or maybe because Liu Sisi looked gentler and more beautiful, the little girl did not guard against her too much. She was so close that she wished to root herself in her arms and answered any question asked.

At Liu Sisi’s request, she even showed her original form once.

Her original form was stunningly attractive.

Her original form, an Arctic Golden-Eyed Cat, belonged to small long-haired cats.

The entire cat was only palm-sized, and under the fluffy white fur, it looked like a fragile ball.

That’s not all.

Her tail was nearly twice the size of her body.

Chen Yuran would be sick if she saw this huge tail.

Through their communication, Liu Sisi and Li Jing learned that the little girl’s name was Ya’er and she was 102 years old.

At this age...

It’s very legal and very expected for a Spiritual Beast.

Li Jing and Liu Sisi together were not even half of her age.

Considering that Ya’er had just "escaped from suffering", the two did not ask about her companions and the Northern Polar Region.

Ya’er is quite close to Liu Sisi.

But trust is, after all, cultivated bit by bit.

When they returned to the quarters arranged by Xia Qianqian, Liu Sisi saw that there was still some time, so she instructed the servants in the palace to prepare bath water and took Ya’er to bathe.

Ya’er was filthy; they had to clean her up, right?

One large and one small person were going to take a bath, and Li Jing certainly couldn’t suggest joining.

Although he really wished to join...

It’s worth mentioning...

Xia Qianqian seemed to have completely immersed herself in the cultivation method she received, and she did not know where she was studying it. Even her servants didn’t know where she was.

With Xia Qianqian absent, Li Jing naturally enjoyed his leisure time.

Having only just come into contact with the cultivation method of this world, she was bound to have many questions.

After all, he only gave her the mantra, without any previous experience or anything like that.

However, when the time for the banquet was near and there was still no sign of her, Li Jing started to worry.

Could she have become so obsessed with the cultivation method of this world that she forgot her main business?

Not much later...

Liu Sisi and Ya’er came back to their quarters after cleaning themselves up.

The cleaned up Ya’er was quite presentable.

The delicacy of her small face could compete with Linglong’s.

It’s just that she might have been imprisoned for a while and looked quite thin, there was no chubby feel to her.

Although Liu Sisi and Li Jing didn’t plan to have children at the moment, the former’s love for children was no secret. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Liu Sisi absolutely adored Ya’er, who looked like a child.

As soon as she came back, Liu Sisi prepared a quality spirit fruit feast for Ya’er, saying she wanted to nourish her well.

At this, Li Jing didn’t know what to say.

Mainly because the things that Liu Sisi gave were too extravagant.

This one meal cost two to three hundred thousand Spirit Crystals.

Who could afford a meal costing two hundred and thirty thousand Spirit Crystals?

The stinky tofu that had been fed by Liu Sisi would definitely be envious and crying if it was here.

Compared to spirit fruit, Ya’er, as a cat family spiritual beast, obviously preferred meat.

However, because the quality of the Spirit fruit that Liu Sisi gave was really good and there was a large quantity, she sat on Liu Sisi’s lap, chewing with relish.

While eating, she didn’t forget to rub against Liu Sisi a couple of times.

As a cat, she is very professional.

As a spiritual beast who transformed, she still largely retained her beast instincts.

In addition, Ya’er’s transformation was not complete.

The cat ears on her head couldn’t be hidden.

Though, to be honest, this wasn’t a flaw.

The fluffy cat ears on her head added a lot to her appearance.

Liu Sisi really adored holding Ya’er.

Just as she was feeding Ya’er, a "knock knock" sound came from outside the door.

Then, Xia Qianqian’s voice came through.

"Senior, it’s about time."

With Xia Qianqian outside the door, Li Jing was naturally aware of her before she knocked.

Seeing that she hadn’t forgotten her official duties, he felt relieved.

Just as he was about to answer, Liu Sisi looked over.

"Husband, can I not go to meet the Emperor of Da Xia?"

Li Jing paused at the sound, then glanced at Ya’er who was engrossed in eating her Spirit fruit on Liu Sisi’s lap, nodded, and said,

"It’s not a problem; I can go on my own."

"Hmm."

Liu Sisi nodded happily.

She wasn’t interested in the Emperor of Da Xia at all; she planned to go only because she was with Li Jing.

Now that she had Ya’er, why would she want to go?

Li Jing understood,

If she didn’t want to go, then she didn’t have to. It’s no big deal.

Li Jing stood up and spoke thoughtfully.

"Smoke Eye, please stay here with Sisi. Wait for my return."

"Yes."

A silver-haired girl quietly appeared.

Ya’er, who was happily biting into a Spirit Fruit, was caught off guard when Smoke Eye appeared, her eyes widening in shock.

The senses of Spiritual Beasts are exceptionally sharp.

Upon Smoke Eye’s appearance, she immediately realised the powerful entity she was encountering.

Even though Smoke Eye’s characteristic was to conceal her aura.

Being a fourth-level immortal item, her might was real, but Li Jing never needed her to fight.

This time, rather than leaving Linglong with Liu Sisi as he usually did, he decided to do so mainly because his departure may take some time and affect Linglong’s cultivation.

Now his daily cultivation efficiency has reached 2%.

With hope for improving the quality of his immortal item, he lets Linglong cultivate whenever possible.

Smoke Eye also needs to undergo cultivation.

However, with the current Spiritual Power intensity within Li Jing, her cultivation percentage does not increase at all.

When Li Jing acquired Smoke Eye, she was an Immortal Item at level four with 1% cultivation.

Despite the passage of such a long time, the percentage still remained at 1%.

This task of assuming the bodyguard’s responsibility would be more suitable for her.

Even though Smoke Eye does not possess the combat-related traits and cannot turn into a physical entity similar to humans based on her origin with Li Jing, she can easily beat several at the Sixth Realm with her might as a fourth-level immortal item.

With their mutual connection, she could instantly notify Li Jing of anything that happens to Liu Sisi.

After asking Smoke Eye to stay, Li Jing got up and left the cabin room.

Xia Qianqian was waiting outside the door.

Seeing Li Jing coming out alone, she frowned slightly.

"Senior, why are you alone? Where is Mrs Yin?"

"She’s not feeling well, so I’ll be attending tonight’s banquet alone."

Li Jing responded casually.

"..."

Xia Qianqian.

Under normal circumstances, she would not object.

But this time, after all, it’s a meeting with her father, the Emperor of Da Xia.

For Yin Suzhi to say she’s not going and then not show up, it seemed a bit inappropriate.

However, considering that Li Jing is her husband, she figured it didn’t matter.

Skipping out on the Emperor of Da Xia.

For ordinary people, this would undoubtedly result in punishment.

But with Li Jing backing her up...

Without giving it further thought, Xia Qianqian turned around and said.

"In that case, senior, let’s go. The carriage is waiting outside the door."

...

After leaving the palace and getting on the carriage.

Li Jing glanced at Xia Qianqian, who was sitting beside him in deep thought, and asked.

"How are you progressing with the cultivation method of the Big World?"

Meeting his inquiry, Xia Qianqian looked up and showed a hint of a smile.

"Senior, I have tried all the cultivation methods you provided, and I can successfully channel Qi into my body with each. However, considering that I am still within the Imperial City of Da Xia, if I start cultivation it might draw a lot of unnecessary attention. I plan to try formal initiation after I return to my territory after my father’s birthday in seven days."

Hearing her talk in this way, Li Jing was full of surprise.

Though he had expected Xia Qianqian’s Qi sense not to be poor and that it wouldn’t be too hard for her to start the cultivation techniques of the real world,

Yet in just two or three hours she had tried out all of the cultivation techniques he provided and managed to successfully channel Qi into her body with each, this was simply unbelievable.

While it’s true that it’s not difficult to begin cultivation techniques.

But it’s not something that can be achieved in minutes...

It depends on one’s comprehension and talent.

This one...

Could it be a genius?

Seeing Li Jing’s surprised expression, it was obvious that he was quite amazed. Xia Qianqian, guessing in large part what was on his mind, puffed out her chest in a proud manner, deliberately or not.

Seeing this, Li Jing smiled faintly, and his mind began to wander.

Xia Qianqian’s initiation into the cultivation methods of the real world was so easy due to her exceptional talent and high comprehension.

Why then, couldn’t she start with the Sky Demon Great Method?

Thinking again about how six tenths of the population of Da Xia could start with the Sky Demon Great Method, while the remaining four tenths were ineligible for the path of immortality, which is almost completely opposite to the situation in the real world, Li Jing squinted his eyes slightly.

"After tonight, Princess Xia, you find a trustworthy person and show him the cultivation method of the real world. I would like to confirm something."

Xia Qianqian is not a fool.

Although she couldn’t think as deeply as Li Jing, she could roughly sense that Li Jing was probably trying to validate the probability of the cultivation methods of the Big World being possible for those who were excluded from the path of immortality in Da Xia, like her.

Without ambiguity, she nodded lightly.

"Understood, I will arrange it after the banquet."

...

It wasn’t long before.

The carriage carrying both of them arrived at the Imperial Palace, located in the central area of the Da Xia Palace, and stopped in front of the Imperial Palace.

"Senior, we are here."

Xia Qianqian spoke.

"Okay, let’s get off the carriage."

Li Jing smiled and stepped out of the carriage.

As he emerged, he saw the kind and amicable Eunuch Wang waiting with a group of eunuchs outside the Imperial Palace.

At first glance.

Eunuch Wang immediately caught Li Jing’s attention.

The reason was simple.

It was due to the Health Bar above this old eunuch’s head, which had a length of 10596.

This eunuch...

Pretty impressive!

Eighth Realm!

Seeing that Li Jing fixed his gaze on him as soon as he stepped out of the carriage, a glimmer flashed in Eunuch Wang’s eyes.

Li Jing saw the glint in his eyes and smiled faintly.

"Interesting, the Ascending Immortal Realm."