Chapter 217: Even I Don’t Dare

　　Ye Shiyi’s hand trembled as he stammered. “The fifty-first Qilin Festival, New Generation Ranking, first place; Nine Jade Palace, Lu Mingshu….”

　　He almost burst into tears. That Lu Mingshu? How could it be?

　　“Continue!”

　　Ye Shiyi gritted his teeth. “Second place; Heavenly Sea Pavilion, Kou Wei. Third place; Seventh Truth Platform, Wei Chunqiu….”

　　“Enough.” Third Brother put his wiping cloth on the table and looked down at him. “Do you know now?”

　　Ye Shiyi nodded furiously. “Yes, yes, now I know….”

　　He was about to fall apart. That young girl is ranked first in the Qilin Festival? What joke is this? How old is she? Wei Chunqiu from the Seventh Truth Platform and Kou Wei from the Heavenly Sea Pavilion are below her? These two names were the two people who were just famous as Ling Wuxia, and their ability was equal to her.

　　Who was Ling Wuxia? In Beiming, she had a well-known reputation.

　　She was the best disciple in the Ancient Jade Summit, and she was famous in Beiming. Even someone as outstanding as his Third Brother would have to bow down in front of her.

　　Ye Shiyi couldn’t believe his eyes. “Third Brother, is she just using the name? Her age is around the same as us, and she looks like she only just entered the Harmonization Realm. How could she be better than Wei Chunqiu and Kou Wei?”

　　“Names can be faked, but ability?” Third Brother stared at him coldly. “How bad can the Mystic Water Sword Formation be?”

　　Ye Shiyi kept quiet. With one person, the power may be normal, but with four of them together, even their Third Brother wouldn’t just sit there and do nothing. That’s why they didn’t expect Lu Mingshu to counter-attack.

　　“Besides, the Lu Mingshu ranked first is also sixteen, similar to the one you described.”

　　Third Brother furrowed his eyebrows. According to a reliable source, Lu Mingshu only just left Zhongzhou. Who would have guessed that her first fight in Beiming would be against his siblings?

　　“The Qilin Festival ended not long ago, and the news only just reached Beiming. It’s said that Lu Mingshu can’t defeat Kou Wei or Wei Chunqiu. She does not have the ability, and the first rank only comes from her luck. However, even if it’s because of luck, she still managed to get first place even though she fought both Wei Chunqiu and Kou Wei. Do you know what that represents?”

　　Ye Shiyi stared at his Third Brother.

　　“This shows that, even if she isn’t as good as Ling Wuxia, she can still go a few rounds with her.” Third Brother sneered. “Do you even know where you stand? Even I dare not plot against her.”

　　“We didn’t know….” Ye Shiyi whispered.

　　“If you all knew and still dared to provoke her, I would give you a standing ovation,” Third Brother said sarcastically.

　　Ye Shiyi looked down.

　　“Third Brother. We, we did wrong….”

　　“What did you do wrong?”

　　“We shouldn’t have gone and provoked her….”

　　“Bullshit!” Third Brother sneered. “Someone has come to slap us in our face, yet you take it lying down? Is your surname even Ye?”

　　“Third Brother…” Ye Shiyi stared at him with wide eyes.

　　Third Brother took the cloth again and continued what he was doing. “Nevermind. This is a chance for me to visit her and see how much value first place on the New Ranking holds!”

　　Ye Shiyi blinked.

　　“I’m done, you may leave now.”

　　Ye Shiyi stared at him, jaws dropping. It’s all over now?

　　Third Brother looked askance at him. “You don’t want to leave? Do you perhaps think that I owe you a beating?”

　　Ye Shiyi came to realize what happened and left in a hurry. “No, I will leave right away.”

　　Ye Shiyi left, leaving Third Brother alone behind looking at the gemstones in his hand. “Such a coincidence that you came to Beiming now. Lu Mingshu, will you turn into a variable?”

　　…

　　From Zhongzhou to Green Hills Bank only took about five or six days, but from Green Hills Bank to Remainder Island took at least half a month.

　　It was a smooth journey. Lu Mingshu used this half a month to refine her mystic force and nourish her spiritual tool and Mystic Dewdrops.

　　Finally, they reached Remainder Island, and they went down the boat to have a look around.

　　Ah Ling was very excited. “Miss, since Remainder Island is located at the border of the White Heron States and Black Crane State, there’s a big market here. If you go through the door there, they exclusively sell rare treasures, and there’s a lot of fun things!”

　　“All you think about is playing!” Ah Lang chided and turned to Lu Mingshu. “Ah Ling is right, this is the biggest market in the southeast, so they have a lot of Beiming’s specialities. Miss shouldn’t miss it when you come here to travel!

　　Captain Ding smiled. “Miss can shop at the Treasure Assembly too. It’s organized by the Ye Family, and they have the best things in Beiming.” He then sighed. “In the past few years, the aristocratic families have gained even more control over resources. Low-quality items can still be seen in markets, but for high-quality ones, you can only get them in their shop, and even Pure White Grace Pavilion’s standard has dropped.

　　Lu Mingshu sighed. Normally, Zhongzhou was like this too. However, after the queen defeated the aristocratic families, the market became lively. But there’s no royal family in Beiming, so who would do such things?

　　High-rise buildings stood in great numbers, and the floor was made of blue-coloured bricks. The market in Remainder Island was gorgeous; pictures carved on the fences, and nicely-painted buildings with pearls and jade as decorations, making the market glorious.

　　“Pure white pearl – the best quality pure white pearl! Drinking it every day can help get rid of the poisonous gas in your body!”

　　“Mermaids, selling mermaids! When they grow, you can ride them in the water!”

　　“Looking for apprentices to learn casting. I’ll fix your weapon for free too….”

　　The shouting on the streets made the atmosphere heated.

　　Lu Mingshu stopped in front of the booth that was selling mermaids. The fry was even smaller than her palm, and she couldn’t even see if they had a human face.

　　The booth owner greeted her enthusiastically. “Miss, do you want a mermaid? You can ride it when it grows! It’s fast and pretty, which suits Miss a lot!”

　　After he said that, a passerby roasted him. “What the hell? Mermaids? We don’t even know if mermaids really exist in this world, and yet you’re selling some? Plus, they’re so small. How long would it take for one to grow until I’m able to ride it?”

　　“Get lost, get lost!” The booth owner yelled, afraid that it would affect his business. “So what if I like to call them mermaids? And whose mount doesn’t need to be raised from a young age? Or do you give birth to your mounts?!”

　　“You should be the one giving birth!”

　　Seeing that the booth owner and the passerby were going to have a heated argument, Lu Mingshu chipped in. “How much for a fry?”

　　Seeing some business, the owner smiled happily and ignored the passerby. “Not expensive, just one gold.”

　　Gold, the standard that the Zhongzhou royal family came up with. Normal resources related to cultivating could be gotten with normal silver taels and gold, while the better ones required golden extract. One gold was equivalent to two hundred silver taels. To normal people, it was very costly, but to a martial artist, it was the amount of low-quality medicine.

　　Lu Mingshu nodded. “Give me one.”

　　“Sure!” The owner quickly got her a fry and threw it into the bamboo tube that he prepared. “Here.”

　　Lu Mingshu took it, but she didn’t keep it. She placed the bamboo tube next to the portable stable.

　　The next minute, the owner saw a tongue come out from the portable stable, and in no time, it took the “mermaid” with it.

　　“This…”

　　The passerby laughed out loud. “Hahaha, like I said, who would buy a ‘mermaid’? It was just for feeding a pet!”

　　After feeding Little Daze, Lu Mingshu returned the bamboo tube and went off.

　　“What’s there to see here? Hurry, let’s go to the Treasure Assembly.”

　　Two people passed by and went into a high-rise building.

　　Lu Mingshu went over and asked. “Where is the Treasure Assembly held?”

　　The passerby smiled. “Here. Does Miss have a name card?”

　　Lu Mingshu shook her head.

　　“Then you’ll have to pay a deposit to enter.”

　　“How much?”

　　“A hundred gold.”