Chapter 113: Expensive Gift

　　Both of them entered the Martial Arts Hall opposite the shop.

　　The Martial Arts Hall was obviously unlike normal ones since it was situated on such a busy street. Upon entering, a waitress in black came to receive them, and she lead them to their seats beside the arena.

　　The arena left Tan Yubing with wide eyes. The elevated stage alone took up a huge amount of space and yet there were still enough seats to accommodate around six hundred spectators. The largest arena in Nine Jade Palace was only this big, but the land in Nine Jade Palace was the cheapest while the land in Tianyun City was the most expensive.

　　“This Martial Arts Hall is definitely related to some big organization,” Tan Yubing whispered to Lu Mingshu.

　　Lu Mingshu nodded in agreement. The bigger the organization behind the hall, the more people dared to compete here since nobody would dare to play dirty tricks.

　　The battles held were indeed fascinating. The participants were at least in the Harmonization Realm. In addition, since the Qilin Festival was just around the corner, tourists were swarming the arena. The Qilin Festival wasn’t open to everyone, but the arena was. Getting famous here was comparable to becoming known to the whole world.

　　“Let’s go.”

　　After spectating a number of competitions, Lu Mingshu became familiar with the arena’s standard.

　　“Aren’t you going up?” Tan Yubing’s eyes widened in surprise. She was under the impression that Lu Mingshu would definitely go up and fight.

　　She shook her head, “We’re just newbies. There’s still time; I’m not doing it today.”

　　“Right,” Tan Yubing nodded in agreement. “We only just arrived today. We should get enough rest before we fight.”

　　Even though Tan Yubing misunderstood her, Lu Mingshu chose to kept quiet since she didn’t find any point in correcting her.

　　When they got back to the hotel, Lu Mingshu went to feed Little Daze before she went to bed as usual.

　　Upon seeing her, Little Daze stomped. Little Daze hmphed and looked extremely uncomfortable. Tianyun City was nice, but Little Daze still wasn’t used to being in such a crowded place.

　　Lu Mingshu fed it fruits and combed its mane.

　　“Just two more days… I’ll get you a better place,” she whispered.

　　She went back to her room and opened the map she bought recently.

　　Candle flame shone on her emotionless face, casting a shadow.

　　Shao Zhengyang’s words rang in her head. “What they’re doing now is all for show. The biggest possibility is that they want to show that they recognize you as the Eldest Miss.”

　　A smile slowly formed on Lu Mingshu’s face.

　　The Sect Leader’s wife must believe that the Nine Jade Palace’s Eldest Miss is valuable, huh? Especially one that is so talented and won eighteen fights in a row during the Heavenly Door competition.

　　Since they had already lost the opportunity to crush her down, why not sell her at a high price? That way, not only would they get rid of their eyesore, they may even get some benefits out of it as well.

　　Master mentioned that Zhou Miaoru isn’t nearsighted or stupid… but Master has forgotten that she hasn’t cultivated for years, nor has she left the Nine Jade Palace. There’s a saying that goes, “Knives that aren’t sharpened will become blunt.” Someone who only sees the perspective of four walls, it’s hard for someone like that to be farsighted.

　　In that case, what’s the harm in fulfilling her wish?

　　Lu Mingshu didn’t mind increasing her value for the Sect Leader’s wife. Let’s see if she’s capable of selling this Eldest Miss off.

　　…

　　Xiahou Mansion.

　　It was already past midnight, and Xiahou Shan was able to take a break from all the government affairs. Under the attendance of her servant girl, she soaked herself in the bathtub with hot steam rising.

　　The fragrance from the bath filled the air, but it was a unique smell. It wasn’t petals that were floating on the water, but different herbs. These herbs cost more than an arm and a leg. Even those in the Spirit Realm would become speechless after hearing the price, but to Emissary Xiahou, it was just an ordinary herb bath.

　　Some servant girls stepped forward, slowly massaging her body to help her tense muscles better relax and absorb the essence of the herbs.

　　Even so, Xiahou Shan didn’t waste her time. While she closed her eyes and rested her head on the wall to relax, a female official was kneeling beside her and reporting a string of matters to her.

　　“Wait a minute,” Emissary Xiahou suddenly stopped the official.

　　The official then stopped and quietly waited for a command.

　　“Could you repeat the gift list again?”

　　“Yes.”

　　The official then repeated the gift list in monotone.

　　“Such an expensive gift,” Xiahou Shan stroked the Heavenly Star Crystal on her wrist, which was too valuable to be priced. “Who’s the sender?” She smirked.

　　The official scanned her list.

　　“Nine Jade Palace, Yin Hong.”

　　“An Elder from the Nine Jade Palace is almost definitely unable to get such expensive stuff. Most likely, their boss has something to do with it.”

　　“Yin Hong comes from the line of Fluffy Clouds. The Zhou family helped her breakthrough to the Spirit Realm,” the official replied.

　　“Zhou family?” Xiahou Shan raised her eyebrow. “Didn’t Zhou Jin retire as the Sect Leader nine years ago?”

　　“Yes. His son-in-law Fu Shangqing has taken over for him.”

　　“Oh, right. That Sect Leader Fu has an interesting background.”

　　The official kept quiet. She was only here to report the facts, not to speak her opinions.

　　“Who’s in charge of the household now?” Xiahou Shan asked.

　　“Zhou Jin’s elder daughter, Fu Shangqing’s current wife, Zhou Miaoru.”

　　“Zhou Miaoru?” Xiahou Shan tried to recall who that was.

　　“Oh! It’s that woman! She’s a snake – sneaky. Too bad her constitution isn’t good enough. How is she now?”

　　“As soon as Fu Shangqing took over the position of Sect Leader, Zhou Miaoru chose to stay at home to be a good wife and mother. She gave birth to twins, and she’s still in the Harmonization Realm,” the official announced.

　　Xiahou Shan held out her hand. A crystal cup with flower wine in it was immediately served.

　　The sweetness of the wine filled her mouth, followed by a strong fiery taste as it turned into mystic force and entered her body. She paused for a moment to feel the mystic force before continuing, “Anyway, what’s new in Nine Jade Palace?”

　　The official took out a book and scanned. She then replied, “A few months back, during the triannual Heavenly Door competition, a genuine successor disciple created history by winning eighteen battles in a row.”

　　“Eighteen wins? Just eighteen?” Xiahou Shan didn’t take the wins seriously. Nine Jade Palace’s standard had been dropping ever since Liu Jizhen was crippled. There wasn’t much talent left, so in Xiahou Shan’s eyes, eighteen wins in a row were nothing much.

　　“The thing about this disciple is not just the results, but her background.”

　　“Oh?”

　　“She’s Fu Shangqing’s eldest daughter, given birth by his first wife. She entered the Harmonization Realm when she was fifteen, and it had only been a few months since then when she entered the competition. She wasn’t noticed by anyone at first, but for some reason, she chose to challenge all the participants and she succeeded.”

　　Xiahou Shan’s eyes lit up upon hearing that. Finally, something interesting.

　　“Oooh, what else?”

　　The official knew what she was interested in. She immediately flipped her books for more details, “She came to the Nine Jade Palace nine years ago and became Liu Jizhen’s disciple. She was always lowkey, and she wasn’t recognized by the Zhou family, but after the competition, they started treating her with care and acknowledged her as the Eldest Miss.”

　　“I see, hmm.” Xiahou Shan smiled. She didn’t need the official to continue, she already got the hang of what was going on.

　　Downing the whole cup of wine, she waved her hand at the official, “Since they gave such an expensive gift, I’ll see her then.”

　　“Noted,” the official took up her pen and wrote down the order.