Early the next morning, Yuan Shu was carried back to her small courtyard in Shu Linyuan's arms.
She was draped in a large cloak, which obviously belonged to Shu Linyuan.
Inside the house, Shen Qi stepped out, meeting Shu Linyuan's gaze. The latter gave a cold snort and turned his head away.
Shen Qi frowned. He approached Yuan Shu, a gentle expression appearing on his face, and called out softly.
"Shushu?"
"Eldest Senior Brother? Are we home?" Yuan Shu blinked her groggy eyes.
"We are," Shen Qi replied.
After waking up a bit more, Yuan Shu hopped down from Shu Linyuan's embrace and grinned at Shen Qi. "Then I'll head back to my room first."
With that, she turned and waved at Shu Linyuan, then bypassed the two men and walked toward her room.
Leaving the two men staring at each other in the courtyard.
"Want to step out for a chat?" Shen Qi spoke first.
Shu Linyuan said nothing. He merely gave him a cold look, turned, and walked out of Yuan Shu's courtyard.
...
In the quiet grove, the wind whimpered, rustling the leaves.
Shen Qi and Shu Linyuan stood face to face, neither speaking first.
Shen Qi had long known that the one Yuan Shu liked was Shu Linyuan. After learning that Shu Linyuan also had feelings for her, he knew this day would come sooner or later.
He just hadn't expected Shu Linyuan's reaction to be so intense.
He had thought Shu Linyuan didn't like Yuan Shu that much, or at least not as much as he did!
Perhaps, upon learning of his relationship with Yuan Shu, Shu Linyuan might even voluntarily step aside.
But after Yuan Shu went to find him last night and didn't return until morning, Shen Qi understood that Shu Linyuan, just like him, had given his true heart!
And it was the kind of true heart that remained unshaken even knowing there were other men by Yuan Shu's side!
"Shu Linyuan, for the past few days, I have been spending the nights in Shushu's room."
In the quiet atmosphere, Shen Qi broke the silence.
He was the Eldest Senior Brother. When discussing such a complicated matter, he ought to be more rational than Shu Linyuan.
However, to Shu Linyuan's ears, these words were a naked provocation.
He sneered, "So what? Shen Qi, Shushu gave her primal yin to me!"
"I am her first man!"
"Shu Linyuan, I am your Eldest Senior Brother!" Shen Qi's voice turned cold.
As soon as the words left his mouth, he was interrupted by a scoff. "And I am your Sixth Junior Brother. Eldest Senior Brother, didn't Master tell you to take good care of your junior brothers?"
"Is this how you take care of us? By bullying your junior brother's woman?"
Shen Qi's expression chilled, and Shu Linyuan, unwilling to show weakness, raised his eyes and glared back.
The atmosphere descended into an eerie silence. The two stared at each other, neither willing to yield an inch.
After a long while, it was Shen Qi who finally looked away and spoke in a deep voice.
"Since things have come to this, arguing here won't yield any results. Shu Linyuan, since you refuse to step back, and I also refuse to step back, from now on, let us each rely on our own abilities."
"Hmph!" Shu Linyuan snorted coldly but did not retort, clearly agreeing with Shen Qi's words.
Since Shushu was willing to seek him out alone and comfort him, it meant he held a place in her heart.
He would absolutely never give up!
Seeing this, Shen Qi didn't hold back and said bluntly, "In the future, you should change this fighting rooster-like temper of yours. Shushu won't like it if you always clash with me right in front of her!"
Shu Linyuan was about to argue back.
But remembering how Yuan Shu had just called out "Eldest Senior Brother," casually waved at him, and gone back into the house, it was clear she didn't want to talk to them much.
He shut his mouth.
Shen Qi's words made sense.
Shushu indeed did not like seeing them argue.
"Fine, I won't fight!"
He wouldn't fight in front of Yuan Shu, but couldn't he compete secretly in the dark?
...
Lingxi City, located at the foot of the Falling Immortal Sect.
Wearing a long white dress, Su Lingxi pulled down the veiled hat on her head, completely concealing her face.
She looked left and right, and after confirming no one was paying attention to her, she walked briskly toward the Wanbao Auction House ahead.
The attendant at the door saw a guest approaching and was about to welcome her in, but Su Lingxi raised a hand to stop him.
"I am not here to browse."
As she spoke, Su Lingxi took a bag of spirit stones from her cosmos bag and slapped it onto the table.
"I want to know if tonight's Wanbao Auction will feature an immortal-grade spirit plant as the finale item?"
The attendant reached out to take the bag of spirit stones, weighed it in his hand, and a smile immediately appeared on his face.
"The guest is generous, so we naturally will share everything we know! Tonight's Wanbao Auction does indeed have an immortal-grade spirit plant."
"It is said to be a spirit plant with excellent healing effects for spiritual and mental ailments!"
"Really?" Su Lingxi's eyes lit up, her heart fluttering with excitement.
After receiving an affirmative nod from the attendant, Su Lingxi grew even more thrilled.
"Good, good. I will definitely attend tonight's Wanbao Auction!"
After saying this, Su Lingxi's gaze involuntarily fell upon the bag of spirit stones in the attendant's hand.
She hesitated, wondering if she should make a move right now and snatch the bag back.
Ever since Ji Yunzhao took back the dharma artifacts and spirit stones he had previously given her, things had been quite difficult for her.
In the past, she spent money lavishly, as Ji Yunzhao would always cover for her, and Yuan Shu would cover for Ji Yunzhao.
Now...
These senior and junior brothers from Qingyun Peak were all poor wretches with hardly any money.
She had racked her brains to swindle some from here and there, but the most she scraped together was a few thousand spirit stones.
Compared to before, it was truly a drop in the bucket.
Cultivation was extremely draining on spirit stones!
Pills, dharma artifacts, spiritual items, spirit plants—which of these didn't cost money?
She even felt some regret. Why had she returned all those artifacts and spirit stones to Ji Yunzhao in the first place?
If she had known, she should have secretly kept more for herself!
Catching Su Lingxi's stare, the attendant quickly clutched the spirit stones tightly in his hand.
"There is no logic in taking back what has already been given!"
Su Lingxi smiled awkwardly. "Ahem, that's not what I meant..."
"Hmph... You better not mean that! If you really dare to make a move, I can make sure you won't be able to enter the Wanbao Auction tonight!"
"What a pauper, actually having the nerve to covet the spirit stones used to buy information. Tsk!" The attendant snorted coldly.
Then, clutching the bag of spirit stones, he turned around and briskly walked back into the auction house.
Su Lingxi was speechless.
She maintained a smile on her face, but her hands inside her sleeves were clenched into tight fists.
Damn snob. Just wait, if she got the chance, she would definitely settle this score!
Su Lingxi ground her teeth and reached out to touch her cosmos bag.
There was still a valuable sum of spirit stones inside her cosmos bag, which was her final savings.
It was meant for bidding on that Purple Mansion Spirit Ginseng at tonight's auction.
She had found out that Long Yunhui had been searching for such a precious Purple Mansion Spirit Ginseng.
She only hoped that this time she could win over Long Yunhui in one fell swoop. With Long Yunhui's affection for her increasing, her own strength could also grow.
When that time came, she would figure out other ways to make some money!
Taking a deep breath, she suppressed the resentment in her heart, turned around, and walked away from the auction house.
But what she didn't know was that the immortal-grade spirit plant she coveted, the Purple Mansion Spirit Ginseng, was currently sitting right in front of Yuan Shu.
It was housed in an exquisite red sandalwood box, lined with soft brocade inside, and etched with spirit runes on the outside to prevent the spirit plant's vital energy from leaking.
Yuan Shu propped her temple with one hand, her gaze sweeping over the Purple Mansion Spirit Ginseng in front of her, and she raised an eyebrow.
"It really is an eight-hundred-year-old immortal-grade spirit plant. It actually has some substance!"
