Chapter 104
Yu Xunge had long wanted to ask Heqipa why they were brewing potions in the first-floor hall when alchemy was so sensitive to the environment.
Considering their relationship was at least friendly, she finally mustered the courage to voice her question.
Heqipa didn’t even glance at her, her eyes lowered as she stirred the potion in the cauldron. Instead, she shot back, “There are seven alchemy shops in Youan City. Why did you choose to walk into mine?”
Yu Xunge: …
Could she honestly say it was just a matter of convenience?
She didn’t dare.
Suddenly, it dawned on her: “So this is your way of attracting customers!”
Heqipa: “…………” The expression on the goblin’s face was inscrutable, yet why did her fists clench involuntarily?
But the next moment, her attention was drawn to the tuition fees Yu Xunge had brought.
Since Ze Lan began plotting its invasion of Blue Star, there had been Blue Star residents delivering items to this little shop, but everything depended on fate.
For Heqipa, having Yu Xunge as a student was more than enough; teaching a few more might turn her into a traitor of Ze Lan.
Moreover, Yu Xunge didn’t bring her gifts based on her own preferences. Heqipa had noticed more than once that some of the food and drink Yu Xunge brought were things she herself wouldn’t eat—she certainly wouldn’t mistake them for poison; playing with toxins in front of a master alchemist was a surefire way to meet an untimely end.
This indicated that Yu Xunge didn’t just cater to her own tastes but aimed to expose Heqipa to a variety of new experiences, allowing her to choose what she liked. Such discernment was rare.
Occasionally, she even managed to procure some special rice meant for the royal family of Ze Lan to give to Heqipa. Given Heqipa’s status, acquiring such items wasn’t particularly difficult, but for a Blue Star resident, it must have required considerable effort and sacrifice…
There were countless similar virtues: generosity, the ability to transform into a cat, intelligence, humility, diligence, and of course, the fact that she was quite cute as a cat. In short, Heqipa was very satisfied with Yu Xunge.
Otherwise, how could her lessons be worth more than just basic necessities?
If Yu Xunge weren’t a Blue Star resident, Heqipa would have definitely taken her on as an alchemy apprentice.
What a pity…
Regaining her composure, Heqipa handed the items Yu Xunge had brought to Xiao Maqi for her to tidy up, and then began today’s lesson.
Yu Xunge listened intently, and when the time for disguise was up, she transformed into a little cat to continue listening. After two hours of class, she walked to the door of the alchemy shop and, in cat language, seriously asked Xiao Maqi behind the counter, “Meow~ Meow meow?”
— Xiao Maqi, do you know how the sun of Ze Lan was born?
As soon as she finished her question, she caught out of the corner of her eye that Heqipa’s hand, which had been reaching for a bottle, suddenly froze. Then, she noticed the usually pale face of Heqipa slightly reddening. Looking down, she saw a pair of feet in comfortable slippers curled up as if scratching at something.
Xiao Maqi, hearing the meow, asked in confusion, “How did it come about?”
Yu Xunge: Meow meow… Meow aow… Meow——!
— On the day Heqipa first encountered alchemy, the sun of Ze Lan rose slowly!
Heqipa: Stop, just stop…
Xiao Maqi’s face was filled with wonder: “Wow! How did the Ze Lan people live back then? Heqipa, you saved Ze Lan!!”
Heqipa slowly raised her gaze, her eyes filled with murderous intent as she glared at the fat orange cat by the door.
Yu Xunge: Danger!
The fat orange cat turned and bolted! Its chubby legs left a blur behind!
Heqipa: Ha! You think you can just skip class and never come back?
Only when the fluffy rear of the fat cat disappeared from view did she slowly turn her head to look at Xiao Maqi, who had been playing dumb and cooperating with Yu Xunge.
Xiao Maqi: We’re doomed.
……
After escaping from Ze Lan, Yu Xunge took some time to handle two orders at home before heading to the training camp of the Special Affairs Bureau.
During this time, it was inevitable that she was asked about dragons.
No matter how indifferent someone might be, seeing the dragon master alive in front of them would stir their curiosity, prompting them to ask a few questions.
Her dragon was still trending on social media…
Yi Qiu was practically desperate to share pictures of the dragon across every platform. Thanks to this dragon, she was on the verge of becoming an internet celebrity.
Yu Xunge let her be; after all, without anonymity, everyone could tell what Tu Lan looked like just by her avatar.
As for the fact that she was in the photos too, Yu Xunge didn’t mind. After all, having been a star for so many years, her pictures were all over the internet. Even on her way to the training camp, she would often be photographed by passersby.
She never stopped such things; everything could be utilized. Being photographed could even help her create an alibi when she needed to do something shady in the future.
If she avoided exposure entirely, when the time came, she would have to actively seek someone to take her picture, which would seem too deliberate and could easily have loopholes.
Anyway, whenever she went out to do something dubious, she would use her disguise skills, so the control over whether she would be photographed was actually in her hands.
Once the training camp members learned that Yu Xunge hadn’t brought her dragon, they were a bit disappointed, but they didn’t complain. Instead, they naturally shifted the conversation to how to sign contracts with exotic beasts and which ones were particularly powerful.
Yu Xunge didn’t actually know much about it. In her previous life, her sources of information were extremely limited, and many things were beyond the reach of an ordinary player like her.
At most, she could chat about pet contracts—something she had subconsciously focused on collecting information about ever since she met Tu Lan, which was why she knew a bit more.
Everyone present were capable lone wolves with connections. Yu Xunge shared quite a bit of information, but she also learned many things she hadn’t known before.
— “There’s an old tailor on XX Road who became a high-level tailor after the game invasion, and his proficiency isn’t low. He can now customize blue gear, but the prices are outrageous. If you have connections, it’s better to buy from Ze Lan… but the travel costs to Ze Lan are still too high!”
— “The guild leader of that so-called Rabbit Head, which is supposedly inedible, has S-level talent related to defense. This guild will definitely have no shortage of tanks for boss fights in the future; as long as they find a healer, they’ll surely grow strong.”
— “Now many shops only accept copper coins… and a lot of businesses have moved to the auction house. I even bought a late-night snack at the auction house last time; the delivery was instant, much faster than takeout.”
— “If there are dungeons to run, life is pretty good. The earnings from a single dungeon can cover several days of living expenses, but it’s all about risking your life to earn that money.”
— “Who says otherwise? My cousin wants to go, but his talent isn’t good. I advised him to start a business and save up for good gear and skills before going…”
— “That said, dungeons aren’t something you can just run whenever you want. You have to wait in line for a long time for a single dungeon. Some people can only run once a day, but if you have connections or a family dungeon, you can run all day. The gap widens instantly.”
This topic quickly escalated beyond what these lone wolves could concern themselves with, and everyone tacitly changed the subject.
【Chapter 135: Refund!】
Ever since the pet ranking list was launched, Blue Star has been swept up in a frenzy of searching for dragons and acquiring pet contracts.
In the past couple of days, the auction house has seen a surge of initial pet contract scrolls.
Basic scrolls are priced at 888 gold, intermediate ones at 1588 gold, advanced ones at 2588 gold, and special pet contract scrolls are around 2500 gold, with prices getting more outrageous by the day.
Yu Xunge couldn’t comment on the basic pet contracts, but the intermediate, advanced, and special pet contract scrolls were definitely the work of the Special Affairs Bureau—once again exploiting the wealthy.
These items were not something the current players could obtain, and the lone wolves who collaborated with the Special Affairs Bureau to go to Ze Lan didn’t have that much capital.
Before Yu Xunge even got home, she received a private message from Yu Xunhuan, asking if she could get her hands on some pet contract scrolls. Nowadays, whenever Yu Xunhuan or Su Yitong wanted to buy something rare, they would first reach out to Yu Xunge. If she didn’t have it, they would look elsewhere, and only if they couldn’t find it anywhere would they turn to Zhao Shuying.
Why refuse free money from an enemy?
【Yu Xunge】: How many do you need? What level?
【Yu Xunhuan】: Basic, intermediate, and advanced pet contract scrolls. Besides the level restrictions on the pets that can be contracted, is there any other difference?
【Yu Xunge】: As far as I know, no.
【Yu Xunhuan】: How much for the basic ones? I want two.
【Yu Xunge】: Hold on a sec.
Yu Xunge leisurely drove home, and only after arriving did she continue replying to Yu Xunhuan.
She couldn’t exploit other players, but taking advantage of her little brother was fair game. This was what they called “sacrificing family for the greater good”: for the sake of the people (Yu Xunge), she wouldn’t hesitate to take down her own kin.
But she couldn’t just quote the same price as the auction house; what if that scared him off?
【Yu Xunge】: I should be able to get them for 799 gold each. Since you’re my little brother, I can cut down on the service fee a bit. Let’s say 1595 gold for you.
Just three gold less… Was her brother really that cheap?
At some point, Yu Xunhuan had grown accustomed to Yu Xunge’s unapologetic demands for commissions and service fees. He chuckled helplessly and relayed the offer to Su Yitong.
Upon hearing the price, Su Yitong was actually quite satisfied. Yu Xunge wouldn’t rip them off; she probably wasn’t making much profit with that quote.
This was a price Su Yitong could afford.
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