Zhu Ziyang decisively chose the Qingxin herb.
Afterward, he continued browsing a few more stalls, but finding nothing of interest, he decided to go look for Jiang Nannan. Just then, at a neighboring stall, he spotted a familiar face. No, not exactly familiar — they had only met once.
Ma Xiaotao!
As if sensing his gaze, Ma Xiaotao turned around at the same moment and spotted him. Zhu Ziyang clearly saw her pink eyes light up, and even the veil covering her face couldn't hide the smile spreading across her lips.
With a flash, she appeared before him and said, "Ziyang little brother, we meet again."
"Hello, senior," Zhu Ziyang replied instinctively. But looking at the girl before him, he couldn't help but recall the softness he had felt on his back that day.
"What are you doing here?" Ma Xiaotao asked, then reached up and lifted her veil, revealing a stunning face.
She smiled gently, but her heart was rippling.
That strange feeling — it was back again. Her martial soul, usually so restless, quieted the moment she approached Zhu Ziyang.
Why?
Ma Xiaotao couldn't understand it.
She had looked into him — learned that he was the champion of this year's freshman trial, an eleven-year-old Soul Elder, a true prodigy. She also remembered her teacher's words: to interact with Zhu Ziyang more.
But even with all that, was she really supposed to get close to a boy four years younger than herself?
That felt ridiculous. So even when her martial soul flared out of control again a few days ago, she hadn't considered seeking him out. Her proud nature simply wouldn't allow her to actively approach a stranger, let alone a younger boy.
Yet now, as she stood near Zhu Ziyang again, Ma Xiaotao suddenly felt that the iron will she had forged over years of hardship was dangerously close to crumbling.
It felt so comfortable.
She hadn't felt this kind of peace and ease in so long — the ability to relax without constantly suppressing herself.
She stared at Zhu Ziyang, dazed, her eyes unfocused.
"Senior? Senior? Senior!"
Zhu Ziyang waved a hand in front of her, speechless. It took three calls to snap her out of it.
"Huh? Nothing, it's nothing!" Ma Xiaotao felt her cheeks heat up. To lose herself like that in front of a boy she'd only met twice — it was way too embarrassing. Flustered and uncharacteristically shy, she mumbled, "I'm leaving now. Bye!"
And with that, she darted away like she was escaping.
Zhu Ziyang remained confused, staring in the direction she ran off to.
"Brother!"
Before he could make sense of Ma Xiaotao's bizarre behavior, Jiang Nannan's voice called from behind.
Turning around, he saw Jiang Nannan standing there, a bright smile on her face, though her eyes occasionally flicked toward the direction Ma Xiaotao had run off to.
"Nannan, what are you looking at?" Zhu Ziyang noticed her gaze and asked with a small smile.
"I'm looking at the girl who was just talking to you," Jiang Nannan said casually.
"She's the senior who gave me a ride back to the outer courtyard that day. I happened to run into her, so I said hello," Zhu Ziyang explained.
"Oh~" Jiang Nannan nodded.
"What were you up to?" Zhu Ziyang asked, smoothly changing the topic.
"Hehe!" Jiang Nannan beamed, pulling out two items excitedly. "Look, Brother!"
In her left hand was a jade porcelain bottle, and in her right, a round crystal about the size of a goose egg. Naturally, Zhu Ziyang's attention went first to the finely crafted bottle, which likely held something valuable.
Taking the bottle, he opened it, sniffed the crimson-red pill inside, and after a moment's thought, identified it.
A high-grade pill — the Bright Flame Pill!
Despite its name, the Bright Flame Pill had nothing to do with the fire element. Its function explained the name. For soul masters, it nourished the heart and boosted vitality. For ordinary people, it improved heart function and warded off disease.
The heart was associated with fire. Bright Flame meant a clear, vibrant heart — thus the name.
Seeing this pill, Zhu Ziyang immediately realized why Jiang Nannan had asked him recently about remedies for heart conditions.
Her mother, Bai Xinyi, had a heart ailment. Clearly, Jiang Nannan had bought this pill for her.
"Brother, what do you think? With this Bright Flame Pill, Mom's illness should no longer be a problem, right?" she asked with hopeful eyes.
"Not bad," Zhu Ziyang nodded. For a regular person like Bai Xinyi, a high-grade pill like this could easily cure her illness — maybe even strengthen her vitality beyond normal.
Then he asked, "This pill must've cost more than a million gold soul coins, right?"
Though not the most rare of high-grade pills, it was still high-grade — the price would definitely exceed one million. He was curious how she had managed to get it.
"Yup!" Jiang Nannan said proudly. "It was originally priced at 1.5 million, but I got it for just 50,000!"
Zhu Ziyang's face showed his surprise.
"Hmph!" the girl placed her hands on her hips and said cheerfully, "Brother, you really don't pay attention to current events. As core disciples, we get a 30% discount at all stores in Shrek City. I used my free item allowance to cover one million, so I only had to pay fifty thousand. Hehe!"
"So that's how it works…" Zhu Ziyang scratched his head. He really hadn't known about the core disciple discount. But seeing Jiang Nannan being so thoughtful and frugal made him feel both moved and a little guilty.
Ever since he started earning money through pill refining, he'd been giving Jiang Nannan 100,000 gold soul coins a month as spending money. Yet she remained thrifty, rarely spending on herself. Aside from occasionally bringing him food when he skipped meals, she barely used her funds. This fifty thousand was likely the largest amount she had ever spent.
"Oh, right! And look at this too!" Jiang Nannan held up the item in her other hand, clearly looking for praise.
Zhu Ziyang blinked and focused on the round silver-white crystal. Its luster was dim, but it emitted a faint glow — cool and serene like moonlight.
"Is this a Moonlight Crystal?" he asked hesitantly. Something about it felt off — genuine Moonlight Crystals didn't normally glow.
"Hehe! I'm not sure either. I just felt like it might help me, and it wasn't expensive, so I bought it," Jiang Nannan explained.
"Really?" Zhu Ziyang took the crystal from her and examined it closely.
Moonlight Crystal — just as the name suggested, it was a rare mineral infused with the essence of moonlight. It was highly beneficial to moon-type martial souls. A piece this size, about as big as a goose egg, would typically sell for around 200,000 gold soul coins.
But Zhu Ziyang was puzzled. Moonlight Crystals were known for being subtle and restrained. This one gave off a faint glow and even radiated a slight warmth to the touch.
Something felt different.
He glanced at Jiang Nannan, who looked back at him expectantly.
Suddenly, inspiration struck. A possibility occurred to him.
"Nannan, let's return to the academy!" Zhu Ziyang quickly stored the crystal in his Xingyan ring and took her hand, heading for the exit.
"Huh?" Jiang Nannan was stunned. She was still waiting for praise — why were they suddenly leaving?
"Aren't we waiting for Xiao Ya and the others?"
"We'll talk at the academy," Zhu Ziyang said. "No need to wait for them."
(End of Chapter)
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