Second Case 10: Even I Have One Too

After eating lunch together, Liu Meifeng excuses herself and went back to the library. Zhu You felt that Liu Meifeng is too studious, he thought that since she was still young why not go outside and have some fun?

Feng Mingxu on the other hand admired Liu Meifeng's seriousness and regarded her as a good example of what all disciples should be like. As someone who knew the real reason behind her seriousness, Gu Yunxi can only feel sad toward her.

How could someone as beautiful as her, have such a short lifespan?

How come someone as kind as her, has to die before the age of 18?

Why do people like her have to suffer like this?

Gu Yunxi tightened her fist, "Sorry, I think I'm going to help brother Xu after all. You guys can go on ahead without me.",

Gu Yunxi dashed away before Zhu You and Feng Mingxu said anything. Zhu You didn't know why someone as smart as Liu Meifeng has to be helped someone like Gu Yunxi. It's not like Zhu You think Gu Yunxi is dumb. It's just in terms of who is smarter, Zhu You thinks that Liu Meifeng is literally the smartest disciple in this sect.

"Well, I suppose we can't help it. Brother Feng, let us go to the village.",

"Sure thing.",

…

...

Liu Meifeng was busy looking for a book that contains all kinds of precious herbs. She felt like there must be some information inside these books about the extremely rare herb that she sought. Liu Meifeng remembered that Duan Gen asked her to gather some materials to create the golden pill. The ingredients are Golden Root, Golden Ginseng, and Mermaid's Tears. Duan Gen said the easiest way to gather the three ingredients is by enrolling in the Xue Hu's sect. Especially, the precious Golden Root is actually one of the Xue Hu sect's precious treasures. However, Liu Meifeng didn't exactly know where the location of the Golden Root. Hence, the reason why she's at the library today. She can't afford to waste her precious time being idle. The clock keeps ticking and the day goes by even if we were reluctant to face it.

While browsing some of the books, Gu Yunxi suddenly appeared behind her.

"Oh, it's you. Weren't you going to the village with the others?",

"How can I have fun with the others, when my sister here is struggling to prolong her life?",

Liu Meifeng bopped Gu Yunxi's head and said, "It's 'brother' to YOU.",

"I know, hehe." Gu Yunxi happily went to the other shelf and browse some books, "What sort of books were you looking for?",

"Books that contain rare plants.",

"Oh, that–",

"If that's the case, you should head to the library at the main building.",

Feng Mingxu and Zhu You suddenly appeared in the library as well. Liu Meifeng and Gu Yunxi looked at each other, then said, "Didn't you two want to go to the village?",

Zhu You relaxed his body while looking at the ceiling, "Well, that's the plan, but…",

"It won't be fun without you two. That's what brother Zhu said.", Feng Mingxu pretend to cough.

"Hey! You too!", Zhu You protested.

Liu Meifeng heaved a sigh and thought to herself, today is their first day at the sect. Of course, we should have spent it going and having fun before facing the harsh lesson.

"Well, thanks for telling me, brother Feng. Since it's at the main building, let's just go to the village.", Liu Meifeng put the book in her hands back to the shelf.

Gu Yunxi leaned in and whispered, "Are you sure?",

Liu Meifeng leaned back and whispered, "Yes, there's still a long time ahead of us. I will be okay.",

"Well, if you say so.",

"Hey, you two! What are you whispering about?", Zhu You asked.

"Nothing important, just some… family stuff.",

Zhu You lowered his head and said, "Oh, I see.", then, he smiled, "Then, let's go to the village!",

Due to Liu Meifeng's persuasion accompanied by Zhu You's enthusiasm, the four of them went to Yangjiang village. To be precise, the four of them went to the upper part of Yangjiang village. It can be said that Yangjiang village is the largest village in the Zuguo kingdom, the region itself was divided into 3 parts. The first one is the area near the entrance where tourists mostly visited. There are a lot of food stalls, restaurants, inns, and other entertainments. The second one is the area of a knight academy, whoever graduated from the knight academy will be recruited as the kingdom's soldier. The place itself was only filled with the academy's building and dormitories. Lastly, the third area is the area right below the Xue Hu sect. The third area is mostly filled with grocery stores, antics, and other materials for alchemy.

Also, on certain days there will be a black merchant who sells a spirit pet. Almost every disciple has a spiritual pet, mostly because they found comfort in each other, and were paired before entering the sect. Although it is NOT a must, but it will be better to have a spiritual pet as a companion. After all, the Xue Hu sect is located near a wild mountain. Surely, there will be danger everywhere.

It just happens that today the black merchant visited the village, bringing various spiritual pets from the weakest to the strongest. However, you can't form a pact with them forcefully. Both parties need to acquiesce to each other in order to form a pact. Or else, the spiritual pet might consider you as a threat and become hostile to you.

"Oh, look. That's the merchant who sells a spiritual pet!", Zhu You pointed toward the black merchant. He immediately approached the black merchant excitedly.

Liu Meifeng and the others had no choice but to follow Zhu You over to the merchant. The merchant only brought an old carpet and a few monster portraits. Zhu You picked one of the monster portraits, it was a portrait of a white mutant ape, "Say, Haoran. You haven't formed a pact with a spiritual pet, right? Why don't you buy one here?",

Liu Meifeng looked at Gu Yunxi and asked, "Do you have a spiritual pet too, Yunxi?",

"Of course, I have. It's a big golden wolf!", Gu Yunxi summoned her spiritual pet immediately, just like how she described him. It is REALLY a golden wolf.

The golden wolf suddenly popped out in the air and talked, "Oh, a descendant of Gu. What happened to thee until thee decided to call this humble servant?",

"I never knew you have a spiritual pet!", Liu Meifeng protested, she and Gu Yunxi have been living for years, but this is news to her.

"Hehe, I only call Goldy when I'm in a pinch or in great danger.",

Well, isn't being kidnapped by a Minotaur a great danger?

Liu Meifeng patted her forehead as she remembered the old disputes between the Wolf clan and the Minotaur clan. She got lucky to be able to make peace with both clans.

"Anyway, how about you brother Feng?", Liu Meifeng turned to Feng Mingxu with a slight hope of getting a friend on the same boat.

Unfortunately, Feng Mingxu also had a spiritual pet, it's a golden phoenix.

"This is Bu Tao. She's a golden phoenix that only the royalty of Feng descendants have.",

"Wow, yours is also golden color!",

"Haha, yes."

Liu Meifeng pouted and turned to Zhu You, "How about you? What's your spiritual pet?",

"Oh, me? It's a black bear. Come out, Mo Guan!",

Now, it's Zhu You's spiritual pet who popped out in the air. He looked like a savage dark bear with a scar on his mouth. Just as we're about to freak out, Mo Guan suddenly hides behind Zhu You and trembling all over.

"But, just as you can see. He's a bit of… a coward.", Zhu You sighed and patted Mo Guan. Then, he sent him back, "Well, no matter. He's pretty useful on other things. Anyway, do you want to buy one, Haoran?",

Liu Meifeng looked at the portraits on the rugged carpet. There were so many monsters on different levels. Liu Meifeng picked one who looked like a mammoth, "How much is this?",

"That's 800.000 silver stones.",

"Yeah, never mind.", Liu Meifeng immediately puts back the portrait. She glanced here and there, then found a portrait of an egg, "How about this?",

"Oh, that's only 500 silver stones. A portrait of a spiritual egg is a random one, you may or may not be paired with the hatched spiritual monster.",

"Well, okay. I'll take it.", Liu Meifeng took the portrait of a spiritual egg.

The merchant took the egg from the storage space, it was pitch black.

"Why is it pitch black?", Liu Meifeng asked.

"Because it's an egg of the lowest rank of a spiritual pet. The highest rank is a color of gold.",

"Damn right. No matter, I'll take it.", the reason why Liu Meifeng took the egg regardless of being the lowest rank, is because she had always wanted a pet. Back in her previous life, she wasn't allowed to keep a pet. Her parents are strict and only regarded pets as useless objects that could spend so much money.

Now, she lives alone in a large building and didn't break the sect's rule. So, no one can stop her from having a pet.

"Are you sure? You know I could lend you money to buy a more suitable spiritual pet.", Feng Mingxu looked at the black egg awkwardly.

"No need. I'd rather spend my money on something else than buy a fancy pet.",

"It's a deal then.", the black merchant handed the black egg to Liu Meifeng.

Liu Meifeng placed the black egg into her storage space. After getting Liu Meifeng a spiritual pet, Feng Mingxu asked the party if they want to buy some rare stuff. Since the place is near, Liu Meifeng and the others agreed. Zhu You was so excited and immediately went ahead to the shop. However, when he opened the door, there was a beautiful girl wearing the same uniform as him. Red and black uniform, she must be from Jingong house.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't watch where I'm going.", Zhu You bowed and apologized.

The girl just smiled and said, "It's okay. But, you'd better watch out next time. It will be a disaster if you run into someone… temperamental.", although she's smiling but there is a hidden threat beneath those words. However, just as dense as a rock, Zhu You didn't notice those hints and smiled brilliantly, "Yes, thank you for your concern!",

The girl seemed to be taken aback, she looked at Zhu You from head to toes, "Are you… unaware or just pretending around?",

"Huh? What do you mean?",

"Zhu You!",

Liu Meifeng called from behind, she tapped Zhu You's shoulder and anxiously looked at the current situation. From afar, she could already guess that something is not right between Zhu You and this woman. Liu Meifeng observed the girl's expression, however, she couldn't detect anything wrong with her expression. A girl who is good at maintaining their expression and acting professionally. It can only mean one thing…

"Um, young miss. If my brother here committed improper things. Please forgive him, he's just… an airhead. But, he's a good man at heart.", Liu Meifeng also bowed to the girl.

In this time, only a noble would be able to act like that.

The first time Liu Meifeng arrived, the girl was already holding her breath while looking at Liu Meifeng's face. The moment Liu Meifeng apologized, she finally returned to her senses.

Isn't this the handsome boy who was admitted into the Zhongli house?

"O-oh, no problem. Say, aren't you the only guy who was admitted into the Zhongli house?",

"Huh? Oh, yes that is correct. Is there something wrong?", Liu Meifeng asked while tilting her head. This behavior looked cute, especially with her facial features that haven't fully grown yet. It makes her look like a curious puppy.

"N-no, I was just thinking… if we could spend some time together? I'm the daughter of a baron, you can talk to me about anything.",

Before Liu Meifeng could give a response, suddenly a familiar voice rang behind her.

"You don't need to bother him. He is busy with all the lessons he has after getting admitted to the Zhongli house.", Zhao Yu slowly approached from behind and stood in front of Liu Meifeng. The others didn't know how long has she been there, and even Liu Meifeng was surprised.

"Tch, what do you know about him, Zhao Yu?",

"Oh, I sure do know a lot about him. I could talk about him all day and night until you graduated from the sect. Are you sure you want to listen?", Zhao Yu showed a rare cocky smile.

The girl gritted her teeth and pointed toward Zhao Yu, "I'll remember this!", she immediately retreated from the shop angrily.

Liu Meifeng sighed and was caught by Zhao Yu, "Hmm? Is there something wrong?",

"No, nothing. It's just… I think you should be… less intimidating. Who knows how many enemies have you made?", honestly, Liu Meifeng is a bit worried about Zhao Yu. She wasn't like this in the past, or is it because she wasn't her enemy? Liu Meifeng has no idea what happened to Zhao Yu during the years of her absence.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that. Anyone who has a problem with me can face me directly. We'll go into a duel if they want.",

Okay, what the hell happened to her?

The pure, shy, and kind-hearted Zhao Yu that she knew in the past. Suddenly, grow up to be some haughty beauty dressed in a red and black uniform.

"Look at you… I'm honestly worried about your future.",

Zhao Yu was taken aback, then she looked at Liu Meifeng with a face full of affection, "You… you're worried about me?",

At first, Liu Meifeng didn't understand her question. Later, she realized that now she IS dressed as a man called Xu Haoran. Of course, Zhao Yu hadn't met a guy named Xu Haoran before. She used her female brain to change her perspective. Imagine there is a handsome person who is barely your acquaintance and is worried about you. Even if he has a good face, of course, you'll still get goosebumps.

"Oh, s-sorry. I-I mean, as a fellow disciple I'm worried that you might gain more enemies than friends.",

Zhao Yu who was full of expectation suddenly becomes gloomy, "Oh, I see…",

While the two had become somehow awkward. Zhu You and the others just stood in front of the door, quietly watching them.

"So, are we going in or not?", Zhu You whispered to Feng Mingxu.

Feng Mingxu noticed the strange atmosphere between Liu Meifeng and Zhao Yu. As her sworn brother, he didn't dare to disturb them, "I think… we should wait a bit longer.",

Gu Yunxi on the other hand has been pouting and couldn't take it anymore.

"Ugh, if you two had some unfinished business, just go outside. People want to shop!",

Liu Meifeng was startled and unconsciously stepped out of the way, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize. Anyway, Ms.Zhao… are you going to shop too?",

Zhao Yu looked at Gu Yunxi, then back to Liu Meifeng. To be honest, Zhao Yu has been stalking the group for quite some time. At first, she wasn't sure if she did the right thing or not. However, just as she is about to walk away, suddenly a pest flew straight to Xu Haoran, and tried to attract him. Zhao Yu had never been glad of her actions in this life. It was good that she followed them, or else, who knows what kind of woman is going to hook up with Xu Haoran again.

"Sure. I also needed to look for something.",

"Then, let's look around for a while.",

"Yes."