"This young man, I went to great lengths to get this Flamegrass, so I can't sell it."
"Shopkeeper, come on, it's business. There's no reason not to sell. Just name your price."
"This young man, as you know, Aurora City is extremely dangerous. To get to Aurora City, you have to pass through Starlight City, which is fraught with peril. The escort agency would certainly consider this Flamegrass a rare treasure! Although it doesn't help with cultivation, it really does provide warmth."
"Oh, shopkeeper, stop saying so much. Just give me a price."
The shopkeeper stroked his mustache, hesitating for three breaths.
"Alright then, seeing as you're a handsome young man, you must come from a big family. I'll sell it to you at the original price, 500 taels."
"500 taels?"
Qin Ming's pocket only had seventy taels left.
"Why is this so expensive? Shopkeeper, can you let me pay on credit?"
"No, no, no, how could I offer credit in a small business like this?"
Qin Ming took out the Demon Suppressing Token from his waist.
"I don't have enough silver on me today, but I'll pay you next time I'm out."
The Demon Suppressing Token truly had a miraculous effect.
The moment the shopkeeper saw it, his expression changed.
In the entire Dayan Kingdom, there were two most formidable forces. The first was the White Feather Guards, commanded by Her Majesty, the Empress, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers. The second was the Demon Suppressing Guards, led by the Grand Princess. Although they numbered only a few thousand, each one was ruthless beyond measure.
The shopkeeper quickly assessed that Qin Ming was not someone to be trifled with.
"Alright, young man, I'll extend credit to you. Just make sure you pay me back next time you're out! Otherwise, my little shop and family..."
"Of course, of course!"
Qin Ming took out all the seventy taels of silver left in his pocket and handed it over. The remaining 430 taels would be on credit. He wrote an IOU for the Yunu Pavilion and then left on his horse.
...
Inside the Taiyin Palace on the first floor of the main hall, the Grand Princess lay on a white jade chair, her alluring figure draped in green silk, her long, smooth legs crossed. The red leather boots on her feet stood out strikingly.
At this moment, the Grand Princess's face was filled with anger, and her gaze was cold and detached.
Three people were kneeling in front of her.
Lingyin, Meiyang, and Mengtu.
"Who gave you the guts to let Xiao Qinzi leave the palace on his own?"
Meiyang, the captain of the guards, stammered, her face filled with fear. Even though they had followed the Grand Princess for many years, everyone was afraid when the Grand Princess lost her temper.
"I'm asking you a question, answer me!"
"Reporting to the Grand Princess, it's all my fault! This morning, I woke up groggy and wanted to sleep more, and it was cold outside. Xiao Qinzi said he would go buy alcohol for me, and I didn't think much of it, so I agreed."
"Useless thing!"
The Grand Princess suddenly raised her arm, and a wave of intense cold energy struck Meiyang, sending her stumbling backward for several meters until she crashed into a pillar. Her chest tightened with discomfort, but she quickly got up and knelt again.
"Grand Princess, do you suspect Xiao Qinzi? He has already killed two traversers and nearly killed the well-known Mu Sizhe from the traversers' side. He definitely isn't one of them."
"I know he isn't a traverser! Recently, those traversers have been very active in Yingshi City. He's a person from my palace, and if he goes out alone, with his low cultivation, it's very easy for him to fall into danger!"
"Grand Princess, I didn't consider that, it's my fault."
"You worthless fools! I've already seen that Xiao Qinzi has reached the peak of Body Refining Stage 1 and is about to break through to Body Refining Stage 2. Do you understand how fast that is? Forget about your twelve people—my sister, who's known for her monstrous talent, and I, both didn't cultivate this quickly. I was counting on Xiao Qinzi to play a role in the upcoming battles with the traversers. And yet you let him leave the palace on his own. If he gets killed, what will happen then?"
The Grand Princess was so enraged that the three people standing below—Mengtu, Meiyang, and Lingyin—all realized: The Grand Princess cared a lot about Xiao Qinzi. It made sense, since it had been a long time since a true genius appeared among the natives. On the other hand, the traversers had caused numerous problems.
"I understand my mistake. I'll go find him right away."
With that, Mengtu and Meiyang turned around.
Just as they reached the door, they saw Qin Ming rushing over with a huge pile of things.
Mengtu and Meiyang immediately smiled in relief.
"Xiao Qinzi, you're back!"
Lingyin turned her head to see Qin Ming, and the worry in her heart finally eased.
"Grand Princess, Xiao Qinzi is back."
The Grand Princess lazily leaned back in her jade chair, crossing her legs and closing her eyes slightly. Coldly, she said, "He's back, so what? Should I go meet him? Leaving the palace without permission, he may escape the death penalty, but the punishment for disobedience will be hard to avoid!"
Qin Ming heard this but pretended not to. As soon as he entered, he placed a huge pile of things onto the table.
"Grand Princess, here's some Zui Xian wine for you, and lots of food. The palace food is too repetitive, so I brought some variety. There are Osmanthus cakes from the West Market, glutinous rice dumplings from the East City, candied hawthorn from the South City, snow bean cakes, and more."
Qin Ming placed the items on the table one by one, making a loud clattering noise.
Mengtu, Meiyang, and Lingyin all widened their eyes in shock. Did this guy really run to so many different places just to buy food? And bought so much?
"Xiao Qinzi, how much did all this cost?"
"I spent it all! Exactly one hundred taels."
"Are you an idiot? Even if you become part of the Demon Suppressing Guard, you only get five taels a month. You just spent a hundred taels on food!"
Lingyin saw that the Grand Princess was still closing her eyes with a displeased expression on her face. She hurriedly picked up two pieces of Osmanthus cake and said with joy, "Grand Princess, Qin Ming bought food for you. Please have some."
"I don't eat these. Take them all away."
Lingyin stuck out her tongue.
Mengtu and Meiyang deliberately said, "Since the Grand Princess said she doesn't want them, we'll take them all."
"Take them, take them."
Though they said that, they still left one of everything for the Grand Princess and hurriedly left the room, delighted.
Qin Ming stayed behind. He knew the matter wasn't settled yet.
The Grand Princess's furious face was full of anger.
As expected, after a breath, the Grand Princess suddenly opened her eyes and angrily scolded, "Xiao Qinzi, you're really bold! Who allowed you to leave the palace?"