Nina nodded obediently while shouldering her pack and walking into the city.
Gurgle…
At some point, the girl’s stomach began to rumble.
She looked around and was attracted by a sweet snack at one of the stalls—
“Dragon’s candy!”
“I can’t believe Western Province City also sells sweets from the Central Plains!”
The little white dragon’s eyes lit up as she secretly swallowed her saliva, then shouldered her pack and walked toward the stall.
But as she got closer, the girl became a bit socially anxious.
For her first shopping experience, when she tried to speak, she realized she didn’t know how much to pay.
“Um… sir, I’d like a serving of dragon’s candy.”
The girl carefully spoke up, mimicking the actions of other customers around her while taking out a shiny gold ingot from her waist pouch.
Suddenly, the morning sunlight shone down, making the golden treasure in the girl’s hand gleam brilliantly.
Onlookers stared wide-eyed, and even the vendor was stunned.
“Oh my goodness, young lady! Your gold ingot is too large—I can’t make change for such a small business!”
“Ah… then, what should I do…”
The white dragon girl seemed to notice the strange looks from people around her.
She was already socially anxious on her first outing, and now having made a mistake right at the start, she felt even more at a loss.
“Oh well, never mind. You must be the daughter of some wealthy family nearby. Here, take the candy, consider it my treat!”
The vendor scratched his head and offered a serving of dragon’s beard candy, smiling as he waved to the girl.
Nina, holding the box of candy, felt uncertain, but her lifelong good manners made her nod repeatedly:
“Thank you! You’re such a good person!”
She was a bit overwhelmed, not expecting her first street purchase to be treated by such a kind vendor.
Indeed, master was right—the Great Dragon Dynasty was full of good people!
Except…
That villain called Yino!
The white dragon girl stood by the roadside, eating her candy while reflecting.
But just as she finished her snack and was about to continue investigating the city, another vendor from a nearby stall waved at her with a smile—
“Young lady, since you’re so well-off, would you like to try your luck with some Phoenix-Crimson Stones?”
“Phoenix-Crimson Stones?”
“Yes, these stones are all imported from the Western Region. If you pick a few stones and buy them, then use the machine to split them open, you might find priceless pure phoenix crystals inside!”
“Can… can you really find pure phoenix crystals?”
Hearing about the legendary pure phoenix crystals, the dragon girl’s eyes immediately lit up, because these were forbidden treasures she could never access in the dragon palace.
Seeing that the girl had taken the bait, the vendor’s eyes curved into a smile:
“Of course it’s real! Someone opened an ancient phoenix blood ore a while back and made a fortune overnight!”
“Then let me try a few too!”
…
…
…
The Hundred Spirits Pavilion, deep in the secret chamber.
Yino followed the young woman all the way to the end of the secret chamber.
At first it was so narrow that only one person could pass, but then it opened up into a spacious area. The end of the secret chamber was like a museum, with treasures from all over the world neatly arranged in various sealed barrier display cases.
Although Yino had seen these treasures in his previous life, actually approaching them up close now left him utterly amazed.
If he could rob this treasury clean, Yino would become Western Province City’s number one whale overnight!
“Well, see anything you like?”
“These are all the Hundred Spirits Pavilion’s signature treasures.”
“Considering your thoughtfulness in bringing those treasures, and the fact that you’re Xinyao’s little nephew, this time the great me will charge you just three paper cranes to choose one treasure to take away.”
The red-robed young woman stood with her hands behind her back, her feet lightly tapping as she walked ahead, giving a cold smile and generously waving her hand.
Yino secretly swallowed, feeling like he’d really struck gold.
“Yino, it’s the thousand-year silver leaf grass! I want that one!”
At some point, the little deer emerged from Yino’s body, her eyes shining as she ran to stare at some medicinal herbs in a display case, drooling.
Xinyao looked back, suddenly curious about this unfamiliar little cutie.
“And who is this…?”
“Cheese snow gazelle…”
Yino looked at the silly deer drooling over the display case and absently replied.
The red-robed young woman tilted her head slightly: “What did you just call her?”
“Her name is Wangxue. She’s a nine-colored deer, from the snowy region, so she’s a snow gazelle.”
“Wait, Yino, how did you come to know a nine-colored deer?”
Xinyao found this very strange, as Jinjie certainly hadn’t reported this to her.
Yino shrugged, seeing that Wangxue was still drooling. He hurried over to grab her by the collar and pull her up: “I saved the nine-colored deer when she was nearly dead in the snow region. Afterward, the little deer just kept following me.”
“So… you’ve already formed a spirit contract?”
The red-robed young woman’s eyes widened in surprise. She stammered while staring incredulously at the innocent deer girl.
Wangxue, constantly being stared at, puffed up her cheeks and somewhat shyly hugged Yino’s leg, hiding behind the young man with only her cute little head and pair of nine-colored antlers peeking out.
“Yes, we’ve already formed a contract, so Wangxue isn’t human. It shouldn’t be a problem bringing her in, right?”
Yino patted the little deer’s head and spoke in a helpless tone.
Looking at the close relationship between the little deer and her master, Xinyao was momentarily speechless.
If it had been a fox demon like Jinyue, she could have been reasonably angry. But faced with this harmless, adorable little deer, Xinyao shouldn’t have felt angry. Yet, looking at the faint golden sacred mark shining on the back of Yino’s hand, her heart was inexplicably filled with a sour jealousy that couldn’t be dispelled.
“By the way.”
“That thousand-year silver leaf grass Snow just mentioned—how much would it cost if I paid for it directly?”
Amid the conversation, Yino stroked the little deer’s head and turned with a smile toward the silver snowy leaf in the display case.
Xinyao stood frozen, silent for a long while, before finally saying with reluctance:
“Such a precious herb… you’re planning to buy it to feed a deer?”
“Yes, Wangxue just said she likes it, didn’t she? Besides, I promised her I’d compensate her with materials for advancement.”
Yino continued patting the little deer’s head, outwardly maintaining a calm smile.
With Yino’s pampering words, the golden-haired little deer looked up at him with shining eyes, deeply moved:
“Master! Master really is Wangxue’s best friend in the whole world!”
Wangxue was teary-eyed, having never seen Yino be so generous to her.
Back in the Azure Forest, he wouldn’t even give Wangxue those few crystal stones!
Now at the Hundred Spirits Pavilion, Yino wasn’t even trying to haggle?!
“If you really want the silver leaf grass, you could exchange it directly for three paper cranes…”
Seeing how extravagant Yino was being, Xinyao couldn’t help but remind him.
But as she finished speaking, Yino waved his hand dismissively:
“No need, I’ll just pay cash.”
“Pay cash?”
“Yes, how many spirit stones do you want?”
“Thirty thousand….”
“Thirty thousand spirit stones” Xinyao said, lacking confidence.
As Yino’s aunt, she truly didn’t believe the young man could produce such a huge sum at his age.
And…
What made Xinyao even more unwilling to accept was that the most expensive gift Yino had ever given her was just a string of bells, but now, having known the little deer for less than half a year, he was willing to spend a fortune on rare medicinal herbs for a spirit pet!
How could Xinyao be calm?
Was she worth less than a deer?
But just as Xinyao was feeling intensely jealous, Yino suddenly changed the subject:
” Wangxue, did you hear how much it costs?”
“Th-thirty thousand spirit stones…” the little deer stammered, as if hearing an astronomical figure.
“Do you think your master can afford it?”
“Even if we sold Wangxue… probably couldn’t afford it…”
“So you see, it’s not that your master doesn’t want to buy it for you… it’s that your master really can’t afford to raise you!”
“Oh, don’t say that! Master has tried his best. Wangxue doesn’t absolutely need this thousand-year silver leaf grass!”
Seeing Yino’s self-reproachful expression, Wangxue nodded quickly and hugged him, with a strange sense of guilt rising in her heart.
She obediently took Yino’s hand, becoming much more sensible, no longer looking around and demanding that Yino buy things for her.
Meanwhile, seeing the little deer’s guilt, Yino imperceptibly curved his lips in a smile.
He pretended to browse casually but silently moved to the red-robed young woman’s side, leaning close to whisper in her ear:
“Later, please package a pure phoenix crystal for me, to be paid with my aunt’s three paper cranes.”
“???”
Xinyao raised her eyebrows, looking at Yino, then at the silly deer, finally realizing something wasn’t right.