Zhu Ziyang decisively acquired the Clear Heart plant.
Then, as he continued forward and browsed a few more stalls, he found them uninteresting and decided to look for Jiang Nannan. Just then, he suddenly saw a familiar face at a neighboring stall. No—perhaps not quite familiar, since they had only met once before.
Ma Xiaotao!
Ma Xiaotao happened to turn her head and saw him as well. Zhu Ziyang clearly noticed a sparkle in her pink eyes, and her veil couldn't hide her smile.
In a flash, she appeared in front of him and said, "Ziyang, little brother, we meet again."
"Hello, senior," Zhu Ziyang instinctively replied, his mind drifting to the soft sensation on his back from the last time they met.
"What are you up to?" Ma Xiaotao asked, lifting her veil to reveal her lovely face.
The girl smiled, though ripples stirred in her heart.
That strange feeling appeared again! Ma Xiaotao felt a jolt inside—her restless martial spirit suddenly calmed as soon as she got close to Zhu Ziyang.
Why?
She couldn't understand.
She recalled some information she had discovered: Zhu Ziyang was the champion of this year's freshman assessment, and an 11-year-old Soul Exalted—a rare genius. Her teacher had encouraged her to spend more time with him.
But even so, should she really get close to a boy four years younger than herself?
It felt ridiculous. So even though her martial spirit had gone out of control again a few days ago, she hadn't considered looking for Zhu Ziyang. Her dominant personality couldn't bring her to deliberately approach a stranger.
Yet now, standing near him again, she realized the little willpower she had painstakingly built up over the years was about to collapse.
It just felt so good!
She hadn't felt this kind of ease and comfort without suppressing herself in a long time!
Ma Xiaotao spaced out, staring at Zhu Ziyang, her eyes losing focus.
"Senior? Senior? Senior!" Zhu Ziyang called out three times to snap her out of it, puzzled by her dazed expression. "Are you okay?"
"N-No problem," Ma Xiaotao's cheeks burned with embarrassment. Acting like this in front of a junior she had only met twice was mortifying. She stammered awkwardly, "I'll be going now. Bye!"
And just like that, she fled again.
Zhu Ziyang stood there, baffled by Ma Xiaotao's strange behavior.
Just then—
"Brother!" came Jiang Nannan's voice from behind.
Zhu Ziyang turned around to see her standing there with a bright smile, her pretty eyes occasionally glancing behind him.
"Nannan, what are you looking at?" he asked with a chuckle, having noticed her curious expression.
"I was just looking at the girl who was talking to you," she said nonchalantly.
"She's the senior who helped guide me outside the academy the other day. Just saying hi since we ran into each other," he explained.
"Oh~" Jiang Nannan replied casually.
"So, where were you?" Zhu Ziyang asked, changing the subject.
"Hehe!" She grinned, excitement lighting up her face as she showed him two items. "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. Zhu Ziyang's gaze naturally lingered on the better-looking porcelain bottle, which held a red pill.
He opened the bottle, sniffed it, and after some thought, recognized what it was.
A high-grade pill—the Bright Flame Pill!
Despite its name, this wasn't a fire-type pill. Its function was related to its name: nourishing the heart and boosting vitality for soul masters, and improving heart conditions and fighting disease in regular people. "Heart belongs to fire," thus the name "Bright Flame"—referring to a "brightened heart."
He finally understood why Jiang Nannan had asked him earlier about pills that help with heart conditions.
Her mother, Bai Xinyi, had heart problems. This Bright Flame Pill was clearly intended for her.
"Brother, what do you think? With this Bright Flame Pill, Mom's illness won't be a problem anymore, right?" she asked eagerly.
"Indeed." Zhu Ziyang nodded. Bai Xinyi was an ordinary person—this high-grade pill could not only treat her heart issue, but might even invigorate her vitality. He then asked, "This pill must be worth more than a million gold soul coins, right?"
Although not extremely rare, it was still a high-grade pill and certainly worth over a million. He was curious how Jiang Nannan had managed to get it.
"Mhm!" she said proudly. "It was originally 1.5 million gold soul coins, but I got it for only 50,000!"
"?" Zhu Ziyang was puzzled.
"Hmph!" she said confidently. "You really don't keep up with the world! As core disciples, we get a 30% discount in all stores in Shrek City. I used a voucher to deduct one million coins, so I only paid 50,000! Hehe!"
"Oh, that's how it is." Zhu Ziyang chuckled awkwardly. He hadn't known about the discount for core disciples. Still, he felt both touched and slightly heartbroken at her frugality.
Ever since he started making money from alchemy, he gave her 100,000 gold soul coins each month for pocket money. But she remained thrifty—only occasionally spending on meals for him. This 50,000 was probably her biggest expense yet.
"Oh right, Brother, look at this too!" she handed him the crystal in her other hand with a proud smile.
Zhu Ziyang blinked and examined the silver-white, irregularly round crystal. Though its luster was dim, it gave off a faint cold glow, like moonlight.
"Is this a Moonlight Crystal?" he asked hesitantly. It felt off—Moonlight Crystals usually don't emit light.
"Hehe! I'm not sure either. I just felt it might be helpful for me, and it wasn't expensive, so I bought it," she said.
"Really?" He took the crystal and examined it closely.
Moonlight Crystals, as the name implies, are rare minerals infused with moonlight. For moon-type martial spirits, they're extremely nourishing. A piece this size should be worth around 200,000 gold soul coins.
But something was odd. While the crystal had the traits of a Moonlight Crystal, it glowed faintly and felt warm—anomalous for this mineral.
Zhu Ziyang was unsure.
He looked at Jiang Nannan and saw her gazing at him with eager anticipation.
Suddenly, inspiration struck him!
"Nannan, let's head back to the academy!" He swiftly stored the crystal in his Starflame Ring and took her hand, walking out of the Jiubao Chamber of Commerce.
"Huh?" Jiang Nannan was stunned. She had been waiting for praise, and now they were suddenly leaving? "Why, Brother? Aren't we going to wait for Xiaoya and the others?"
"We'll talk at the academy," Zhu Ziyang replied. "Let's not wait for Xiaoya and Beibei."