Chapter 24: Verification!

  "Alas! It's hard to put into words! Originally, the young master of the Lan family had sent us an invitation, but that Miss Lan, the fifth daughter, refused to let us enter the city. She is the most spoiled little princess of the Lan family, and we are just ordinary commoners, who dare to disobey her? You know, even the young master of the Lan family has to act according to Lan Ning's mood! Let alone us! So, we had no choice but to set up our stall outside the city and exchange some herbs we need." Leng Ruoxue said with tears in her voice, how pitiful! She almost cried.

  "Huh? But I've heard that Miss Lan is well-read and knowledgeable, a very well-mannered young lady from a prestigious family, and extremely filial. There's no one in the Lan household who doesn't like her." The old man said with some puzzlement.

  "Old man, haven't you heard that rumors stop at the wise? You have to see it for yourself! What I just told you is all my personal experience! That Lan Ning is indeed beautiful, but her character? It's really not something to be praised! Moreover, she doesn't understand what respect and filial piety are. My several grandfathers are already so old, and she still calls them 'ugly eight monsters' one after another. You judge for yourself, I admit we're a bit ugly, but it's our own ugliness, who does it bother? You say yes, don't you!" Leng Ruoxue seemed to have met someone who understood her, and she began to speak non-stop...

  But the more the old man heard, the more his eyebrows furrowed, and Zheng En, who was standing on the side, had a forehead full of black lines, and his heart was even colder with sweat. Ah! Whoever offends me must not offend my young lady, otherwise, I don't know how they will die!

  "Are all these things you're saying true?" The old man listened for a while, but still asked with some doubt.

  "It's absolutely true, even more so than the pearl!" Leng Ruo Xue guaranteed, then she deliberately paused for a moment before continuing: "Old man, don't be fooled! I heard that Blue Family's Fifth Miss is actually a highly talented alchemist, and it's said that the Alchemy Master who will take her as an apprentice is even planning to personally accept her as his disciple. Ah, poor old man! I'm praying for him, hoping his endurance is strong enough not to be driven to death by Blue Ning Er."

  "Hmm! If that old man had taken Lanning as his apprentice, would it have been so miserable?" The old man's mouth twitched, thinking to himself, "Is this girl exaggerating a bit too much?"

  "Old man, if you don't believe me, you can go and verify it yourself! With the way you're dressed now, Lan Ning will definitely take you for a beggar." said Leng Ruoxue with absolute confidence.

  "Can't be, right?" The old man looked down at his own clothes, although they weren't very luxurious, but they were extremely clean, how could they possibly take him for a beggar?!

  "How about we make a bet?" Leng Ruoxue said with a faint smile, she really had a bit of a gambling addiction.

  "What are you betting on?" The old man asked with great interest and enthusiasm.

  "Old man, if you win, from now on, no matter what herbs you need, as long as I have them, I'll supply them to you for free. But if you lose... you have to take him as your apprentice! How about it, is this bet acceptable?" Cold Snow smiled with a sincere expression and full of confidence.

  The old man was just about to speak when he felt someone tugging at his hem and so lowered his head.

  "Huh? Little fox, what's going on?" The old man asked curiously, and it turned out to be that little fox.

  "Old man, don't make a bet with our master, you'll definitely lose." The fluffy little face was full of sympathetic expression.

  "Huh? Why?" The old man was somewhat perplexed, and couldn't help but think to himself, could it be that even this little beast doesn't have a good impression of him? However, it's also possible that it's afraid its master will lose!

  "That blue-robed old man is so cruel! He thinks I'm cute and pretty, but he actually wants to kill me to make a scarf. Waaah...I'm so scared! Mei doesn't want to be a scarf!" Mei's beautiful purple eyes were filled with tears as she pitifully said this, her fearful little expression enough to evoke sympathy from anyone.

  "What!" The old man was furious upon hearing this. Wouldn't they spare even such adorable little creatures? He had only two great hobbies in his life, one was alchemy and the other was a fondness for these lovely little beasts. Otherwise, he wouldn't have stood at the city gate listening to what those few little beasts said for so long. Who let them be so cute that they were impossible to resist?!

  "Elder, I've heard that some humans have a special fondness for using foxes as scarves... but it's not the fault of those who are born beautiful. Moreover, they already have an owner... Oh no, what if Miss Lan from the Blue House wants to take her by force? Her master can't defeat the Blues." Mei said with great concern, tears welling up in her crystal-like eyes!

  "Don't be afraid, I'm here, Lanning won't dare to move you." The old man assured.

  "Really? But you're just an ordinary old man, you can't beat the Blue family. Let's not drag you into this, and don't dare to make a bet with my master, you'll definitely lose." Mei reminded him, with a hint of elbowing him away.

  "Enchanting! Master, I've really been spoiled by you." Leng Ruo Xue said with a hint of disappointment, but in her heart, she was already laughing secretly. Who would have thought that the usually considerate and understanding Mei could also be so sinister? In fact, Lan Ning'er had never seen it before, so naturally, she hadn't mentioned wanting to use it as a scarf either. However, if Lan Ning'er were to see Mei, it's not like there was no possibility of her saying something like that!

  "Master, this old man is being taken advantage of, we can't take such an unfair gain!" Mei said with a very kind tone, her face full of guilt towards her master.

  "Little friend! I've made a bet with you." The old man suddenly spoke up, even if he was going to lose, he still wanted to see what kind of person Lan Ning'er really was.

  "Haha, old man, I'd like to congratulate you on getting a good apprentice first." said Leng Ruoxue with a smile.

  "Don't congratulate me too early, what if I win?" The old man said with a hint of unwillingness to admit defeat. He wanted to see if Lan Ning was truly useless except for his talent.

  "Miss, I won't be a bet." Zheng En suddenly said.

  "Huh? Why?" The old man's face was full of question marks.

  "I'm not qualified to be a Dan master." Zheng En said frankly, every Dan master who accepts apprentices hopes to surpass their masters, but he couldn't even refine dan openly and honestly, so he really didn't want to disappoint this elderly person.

  "Oh, you haven't gone to the Dan Shifu Association for registration and appraisal yet? That's okay, just go register and it'll be fine, as for the appraisal, there's no rush." The old man comforted.

  "I had registered, but later on, I was also removed from the list by Master Dan." Zheng En said with some difficulty.

  "Huh? Why is that?" The old man widened his eyes, asking somewhat disbelievingly, when would Dan Shifu be able to remove the title of Dan Shifu? How didn't he know?

  "Because..." Zheng En was really speechless!

  "Old man, you know that Zheng En is a dan master who has been expelled by the Dan Sheng Association. Are you still daring to accept him as your disciple?" Leng Ruoxue raised an eyebrow and asked with some urgency, also helping to relieve Zheng En from the situation.

  "What's there to be afraid of? I've lived for so long and never feared anyone!" The old man couldn't hold back his excitement, and a powerful aura burst out.

  "Old man, I'm just a small junior xian master, can't help but be scared!" Leng Ruoxue teased, but in her heart, she couldn't help but mutter to herself, this old man is indeed a powerful one, and even stronger than she had imagined!

  "Haha, Xue'er, that old man may look down on him, but he's a mysterious and powerful master!" At this time, Wu Chuan said.

  "Haha, then I've found a formidable master for Zheng En!" Cold Snow replied telepathically.

  "Hmm, Zheng En is really lucky to have met you!" Wu Zan exclaimed.

  "He's under me, of course I have to consider him." Lan Ruoxue said matter-of-factly, then cut off her connection with Wu.

  After the exchange, Leng Ruo Xue turned her gaze to the old man again. In her eyes, he was as precious as a rare treasure. She had already decided that she would find a way to make him accept Zheng En as his apprentice. With such a powerful master, Zheng En would have a strong backing in the future.

  "Heh heh, sorry about that! Little friend, I got a bit carried away." The old man hastily withdrew his intimidating aura and said with some embarrassment.

  "It doesn't matter, Zheng En, hurry up and go see your master!" Leng Ruo Xue reminded him with a glance at the dazed Zheng En.

  "Hey little friend! Our bet hasn't even started yet! Don't be too impatient." The old man said with a hint of helplessness, as two drops of cold sweat fell from his forehead.

  "Miss!" Zheng En also looked a bit embarrassed and glanced at Leng Ruo Xue.

  "It's just a matter of time!" said Leng Ruoxue confidently.

  "Haha! Little friend, since you're so confident, let's set the deadline for our bet to five days! Within five days, I'll find a way to get in touch with Lan Ning'er. If she's really as you said, I'll take this kid as my apprentice. But if you've deceived me, then from now on, you'd better be prepared to provide me with the herbs I need at any time!" The old man laughed and said, seemingly not losing out regardless of winning or losing the bet. Because he had already seen that Zheng En's qualifications were quite good.

  "No problem, however, to prove that you really understand the situation with Lan Ning Er, let Mei temporarily follow you as a witness!" Leng Ru Xue said in a professional tone, but actually, she had another purpose for letting Mei follow that old man, hehe!

  "Good." The old man responded very readily.

  "Master!" Mei jumped into Leng Ruo Xue's arms, her face filled with reluctance, whimpering... she didn't want to leave her master!

  "Mei, you're a witness to this bet! This task is very important." Leng Ruo Xue stroked Mei's soft fur, comforting her.

  "Master, I will definitely complete the task." Mei said with tears in her eyes.

  "Hmm! Don't worry, little friend, I'll take good care of it." The old man said somewhat helplessly, leaving his master for only five days, why make such a big fuss about it?

  "Not only must you take good care of it, but also protect it well." Ling Ruo Xue reminded.

  "I understand, I understand." The old man hurriedly assured, he always kept the little fox by his side, that's all!

  "It's fine as long as you understand." Leng Ruoxue nodded in satisfaction.

  "Little friend, I'll go into town first." The old man said, taking the flute from Leng Ruo Xue's hand and holding it in his arms.

  "Alright, old man, if someone wants to exchange for herbs, would you mind spreading the word for us? And this, it's filled with all of Mei's favorite foods, enough for her to eat for five days." Leng Ruoxue said as she handed an old man a storage ring, asking him to hold onto it for Mei.

  "Hey there little friend! Don't worry, I won't let your precious pet go hungry." The old man with a head full of black lines said. Alas, this lass was really underestimating him! Did she think he couldn't even raise a single pet? However, he still accepted the ring and took out a thin silk thread from his own ring, threaded it through the ring and put it on Mei's neck.

  "Old man, you don't know, it's just that my beasts are too picky, so every time I go out, I have to prepare food for them." Leng Ruoxue explained, and she was very satisfied with the old man's thoughtfulness.

  "Haha, looks like you're also a person who likes to spoil animals!" The old man seemed to have found a kindred spirit and said happily.

  "Uh, it's getting late, you guys should hurry into the city!" Leng Ruoxue urged.

  "Little friend, we're off. We'll meet again in five days!" The old man said, and then he hugged his grandson and walked into the Blue Cloud City without looking back...

  The old man had just left, and Yao Jiao and others came out of the tent.

  "Haha, you're quite bad, girl!" The old man laughed and said. Just now, the conversation between the girl and that old man, they had heard every single word without missing any. Alas! If the girl wanted to scheme against people, no one would be able to escape!

  "Xuě ér, you're still addicted to betting, aren't you!" The demoniac wrapped his arms around Leng Ruò Xuě's slender waist and said with a pampered tone.

  "I just wanted to find a master for Zheng En! That old man is quite formidable, and apart from being the Xuan Zun, his Dan Shi level isn't low either!" Cold Snow White gave the old man a sideways glance, explaining that if she wasn't mistaken, he should be a Dan Shi Zun Shi!

  "Miss, I can learn from you, no need to find a master." Zheng En said, the strength of his family's miss was something that even a Dan refining master couldn't compare with.

  "Zheng En, after all, we are newcomers and our current strength is not that high. If you have a Dan-refining master as your teacher, those people from the Dan-refining Association would probably not dare to make things too difficult for you." said Leng Ruo Xue.

  "Miss..." Zheng En's voice choked with emotion as he looked at Leng Ruo Xue with a face full of gratitude, his heart overflowing with feelings. Oh... Miss is really good to him, thinking of everything for him!

  "Alright, stop that and get to work!" Leng Ruo Xue urged, since Zheng En was her person, she only needed his loyalty, as for gratitude? There's no need to be so polite with one of her own people.

  "Yes, miss!" Zheng En exclaimed excitedly, and at this time, Bao Bei was also leading someone over.

  "Our lovely master, someone wants to trade herbs with us again." Baby jumped into Leng Ruo Xue's arms, rubbed against her affectionately and coquettishly.

  "Ah, good boy!" Leng Ruo Xue gently patted the little one's head and cooed.

  "I'd like to exchange for golden silk grass." The middle-aged man who led the baby said.

  "Take a look at our conditions first." Zheng En said, pointing to the two signs standing in front of him.

  "Alright." The middle-aged man replied, and became more cautious.

  "I'm willing to trade a hundred-year-old ice lotus with you." The middle-aged man said directly after reading it.

  "Alright, you take a look first." Zheng En took out a small blade of grass that was as thin as golden silk and handed it to the middle-aged man in front of him, asking him to inspect the goods.

  "This is Ice Lotus!" The middle-aged man took a glance at the Golden Silk Grass and hastily exchanged it for the Ice Lotus.

  After the transaction was completed, Zheng En saw that the middle-aged man was still standing in his original position, and asked somewhat puzzled: "Do you want to exchange something else?"

  "No, no, it's nothing. I just wanted to ask if I can set up a stall next to yours." The middle-aged man said with some embarrassment.

  "Of course." Leng Ruoxue suppressed her smile and said, hehe, let's all come here to set up shop! The Blue Family's medicine exchange meeting was a flop, which made her happy!

  "Thank you!" The middle-aged man thanked them and then took out the medicine he had already prepared and set up a stall outside the city gate...

  More and more alchemists like Leng Ruoxue came to exchange medicinal materials, and at the same time, the number of alchemists setting up stalls outside the city gate also gradually increased...

  Inside Blue Cloud City.

  In the late afternoon, the sky gradually darkened.

  The old man who had made a bet with Leng Ruoxue was now walking on the bustling street, his mood very complicated. Charm, who had been held in his arms all along, narrowed her eyes and dozed off.

  The old man looked at Mei, who was sleeping soundly, with a hint of resentment. He felt quite displeased in his heart. Although he had only been in the city for half a day, he had already suffered a blow, because he found that this little fox's food was better than his.

  Just now when he was having dinner, he simply found a small food stall on the street and ate something simple. However, this little fox's dinner was incredibly sumptuous, and the flavor was so enticing...

  My master is the best master in the world!

  Just then, the little fox looked at him with a happy face and gazed at him sympathetically...

  And this also made the old man suffer a great deal of stimulation, so after finishing dinner, he began to search for it on the street. He wanted to find the best inn in Blue Cloud City, and he had to regain his face in front of that little fox. He really didn't want to see the sympathetic gaze of that little fox again! He really wasn't penniless!

  Hesitation! This one will do! After searching for a long time, the old man finally found a satisfactory inn on the busiest street in Blue Cloud City.

  The old man in front of him had a hotel called "Home", which looked very luxurious from the outside. Although the hotel was only three stories high, it occupied a large area. A huge sign hung in mid-air above the hotel, with a big character for "home" on it, and a flying eagle spreading its wings in the lower right corner. As everyone knew, that was the crest of the Blue family, indicating that this hotel belonged to the Blue family.

  Since it's a Blue family inn, the service shouldn't be bad, the old man thought to himself, he still had confidence in the Blue family's reputation.

  He thought of this and walked in directly.

  "Is this gentleman going to dine?" The waiter came up and asked after seeing the old man.

  "I'll stay in the store," said the old man calmly.

  "Ah! I'm really sorry, but recently there have been too many Taoist masters coming to our Blue Cloud City, so all the ordinary guest rooms are already fully booked. Would you mind switching to another inn? Just two streets away from our inn, there's a very affordable and economical inn that would be perfect for you." Although the attendant was very polite, his tone implied something unpleasant.

  "Old man, just live here! If you don't have money, I'll pay for it." Mei lightly fluttered her eyelids and said calmly.

  "Who says I don't have money! Which room is available, I'll take it!" The old man shouted angrily, the waiter's gaze made him want to hit someone!

  "Ah! Only luxury suites are left, but it's very expensive for one night." The attendant said cautiously.

  "Is this enough for the stay?" The old man took out a silver card from his ring and flashed it in front of the attendant, asking.

  "Enough... enough!" The waiter stuttered, he really didn't expect that this unremarkable old man would actually have a silver card. To know that it was issued by the Cold family, one of the three super families, and had a contract established under the protection of heaven and earth rules, making it impossible for anyone to counterfeit. Moreover, the minimum limit for owning a silver card was 50 million purple gold coins.

  "That doesn't even include taking us to our room." The old man shouted, he had only been away from the mainland for over a decade, and unexpectedly the Blue family had also become greedy.

  "Yes, yes, follow me." Knowing that the little old man in front of him was very rich, the waiter didn't dare to slack off and directly led him to the luxurious suite on the second floor.

  "Is it this room?" The old man stood at the door and asked.

  "Yes, would you like to take a look?" The waiter said respectfully and pushed open the door.

  The old man walked into the room, glanced around casually, and spoke in a cold tone: "So-so!"

  "Ah! I'll leave first." The servant bowed and left the room.

  After the servant left, the old man sat down on the bed with a huff, and glared at Mei who was covering her mouth to stifle a giggle. He said with a hint of displeasure: "Is it that funny?"

  "Haha!" After hearing the old man's words, Mei couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  "Ha! Ha! I'm going to sleep!" The old man said in a huff.

  "Haha!" Mei laughed enough and then also lay down on the bed.

  Before long, both man and beast fell asleep.

  The next day.

  The old man woke up and also woke up Mei.

  "I haven't slept enough yet!" She opened her beautiful purple eyes and said somewhat discontentedly.

  "Good grief! It's almost noon, can't sleep anymore, we still have to think of a way to get close to Lan Ning!" The old man furrowed his brow and thought to himself, hmm... how can I get close to Lan Ning and see her true face?

  "It's you who wants to get close to her, not me! I don't want to be served up on a platter for her to make into a scarf." Mei said with disinterest.

  "Then you can help me think of a way, right?" The old man smiled and coaxed, it had already been a day, although he had come up with several plans, but in the end, they were all rejected by him.

  "In fact, you don't need to get close to her at all." The enchanting and mysterious one smiled.

  "Don't get close to her, how can you see her true face?" The old man asked somewhat puzzled.

  "Why don't you go out on the street and ask around, see how everyone else views Lan Ning'er? Wouldn't that make it clear?" Mei suggested.

  "Hmm! That's a good idea too!" The old man thought for a moment and said.

  "What are we waiting for? Let's hurry up! You and our master have a bet that only has four days left." Reminded Mei, who was extremely kind.

  "Let's eat something first before we go! I'm a bit hungry." The old man said pitifully.

  "Mm." Mei nodded and immediately jumped onto the old man's shoulders.

  The old man took Charm with him and left the room, heading in the direction of the dining hall.

  They arrived at the restaurant and the old man found a seat by the window, ordering several dishes to eat. As for Mei, it naturally ate the food prepared by Leng Ruo Xue.

  The old man was eating and suddenly heard the conversation from the next table, and they were talking about Lan Ning'er, so he perked up his ears to listen.

  "Hey, have you heard? The fifth Miss Lanyu is about to become a disciple of Du Ming." A middle-aged man at the next table said in a low voice.

  "Really?" another young man asked skeptically.

  "It's been openly known in the Blue family for a long time, now we're just waiting for Du Mingge to arrive at our Blue Cloud City." The middle-aged man said with an air of certainty.

  "If Lan Ning'er became a disciple of Du Mingyan, wouldn't she be the junior sister of the President of the Dan Sheng Association?" The young man exclaimed in surprise.

  "Ah! I really don't know what that Du Ming is thinking, actually taking in Lan Ning as a disciple. He's truly blind!" The middle-aged man sighed.

  "If Lan Ning'er had such a powerful backer, wouldn't she be able to walk sideways in the Lan household from now on?" The young man said with a knowing tone.

  "That's for sure, now she's getting arrogant. I heard that the young master of the Lan family is also going to replace her!" The middle-aged man looked around and said in a low voice.

  "Really? Tell me about Lan Ning Er!" The old man suddenly ran to the next table and chimed in with a curious face.

  "How can you eavesdrop on our conversation!" the middle-aged man asked cautiously.

  "I didn't eavesdrop, it's just that your voices were too loud. But don't worry, I won't speak out of turn. I just want to know about Lan Ning'er, so tell me!" The old man said with a shameless expression.

  "Are you really not going to talk nonsense?" The middle-aged man asked with a skeptical expression on his face.

  "Don't worry, I'm not from Blue Cloud City, nor do I know you people, so how could I speak nonsense? However, I do want to get to know this Miss Lanyu a bit better." The old man said very sincerely.

  "What's it to you?" the middle-aged man couldn't help but ask, his expression still filled with suspicion.

  "I just heard what you said, and it seems that Lan Ning's temper is not very good. I'm afraid that if I meet her, I won't know how to handle it, so I want to understand the situation first." The old man said patiently.

  "Oh! Miss Lanning is the number one beauty in our continent of Huan Tian, but if you see a stunningly beautiful woman on the street, you'd better stay far away from her to avoid unnecessary disaster." The middle-aged man reminded kindly.

  "Huh? Why is that?" The old man's face was full of question marks. Was Lan Ning a tiger or something? Why did he need to hide from her?

  A middle-aged man was about to explain when suddenly someone shouted: "Lan Ning'er has arrived!"

  In an instant, the entire restaurant was thrown into chaos, and everyone immediately scattered in all directions.

  Digression

  Thank you jenhui for the flowers.

  Thank you Shirley47 for your vote.