“Please, come in!”
Click!
As the door opened, a draft blew past, fluttering the young man’s ink-black hair.
A bulging cloth bag was still tied to his waist, contrasting sharply with his simple, impoverished appearance.
As if intimidated by Ji Xuanyuan’s naturally imposing aura, the youth stood outside the door, hesitating to take a step.
Ji Xuanyuan scrutinized him, her brow furrowing deeper with every second.
Although the boy before her was handsome in a clean sort of way, he was nothing like the elegant, dashing Junior Brother from her memories.
‘Could it be a disguise?’
Ji Xuanyuan silently extended her spiritual sense.
His meridians were mediocre…
His spiritual roots were as messy as those of an ordinary rogue cultivator…
His physical constitution was certainly not the world-shaking **[Taixu Saint Physique]**…
Was this truly the Junior Brother whom the Heavenly Sword Sect’s Grand Elder had personally praised as a “once-in-a-century” genius?
No.
Absolutely not.
Ji Xuanyuan withdrew her spiritual sense and sighed in disappointment.
The person before her was truly just a collateral orphan whose name the Chu Clan’s genealogy wouldn’t even bother to record twice.
Her voice turned cold, carrying the emotionless weight tempered by hundreds of years on the imperial throne. “Master Chu, I heard you have a batch of decent iron ore. I saw that several shops refused to take it. Is the price not to your liking?”
Chu Yuan was momentarily stunned before he straightened his clothes and bowed. “Your Highness is most perceptive…”
‘Your Highness?’
Ji Xuanyuan was taken aback. “How do you know my identity?”
As she spoke, she couldn’t help but glance at Fang Henian.
Fang Henian immediately dropped to his knees. “Your Highness, I never revealed your background!”
Chu Yuan smiled and explained, “Your Highness, please do not misunderstand City Lord Fang. This was all my own deduction. Your hair is as vibrant as a flame, and you radiate an imperial aura…”
“Furthermore, as a member of a Chu Clan branch, I have seen City Lord Fang’s face before. There is likely no one else who could command such service from the City Lord besides Your Highness.”
Hearing his analysis, both Ji Xuanyuan and Fang Henian began to truly observe this seemingly unremarkable youth.
Unlike the shyness or wariness typical of his peers, there was an air of casual detachment and worldly wisdom in the space between his brows.
For a fleeting moment, Ji Xuanyuan saw a trace of her Junior Brother’s spirit in him. She quickly forced a bitter smile.
In her past life, she had met sword cultivators who shared a 30% resemblance to her Junior Brother. She had met rogue cultivators whose speech patterns mirrored his perfectly. She had even seen strangers whose silhouettes were nearly identical to his.
Time and time again, she had stopped to look back, holding her breath in those moments of familiarity, only to conclude with the same lament:
‘Alas… you are not him!’
Ji Xuanyuan’s expression grew cold as she returned to the topic at hand. “Let us speak of your ore. I heard it contains many impurities and has a high refining loss, which is why the shops won’t stock it?”
Chu Yuan cupped his hands. “Exactly. I was planning to try my luck at the Laojun Pavilion on the west side of the city.”
“There is no need.”
Ji Xuanyuan took a storage bag from her sleeve and placed it on the table. “There are 30,000 spirit stones inside to serve as a deposit. I will take all your ore. In the future, if you have similar spiritual materials, send them directly to the City Lord Manor’s Tribute Bureau and record them under your name.”
Chu Yuan sensed the spirit stones inside.
30,000 spirit stones was an amount a low-level collateral member like him couldn’t earn in a whole year. It was enough to buy 100 times the amount of ore he had.
Chu Yuan smiled and bowed. “Thank you, Lady. The ore will be delivered to the Tribute Bureau within three days. Actually, I have another business proposal…”
“I am tired.”
Before he could finish, Ji Xuanyuan waved her hand.
Since the boy wasn’t her Junior Brother, she no longer had any interest in him.
However, at that moment, a cold, mechanical voice rang out in the depths of her consciousness without warning:
[Congratulations, Host! You have successfully located the Divine Treasure: [Divine Treasure Cushion]. Please sit upon it to complete the binding.]
Hearing the system, Ji Xuanyuan remembered that her trip to Xuanji City was for the sake of this so-called Divine Treasure.
Seeing the sensing lock onto Chu Yuan, Ji Xuanyuan was baffled.
‘Could the system’s [Divine Treasure Cushion] be him?’
‘And it wants me to sit on him???’
‘That’s impossible…’
Just as Ji Xuanyuan was about to reject the possibility, the system spoke with certainty:
[Correct! The Divine Treasure [Divine Treasure Cushion] is right before your eyes.]
Ji Xuanyuan’s eyes twitched. She couldn’t comprehend what the system was saying.
Seeing that the Immortal Dynasty’s heir had no interest in him, Chu Yuan didn’t make a fool of himself. He cupped his hands and said, “Very well. I shall take my leave then.”
Thud!
Once the door closed, the room returned to silence.
Fang Henian stood with his head bowed, tactfully waiting for orders.
Tea steam curled in the air.
Ji Xuanyuan heard the system continue its reminder:
[The Divine Treasure is moving away! Please sit on the Divine Treasure as soon as possible to complete the binding.]
Ji Xuanyuan’s lips twitched. She suddenly realized that when a person reached the peak of speechlessness, they really did feel like laughing.
As the saying went: Men and women should not touch.
In this Female-Dominant World, as the future Empress of the Immortal Dynasty, she had to lead by example. Not to mention, she already had a beloved in her heart.
The tea on the stove had long since gone cold. The tea leaves drifted aimlessly, gathering and dispersing.
Ji Xuanyuan turned to look at the spring scenery outside the window.
Thinking back, successfully using a forbidden technique to be reborn was already a great stroke of luck. This malfunctioning system and the so-called [Divine Treasure Cushion]… she could do without them!
“Whoa—!!”
Just then, a commotion broke out outside.
Ji Xuanyuan looked down. Her view from the window was perfectly aligned with the tea house’s main entrance.
Chu Yuan had just stepped down the stairs. Before he could vanish into the crowds of the long street, he was intercepted by an approaching entourage.
The procession wasn’t large, but it exuded refinement and wealth.
The leader was dressed in a plain silk robe. His face was as handsome as polished jade. He raised a hand to block the path.