Chapter 22: Shanghai Chamber of Commerce

Yun Fei paid no mind to the fleeing fox and quickened her pace, for she had spotted a patch of white shadow on the distant riverbank.

Heh~ Talk about luck! She had found one just after reaching the water source~

Parting the last few leaves obstructing her view, Yun Fei saw an Immortal Crane drinking by the shore.

Its snow-white feathers, damp with water droplets, sparkled brilliantly under the sunlight.

Immortal Cranes were among the most approachable types of Spirit Beasts.

Generally, they wouldn’t shy away if someone approached without ill intent, just like right now~

Yun Fei walked up to the Immortal Crane with a swagger and patted one of its wings; it didn’t even try to dodge.

“Li!”

The Immortal Crane flapped its wings, shaking off some of the water on its feathers.

It turned its head to look at Yun Fei haughtily, letting out a continuous stream of crane cries.

It seemed to be talking to her, but Yun Fei didn’t speak crane and couldn’t understand a word.

Thus, it was the Magic Mirror’s turn to take the stage~

“Magic Mirror! Switch to the Real-time Translation Function!”

Yun Fei pulled out the Magic Mirror and gave it a command.

The Magic Mirror didn’t argue.

After all, the pain from before hadn’t fully faded, so it naturally didn’t dare to act up again.

“Of course, Master~ Uh… it says…”

The Magic Mirror first put on a smiling face, but after understanding what the Immortal Crane said, its expression turned hesitant.

“What is it? Speak! I’m not going to hit you!”

“It says, ‘This Great One isn’t in a very good mood today… get lost, or I’ll throw you into the river to wash you clean and feed you to the fish!'”

The Magic Mirror blurted everything out in one go.

Seeing Yun Fei’s face turn livid, it felt a chill in its heart and quickly distanced itself from the statement.

“Master! Those were the Immortal Crane’s words! It has nothing to do with me! I’m repeating it exactly as it was said!”

Yun Fei’s face darkened further, but she didn’t look at the Magic Mirror again.

Instead, she fixed her gaze firmly on the Immortal Crane.

It still held its head high, its eyes filled with aloofness.

Its long neck held its head so high that Yun Fei actually had to look up at it.

How hateful!

It was one thing for Mu Lingxi to bully her, but even this Immortal Crane looked down on her?

Today, she was absolutely going to break this crane’s spirit!

At that thought, the corners of Yun Fei’s mouth curled up.

Then, the pressure of the Shattering Void First Realm bore down on the bird.

This Immortal Crane had only just entered the Star-Plucking Realm—where did it get such arrogance?

To be so brazen?

Could it be that it had some kind of backer?

Don’t make her laugh. Where would an Immortal Crane get a backer?

Sure enough, once she released her pressure, every feather on the Immortal Crane’s body shuddered.

Its legs trembled, yet it still struggled to stand, refusing to lower its head.

“Master, it says you must be asking something of it, but it charges for its labor. It’s three hundred Spiritual Yuan per trip!”

“Three hundred?!”

A dark glint flashed in Yun Fei’s eyes. In an instant, a layer of burning purple flame coated her hand.

“I wouldn’t mind eating roasted crane tonight~”

Under Yun Fei’s anger, the searing heat continued to rise, causing the surrounding air to distort.

Seeing this, the Immortal Crane’s eyes widened.

It hurriedly ruffled its feathers to extinguish a few sparks caught on them.

Then, it actually knelt down on both legs and immediately lowered its head very low.

Its haughty expression was instantly replaced by fawning sycophancy.

“Master! You are truly too magnificent! It says it failed to recognize your greatness and offended such a gentle and elegant lady! It says from now on, it will go through fire and water for you without hesitation!”

While there was certainly some exaggeration involved, Yun Fei found it quite agreeable~ She needed subordinates with such sweet tongues~

“Mm~ Very good~”

Yun Fei nodded with satisfaction and withdrew her pressure.

Seeing the Immortal Crane keeping its body low, Yun Fei didn’t hesitate.

With a light leap, she jumped onto the Immortal Crane’s back and sat down.

“Get up! Take me to the city at the foot of the Academy Mountain!”

Yun Fei patted the crane’s back and spoke with grand bravado.

By now, the gloom on her face had vanished completely, replaced by intense excitement.

This was a novel experience.

Back in the Demon Realm, she was used to sitting on the broad backs of dragons.

This was the first time she had sat on the narrow back of an Immortal Crane~

“Li—!”

The Immortal Crane let out a mournful cry in response.

It then spread its wings and took off with a “whoosh,” flying toward the base of the mountain…

Shortly after the person and bird flew away, a man and a woman appeared on the shore.

They looked in the direction Yun Fei had departed, their faces full of interest.

“Oho! If I remember correctly, isn’t that Immortal Crane from the Beast Taming Peak? It has a stubborn temperament. I think it’s the child of the old crane raised by the Peak Master?”

“Indeed, that is definitely the rebellious child of the Master’s old crane… Speaking of which, that young girl is quite capable. No one on the entire Peak could conquer that crane without using force, yet she managed it with just a threat.”

“Hmph! I expect it was thanks to that clump of fire in her hand. If my eyes haven’t failed me, that must be an Exotic Fire, and of no low grade… Heh, it looks like the Alchemy Peak, Weapon Peak, and Combat Peak are going to start fighting again this year~”

“You really do love watching the world burn…”

***

Yun Fei squinted her eyes comfortably as she felt the wind whistling past her ears.

“Li—!”

The Immortal Crane suddenly cried out, startling Yun Fei from her enjoyment.

Yun Fei glared at the crane and slapped its back.

“Don’t scream while you’re flying! You scared me!”

Having been slapped, the Immortal Crane didn’t dare to cry out randomly again.

However, it really only wanted to remind Yun Fei that they had almost arrived!

The Immortal Crane maintained its mournful expression as it slowly descended.

As the descent continued, Yun Fei began to notice the sights of the city below.

Shuguang City, a subsidiary city of the Dawn Academy.

As the logistics and supply station for the Dawn Academy, its internal facilities were complete.

It had everything one could need: commercial streets, auction houses, food streets, and so on.

“Hmm… Demon Capital Commerce Association… Ah! Over there! Quick, fly there!”

Yun Fei pointed toward the location of the Demon Capital Commerce Association and gestured to the Immortal Crane.

“Li—!” Another clear cry rang out, immediately drawing the attention of some people below.

When they saw it was an Immortal Crane, they turned their heads back, acting as if it were a perfectly normal sight.

Seeing the Immortal Crane land at the entrance, the two guards at the Association’s door looked at each other and stepped forward.

“Fair lady, do you intend to enter the Demon Capital Commerce Association?”

“Ah, yes. Is there a problem?”

Yun Fei gave the two guards a casual glance, her focus landing on the ornaments hanging from their waists.

Those ornaments bore the Association’s emblem.

These ornaments were products of the Association.

Like her Student Token, they had the function of masking Demonic Power.

“It is like this: our Association has a clear regulation that guests’ pets or mounts cannot enter the premises.”

“Oh, is that so… Hey! You stay out here and behave. I’ve placed a Tracking Talisman on you. If you dare to run… humph, humph, humph~”

The meaning in Yun Fei’s eyes was clear.

The Immortal Crane knew that if it dared to flee, it would end up in her stomach.

Even now, that scorching heat continued to replay in its mind, leaving behind a significant psychological trauma.

Giving the Immortal Crane one last look, Yun Fei swaggered into the Association.

In truth, she had lied; she hadn’t left any backup measures on the crane.

She just wanted to scare it.

Since she had caught it on a whim just for a ride, it didn’t matter if it ran away, though it would be better if it didn’t.

Upon entering the Association, a flash of disappointment crossed Yun Fei’s eyes.

But that was to be expected; Shuguang City was a city established only a few decades ago and lacked a deep foundation.

Its only real claim to fame was being a subsidiary of the Dawn Academy.

Because of this, it was only natural that this branch was smaller than the ones in the Demon Realm.

“My, my~ Fair lady~ What would you like to buy? Our Association focuses on practicality. Please feel free to mention any needs you have; we will provide you with the highest quality product selection~”

An attendant who had been waiting for a while hurried over diligently, looking as if she saw a commission about to land in her lap.

“Needs?”

Yun Fei tilted her head.

She could ask for anything?

Thinking of her current identity, Yun Fei came up with an interesting idea.

Pretending to think for a moment, Yun Fei spoke slowly and seriously, “This Association branch… I want it!”

“Huh?!”

The attendants and the surrounding customers all stopped what they were doing and looked at Yun Fei in unison, their eyes filled with disbelief.

The attendant responsible for hosting Yun Fei was at a loss.

Although people weren’t looking at her, she was at the center of the whirlpool and felt quite embarrassed.

“Um… Fair lady… you’re joking, right… haha…”

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

Yun Fei straightened her expression and raised an eyebrow at the attendant.

Seeing Yun Fei’s manner, the attendant instinctively took a step back and whispered to another employee, “Quick! Go get President Zhou!”

“Ah… oh, okay!”

The instructed attendant blanked for a second before running toward the back.

“Please… sit?”

Yun Fei’s attendant led her to a high-backed chair and gestured for her to take a seat.

“Mmh~ Not bad, not bad~”

Yun Fei was very satisfied with the service.

She sat down without any reservations, crossed her legs, and casually picked up a teacup from the side, poured herself some tea, and sipped it slowly.

Before long, the sound of footsteps approached.

Yun Fei looked toward the sound and saw a sophisticated older woman in a black dress.

“Are you… the boss here?”

Yun Fei set down her teacup and leaned back against the chair, her gaze unabashedly sizing up the woman.

“I am. And you are?”

“Heh… You don’t recognize me? It seems I have to take this out for you to know who I am.”

As she spoke, Yun Fei pulled the Young Lord Command from her robes and tossed it to the woman in black.

The woman’s expression changed instantly upon seeing the token.

She immediately bowed deeply to Yun Fei.

“Vice President Zhou Shuyao greets the President.”

Zhou Shuyao’s action instantly turned the gathered crowd of onlookers to stone.

Could such a surreal scene actually happen in broad daylight?

“Pre… President?”

The attendant who had brought the woman over was completely dumbfounded.

To confirm whether she was dreaming, she softly called out to Zhou Shuyao.

“Ahem! Everyone, get back to work!”

Zhou Shuyao shouted, breaking the petrified state of everyone present.

Before they could react further, she pulled Yun Fei into the inner room.