Qin Su sat there stroking Qianjin while watching Xia Jiayi direct the staff as they helped move her belongings.
She was in an exceptionally good mood.
Although she could have hired professional movers, they would never have worked as diligently as Xia Jiayi’s people.
Perhaps because she did not want anyone to find fault with her, Xia Jiayi supervised the entire move personally.
That suited Qin Su perfectly.
As the true owner of the belongings, she happily acted as a hands-off manager.
About two hours later, every piece of luggage had been neatly moved into her new home.
Looking with satisfaction at the piles of bags and boxes on the floor, Qin Su handed the old apartment’s key to Xia Jiayi.
Then she gave her another Good Person Card.
“Thank you.”
“You’re really a good person.”
Still holding the key, Xia Jiayi remained somewhat dazed.
This was nothing like the outcome she had imagined.
Wasn’t she supposed to come here, demand the key, and at the same time establish her position so Qin Su would know when to back off?
The fact that Qin Su had managed to date Xu Xiao for more than a year was proof enough of her importance to him.
Even though they had already broken up, Xia Jiayi still regarded this ex-girlfriend as a major threat.
She had even gone so far as to become jealous and compete with her.
Winning a man as outstanding as Xu Xiao had given Xia Jiayi no small sense of satisfaction.
Yet standing before Qin Su, that feeling of superiority had been greatly diminished.
Only after leaving Qin Su’s new residential complex did Xia Jiayi gradually come back to her senses.
She tightened her grip on the key.
Was it just her imagination?
Why did she suddenly feel as though she had picked up something Qin Su no longer wanted?
Before she could get into her car, her phone rang.
The moment Xia Jiayi saw the words “My Dear” flashing on the screen, her eyes lit up.
An involuntary smile of sweetness spread across her face.
But as soon as she answered the call, that smile gradually disappeared.
“I didn’t drive her away.”
“I just helped her move.”
“She gave me the key.”
“I… I understand…”
…
Meanwhile, after ending the call, Xu Xiao radiated an icy aura.
His assistant lowered his head without saying a word, afraid of becoming the target of his boss’s anger.
Xu Xiao was in a terrible mood.
Ever since the breakup, only a few days had passed without seeing Qin Su, yet he found himself unable to stop thinking about her.
He constantly wanted to see her again.
However, his pride prevented him from lowering himself to ask for a reconciliation.
Dating Xia Jiayi had merely been a way to make Qin Su jealous.
To that end, he had even paid for numerous promotional articles to publicize their affectionate relationship.
Here he was, restless and distracted after the breakup.
Meanwhile, Qin Su seemed completely carefree.
Everything he had done felt like flirting with a blind person.
The stark contrast only made him feel even worse.
What he had not expected was that Qin Su would move out of the apartment without the slightest hesitation.
She had even handed the key directly to Xia Jiayi.
“I’ll finally have a home of my own.”
“From now on, this will be our home.”
“Remember, once we’re home, no more talking about work.”
He recalled Qin Su smiling through tears, her face filled with emotion.
Xu Xiao snapped back to reality.
Comparing those memories with the present only darkened his expression further.
She had once insisted over and over that it would be their home.
Yet she had returned the key without hesitation.
Did that mean she truly had made up her mind to break up with him?
Xu Xiao lightly tapped the desk with his curled fingers.
Each rhythmic knock made his assistant even more nervous, scarcely daring to breathe.
“Su Su’s novel this year is called Polaris, isn’t it?”
The assistant immediately answered,
“Yes. Last month you accompanied her to meet Director Zhou to negotiate the contract.”
“If nothing unexpected happens, filming should begin sometime this year.”
Qin Su’s novels had sold their adaptation rights so quickly partly because they were genuinely excellent.
Their refreshing plots and moving emotions made them especially popular among younger readers.
But another major reason was that Xu Xiao had paved the way for her behind the scenes.
Xu Xiao said coolly,
“After the meeting, remind me to call Director Zhou.”
He stood up.
The rare trace of vulnerability he had shown disappeared completely.
Once again, he became the cold, decisive President Xu that everyone else knew.
…
Qin Su put away the few important belongings herself.
As for everything else, she left it for Zhang Yunqi to organize.
“This is also a form of training for you.”
“Practice more often. It’ll make your soul more solid and give you a stronger foundation.”
She spoke to Zhang Yunqi with a completely serious expression.
Zhang Yunqi nodded.
Using her willpower, she levitated a quilt into the air before gently placing it on the bed.
“I’ll practice diligently, Master!”
From the look on her face, she regarded every word Qin Su said as absolute truth.
Qianjin let out a yawn.
Having served as Qin Su’s natal spirit artifact for nearly a thousand years, no one understood her personality better than it did.
It would happily bet an entire box of dried fish that Qin Su simply did not want to unpack her luggage herself.
All that talk about training her disciple and strengthening her foundation was nothing more than an excuse.
To set up the array properly, she would need more than just the spiritual energy contained within the gemstones.
She would also need several other materials, such as cinnabar and ginkgo wood.
Qin Su made a list, adding the medicinal ingredients needed for the body-tempering bath as well.
Thanks to the transmigrator, her current body was exceptionally frail and delicate. She would need medicinal baths to strengthen it.
There was also the matter of the acne scars on Zhao Shiyu’s face…
The more she thought about it, the longer her shopping list became.
Several of the items were quite expensive.
Fortunately, she still had some money left in her bank account.
In a few more days, she would also receive the two million yuan promised by the young heiress, Xin Ying.
After writing a long shopping list, she prepared to head out.
Qianjin transformed into a streak of light and returned to her body.
Now that she had lost her cultivation, Qianjin was her greatest trump card.
Most of the items on the list were easy enough to find.
However, a few depended entirely on luck.
For example, Qin Su urgently needed a magical artifact to serve as the core of her array.
The only spirit artifact she still possessed was the Mandarin Duck Shears.
Unfortunately, the shears were far too sharp and aggressive to be suitable as the array core.
An idea suddenly occurred to her.
She hailed a taxi and headed straight for the local Feng Shui Street.
Many of the shops there specialized in selling magical artifacts and antiques.
However, buying such items required an excellent eye.
Out of a hundred pieces, perhaps not even one would be genuine.
Although Qin Su no longer had her cultivation, her discernment remained.
That was more than enough.
She had never possessed much talent for forging magical artifacts.
Back at the sect, after ruining countless precious heavenly treasures, she had wisely abandoned the path of artifact refinement.
Fortunately, she had shown considerable talent in alchemy instead.
About half an hour later, she arrived at Feng Shui Street.
Unlike other customers, who carefully examined every item one by one, Qin Su merely glanced into each shop from the entrance.
To cultivators like her, low-grade magical artifacts emitted a pale green glow.
Mid-grade artifacts glowed blue.
High-grade artifacts radiated purple.
As for supreme-grade artifacts, truly divine objects concealed their brilliance, appearing completely ordinary.
Spirit artifacts and magical treasures were another matter altogether.
In a world with such scarce spiritual energy, they could hardly be nourished properly and were almost impossible to encounter.
Back in her sect, ordinary magical artifacts had gathered dust in the corners of the warehouse.
Even when choosing a spirit artifact, she had been spoiled for choice.
After passing two or three shops, Qin Su felt genuinely heartbroken.
What outrageous prices!
Several shops in a row did not have a single genuine magical artifact.
Forget mid-grade artifacts.
She hadn’t even found a single low-grade one.
Yet these ordinary objects dared to carry price tags of tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of yuan.
Was making money really that easy in the modern world?
Qin Su felt that instead of wasting money on such junk, she would be better off using the broken spirit artifact fragments Qianjin had spat out.
She continued walking at a brisk pace, scanning shop after shop.
When she reached the twelfth store, she finally stopped.
Hmm.
This shop was somewhat better than the previous ones.
At a glance, she spotted around five genuine magical artifacts inside.
She stepped into the store.
It was quite small, no more than a dozen square meters in size, with shelves packed tightly with various items.
The owner had a round face that made his already tiny eyes look even smaller, like mung beans embedded in a large flat pancake.
Besides Qin Su, there was another customer in the shop.
He appeared to be around sixty years old and carried himself with remarkable dignity.
At that moment, he was casually turning an ancient coin over in his hand.
“Old Li, how much is this copper coin?”
“Would it make a good centerpiece for a feng shui array?”
The shop owner, Old Li, immediately beamed.
“As expected of Elder Cui. You spotted the most valuable item in my shop with just one glance.”
“Since you’re a regular customer, I’ll give it to you at this price.”
He raised all five fingers of one hand.
Elder Cui nodded slightly.
“Fifty thousand?”
Qin Su’s gaze settled on the ancient coin, and her eyelid twitched.
Elder Cui certainly had a good eye.
He had picked the most dangerous object in the entire shop on his very first try.
The coin looked ancient and weathered, with a faint glow flowing across its surface.
It was obviously no ordinary object.
Unfortunately, it was far too dangerous for an ordinary person to possess.
In Qin Su’s eyes, the coin radiated a deep crimson light.
That color revealed it had once been soaked in blood and was saturated with overwhelming resentment.
If someone actually took it home and used it in a feng shui array, the mildest consequence would be financial ruin.
The worst would be loss of life.
Her gaze shifted to Elder Cui.
His refined bearing and facial features revealed a man who had accumulated virtue through countless good deeds.
He was a genuinely good person.
Someone like him might suffer a few setbacks even if he encountered such an object, but he would ultimately turn misfortune into good fortune.
In that case, there was no harm in warning him and forming a favorable connection.
Qin Su spoke in a clear voice.
“If I were you, I wouldn’t choose that coin.”
Old Li frowned and looked at her.
“Young lady, you’ve probably only learned the basics.”
He had spent several thousand yuan acquiring that coin.
Qin Su was simply too young.
In the shop owner’s eyes, she was exactly the type of young person who had read a few beginner guides online and fancied herself an expert.
Elder Cui remained perfectly composed.
He did not underestimate Qin Su because of her age.
“What exactly is wrong with the coin?”
“The baleful aura is too strong.”
“Not only will it disrupt the feng shui of your home, but it will also attract ghosts and other malevolent spirits.”
Old Li frowned.
“These Five Emperor Coins are supposed to ward off evil when carried on your person and block harmful influences when placed in the home.”
“So tell me, where exactly is the problem?”
Qin Su smiled faintly at Elder Cui.
“May I borrow the coin for a moment?”
With calm generosity, Elder Cui handed it to her.
Qin Su gently rubbed the coin between her fingers.
She could feel an edge as sharp as a blade, pricking painfully against her skin.
“This really is a genuine treasure.”
“It’s an authentic piece.”
“Unfortunately, it has become tainted by something it never should have encountered.”
If it were properly purified, however, it could become an excellent magical artifact.
Her gaze fell upon a cup of tea sitting on the table.
Without hesitation, she dropped the coin into it.
The coin landed squarely in the tea.
What astonished everyone was that not a single drop splashed out.
The once-clear tea immediately began turning red as crimson spread outward from the coin.
The color continued expanding.
In less than a minute, the entire cup had transformed into what looked like fresh blood.
The brilliant red liquid contrasted starkly with the spotless white porcelain of the teacup.
Even someone as experienced and knowledgeable as Elder Cui felt a chill run down his spine.
A wave of lingering fear washed over him.
Had he truly brought such an object home, there was no telling what kind of disaster it might have caused.
The weather in May had already begun to grow hot.
Yet Old Li took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Filled with genuine admiration, he sighed.
“The younger generation truly deserves our respect.”
His impression of Qin Su had completely changed in an instant.
Far from feeling angry that she had exposed the truth, he was actually grateful.
If Elder Cui had bought the coin from his shop and something terrible had happened afterward, his tiny store would never have survived the Cui family’s retaliation.
From that perspective, this young woman had actually saved him.