Song Liuhua had a small appetite. After eating one and a half pieces of venison, some diced rabbit meat, and drinking a cup of Spirit Fruit juice, she was full.
There was half a piece of venison left on her plate with a bite taken out of it. Feng Ci didn’t mind and picked it up with his chopsticks, placing it in his own bowl. Song Liuhua rested her chin in her hands and watched him.
The man’s handsome profile seemed to be bathed in a soft glow under the light of the moonstone, making him appear even more gentle. When their eyes met, Song Liuhua smiled slightly and continued watching.
Although the two hadn’t done anything intimate yet, they were no longer as distant as they had been at the beginning. Song Liuhua considered herself quite experienced now, openly admiring her handsome husband’s appearance with practiced ease.
Feng Ci chuckled softly and quickly finished the last piece of Exotic Beast Meat.
Having a face that his wife adored wasn’t such a bad thing.
The next day.
The safe zone had been expanded further. Song Liuhua followed Feng Ci to the rear safety base. On the flat, open land, people from various major families were stationed.
Feng Ci pointed around with his slender fingers, “The major families have jointly set up a defensive formation here. As long as you don’t go beyond this range, you’ll be safe.”
Song Liuhua followed his pointing finger and saw that the range exactly covered the flat area. She marveled inwardly at the grand scale of it all. The flying boats of each family had also been moved here, with temporary crafting rooms set up in the front specifically for pharmacists and Artifact Refiners.
As the new day began, women walked out of the defensive zone carrying baskets on their backs, while children followed behind the adults with small baskets and shovels, playing and laughing.
“If you want to go out for a walk, bring Feng Qing or Feng Yi with you. If you want to practice Elixir Crafting or Artifact Crafting, go to the Feng family’s crafting room. If you get tired, rest on the flying boat.”
After catching Rabbit-like Beasts all day yesterday, Song Liuhua still felt sore all over. Hearing Feng Ci’s suggestion, she chose the second option without hesitation, “I won’t go out today.” I want to practice Elixir Crafting.”
“Take Feng Qing and Feng Yi with you.”
Feng Ci thought for a moment, then took out two baskets of Spirit Jade Coins and one basket of Spirit Plants from his storage ring. “Alright then. You can use these Spirit Jade Coins and spiritual medicine first.”
Song Liuhua glanced through them and found they were all high-quality items. There were quite a few second and third-tier Spirit Plants.
She said happily, “Then I’ll accept them. You know me – my talent is poor, so I might not be able to craft anything useful.”
Feng Ci squeezed her soft little hand and smiled, “Don’t worry about wasting materials. The path of Elixir Crafting naturally requires significant investment. Even if you can’t succeed, that’s normal. The green medicinal liquid and spirit replenishing pills you’ve crafted have already surpassed the value of countless medicinal materials.”
Qin Ye emerged from the Qin family’s camp, his narrow eyes squinting as he teased, “Feng Ci, you’ve hidden things deeper than anyone. Your wife knows Elixir Crafting too?”
He had found out clearly – Feng Ci’s wife was originally considered talentless, and what she awakened a month ago was only a low-grade talent. She could barely manage planting, let alone Elixir Crafting. In his eyes, this was just playing around.
His tenth sister Qin Rui had superior talent and was now only a third-tier pharmacist. When she first started Elixir Crafting, she went through countless hardships. Feng Ci’s wife was clearly another case of someone with ambitions higher than the sky but a fate thinner than paper.
What a pity for this basket of good medicinal materials.
The basket contained quite a few second and third-tier Spirit Plants, which would be wasted on Song Liuhua. Qin Ye couldn’t help but ask, “Your wife’s level is low; she doesn’t need such high-quality herbs to practice with. Our Qin family brought a third-tier pharmacist this time. Why not give these herbs to me? We can split the refined pills equally.”
Song Liuhua was furious—this guy again!
“I may be useless, but did I eat your family’s rice?”
Qin Ye completely ignored the fuming young woman and turned to Feng Ci. “What do you think?”
Feng Ci’s smile faded slightly. “Not interested. My wife is worthy of any good thing.”
Seeing the seriousness in his eyes, Qin Ye waved his hand. “Feng Ci, you’re spoiling her!” He then asked, “I heard you obtained a batch of special spirit replenishing pills that can quickly restore Spirit Power. Can you spare some? I won’t take them for free—I’ll trade you a third-grade Spirit Sword for them.”
This third-grade Spirit Sword was Qin Rui’s newly crafted masterpiece, far more valuable than the spirit replenishing pills. It could be considered the Qin family’s compensation to Feng Ci.
“No need for the third-grade Spirit Sword. A hundred spirit replenishing pills for two bolts of Mystic Spirit Gauze.”
The value of two bolts of Mystic Spirit Gauze was far less than a third-grade Spirit Sword. As for what the gauze was for, Qin Ye glanced at Song Liuhua, whom Feng Ci was holding hands with, and the answer was obvious. He said with a pained expression, “Fine, it’s your idea. Don’t blame me for being an ungenerous brother.”
After Qin Ye left, Song Liuhua asked curiously, “What is the Mystic Spirit Gauze for?”
Feng Ci gently rubbed her fair, delicate hand and explained slowly, “Mystic Spirit Gauze comes from third-tier mutated white cicadas. It’s light and elegant, yet tough, with some protective properties. The women in the city quite like it. I’ll have someone tailor a few dresses for you later.”
Song Liuhua’s eyes sparkled. “Thank you, husband.”
Feng Ci released her hand. “Go play.”
“Alright!” Song Liuhua took the herbs and Spirit Jade Coins and skipped away cheerfully.
Feng Ci watched her enter the crafting room, a slight smile curling his lips.
His wife had her little schemes, but she wasn’t pretentious. Moreover, she was remarkably pure-hearted and occasionally brought him unexpected surprises. In his eyes, she surpassed countless so-called geniuses.
The Feng family’s crafting room was about a hundred square meters, with five young women inside. Those engaged in Elixir Crafting and Artifact Crafting were clearly separated, each busy with their own work.
Song Liuhua intended to practice Elixir Crafting and naturally headed toward the two Feng family members who were refining medicine.
Feng Li and Feng Su were in the midst of Elixir Crafting when they saw her approach, their feelings mixed.
They had only learned recently that the young master was married, and his new wife was the infamous good-for-nothing from Yanqing City.
Yesterday, while they were working themselves to the bone refining medicine up front, they heard that she had been idly strolling around with Feng Qing and Feng Yi in the back. They were so angry they nearly burst. What kind of wife lived like her? Everyone else worked tirelessly to support themselves and contribute to the family.
But their lady? No one expected her to excel at Elixir Crafting or Artifact Crafting, but she should at least know how to forage for wild herbs. Instead, she did nothing, just tucked her hands in her sleeves and even stepped on wild vegetables without picking them.
People from other clans saw her and came to them, making their new lady a laughingstock. The two sisters were so furious they turned red in the face and ended up in a heated argument.
Afterward, they grumbled and complained in the crafting room for a long time. But when they returned, they learned that she, along with Feng Qing and Feng Yi, had caught over two hundred Rabbit-like Beasts.
Feng Li and Feng Su were utterly stunned.
With so many Rabbit-like Beasts adding up to several thousand jin, although they were only first-tier Exotic Beasts, a thousand jin was still quite valuable.
An ordinary person might not earn this much money even by digging for wild vegetables for a year. It turned out that the two of them practicing Elixir Crafting for a day couldn’t even match a fraction of that amount.
The louder they had scolded yesterday, the more guilty they felt today.
Feng Li, with her sweet appearance, carefully controlled the fire of the Refining Cauldron and gave a shy smile. “Madam, are you going to practice Elixir Crafting too?”
Feng Su’s delicate face twitched at the corner of her mouth. Knowing full well how poor the other’s talent was, yet still asking if she was going to practice Elixir Crafting—wasn’t that just provoking her?
Song Liuhua noticed the tension in the two girls’ eyes and chuckled. “You two carry on. My talent is poor, so I’ll just practice casually.”
Feng Su breathed a sigh of relief and soon immersed herself in Elixir Crafting.
Feng Li wanted to continue the conversation, but she was in the middle of refining medicine and couldn’t afford to be too distracted, so she had to let it go for now.
Song Liuhua chose a spot, took out a Refining Cauldron from her spatial bracelet, along with some Spirit Jade Coins and a box of spiritual medicine given by Feng Ci, and skillfully lit the fire.
“Miaoyun Flower in, Purple Spirit Grass in, Mulberry Yellow Branch in…”
As she muttered to herself, Song Liuhua casually tossed the spiritual medicines she recognized into the Refining Cauldron.
Suddenly, two loud “booms” were heard. She turned around to meet the incredulous eyes of Feng Li, Feng Su, and the Artifact Crafting equipment.
Beside them, the lid of the Refining Cauldron hung crookedly on its rim, and a plume of black smoke rose from inside, emitting a strong burnt smell.