Humiliated in public, Huo Xuanxing’s face flushed crimson as he glared at Xuan Qing through gritted teeth.
His fists were clenched so tightly that the spiritual energy around his body began to agitate out of control. He was just about to rise when his younger sister, Huo Xuanyue, timely restrained him.
If gazes could be transformed into blades, the other party would have already riddled Xuan Qing with thousands of holes.
“Hmph, even a piece of trash dares to be this arrogant!” Huo Xuanmin’s eyes brimbed with disdain and contempt. “Eldest Brother’s face must be thicker than the capital’s city walls by a few extra inches.”
Following the mockery, Huo Xuanmin eagerly waited to see the other person fly into a rage yet nothing of the sort happened.
In the face of his provocation and sneering, the other party remained completely unmoved, not even sparing him a single glance.
This feeling of being looked down upon felt like swallowing a fly, irritating him to no end.
“You piece of trash, don’t push your luck!”
Xuan Qing blinked, his tone dripping with innocence: “If a dog bites you, do you bite back?”
“Who are you calling a dog?!”
Just as the situation was about to spin out of control once more, a formidable wave of pressure erupted.
Everyone instantly felt as though a thousand-jin boulder were pressing down upon them, rendering them entirely immobile and unable to catch their breath.
This meager pressure had no significant impact on Xuan Qing, who possessed the divine soul of a Tribulation-stage expert from his past life. With keen interest, he proceeded to appraise this convenient father of his.
The man appeared to be around forty or fifty years of age, slightly stout, with the corners of his eyebrows bearing a three-tenths resemblance to the original owner, and possessed the cultivation of the late Earth Realm.
Simultaneously, Huo Dehai was also appraising the eldest son he had neglected for the past few years. Noticing that the spiritual pressure seemed to have no effect on him, a flash of astonishment crossed his eyes, swiftly followed by doubt.
He had once intended to meticulously cultivate the boy, but an accident occurred that forced him to sigh in regret and abandon the effort. The eldest son he hadn’t seen in days seemed somewhat different now.
Having formed a few private hypotheses about today’s events, and with the imperial and aristocratic grand martial tournament fast approaching, he hardly wished for any unexpected complications to arise.
Temporarily suppressing the unusual anomaly in his heart, he assumed the dignified posture of a family head and spoke with solemn severity: “Why has everyone stopped talking? Instead of wasting time squabbling here, you’d all better roll back and cultivate! The grand martial tournament is in a month, and young scions from the imperial family and noble clans will all be participating. Hopefully, none of you will bring shame upon the Marquis Estate! As for Qing’er, he needn’t participate, just like in previous years.”
Huo Dehai cast a deliberate look at Xuan Qing before sweeping his sleeves away as he rose and departed.
Xuan Qing shrugged with an indifferent attitude, musing inwardly: A grand martial tournament? Sounds a bit interesting.
Glancing at the leftover scraps on the table, Xuan Qing lost all remaining appetite.
Ever since partaking in a few meals from Yunxi Pavilion, his palate had been thoroughly spoiled.
His stomach was starting to clamor once more, signaling that it was time to head out and stroll around.
“Chubby, see you around.”
Rising to his feet, Xuan Qing patted little Huo Xuanying’s head with a beaming smile, and ignoring the gazes of everyone else, turned and walked out of the banquet.
With the crushing weight vanished from their bodies, the rest finally exhaled a collective sigh of relief.
Concubine Liu’s gaze glared fixedly at Xuan Qing’s departing back like venom, the silk handkerchief in her hand already torn in half.
A flash of murderous intent flickered across Huo Xuanxing’s eyes before returning to normal, though a scheme was already hatching in his mind.
Huo Xuanmin glared angrily at the departing cyan silhouette.
Huo Xuanyue gripped her sleeve tightly, a trace of scrutiny crossing her features. She always felt that something about Huo Xuanqing seemed rather different today.
Huo Xuanying cradled his head, staring blankly at the cyan figure with a slightly reddened, chubby face as he muttered under his breath: “This is the first time Eldest Brother ever patted my head.”
The capital’s streets extended in all directions, lined with rows of bustling shops on both sides.
Pedestrians hawked their wares with zealous effort, and the constant flow of crowds lent the scene an exceptionally lively atmosphere.
Huo Xuanwu trotted along behind Xuan Qing, his mouth clacking away excitedly the entire journey.
“As expected of the Young Master! You didn’t see Second Aunt’s face, she was so furious she looked like she wanted to eat you alive; it was honestly terrifying.”
Huo Xuanwu patted his chest in exaggerated relief as he spoke.
Xuan Qing’s mouth twitched slightly; he only just realized this fellow possessed a remarkably talkative streak.
Noticing the boy showed no signs of stopping anytime soon, Xuan Qing narrowed his peach-blossom eyes and smiled menacingly: “If you don’t shut that trap right now, I’ll show you just how terrifying your young master can really be.”
Huo Xuanwu shrank his neck, immediately clamping his mouth shut. Round, tiger-like eyes stared up aggrievedly: The Young Master only ever knows how to scare me.
The two strolled along casually until Xuan Qing’s gaze was caught by a shop bearing the sign “Exquisite Pavilion.”
Noticing this, Huo Xuanwu immediately explained: “Young Master, this Exquisite Pavilion is a newly opened shop in our capital. They deal in spiritual herbs, spiritual plants, and even some spiritual weapons and combat manuals. I hear they’ve even hired a Tier-2 alchemist.”
Spiritual medicine? Unsure of what the pills and spiritual weapons of this realm were truly worth, Xuan Qing stepped inside out of pure curiosity.
The shop assistant had initially assumed another customer was patronizing the shop, but upon seeing their plain attire though the youth possessed rather striking good looks he pegged them as bumpkins entering the city for the first time.
Zhang San felt inward disdain, and the enthusiasm he had just mustered evaporated, leaving him to state indifferently: “Feel free to browse, guests.”
Xuan Qing paid no mind to the other’s attitude. After browsing the shop floor, he came to a halt before the display counter holding elixirs and spiritual medicines.
A low-grade vitality pill was actually priced at twenty spiritual pearls! Furthermore, picking up an oval-shaped pill to inspect it, Xuan Qing found the reddish surface unevenly colored and peppered with black spots, indicating that impurities remained unrefined within the pill. In Xuan Qing’s eyes, this quality amounted to nothing more than a scrap pill.
The alchemist must have been an absolute amateur; when Xuan Qing first learned alchemy, the pills he crafted turned out dozens of times better than this.
“Don’t touch blindly! Who gave you permission to mess with the elixirs? These pills are extremely precious; can you afford to compensate if you ruin them?!”
Zhang San lunged forward with a vicious snarl, snatched the pill from his hand, carefully returned it to its designated spot, and turned around to glare furiously at the two.
Xuan Qing: “?”
Upon hearing this, Huo Xuanwu blew his top on the spot, snapping: “What do you mean by that? Are your eyes growing at the back of your head looking down on people?!”
“Hah, if you can’t afford to buy, stop barking here! Get lost! Don’t delay our business!”
Zhang San waved his hands to chase them out, his face a mask of utter impatience.
“You!”
Huo Xuanwu rolled up his sleeves, preparing to step forward and argue the point, only to be stopped by Xuan Qing.
“This shop isn’t much to look at, and the elixirs are mediocre at best. We’ll just find another place.”
Hearing this as if it were some grand joke, Zhang San sneered: “If you can’t afford them, just say you can’t afford them. What’s with claiming the pills are mediocre? These were personally refined by Master Lian Qi! Master Lian Qi is a Tier-2 alchemist recognized by the Alchemist Guild! A bumpkin like you has probably never even laid eyes on an alchemist in your entire life!”
With a puzzled expression, Xuan Qing countered: “Are alchemists really that scarce around here?”
Zhang San rolled his eyes as though looking at an absolute fool.
Huo Xuanwu found himself somewhat lost for words, leaning in to whisper apologetically: “Young Master, didn’t you know? Alchemists are extremely rare, and pills are far more expensive than spiritual medicine. You can offend anyone, but never cross an alchemist; many major clans are even willing to spend a fortune just to support one.”
Receiving this explanation, Xuan Qing’s mouth twitched, and his expression turned somewhat complicated: Is that it?
He now possessed a general understanding of alchemists in this world:
First: Scarce.
Second: Lucrative.
Third: Utterly garbage.