After wiping the blood from her face with a handkerchief, Feng Xi slowly stepped out of her room.
When she opened the courtyard gate, a handsome young man was standing outside.
He wore spotless white robes, not a single wrinkle in sight. His hair was neatly tied high with a green ribbon, and his phoenix-shaped eyes glared at Feng Xi, full of anger.
After sizing her up a few times, his anger deepened with a hint of disdain, "So you're Feng Xi, that little cripple?
Do you know Master has to go to the Extreme Cold Ice Plains to hunt ice-type beasts just to fill the hole you made?
If anything happens to Master, I won't let you off!"
Feng Xi froze for a moment. No wonder Xiao Baidao had said he'd handle it. Turns out, he planned to risk his life hunting ice beasts.
The Extreme Cold Ice Plains weren't just bitterly cold, they were full of danger. Even a Soul Transformation cultivator would face almost certain death.
While she was still processing this, the young man continued, "I really don't get why Master accepted such an ugly, useless thing like you!
Since you had the dog-shit luck to become my, Jun Wen's, junior sister, you'd better stay obedient. Going to the Scripture Pavilion? You must be full from eating too much!
Don't pull any more stupid stunts, or this young master won't forgive you!"
Before Feng Xi could respond, the boy turned on his heel and walked off.
Only to turn back a few steps later and shove a green fruit into her hands.
"Here, little cripple, a greeting present."
Feng Xi smiled sweetly, "Thank you, Fifth Senior Brother."
The boy snorted, "Don't call me Senior Brother. I don't acknowledge a useless drag like you!
Oh, and a month from now, the Tianhen Secret Realm will open. All the major sects will be there. I'm warning you, stay put in the sect and don't embarrass us!"
With that, he strode away.
Feng Xi watched his back and mused, Jun Wen, Xiao Baidao's fifth disciple, a genius in sword cultivation.
Tough on the outside, soft on the inside. Slightly obsessed with cleanliness. Judges people by appearance.
Tsk, tsk, what a decent guy, but blind!
He called her ugly?
Her current body might not be nation-toppling beauty, but it wasn't far off. She just looked a little thin and pale because of her injured dantian.
Once she recovered, she'd be a proper little beauty!
But really, if he weren't blind, he wouldn't have fallen for Shen Zhilan.
In the novel, Jun Wen had fallen in love with the heroine Shen Zhilan at first sight, became crazy for her, obsessed with her, ready to bash his head against a wall for her.
In the end, while picking spiritual herbs for her, he was tainted by demonic energy. She decapitated him and threw his body off the Broken Demon Cliff. Dead without a complete body.
A licking dog who licked until he had nothing left.
After thinking for a bit, Feng Xi went to find Xiao Baidao.
"Master, I heard from Fifth Senior Brother that you're going to the Extreme Cold Ice Plains to hunt ice beasts?"
Xiao Baidao frowned, "Don't listen to his nonsense, there's nothing of the sort."
Inside, though, he was cursing. That fifth disciple's mouth was looser than the waistband of cotton pants!
Feng Xi immediately knew Jun Wen had been telling the truth.
"Master, the Extreme Cold Ice Plains are full of danger. I don't want you risking your life for me.
Either take back the remaining nine Ziqiao Linglong Fruits, or accept my money-making plan."
Xiao Baidao blinked, "Your money-making plan? What plan?"
Feng Xi blinked innocently, "Didn't Hunyuan Sect just hold a disciple-accepting ceremony? We could hold one too!
All the congratulatory gifts are money!"
Xiao Baidao shook his head with a helpless smile, "You clever girl, you're being foolish this time. Sure, people will bring gifts, but we'd have to feed them well!
You know how much spirit food costs? If we're not careful, we'll lose more than we gain.
Hunyuan Sect can afford to waste money on appearances. We can't."
By Golden Core Stage, cultivators could forgo food, so when Xiao Baidao said good food and wine, he meant spiritual food infused with qi, expensive stuff.
Feng Xi grinned, "Who said the ceremony has to be held here at Xuantian Sect?
In a month, when the Tianhen Secret Realm opens, all the sects of the Northern Region will be there. Let's just hold it there!
We can camp on-site, there's no need to worry about lodging.
And in that setting, it'd be inconvenient to host banquets, so no food or drink expenses either.
A cost-free deal, guaranteed profit!"
Xiao Baidao smacked his lips, "This… doesn't sound very proper. People will gossip and call us stingy."
Feng Xi's eyes gleamed, "Master, it'd only seem stingy if we'd planned it ahead of time.
But what if it's a spur-of-the-moment decision?
When we're there, Hunyuan Sect's Master Baili Muchen will definitely show off his precious disciple Shen Zhilan. Can you really endure that? You'd definitely suddenly decide to hold a disciple-accepting ceremony for me right there and everything would fall into place!
That way, we not only make money with zero cost, but also occupy the moral high ground!
After all, it was Baili Muchen who started it. If anyone feels cheated into giving gifts, they can only blame his big mouth…"
Xiao Baidao's eyes went wide.
This… might work too!
A cost-free deal with massive profit!
He stared at Feng Xi in disbelief. Such a young girl, not even grown yet, and she could come up with something this… devious yet brilliant?!
Still, as feasible as it sounded, it was too big a decision to decide alone. He needed to discuss it with others.
So he didn't give her a definite answer, only said he'd think it over carefully.
Feng Xi added, "Master, I have another money-making idea too.
The Ziqiao Linglong Fruits are priced too low at two hundred thousand each, we should raise the price."
Xiao Baidao hesitated, "Two hundred thousand isn't cheap. If we go higher, no one might buy."
Feng Xi smiled slyly, "Master, the world's never short of fools with money, only short of schemes.
If you sell them honestly, of course you won't get a high price!
But if you follow my lead, I guarantee we can sell them for at least three hundred thousand spirit stones each."
"How do you plan to do that?"
"First, announce that you cherish your little disciple so much that only half the Ziqiao Linglong Fruits will be sold this year, the rest will be kept for me.
When supply drops, the price naturally rises.
Whether or not you really keep any, who'll know? What we say goes.
Second, spread word that the older the Ziqiao Linglong Fruit tree, the stronger the effect of its fruits.
And I'm the living proof!
Everyone knows my dantian was severely damaged. Now I'm as lively as ever after eating them. Clearly, they can not only repair divine senses but also heal dantian injuries.
Double the effect, double the price, that's perfectly reasonable!
Third, if someone comes to buy the fruit, tell them the supply is limited to one fruit per person, no exceptions.
Do that, and even at three hundred thousand each, they'll sell out instantly.
With all that extra revenue, we'll make far more than the cost of the ten fruits you gave me."
Xiao Baidao had faced many storms in his life and was usually calm and unflappable, but today, his composure shattered again and again.
He almost let his feelings of shock show on his face.
You can sell things like this?
Every step was a trap!
His precious disciple might not be able to cultivate, but her creative ideas were boundless!
He was still processing that when Feng Xi's eyes reddened, "Master, I can earn money. I can fill the hole myself. Please don't go to the Extreme Cold Ice Plains!
You're the only one I can rely on. If anything happened to you, I couldn't live either…"
Xiao Baidao was completely disarmed. He agreed on the spot.
Truthfully, he hadn't wanted to go either, he'd just been desperate.
Now that there's another solution, he's more than happy to stay.
Just then, Jun Wen arrived, asking to see him.
As soon as he stepped in and saw Feng Xi, his lips curled into a cold sneer, "What now? You came running to Master to complain about me? Typical, that's all you're good for!"
Feng Xi's eyes were already red, and now tears began streaming down her cheeks.
"Fifth Senior Brother, you misunderstood. I didn't tell Master that you called me a little cripple, or that you refused to recognize me as your junior sister, or that you said I was an ugly monster…"
Jun Wen: "..."