Chapter 116: Letter from Her Majesty the Empress
"What? Why do you have that reaction?" asked Xie Qing.
The two girls exchanged glances, and they didn't know how to explain to him about this ore until a cold voice sounded from behind.
"This ore has healing properties, and if an item is created from it, it can heal even the most severe wounds in an emergency situation. However, refining the ore is very dangerous because, at a certain melting temperature, it releases steam that has aphrodisiac properties."
The young man turned around and saw that the owner of the voice was Zhang Mei, who seemed to have finished her business.
Upon hearing her explanation, now the young man understood why Li Yuilan couldn't explain it properly. Considering that there is such an ore, Xie Qing was somewhat surprised.
"Is it rare?" he asked Zhang Mei.
"Yes. In ancient times, it was mostly used as an aphrodisiac, and it was popular among the rich, so now it's extremely difficult to find the ore. Even with my connections, I haven't been able to find it," replied Zhang Mei, and she sighed, looking at Li Yuilan: "It seems that you still haven't given up. That's good."
"…"
The girl remained silent and didn't respond, but it was clear that her mood had changed and become darker.
Xie Qing could guess that most likely, the girl was trying to heal her eyes and restore her vision in this way. He thought for a moment and decided to check if there was this ore in the system store.
And, surprisingly, it existed. However, the price for it was not cheap.
"They're asking for 100,000 Spiritual Stones per kilogram... I can afford it. Besides, Li Yuilan and I will interact in the future, and we've become friends."
In such moments, a sharp unwillingness and stinginess arise, but Xie Qing overcame it. He had many spiritual stones and earning some more in the future was not a problem.
If he needed money, there were still many items that, over time, lost their necessity due to the increase in his cultivation. At the moment, he often wore the Belt of the Lustful Dragon, the Tender Dragon Token, and the Dragon Tendon Ring.
The first helped strengthen endurance - both ordinary and male. The second helped mark his loved ones, helping to increase the protection of their souls.
And the third was the most valuable, enhancing his absorption of Qi.
As for the Taboo Dragon Token... well... he hadn't needed it yet.
Pondering this, Xie Qing showed a thoughtful expression on his face, and then, after being silent for a moment, he said, "I have some information about this ore. I can deliver it to you within three days."
Xie Qing's words greatly pleased Li Yuilan, who looked pleasantly surprised: "I hope that before that, you will agree to wait."
"Not a problem at all! In fact, it's me who should be thanking you..."
Li Yuilan's face was tinged with light shades - she looked happy and excited. Xie Qing could only smile at such enthusiasm. However, he was not sure if this ore would help.
With his current cultivation, he could sense the subtle flows of the Heavenly Curse, which were preventing Li Yuilan's eyes from healing. Zhang Mei also knew about this.
"Sect Master Zhang Mei is not one to stay silent about such things. I think Li Yuilan just doesn't want to let go of the ore," thought the young man, narrowing his eyes: "I wonder how this curse can be removed?"
***
After almost a week of staying on the platform in the sky, Xie Qing and the others had to return to their sects to prepare their disciples.
At that moment, Xie Qing had said goodbye to Lu Yin and Li Yuilan, promising to visit them when he had time. And now...
"Elder Sister, it's been a long time since we've seen each other," came the seductive voice of Xie Qing, who was brightly smiling as he walked alongside Lian Lin, who was averting her gaze.
"Um... yes..."
All these days, this girl had deliberately avoided him. It seemed that she was confused about the question of the reward for those techniques.
"Lian Lin, you should have paid for these gifts a long time ago. You should understand that my foolish disciple never does anything for free," said Xu Mei, who was walking in front of them, rolling her eyes.
They were walking directly through the air. Xie Qing was able to do this with the help of Xu Mei. And although it seemed that they were moving slowly, if you looked down, you could see only quickly changing landscapes.
Returning to Lian Lin, she did feel uncomfortable, and her usually sleepy face was much more lively. She scratched the back of her head and sighed dejectedly.
"I don't know what to give him. Everything in our sect has no value for this young monster." Sighing, Lian Lin said, and looked at Xu Mei with hope: "Master, could it be..."
"No," came the cold reply from the woman, who instantly interrupted her disciple and added: "Solve these problems between the two of you."
"Eh..."
Lian Lin could only dejectedly purse her lips and look at Xie Qing, who was still faintly smiling, looking at her. The girl could only shake her head.
"Elder Sister, don't worry," said Xie Qing, seeing her dejection. He added: "If you come up with something interesting, I'll agree and consider the debt closed."
...in fact, he was just teasing her. Although spiritual stones were now important for his development, the young man could not afford to take money from the sect, as this was now an important moment for development.
"Hmm..."
However, it seemed that Lian Lin thought of something and looked thoughtful. Xie Qing twisted the corners of his mouth and ignored it.
"We've arrived," came the voice of Xu Mei.
They landed right in front of the entrance to the Xie family estate. Compared to what it was before, the place was now in order, the number of servants had increased, and the style had been slightly changed.
There were signs of repair, as well as complex formations of protection and counterattack, which had been applied just in case.
And seeing this, Xie Qing was pleased. He had provided more than two hundred thousand for the development of the family a month ago, but this money was in a frozen state until he became the head of the family.
"Immortals!" came a loud, shocked cry.
In general, only cultivators at the level of Spiritual Ascension could fly, so the surprise of the mortal servants was understandable.
But most importantly, the servant girls excitedly squealed when they noticed the man who was with the two beautiful women. It was their new family head, Xie Qing!
Although at first his reputation was negative and the young man was feared, however, learning about his heroics, and a little propaganda with good conditions for the servants made many change their minds.
One way or another, the cultivation world was a place where many two-faced people had gathered. Besides, it was better to adapt to the conditions than to try to resist such a powerful master - that's what the servants thought.
"Respected Master!"
Within two minutes, the newly appointed head maid and head butler had already rushed over to him.
And yes, I know, this may shock you, but the butler was not named Sebastian, and not even Alfred. His name was Xie Kai, and the head maid was a former slave under the control of the Xie family, who had a not-bad talent for cultivation.
"Hm. I've heard about you. Work hard, and becoming a legitimate member of the Xie family will be far from a dream!" nodded Xie Qing with a charming smile.
"Y-yes, thank you, Master!"
The butler was impressed by Xie Qing's kindness, and the head maid blushed at the handsomeness of the new family head.
The young man, however, just smiled kindly, ignoring Xu Mei's disgruntled look and Lian Lin's giggling.
Entering inside, accompanied by the two current heads of the servants, Xie Qing attracted attention. Many servants who had learned about him from the recent battle bowed and almost fell to their knees.
The new servants, on the other hand, reacted much more calmly, maintaining elegance and deeply bowing to greet the new family head.
"These maids were selected by my mother," thought Xie Qing, noticing the disciplined behavior of the women.
Xie Qing was very pleased. Although it was funny to watch the exaggerated reaction of the girls to his handsomeness, it eventually got annoying and attracted too much attention from mature women who had not felt the warmth of a man for a long time.
...although, of course, it was very flattering to him.
Also worth noting was that the interior decoration had also changed. Before, the walls were poorly decorated, but now first-class decorations were used here, which seemed to be for beauty but served as protection.
This estate could be considered the main estate of the Xie family, so Xie Qing did not skimp on protective measures.
And so, they approached the most important room - the head of the family's office. A month ago, this office belonged to Xie Hai, but now it was Xie Qing's workspace.
...although, most likely, it would be empty all year round.
Pushing open the door, Xie Qing entered inside and found that Xie Meiling, Xie Yu, and two other women were in the room.
"Hm?"
Xie Meiling turned her attention to the door and was pleasantly surprised to see Xie Qing and the two women.
"You're back," she nodded, looking a little detached, but in fact hiding her joy: "Son, these two women - Lian Yui and Lian Liu will manage the Xie family in your absence."
"Young Master."
"We greet you."
The two women elegantly bowed, and then were very surprised to see the sleepy Lian Lin.
They exchanged glances and bowed again, this time even lower. However, Lian Lin only waved her hand, saying:
"Get to work."
Xie Qing rolled his eyes at such high-handed behavior, but he could understand the reason for the nervousness of the two women.
"So these two are from the Lian family? It seems that Master really didn't skimp on helping me!" thought Xie Qing with a smile.
"What are you smiling about?" came the voice of Xie Meiling.
The woman twisted the corners of her mouth, and then changed the subject, seeing that Xie Qing was smiling carefreely. She looked serious as she took out and handed over an envelope with a seal.
"We received a letter... from Her Majesty the Empress."