Afterwards, the Ancestor asked Tang Zifeng a few more questions before entrusting him to Qin Ruqing, instructing her to settle him in.

Since he was brought back by herself and was about to collaborate with the Qin family, she was directly responsible for him.

Qin Ruqing cheerfully agreed and waved at Tang Zifeng, “Follow me.”

Qin Ruqing picked out a well-appointed courtyard for Tang Zifeng.

It was located slightly outside the central area of the Qin family’s territory, with a few small spirit-gathering arrays and a favorable feng shui arrangement.

Qin Ruqing quite liked this place because not far behind these courtyards was a grove of apricot trees.

Every season, the trees bore many sour and astringent spirit apricots, which she enjoyed playing with since childhood.

Qin Ruqing gracefully pointed with her flying sword, giving off an aura of owning all these lands, “These courtyards are all top-notch guest accommodations. Generally, only important guests can stay here. Choose one for yourself.”

Tang Zifeng nodded politely, “Thank you for your guidance, Miss.”

Although he felt somewhat uncomfortable about Qin Ruqing touching his neck earlier.

Unaware of his discomfort, Qin Ruqing pointed eastward, “Over there is a grove of apricot trees. They are all spirit apricot trees with a high spiritual energy content. If you like to cultivate outside, you can go there.”

Tang Zifeng looked in the direction Qin Ruqing indicated, seeing a distant pink hue.

He involuntarily said, “The branches of spirit apricot trees, when roasted with fire, become hard and can be used as auxiliary materials for refining.”

Qin Ruqing: … I was talking about how beautiful our apricot grove is, and you’re talking about using them as refining materials 🙂

Perhaps Qin Ruqing’s gaze was too speechless, but Tang Zifeng quickly added, “Miss, rest assured. Zifeng understands the rules of being a guest and won’t harm the apricot grove in the slightest.”

Qin Ruqing snorted and flew down, “As long as you know!”

Seeing Tang Zifeng’s indifferent attitude towards any of the courtyards, Qin Ruqing chose one based on her preferences, “You can stay here. It’s closest to the apricot grove. You can see the apricot blossoms dancing outside the window. When the wind blows, the petals may even float into the room. How does that sound to you?”

Actually, Tang Zifeng didn’t particularly like pink, but seeing Qin Ruqing’s bright eyes and smiling face, he silently swallowed what he had intended to say earlier and replied, “It’s very nice.”

“Isn’t it?” Qin Ruqing smiled and put away her flying sword as she landed in the courtyard.

“Oh, there’s one more thing I want to ask you.” Qin Ruqing turned to the handsome young man who had just landed with her, “I am a practitioner of cultivation. I need a lifebound artifact when building the foundation. You are an extremely talented artifact refiner. Do you have any suggestions?”

When mentioning his profession, Tang Zifeng became more serious, “Miss…”

Qin Ruqing interrupted him, “My name is Qin Ruqing.”

Tang Zifeng corrected himself, “Miss Ruqing, do you have any thoughts on your lifebound artifact?”

Without hesitation, Qin Ruqing replied, “The artifact I use, naturally, must be the best. Of course, if it looks good as well, that would be even better.”

… Hmm, they might be talking about different things.

Tang Zifeng paused for a moment and patiently explained, “I meant, the compatibility attributes with spiritual artifacts, the specialization direction… in that regard.”

Qin Ruqing nodded in understanding, “Oh, I see. I cultivate fire attribute techniques. My lifebound artifact should ideally complement fire techniques, enhancing critical hit rates. Oh, and it should also be good looking, It should even enhance speed!’

‘Critical hit rate and speed enhancement!’ This was the property Qin Ruqing had thought of for her lifebound artifact.

“I also understand the rules of your artifact refiners. Rest assured, I will provide my own refining materials.

You just need to tell me what you need.

Hmm, the quality of the materials naturally should be as high as possible.

Don’t worry about them being too rare; think of materials like…

Heart of Frigid Ice, that level of heavenly and earthly spiritual items.”

Tang Zifeng’s face became solemn.

Heart of Frigid Ice, that level of celestial and earthly spiritual items…

He had never handled it at all in the Tang family. In this way, he got an idea of Qin Ruqing’s wealth.

“Miss Ruqing’s instructions, I have noted them.”

Qin Ruqing nodded satisfactorily, “Then, according to the rules, how should we proceed? I’ll advance you some spirit stones, and then you’ll provide me with drafts of the spiritual artifact and the materials? Afterward, when I gather all the materials, you’ll help me refine it?”

Qin Ruqing rattled off a lot of words in one breath, getting a bit close, and Tang Zifeng took a step back silently before raising his eyes, saying, “Miss Ruqing’s lifebound artifact can only be used after establishing the foundation, and the requirements are quite high. Even if it’s just a draft, designing it might take a long time.”

“It’s okay, I’m not in a hurry. I just want to ask you to pay attention. During this time, focus on making bracelets for the Qin family.” Qin Ruqing waved her hand.

Tang Zifeng uttered a low ‘um.’

Seeing his upright and meticulous appearance, Qin Ruqing thought of his bizarre, pitch-black attire from earlier and couldn’t help but stroke her chin, puzzled, “Since you passed the test of sincerity, it means everything you said before was true. You haven’t been chased after, nor do you have any enemies. So why did you wrap yourself up from head to toe so tightly?”

Tang Zifeng’s expression remained unchanged, his tone calm, “Because to infiltrate the Zhang family as an elder, it’s best to create an aura of mysterious expertise to make the Zhang family believe and fear me. Otherwise, seeing me so young, they would probably suspect my origins.”

Haha! Qin Ruqing stifled a laugh; how did she not see this coming?

This guy understands everything.

“Then why…”

Just as she was about to ask what Qin Ruqing wanted to ask, Tang Zifeng turned his face towards her, his eyes dark, “No one in the Zhang family demanded that I take off my robe like you did.”

So now he couldn’t create the image of a mysterious expert.

Qin Ruqing instantly understood and said, “It’s okay. Relying on talent is more reliable. Our Qin family doesn’t fall for that mysterious expert routine”‘

“Then why did you become an alchemist? With your obvious talent in artifact refining, wouldn’t you be more valued as an artifact refiner?” Qin Ruqing asked again.

Tang Zifeng replied, “Because at the time, they were challenging your family, only recruiting alchemists.”

Gee!

It felt like scoring 100 on a test because the highest score was 100.

The more Qin Ruqing asked, the more excited she became, her lips moving.

But before she could speak, Tang Zifeng lowered his gaze and continued:

“… As for why I both refine artifacts and practice alchemy, although both paths require a considerable amount of time and effort, it’s because initially, I didn’t intend to rely on a family.

I wanted to refine the pills I needed on my own, so I started self-studying. However, I later discovered that alchemy is profound and cannot be mastered without extensive study, so I gave up.”

“… It was unexpected that I could improve the Revitalization Qi Pill.”

“Why I recognize the Holy Water and Secret Water is because I saw them by chance in a secret realm.”

“Why did I pass a small note to the Qin family? It’s because I wanted the Qin family to notice me.”

“As for why the note didn’t contain any substantial content, it’s because I feared the Qin family, considering their status, might not accept my gesture of goodwill. I didn’t want to burn any bridges and left myself an exit.”

…

He calmly answered many questions with this composed expression.

After finishing, he turned to look at Qin Ruqing, seemingly waiting for her response.

Qin Ruqing remained silent for three seconds, then widened her eyes and exclaimed, “How did you know what I wanted to ask?”

Tang Zifeng just silently stared at her without saying a word.

Qin Ruqing didn’t mind and clicked her tongue in amazement twice, “You’re quite remarkable. Let me test you further. Why do you think I asked so many questions?”

Tang Zifeng met her gaze for a few seconds, then looked away and quietly said, “Because… you have been wary and suspicious of me all along, even though I passed the sincerity test.

My sincerity test’s time limit is ‘today.’ Within ‘today,’ I cannot lie, so you wanted to get more information out of me while you had the chance.”

Qin Ruqing was genuinely impressed by his insight, “You’re really understanding!”

She couldn’t help but move closer, squinting her eyes slightly, “So, does that mean you’ve also figured out my personality quite well?

Although I’ve already cautioned once, considering the current situation, let me be clearer:

You! Tang Zifeng—cannot pass notes to the outside, cannot reveal any information about my Qin family, especially anything about me.

Otherwise… the few people who posed a threat to me before were fed something nice, and you wouldn’t want to taste it, right?”

As for what this “nice thing” was, he was so clever he could probably figure it out for himself.

Under normal circumstances, if someone got this close, Tang Zifeng would definitely have avoided them.

But these eyes were like clear lake waters, yet tumultuous inside, extremely dangerous.

He silently thought to himself; if these eyes could be refined properly, they would probably be the best refining material in the world.

Qin Ruqing was still waiting for his response, and Tang Zifeng shook his head to indicate he understood.

This didn’t satisfy Qin Ruqing, who emphasized, “Shaking your head isn’t enough; you must say it aloud!”

Tang Zifeng lowered his eyelashes slightly.

In the sunlight, his features held a serene beauty akin to the swaying shadows of bamboo leaves.

He looked back at Qin Ruqing and said seriously, “I, Tang Zifeng, will never pose any threat to Qin Ruqing, whether in the past, present, or future.”

“My sincerity test is ongoing, and even after today, I am bound by the watchful eye of the heavens. You can rest assured.” His tone was calm.

As he spoke, Qin Ruqing found herself inexplicably drawn to his long eyelashes.

They were exceptionally long!

Qin Ruqing recoiled slightly like a shrimp, creating some distance before smiling broadly, “You’re quite something… you’re the most self-aware person I’ve ever met. I have high hopes for you!”

He sensed her unease and took advantage of the ongoing sincerity test to assure her that he would never pose a threat to her, Qin Ruqing.

As he said, with the heavens as witness, he couldn’t go back on his word in the future.

This was far more conscientious than Zhang Li and Hao Gou.

The two of them still needed her to administer the medicine, which would cost a lot of money.

Qin Ruqing summoned her flying sword, stepped on it, and before taking off, she turned back and said, “You must be tired today. Take a good rest. I’ll take you to the refining room tomorrow. I’m leaving now.”

Watching Tang Zifeng nod, Qin Ruqing confidently flew away on her sword without hesitation.