Chapter 285: Each Moment of a Spring Night is Worth a Thousand Gold¹ (7^th Update)

Thinking back to the words Ye Wenxin used to reject Qiao Ni just now, Madam Yu also said in a serious tone, “Oh, now I think she’s more suitable to be your father.”

Qiao Ni’s initially smiling face immediately fell, and she cried, “But Mother, Sister Wenxin is so fickle. Her Dao companions could line up all the way out of the city! Can’t you pick someone else? And don’t I already have a father? I don’t want two fathers, no, another mother!”

Madam Yu just smiled lightly, but her gaze followed Ye Wenxin’s departure, lost in her own thoughts.

……

Meanwhile, Ye Wenxin was completely unaware she had been manipulated. When she returned to her quarters, she found Huang Hanyan sitting there, meditating.

Sensing Ye Wenxin’s presence, Huang Hanyan opened her eyes, glancing at her.

“Welcome back, Junior Sister.”

“Mm, I’m back.”

After exchanging simple pleasantries, Huang Hanyan didn’t ask any further questions.

However, Ye Wenxin was still not used to Huang Hanyan’s new attitude. After thinking for a moment, she rummaged through her bag of holding to see if she could find some other manuals or items to dismiss Huang Hanyan with.

She found nothing new inside the bag, but in her storage ring, Ye Wenxin found several chests she had pilfered from the Snake Hall in Shura Hall’s backwoods.

Since she couldn’t sleep anyway, Ye Wenxin took out the chests. Immediately, nine chests came into view, drawing Huang Hanyan’s gaze. There were various rare treasures inside.

Ye Wenxin almost burst out laughing at what she found. In one of the most private chests, she saw modern items like a cellphone. Perhaps, a transmigrator came to this world with their belongings a long time ago, and couldn’t bear to part with them, so they left them in the Snake Hall.

Perhaps the Hall Master of Shura Hall, Bai Chi, was waiting for this transmigrator all along.

Ye Wenxin sighed as she looked at the items, but in the end, she couldn’t bear to discard the cellphone. Instead, she placed it back into the chests along with other modern clothes and belongings, carefully sealing them away as mementos.

Next, she called Huang Hanyan over and asked if there was anything she wanted to take.

Huang Hanyan set her eyes on a long sword shaped like a golden snake, and Ye Wenxin naturally handed it over to her. Huang Hanyan seemed to find the sword irresistible, and began studying it closely.

Ye Wenxin continued rummaging and came across a few ancient books.

One book taught beast-taming techniques, another chronicled various demons and monsters, and the third documented different magic items.

“Junior Sister, it’s already past midnight. Aren’t you going to rest?” Huang Hanyan, seeing Ye Wenxin so engrossed, thought about their upcoming trip with Madam Yu to Green Isle Manor tomorrow, and tried to prevent Ye Wenxin from getting too absorbed.

Ye Wenxin waved her hand dismissively. “I’ll finish reading soon.”

After that casual reply, her attention quickly returned to the books. Especially intriguing was the one about magic items, including something called Yin-Yang Pearls.

These pearls came in a pair and were ancient artifacts used in cultivation. The Yang Pearl had a resistance effect against Yin energy, prompting Ye Wenxin to immediately think of how it could possibly help improve Madam Yu’s condition.

As for the Yin Pearl, it absorbed Yang energy, and the two pearls complemented each other.

But this was only hearsay. Nonetheless, Ye Wenxin noted down the info, planning to discuss it with Madam Yu to see if there was a chance to find these Yin-Yang Pearls. If they could find the pearls, not only could Madam Yu be healed, she might also cultivate.

With these thoughts in mind, Ye Wenxin continued reading through other introductions. Suddenly, she heard the crowing of a rooster. Glancing over at Huang Hanyan in the room, she saw that, at some point, she had leaned on the table and fallen asleep. It seemed she couldn’t wait for Ye Wenxin and ended up falling asleep herself.

Ye Wenxin looked again and saw that she had only read a third of the magic items journal. In the end, she put everything into her bag of holding and tiptoed quietly towards Huang Hanyan, carried her to her own bed, took off her clothes, and changed her shoes.

“I’m clearly your master, but why do I feel more like a nanny?” Seeing the changes in Huang Hanyan, Ye Wenxin sighed.

Over a year ago, she never dreamed that her relationship with Huang Hanyan would develop like this. Furthermore, she never expected to suddenly become popular. Remembering the outrageous number of people pursuing her, Ye Wenxin dared not act rashly.

“Miss Wenxin, are you awake?” Outside the door, Madam Yu came knocking again. Ye Wenxin tucked Huang Hanyan in properly before stepping out.

Madam Yu glanced at Ye Wenxin, who was still in yesterday’s clothes, and then peered inside the room. “Come to think of it, I didn’t see Miss Hanyan this morning.”

“She’s asleep in my room.”

Madam Yu’s expression subtly changed. Ye Wenxin couldn’t be bothered to explain her innocence, and just listened as Madam Yu continued, “Miss Wenxin, you really don’t let any moment slip by.”

“Fortunately, each moment of a spring night is worth a thousand gold.” Ye Wenxin, without giving any explanation, replied cursorily, “So she doesn’t have the energy to go to Green Isle Manor with us today. I’ll leave her a note. She’ll catch up after she wakes.”

Ye Wwenxin considered Huang Hanyan’s self-sufficiency, and wasn’t worried about her getting lost. As they walked, she explained to Madam Yu about leaving Huang Hanyan at the relay station.

“That’s good. After all, we already have a full group today.”

“Huh?” Ye Wenxin was even more confused. When she went out, she found that, besides her own little brothers, there were a few unfamiliar merchants.

She asked, and learned that these individuals had rushed over upon hearing that Madam Yu had some excellent pills.

“The news spread so quickly?” Ye Wenxin was also quite surprised, feeling that Madam Yu truly had formidable efficiency.

To establish contact with Green Isle Manor more quickly, Ye Wenxin had instructed Madam Yu to spread the news in advance, intending to showcase her Alchemy prowess to Madam Yu. However, she didn’t expect visitors to arrive so soon.

Madam Yu smiled faintly and continued, “The nobles have extended their courtesy, and now that people have arrived, it’s up to you to show what you can do, Miss Wenxin.”

Ye Wenxin nodded, eager to flaunt her credentials as an Advance Alchemist and boast about being an awesome 14-year-old prodigy. But considering her actual age of fifty, she couldn’t afford such bravado. She approached those big shots and exchanged pleasantries with them.

However, they were skeptical of Ye Wenxin’s abilities. She remained composed, and Madam Yu observed without intervening, seemingly intent on assessing Ye Wenxin’s true capabilities.

It was a test and a challenge. If Ye Wenxin couldn’t deliver, even if she was that person’s child, Madam Yu would certainly maintain clear boundaries between public and private matters.

---

Footnotes:

1. – This line is from the Chinese poem “Spring Night” by Su Shi. In this chapter’s context, it means that each minute of pleasure with your lover is precious. ↩︎