Volume One, Chapter Three: Secondhand Goods Bought at Thirty Percent Off—Please Pay an Additional Ten Coins

"Fine, fine, you're always right!" Jiang Heng said with a smile.

Gu Lan could not spare the time to argue with him and rushed inside. "Jingyue, are you alright?"

"Gu Lan, you're here!" Han Jingyue looked up, teary-eyed, nearly throwing herself into his arms.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I'm here!" Gu Lan patted her shoulder and helped her stand to the side.

"What exactly is going on here?" Gu Lan asked the shop clerk with a stern face.

The clerk explained the sequence of events, causing Gu Lan to frown slightly. "She hasn't even left the shop yet, and you want ten spirit stones? Isn't that too expensive?"

"If she hadn't refined it, we wouldn't charge a single spirit bead. But since you've already refined it, it's considered second-hand. Who else would be willing to buy it?" the clerk replied, clearly annoyed. "Especially with these kinds of magical decorative items—they're mostly bought by women. Women value cleanliness, and they dislike buying things others have already used. I don't even know if I can sell this one now; the manager might even deduct it from my wages!"

Gu Lan was left speechless. He whispered to Gong Huimin, "I don't have enough spirit stones either. Do you have any on you? Lend me three for now."

Gong Huimin did have spirit stones, but in truth, she did not want to lend them. She knew the circumstances of Han Jingyue and Gu Lan; they were even worse off than she was. If she lent them out, she had no idea when she would see them again. However, it would be embarrassing to refuse, so she fished three spirit stones from her pouch. "I'm lending these to you, and I expect you to pay me back!"

"Deal!" Gu Lan took them, added seven more from his own pouch, and handed them to the clerk. "Is that enough? Can we go now?"

"Of course!" The clerk immediately ushered them out. "Welcome back anytime."

"Hmph!" Gong Huimin gave a cold, disgruntled snort.

As the three left, Jiang Heng was still there, smiling as he watched the pair. *Heh, in my past life, you lived by draining my blood. In this life, you'd better not separate. I want to see if you can still be as sweet and inseparable as before.*

"Why are you still here? Are you here to laugh at us?" Gong Huimin glared at the man, fuming.

"I'm not doing anything! This street isn't yours, is it? Or am I not allowed to stand here?" Jiang Heng said with a grin.

Gu Lan felt a surge of anger rising as he looked at this pampered young master. "You spend all day pestering Jingyue to be your woman, but now that she's in trouble, not only do you stand by and watch, but you also mock her. Young Master Jiang, you've gone too far. How could you leave Jingyue there to be ridiculed? Did you even consider if she could handle it?"

"Wasn't I giving you a chance?" Jiang Heng gave a cold laugh. "You and Jingyue grew up as childhood sweethearts; don't you have feelings for her? Now that I'm stepping aside to let you two be together, shouldn't you be happy?"

"What?" Gong Huimin looked at Jiang Heng in shock. "How can you say that? Everyone saw how you pursued Jingyue; everyone thought you were a couple. How can you say this now and expect Jingyue to face everyone?" She looked at Han Jingyue, who was swaying unsteadily, and sighed. "Jiang Heng, Jingyue just has a thin skin. How could she not like you? As for Gu Lan, they were just neighbors as children! Does that really bother you?"

"Jingyue, say something!" Gong Huimin shook Han Jingyue’s arm, thinking to herself, *Little ancestor, don't be stubborn now. If you miss your chance with Jiang Heng, you'll never have such a good opportunity again.*

"What do you want me to say?" Han Jingyue retorted defiantly. "I never had anything with him anyway; he was the one always pestering me."

Jiang Heng chuckled and pointed at Gong Huimin. "Did you hear that? She admitted it herself—it has nothing to do with me. Fine, from now on, we go our separate ways."

With that, Jiang Heng turned and walked away. A moment later, a Qingling Crane rose into the air, carrying him toward the Xuanling Sect.

Gong Huimin sighed. "Jingyue, what were you thinking? Did you say something unpleasant to anger the young master? He gets fifty spirit stones and five bottles of Spirit Gathering Pills every month. Think of all the benefits you've had from him these past two years. Otherwise, with your four-element spiritual root, would you have reached the fourth level of Qi Refining in five years?"

"So what?" Han Jingyue snapped. "I can't just throw away my whole life for a few scraps of his favor!"

Gong Huimin rolled her eyes. *Fine, fine. You, Miss Han, have integrity and ambition, and I'm just a worldly, petty person, right?* "Well, since he's gone, we still have sixty miles of mountain road to walk back to Xiaohan Village," Gong Huimin sighed.

"We'll walk! It's not like we haven't done it before!" Han Jingyue remained stubborn.

"Do you even have a Swift-Travel Talisman?" Gong Huimin asked.

Han Jingyue looked dejected. She didn't have one! She had come on Jiang Heng's crane and never considered the return trip.

"I don't have one either! That was all my savings earlier. Those things cost fifteen spirit beads each, and I only have ten left," Gong Huimin sighed.

Both women looked at Gu Lan. His face flushed bright red. He had spent all his spirit stones just now and was completely penniless. What could they do? They had no choice but to walk back.

Jiang Heng flew back to his residence in the Xuanling Sect, looking at his small courtyard with a flood of emotions. After the Qingling Crane circled and landed, an honest-looking old man greeted him with a smile. "Young Master, you're back!" He looked curiously at Jiang Heng, who was alone. "Miss Jingyue didn't come with you?"

Jiang Heng jumped down from the crane's back. "Uncle Luo, I've broken up with her. She won't be coming here anymore. If she or anyone from her family shows up, don't pay them any mind."

*Oh! Broken up?* Luo was very surprised. He had seen clearly how obsessed his young master was with Han Jingyue, always granting her every request. To think they had actually broken up? Well, it was a good thing. He just hoped this wasn't a fleeting whim that would require even more effort to reconcile later—if so, then thank heaven.

He took the Qingling Crane to the side garden, while Jiang Heng looked around his home with a sense of nostalgia. In his past life, to provide Han Jingyue with resources for cultivation, he hadn't just given her his allowance; he had eventually sold this house itself. This house had been passed down by his ancestors and sat upon a small spiritual vein within the Xuanling Sect—it was the dream of many cultivators to live here.

He returned to his bedroom, opened a secret chamber, and retrieved a small chest. It contained his mother's legacy. Following the instructions to unlock the seal, a sparkling, lustrous jade bracelet lay inside.

This was the very token of love he had once given to Han Jingyue.