Dragon Hermit

“Young Master Feng, what’s in Young Miss Liu’s mind? She just let go of a treasure worth a whole house and wore goods worth 1000¥. Is this the power of love?” Yan Xiaoqing whispered to Dong Feng.

“Goods worth 1000¥?? Hehe…” Dong Feng only laughed in response and didn’t bother with making any explanation to her.

Ordinary jewels weren’t on par with goods crafted and carved by Xia Yan. The imperial jadeite necklace was no ordinary goods, but it still couldn’t save one’s life no matter how pretty and expensive it was, and it might even cost one his life. If one dared to wear it daily, then many criminals and world-renowned thieves would go after him. This ornament could only be hoarded in a safe, and wearing it around one’s neck was just asking for trouble.

As for the jade sculpture given out by Xia Yan? It could really save one’s life and Young Miss Liu’s life was priceless.

They had once spent 500.000¥ to buy the Soul Ataraxia Stone, which had saved his cousin’s life, and this had been the best deal done by the Liu family this year.

As for whether it was due to the power of love? Dong Feng didn’t even take it into consideration. The Liu family wasn’t short of money and didn’t need to look for a boyfriend of equal status for his cousin, while Xia Yan possessed special abilities, whose worth couldn’t be measured with mere money; if he became his cousin’s boyfriend, then this was precisely what his grandpa and uncle wished for.

However, Dong Feng was obviously the sole person who thought so here. When the people witnessed Liu Xue’er replacing the imperial jadeite necklace with a lousy jade ornament, they were all as dumbfounded as Yan Xiaoqing.

Sure enough! Wealthy people were so willful!

Or, was this the counterattack of the loser Xia Yan?

Xie Zheng’s expression turned unsightly. A person could wear only a single jade necklace, and Liu Xue’er had already worn the one sent by Xia Yan. So, what about the one in his hands?

“Miss Xue’er, it’s time for you to take Young Master Zheng’s gift, don’t leave him standing there awkwardly,” Xia Yan cast a glance at Xie Zheng and spoke to Liu Xue’er with a smile.

“Okay!” Liu Xue’er’s face got flushed, quite embarrassed by their actions a while ago.

Since Xia Yan had already given his word, Liu Xue’er trusted him and said, “Young Master Xie, thank you for your gift.”

When Liu Xue’er just got hold of the emerald-jade sculpture of Buddha, she felt a chill run down her spine and she shuddered lightly. But at this moment, a warm current flowed out of her chest. That said chill was dispersed and she felt comfortable all over.

If this had happened in the past, Liu Xue’er wouldn’t suspect anything. But she had already gone through two schemes and was aware that the jade ornament in front of her chest protected her from harm.

[Xia Yan, thank you] She looked at him and thanked him inwardly.

A smile blossomed on Xie Zheng’s face. When Elder Shi crafted this jade ornament, he had fused a thread of Liu Xue’er’s hair with it and crafted it according to her birth date. As long as Liu Xue’er touched the jade ornament, the array’s power in it would lock onto her and would unleash its power after a day. At that time, even Celestials wouldn’t be able to save the Liu family’s princess.

“Young Master Zheng, this jade ornament is now Miss Xue’er’s, isn’t it?” Xia Yan asked.

“Of course, I have gifted it to Miss Xue’er, and it’s now hers,” Xie Zheng said.

“Very good!” Xia Yan nodded and said to Liu Xue’er. “Miss Xue’er, I’m quite fond of this jade ornament, can you gift it to me?”

“Fine!” Liu Xue’er passed it to Xia Yan without the least bit of hesitation.

“Wait!” Xie Zheng was taken aback and he quickly came back to his senses. He was both surprised and angry. She had just received this birthday gift, yet she directly passed it to someone else. This was so humiliating. The crux was that if the jade ornament wasn’t within a hundred meters of Liu Xue’er, then its power wouldn’t be able to affect her.

“Miss Xue’er, this isn’t an appropriate behavior, is it?” Xie Zheng’s expression turned gloomy.

When Xia Yan took hold of the jade ornament, he immediately detected the evil energy contained within it. This energy had already locked onto Liu Xue’er and was trying to invade her body, but it was blocked by Xia Yan’s jade ornament.

The Xie family didn’t have any scruples, and since Xia Yan had already chosen to confront it, then he would be the same. He just stroked the jade ornament in his hands and said with a smile, “Young Master Zheng, Young Master Xie. This jade ornament is already Liu Xue’er’s, and she can give it to whoever she wants. So, what objection do you have?”

“Xia Yan, don’t be so shameless. This jade ornament is a renowned master’s work, and it’s crafted out of top-grade materials. Do you know how much it’s worth? How come you have the nerve to ask for it? You are just a cheap man living off a woman, aren’t you?” Zhou Yi shouted.

“Shut up! Zhou Yi, who do you think you are? You dare curse Xia Yan?” Dong Feng flared out and spoke before Xia Yan could respond. He didn’t dare to cut into a conversation between his cousin, Xie Zheng, and Xia Yan. But, Zhou Yi was just a nobody, and if he didn’t teach him a lesson, then even Xia Yan might look down upon him.

“Young Master Feng, you…” Zhou Yi was taken aback. He was a follower of Xie Zheng, but this didn’t mean that he dared to confront the Liu family openly. Even the Dong family was a colossal faction in his eyes, let alone the Liu family.

Upon hearing Dong Feng’s shout, Zhou Yi could only mumble several words and quieten. He didn’t dare to speak up again!

“Sure enough, it’s my master’s artwork,” As Xia Yan stroked the jade ornament with his hand, he detected its simple-looking yet detailed lines, and this was a product of One-Knife School’s skill. Xia Yan had caressed his master’s artworks many times and he wouldn’t make a mistake in this.

He had noticed a while ago that this jade ornament looked like a product of One-Knife School’s craft, and that was why he asked for it.

But, this jade ornament emitted eerie and extremely impure Undead Element’s aura. If an ordinary person held this jade ornament, he would be affected by this impure Undead Element and might start hallucinating. Getting hallucinations and seeing ghosts or something of the like was a minor matter in comparison to what would happen if one’s body got invaded by the Undead Element. The Undead Element would steal a person’s life force and would quickly take his life.

The ebony toad used to deal with Old Master Liu was a slow-acting poison, while the two methods used to deal with Liu Xue’er were both swift and fierce.

[How come Xie Zheng is so fearless? Is it because he’s depending upon Elder Shi? What’s the origin of this old man?]

As Xia Yan pondered over this, he stuffed the jade ornament into his pants pocket and started maneuvering his Soul Storage Horcrux to absorb the Undead Element in it.

“Huh?” Elder Shi was sitting on a sofa in the corner with his eyes closed, yet at this moment, he raised his brows and his eyes snapped open. He looked in Xia Yan’s direction with a flickering gaze.

“That youngster is really exceptional,and he’s attempting to destroy my Magical Artifact. Humph, he’s only an arrogant and ignorant lad wet behind the ears,” Elder Shi sneered and took a black bamboo whistle out of his sleeve. He started playing the whistle and a current of air went through that said whistle, but it didn’t emit any sound. The old man’s cheeks got puffed and he moved his tongue nimbly. He started playing a bizarre silent musical pulse.

“Young Master Zheng, thank you for your gift. I’m very fond of it,” Upon seeing Xia Yan putting the jade ornament into his pants pocket, Liu Xue’er smiled at Xie Zheng and spoke.

Xie Zheng had almost flown into a rage, but he bore it and turned his head to look at Elder Shi and found the latter nodding at him. He couldn’t help but rejoice because he realized that Elder Shi would finally make a move.