The Otherworldly Adventures of a Super Naive Girl

525: Flower King Selection

Not a single plant stuck out to Juntian, but it was to be expected. Feng house was one of the most prestigious houses in the country and a super power on the continent. There were so many rare plants at home that it was unlikely he would find something interesting at a regular market.

In contrast, Feng Wu was walking around peeking at different flowers with a smile curled up on her lips. The flowers and plants were chanting and singing happily. One of them was special and the other flowers were very respectful of it. It was a small flower that all the other flowers called Little Boss.

Feng Wu found Little Boss and grabbed Juntian’s hand. Her eyes, as she looked at him, were saying she wanted the plant.

“This one? Are you sure?” The flower didn’t look good. In fact it looked a little wilted. Juntian wanted to buy the best one for his little sister, but this was the one she wanted. Well whatever. Even if it was ugly, it was the one she wanted.

“Miss, you have a good eye. Don’t look down on this flower because of its appearance. This flower, I got it deep in the valley. There wasn’t a single other flower around it. The younger one thought the flower was unusual so he picked it up.

It’s a small flower, but what kind is it? I couldn’t tell. But it’s definitely not ordinary. It’s a pity though, so many people passed by and couldn’t tell it was a hidden gem. Only you miss, you’re the only one who saw it. . . ” The flower seller kept boasting about the flower and complimenting Feng Wu for her eyes. He was talking like the money wasn’t important.

“Okay, let’s stop with the chatter and talk business. How much?”

This wasn’t Juntian’s first time at the flower and plant market. Which of these vendors wouldn’t rhapsodize about their wares? If you weren’t careful, you could end up overpaying for flowers that looked expensive but were only ordinary.

“I do not speak indiscriminately. You can take this for five hundred gold.” Seeing how well dressed the siblings were, the vendor started high.

“Five gold, if you don’t want to sell, that’s fine too,” countered Juntian. He was familiar with the market and was not interested in overpaying. The flower was only worth five gold, so he was bargaining fairly.

“Young Master, this is too little! You must increase your offer a bit more.” The vendor had a wry smile when he replied. Here he thought he was dealing with two naïve customers, but they turned out to be knowledgeable ones.

“It is fine if you don’t want to sell.” Juntian began to pull Feng Wu away.

Left with no choice, the vendor wrapped the plant up and waited to be paid. Once paid the five gold from Juntian, he handed the flower to Feng Wu to hold.

Feng Wu was extremely satisfied as she looked at her brother with adoring eyes. Her brother was amazing! He could buy flowers worth five hundred gold for five gold. The money saved would be enough to eat lots of delicious food! She needed to work hard too so she could become just as amazing.

“Xiao Wu, it’s not that Brother is amazing, it’s that the plant in your hand is only worth five gold. The person saw you were a little girl and wanted to swindle money from you. That’s why he wanted to charge so much.”

“That person is bad.” Feng Wu didn’t like anyone who tried to swindle money from her. Only those with money could eat and those who swindled money from others were bad people.

“Yes, very. How could anyone try to cheat Xiao Wu?” Juntian couldn’t really blame the man though. He was just making a living. If your judgement was bad and you overspent on something, then you can just take it as money spent on a lesson learned.

Of course he couldn’t really say all these things to Feng Wu. She wouldn’t have understood.

The two siblings returned home after walking around a bit more.

Little Bun was sleeping soundly in bed in Feng Wu’s room. Feng Wu asked one of the maids to get dirt and a beautiful flower pot for the plant.

“What? What is this overpoweringly strong life energy?!” The little flower that had been quiet the entire trip began talking.

The plant’s shock surprised Feng Wu. What kind of life energy was it talking about? She tilted her head and looked at the little flower.

“Oh my god! Where’d that child come from?! So much life energy! Is that thing even human?!”

Little Bun opened his mouth and let out some cute gibberish. He opened his eyes a bit confused as he looked around then began nimbly climbing up.

Seeing this, Feng Wu didn’t care what the little flower was up to, and instead focused on getting Little Bun dressed.

Little Bun slipped into her arms and said cutely in his childish voice, “Mom hugs...”

Feng Wu picked him and up kissed his adorable little face.

Little Bun blushed happily after getting a kiss.

“Is that really a human child? How can a human have such an enormous amount of life energy? Unless it’s a life magician? No way! Elves are the only ones that know life magic.”

The more the little flower thought about it, the more confused it became. It muttered to itself like a nonstop chatterbox.

“Noisy, flower noisy.” Little Bun pointed at the little flower accusingly. It was too noisy and Little Bun didn’t like that.

“Hm, very noisy,” nodded Feng Wu in agreement.

“You talk as if you understand me.” The little flower said this time with a bit of disdain in its voice. It did not believe humans could understand it.

“I understand.” Feng Wu nodded as she looked at the little flower.

Little Bun looked at the little flower and nodded.

“Hot damn! You guys can understand me?!” The little flower felt its world view just turn upside down. What happened to this world? Could the humans have evolved to the point they understood plant life?

Feng Wu nodded. Little Bun nodded.

What?! Who were this mother and son pair? Flower god save me! There are weirdos here who understand plants!

It took a while, but the little flower finally settled down. Eventually it just viewed Feng Wu’s room as its own.

Feng Wu asked what kind of plant it was but it refused to say anything other than that it was an ancient strange flower. Luckily Feng Wu wasn’t that curious, but Little Bun seemed to know something. He laughed at the little flower for awhile before finally settling down himself.

Feng Wu didn’t know what Little Bun was laughing at and she didn’t ask.

Since the little flower moved into Feng Wu’s room, it was looking better. Its originally malnourished appearance became more beautiful as it grew bigger.

Juntian looked through several plant atlases but couldn’t find anything similar, so in the end he gave up.

It was the last day to submit a plant for the Flower King selection.

The little flower heard about the competition. It said if it wasn’t the Flower King, then who in the world was qualified to be? It asked Feng Wu to put it in the competition.

Feng Wu felt the little flower was really noisy. She didn’t want to be badgered by it so she agreed. Since the Feng family had already submitted a plant for their household, it wasn’t possible for her to send it in that way.

Juntian recommended she submit the flower under her own name as an individual instead.

Before sending the flower away, Feng Wu gave it a hug. She was happy things would be quiet again for a few days.

In contrast, Little Bun was reluctant to part with the little flower. He touched the flower’s leaf and his touch seemed to encourage it grow a little more beautiful. He also gave it a hug.

“Flower, flower, come back soon.” Little Bun talked to the little flower every day and considered it a friend.

“Yeah, I will. And you better believe I’m going to come back with the trophy.” The little flower’s confidence was so strong it was like a stick of dynamite.

Before the flower selection was finished a big event happened – an evil villain appeared.

The villain stalked beautiful girls from small families and ruined them dastardly in the night.

Feng Wu was told to avoid going out after dark so as not be victimized. In the meantime, Juntian rarely returned home because he was trying to apprehend the rapist.

Feng Wu told Ming Xi about it in their nightly conversation.

Upon hearing a serial rapist was harming young girls, Ming Xi warned Feng Wu to be careful, to not talk to strangers and to avoid deserted places.

Feng Wu obediently agreed. She wouldn’t go out, not even to see the little flower she had left at the selection venue earlier. To this the little flower was unhappy and muttered about how she was an unconscionable master.

Girls had been victimized daily since the serial rapist appeared five days ago. The entire capital was anxious and an atmosphere of unease settled over the festival and the Flower King selection.

It finally came to an end that night at six when the rapist was caught. Turned out he was an adventurer from another country. The man was an evil man who had been beaten nearly to death by the female adventurers he molested before.

It took him some time to recover, but once he did, he went right back to molesting girls again. This time though he was caught red handed while committing the crime. Someone would interrogate him after the festival and announce their findings.

Juntian was relieved that the criminal was caught.

It was the last day of the Flower King selection and the results would be announced later in the day.

To everyone’s surprise at home, the flower Feng Wu submitted was shortlisted. Along with her flower, two others submitted by the family were also pushed to the next round to be sent to the flower alter as well.

Basically what happened at the alter was this: All selected flowers would be laid down in front of the alter and the priests would come forward and recite the ceremonial prayers. After the prayers would come the ceremonial dances.

The flower that caught the most divine light would be the king of the year.

The speeches tended to last for an hour and made most people drowsy. Feng Wu struggled to stay awake through the two-hour prayer and dance. The men and ladies of the major families perked up the moment the dance finished. At last! They were finally going to see who the chosen winner would be.

A broad golden light shone on all the flowers offered on the alter. Then it began to slowly narrow until only one flower held the light. The singular spotlight of golden halo lasted for 15 minutes before fading away. Right after, heavenly rain fell from the sky and sprinkled throughout the entire city. The flowers and plants that weren’t doing so well were blessed by the rain and immediately took on a healthier appearance.

It was the flower gods being kind and blessing the flowers in the city with health and vitality.

526: Flower King

“Let me announce the final winner. It is the unknown flower submitted by Miss Feng Wu!” An old man with long, white hair had gone on stage and announced the winner as he pointed to the little flower.

The little flower actually won first place in the competition! How could this be?!

Juntian was shocked. None of the other rare flowers the Feng family sent in received the honor, and yet this five-coin flower managed to get it. It was the lowest cost of any other previous Flower King!

The staff urged Feng Wu to take the stage and receive the trophy. It really was a trophy and a beautiful one at that, with the words “Flower King” engraved on it. Quite lovely.

The trophy was actually a wonderful magic item that could be used to nourish flowers and cure plant diseases.

Feng Wu, under the jealous and envious eyes of many, went on stage to accept the trophy and take the little flower back home.

The little flower had won the title so it wouldn’t be long before people from all the big families would visit to see it.

Madam Lan was busy again. Tianhang heaped praised on Feng Wu; his daughter had such good eyesight, even with a random flower, she could win the flower king competition.

Feng Wu and Ming Xi chatted for a long time that night. She told him how the little flower had won the title of Flower King. Ming Xi praised her so much her lips and eyes were practically frozen in a smile. She eventually fell asleep.

Back at the Ancient Silver Moon kingdom, Ming Xi could not sleep. His hand would take another three months to heal and he wouldn’t be able to go back to see Feng Wu until then. It was such a long time to wait. What if the Flower King had some kind of strange ability and attracted flirts to Feng Wu?

Ming Xi was just starting to worry when a delicate voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Brother Ming Xi!” A beautiful girl in a white gauzy dress jumped over and grabbed Ming Xi’s hand.

“Hua Jin, why are you here?” Ming Xi hid the helplessness in his eyes and willed some energy from his reserves to deal with her.

“Brother Ming Xi, your hand still hasn’t healed yet. Why did you get out of bed? I will help you back to your room so you can rest!” The girl named Hua Jin said with a distressed expression on her face.

“No need.” Ming Xi pulled his hand back and kept his distance from Hua Jin. “I hurt my hands, not my feet, so I don’t need to hide in bed all day.”

Hua Jin was not giving up. “Then I will accompany you to the garden. I heard Auntie ordered people to bring over many new precious flowers.”

“No need, no need. I still have things to do. You can take your time and view them yourself.” Ming Xi turned around and left without waiting for a reply from Hua Jin or waiting to see if she could keep up.

“Brother Ming Xi, Brother Ming Xi!” Hua Jin tried to chase after him but was too slow. She finally gave up and angrily sat down to vent her anger out on the flowers. The poor plants were unceremoniously yanked out.

Hua Jin was his elder aunt’s daughter, his direct cousin from his mother’s side. They had grown up together and she had over time developed feelings for him.

The empress knew Hua Jin had feelings for Ming Xi, but she didn’t interfere and try to discourage it and instead simply allowed their young feelings to flow naturally.

Hua Jin was a good candidate to be the next empress, both publicly and privately. The current empress thought Hua Jin was a cute and innocent girl who obviously adored Ming Xi. But most importantly, Hua Jin’s pedigree was appropriately high since she came from a prominent family.

The empress was satisfied since all her conditions were met so she was happy Hua Jin was chasing after Ming Xi.

A pity, even though Hua Jin had been chasing after Ming Xi since she was a little girl over ten years ago, she had made absolutely no progress. She was anxious and afraid Ming Xi would find someone, but so far, he had not shown interest in anyone.

This gave her hope. She would have a chance as long as Ming Xi didn’t fall in love with anyone.

Lately though his attitude had changed. She had seen him a few times staring dazedly with a silly smile on his face as he talked to a girl through his communication crystal. Even through the crystal, Hua Jin could tell the dark-haired girl was very cute.

Hua Jin couldn’t stand to see the person she loved fall in love with someone else, so she clung to Ming Xi even more tightly, hoping he would notice her. But all it did was annoy Ming Xi even more.

Hua Jin was in tears. How was she not as good as that dark-haired girl?! Why wouldn’t Ming Xi give her a chance?!

A gleeful voice rang out as Hua Jin was weeping sadly to herself.

“Oh, if it isn’t Cousin Hua Jin. Did you get rejected by my older brother again?” The empress’s daughter, Princess Beiya walked over to Hua Jin’s side.

Beiya wasn’t as beautiful as Ming Xi, but she was still gorgeous, having inherited both their parent’s good looks. Not being as pretty didn’t sit well with her and she wished her brother didn’t set the beauty standard so high. Honestly, how could he be more pretty than her?

“It is none of your business.” Hua Jin ignored Beiya after answering the question. She turned around intending to leave, but Beiya stopped her.

“Hua Jin, why don’t you stop pestering my brother? He doesn’t like you, and besides that, he already has someone he’s interested in.”

“You say Brother Ming Xi has someone he’s interested in? Why wasn’t I informed of this?” Hua Jin thought about the dark-haired girl and her heart became uneasy.

Could that be the person Brother Ming Xi liked?

“What? You’re not my sister, why would I tell you anything about my family?”

“I am going to marry Brother Ming Xi and be his wife.” Hua Jin stated firmly.

“My brother doesn’t like you. I’ll tell you a secret. My brother has already spoken with Father, and Father agreed he could marry the girl he likes. You’ve just wasted years chasing after him. Hurry up and go home already.”

After saying so, Beiya skipped away without waiting for Hua Jin’s response.

Hua Jin cried and ran out of the palace. She wanted to ask her aunt for clarification. There was no way Ming Xi could like someone else! Absolutely impossible!

She cried all the way to the Moon empress’s courtyard.

The empress lived alone in a courtyard just on the outskirts of the palace and spent her free time gardening and feeding fish.

The sight of Hua Jin crying as she ran to the courtyard took the empress by surprise. Her niece didn’t like to cry, but every time she did it was over Ming Xi.

To cry so hard this time, it had to be something big.