Zhu Ziyang decisively bought the clear heart plant.
Afterward, he continued forward, looked at a few more stalls, found nothing interesting, and was about to go look for Jiang Nannan. Just then, he suddenly saw an acquaintance at the neighboring stall. No, she couldn't really be considered an acquaintance, as they had only met once.
Ma Xiaotao!
Ma Xiaotao happened to turn her head at that moment and saw him. Zhu Ziyang clearly saw Ma Xiaotao's pink eyes light up, and her smile couldn't be hidden by the veil covering her face.
She flashed in front of Zhu Ziyang and said, "Ziyang little brother, we meet again."
"Hello, Senior Sister," Zhu Ziyang instinctively replied, looking at the girl in front of him, he couldn't help but recall the softness on his back that day.
"What are you doing?" Ma Xiaotao asked, then reached up and removed the veil from her face, revealing her pretty face.
The girl smiled, but a subtle ripple stirred in her heart.
That feeling appeared again! Ma Xiaotao's mind trembled; her restless Spirit instantly quieted down a lot the moment she approached Zhu Ziyang.
Why?
Ma Xiaotao truly couldn't understand.
She thought of some information she had gathered. She knew that Zhu Ziyang was the champion of this year's freshman assessment, and also a super genius who had reached Spirit Elder at just 11 years old. She also thought of her teacher's words, telling her to interact more with Zhu Ziyang.
But, even so, should she really get close to a boy four years younger than her?
This was truly too absurd, so even when her Spirit went out of control again a few days ago, she hadn't thought of looking for Zhu Ziyang. With her domineering personality, she genuinely couldn't bring herself to intentionally approach a stranger.
However, when she approached Zhu Ziyang once more, Ma Xiaotao suddenly realized that the little bit of willpower she had painstakingly cultivated over many years might just crumble.
It felt so good!
She hadn't felt this kind of ease and comfort, not needing to intentionally suppress herself, in a long time!
Ma Xiaotao was momentarily lost in thought, her eyes looking at Zhu Ziyang, unfocused.
"Senior Sister? Senior Sister? Senior Sister!" Zhu Ziyang looked at the dazed Ma Xiaotao, feeling a bit speechless. He called out three times before waking her up. He said, "What's wrong with you?"
"N-nothing," Ma Xiaotao felt her cheeks flush. To lose her composure like this in front of a junior she had only met twice was truly too embarrassing. She uncharacteristically stammered, "I'm leaving first, goodbye!"
Ma Xiaotao once again fled as if escaping.
Zhu Ziyang was still confused, looking at the departing Ma Xiaotao with a puzzled expression.
"Brother!" Before Zhu Ziyang could figure out the reason for Ma Xiaotao's series of confusing actions, Jiang Nannan's voice came from behind him.
Zhu Ziyang turned around and saw Jiang Nannan standing behind him, a charming smile on her pretty face, but her beautiful eyes occasionally glanced behind Zhu Ziyang.
"Nannan, what are you looking at?" Zhu Ziyang naturally noticed the girl's actions and asked with a light laugh.
"I'm looking at the girl who was just talking to Brother," Jiang Nannan said casually.
"She's the Senior Sister who sent me back to the Outer Courtyard that day. Since we met here, I always have to say hello," Zhu Ziyang said.
"Oh~" Jiang Nannan responded.
"Nannan, what did you go do?" Zhu Ziyang changed the subject and asked.
"Hehe!" Jiang Nannan heard Zhu Ziyang's question, immediately forgot about what just happened, and excitedly took out two items, saying, "Brother, look!"
The girl held a jade porcelain bottle in her left hand and a goose egg-sized circular crystal in her right. Zhu Ziyang's gaze naturally lingered on the jade porcelain bottle, which looked better and was likely more valuable, containing a pill.
He took the jade porcelain bottle from the girl's hand, opened it, observed it carefully, and smelled the vermilion pill inside. After a moment of thought, he realized the name and function of this pill.
High-grade pill, Bright Fire Pill!
Don't let the 'fire' in the name of the Bright Fire Pill make you think it's a fire-attribute pill; the truth is quite the opposite. The Bright Fire Pill is named as such because of its function. The function of the Bright Fire Pill is very simple: for Spirit Masters, it can nourish the heart and strengthen qi and blood; for ordinary people, it can improve heart condition and ward off diseases. The heart belongs to fire, and 'bright fire' means 'bright heart,' hence the name Bright Fire Pill, which is well-deserved.
Seeing this Bright Fire Pill, Zhu Ziyang finally understood why Jiang Nannan had asked him some time ago about pills that could treat heart-related illnesses.
Jiang Nannan's mother, Bai Xinyi, had a weak heart, and this Bright Fire Pill was clearly prepared for her by Jiang Nannan.
"Brother, how is it? With this Bright Fire Pill, Mom's illness shouldn't be a problem anymore, right?" Jiang Nannan looked at Zhu Ziyang with anticipation and asked.
"Not bad," Zhu Ziyang first affirmed Jiang Nannan's words. Bai Xinyi was just an ordinary person; a high-grade pill, let alone treating her heart disease, might even make her heart fire vigorous. He then asked, "This Bright Fire Pill should cost more than one million gold coins, right?"
Although the Bright Fire Pill was not considered a rare treasure among high-grade pills, it was still a high-grade pill, and its price would certainly exceed one million gold coins. So Zhu Ziyang was a bit confused as to how Jiang Nannan managed to acquire this Bright Fire Pill.
"Mm-hmm!" Jiang Nannan said with a hint of pride, "The original price of this Bright Fire Pill was one and a half million gold coins, but I only spent fifty thousand gold coins to get it!"
"?" Zhu Ziyang looked puzzled.
"Hmph hmph!" The girl put her hands on her hips and said with a touch of excitement, "Brother, you really don't pay attention to anything outside! As core disciples, we get a 30% discount at all shops within Shrek City! I used my free item selection opportunity to offset one million, so didn't I only spend fifty thousand gold coins? Hehe!"
"So that's how it is!" Zhu Ziyang couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed; he genuinely just learned that core disciples could get a 30% discount when buying things in Shrek City. However, he felt a mix of heartache and relief at Jiang Nannan's meticulous planning.
Ever since he started making money from alchemy, Zhu Ziyang would give Jiang Nannan one hundred thousand gold coins as pocket money every month, but the girl still maintained her good habit of frugality. Aside from occasionally bringing him a meal when Zhu Ziyang didn't go to eat, she never spent extra money. These fifty thousand gold coins were probably the largest sum the girl had spent to date.
"Oh, and this, Brother, look." Jiang Nannan then handed the item in her other hand to Zhu Ziyang, her tone implying a request for praise.
Zhu Ziyang was startled, then focused his gaze on the circular crystal in the girl's hand. It was an irregular, silvery-white circular crystal, its luster somewhat dim, yet it still emitted a faint, cold light, making one think of the clear, cold night moon upon seeing it.
"Is this a Moon Essence Crystal?" Zhu Ziyang's tone carried a hint of hesitation, because this crystal, which he suspected was a Moon Essence Crystal, gave him a strange feeling; normally, Moon Essence Crystals wouldn't glow.
"Hehe! I'm not sure if it's a Moon Essence Crystal, I just felt like this thing would help me, and it wasn't expensive, so I bought it," Jiang Nannan said with a smile.
"Is that so?" Zhu Ziyang didn't dwell on it but took the crystal from Jiang Nannan's hand and held it up to his eyes for careful observation.
Moon Essence Crystal, as its name suggests, is a rare ore that condenses moon essence. The power of moon essence it gathers is a great tonic for moon-type Spirits. A goose egg-sized Moon Essence Crystal like the one Jiang Nannan bought should be worth around two hundred thousand gold coins on the market.
However, Zhu Ziyang was a bit confused. Moon Essence Crystal is a very restrained ore. Although this crystal indeed had the characteristics of a Moon Essence Crystal, a Moon Essence Crystal would absolutely not emit such a faint glow, and upon touching it, one could feel a faint warmth.
Zhu Ziyang was momentarily unsure.
He looked at Jiang Nannan and saw that the girl was looking at him with anticipation.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he thought of a possibility!
"Nannan, let's go back to the academy!" Zhu Ziyang immediately put the crystal into his star flame ring and pulled Jiang Nannan, walking towards the exit of the Nine Treasure Chamber of Commerce.
"Huh?" Jiang Nannan was stunned. She was still waiting for Brother Ziyang's praise, so why were they suddenly leaving? She asked, confused, "What's wrong, Brother? Aren't we waiting for Little Ya and the others?"
"We'll talk about it back at the academy," Zhu Ziyang said. "We won't wait for Little Ya and Bei Bei."