Chapter 043: Counterfeit Goods

Watching the eggs bounce up and down, Yan Shu felt a bit uneasy; if they accidentally cracked themselves, she wasn’t sure whether what would spill out would be yolk—or two little phoenixes.

She withdrew from her wild thoughts and looked at the two tiny phoenixes inside the egg. “Are your names Yu’er and Jin’er?”

Yu’er replied, “Yes, yes! Our names were chosen by Mother. She said it means ‘holding jade, cherishing virtue,’ but since ‘yu’ isn’t quite fitting for a girl, she changed it to ‘jade.’”

Yan Shu was now certain they had mistaken her for someone else; she didn’t possess such refined literary taste.

But—wait, strictly speaking, these two little creatures hadn’t even been born yet. How could they know words?

“Mother, have you forgotten?” Jin’er spoke up. “Though my sister and I haven’t broken out of our shells, we already possess spiritual awareness. Mother has been teaching us for over a hundred years.”

These two were clearly confusing her with someone else, yet seemed utterly convinced. Yan Shu didn’t want to hurt their feelings, so she gently probed, “Why do you believe I’m your mother?”

Yu’er and Jin’er answered in unison, “Mother is mother!”

Yan Shu felt a headache coming on. “Then who is your father?”

Again, they spoke together, but their voices dropped with sadness: “Yu’er (Jin’er) doesn’t have a father.”

Instantly, Yan Shu’s heart softened.

Alright then, who knows which whimsical single mother from the upper realm lost her children and they tumbled down here. She’d just be their temporary caretaker.

Having steeped herself in countless immortal novels, Yan Shu knew—even without the original owner’s memories—that the phoenix is a divine beast, worshipped even in the upper realm. She couldn’t treat these two as contracted spirit beasts; instead, she decided to care for them as children.

“How much longer before you hatch?”

“A phoenix breaks its shell after five hundred years, but without a mother to incubate us, it takes longer.”

The two seemed a bit embarrassed. “We need about three hundred more years. Of course, if Mother could find treasures infused with the world’s spiritual energy for us to absorb, we’d strive to come out sooner.”

Three hundred years.

Given her current favor rating of -65 (hostility), Yan Shu doubted she’d make it that long.

She bargained with them for a while, but the two stubbornly refused to change how they addressed her. Whenever Yan Shu insisted she wasn’t their mother, they would start to sob, shattering her heart.

Forget it. Even in modern times, people call themselves parents to their cats and dogs. If she survived to see their birth, the rumor that she was the mother of two phoenixes would be quite impressive.

As she mused over this, a commotion sounded from the next room; Xiao Jihan had returned.

The rooms were assigned according to status. Yan Shu and Liu Zhiqing lived in the central superior chamber; to Liu Zhiqing’s left were Meng Yu and Sun Changfeng, while Xiao Jihan lived to Yan Shu’s right.

Hearing movement from Xiao Jihan’s room, Yan Shu hesitated.

She had no spirit stones, but the senior brothers always sent her their best finds. She rummaged through her storage pouch and, considering her -65 favor rating, decided to take a risk.

Yan Shu carefully stowed the egg, then went to knock on Xiao Jihan’s door.

Inside, Xiao Jihan stared at the delicate silhouette projected onto the door, his phoenix eyes cold as frost.

He hadn’t realized that, after her inner demons were purged, this woman would harbor such malicious intentions.

To harm both body and soul—her seemingly meticulous care for him, her words about only wanting him, wishing to live well together, were nothing but a ploy to gain his heart, only to trample and humiliate him later!

Yu Wenche, proud as he was, had publicly acknowledged her as his betrothed, clearly moved and holding her close to his heart.

In just over a day in Brahma Heaven City, she’d captivated someone as proud as Yu Wenche—her methods were truly formidable!

Remembering his own anxious trust in recent days, Xiao Jihan felt as if he’d been slapped.

How foolish you are!

No one in this world would treat you sincerely—least of all that woman!

Xiao Jihan closed his eyes. He had neither the mood nor the patience to deal with the venomous woman outside his door.

Yan Shu knocked for a while, then realized Xiao Jihan truly had no intention of opening the door.

Everyone here was a cultivator; it was obvious whether someone was inside. His refusal was a clear sign he didn’t even want to feign politeness.

Yan Shu wasn’t bothered; after all, he was the protagonist, the master, and everything went according to his will.

She simply wondered why the favor rating had dropped so sharply, and why so much at once.

Standing at the door for a long time, pondering, she realized the drop seemed to coincide with Yu Wenche’s announcement that she was his betrothed.

But the problem was, at that time she had taken the Face-Changing Pill—he shouldn’t have recognized her.

Even if he had, so what?

Suddenly, inspiration struck. Did he really recognize her, and think she’d found him a new master, meaning he would have to serve not only her, but someone else as well, and so became unhappy?!

The more Yan Shu considered it, the more plausible it seemed, for she couldn’t think of another reason.

Surely it wasn’t that he didn’t recognize her, and then fell in love at first sight with the face she had after taking the pill, and upon hearing she was Yu Wenche’s fiancée, turned his love into hatred?

Yan Shu was amused by her own speculation.

No one understood better than she how detached Xiao Jihan was—so many female supporting characters in the original novel were desperate for him, yet he never sparked even a hint of romance. Love at first sight, love turning to hate...

Ha!

Please.

Having figured out the cause of his anger, Yan Shu knew what to do.

She knocked again, then lowered her voice. “Disciple, open the door. Your master has something to discuss with you. If you don’t, I’ll come in anyway.”

Xiao Jihan frowned at her words; this woman’s shamelessness truly knew no bounds!

Annoyed, he got up and opened the door, not even bothering to pretend politeness, his face cold. “The secret realm opens the day after tomorrow. I need to cultivate. If Master has something to say, say it quickly.”

“Let’s talk in your room,” Yan Shu said, disregarding his icy demeanor and walking straight in. She glanced back at him. “Shut the door.”

Xiao Jihan looked at her, then suddenly sneered, “Does Yu Wenche know his master knocks on a man’s door in the dead of night and sits alone with him?”

So he had recognized her.

Third Senior Brother’s Face-Changing Pill was clearly no sham product.

Yan Shu looked up at Xiao Jihan, feigning surprise. “Were you also at the Treasure Pavilion today?”

Xiao Jihan snorted, shut the door, and leaned lazily against it, coldly watching her, his face saying: I’ll quietly watch you pretend.

Yan Shu pretended not to understand, thick-skinned as ever. “What I need to discuss with you is precisely this.”

She took out the egg, acting mysterious. “Disciple, do you know what this is?”