Chapter 54

Feng Yin immediately laughed from the bottom of his heart: "Of course, I have nothing to do anyway. Lady, please, I'll treat you today."

"The young master is truly straightforward."

The woman smiled slightly and walked forward with Feng Yin.

The crowd was bustling.

Along the way, many people greeted her, most of them being the owners and proprietresses of various shops.

When they passed the shop where Feng Yin had bought the birds, the proprietress greeted him enthusiastically, smiling all over her face. But when she looked at Feng Yin's face, she sighed.

It was a sigh of disappointment, as if she had lost her chance.

Feng Yin followed calmly, with some guesses in his mind.

It seemed this woman had considerable influence here. Everyone spoke to her with great respect, paying attention even to their expressions.

Her status was not simple.

A woman with such power, if she called him over, it certainly wasn't because of his looks... cough; nor was it because of the small thing he just bought.

He had nothing else on him except for Little Feng Ying in his pocket.

Feng Yin's face remained unchanged, but he was mentally prepared.

Running? That was impossible. There was no doubt about it.

How should he deal with this?

They passed a shop with a sign that read "Lifelong Companion."

The beautiful woman smiled faintly and said, "This is my shop. If you need anything in the future, you can come here to get it. I guarantee the cost price, no profit. It's more reassuring than outside."

"Thank you, I will definitely come if I need anything."

As they spoke, they arrived at a teahouse, ordered a pot of tea and two plates of pastries. The owner personally served them, exchanged a few words with the woman, nodded and bowed, and then left, satisfied.

He smiled and was very cautious throughout.

Feng Yin became even more alert. It seemed this woman was even more powerful than he had imagined.

They sat down.

"May I ask, Lady, is there something you need from me?" Feng Yin's face showed confusion and innocence, a shy and honest smile.

"I feel a familiar aura around you."

The beautiful woman smiled and poured tea for Feng Yin, "Besides the two you just bought, you should have another pet with you, right?"

Feng Yin's heart suddenly skipped a beat. Indeed, it was as he had guessed.

But the phrase "familiar aura" made him think further.

Was it the cat's aura that was familiar?

Or was it the aura of a common beast? How should he respond?

His face remained unchanged, and he said with a smile, "Since I'm here, I naturally like these little things. I have one with me, it's nothing special."

The woman's eyes flashed, and she smiled gently, "I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is He Xiangming."

"Miss He, hello. My name is Ling Yunduan."

Feng Yin nodded in greeting.

Since she called herself "little girl," she was probably not married.

But why did this woman seem so mature?

At least from Feng Yin's experience, the beautiful woman in front of him had a very mature charm.

Her face was like peach blossoms in spring, her figure like a ripe peach in September.

Soft, juicy, and fully ripe.

Although he hadn't eaten pork, he had seen enough pigs.

Feng Yin thought to himself that he had quite a connection with people surnamed He. He had just avoided one named He Biqu, and now he met another named He Xiangming.

And this He Xiangming didn't seem to be a simple character. This encounter was definitely not a coincidence.

Feng Yin was ready to use all his skills.

"Ling Yunduan, what a good name, soaring to the clouds, standing tall."

He Xiangming's eyes narrowed, "It seems your parents have great expectations for you."

Feng Yin's eyes showed a hint of sadness and loneliness, and he said softly, "My parents..."

He sighed, forced a smile, and changed the subject in a very awkward way, "To be honest, this name is something I changed myself after growing up."

His smile was somewhat forced, as if he was trying to hide his sadness and loneliness—like someone trying to avoid a painful topic.

"I see."

He Xiangming read his expression and guessed that his parents might have met with some misfortune or an accident. She tactfully avoided the topic and said, "Ling Yunduan, you might not know what I do, which is why you feel my sudden invitation is impolite."

"Not at all, not at all, I haven't had the pleasure of knowing what Miss does..."

Feng Yin had already guessed from what he had seen along the way.

"About two-thirds of the young beasts in this market are supplied by us."

He Xiangming smiled faintly, "I am a disciple of the Beast Taming Sect, one of the seven major sects. I am in charge of the market in the southern region of the Great Qin Empire, and Yuezhou is the branch of our sect in this region."

"I see, I see, it's an honor to meet you, Head He."

Feng Yin said, "I wonder why Head He suddenly called me over and mentioned a familiar aura... Could it be that I have a familiar beast aura from your sect?"

"By aura, I mean..."

He Xiangming smiled faintly, "You might have heard that our sect has a technique for taming beasts called the Spirit Beast Sutra."

"Oh?"

"To be honest, this technique is quite limited in its ability to control beasts, though it has some spiritual power. It was originally a side technique of our sect."

"But later, we discovered that its spiritual power is far beyond what we imagined. It can detect the traces of beasts from a great distance without being noticed. Later, we developed a method to find the lairs of beasts by tracing their traces, then send people to lure away the adult beasts and take their young."

"Thus, the Beast Taming Sect has been one of the seven major sects for many years."

She smiled faintly, "For high-grade young beasts, the Beast Taming Sect usually keeps them for ourselves. Only the lower-grade ones are sold for money. And those high-grade but low-potential ones are also sold."

She smiled self-deprecatingly, but to Feng Yin, it seemed more like pride.

It was the kind of self-deprecating smile from a position of superiority.

Feng Yin could feel the oppressive aura from her words.

This seemed to be an introduction to their sect's technique, but in reality, she hadn't revealed anything. These were things that everyone already knew about the Beast Taming Sect.

The true intention was simple: I know what you have, and you can't hide it from me.

Feng Yin's mind raced, instantly analyzing her true intention.

"The flying beasts you have, the Cloud Piercing Eagle and the Sky Splitting Falcon, are just ordinary goods I sent to the shop this morning, despite being fourth-grade flying beasts."

She raised an eyebrow, "They are flying beasts, but their potential is not high."

Feng Yin nodded, "May I ask, what do you mean?"

"I mentioned earlier that our disciples are very sensitive to the aura of spirit beasts. I sensed that you have another young beast with you, one with a very pure and noble aura, seemingly a high-grade young beast."

"Then?" Feng Yin's heart skipped a beat: seemingly?

This "seemingly" was a bit suspicious...

"As a disciple of the Spirit Beast Sect, I am very curious about high-grade spirit beasts. I really want to see what you have. If possible, I can offer a very high price to buy it. I hope you will consider it carefully and be willing to part with it."

"What if I don't want to part with it?" Feng Yin smiled.

"I believe you are a smart person and will be willing."

He Xiangming's eyes smiled, and her expression was full of confidence.

She was very clear that Feng Yin would not refuse once she made the offer.

If he dared to refuse, it would mean certain death.

The world is vast, but how many martial artists would dare to offend the Beast Taming Sect, one of the seven major sects?

This was clear to both He Xiangming and Feng Yin.

Feng Yin smiled and took out Little Feng Ying from his pocket, placing it on the table, "Is this what you're talking about?"

Little Feng Ying, surprised and frightened, stood weakly on the table, looking at Feng Yin with a cute expression, "Eh?"

"It should be."

He Xiangming's eyes lit up, focusing on Feng Ying.

The moment the little creature appeared, she was charmed, her eyes filled with uncontrollable affection.

It was simply too beautiful!

Then she exclaimed in surprise, her expression turning to shock, "This... This can't be! How can it be just a common house cat?"

Feng Yin's face showed confusion, "What are you talking about? I only have this one. Your sect's Spirit Beast Sutra is supposed to be very good at sensing spirit beasts, isn't it easy to tell?"

He Xiangming rolled her eyes, thinking, "I know you only have this one."

But the strange thing was, she had felt a very good aura earlier. According to the Spirit Beast Sutra, she should have encountered a royal or even higher-grade young beast.

For this reason, she had come in person and arranged for all the experts of the Beast Taming Sect in Yuezhou to be nearby, ready to act.

She was determined to keep this high-grade young beast at any cost.

But the creature in front of her was clearly just a weak, newly weaned common house cat!

A house cat!

Although it was indeed beautiful and incredibly cute...

It was definitely not a beast, that was certain!

But how could the Spirit Beast Sutra, which had never been wrong, make such a mistake?

He Xiangming couldn't figure it out.

Watching the little cat jump into Feng Yin's hand and act affectionately, she felt a twinge of jealousy.

"Can I take a closer look?" He Xiangming asked.

"Of course."

Feng Yin smiled, "Little Ying, go let this sister take a look, be good."

He was very confident that her introduction and the oppressive aura were just tactics.

The goal was simple: to let him know who she was, to let him know he couldn't offend her.

If he had a high-grade young beast, she would get it no matter what.

If he refused, it would mean certain death.

But to Feng Yin, it tasted different.

The Beast Taming Sect, one of the seven major sects, wanted beasts, wanted spirit beasts, not ordinary young creatures.

The seal on Feng Ying was something only a super-strong expert above the Venerable level could see through. A mere disciple of the Beast Taming Sect couldn't see anything.

And the current situation was because he was cornered.

Not showing it wasn't an option.

As she said, Feng Yin couldn't afford to offend her.

Feng Ying was clearly reluctant, raising his two white paws and looking up at Feng Yin with a questioning gaze: Are you sure?

...

[There are many subtle psychological implications from body language. Some are clear, but many have been omitted. Use your imagination... I'm working hard to save up for a big release, seven days to go.]