Chapter 95: Gulp?

Shen Yian laughed and didn’t reply.

“Forget it, forget it. As an elder, I won’t get involved in your affairs. There’s still a little wine left, so let’s split it between us.”

Shen Lingxiu waved his sleeve and shook the wine jar.

“Fifth Uncle, what do you think will be the final outcome for us?” Shen Yian put down his wine cup, sat up straight, placed his hands on his knees, and slowly lowered his gaze.

“Huh…”

Hearing this, Shen Lingxiu remained silent for a while, then tilted his head back and drank the remaining wine in one go, letting it wet his collar.

“Thud.”

The wine jar was set down on the ground. Shen Lingxiu stared at Shen Yian and said calmly, “You’ll live.”

He only knew that as long as his second brother lived, these brats wouldn’t repeat the events of the past.

“We will all live,” Shen Yian echoed, looking at Shen Lingxiu.

“Mm, you’ll all live.”

“Oh right, what was it you said you wanted earlier, kid?”

“In response to Fifth Uncle, it was the beast taming method.”

“Right, right, right, the beast taming method. Clean this up, and I’ll go find it for you.”

“Thank you for the trouble, Fifth Uncle.”

In the blink of an eye, an incense stick’s worth of time passed. Shen Lingxiu, dragging his robe, came back hugging a stack of bamboo scrolls and spread them on the ground.

“Little An, pick for yourself.”

Shen Yian looked at the dozen or so beast taming methods in astonishment and asked, “Does Fifth Uncle have any recommendations?”

“I recommend it? In this huge martial pavilion, I haven’t even seen a mouse. Do you think I’ve practiced any of these?” Shen Lingxiu shrugged and spread his hands.

Shen Yian realized he had mistaken his Fifth Uncle for an encyclopedia.

“Take your time choosing. Let me know when you find one you like.”

“Yes, Fifth Uncle.”

Shen Yian nodded and began to carefully examine all the bamboo scrolls.

In the end, he chose the simplest beast taming method called [Blood Contract], commonly known as the master-servant contract.

He didn’t expect Xueguo to have much combat power in the future; being a good mascot would suffice.

After selecting the beast taming method, Shen Yian tidied up the bamboo scrolls and stood up, saying, “Fifth Uncle, I’ve made my choice.”

“Mm, good. Anything else?”

“Well, Fifth Uncle, I might need to trouble you once more. I’d like to go to the underground palace.”

“You brat, always bossing me around.”

“I wouldn’t dare.”

“Come here, help me lift this floor tile.”

Shen Lingxiu said irritably.

“Coming!”

It was already afternoon, and the sun was hanging over the western hills and was about to set.

Shen Yian left the martial pavilion. This trip not only yielded a beast taming method but also allowed him to retrieve a valuable treasure from the underground palace.

When Shen Yian returned to the king’s mansion, Ye Liyan was practising the flute. Xueguo was lying nearby, quietly listening to the melody, its snow-white ears drooping in contentment.

As the tune ended, hearing of Shen Yian’s return, Ye Liyan hurriedly put away her jade flute to welcome him.

Though they had been apart for only half a day, it felt like three autumns had passed. She feared her husband might leave without notice again, as he had done five years ago.

“What’s wrong? Did you miss your husband this much?” Shen Yian asked with a smile, looking at the beauty suddenly embracing him.

“Mm, Liyan missed her husband very much.” Ye Liyan’s voice was soft and gentle, her small face pressed tightly against Shen Yian’s shoulder.

“Your husband missed you too.”

“Gulu?”

Xueguo’s voice broke the perfectly romantic atmosphere.

“Gurgle…”

Xueguo patted Shen Yian’s shoe with its small paw. After the couple’s gaze turned to it, the little paw rubbed its rumbling tummy.

Translation: Old man, give me some food!

Shen Yian silently withdrew his gaze and suddenly pecked Ye Liyan’s pretty face: “What do you want to eat tonight?”

“Whatever my husband decides is fine.”

Ye Liyan lowered her head shyly.

Xueguo: ???

In the evening, while waiting for dinner, Shen Yian helped Ye Liyan and Xueguo complete the [Blood Contract].

The process went very smoothly. Xueguo didn’t resist at all, and after the contract was completed, it eagerly pounced into Ye Liyan’s arms to express its joy.

At the same time, the gatekeeper reported that the manager of the pawn shop was requesting an audience.

In the study, the pawn shop manager stood next to a wooden box and respectfully said: “Your Highness, all the items collected by the Fifth Prince recently are here. This is the list of the inventory, please have a look.”

Any unredeemed items collected by Shen Tengfeng would be secretly bought by the pawn shop the next day, with a 30% price difference going into Shen Tengfeng’s pocket on the same day.

This back-and-forth made Shen Tengfeng increasingly confident, feeling he was born for this business. He had even started planning where to open his own pawn shop.

“That’s quite a lot of items.”

Shen Yian took the inventory and approached the box, looking at the various objects inside with a wry smile.

After screening, two items lost money, three items did not lose money, five items made a small profit, one item made a medium profit, and one item made a huge profit.

His fifth brother’s drop rate wasn’t bad.

In less than a month, he had struck gold.

The black pearl in his hand looked ordinary on the outside, but when crushed, a seed full of vitality appeared.

If he wasn’t mistaken, this was a seed from Sanqing Mountain’s enlightenment tea tree, and one that could grow into a tea tree – an absolute rare treasure!

If he were to cultivate an enlightenment tea tree, would those from Sanqing Mountain and the Heavenly Gate Pavilion come to chop down the tree in the middle of the night?

After a brief examination, Shen Yian carefully placed the seed in a jade box. This seed could determine whether he’d have enlightenment tea to drink every day in the future. When he had time, he’d need to discuss this with the old and young pair in the herb garden.

Keeping the enlightenment tea tree seed, Shen Yian instructed the pawn shop manager to sell the other items through the merchant association to pawn shops in other cities.

He didn’t want to dampen his fifth brother’s hard-earned confidence with such a cold splash of reality.

He also ordered the manager to report back every half month, or earlier if there were too many items.

After arranging everything, the pawn shop manager respectfully left the study.

As soon as the outsider left, Xueguo, who had been crouching by the door, darted into the study. Its snow-white tail wagged non-stop as it sat on the floor, staring expectantly at Shen Yian.

It had smelled it! The scent of an unparalleled delicacy! It was incredibly fragrant!

The aroma intoxicated Xueguo.

Seeing that Shen Yian wasn’t paying attention, Xueguo shamelessly hugged his leg, letting out a pleading whimper.

“Little one, your nose is quite sharp, but unfortunately, that thing can’t be given to you.”

Seeing the little creature still not giving up, Shen Yian squatted down and held out his clenched fist in front of Xueguo.

Xueguo’s eyes lit up, almost drooling shamelessly, its tail wagging even faster.

That’s it! The fragrance was so close!

It declared that, at this moment, this very bad two-legged creature’s status temporarily surpassed its own master!

“Here you go.”

The fist opened, and a waft of fragrance filled its nostrils.

Xueguo’s excitement lasted less than a second before its face froze. It looked at the empty palm and then up at Shen Yian.

“Gulu?”

Shen Yian shrugged with a smile: “Gulu?”