Chapter 23: Take Money as You Please

"Of course there is," Ji Jiuxuan replied with a smile.

The manager, seeing the owner arrive, tactfully brought out clean dishes.

Min Chengjun took out a bottle of fruit drink from his spatial storage and poured a cup for Ji Jiuxuan. "Here, Ah Jiu, have a taste. I brought this fruit drink back from the Eastern Sea shore. It’s really quite good."

"Thank you, Second Uncle-Master." Even with Min Chengjun joining them, Ji Jiuxuan felt completely at ease, without the slightest hint of pressure.

Sitting between two prominent figures, Ji Jiuxuan felt more relaxed and comfortable than ever.

The fruit drink was refreshing and sweet, its spiritual energy abundant and rich—delicious beyond compare. After one cup, Ji Jiuxuan looked at Min Chengjun. He immediately understood what she meant.

"Just one more cup. Any more and the spiritual energy will be overwhelming. Too much of this, and I’m afraid you’ll have trouble digesting it when you return." If the drink’s spiritual energy was too potent, even a cultivator could become intoxicated. The worst that could happen was an excess of spiritual energy leading to a deep sleep until it was expended.

Ji Jiuxuan was not one to indulge. After Min Chengjun said she shouldn’t have any more, she left the cup untouched.

She loved good food, yet never to excess; once sated, she would lose interest for quite some time. Thus, she never overindulged, even when faced with the most delicious fare.

"Ah Jiu, your uncle-master wishes to discuss something with you. Would you be willing to sell me the recipes for these two dishes?" The Mistyfish held a high rank among spiritual foods, but it had never been popular because it was difficult to prepare well.

He had tasted these two dishes and found they could easily become signature items at his restaurant.

Meeting Ji Jiuxuan, Min Chengjun thought she was someone he could reason with, so he spoke up.

"If Uncle-Master finds them useful, you may take them." In Ji Jiuxuan’s eyes, these two dishes were nothing special. During her previous life in the modern world, she could find the recipes online with a simple search. There was no such thing as a secret formula.

"As long as you agree. Still, it’s only right for you to accept payment." With that, Min Chengjun produced a storage pouch from his spatial storage. "Here are the spirit stones for the purchase of your recipes. Take them."

The pouch was unbound and she easily sensed how many spirit stones it contained.

Seeing the mountain of spirit stones, Ji Jiuxuan was a little stunned. "Second Uncle-Master, this is far too much. Why don’t you keep the pouch, and just allow me to come eat for free at your restaurant from now on?"

Min Chengjun found her proposal amusing. The girl was clever, and he could tell she felt embarrassed.

"Take it. You can eat for free whenever you like," Min Chengjun said with a gentle smile, warm as jade.

Looking at him, Ji Jiuxuan couldn’t help but recall the lines: "Such a noble gentleman, refined and polished, chiseled and honed." He merely smiled, but the grace in his bearing suited those words perfectly.

"Here, this is a gift from your uncle-master," Min Chengjun said, producing a spatial bracelet. It was exquisitely crafted, its emerald hue veined with intricate green array patterns—truly beautiful.

Yet another spatial bracelet! By now, she had quite a collection, with several spatial rings as well.

"Take it. I heard you accepted one from your junior uncle. You can’t play favorites!" His reaction made Ji Jiuxuan want to laugh. Was that really the point?

The real issue was that she now possessed untold wealth but nowhere to spend it.

"Thank you, Second Uncle-Master." Ji Jiuxuan knew there was no way she could refuse.

She thought that would be the end of it, but Min Chengjun fetched a token identical to the one Nie Xingyuan had just used, along with a black jade plaque.

Ji Jiuxuan glanced at Nie Xingyuan, then at Min Chengjun.

"Here, bind these two items. I’ll explain how to use them in a moment," Min Chengjun said patiently. Ji Jiuxuan considered it: since Uncle Nie had them, it shouldn’t be a problem. She obediently bound them in the end.

Once she had done so, Min Chengjun nodded in satisfaction and placed the golden token before her. He smiled, "This token allows you to dine for free at any Jinda Restaurant. Connect your spiritual sense to it; wherever you go, as long as there’s one of my establishments, you may enter with this token and all expenses will be waived."

Hearing this, Ji Jiuxuan hesitated. Wasn’t this taking advantage of the house? She felt a bit embarrassed.

Min Chengjun continued, "If you ever encounter danger, this token will also grant you assistance."

He then placed the black jade plaque alongside the golden token. "With these two, you can withdraw money from any bank in the realm when you travel."

She had received something similar from her uncle before he left—a Ji family clan token, engraved with special arrays and bound by a high-level contract, allowing her to access funds from all of the family’s enterprises.

Both items were valuable and precious. Ji Jiuxuan hadn’t wanted to accept them, but since the contracts were already in place, there was no undoing it. "Thank you, Second Uncle-Master."

She took them; whether she used them or not was another matter.

Seeing Ji Jiuxuan accept the gifts, Min Chengjun finally relaxed.

"Is there anything else you’d like to eat? I’ll have it prepared for you."

Ji Jiuxuan realized that since coming to this world, everyone around her had been so kind, even spoiling her outrageously because of her parents.

Had her previous life been so hard that Heaven was now making it up to her?

"Why did you return early this time, Senior Brother?" Nie Xingyuan asked, sipping tea with Min Chengjun. He was surprised, as his second senior brother had previously said he wouldn’t return for some time.

Their master had even instructed him to escort Ah Jiu to the Beast Taming Sect, in case Second Senior Brother didn’t make it back in time.

"I finished my tasks early. And with Ah Jiu traveling far for the first time, how could I not be there? I must support our Ah Jiu."

Nie Xingyuan was used to this by now. Besides, he knew his own strength didn’t compare to Second Senior Brother’s.

There were still several days before their departure for the Beast Taming Sect. Ji Jiuxuan returned to the main peak, resuming her usual routine. The only difference was that her newly returned Second Uncle-Master often came to find her, taking her shopping and treating her to delicious food.

Life like this was truly enjoyable and tranquil.

"You’ve learned to recognize most herbs. Now, you should start cultivating spiritual plants. Once you’re familiar with their habits, I’ll teach you alchemy," her master said.

In the study hall, Ji Jiuxuan watched with delight and curiosity as her master took a scroll from the bookshelf.

The scroll floated in midair, and the instant it unfurled, a vivid pastoral scene sprang to life before her eyes.

"Master, is this a spatial planting scroll?"

A spatial planting scroll was like a personal farm in another dimension, varying in size. It could be used to grow spiritual plants and raise living creatures, but everything required personal attention.

For alchemists and beast tamers, such an item was invaluable.

Within the sect, both the Spirit Beast Peak and the Spirit Herb Garden had such grand scrolls, each fused with an entire mountain, making the territories of those two peaks vast beyond measure.

"Yes. Once you bind this scroll, you’ll plant all the seeds I give you inside it. I’ll check your progress regularly."

At a glance, the scroll was clearly a rare treasure, not like the ones sold outside. Seeing the vast expanse within, Ji Jiuxuan wondered whether she could cultivate the entire area in her lifetime.

"You’ve already read the related books on planting. Before heading to the Beast Taming Sect, spend every morning in the Spirit Herb Garden to practice your planting."

This girl spent every morning reading, without cultivating—he was well aware. He could only assign her more tasks daily to give her more hands-on experience.

Meeting her slightly puzzled gaze, Zhou Guangsheng explained with a helpless chuckle, "Practice is irreplaceable. You must try it yourself. If you don’t understand anything when you return, I’ll teach you."

Finally, he added kindly, "Go on, studying in the Spirit Herb Garden will only benefit you."

Little did Zhou Guangsheng know, sending Ji Jiuxuan to the Spirit Herb Garden was like letting a mouse loose in a granary—she would be utterly delighted.