The sun shone ever so brightly above the skies, the roosters crowed and the busy mornings of everyone on the continent have begun once again.
Inside a certain luxurious restaurant at the center of the Entertainment Block of the Paradyne Academy, the three members of the Longinus Family peacefully dined, munching on special delicacies unique to the Empire of Eternal Faith.
Juliet looked joyful throughout the entire breakfast and the couple continued their breakfast without any interruptions. When the bill came in, Dan knitted his eyebrows when he realized that the restaurant didn"t accept gold coins for payments.
What they asked for payment was Spirit Stones. Spirit Stones were made from condensed and crystallized Spiritual Qi from Heaven and Earth. A cultivator could absorb a Spirit Stone and acquire the concentrated Spiritual Qi inside, boosting his cultivation for a short moment.
That was the reason why cultivators mainly transacted using Spirit Stones, for if they didn"t spend it, they could absorb it and increase their cultivation. However, because of this certain perk, Spirit Stones were rare and the ratio of gold coins to Spirit Stones was 9:1.
Natalie stepped forward and handed over five standard Spirit Stones as payment. Dan glanced at her and said, "Little wife, where can you get those Spirit Stones, it seems like it"s a necessary currency for transactions in this place..."
"I don"t really know, but as for my Spirit Stones, I have an allowance of twenty standard Spirit Stones a month, so I got them for free..." Natalie replied and Dan"s frown deepened, "Only twenty standard Spirit Stones? Why is Senior Mathias being so cheap?"
Natalie stared at Dan for a moment before lifting her lips in a smile, "Dear, could it be that you do not know anything about Spirit Stones?" Dan choked in his own saliva, his expression turned green and Natalie who noticed his reaction lightly chuckled, "Don"t worry about it, everyone starts as ignorant, it"s not really a matter that you should be embarra.s.sed with..."
Natalie proceeded on explaining the concept of Spirit Stones to Dan and in the end, Dan understood that the ranks of Spirit Stones were divided into substandard, standard, middle and high. Cultivators normally use substandard Spirit Stones, and a single standard Spirit Stone had a value of about a hundred substandard Spirit Stones.
A single middle-tiered Spirit Stone had a value of about a hundred standard Spirit Stone and so on. By the time that Natalie finished her explanation, the family had arrived before the gates of the Fragrant Peak Pavilion. Dan placed Juliet on the ground and the latter realized that there was no one else inside their house.
Juliet"s expression flashed with uncertainty before she spoke out in a hushed voice, "Papa, where is Elder Sis Grace? Why is she not at home, did she leave us?" Her small voice echoed like thunder inside the ears of the couple and Natalie"s visage turned tender.
Carrying Juliet in her arms, Natalie turned towards Dan and the latter nodded his head, "Since it"s still quite early, it should be fine if we visit her," The family went out of the Fragrant Peak Pavilion and started their journey towards the Mirthful Fairies a.s.sociation.
While they were on their way, Natalie asked, "Dear, can you tell me more about Grace? It seems like whenever I want to talk with her about her past, she always avoids my questions..." Natalie"s expression shone in genuine concern, Dan glanced at her for a moment and shook his head, "I don"t have the right to tell you that, if you want to know about her past, then it should come from her mouth..."
Natalie puffed her cheeks, Juliet did the same as the former said, "I see, you"re really a good master to your slave, Dan Longinus..." Natalie"s sudden call of his full name sent s.h.i.+vers down Dan"s spine as the latter bitterly smiled, "So you already knew that Grace is my slave? I"m sorry that I didn"t tell you beforehand I"m not really quite sure about how you will react..."
Natalie stared at him for a moment before saying, "Dan, what do you think about Grace? Personally, I find her as quite remarkable, once we went into the Establishment Block to buy Juliet some clothes and when we were about to be ripped off by a greedy merchant, Grace skillfully handled it and even fetched us a discount..."
Natalie"s visage turned uncertain, "From what I saw back then, and since I don"t really think that you would enslave her without proper reasons, there should be a motive about why you took her as your own slave..." Natalie cupped her chin with her free hand and suddenly, her face gleamed with understanding.
"Since we were separated for about a month, could it be that the reason why you made her your slave is that of s.e.xual reasons?!" Natalie lightly exclaimed and Dan"s expression flushed, "Why did you think of that!? Do you really think that I"m that perverted to take advantage of a hopeless woman like her?!"
"See? You called her a woman! Since you didn"t refer to her as a girl, it should be because you made her a woman!" Dan facepalmed and inwardly mumbled, "What kind of a deduction is that..." Dan suffused a wronged expression and threw Natalie a cold shoulder. Natalie realized that she went too far and started consoling Dan using Juliet as her pacifier.
Under Juliet"s absolute cuteness and her angel-like pleading voice that asked for them to make up. How could Dan resist such temptation? Within several breaths, Dan violently cursed Natalie in his mind as he carried Juliet in his arms.
Natalie turned her head away and pretended that nothing happened.
After this small affair, the family finally arrived before the Mirthful Fairies a.s.sociation"s dilapidated room. Dan and Natalie expected a cold treatment like what happened before but when the doors opened, numerous bulky "men" dressed in pink robes welcomed them with a deep bow.
"Excuse me, what the h.e.l.l?" A queer cry came from Dan"s mouth and Natalie looked equally astonished. A familiar bulky man that had fair skin moved forward and said, "We- no, I apologize for what happened at that day, I do hope that both esteemed guests won"t bear any grudges to the humble me. As an apology, please enjoy a complete VIP treatment in our facility... "
He handed over a glamorously decorated card that Natalie received as Dan asked, "Thank you for this treatment but we won"t stay long, we only want to see Grace and talk with her for a bit..."
"Ah, so you came here to see our Princess? Please wait a bit in our lounge, we will inform her of your arrival..." The "man" respectfully gestured towards the side as several "men" guided the three towards the lounge. The man who spoke earlier hurriedly informed Grace about Dan and Natalie"s arrival as the latter swiftly threw everything away and sped towards the lounge.
"Ermm, esteemed guest, do you want a ma.s.sage? I"m quite familiar with the male body and I"m sure that I can have you ascend to the heavens..." A bulky man approached Dan from behind and spoke with a charming voice which chilled Dan"s heart to the core.
Dan glanced at Natalie and sent signals for help, but Natalie merely observed, gloating at Dan"s situation along with Juliet who even stuck her tongue out, teasing her father.
"d.a.m.n, this pair of mother and daughter..." Dan vehemently refused the man"s offer and after painstaking effort, the man finally gave up and retreated. Natalie held her stomach as she tried her best in suppressing her laughter. Dan glared at her and inwardly thought, "If I don"t make you scream later at night then I won"t be a man." He swore in his heart.
Several minutes later, Grace finally appeared and her appearance greatly shocked Dan and Natalie.
Grace"s countenance looked pale and under her eyes protruded two prominent dark bags. Her footsteps looked unstable and her figure endlessly trembled like a leaf. Dan moved forward, supported her body and made her sit on the couch before saying, "Just what in the actual heavens happened in here, Grace? I allowed you to work but I didn"t allow you to overwork yourself like this..."
Grace lifted her head with great efforts and when she saw Natalie, Juliet and Dan"s look of concern. Her expression softened and she bitterly chuckled, "I didn"t expect that cultivators worked such crazy hours and paired with the pressure of finding a merchant that would buy our herbs, it"s even a miracle that I could still open my eyes until now..."
Dan knitted his eyebrows upon hearing what she said, "Finding a merchant to buy your herbs? Isn"t that the job of the Medicine Pavilion? Why did they stop buying herbs from you guys when you"re one of the suppliers with the best quality in the entire Academy..."
Grace"s gaze swept over at Dan before sighing, "Well, that"s because we offended a high-ranking Elder from the Medicine Pavilion. As a response, they completely stopped purchasing herbs from us and if we don"t make any profits soon, then the expenditure of maintaining this vast garden alone will bankrupt us in a matter of days..."
"How about selling to other merchants? Surely, the Medicine Pavilion shouldn"t be the only establishment that buys these herbs..." Natalie chimed in and Grace shook her head, "We tried doing that already but those shameless b.a.s.t.a.r.ds from the Medicine Pavilion actually threatened our interested buyers..."
Her expression turned for the worse and her eyes rolled as she struggled to keep her consciousness. Dan paused for a moment, "How vicious, how vicious of them to do that! Those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds from the Medicine Pavilion, just what are their backgrounds that they actually dared to do such a shameless thing!"
Natalie"s eyes dimmed, "With my ident.i.ty as an Honorary Disciple I could complain, but with the connections of the Medicine Pavilion with the Academy, I can"t really do much..."
Dan gazed at Natalie and Grace before falling into deep contemplation, ""Grace, the Medicine Pavilion is the only source of Pills and Medicines in the Academy, right?"
Grace nodded her head, "Yes, that"s the reason why we"ve been struggling to sell our herbs, though we can sell it outside, those mortals cannot possibly buy it using Spirit Stones, and the difference between gold coins and Spirit Stones is too huge to make up for it..."
"So they"re the only monopoly that controls most of the supplies regarding medicines and pills in the Academy, right? I wonder what would happen if another influence supported by two Honorary Disciples pops out and opposes them?" Dan revealed a vicious light and Natalie"s countenance changed, "Dear, could it be that..."
Honorary Disciples possessed influence that encompa.s.ses the influence of mere elders. After all, disciples were the backbones of Sects and Academies so it was common sense that they would be favored. Though Dan didn"t expect that his plan would go seamlessly as he wants, he was prepared to fight any opposition.
"Indeed, since they already went too far, it should not be a problem if we made our counter-attack. If war is what they wish, then we will give them what they want! Dan boldly declared, The two young women froze, and the atmosphere inside the lounge became frosty.