Douluo Dalu II: The Peerless Tang Sect

Chapter 80 Goodbye Ma Xiaotao! Bright Fire Pill!

Zhu Ziyang decisively took the Qingxin plant.

He continued forward and looked at a few more stalls, but found them uninteresting. He then decided to look for Jiang Nannan. Just then, he suddenly saw a familiar face at the next stall. No, it couldn't really be called a familiar face, because they had only met once before.

Ma Xiaotao!

Just then, Ma Xiaotao turned her head and saw him. Zhu Ziyang clearly saw that Ma Xiaotao's pink eyes sparkled, and the thin veil covering her face couldn't hide her smile.

She appeared in front of Zhu Ziyang in a flash and said, "Brother Ziyang, we meet again."

"Hello, senior." Zhu Ziyang answered subconsciously, looking at the girl in front of him, he unconsciously recalled the softness on his back that day.

"What are you doing?" Ma Xiaotao asked, then reached out and lifted the veil from her face, revealing her pretty face.

The girl smiled, but a subtle ripple stirred within her heart.

That feeling appeared again! Ma Xiaotao's mind jolted, and her restless martial spirit instantly calmed down the moment she approached Zhu Ziyang.

Why?

Ma Xiaotao really couldn't understand it.

She recalled some information she had gathered. She knew that Zhu Ziyang was the champion of this year's freshman assessment and a super genius who had reached the Soul Venerable level at the age of 11. She also remembered her teacher's words, which advised her to spend more time with Zhu Ziyang.

But even so, does that mean I should get close to a boy who is four years younger than me?

This was utterly absurd, so even though her martial spirit had gone out of control again a few days ago, she hadn't considered going to find Zhu Ziyang. Given her domineering personality, she simply couldn't bring herself to deliberately approach a complete stranger.

However, when she got close to Zhu Ziyang again, Ma Xiaotao suddenly realized that the little bit of willpower she had painstakingly cultivated over the years might be about to crumble.

It feels so good!

She hadn't felt this relaxed and comfortable feeling without having to suppress herself in a long time!

For a moment, Ma Xiaotao was lost in thought, her eyes fixed on Zhu Ziyang, unfocused.

"Senior? Senior? Senior!" Zhu Ziyang looked at Ma Xiaotao, who was standing in a daze, and was somewhat speechless. He called her name three times before she came to her senses. He asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"N-nothing." Ma Xiaotao felt a rush of heat to her cheeks. She was incredibly embarrassed to have lost her composure in front of a junior she'd only met twice. She said shyly, quite unlike her usual self, "I'll be going now, goodbye!"

Ma Xiaotao fled again, as if running away.

Zhu Ziyang was still completely confused, looking at Ma Xiaotao who had run away with a puzzled expression.

"Brother!" Before Zhu Ziyang could figure out the reason for Ma Xiaotao's series of confusing actions, Jiang Nannan's voice came from behind him.

Zhu Ziyang turned around and saw Jiang Nannan standing behind him, a charming smile on her pretty face, but her beautiful eyes kept glancing behind him.

"Nannan, what are you looking at?" Zhu Ziyang naturally noticed the girl's actions and asked with a light laugh.

"I was looking at the girl who was talking to my brother just now," Jiang Nannan said casually.

"She's the senior who took me back to the Foreign Languages ​​Department that day. We should say hello when we meet here," Zhu Ziyang said.

"Oh~" Jiang Nannan responded.

"Nannan, where did you go?" Zhu Ziyang changed the subject and asked.

"Hehe!" Upon hearing Zhu Ziyang's question, Jiang Nannan immediately forgot about what had just happened, excitedly pulling out two items and saying, "Brother, look!"

The girl held a jade porcelain bottle in her left hand and a round crystal the size of a goose egg in her right. Zhu Ziyang's gaze naturally fell on the jade porcelain bottle, which looked better and was probably more valuable; it contained a pill.

He took the jade porcelain bottle from the girl, opened it, examined it carefully, smelled the vermilion pill inside, and after a moment of thought, realized the name and function of the pill.

Top-grade elixir, Bright Flame Pill!

Don't be fooled by the word "fire" in its name into thinking it's a fire-attribute pill; that's not the case at all. The name "Bright Fire Pill" is closely related to its function. Its function is quite simple: for Soul Masters, it nourishes the heart and strengthens blood and qi; for ordinary people, it improves heart health and wards off illness. The heart belongs to fire, and "bright fire" signifies a clear mind; hence the name "Bright Fire Pill"—a truly fitting name.

Seeing this Bright Flame Pill, Zhu Ziyang finally understood why Jiang Nannan had asked him about a certain pill that could treat heart disease some time ago.

Jiang Nannan's mother, Bai Xinyi, has a heart condition, so this Bright Fire Pill was clearly prepared for her by Jiang Nannan.

"Brother, how is it? With this Bright Fire Pill, Mom's illness shouldn't be a problem, right?" Jiang Nannan looked at Zhu Ziyang expectantly and said.

"That's right." Zhu Ziyang first affirmed Jiang Nannan's words. Bai Xinyi was just an ordinary person. A high-grade pill wouldn't just cure her heart disease; it might even invigorate her heart fire. He then asked, "This Bright Fire Pill should be worth more than one million gold soul coins, right?"

Although the Bright Fire Pill is not considered a rare item among high-grade pills, it is still a high-grade pill after all, and its price must exceed one million gold soul coins. Therefore, Zhu Ziyang was a little puzzled as to how Jiang Nannan managed to acquire this Bright Fire Pill.

"Mmm!" Jiang Nannan said with a hint of pride, "The original price of this Bright Flame Pill was 1.5 million gold soul coins, but I only spent 50,000 gold soul coins to get it!"

"?" Zhu Ziyang looked puzzled.

"Hmph!" The girl put her hands on her hips and said with a hint of excitement, "Brother, you really don't know what's going on around you! As core disciples, we can enjoy a 30% discount at all the shops in Shrek City. I used that free selection opportunity to offset one million gold coins, so I only spent 50,000 gold coins, right? Hehe!"

"So that's how it is!" Zhu Ziyang couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. He really didn't know that core disciples could get a 30% discount when buying things in Shrek City. However, he couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Jiang Nannan and gratified by her thrifty attitude.

Since making money from alchemy, Zhu Ziyang has given Jiang Nannan 100,000 gold soul coins every month as pocket money. However, the girl still maintains her good habit of thrift, and apart from occasionally bringing him a meal when he doesn't eat, she never spends more than that. This 50,000 gold soul coins is probably the largest sum of money the girl has ever spent.

"Oh, right, brother, there's this too, look." Jiang Nannan handed the item in her other hand to Zhu Ziyang, her tone carrying a hint of seeking praise.

Zhu Ziyang was taken aback and stared intently at the round crystal in the girl's hand. It was an irregularly shaped, silvery-white round crystal with a somewhat dim luster, yet it still emitted a faint, cold light, making one think of a cold, clear night moon when one saw it.

"Is this a moonstone?" Zhu Ziyang's tone was somewhat hesitant, because this crystal, which resembled a moonstone, gave him a strange feeling. Normally, moonstones do not emit light.

"Hehe! I'm not sure if it's a Moonstone, I just felt that it would be helpful to me and it wasn't expensive, so I bought it." Jiang Nannan said with a smile.

"Really?" Zhu Ziyang didn't pay attention. Instead, he took the crystal from Jiang Nannan's hand and examined it carefully.

Moonstone, as its name suggests, is a rare mineral that condenses the essence of the moon. The concentrated moonlight power within it is a great tonic for moon-type martial souls. The moonstone the size of a goose egg that Jiang Nannan bought should be worth around 200,000 gold soul coins on the market.

However, Zhu Ziyang was somewhat puzzled. Moonstone is a very understated mineral. Although this crystal does indeed have the characteristics of moonstone, moonstone would never emit such a faint light, and one can feel a slight warmth upon handling it.

Zhu Ziyang was unsure for a moment.

He glanced at Jiang Nannan and saw that the girl was looking at him expectantly.

Suddenly, a thought struck him and he realized a possibility!

"Nannan, let's go back to the academy!" Zhu Ziyang immediately put the crystal into his Star Flame Ring, and pulled Jiang Nannan towards the outside of the Nine Treasures Chamber of Commerce.

"Huh?" Jiang Nannan was stunned. She was still waiting for Ziyang's praise, so why was she suddenly leaving? She asked in confusion, "What's wrong, brother? Aren't we waiting for Xiaoya and the others?"

"Let's go back to the academy and talk," Zhu Ziyang said. "We won't wait for Xiaoya and Beibei."

(End of this chapter)