It turns out, they were the main characters.

In fact, Bai Ruoxi was right. Selling the pills to Ye Qian at the original price was practically the same as giving them to her for free.

"Your relationship with Ye Yu is so bad, what's the point of doing this?"

Bai Ruoxi looked at Mu Zhian's profile and said softly, "Or... do you like that girl?"

As she spoke, she lowered her eyes slightly, her long, curled eyelashes catching the light, making her eyes appear somewhat dim.

Why do I have this feeling that she might draw her bronze sword at any moment...? Mu Zhian said, "Ruoxi, you probably haven't heard this saying before."

A glimmer of light returned to Bai Ruoxi's beautiful eyes, and she slightly raised her head to look at him.

Under the girl's gaze, Mu Zhian continued, "Free things are the most expensive."

Bai Ruoxi frowned slightly, still puzzled.

But Mu Zhian did not explain. He simply squeezed the beauty's soft, boneless hand and smiled, "Won't you be staying at the Mu residence from now on? You'll find out soon enough."

If it's something worthless, giving it away for free is fine.

But this Qi-refining pill is not some worthless thing.

Some things that seem free actually already have a hidden price tag.

Seeing that Bai Ruoxi still had some doubts, Mu Zhian leaned close to the girl's ear and whispered, "You just need to know that right now, it's enough for me to have only you by my side."

Bai Ruoxi's face flushed slightly as she felt that warm hand gently holding her slender hand. She lowered her eyes and softly murmured "Mmm."

Although she usually seems aloof, she is actually quite a shy beauty... Mu Zhian looked at Bai Ruoxi's stunning profile and couldn't help but smile knowingly.

At this moment, countless eyes suddenly turned to look at Mu Zhi'an with surprise.

Even though they all know about my relationship with Bai Ruoxi, they're still so surprised... It seems the charm of the most beautiful woman in Tianxuan City is still irresistible to these people.

Mu Zhian was unfazed by the gazes of these people. He smiled slightly at them, then looked away and prepared to continue watching the battle in front of the platform.

However, at that moment, Mu Zhian suddenly felt a chill down his back for no apparent reason.

Then, an indescribable chill welled up inside me.

They didn't seem to be looking at me and Ruoxi... Mu Zhian turned his head to look in the direction of everyone's gaze.

Only then did he realize that Lan Mulian, with a thin veil on her face and a cold expression, had been sitting behind him at some point. She raised her head slightly, her cold eyes calmly watching the sparring between the two young people in front of the platform.

The alluring and sexy Lan Feiying sat in the corner, her full legs crossed. She seemed to be looking at the high platform, but her gaze was actually fixed on Mu Zhian the whole time.

She didn't want the people of Tianxuan City to know about her relationship with her sister. Firstly, she didn't want too many people with ulterior motives to approach her, and secondly... she didn't want others to compare her with her sister.

Of course, she tried to avoid being known by others, but she didn't try too hard to hide it, otherwise she wouldn't have come out with Lan Mulian today.

How did she end up here...?

Mu Zhi'an asked in surprise, "Senior Sister, what brings you here too?"

"The sect assessment is approaching, and I wanted to confirm the number of disciples who will participate in the assessment in advance, so I came here early this morning to take a look," Lan Mulian said calmly.

As the examiner for the sect's assessment, it is indeed only natural to confirm the disciples participating in the assessment in advance.

In the ten seconds or so after Lan Mulian answered, Mu Zhian first nodded slightly to show his understanding, and then, as if he realized something, the smile on his face faltered slightly.

He stared blankly at Lan Mulian's beautiful and refined face, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke with difficulty:

When did you arrive?

Lan Mulian pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "A little earlier than you."

So this woman saw everything I did before... wait, where exactly was she watching the arena?

Mu Zhian was still unwilling to give up and asked, "Why didn't I see Senior Sister up ahead?"

If he had known Lan Mulian was nearby, how could he have been so intimate with Bai Ruoxi in front of her... He would have at least waited until they got back before making those little moves.

“There’s a teahouse nearby, and one of the tea rooms has a nice view,” Lan Mulian said casually.

The teahouse was near Yangfeng Inn, and Mu Zhian knew about it. He had been there before and enjoyed sitting in the tea room with a great view watching the duels on the arena.

He just didn't expect that Lan Mulian would even know one of the "features" of Tianxuan City.

At this moment, Mu Zhian's smile became somewhat strained.

However, Lan Mulian didn't seem to care about what he had just done. She looked up at the beauty in the black dress on the stage and said, "Is she Huang Manting, the enchantress of the Morning Dawn Chamber of Commerce?"

Mu Zhian barely managed to calm his thoughts and looked up. On the stage, a girl in a black dress, who looked alluring, was fighting with a fellow cultivator. The black dress made her skin appear exceptionally fair.

Mu Zhian nodded slightly: "It's Huang Manting."

He had met Huang Manting once, but the two were not close.

Lan Mulian looked him over a few more times and nodded slightly: "Not bad talent."

Then, she suddenly changed the subject and said, "However, in terms of talent, it seems that the young lady Bai beside you is better."

Given Bai Ruoxi's performance just now, it's no wonder Lan Mulian would say that.

Normally, Mu Zhian would have taken Lan Mulian's words as a sincere compliment to Bai Ruoxi, but for some reason, when he heard them now, he felt that there was something more to Lan Mulian's words.

Bai Ruoxi turned her head slightly to look at the examiner, her eyes smiling, and said reservedly, "I'm very happy that you say that, Senior Sister. But I owe everything I have today to Young Master Mu."

Lan Mulian seemed somewhat interested, and after glancing at Mu Zhian a few times, she said, "It seems that although Young Master Mu's cultivation level is not high, he is quite willing to help others. The reason you came to Liangyi Sect that night was to find a medicinal herb to save someone, right?"

Mu Zhian smiled reservedly and remained silent.

For the first time in his life, he felt immense psychological pressure.

At this moment, Bai Ruoxi gently took Mu Zhian's arm, raised her face, looked at Lan Mulian, and smiled slightly: "If you are interested, Senior Sister, I will accompany you to chat next time you come to the Mu residence. I will be staying at his residence for the time being."

The aloof Senior Sister Lan raised her eyebrows slightly and looked at Bai Ruoxi with a hint of a smile, saying, "Alright."

Mu Zhian basked in the warm sunlight, yet felt a tingling sensation on his scalp and a slight chill on his back.

He could outwit and outmaneuver demon cultivators and even the Gongsun family, and could even roughly guess what they were thinking... but he couldn't guess what these two were thinking now, or what the meaning of their words was.

Women's minds are much harder to fathom than those of Gongsun Xiong or demon cultivators.

"Senior sister, it's getting late. I have some things to attend to, so I'll head back now. I'll contact you later via Paper Crane." Mu Zhi'an decisively got up to say goodbye.

If being intimate with Bai Ruoxi here just now was quite enjoyable, then now there's absolutely no enjoyment to speak of... For Mu Zhian, this is simply torture.

Lan Mulian didn't lift her eyelids, as if she hadn't heard, and simply gave a faint "hmm".

Mu Zhian smiled politely, then got up and left the dueling platform without further hesitation.

A carriage was parked outside, waiting for them. Mu Zhian lifted the curtain and stepped into the carriage, and Bai Ruoxi bowed slightly and followed him in.

Neither of them spoke.

Only after the carriage began to move slowly did Bai Ruoxi speak softly, "That senior sister seems to care about you quite a bit."

His tone seemed to carry a different emotion than usual.

Mu Zhian reached out to grab Bai Ruoxi's small hand, but the girl immediately withdrew her hand, not letting him touch it.

Inside the carriage, Mu Zhian was less reserved. Seeing that Bai Ruoxi wouldn't let him touch her, he simply reached over her waist and gently placed his hand on her shoulder before pulling her close.

Bai Ruoxi's shoulder pressed tightly against Mu Zhian's shoulder, and in the dim light, her beautiful face was filled with displeasure.

"What exactly is your relationship with your senior sister?" Bai Ruoxi raised her eyes as she spoke, her peach blossom eyes appearing somewhat dark.

This sounds more like asking: Are you having an affair with that woman?

Mu Zhian said helplessly, "I think I mentioned to you before that the medicine I used to refine to treat your father's injuries was missing the Beast King Vine, and that medicine was ultimately given to me by my senior sister."

Even the Beast King Vine was given as a gift; their relationship is indeed very good… Bai Ruoxi closed her eyes, regaining her usual gentle and charming demeanor, and said softly:

"Your senior sister is so kind to you. I hope I can help you in the future."

Mu Zhian gently put his arm around Bai Ruoxi's waist and whispered in her ear, "Your presence here is already a great help."

Feeling the boy's warm aura enveloping her, and hearing his gentle voice, the aloof beauty from outside seemed to have vanished. Her heart softened, and she nestled against Mu Zhian's warm chest.

The initial unpleasant feeling gradually subsided with this warmth.

Mu Zhian felt Bai Ruoxi's soft body through the fabric of her clothes, and the intoxicating fragrance emanating from her. However, he was somewhat absent-minded and turned to look at the street scene outside the carriage that was gradually moving backward. He sighed helplessly in his heart.

Both Lan Mulian and Bai Ruoxi are intelligent beauties, and he began to worry that his dual-thread operation might eventually kill him.

……

Ye Mansion.

After returning to the Ye family home with the exquisite little box in her arms, Ye Qian ran all the way to her room, but the boy's charming and gentle smile kept replaying in her mind.

The elders in the clan always said that the eldest son of the Mu family was a spoiled brat who had done many evil deeds, but today he didn't seem like a bad person at all... rather, he seemed like a very gentle older brother.

The contrast between Ye Yu's cold attitude towards his cousin when he stepped off the dueling platform and Mu Zhi'an's gentle smile was quite striking.

I'll take the spirit stones to return them to him first thing tomorrow morning... As Ye Qian thought this, she walked towards her room in her deerskin boots. Just then, Ye Yu, who had just gone to the hall to meet the elder, walked towards her.

"Cousin," Ye Qian called out crisply.

Ye Yu's expression had softened considerably compared to before, as if he had calmed down on the way back. He said, "Qian'er, could you bring the ingredients for the Qi Refining Pill to my room door in a moment?"

He wanted to apologize for his cold attitude in front of the dueling platform, but he held back out of pride.

Anyway, making a Qi-refining pill for my cousin can be considered an indirect apology.

However, Ye Qian hesitated slightly on her face, then politely declined, saying, "It's not necessary anymore, thank you for your kindness, cousin."

After saying that, she walked past Ye Yu with the small box in her arms and left gracefully.

Her back view was extremely beautiful, with her long hair cascading down to her waist like a budding flower. Her blouse accentuated her already well-developed figure, and her snow-white calves were faintly visible beneath her skirt, giving her a translucent beauty in the sunlight.

Ye Yu frowned slightly, but did not say anything more.

Ye Qian is at the prime of her youth and probably doesn't know how many spirit stones it would cost to have an alchemist refine a Qi Refining Pill. She'll probably regret it after she goes to the auction house tomorrow to find out.

As Ye Yu turned and returned to his room, Ye Qian, on the other side, had just arrived at her door and happened to see another girl from the same clan.

She wore a light purple cardigan dress with a light purple ribbon tied around her waist, outlining the graceful curves of a young girl's budding beauty. Her delicate face was adorned with a gentle smile, exuding an elegant and charming aura.

"Lingxuan, what a coincidence?" Ye Qian looked up at the girl in purple and smiled.

Ye Lingxuan is ostensibly the second genius of the Ye family, but Ye Qian and Ye Lingxuan have been friends since childhood, and Ye Qian knows very well that her friend is actually the real number one genius.

However, Ye Lingxuan was usually low-key and did not like to compete with others, so most of the disciples in the clan only remembered her appearance and ignored her monstrous talent.

Ye Lingxuan smiled and nodded, then glanced at the small box in Ye Qian's hands, raised her eyebrows slightly, and said, "Has Brother Ye Yu already prepared the Qi Refining Pill for you?"

Facing her childhood friend, Ye Qian hesitated for a moment, but still chose to tell the truth, saying, "This wasn't made for me by my cousin... it was just sold to me by the eldest young master of the Mu family at the original price."