Chapter 8
“That’s right. I don’t want others to recognize you two,” Leng Ruoxue said indifferently. She had said things very clearly before. It would be best if they could understand, but if they still didn’t understand, she wouldn’t bother to explain. She would not leave useless people around her.
“Miss, Lü Tao understands,” Lü Tao said hurriedly before Cui Zhu could react and signaled Cui Zhu to be silent with her eyes so as not to cause the young miss to be unhappy.
“Keep up then.” Leng Ruoxue finished speaking, turned, and walked out the door.
March in Phoenix City was the time when spring flowers started blooming. The weather today was especially refreshing. The wind was warm, the sun was shining, and the streets were bustling, mostly with pairs of lovers. The customs of the Eastern Lagoon Empire were rather open and carefree, and people were able to love freely. Leng Ruoxue looked at the traditional buildings on the streets, the dazzling arrays of shops, and the products that belonged to this world with a relaxed mood. She did not even realize that her peerless beauty was causing a storm on the streets, nor did she notice the deep gazes that had been watching her.
Leng Ruoxue walked into a pet store. She saw the word ‘Feng’ on the store sign when she entered. She knew that this was the second most popular shop among the Five Great Families. The store area was not small, and it was divided into two floors. When she walked in, she first saw a few rows of shelves. The shelves were full of cages for pets. In the cages, the cute little beasts were either lying on their stomachs or standing. Although they were being sold as pets, they were all spirit beasts of relatively low level, cute in appearance, without any aggressiveness, and easy to tame. They had all been tamed, and no contract was required. They were the most suitable pets for noble ladies and young misses.
Leng Ruoxue loved small animals, especially dogs. She had once raised one herself, but it got into an accident later. Since then, she had not raised any pets. Now that she saw these cute little things, she was very excited and wanted to buy one to raise. But she could only recognize bunnies among the beasts. Although the bunnies were very cute, she didn’t have much interest in them.
At this moment, she clearly felt that a gaze was watching her. She subconsciously searched for it and saw a cage in a somewhat isolated corner. There was a small black beast enclosed in the cage. Is it a cat? She thought it was a cat because it looked a little like a Persian cat, but it had a large fox-like tail. It was lying in the cage with its big, round, blue eyes looking at her pitifully. This gaze really made her not have the heart to reject it! Well, she admitted that it was cute. This little thing was really good at pretending to be innocent and pitiful. If she hadn’t caught the lightning-fast flash of cunning in this little thing’s eyes, she would have been fooled.
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The clerk, who had been lost in her beauty for a long time since she entered the store, finally recovered. He hurriedly stepped forward and looked at Leng Ruoxue in amazement.
“Miss, may I help you with anything?” the clerk said very politely, fully demonstrating his professionalism.
Leng Ruoxue pointed at the little guy in the cage. “How much for it?”
“Miss wants to buy it? Miss, to tell you the truth, it’s not in good physical condition now. I am afraid it will not last long. There are many cute pets in our shop, and there are better ones upstairs. Why don’t you look at others?” He tried to dissuade her and was only short of telling her not to buy it directly.
Leng Ruoxue looked at the enthusiastic clerk with some amusement. “I am only interested in it. How much for it?”
“Miss, are you sure you want to buy it?”
“Yes.” Leng Ruoxue nodded gently. How could this little thing be about to die? Even though its black fur looked dull and its small body thin, seeming as though the wind could blow it away, Leng Ruoxue didn’t believe that it was as weak as it appeared to be.
“Fifty gold coins,” the clerk said helplessly. He said everything he should say, yet this young lady still insisted on buying, so it was not possible for him not to sell it. However, he did not violate the Feng family’s business ethics on ‘honesty and integrity’!
Leng Ruoxue motioned for Lü Tao to pay. Then she took the weak-looking thing from the clerk, turned around, walked out of the store, and then shopped around again.
“Spring Wind House? That’s a restaurant, right? I’m hungry, so let’s go have something to eat.” Leng Ruoxue looked at the small three-story building with exquisite and luxurious furnishings not far away.
“Miss, let’s go somewhere else. This place isn’t good,” Cui Zhu said with an unnatural expression.
“Isn’t good? What’s wrong? I’ve decided. I want to eat here.” She was really hungry.
“Miss…” This time even Lü Tao spoke out to stop her. Her expression was not very good.
“Give me a reason.” Leng Ruoxue’s eyes flashed unpleasantly. She hated being hungry.
“Miss once went to the Spring Wind House for the seventh prince, but something happened later, and you are now forbidden to enter!” Lü Tao explained cautiously, for fear that her young miss would be angry.
That damn seventh prince again. Leng Ruoxue really hated that nasty seventh prince. He actually prevented her from even entering a place to eat. This sealed the tragic end of the unlucky seventh prince in the future.
“Let’s go home!” Leng Ruoxue lost the desire to eat out.
Back at the general’s mansion, Leng Ruoxue lay lazily on a recliner after eating. She held the now-fed little beast in her arms, basking in the sun, very relaxed.
“Lü Tao, are there any other places in Phoenix City where I am not welcomed?” Leng Ruoxue asked casually while eating fruit and feeding her little pet in passing.
“Only the businesses of the Xu family. The Spring Wind House is also owned by the Xu family,” Lü Tao explained.
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“The Xu family?” Very good. She craved it in her heart. Anyone who dares to provoke me, Leng Ruoxue, will live to regret it, Leng Ruoxue thought as her hand gently stroked the soft fur of the little beast. Suddenly, she felt a tingling pain in her fingertips. This ungrateful little thing actually bit her. But before she could get angry, she felt a little dizzy, and then she heard a voice in her mind saying, “I am willing to enter into a soul bond contract with you, where our souls will accompany each other through life and death.” Then a gorgeously intricate purple contract array enveloped her and the little beast, and the contract was formally established.
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