Tower. Lounge.

  Sitting on the mat on the ground, Wei Er's eyes were stinging her older twin sister sitting at the table, her eyes silently screaming “traitor!”

  At the dining table, the older twin sister only had eyes for her master sitting across from her, who met her adoration with a warm smile.

  Bubai really did find the situation to be very interesting.

  He wondered how Jia Shizi would react when he sent the spy over next time.

  How many twists and turns would there be once that guy learned about the other twin’s betrayal? Will he still py dumb and invest more in her?

  Or will that guy push for change, readily giving him an excuse to demand more?

  Oh Merlin’s beard, Bubai could already imagine the ensuing fun. At that time…

  Well, that’s for ter. He’d have to weather through the upcoming storm first if he wants a “next time”.

  Feeling a chopstick gently prodding his lips, Bubai looked down at the bite of rice beckoning to him.

  Nom. Offering accepted. But... pin rice didn’t taste that good alone.

  So, Bubai’s eyes rolled over to Xiao Lan.

  Giving the iceberg beauty a pyful “are you ready” look, Bubai leaned in, his face closing in to deliver the bite to her mouth!

  “Mm…” The warm grains of rice rolled off the tip of his tongue, facing only a soft resistance that soon catered to his indulgence.

  Eating the delicious meal, Bubai savored the aftertaste of their mandarin duck bath still fresh in their memories…

  Breaking away from ever-so-delicious lips, Bubai met his partner’s cold, annoyed gre, clearly uncomfortable with the vinegar spraying all over them from the other side.

  “Haha…” Peeking over at his maid trying to repair the crack on her composed face, Bubai could only defuse the strange tension with a cheeky shrug, “Sharing is caring.”

  His lighthearted tease earned a cold hum from Xiao Lan before her chopsticks stuffed another bite of rice in his direction.

  But Bubai smoothly redirected it back with a tai chi-like motion, pointing at his own empty bowl to make his point. "I already had my share. My Xiao Lan is so thin. Be good and eat more."

  The ever-expressionless Xiao Lan gave him another gre before silently bowing her head to eat her rice.

  “Haha…” Bubai chuckled happily and looked out the window to see the darkening skies. Bout time.

  Bubai turned back to Xiao Lan, waiting for her to finish chewing before he probed, "Xiao Lan, the water vat…"

  "I’ll wash and fill."

  Knowing his “next time” with the doll was a done deal, Bubai was already satisfied, but his paranoia still kicked in and he couldn’t help but peek at Wei Er out of the corner of his eye.

  Catching his cue, Xiao Lan set her cold eyes onto the younger twin gring at the table from her mat, icily decring, “My eyes aren’t for decoration.”

  Chilled by the coldness, the spy quickly bowed her head with panic written all over her face.

  Indeed, with his constant warnings, Xiao Lan shouldn’t be careless. There shouldn’t be a problem.

  So, Bubai gave her a nod, “I’ll leave it to you.”

  Getting up, Bubai reached over the table to pet the owner of the pair of devoted eyes still longing for his attention, "Make sure you two be good, alright?"

  The little joys in life elicited the usual obedient response from Wei Yi, "Yes, Master."

  Book Pavilion. Night.

  Sitting in her rocking chair, Granny Shu’s squinted eyes locked onto the package bundled in bck pced on her desk.

  Standing before the desk, Bubai’s senses vaguely picked up an intangible, mystical stream of energy emanating from the granny, flowing like an invisible river and seeping into the package.

  The entrancing phenomenon only lingered for mere moments before the energy retracted back into the granny.

  Granny Shu’s eyes, sharp despite their age, then nded on Bubai.

  "41 little ones. In light of the decent packaging, this old dy will round it up to 65 spirit stones.”

  One and a half spirit stones per scorpion. The white jade box should have fetched a higher price on the market, but Bubai accepted the offer as is with a respectful bow, “As Shu Po Po dictates.”

  “It's rare to see such a straightforward young man. Fufu…” Granny Shu’s soft ughter reached the ears of the listeners like the rustling of ancient leaves.

  Massaging the old dy’s shoulders from behind, the alternate version of her, almost from the same spitting mold but with the bloom of youth, couldn't help but chime in, "Granny, can’t you give him a bit more?"

  “This ss…” Granny Shu shot her granddaughter a gre, her voice grumbling with mild irritation. "You haven’t even stepped through the red door and you’re already turning your elbows outwards."

  Beating her granny’s shoulder lightly, Shu Ling put on a mock lost-all-face expression. "Granny~ you’re teasing Ling’er again."

  Granny Shu rolled her eyes, then kicked the ball over to brat watching with an innocent face. "Does young Bubai also think this old dy’s price is unfair?"

  Bubai saluted respectfully, keeping his voice steady and sincere. "Shu Po Po’s heart is fair as the rising sun."

  His words earned an unhappy pout from the fairy-like granddaughter, but the old dy nodded with an approving smile.

  "Hum, it’s good that young Bubai knows. This old dy’s heart naturally has a bance and won’t shortchange one of my own."

  Granny Shu patted the package on the table, adding, "Hum. White jade is indeed good for temporarily stopping prying eyes, but if we truly want to see inside, just the jade alone can’t stop our deeper probe."

  Bubai nodded in understanding, regurgitating some cssified knowledge he read long ago.

  "According to the volume two of Tower Architecture and Secrets, white jade is not foolproof. Alone, it’s only a shell that appears as a void against a general scan. A focused probe from divine sense can easily penetrate this yer of interference. It has to work in tandem with the tower’s isotion formations to keep divine sense out."

  The old dy’s head bobbed at his words, her face a map of wrinkles and wisdom. "Good memory. Since young Bubai knows this, then you should understand the value lies not just in what you see, but in understanding what is unseen.”

  Bubai understood the deeper meaning behind the old dy’s words.

  Indeed, white jade isn’t some extremely valuable treasure. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be seen as a common construction material all over the inner districts.

  If there's any jade that commands a high price, it's the other exclusive spirit jade varieties reserved for spiritual data storage, preserving the wonders of heaven and earth…

  Or those with mysterious properties like the rarer bck jade used in the construction of spirit ship docking towers and cultivation chamber beds.

  Regardless, for grassroot disciples like him, the market price of white jade is undoubtedly infted.

  However, like many of the monopolized resources in the sect, this is not due to its true value, but only due to the restricted supply that flows into the open market.

  For the influential with the right channels... it wasn’t difficult to acquire white jade at a much lower internal price.

  So, the granny wasn’t ripping him off. It’s just that she was not a good target audience to send the white jade safe to.

  Of course, Bubai never meant to earn extra profits from this. He was just adhering to a truth: business – packaging matters.

  Well, he was right to do so. A little extra favor was still something to be grateful for.

  Bubai gave a polite salute to acknowledge the elderly dy’s favor, "Junior will remember Shu Po Po's wisdom."

  “Good. Good. Fufu...”

  The pleased Granny Shu patted her silvery bun, giving her pouting granddaughter another look before adding, "Hum. If young Bubai is looking for white jade, you can come to this old dy next time. There’s no need to get it through all those... messy ways."

  !!!

  Bubai did his best to keep a straight, innocent expression. "Junior thanks Shu Po Po for her care."

  “Fufu…” Granny Shu chuckled softly, patting the satchel hanging from her rocking chair. "Hum. Now, why don’t you two go take a little walk? Give this old dy some time to prepare the spirit stones. Sixty isn’t a small number."

  "Sixty-five, granny!" Shu Ling corrected.

  Granny Shu rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, sixty-five. Now go, go. Don’t bother this old dy lest she counts wrong."

  Shu Ling mirrored her grandmother's eye roll and floated around the desk, coming to Bubai’s side. Hooking her arm onto his, she tugged him away, "Fairy brother, let's go, let's go..."

  Bubai gave another bow to the old dy, who waved him off with closed eyes.

  So, he let the fairy tow him away, his mind already churning, wondering what medicine these two were selling in their gourds this time.