Chapter 4: Golden Dragon Treasure House

Within this Great Xia Kingdom, there were powers and forces of all kinds, but among them, there were two special forces that maintained an absolutely neutral stance, and neither the various prefectures nor even the Great Xia Imperial Family would dare to provoke them lightly.

One was the Sacred Mystic Star Academy, the other was the Golden Dragon Treasure House.

There was no need to say much about the Sacred Mystic Star Academy—it could be called the ultimate dream of countless youths in the Great Xia Kingdom. Every year, the outstanding young talents who emerged from it were pursued eagerly by both the imperial family and the various forces.

As for the Golden Dragon Treasure House, it operated businesses such as storing and retrieving all manner of items, auctions, and exchanges. Its financial strength was so immense that it made countless forces green with envy, yet no one had ever truly dared to plot against it, because the Golden Dragon Treasure House's power far exceeded the imagination of any force in the Great Xia Kingdom. The branch within this Great Xia Kingdom was merely one of its subsidiaries.

The true Golden Dragon Treasure House, in the vaster and more boundless lands beyond the Great Xia Kingdom, still enjoyed a renowned reputation, and the Golden Dragon Notes issued by the Golden Dragon Treasure House were said to be redeemable for an equivalent amount of heavenly gold wherever there were people.

As the prefecture city of Tianshu Prefecture, South Wind City naturally also had a Golden Dragon Treasure House, and it was located in the most luxurious district at the center of the city.

When Li Luo stepped down from the carriage and gazed at the resplendent building before him, even though it was not his first time seeing it, he could not help clicking his tongue in admiration. Just a branch in a single prefecture city was already this grand—the financial resources of the Golden Dragon Treasure House were truly beyond imagination.

Compared to such a colossal entity, even the House Luolan Mansion seemed somewhat insignificant.

Jiang Qing'e, however, appeared indifferent to it. Her gaze did not linger, and she strode directly toward the interior of the Treasure House. Li Luo, seeing this, hurried to follow.

Upon entering the extraordinarily grand Treasure House, Jiang Qing'e produced a golden note and handed it to a maid. The maid examined it carefully, then promptly and respectfully ushered the two of them into a VIP room.

The two waited in the VIP room for a moment before they saw a middle-aged fatty, bedecked in jewels with rings of different colored gemstones on all ten fingers, walk in with a beaming, festive smile.

"Hehe, so it is the Young Mansion Master of House Luolan Mansion and Miss Jiang gracing us with your presence—truly a great honor that brings radiance to our humble Treasure House." It had to be said, those who worked at the Golden Dragon Treasure House were indeed shrewd and tactful. The other party had recognized Li Luo, and naturally understood his current situation, yet showed not the slightest neglect—in fact, even in the order of address, Li Luo was placed first.

"This is President Lü of the Golden Dragon Treasure House in Tianshu Prefecture." Jiang Qing'e clearly knew the other party, and took the opportunity to introduce him to Li Luo.

"President Lü, take us to pick up the goods."

After the introductions, Jiang Qing'e displayed her swift and decisive style of doing things.

President Lü smiled and nodded, turned and led the way. The three of them passed through layer upon layer of security, and finally seemed to descend deep underground.

Under President Lü's guidance, the three of them finally arrived at a completely sealed room. The stone walls of the room were dark and smooth, like mirrors.

President Lü extended his palm and gently patted the smooth stone wall. Immediately, the wall began to crack, and an iron chest made of some unknown metal slowly emerged.

"The two of you, this is what the two Mansion Masters left here back then. To open it, the Young Mansion Master must come here personally and use fresh blood as the key." President Lü said with a smile, then consciously withdrew from the room.

Li Luo stared at the safe before him, momentarily lost in thought. He wondered what on earth his father and mother had left him, going to such mysterious lengths.

But for some unknown reason, he vaguely felt that this thing was extremely important to him, and might very well change his future.

Thus, he took a deep breath, stepped forward two paces, and pressed his palm against the safe. Immediately he felt a sting at his fingertip, as if a drop of fresh blood had been drawn in, absorbed into the safe.

Crack! Crack!

The next moment, mechanical sounds came from within the seemingly monolithic safe. Then a faint sheen appeared on the surface of the chest, and it slowly split open from the middle.

As the safe split open, the scene within finally came into Li Luo's view.

It was a pitch-black crystal sphere, extremely smooth, reflecting Li Luo's face, faintly appearing somewhat mysterious.

"This is…" Li Luo blinked.

"Put it away first. Master and Mistress said to let you open it on your seventeenth birthday." Jiang Qing'e handed over a suitcase.

Li Luo nodded, carefully took out the black crystal sphere, placed it into the suitcase, then gripped it tightly, his eyes seemingly a little moist.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Qing'e looked over in confusion.

"I have a premonition that I'm about to turn things around. I'm just emotional."

Li Luo shook the suitcase and said solemnly to Jiang Qing'e, "Just you wait, I will definitely succeed in breaking off the engagement!"

"."

Jiang Qing'e couldn't be bothered with him, turned around and walked toward the exit of the underground vault. She knew Li Luo was somewhat emotionally stirred at the moment, so he wouldn't feel right unless he showed off a little.

The two emerged from the underground vault, and there they saw President Lü waiting again. However, this time, beside him stood a girl, pretty and lively.

The girl wore blue-green clothes, her slender figure tall and graceful, her appearance exceedingly pretty. Her black hair cascaded like a waterfall down to her slender willow-leaf waist. Her eyes were bright and deep, and her skin was the most striking—a crystalline snowy whiteness, as if truly ice-fleshed and jade-boned.

Additionally, her hands were clad in gossamer-thin gloves like silk, and even with the gloves concealing them, one could still sense the slender, long jade fingers. Surely, if the gloves could be removed, those jade hands would make people drool and linger.

In terms of looks and temperament, the girl before them was clearly a notch above the Ti Ti Faqing they had seen before.

However, when Li Luo saw her, his expression subtly and involuntarily stiffened for a moment, then quickly returned to normal.

"Hehe, this is my humble little niece, Lü Qing'er. She is currently also studying at South Wind Academy, and greatly admires Miss Jiang. She insisted on tagging along to meet you. I hope Miss Jiang won't take offense." President Lü cupped his hands toward Jiang Qing'e, his face full of smiles.

"Greetings, Senior Jiang." Lü Qing'er gave Jiang Qing'e a graceful and natural bow.

Jiang Qing'e sized up Lü Qing'er, nodded slightly, and said, "Since you also study at South Wind Academy, you should know Li Luo, right?"

Lü Qing'er cast a glance at Li Luo beside her, smiled faintly and nodded, then said in a deep voice, "Li Luo once guided me in physiognomy, and I've always been grateful to him. It's just that these past two years, he seems to not really want to see me."

Li Luo immediately revealed an awkward smile upon hearing this, and hurriedly laughed it off, saying, "No, no, don't talk nonsense. We just belong to different academies and rarely run into each other."

In his heart, however, rose some helplessness. The current Lü Qing'er's fame at South Wind Academy was a full tier higher than that golden flower Ti Ti Faqing, because not only was she beautiful, she was now also the new figurehead of South Wind Academy—even among the talent-rich First Academy, she was firmly the number one.

Back when Li Luo was still in the First Academy, the many students had not yet awakened their physiognomy palaces, and his talent and aptitude in physiognomy undoubtedly made him the cream of the First Academy. So many students would come to him for guidance, including the Lü Qing'er before him.

The relationship between the two was actually quite good at the time.

It was just that later those changes occurred, and coupled with Li Luo being kicked out of the First Academy and sent to the Second Academy, the relationship between the two became much more awkward.

Of course, the main reason was that Li Luo was somewhat avoiding Lü Qing'er. This was not because he disliked her, but because meeting was truly awkward. After all, he used to be the number one of the First Academy, but now, Lü Qing'er had taken his place.

Li Luo was also a spirited youth, and to spare them both that awkwardness, he generally avoided Lü Qing'er at the academy.

He just didn't expect to run into her here today.

Regarding Li Luo's somewhat perfunctory words, Lü Qing'er neither agreed nor disagreed, but did not say much more. Instead, she turned her gaze to Jiang Qing'e and began chatting with her in a soft voice and a light smile.

Finally, they saw Jiang Qing'e and Li Luo off at the main entrance of the Treasure House.

"Hehe, Miss Jiang, I heard that House Luolan Mansion will be quite lively in the next couple of days." At parting, President Lü said with a beaming smile, his words carrying a hidden meaning.

Jiang Qing'e's expression was calm as she said, "President Lü, your information is truly well-informed."

"Sigh, what a pity."

President Lü sighed, then said, "If there's any need for cooperation in the future, the two of you may feel free to come find me. My Golden Dragon Treasure House believes in prosperity through harmony."

Li Luo beside them was somewhat puzzled, but did not ask further. He simply followed Jiang Qing'e onto the carriage and departed swiftly.

President Lü rubbed his greasy, fat face, glanced at Lü Qing'er beside him, and noticed her clear, watery eyes gazing in the direction the carriage had departed.

"Ahem."

Chairman Lu suddenly coughed and said, "I say, girl, you... you don't have feelings for that Li Luo, do you?"

Lu Qing'er rolled her eyes at Chairman Lu and said softly, "I'm just feeling sorry for Li Luo. Besides, he did indeed guide me in physiognomy back then. Regarding Li Luo, I only have some past admiration. If it weren't for the Empty Appearance reason, he would have been my greatest rival at the South Wind Academy."

Chairman Lu patted his chest, heaving a huge sigh of relief and saying, "That's good, that's good. Qing'er, that person is bound by a marriage engagement. Better not pay him any mind. With your qualifications, what young genius in the Great Xia isn't worthy of you?"

Lu Qing'er shook her head, ignoring her second uncle's muttering to himself, and turned away directly, leaving behind Chairman Lu, who stood in place scratching his head and smiling foolishly.

(End of this chapter)