Finding a book, scroll, or tablet inscribed with a language she could understand was as difficult as searching for a needle thrown into the sea. Although the problem of lighting had been resolved by the glowing ball of light hovering above her head, An Fei found herself increasingly swamped by the Baek Residence’s storeroom of books. The more she searched …

Xu Lingxin didn’t return until well after the fall of night. An Fei opened the door leading out of the bedroom to expose a disgruntled temple maiden hoisting a soggy parasol with a grim countenance. Before the young girl could ask any questions, the latter had stuffed a scrap of paper into her hands, and collapsed onto the nearby bed …

The delicious pastries Xu Lingxin had mentioned resulted in the cost of a few silver coins. In the end, it was equivalent to An Fei reaching towards her mountain of wealth and obtaining a pinch to discard away without a second thought. It was to discard, for she couldn’t think of any other conclusion to a doughy pastry that was …

The spirit stone mentioned by Xu Lingxin was hardly indistinguishable from other stones from its physical characteristics. Although the stone held in An Fei’s hand was made of jade, the temple maiden had witnessed numerous types of spirit stones, in various forms and sizes amongst each other. Spirit stones, in essence, were simple objects inundated with a sufficient amount of …

It was fortunate that in the end, the temple maiden didn’t ask An Fei why she had gone outside during the nightly rain after having received many warnings. Instead, Xu Lingxin had turned over on the other side of the bed and was deeply asleep, turning an effective blind eye towards the young girl’s suspicious actions. Of course, the price …

The disturbance caused by a single drop of winter rain fallen from the skies of Bei Tang was so miniscule that An Fei failed to recognize its presence. Before Xilong had notified her of the anomaly after its own observations, she was oblivious to her circumstances. The patch of soft fabric covering her right shoulder sported a small, circular stain …

“All of the shops are closed at this time in the night. Where are you intending to go?” Xilong’s soothing voice rang besides the young girl’s ear as she walked alone in the streets leading away from the Plum’s Grove. Hearing the concerned words gently break down at her pent-up fury and rage, An Fei couldn’t help but chuckle. “Go? …

“…what?” The sudden intrusion of Sima Ji-Hu’s rapid language and Xu Lingxin’s subsequent yell in Mandarin caused the young girl’s mind to become overloaded, and confuse the two messages into an almost indecipherable heap. When she could bring her head around the set of confusing words that had been uttered by the two, An Fei’s heart crawled in great confusion …

“Money?” Xu Lingxin released a conciliatory chuckle, one not unlike those presented by adults when listening to a child’s boasts of their wealth. The temple maiden revealed a gentle smile and reached out to pat An Fei on the head, whilst shaking her head. “Little Sister, the prices provided by the Violet Jade Pavilion aren’t anything any mortal can afford, …

“Still not possible?” Basking underneath the afternoon sun with a pastry grasped in one hand and a clasped fan in the other, An Fei pouted her lips. She sat in the terrace of the inn that Xu Lingxin had ‘carefully’ checked out the day before, and was currently delivering a baleful gaze towards the temple maiden seated on the other …