Chapter 58: Luckily I Have Coins

Chapter 58: Chapter 58: Luckily I Have Coins

The shop was quiet and empty on the rainy day, with no customers. The sub-female assistant inside was sitting behind the counter, dozing off with her head on the countertop.

Feng Si pushed back the hood of her cloak, revealing black hair with a pair of wolf ears. Her gaze sized up the sub-female assistant.

Seeing it was the same sub-female assistant as before, she walked closer, one hand protectively holding the tightly wrapped Incubator to her chest, while the other tapped gently on the counter.

’Long time no see. I guess we’re acquaintances!’

The sleeping sub-female assistant groggily lifted her head and saw a sub-female with a face full of black spots. She yawned and said, "Hello, are you here to buy or sell?"

It took Feng Si a moment to realize that, with her current disguise, she was just a stranger to the sub-female.

’But that’s fine. I’m here to buy back that Jade Pendant, not to make friends anyway.’

"On the third day from the end of the month before last, a female sold a green Jade Pendant here. I want to buy it," Feng Si replied.

The sub-female assistant tilted her head and thought for a long while, but she couldn’t recall anything about what this black-spotted sub-female was describing from over ninety days ago.

’I’m a sub-female born from the Golden Fish Clan and the Squirrel Clan. My memory has never been good, so why torture myself over it?’

She slumped back onto the counter and said lazily, "I don’t remember which Jade Pendant you’re talking about. All our merchandise is out here. Take your time and look around. Just let me know if you see one you like."

Feng Si’s eyes swept over the dazzling array of goods.

She turned back and said, "You said before that the Jade Pendant was worth eight hundred million, but that female only sold it for a little over ten million coins..." The sub-female assistant’s head shot up.

Her expression was one of shock as she stared at the sub-female before her, but for the life of her, she couldn’t see the slightest hint of the red-haired female.

Feng Si let her stare. "That’s the Jade Pendant I want to buy."

’The black-haired sub-female in front of me must be that red-haired female’s servant,’ the sub-female assistant guessed. ’She must have been sent to buy back the Jade Pendant she sold.’

’I knew it! How could such a beautiful female be abandoned! And how could a male beast with such a powerful aura be short on money!’

’Her male beast at home must have begged her to get it back, so she sent a servant to retrieve that incredibly precious Jade Pendant.’

The sub-female assistant sounded a little regretful. "Ah, that one... You’re a bit late. A piece of jade that rare was taken by the owner long ago." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"Can you please contact your owner?" Feng Si asked with a frown.

The sub-female assistant glanced at Feng Si, hesitated, then lowered her voice. "If you want to buy back that Jade Pendant, you don’t need to find the owner. A month ago, he gave the Jade Pendant to the Jade Tower Scripture."

Feng Si: "The Jade Tower Scripture?"

The sub-female assistant gave Feng Si a strange look. "It’s the auction house. They’ve been advertising it for a month as the final, show-stopping treasure."

Feng Si fell silent.

Seeing the crestfallen look on Feng Si’s face, the sub-female assistant felt a pang of sympathy as a fellow sub-female. "Just go back and report what happened. It’s not your fault if you can’t afford it. Your female master seems easygoing; she probably won’t blame you."

Feng Si sighed.

’I knew it would be impossible to buy it back for the original price of a little over ten million coins.’

She glanced down, thought about the one billion coin balance on her Coin Card, and her confidence returned. "Thank you for your concern, but could you give me the address for the Jade Tower Scripture?"

The sub-female assistant stared at the sub-female across from her for a few seconds, but in the end, she didn’t try to persuade her any further.

She gave her the address for the Jade Tower Scripture and also mentioned that she would need to pay one hundred thousand coins upfront to get an invitation letter for entry. She watched the black-haired sub-female with the bulky chest walk out the door and disappear into the curtain of rain, sighing inwardly.

’Servants can’t make their own choices. I can only wish her luck.’

...

After leaving, Feng Si found an inn near the Jade Tower Scripture. It was inconvenient for her to walk around in the heavy rain with the Incubator, so she paid one thousand coins to have the inn’s sub-female owner go and buy the invitation letter for the Jade Tower Scripture for her.

The sub-female owner’s inn was on the same street as the Jade Tower Scripture, and it wasn’t the first time a guest had made such a request. So, she took the coins and headed out the door.

A short while later, Feng Si heard the owner’s voice outside. She opened the door and received a white invitation letter with gold stamping, then paid the one thousand coin fee for the errand.

Once the sub-female owner was gone, Feng Si assumed she wouldn’t be disturbed again. She went back to the bed and sat down, carefully untying the Incubator from her chest. After placing it gently in the middle of the bed, she spoke softly to it:

"My good little baby, this is the first time you’ve gone on a long trip with Mommy. Mommy can’t wait to see you, to hold you. You have to hatch safely, okay?~"

After her "egg-ucation" session, she opened the white invitation letter and looked down at it.

What a coincidence. The auction was scheduled for eight o’clock tonight.

Feng Si couldn’t help but feel relieved. It was a good thing she had suddenly remembered that a cub should be born with both parents present, which had given her the resolve to brave the rain and come to Cang City.

Otherwise, if she had been any later, the baby’s father’s Jade Pendant would have been bought by who-knows-who and ended up who-knows-where.

’The world is so big. Given her status, she probably would never have found it in this lifetime, right?’

’Thank goodness, thank goodness.’

She stayed in her room, taking out some dried Green Potatoes and flatbreads she had brought with her from her storage space for dinner. When the time on her light screen read 7:20, Feng Si stood up and tied the Incubator back onto her chest.

Next, she walked to the door, took the black raincoat-cloak hanging there, and draped it over herself. She fastened the clasp all the way to the top, then did a final check of the area over her chest to make sure it was waterproof.

Feng Si descended the stairs with slow, steady steps. As she reached the counter in the ground-floor lobby, the sub-female owner called out to her. "Guest from Room 3 on the second floor! Are you heading to the Jade Tower Scripture? Need a cart service? 100 coins."

Feng Si nodded.

The sub-female owner beamed as she came out from behind the counter. She casually pulled a rolled-up scroll of paper from a drawer and handed it to Feng Si. "My male beast works at the Jade Tower Scripture. He got a list of tonight’s auction items. It’s a free gift for you."

She had a good impression of customers who didn’t haggle. She chuckled and said, "You can look at it while you wait here. I’ll go get the cart and bring it to the door right away."

Feng Si accepted it and looked up at the sub-female owner with a smile. "Alright, thank you."

Watching the sub-female’s back as she headed toward the rear of the inn, Feng Si walked to the doorway and unrolled the paper in her hands. A long list of auction items and their starting prices was written on it.

At the very end.

—Top-grade Green Jade Pendant.

’The final item, the show-stopper... This must be what I came here to buy back.’

Just as she found the item she was looking for, a half-open vehicle resembling a modern rickshaw came to a stop. They had arrived at the Jade Tower Scripture, just down the street.

The Jade Tower Scripture was a standalone, three-story wooden building. Huge lanterns hung from the flying eaves of each roof, and in the dark, rainy night, the falling raindrops looked like transparent marbles.

The two Beastmen guarding the entrance were like a pair of human-shaped stone statues, their slightly wide eyes filled with a murderous aura.