"Xingtu, although these dozen or so youngsters didn't make it to the fourth stage, their potential is quite good. Even those who were defeated in the fourth stage show promise; try to recruit them all into our Spirit Treasure Pavilion."

Mu Zisi offered the list in his hand to Mo Xingtu with a smile. "Oh, right, that Gu Qi—have you investigated her background clearly?"

"No."

Mo Xingtu replied with a hint of shame. "However, the identity Gu Qi used has been confirmed as forged. I checked the Bai family of Jiyang City, who vouched for her. The document stated she was the niece of the Bai family patriarch, but that patriarch only has one niece, and she is barely ten years old."

"Oh?"

Mu Zisi showed slight surprise, pondering. "That’s strange? Why would this young lady forge an identity? Is she perhaps not one of our Chen Kingdom citizens?"

Mo Xingtu nodded. "It is highly likely she is from another country. She vanished as soon as the grand competition ended; she has probably already left Jiyang City."

"Forget it. Since she didn't take first place, nor did she stay to claim the reward, let's not concern ourselves with her."

Mu Zisi waved his hand, rubbing his forehead in slight frustration. "This time, this old man truly miscalculated. Not only did the Cheng family's Fourth Prince spontaneously interfere, but I didn't expect that Old Fifth Nie and Lian Tianxin's apprentice would end up taking first place. The Spirit Treasure Pavilion is going to suffer a major loss this time."

"..."

Mo Xingtu was also somewhat speechless. According to the initial prediction, Mu Xiaoling should have won first place. In that case, no matter how precious the reward, the benefits would have stayed within their own circle.

Unfortunately, the Fourth Prince's participation introduced significant variables into the competition. Having him win wouldn't have been bad; at least it could have deepened ties with the Imperial Family, but who would have thought the Fourth Prince would ultimately be defeated by Nie Kong? All the benefits flowed into the Nie family, and worse, Old Fifth Nie would now have leverage to mock Mu Zisi...

...

Just as Nie Kong had guessed beforehand, the moment they left the manor, Nie Xingyun and Lian Tianxin began pressing him about the golden needle detoxification method.

Nie Kong explained that it was a technique he developed through years of trial and error, stemming from being chronically ill himself. The two old men were quite skeptical, yet they couldn't find any other logical explanation to refute him, as many had witnessed Nie Kong's condition over the past decade; he couldn't have learned it from someone else.

In the end, Nie Xingyun and Lian Tianxin suppressed their doubts and cautioned Nie Kong not to leak the details of his "self-created" golden needle detoxification method.

With this lingering question tentatively resolved, the two elders were overjoyed, especially Nie Xingyun, who grabbed Lian Tianxin and rushed toward the Spirit Treasure Pavilion, declaring they needed to have a good discussion with Mu Zisi and, incidentally, help Nie Kong claim the rewards from this Medicine Assembly Grand Competition.

Nie Kong knew his elder was certainly going to show off to Mu Zisi to vent his frustration, which he found rather amusing. He didn't linger, heading straight home. After struggling against those Spirit Pharmacists outside for so long, Nie Kong suddenly felt an intense urge to return home, an overwhelming desire to see Hua Mei.

Entering the courtyard and stepping into the bedroom, the heater was still glowing, making the surroundings warm as spring, but Hua Mei was nowhere in sight.

Nie Kong listened intently; the house was utterly silent. As it was nearing evening, Nie Kong knew Hua Mei usually went out to buy groceries around this time, so he wasn't overly worried.

He noticed the neat arrangement of wood carvings and knives on the table by the window and walked over in surprise. He knew the figures Hua Mei usually carved were powerful Heavenly Spirit experts from the history of the Great Success Empire, and their proportions were generally large. However, the carvings on the table now were much smaller, only about the size of three fingers.

There were three wooden figures, only roughly shaped, but Hua Mei’s carving skill was already superb; with just a few strokes, she had rendered the figures' faces and even their expressions vividly lifelike.

The first small sculpture was seated, its expression calm, a slight sneer playing on its lips. The second looked focused, its right fist posed as if cultivating a spirit art. The third seemed to be gazing gently at something.

The face of the first carving was notably lean, while the subsequent two were progressively fuller, yet the eyebrows and eyes clearly showed they were all carvings of the same person.

"Why does this little person look so much like me?"

Nie Kong murmured softly, touching his own face. His heart suddenly skipped a beat—this wasn't just a resemblance; it was clearly him!

He examined the expressions on the three carvings again. The events he had experienced since arriving on the Heavenly Spirit Continent flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern, and Nie Kong instantly understood the origin of these three figures: the first captured his expression when he first woke up and fooled Wu Tong and the others. The second depicted the scene when he practiced "Flower Blast" in the courtyard. As for the third, it was the image of him buying jade hairpins and clothing for Hua Mei.

Gently caressing the carvings, Nie Kong seemed to see Hua Mei sitting at the table meticulously crafting them, and a wave of warmth spread through his heart.

Suddenly, a rush of hurried footsteps startled Nie Kong. He quickly turned around to see Hua Mei’s delicate and lovely figure appear at the doorway, panting heavily, her chest rising and falling rapidly, her face flushed red—it was unclear if it was from the cold or from running too hard.

"Sister-in-law, you're back?" Nie Kong asked softly.

"Mm-hmm."

Hua Mei hadn't expected Nie Kong to be in her bedroom and nodded foolishly twice.

When she saw the three wooden carvings in Nie Kong’s hand, Hua Mei snapped back to awareness. With a startled "Aiya," she rushed in front of Nie Kong, hastily snatching the carvings and hiding them behind her back, stammering out an explanation: "Uncle, this... that... I... I just..."

Even as her cheeks flushed red like newly dyed cloth, Hua Mei couldn't articulate a single coherent sentence.

"I understand, I understand."

Nie Kong, knowing her shy nature, nodded quickly.

Meeting Nie Kong’s smiling gaze, Hua Mei’s heart leaped, feeling as if her most private secret had been exposed. She became even more flustered, her eyes darting away as she lowered her head. Her delicate face burned, the blush climbing from her cheeks to cover her ears and slender neck, her smooth skin so red it looked like it could bleed.

"Right, Sister-in-law, where were you just now?" Not wishing to see her so embarrassed, Nie Kong quickly changed the subject casually.

"I went to see Uncle's competition near the 'Spirit Treasure Pavilion,'" Hua Mei replied in a voice like a mosquito's whine, not daring to look up at Nie Kong’s eyes.

"Ah?"

Nie Kong jumped, startled. The area near the Spirit Treasure Pavilion today was chaotic, filled with all sorts of people. Hua Mei had never cultivated spiritual power; if the patrolling Nie family guards had been careless for even a moment, a frail, beautiful woman like her could easily have met trouble. Fortunately, she had returned safely.

Hua Mei sensed Nie Kong’s worry and, forgetting her shyness, quickly clarified, "Uncle, I went with the dozen or so clansmen from next door."

Nie Kong nodded, but he still felt uneasy. "Sister-in-law, if you need to go to such chaotic places in the future, tell me first, and I'll accompany you."

"Mm."

Sensing Nie Kong’s gaze was somewhat intense, Hua Mei, who had just slightly raised her delicate head, lowered it again, her brow shrouded in deep shyness.

"Alright, I'll head out now."

Only after Nie Kong’s footsteps had completely faded did Hua Mei dare to lift her head, patting her chest lightly as she let out a long breath. She brought the three wood carvings back in front of her, studying them carefully for a moment. Her cheeks were hot, and her heart was in a whirl. After a short while, she seemed to remember something and quickly placed the carvings into the drawer. After looking at them, she suddenly felt it wasn't secure enough, so she took them out again and hid them under her pillow. Moments later, she retrieved the carvings from beneath the pillow.

She scurried about busily for about a quarter of an hour until Hua Mei finally emerged from under the bed, her delicate face now resembling that of a little flower cat...