TRWSB – Chapter 200 The Elf Boss

Qi Heng sat in the carriage, his mind filled with countless thoughts.

Zuo Yunfei looked at Qi Heng’s expression and asked, “What’s wrong? You don’t seem very happy.”

“I’m just a bit surprised,” Qi Heng replied. He had originally thought that when he went after the Jiang family, he would meet fierce resistance, just like when Mu Tingxuan took down the Mu family back then.

Qi Heng had prepared many countermeasures, but what he didn’t expect was that just as he made his first move, Jiang Dongming had already handed over the main culprit of that incident back then.

In his memory, Jiang Xingdong had always acted high and mighty. Seeing the person who once held his fate in their hands now fall before him felt surreal—but not exactly pleasant.

Zuo Yunfei smiled and said, “There’s nothing surprising about it. Jiang Dongming is indeed a smart man. Sacrificing a pawn to save the king—he played that move very well.”

“I didn’t expect it to be this easy. Back then, Tingxuan had a really hard time taking down the Mu family,” said Qi Heng.

Perhaps what happened when he was a child left him with a deep psychological shadow, making it hard for him to adjust to the current turn of events.

“That’s different! Mu Tingxuan was dealing with the head of the Mu family, whereas your enemy was merely a low-ranking elder in the Jiang family,” Zuo Yunfei said. “A lot of time has passed since what happened with Mu Tingxuan, and Qi Shaorong’s sphere of influence has grown significantly—his status now is far greater than it was back then.”

Qi Heng narrowed his eyes and said, “Young Master often told me that the best victory is subduing the enemy without a fight. If your strength is great enough, your enemies will fall before you without resistance.”

Zuo Yunfei looked at Qi Heng and said, “You don’t seem to be in a good mood.”

Qi Heng closed his eyes and said, “No matter how much I do, my little brother won’t come back.”

His younger brother had always been so considerate—it was heartbreaking. When they were young, he always wanted to give his brother the best things: the nicest clothes, the tastiest food. Yet now, even though those things were readily available, they were all meaningless.

Zuo Yunfei patted Qi Heng on the shoulder and said, “If your brother were still alive, he would want you to live well.”

Qi Heng smiled and said, “Yes. My little brother was always the most thoughtful one.”

Zuo Yunfei looked at Qi Heng and said, “Since coming to Jin Country, you haven’t really had a chance to look around, have you? Let’s go for a walk.”

Qi Heng glanced at Zuo Yunfei and didn’t refuse.

The two of them stepped down from the carriage together, and Zuo Yunfei naturally took Qi Heng’s hand.

Qi Heng looked at Zuo Yunfei’s hand, frowned slightly, but didn’t pull away.

+++++

Qi Heng stopped in front of a shop called “Forest Night.”

“This shop is quite unusual,” Qi Heng remarked.

Most shops were decorated with metal and gemstones, but this one used spirit flowers from trees.

Zuo Yunfei nodded and said, “It’s run by elves.”

Zuo Yunfei led Qi Heng into the store.

The Kingdom of Jin was a very open society, home to many coexisting races and countless types of goods.

Most elves lived in seclusion in the deep mountains and revered nature, but some had emerged and gradually integrated into human society.

The elven race was matriarchal, and elven slave girls were highly coveted among nobles.

“I’ve heard elves are skilled in cultivating spiritual herbs,” Qi Heng said, his eyes turning thoughtfully. Now that Young Master’s cosmetics business is expanding, there’s been a growing shortage of raw materials. If we could form a partnership with the elves, that might be a good solution.

Zuo Yunfei nodded. “That’s true.”

Qi Heng walked around the shop, which mostly sold rare plants.

After making a circuit through the store, Zuo Yunfei looked at him and asked, “Did you find anything interesting?”

“Nothing particularly unique, but these plants seem to be much more vigorous than anything I’ve seen before. As expected, the elves are truly nature’s favorites,” Qi Heng said.

“Naturally. Elves are born with a talent for nurturing spiritual plants.”

“What’s that?” Qi Heng asked, pointing to a specially protected cabinet.

“That’s Life Essence produced by the elves,” Zuo Yunfei replied.

Qi Heng turned to look at Zuo Yunfei and asked, “Is that the legendary Life Essence said to bring the dead back to life?”

Zuo Yunfei shook his head and said, “Bringing the dead back is a bit of an exaggeration. But elven Life Essence is indeed remarkable. The version here has been diluted.”

“I see,” Qi Heng said with a nod.

+++++

“Yunfei.” Jun Lanyue looked at Zuo Yunfei and called out softly.

Her gaze landed on the joined hands of Zuo Yunfei and Qi Heng, and a flash of jealousy and resentment passed through her eyes.

Upon hearing Jun Lanyue’s voice, Zuo Yunfei’s expression darkened a bit.

“Yunfei, what a coincidence! You’re here at this shop too. It must be fate,” Jun Lanyue said.

Zuo Yunfei looked at her with a mocking tone. “You’ve recovered quickly, haven’t you?”

Jun Lanyue said, “A little, but I’m not fully healed yet.”

Zuo Yunfei replied coldly, “If you’re not fully healed, then you should be resting at home. If you run around and get hurt again, old injuries plus new ones will make recovery even harder.”

Jun Lanyue looked at Zuo Yunfei sullenly after hearing his words.

The female owner of “Forest Night,” Daiya, gracefully descended the stairs.

“You must be Steward Qi Heng,” Daiya said, fanning herself as she strolled over to him.

Qi Heng nodded at her and said, “That’s me. And you are…?”

“I’m ashamed to say this, but I’m the owner of this shop,” Daiya said with a smile.

Qi Heng smiled slightly. “I see.”

“I have something I’d like to discuss with Steward Qi in private. I wonder, would you be interested?” Daiya asked.

Qi Heng replied quickly, “Of course. I happen to have something I’d like to discuss with you as well.”

Qi Heng turned to look at Zuo Yunfei. “Wait here. I’ll be out shortly.”

Zuo Yunfei pulled at Qi Heng and said, “You’re going to leave me here and go flirt with that woman?”

Qi Heng noticed that the other customers were starting to look over and felt a bit embarrassed.

“Zuo Yunfei, don’t make a scene, alright?”

Zuo Yunfei snorted lightly.

Daiya smiled indifferently and said, “It’s fine. If Young Master Zuo is worried, he can come along.”

Qi Heng and Daiya entered a private room, and Zuo Yunfei shamelessly followed them in. Jun Lanyue was completely ignored by Zuo Yunfei.

Jun Lanyue watched Zuo Yunfei’s retreating figure and gritted her teeth in anger.

Jun Ziyue tugged at Jun Lanyue. “Lanyue, let’s go back.”

Jun Ziyue had originally taken Jun Lanyue out for a walk to help her relax, but they unexpectedly ran into Zuo Yunfei and Qi Heng shopping.

“What’s so great about Qi Heng anyway?” Jun Lanyue couldn’t help but complain.

Jun Ziyue sighed helplessly. “I really don’t know either.”

Seeing the looks of sympathy or ridicule from the people around, Jun Lanyue left angrily.

+++++

Qi Heng sat down in front of Daiya.

“Young Master Heng, you’re truly outstanding. The business of the Qingcheng Cosmetics Shop keeps growing—it’s enviable,” Daiya said.

“It’s all thanks to the young master’s capable leadership. I’m just an assistant. I can’t take much credit for the shop’s success,” Qi Heng replied.

Daiya smiled and said, “No need to be so modest, Steward Qi. Everyone knows that the four stewards under Qi Shaorong are all capable of handling things on their own.”

“Miss Daiya flatters me,” Qi Heng responded politely.

“I noticed earlier, Young Master Heng, you seemed interested in the life essence liquid of my elven tribe?” After some flattery, Daiya got to the point.

Qi Heng nodded. “Yes, but the liquid I saw was diluted.”

Daiya smiled. “Even diluted, life essence liquid is still extremely valuable. Very few can afford it. Of course, for someone like Young Master Heng, such a price is hardly an issue, and the diluted version is no big deal.”

Qi Heng smiled wryly. “You’re joking, Miss Daiya. I don’t have much wealth—just enough to get by.”

“If your wealth is just enough to get by, then the rest of us must be starving,” Daiya said with a laugh. She then took out a crystal vial. “This is undiluted life essence liquid.”

Qi Heng’s expression immediately grew serious. He took the crystal vial and examined it.

From the liquid inside, Qi Heng could sense a rich and vibrant life force.

“Looks like Miss Daiya holds quite a high status among the elves,” Qi Heng remarked.

Only elven nobles had access to life essence liquid. The fact that Daiya had such high-quality life essence liquid suggested she wasn’t just a noble, but likely royalty within the elven tribe.

Daiya smiled. “Not too bad. If Young Master Heng is interested, I can sell some to you.”

“If that’s possible, it would be fantastic,” Qi Heng said eagerly.

Qi Heng knew that Qi Shaorong had long been interested in life essence liquid, but hadn’t had the right connections. He hadn’t expected this trip to the Jin Kingdom to yield such a surprising result. At Qi Shaorong’s level, wealth was just a number—rare treasures were what he truly valued.

After negotiating, Qi Heng bought fifteen vials of life essence liquid from Daiya at a price of eight million gold coins each.

Standing beside Qi Heng and watching the deal go through, Zuo Yunfei was filled with a deep sense of crisis—having such a money-burning spouse would be hard to support.

Zuo Yunfei and Qi Heng exited the Forest Night shop.

Zuo Yunfei kept turning his head to look at Qi Heng.

Qi Heng looked at Zuo Yunfei. “What’s wrong?”

“You spend money like this—won’t Qi Shaorong have a problem with it?” Zuo Yunfei asked.

Qi Heng shook his head. “Not at all. When I travel, the young master gives me a great deal of autonomy.”

Zuo Yunfei: “……”