Chen Wentian awoke the next day in a very good mood. Long Yifei was slumbering in his arms and the sun was barely peeking into the quiet library. He didn't expect to fall asleep to her singing but she had an effect on him he couldn't explain.
It had been a very romantic night, perhaps even more romantic than the time Wu Qianyu confessed her feelings for him. He wondered how he felt about Long Yifei now, how she felt about him. He still wasn't sure how to read a woman's inner thoughts though he hoped that she liked him as much as he liked her.
In the beginning, he had been drawn to her enchanting physical beauty, her feminine sensuality that could captivate the heart of any man. He wasn't quite ready to say that he loved her but after last night, he could certainly admit that it was getting dangerously close. He wanted to cherish her, to protect her, and he wanted her to love him in return.
Long Yifei soon woke up and they cleaned up their little love nest and got ready for the day. He sneaked several glances in her direction but she was prim and proper as always. He couldn't get a read on what she was thinking about or if she was thinking about him.
"Master, we should get going." Long Yifei said after her hair and makeup were finished.
"Huh? Oh, yeah…" Chen Wentian said absentmindedly.
She smiled ever so slightly. She came close to him and rearranged the layers of his clothes so that nothing was out of place. She was focused on her task and didn't notice his heated gaze.
His heart started to beat faster in her presence. It was incredibly intimate. He simply wanted to kiss her again. He didn't know if this was the effect of her virgin charm again or if it was something more.
When her hands left his chest, he managed an awkward cough. Her eyes met his and he was once again lost for the moment.
"Master?" She asked.
"Oh!" After quite a long pause, he managed to suppress the rising flames within him, "I… I just wanted to say you're really beautiful this morning."
Seeing her blank expression, he quickly added, "But you already knew that, anyway, we should get going!"
Long Yifei's lips finally broke into a wide smile, "Thank you. And you are quite handsome this morning, master."
With that, she grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the library while he remained incoherent for a long time, his heart still thumping in his chest at her words.
---
Life at the Millennium Mountains Campus of the Virtuous Order of Chunzhen continued as normal. The students were busy with theory and practical classes four days out of the week. The other three days, they continued to study on their own to seek a suitable path for cultivating their virginity.
A few days after the night at the library, while Chen Wentian was away from the Order, an interesting booklet circulated the campus. Any student that wanted one was given a free copy by the Order and it was soon the main topic of conversation for all the Sacred Daughters.
The booklet was titled simply the Gift Register and outlined the basic breakdown of gifts commonly awarded at each year's Gift Giving Ceremony. Since the ceremony was a big event where the Sacred Daughters could finally distinguish themselves from each other, they were all interested in the specifics of the gifts.
And naturally, the group that Long Yifei was acquainted with couldn't resist it either…
"Sister Long, look," Zhao Linmei said, sticking the booklet in Long Yifei's face. It was turned to a page that depicted a painting of a white guqin, "Look, Sister Long, an Ancient Elephant Ivory Guqin, crafted by the immortal masters at the Whimsical Winds of Wisdom. I've been staring at it all day. They say that its sound can be soft as a baby elephant's first cry or as powerful as an Ancient Elephant's trumpet. It may not be the most elegant of guqin designs but it certainly contains power. Just like me! It's the perfect instrument for me! Ooooo! I want it so much!"
Long Yifei pushed the booklet away so that she could continue eating her medicinal soup, "Sister Zhao, if you like it so much, just ask your acolyte fiancé to buy it for you for the Gift Giving Ceremony."
"Aiya, Sister Long, it's not as simple as that! The booklet says it costs ten million taels of gold for one but that's only if you have enough patience for the waitlist which could be many years long. I can't, the ceremony is barely a month away. I asked around and they say that a few might show up in auction houses soon. Those bloodsucking businesses, I swear! I'll be lucky to get one for twenty million taels, my fiancé can't afford that!"
"Mmm." Long Yifei nodded, still more concerned about her soup.
It was very good and just what she needed after a long day of arduous meditation.
Seeing that she was unresponsive, Zhao Linmei huffed and started complaining to the others at the table. A lively conversation started, with each person chiming in with their wish list from the Gift Register and their complaints about how impossible some of the items described in it were to obtain.
Indeed, this was the intent of the book, to give the Sacred Daughters a taste of what was possible and what wasn't given their status and wealth. There were all kinds of musical instruments crafted by the best of the best in the Martial Brilliance Continent. There were brushes made from exotic materials, paint colors unique to their creators, and books with only a limited number of copies. There were unique songs written by famous songwriters that would be the sole owner of the buyer. There were also opportunities to commission the best dance choreographers to create a custom dance that perfectly suited them.
Gifts were separated into their relevant cultivation realms and levels. Those at the lowest tier of the Spirit Initiate Realm started around a hundred thousand taels of gold and went up to a million. There weren't many in the guide and those who wanted to settle for these items were looked down upon and ridiculed. Gifts at the lesser realms, on the border of the immortal realms, were barely acceptable. They would do for the moment but if the Sacred Daughter and their acolyte had any aspirations for the immortals, these gifts had to be replaced eventually.
To be truly considered elite and prized, the Sacred Daughters had to receive a gift at the immortal realms at least. The Ancient Elephant Ivory Guqin that Zhao Linmei desired could be barely considered a Spirit Lord Realm item. The strings used hair from an immortal elephant but the body made of ivory was not. Its power was thus lower than average although it could still be utilized for cultivating immortal Dao.
A complete Spirit Lord Realm item could cost much more, up to a hundred million taels. And as for Spirit King Realm items, there was no need to mention them as they were not shown in the booklet. There was no need for new students to even sniff the existence of such wonders that even abbotesses did not possess.
Long Yifei maintained her composure but inside, her thoughts were stormy. Each of these Spirit Lord Realm gifts was equivalent to Spirit Lord Realm treasures, ones cherished by Spirit Lord Realm immortals, ones that cost an average Spirit Lord their entire fortune.
Her master certainly had a lot of tricks. He was able to obtain Spirit Lord Realm items with frightening pace, in ways that defied common sense. She trusted his ability but she was still doubtful.
These gifts were far more expensive and difficult to obtain. They were crafted to suit the needs of the Order. They required special skills and knowledge of the four classics. They weren't readily available on the open market weapons, armors, and jewelry.
She didn't want to care about the Gift Giving Ceremony but she couldn't. She had told him she didn't care but he insisted… and he was right. Receiving a powerful gift would only speed up her cultivation of the four classics, it would only help her along the path to the immortal realms.
She didn't want to rely on him so much but it seemed she had no other choice, at least for the moment. She wasn't an ungrateful disciple so she swore silently to herself that she would repay him in the future.
---
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