Chapter 118: Amethyst Heart Orchid and Sky Spirit Abalone (2/2)

”Now that father has passed away from his illness, you've come to endorse me as the next emperor? I can't compare against my elder brothers and you can't represent the entire Xiao family either… How am I supposed to compete with them? What she did, only made herself suffer.” Ji Chengxue let out a sigh.

He always thought Xiao Yue's ambition caused Ji Ru'Er's coma. He had never anticipated that everything was part of his own elder sister's plan for him to become the next emperor.

As he recalled his childhood and his elder sister's gentle gaze whenever he suffered a grievance, Ji Chengxue's desire to compete against his elder brothers over the throne became even stronger. He was not doing it for any other reason, but for the sake of his elder sister's good intentions.

...

The winter night arrived quickly, and the snow had stopped. In the starry night sky, two crescent moons were calling out to each other and releasing a chilly radiance.

The store's opening hours had ended and Bu Fang was starting to put the door boards back in place. Blacky, who was lying at the entrance, widely yawned and mumbled to itself for a moment before going back to sleep.

Giving Blacky a glance, Bu Fang broke into a grin. This lazy dog was still as lazy as ever.

Suddenly, a series of footsteps came from the alleyway and a figure gradually appeared from the darkness.

Bu Fang puzzledly looked at the somewhat familiar figure. He wondered why this person would come to the store at such a time.

”Owner Bu, are you closing up for today?” Xiao Yue hoarsely asked while faintly smiling at Bu Fang.

Bu Fang expressionlessly gave him a glance before he replied, ”The business hours are over, so I am naturally closing up.”

Xiao Yue nodded. Suddenly, with a flash of light, a sandalwood box appeared in his hand. The exterior of the box was gorgeously decorated and a rich medicinal fragrance was wafting out from within.

Xiao Yue solemnly looked at Bu Fang and gravely said, ”Owner Bu, I… have a humble request. The effect of your elixir cuisine, the Sage Herb Phoenix Chicken Soup, was astonishing. Are you capable of cooking other types of elixir cuisine as well?”

”As long as the ingredients are provided, I can,” Bu Fang confidently replied before he curiously looked at Xiao Yue. Could he be requesting him to cook the elixir cuisine?

”This is the sixth grade spirit herb Amethyst Heart Orchid as well as the fifth grade sea spirit beast Sky Spirit Abalone. I hope Owner Bu can use them to cook an elixir cuisine… I am willing to pay a heavy sum as remuneration,” Xiao Yue earnestly said as he looked at Bu Fang with expectation.

Bu Fang raised his eyebrows as he glanced at the abalone that was the size of two palms and sucked in a breath of cold air. He did not anticipate that Xiao Yue would be able to obtain such ingredients that were truly hard to come by.

Bu Fang seemed to be able to feel Xiao Yue's sincere gaze. Even though he did not know what Xiao Yue was planning to do with the elixir cuisine, he could tell from the ingredients that it was meant for saving someone.

Bu Fang did not refuse. He nodded as he accepted the ingredients. After storing them into the system's storage space, he said, ”Since you only brought a single portion of ingredients, I can't guarantee success. If I fail… I won't collect remuneration.”

Xiao Yue was startled for a moment and then nodded. He understood that cooking an elixir cuisine was very difficult, so he did not insist on a guarantee. However, the ingredients were truly difficult to find, so he could only prepare a single portion.

”Then I shall thank Owner Bu in advance. If you succeed, when should I come to collect the elixir cuisine?” Xiao Yue asked.

Since Bu Fang had already collected the ingredients, he did not say much. After placing the last door board in place, his voice came from behind the door board, ”If there are no accidents, come back in three days.”

Xiao Yue nodded, turned around and left.

There was only three days left until the emperor's funeral...

...

[1] having meritorious deeds that eclipse one's master (功高盖主) - When a subordinate has so many achievements that their superior are worried about their own position.