Chapter 244
Once Qian Ming left, the atmosphere in the room lightened considerably.
Holding the bracelet in his hand, Chu Feng smiled and said, “As expected of the Nation-Protecting Grandmaster—he’s certainly generous. Even the Lan Hu family only has one thumb ring, yet he sent over several space artifacts at once.”
“These two seem to be from the Royal Treasure Pavilion’s collection,” Lan Hu said. “He probably asked the royal family for them.”
Chu Feng glanced at him. “And if he asks, the royal family just gives them?”
Lan Hu nodded. “He’s the Nation-Protecting Grandmaster! Of course he has a good relationship with the royals. A hundred years ago, the royal family’s position was on the brink of collapse—it was this Grandmaster who helped stabilize the situation. When Qian Ming speaks, the royals naturally give him some face.”
Chu Feng shook his head and sighed. “Even a Nation-Protecting Grandmaster can’t escape being fooled with counterfeits.”
Lan Hu was shocked. “There are fakes in here?”
Chu Feng picked up a ring. “This isn’t a space artifact. He gave this one to you, right?”
Lan Hu: “…” So he gave him the fake?
Illya looked at Lan Hu. “Even though this ring isn’t a real space artifact, the gemstone on it is genuine.”
Lan Hu: “…Is Illya trying to say I profited? I wanted a space artifact! What use is a gem?”
Chu Feng put down the ring with some regret. “And this ring doesn’t have anything inside either.”
Not every space artifact owner wants to keep treasures locked inside forever. Likely, when the previous owner’s lifespan was nearing its end, they took everything out.
Chu Feng nodded. “That’s a wise choice.”
He put away the remaining space artifacts. “Since we’ve got what we came for, we can head back now.”
Lan Hu hesitated. “There are at least a dozen families in the capital with space artifacts. You’re not going to look for more?”
Chu Feng glanced at him. “We’ll see.”
He had planned to quietly acquire the artifacts without anyone knowing. But now, he’d accidentally made a name for himself. If Qian Ming guessed he wanted space artifacts, the other noble families in the capital likely already knew as well. If he acted under these circumstances, everyone would immediately guess it was him. That would be awkward.
Chu Feng asked, “What about you? Staying in the capital or going back to Tianhai City?”
Lan Hu thought for a moment. “I’d like to stay here a few days, then return to Tianhai City—if that’s alright.”
“Of course,” Chu Feng nodded.
Lan Hu cautiously asked, “Boss… next time, could you pick me up? The journey between the Capital and Tianhai City is long, and I’d rather not sleep rough along the way.”
Chu Feng narrowed his eyes. It wasn’t much trouble for him, so he nodded. “Alright.”
Before leaving the Crescent Trading Company, Lan Hu entrusted daily affairs to Vice Manager Qing Lan. Still, being away too long could be troublesome. With Chu Feng’s agreement, he let out a sigh of relief.
Chu Feng and Illya vanished from the inn, while Lan Hu carefully wrapped the items on the table and took them home.
*
“Is this the former head’s seal?” Duke Lan’en asked in surprise.
“Probably,” Lan Hu replied. “It came out of the thumb ring.”
“You opened the ring?” the duke asked, astonished.
“Yes,” Lan Hu nodded.
The duke frowned deeply. “So it’s finally been opened…? The family has long regretted losing that seal. I thought it had been stolen, but it turns out it was hidden inside the ring all along. Your boss is an upper-tier ability-user, isn’t he?”
“I don’t know!” Lan Hu replied.
The duke thought for a moment. “He should be. How else could someone split a mountain in two? And that teleportation ability—covering a thousand miles in a thought—is extraordinary.”
Lan Hu nodded. “My boss’s abilities are indeed exceptional.”
“You have good judgment, following such a man.”
“I knew he was extraordinary the moment I saw him—absolutely no ordinary person. I swore to follow him to the death…” Though in truth, it wasn’t voluntary—he’d become a slave and had no choice. But the details weren’t important.
The duke shook his head. “You’re lucky.”
Lan Hu smiled. “Yes, yes I am.”
*
Chu Feng and Illya returned to the present world.
Zhuang Feixue entered the office to see Chu Feng fiddling with a bracelet.
“Chu Feng, isn’t that a woman’s bracelet?” she asked, her expression odd.
“When did you start liking this sort of thing? The style looks pretty plain to me.”
Chu Feng held up the bracelet with a serious face. “This bracelet… is no ordinary bracelet.”
Zhuang Feixue chuckled, amused. “Oh? And what’s so special about it? Don’t tell me it’s a space bracelet?”
Chu Feng looked at her in surprise. “Sis, you really have a gift for guessing.”
Zhuang Feixue froze, eyes widening. “It’s really a space bracelet? I was just joking!”
Chu Feng nodded. “Yes.”
“I can’t believe something like that actually exists,” she said in amazement.
Chu Feng smiled. “Indeed.”
She eyed it suspiciously. “Is it really a space bracelet?”
In response, Chu Feng put a vase into the bracelet’s space and then took it out again.
Zhuang Feixue’s eyes widened. “It really is!”
“Of course,” Chu Feng said, tossing the bracelet casually onto the desk.
“Hey! That’s a space bracelet! How can you just throw it around like that?” she exclaimed.
Chu Feng shrugged and said, “Don’t worry, it’s sturdy. Besides, it’s not that big of a deal.”
Not a big deal? This is a spatial bracelet!
Yet, from Chu Feng’s tone, it sounded like it was nothing more than a cheap trinket. Chu Feng nodded and said, “Yeah!” After all, he had several of them.
“Then… can you give me this bracelet?” Zhuang Feixue asked hopefully.
“Of course,” Chu Feng replied. “But didn’t you say the style was plain?”
“This is a storage bracelet!” Zhuang Feixue exclaimed. “Who cares about the style when it has storage space? I like it.”
“As long as you like it.” Chu Feng waved his hand dismissively.
Zhuang Feixue clutched the bracelet tightly. “Really? You’re sure I can have it?”
“Sure thing,” Chu Feng confirmed.
Out of all the storage items on the table, she had somehow picked the one with the smallest internal space. He didn’t know if that was luck or bad luck.
“I’m leaving,” Zhuang Feixue said, eager to test the bracelet’s functions. She thought to herself: With this, I can bring so much more when I travel for work.
After she left, Chu Feng opened a spatial ring and pulled out more than a dozen boxes. Inside were “Flame Stones,” “Frost Stones,” “Light Stones,” and “Obsidian.”
“Looks like the owner of this ring was a stone enthusiast,” Chu Feng remarked.
“To collect so many top-grade stones, the owner must’ve been highly capable,” Zhuang Feixue commented.
“Probably,” Chu Feng nodded. “Well, they’re all mine now. Look at this one.” He pushed a gray-brown stone, shrouded in faint mist, toward Illya. The stone’s energy fluctuations felt strangely similar to Illya’s own powers.
“This seems like a Mist Stone,” Illya said.
“What’s it for?” Chu Feng asked curiously.
“It has many uses, but most commonly for concealing one’s movements,” Illya explained.
He activated the stone, and in an instant, thick fog filled the room until it was pitch-dark. Then, with a thought, the mist vanished. “Some races bury these around their settlements so the place is shrouded in fog year-round, making it hard to find,” he added.
“Incredible,” Chu Feng praised.
Illya placed his hand on the stone, drawing all the mist out of it. After a while, cracks formed on its surface before it shattered. Opening his eyes, Illya’s face lit up with joy.
“How do you feel?” Chu Feng asked.
“Great,” Illya smirked. “I feel like my strength has clearly increased.”
So the Mist Stone is to him what the Void Stone is to me, Chu Feng thought. An unexpected windfall.
“In that case, we should collect more,” he suggested.
“Not easy,” Illya frowned. “Mist Stones are rare.”
Chu Feng chuckled. “Don’t worry. We’ll find a way.”
Illya smiled faintly. He was no longer the half-elf who had to skulk around the human world. With enough power, even difficult tasks became simple.
Chu Feng then took out another ring and—clatter—hundreds of thousands of gold coins poured onto the table.
“The owner of this ring was… honest,” Chu Feng mused. “Nothing but gold coins.” In the past, he would have been ecstatic, but now, he felt calm.
After checking through the spatial items, the Mist Stone was definitely the greatest prize.
Finally, Chu Feng opened a box containing the last piece of Void Stone and absorbed it.
“That’s the last one from before, right?” Illya asked.
“Yes,” Chu Feng confirmed. The Void Stone was far more valuable to him than witch stones. After absorbing several, his strength had grown remarkably.
In his hands, the Void Stone melted into liquid, which he shaped into three bracelets. Before long, the spatial bracelets were complete.
“Molding Void Stone isn’t easy,” Chu Feng said. “No wonder that other craftsman’s space tools looked ugly.”
“Yours are even uglier,” Illya deadpanned.
“…I’m still a beginner! Can’t you at least give me some encouragement?” Chu Feng protested. “I’ll improve.”
Illya examined the bracelet. “The internal space is huge. You’re impressive.”
Chu Feng smiled modestly. The largest spatial tool he’d ever acquired from another world held only about 20 cubic meters. But his casually made bracelets had over 200 square meters of space. It seemed the capacity depended heavily on the creator’s power.
