Chapter 23 Master Boya Zi

  On the second day, Li Xiao and others were in the front hall of Guo Xueyuan. Xue Ningfeng wore a white cloud-like dress, with bright eyes and white teeth, stunningly beautiful.

  "Long time no see, Master Li."

  Li Xiao took over Xue Ningfeng's jade box wrapped in beautiful cinnabar silk, which was probably the gift for Left Prime Minister's birthday.

  "It doesn't matter, I just arrived not long ago either."

  Xue Ningfeng excused herself to the instructor in front of the National Academy, originally a national institution of Wu Chu State, which didn't have much objection to the matter of wishing Left Chancellor a long life, but curiously looked at Li Xiao who followed behind Xue Ningfeng.

  Among the many instructors, Xue Ningfeng is undoubtedly a genius of a rare kind, a heavenly gifted pearl, and can be said to be the future of Guo Academy. And Li Xiao, all the instructors know him, he's that waste student who hasn't even entered the first level of Tongling.

  However, these mentors also knew Li Xiao's background. His memory was extremely strong and he had the ability to never forget what he saw. Even if he really couldn't cultivate, becoming a Seal Master in the academy would still be a good outcome.

  He nodded, and the instructor approved Xue Ningfeng and Li Xiao's one-day leave. They had to return to the college by dusk; otherwise, they would be considered to have violated the college rules and would be punished.

  Li Xiao and Xue Ningfeng left the front hall and walked onto the main street of Donglan City.

  Zuo Xiang lived in the city of Donglan, with a high position and great prestige. Today was his birthday, and many nobles and aristocrats came to celebrate with him. Xue Yingxue was able to receive an invitation, which meant that she must have come from a noble background as well.

  Xue Ningfeng walked on the road, covering her stunning face with a veil, which was the norm, after all, it was inconvenient for women to go out.

  Donglancheng was just at dawn, with many vendors calling out to sell their wares. Xue Yinxue looked around curiously, seemingly finding everything novel and interesting.

  Li Xiao carried a well-packaged jade box and saw Xue Ningfeng wandering around with a hint of joy, but there was no reaction at all.

  "Wood!"

  Xue Ningfeng thought to herself, usually when she went out with a man, all she had to do was glance at something on the side of the road and someone would rush to buy it for her.

  This Li Xiao not only has no awareness of spending money, but also doesn't care about himself, and doesn't even buy something he likes.

  Xue Ningfeng didn't know that Li Xiao was penniless, let alone taking out money, even if the money was put in front of him, he might not recognize it.

  Besides, Li Xiao was used to seeing such roadside stalls in his previous life. Those black-hearted businessmen made him extremely disgusted. Although he knew this wasn't his previous life, his subconscious behavior made Li Xiao turn a blind eye to it.

  "He's stolen money! Please, everyone, catch him!"

  At this moment, a woman who was selling goods in the distance was crying out loudly. A sly-looking man ran quickly and suddenly appeared right in front of Li Xiao.

  "Get out!"

  This is a young man who wants to push Li Xiaodong away when he sees him blocking his way.

  "Where is he running?"

  Li Xiao took a swig, swung the jade box and smashed it over, with immense power, instantly knocking the young man's figure to the ground. His face turned furious, his eyes cold as ice, and a dagger was pulled out from his sleeve, stabbing straight at Li Xiao!

  "Hmm——"

  Li Xiao grasped the jade box, using it as a makeshift board brick, and with one swift motion, he sent the little thief's dagger flying. Next, the board brick was slapped against the little thief's head, and with Li Xiao's current strength, even though he had greatly restrained himself, it still knocked the guy out cold on the ground.

  "This hero, thank you. This was the money my mother and I were going to use for our daily expenses, but it was snatched away by this thieving scoundrel. Thank you so much for your great kindness."

  The woman searched the young man who had fainted and found a purse with some copper coins.

  He thanked Li Xiao and turned to leave.

  "Wait."

  The woman was startled and turned around.

  "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

  "Those few copper coins aren't yours, are they? Just now I saw you take out your purse, and there was a hint of joy in your expression, but when you touched the copper coins, your pupils changed noticeably, clearly indicating that you had obtained ill-gotten gains!"

  Li Xiao's eyes flashed like lightning, the woman looked embarrassed, under the gaze of everyone, she had to put the copper coins back into the young man's clothes and hastily left.

  Xue Ningfeng curiously stared at Li Xiao, this guy had taken action for the sake of a woman's righteousness, but then observed carefully and thought cautiously, which really made Xue Ningfeng unable to understand.

  "It's all right, let's continue on our way."

  Li Xiao picked up the jade box, and suddenly a loud rattling sound came, changing Li Xiao's expression.

  It wasn't until now that he remembered the jade box was a gift for Prime Minister Zuo, and it was obviously very valuable. Just now, he had actually used this to hit those robbers, and from the sound of it, it seemed like the things inside were broken.

  Xue Ningfeng was also shocked by this, took the jade box from Li Xiao's hand and shook it beside her ear.

  Suddenly, a crisp crackling sound fell on the eardrum. Xue Ningfeng hastily opened the brocade box and lifted the jade box, only to see pieces of broken jade fragments inside, apparently damaged during the fight just now.

  "No! This is a fine piece of jade qilin, made by the master craftsman Boya Zi. Now it's been smashed to pieces. Where can I find a replacement in such a short time?"

  Xue Ningfeng's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, and she couldn't help but feel a little anxious in her heart.

  "I'm really sorry, this is all my fault. I don't know where that Bo Ya Zi in your mouth is, can it be far from here?"

  "It's not far, actually, Master Boya lives in Donglan City, but this person has a strange temperament and is not easy to ask for help with jade carving. Moreover, the Jade Qilin is a rare treasure that is extremely difficult to carve, what can be done now?"

  Xue Ningfeng's stunning face showed a difficult expression, Li Xiao walked up:

  "Time is limited, let me handle this matter."

  Xue Ningfeng looked at Li Xiao in surprise, wondering where his confidence came from.

  Bo Ya Zi lived in a small shop on the outskirts of the city, and when Li Xiao and Xue Yingfeng arrived, the door was tightly closed, even during the day, as if they didn't want to do business at all.

  "Li Xiao Shixiong, when facing Bo Ya Zi Da Shi, you must understand etiquette. This person has a strange temperament, Shixiong you..."

  Xue Ningfeng had not finished speaking when Li Xiao kicked open the wooden door with one foot and shouted:

  "Is that old fellow Bo Ya still around?!"

  This move shocked Xue Yingfeng, he really didn't expect Li Xiao to do such a thing. As the saying goes, "don't hit someone in the face, don't demolish someone's door", Li Xiao kicked open the opponent's wooden door with one foot, this is a blatant slap in the face!

  "You're quite bold, little kid! It's been a long time since anyone dared to kick open the door of my house. What brings you here?"

  According to Xue Ningfeng, Bo Ya Zi Master would refuse to see ordinary visitors, but no one expected someone like Li Xiao to kick in the door and force Bo Ya Zi Master to appear.

  "It's clear that the shop is open, but the door of the house is tightly closed. What does this mean? If it's like this, then we don't need this door!"

  Li Xiao strode in with big steps and looked around at the various jade articles placed inside the house.

  Xue Ningfeng saw this and hurriedly followed Li Xiao into the house, fearing that Li Xiao would fight with Bo Ya Zi Master, at which point it would be impossible to explain.

  "Bo Ya Zi Da Shi, Xue Ying Shuang has paid his respects. This is my senior fellow disciple, who has come this time..."

  "Alright, alright, you little girl don't try this with me. That young man has something to say that's worth listening to. You two come up first, we'll talk about it later."

  Bo Ya Zi was not quite satisfied with Xue Ningfeng's explanation. The two of them exchanged a glance and walked up the wooden ladder.

  The second floor is a small courtyard with many flowers and grasses. An old man sits in an armchair, holding a book and reading it carefully.

  "Bo Ya's great skill."

  Li Xiao and Xue Ningfeng paid their respects.

  "Alright, you don't have to be so polite either. You little brat, didn't you just call me an old man earlier? Now you've changed your tune?"

  Bo Ya's hair was white as snow, his face was pale and old, but a pair of eyes were bright and piercing, as if they could see through Li Shuo's whole body.

  "This Boya Zi is probably an expert!"

  Li Xiao thought to himself.

  "I didn't dare, just now was only to see the master for a moment, used a clumsy plan. This time I came hoping to ask the master for help, to restore this jade instrument to its original state."

  Li Xiao opened the jade box, revealing the "Broken Jade Qilin" inside.

  Bo Ya's eyes suddenly widened, with a hint of anger:

  "This Jade Qilin is my masterpiece, if it weren't for Xue Ningfeng's good tea, I wouldn't have given it to you. Now that you've turned it into this, how did you do it?"

  For these masters, the carved jade is like their children, each piece being a treasured object.

  Now Li Mochou and her husband bring in the broken Jade Qilin, just as if they were bringing in their child's corpse. How can he not be enraged?

  "Master, this matter has nothing to do with Shuai Ningfeng, it's all my fault."

  Li Xiao then spoke up and recounted the scene of his rescue.

  This time, Li Xiao added some elements. The woman became a helpless widow of the ancient times with two daughters to raise. The young thief turned into a powerful and evil bandit. Li Xiao stood up and vowed to fight the bandit to the death. In the end, he defeated the bandit, but the Jade Qilin was unfortunately broken during the battle.

  Li Xiao's words were full of emotion and flavor, making people indulge in them.

  Only Xue Yingfeng knew the details and couldn't help but curve up the corners of her mouth into a smile.

  "It turns out that it's not your fault either. However, the jade qilin is broken and it would be difficult to carve another one in just a few months. But I have another piece of jade, the Jade Dragon, which is my most satisfying work in this life. If Xue Ningfeng takes it as a birthday gift, it's not bad."

  Xue Ningfeng heard this and was overjoyed, just about to express her gratitude.

  Bo Ya shook his hand slightly:

  "Wait a minute, I haven't decided whether to give it to you yet. Recently, I've become fascinated with an article in the Zǐ Xiāo Weekly called 'Journey to the West: The Story of the White Bone Demon'. In the latest issue, I didn't quite understand the eleventh chapter, and coincidentally, I was thinking of asking someone for guidance. If you can satisfy me, this Jade Dragon will be yours, how about it?"

  Bo Ya Zi's words made Xue Ying show a hint of displeasure. She had naturally heard of "Journey to the West: Conquering Demons", which was a divine work that had just been released last year and had spread like wildfire throughout the land, with almost all the nobles having read it.

  And the author of this article, Er Gou, is even called a top master in the literary world. His writing style, how can I possibly judge it?

  "In that case, for Yu Cang Long's sake, let's give it a try, Shifu."

  At this moment, Li Xiao's eyes shone brightly as he spoke out loud.