19 Golden Leaf Pavilion

The Golden Leaf Pavilion was large and Its decorations exuded a sense of luxury regardless of which branch people visited. Cloaked in black, the young pair entered the Golden Leaf Pavilion.

A store attendant greeted the children.

"We're here to sell something. Can we get a private room?"

"Most certainly." The attendant smiled as she led the young pair to a small room on the second floor of the building. The young age of the two children did not appear odd to the attendant. After all, it was common for masters to send their disciples to the Golden Leaf Pavilion. A large wooden table with several chairs was set in the middle of the room. Although there were a couple of paintings on the walls, the room was quite plain. A servant entered the room after them with tea.

Once they got seated, the attendant inquired, "What type of item have led these two young guests to our pavilion?"

Wordlessly, the two children took out the Black Lotus brand medicine from their storage rings.

"I will request for an item appraiser," the attendant brought out a small blue stone and inserted qi into it.

Moments following, an old man entered the room. He silently examined the medicine in the bottles. "This!" His sudden raise in voice alarmed the attendant. The old man eyed the young pair. He could not clearly see their faces due to the black cloaks they both wore.

"Who made these?"

"An old friend of the late Bai Lian."

The attendant raised her brows in shock as she realized the identity of the medicines. Although Bai Lian had died three years ago, those of the Golden Leaf Pavilion were still very familiar with her name. They all were also no stranger to the fact that Bai Lian did not share her medicine recipes with anyone before her untimely death.

'Based on that brief response, this old friend does not intend on revealing their identity.' The old man smiled politely, "The Bai Clan use to sell medium and lower grade medicines at their own shops, while sending over the high grade medicines to us to auction. We can buy the medium and lower grade medicines at the same price the Bai Clan use to sell them for."

The young pair raised their brows at the generous offer. However, they only felt a slight bit of surprise. They stoically agreed to the offer, feeling no need to bargain further.

"Is this old friend of Bai Lian capable of producing high grade medicines?"

"Although she had records of Bai Lian's recipes these couple years after Bai Lian's death, only recently had she began learning the recipes. The friendship between the two was truly deep and she only stopped grieving recently."

"What is her relationship to the two of you?"

"You do not need to know."

The polite smile on the old man's face did not falter as he brought out a golden card, "With this golden card, the additional auction fees will be waived when you auction an item. The card can also store money. We wish to gift this to that old friend of Bai Lian. Normally, we would have those we give a golden card to insert their qi into the card so only they would be able to use it. However, we will treat the two of you as her representatives. Please insert qi into the card at the same time."

The young pair silently followed the old man's instructions. Golden light shined from the card. Only when the light had faded did the old man bring out a golden coin with a leaf imprint. "To allow the friend of Bai Lian to use the golden card, she would need to insert qi into this coin and press the coin against the card while both of you are inserting qi into the card. Afterwards, she would become the main owner of the card and can decide whether the two of you are able to have access to the money in the card."

The young pair examined the card before Ji Yun placed the golden coin and card into her storage ring.

The corners of Lin Tao's mouth raised, "What makes you think we would give her ownership of the card?"

"After working at the Golden Leaf Pavilion for so long, naturally I have developed a discerning eye for people."

"I see… Since you have already placed the money in the card, we no longer have a reason to stay." Lin Tao stood up and prepared to leave.

"I will lead the two of you distinguished guests out," the attendant's tone had become more respectful as she smoothly guided the children out.

The young pair leisurely made their way to the Shui Orphanage. The orphanage appeared rundown on the outside. According to Shui Renshu, such an appearance looked more welcoming. Although the building had only been around for a decade and a half, its condition was much worse than the residences of the great clans that had stood for centuries.

The gatekeeper greeted the young pair and welcomed them in. Contrary to its outward appearance, the interior of the Shui Residence was tidy and did not appear timeworn at all. The two made their way to the dining room. They were greeted by the sight of three children idly chatting while eating lunch.

"Brother Tao! Yun Yun! How rare. The two of you have been abandoning us to meet with that great guardian spirit lately." The girl was clearly joyful to see them based on her initial excited greeting. However, she quickly regained her composure and spoke in a polite, gentle tone. Although the tone sounded very polite, blame was evident in the girl's voice.

"Yeah, after morning training, you two wouldn't come back until the sun had already set," a young boy complained. Despite voicing a complaint, the boy didn't seem to actual care as he happily munched on a meat bun.

Ji Yun sheepishly laughed as she took a seat, "You guys are still going on about that? When you guys become stronger, I'm sure master will also allow you guys to visit the guardian spirit."

"You guys don't need to feel bad about not meeting that granny. You're expectations are too high. Without a doubt, you'll only end up disappointed." Despite the message he was trying to give, Lin Tao's voice became slightly warmer when he mentioned 'that granny.'

Chen Lihua and Yao Zihao were unconvinced. As they opened their mouths to retort, a different voice spoke before them.

"Why have the two of you returned early today? Did the guardian spirit send you two off in disappointment?" Tan Rong's voice sounded lazy as he leaned back in his seat.

"As if! The guardian spirit is proud to have us as her disciples!" Ji Yun's voice held unwavering confidence.

Lin Tao took it upon himself to respond to the inquiry, "She said that we should just sell the medicines today and visit her tomorrow."

While the children were conversing, a maidservant brought Lin Tao and Ji Yun's meals.

"Maybe she wanted to give herself a break from the two of you," suggested Chen Lihua as the corners of her mouth lifted into a bright smile.

"You're just jealous master won't let you meet the guardian spirit," Ji Yun accused.

"Mm. I am," Chen Lihua acknowledged, her smile not wavering in the slightest.

Yao Zihao joined the two girls' banter as Lin Tao knitted his brows in worry. He thought back to the gentle voice that had sent them off in the morning. 'Although it was really faint, there was a hint of urgency in her voice.'