Chapter 25 – Ji Rong
That night within Snowrock Castle.
The long table was filled with a variety of dishes. Xue Ying was seated right at the head of the table, with Zong Ling and Tong San on his left and right respectively. Opposite him was his brother and his female friend, with You Yue beside on her other side.
“Brother, this is Ji Rong, one of teacher’s disciples as well. She also lives within Water Rites Town.” Qing Shi had a slight blush on his face, even though he still said it simply.
“Ji Rong? Haha…” Xue Ying laughed haughtily, “you can call me big brother like how Qing Shi does!”
“Ji Rong meets Xue Ying big brother.” Ji Rong said crisply, her voice was soothing to the ear.
This Miss Ji Rong seemed to be quite young, as young as his little brother. She was not that tall, and can be considered petite. Although, with her beautiful eyes, she could also be called a beauty. Quite a fitting pair with his brother. Unknowingly… his little brother had already grown up from that small snotty child to having a girlfriend by his side.
Having said that, he himself had not even dated a girl before in his life! Even though he was quite close with You Yue, he was not in the mood to clarify his relationship with her as the matter of saving his parents was still looming overhead.
“Even though we’re only meeting for the first time, I’ve prepared a little gift for you. Please accept it.” Xue Ying said, while taking out a white crystal box.
“Go accept it!” Qing Shi encouraged his girlfriend.
Ji Rong walked towards Xue Ying, receiving the gift from him. “Thank you, big brother Xue Ying.”
“Haha…” Xue Ying laughed happily. Although he was a little embarrassed of the lavish gifts he bought for his little brother, You Yue, Uncle Zong, Uncle Tong, he did not think of getting one for his little brother’s girlfriend. After all, this was his first time meeting her, and thus, he momentarily forgot about her! It was only after knowing that his brother was bringing his girlfriend to dinner that he hurriedly prepared an appropriate gift for her.
Fortunately, the mission he partook this time was very rewarding. Within the storage treasure of that Demonic Emissary was a box of Jewelry which should have been obtained from somewhere on the emissary’s journey. After calculating the net worth of all the jewelry within the box, the total value should amount to 10,000 gold. Thus, Xue Ying selected one of the beautiful jewelry from within, and enclosed it inside a beautiful crystal box before giving it to Ji Rong. It should approximately be worth a thousand gold.
Still, she was only his little brother’s girlfriend, and not his fiancée. Thus, 1000 gold was considered to be the right value for her! After all, in some parts of the county, there are families who worked for an entire year only to earn a thousand gold.
“Brother, this time, you came back quite early.”
“This time, I went to the County City to buy some gifts for you and You Yue.” Xue Ying smiled at his words. “You Yue, this is for you.”
After saying, Xue Ying took out a staff and a purple mage robe for her.
“Xue Ying big brother, this is for me?” You Yue hesitated after looking at the gifts. She could immediately discern that the staff was very valuable and the robe was extraordinary. “This staff is made of Wind Yin Wood, and is very precious. I…”
“Since I’ve already decided to give you, just accept it.” Xue Ying nodded smilingly. That staff was only worth 2000 gold, whereas that robe worth 18,000 gold! Being a heaven’s grade mage protective equipment, it would definitely cost a lot.
‘If I let this little brat know that the robe is for a Heaven Mage, I doubt she will accept it.’ Xue Ying chuckled.
“En.” You Yue finally accepted the gifts.
Ji Rong, who was seated beside You Yue, looked at that staff and the mage. Her expression changed slightly.
“Brother, what about me? Didn’t you say you bought something for me too?” Qing Shi could no longer remain patient after that.
“What’s the hurry?” Xue Ying glanced at him. “Looking at you behaving like a monkey… I’ll give it to you after dinner.”
“You are doing this deliberately!” Qing Shi felt helpless after hearing that.
“Precisely. I’m deliberately doing this. Mages usually have patience, so take this as an opportunity to discipline yourself.” Xue Ying lightly nodded.
“Oh.” Qing Shi could only obediently listen to his brother’s words.
……
Having finished dinner, You Yue retreated to her room within the castle. After all, there was already a small courtyard prepared for her to stay at.
As for Qing Shi, he brought his girlfriend back to the Great Mage’s building.
“Ji Rong, what did brother give you?” Qing Shi and Ji Rong were walking side by side.
It was only now that Ji Rong finally opened that crystal box.
Within it was a necklace with an aquamarine gem. In the darkness, there was a faint green glow emitting from the aquamarine itself.
“A top-grade aquamarine necklace! I’m afraid this would cost at least a thousand gold…” Ji Rong was stunned. Being a mage, she would naturally know about the many materials and gems in the world.
“So valuable!?” Qing Shi was shocked. “My brother is generous, right?”
“Generous, indeed he is very generous!” Ji Rong kept her crystal box, thinking for a while before asking softly, “Dong Bo Qing Shi, do you know how much the staff that you brother gave You Yue is worth?”
“That staff? The one made of Wind Yin Wood? I guess it should be around 2000 gold!” Qing Shi replied casually, “You Yue has been with us for a long time! So I guess her relation with my big brother should be very good. For a long period of time, he did not give her a staff at all. Naturally, it is expected for him to give such a good staff to her for the first time.”
“Hmph!” Ji Rong snorted, “I’m not talking about the staff. I’m talking about the robe! That mage robe he gave her!”
“Mage equipment?” Qing Shi stared at her, “Are you sure you didn’t see wrongly?”
“Kong You Yue was seated beside me, so definitely, I saw everything. That robe is actually a mage’s equipment! There is even a marking on top of it inscripted by Master Refiner ‘Yan Wen’. The equipment refined by Master Refiner ‘Yan Wen’ are at the very least, Earth grade, with most of them being Heaven’s grade!” Ji Rong coldly snorted.
“You sure you did not mistake it for something else ?” Qing Shi did not dare to believe.
“I am a mage, so how could I mistake it for something else?” Ji Rong had an inexplicable look on her face. “Great Refiner Yan Wen only refines Earth grade equipment at the very least. Thus, that robe would be worth at least 5000 gold or more. Adding the worth of that staff, the gift your brother gave Kong You Yue should be more than 10,000 gold! Dong Bo Qing Shi, you tell me, isn’t your brother generous?”
Qing Shi grinned, “My brother and You Yue have always been very close to each other.”
“You are be so single-minded.” Ji Rong continued softly, “You and your brother are related by blood. You are also one of his successors! Can you stand watching your brother give all these precious gifts away?”Qing Shi stared blankly after hearing that.
“You are already 16 this year. I don’t think you will want to depend on your brother for the rest of your life?” Ji Rong said. “Even between brothers, you must clearly settle the accounts!”
“Why are you saying this?” Qing Shi frowned somewhat angrily.
“I’m doing this for your own good.” Ji Rong continued, “You should have seen a few years ago when my father worked day and night for the business, solely because he trusted my uncle too much! The money earned certainly belongs to the entire family. After a full 20 years of hard work by my father himself, the entire family’s worth should solely belong to him! Guess what? In the end, my uncle betrayed him by kicking my father out of the family. My father did not get anything in the end, not even a small home for us to live in. We had to stay at our mother’s side from then on.”
“I’m saying all of these to tell you, even if you do not have the intent to harm anyone, you must have your defenses ready in case someone harms you!”
“I’ve long heard from you before how hard your brother trained, and that it was only because of the medicinal baths he took that your brother did not fall apart! Yet did you know how much does it costs for him to take medicinal baths every day for a year? 5000 gold! From 6 years old until 16, your brother have spent 10 whole years! This is 50,000 gold!” Ji Rong exclaimed, “Your parents bought the title of nobility, a territory and a large amount of Star Breaking Crossbow… and even prepared years of medicines for your brother to bathe in. Adding the armours, the castle and various spending, all of these total up close to a sum of 200,000 gold! This clearly shows that it was due to luck that your parents became wealthy overnight.”
“You have been spending money wastefully in the past, and as for your brother, before he killed the Silver Moon Wolf King, he did not even take the time to earn back the money spent.”
“For so long, whatever you’ve been spending is the inheritance left behind from your parents!”
“Do you know how much your parents even left behind? Do you?”
Qing Shi kept quiet.
“You don’t know!” Ji Rong sneered, “With such a big sum of money, I believe that your parents must have gotten a few relics left behind by a Legend ranker, or even a Trascendent. Anything is possible! However, now that everything is being governed by your brother, you do not have even the slightest bit of knowledge on what is left behind by your parents.”
“Everything is being controlled by your brother. Guess what? Now, he actually splurged more than 10,000 gold on a gift for You Yue! More than 10,000 gold! That year, my brother spent more than 20 years of hard work and effort before earning this amount yet he readily gave this away.” Ji Rong looked at Qing Shi, “Strictly saying, all of these inheritance left behind by your parents does not belong to your brother alone. You should have a share as well!”