The middle-aged man's joyous exclamations halted as the cogs in his brain began whirring. Slowly tearing his gaze from the rock, he searched for the origin of the young voice. His frozen expression thawed into a surprised, but gentle smile. The voice that came from Uncle Hu was soft and full of care.

  "Young Master, you're safe."

  The well-groomed boatman tucked the rock under his armpit and began walking toward Ye Fan. For a brief moment, there was the sound of rock grinding as the freshly cut rock fell apart under his armpit. Loud clacking rang out as both uneven halves clattered on the tiles. Uncle Hu's movements froze for an instant before an awkward expression overcame him. Crouching down, he picked up the two halves before continuing his movements to his young master.

  When the man got closer, Ye Fan looked at the opened stone that was being held in his old servant's hands. The blue glow's intensity had receded, allowing the boy to observe its contents. A singular jade tile lay nestled in the boatman's left hand while an icy blue feather glistened on the right side. Although the jade tile looked pleasant to the eye, Ye Fan had an ominous feeling whenever his gaze landed on its ornate engravings. Instead, he was more fascinated with the icy blue feather in the right half. Reaching his hand out, he carefully grabbed the feather by the tip. Without his gaze leaving the feather's vane, he voiced his inquiry.

  "Uncle Hu… what creature is this feather from?"

  Crushing the empty half into a pile of dust, the boatman inspected the feather in great detail. His expression was solemn as his eyes left the tip and met the young boy's sky blue eyes.

  "Absolute Yin Phoenix. Even during Absolute Heaven, these divine beasts were rare to find… If only I had this back then…"

  A deep sadness and melancholy overcame his demeanor as his words trailed off at the end. Ye Fan hadn't noticed the middle-aged man's change in atmosphere. Instead, the young boy grew in excitement as he processed the knowledge the boatman had just shared. His eyes were shining as he turned to Wen Meihui.

  "Did you hear that Sister Wen? A feather from the Absolute Yin Phoenix! A rare divine beast!"

  Wen Meihui listened to Ye Fan's words with a gentle smile. She couldn't resist reaching her hand out to run her hands through his short black hair. Blinking a few times, the young boy turned back to the boatman to find him still in a somber, melancholic mood. The young boy's excitement quickly receded. Hopping a few steps forward, he tugged lightly on Uncle Hu's sleeve and looked up with a pair of puppy eyes.

  "Are you - Are you alright, Uncle Hu?"

  Uncle Hu blinked once before breaking from his trance. As his glazed eyes returned to their usual lively state, he was met with a puppy-eyed porcelain doll. Seeing his young master's appearance and actions, he promptly adjusted his expression accordingly. A gentle smile appeared on his face as he reassured the little boy.

  "Just thinking of the past. Nothing to worry about, young master… Anyway, the feather of the Absolute Yin Phoenix is an extremely valuable item. Let's decide what we should do with it."

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  Ye Fan was a bit surprised at the rapid change in subject, but didn't make much of it. The young boy grew deep in thought as he twisted the glistening feather between his fingertips. Light rays turned into a dance of icy blue effects. Ye Fan racked his mind for a possible use case for himself.

  "Hmmm… I'm not really sure. I don't think I have any use for it, should we just sell it?"

  Wen Meihui's heart dropped at Ye Fan's words and her gaze grew a bit desperate. Shouts began to emerge from the bystanders when they heard the young boy's intentions to part with the feather. Numerous offers of spirit stones and various treasures flooded in causing the young lady's body to shift with unease. Although the young boy seemed a bit overwhelmed by the sudden outburst of noise, Wen Meihui's actions didn't escape the boatman's purview. Calling for silence, Uncle Hu gently tapped on Ye Fan's shoulder before speaking a few words.

  "It seems the young lady who's come with you may have a use for it."

  The middle-aged man cast a glance toward Wen Meihui as he finished his words to further emphasize his words. A lightbulb seemed to appear over the young boy's head as he turned around with a gleeful smile. Seeing the young lady's fixation on the feather, the blue-robed child was able to confirm the boatman's words. Inwardly, Ye Fan mocked himself for being too selfish and tunnel-visioned. Outwardly, he walked toward Wen Meihui with shining eyes and spoke with a rushed cadence.

  "This feather is for you, Sister Wen!"

  Although she desperately needed it, the young lady with flame-kissed hair couldn't bear to be rude. She showed great hesitance as she tried to politely reject Ye Fan's kind intentions.

  "I don't have anything to trade for-"

  As she began speaking, Ye Fan had tested her desperation by moving the feather around a bit. Sure enough, Wen Meihui's eyes had locked onto the feather and refused to leave it. Seeing this, the precocious child took advantage of his young age to cut off the young lady's refusal.

  "It's alright, Sister Wen! It's my gift to you. No need for a trade. Just treat me to some good food later. I call you Sister, so let's just be officially younger brother and older sister from now on."

  The child's beaming kindness and generosity practically blinded Wen Meihui's orange eyes. Her eyes began to water. To the young lady, it seemed as if Buddha himself had incarnated in front of her. Nodding her head lightly, she began to choke up while speaking.

  "Mm… We are. Yes, we are. Little Fan."

  "Awesome! Then, here you are!"

  The lively young boy deposited the Absolute Yin Feather into Wen Meihui's palm unceremoniously. There were numerous gazes that showed disappointment as well as a few that showed greed. The few with malicious intent were observed by the boatman. The middle-aged man was not a trouble seeker and immediately shut down their intentions by revealing their backing. Flashing his personal badge that prominently displayed the "Ye" character, he enunciated each word with great care and lucidity.

  "I'm in service to the Young Heir of the Ye Consortium. I apologize for the disturbance, but this transaction has been guaranteed by Young Heir."

  Hearing these words, the greedy gazes quickly shrunk away in fear. Most of them directly left the venue to avoid having possibly offended the behemoth of the Central Continent. Ye Fan was used to the boatman's actions. Although he hadn't observed the malicious gazes from before, he was confident that there was a rhyme and reason for what Uncle Hu had done. Now, his gaze turned to the jade tile in the other half.

  "Uncle Hu, what should we do with that Jade Tile?"

  The boatman placed the badge back into his spatial artifact before inspecting the jade tile. The ornate engravings depicted the image of another divine beast, Tai Sui. Its eerie shape of an ox liver with two eyes gave Uncle Hu a similar disconcerting feeling that Ye Fan had felt earlier. He placed the tile into a segregated part of his spatial artifact before responding to the little boy.

  "Let's keep it for now. What would you like to do now, young master?"

  Hearing these words, Ye Fan's eyes brightened. He had been waiting for that question to be asked. With great gusto, the porcelain doll adorned in blue robes placed his hands on his hips, cast his eyes toward heaven, and yelled his next two words.

  "Treasures await!"