Seeing that Xiao Hei was unwilling to pay attention to her, Yan Jiaojiao knew when to stop. After all, such a powerful summoned beast also had its temper. It was already a great favor that he was willing to accompany her all the way here.
Yan Jiaojiao understood this.
However, still thinking about the sealed pagoda deep within the spiritual jade space, Yan Jiaojiao found it difficult to fall asleep, so she held the spiritual jade in her hand and examined it back and forth.
She wondered where the original owner's legitimate mother had obtained the spiritual jade, that a Qing-level spiritual jade would hold such a secret.
Yan Jiaojiao even had a feeling that if the seal within the spiritual jade were to be broken, she might be able to achieve further improvement, perhaps even breaking through directly to a top-tier purple-level spiritual artifact.
While playing with the spiritual jade, Yan Jiaojiao accidentally touched something. The spiritual jade flashed and directly merged into her wrist.
"Huh?" Yan Jiaojiao murmured softly in confusion, raising her arm to examine it back and forth. She found no trace of the jade pendant at all.
Yan Jiaojiao tried again. In her mind, she could still easily open the spiritual jade space. Then, concentrating her energy, she retrieved the spiritual jade from her wrist.
To have such an ability, Yan Jiaojiao couldn't help but marvel at the spiritual jade's anti-loss feature, finding it extremely practical.
Yan Jiaojiao, filled with novelty, repeatedly took out and merged the spiritual jade into her wrist, playing with it back and forth, completely losing the demeanor of a thousand-year-old ancestor.
Xiao Hei watched from the side with an expression akin to looking at an idiot.
Yan Jiaojiao inexplicably thought of Sheng Mobai's jade pendant again. Although the two jade pendants looked exactly the same, Yan Jiaojiao could clearly feel that Sheng Mobai's was far from a Qing-level in grade, and seemed more like a replica of her spiritual jade.
"It shouldn't be as good as mine, right?" Yan Jiaojiao muttered to herself, believing her spiritual jade to be unique in the world, and then played with the jade pendant a few more times.
Only when Yan Jiaojiao had played enough and fatigue set in did she drift off to sleep, and the night grew quiet.
A faint light flickered. Dongfang Cangwu leaned back in a reclining chair, his narrow phoenix eyes displaying a languid and cool demeanor. His gaze fell upon Yan Jiaojiao, whose lips were slightly parted. The spiritual jade had already merged into her wrist, and she was still holding that spot with her other hand, truly cherishing it.
Yan Jiaojiao turned over and vaguely murmured a name: "Sheng Mobai, your jade..."
Yan Jiaojiao was complaining that Sheng Mobai's jade pendant was a fake. Unfortunately, the latter part of her words was too muddled for Dongfang Cangwu to hear clearly. However, he clearly heard the three words "Sheng Mobai."
Immediately, a surge of anger rose in Dongfang Cangwu's heart. He sat up straight, his eyes turning cold.
He had worried that this woman would be chased, and reluctantly followed her all the way. He hadn't expected that this fickle woman, who had contemplated dying for a man before, would now be thinking of a man she had just met. What a slut!
Dongfang Cangwu was furious, completely forgetting that Yan Jiaojiao had also explained that she had never liked any man. He didn't bother to delve into what the latter half of Yan Jiaojiao's sleep-talking meant. He indifferently flicked his sleeve and disappeared from the room.
All that remained was a faint, cold fragrance, proving that Dongfang Cangwu had been there.
The next day, as dawn broke, Yan Jiaojiao woke up from her slumber. She sat up groggily for a while, and then looked around, only to find that the little black dog had, at some unknown time, run off and disappeared again.
Yan Jiaojiao knew that summoned beasts couldn't be bound to one's side forever. However, having held him in her arms and followed her everywhere for the past few days, she had surprisingly developed a dependence on him. The sudden disappearance of Xiao Hei left Yan Jiaojiao feeling a bit disheartened, but she didn't want to force him to return by using her summoning ability.
Meanwhile, by a waterfall in a scenic area, Dongfang Cangwu sat cross-legged, cultivating his techniques with a cold expression. Sensing that the damned woman had woken up, he stopped and opened his eyes, as if waiting for something.
However, after a long while, there was no movement. Dongfang Cangwu's face grew even more displeased. His thin lips parted, and he uttered, "Ungrateful wretch."
Far away in the guest room, Yan Jiaojiao sneezed loudly. She rubbed her nose, pulled her clothes closer, and said, "Oh dear, it seems to have gotten colder. I should wear more."
After breakfast, Yan Jiaojiao and the others set off again for Gunan Academy.
Yan Jiaojiao deliberately bought some more food at the inn, planning to deviate from the main road and follow the water source. This way, she could both evade the pursuit of the Yan family and simultaneously search for a new dwelling for the water spirit.
After traveling for half a day, Yan Jiaojiao and her group arrived at a valley. Passing through the forest, they reached the side of a small river.
Yan Jiaojiao looked around and felt that the place was excellent. It was uninhabited by humans and was picturesque. Seeing the small fish swimming in the clear river, she knew the water quality was also excellent.
"Let's rest here for a while."
Yan Jiaojiao called out. The carriage stopped, and everyone began to prepare something to eat nearby.
The two guards were also skilled. In no time, they had built a campfire and even caught two fish from the river to roast.
Rong'er and Dongfang Xu found this very novel and gathered around to watch the roasted fish.
If she were to settle the water spirit here, Yan Jiaojiao certainly didn't want to reveal the water spirit's existence. Even among her own people, there was a chance of inadvertently letting slip a word. If it were to bring trouble to the water spirit, Yan Jiaojiao would not be pleased.
Therefore, Yan Jiaojiao took the opportunity to walk aside, quietly heading to a secluded spot. She summoned the water spirit from the spiritual jade space and whispered, "Look, are you satisfied with this place?"
The water spirit watched Yan Jiaojiao act like a thief, blinked its eyes, and its body, which was originally human-sized, instantly shrank, becoming only the size of a thumb!
The water spirit flew a circle around Yan Jiaojiao and finally landed on her shoulder.
This was truly a spirit.
Yan Jiaojiao felt ashamed of her own denseness. To change size, for a spirit, was as easy as breathing. She had gone to such lengths to hide and summon it.
"No." The water spirit nudged Yan Jiaojiao's collar, glanced at the nearby river, and then shook its head.
"What's wrong?" Yan Jiaojiao was surprised. She clearly felt this place was even better than the lake before.
A trace of hesitation appeared on the small water spirit's face, and then it firmly shook its head, "No."
"Alright, alright," Yan Jiaojiao said helplessly and compromised, "There will be more water bodies ahead. I'll call you out then."
The water spirit then smiled innocently again, its small body flying up and circling around Yan Jiaojiao's head.
Thus, along the way, whenever they encountered lakes and rivers far from human settlements, Yan Jiaojiao would secretly let the water spirit out to let it choose.
However, the water spirit's little head never nodded once. It always had an innocent expression and said "no, no." As soon as Yan Jiaojiao compromised, it would smile foolishly again.
Another day passed like this, and they were nearing the territory of Gunan Academy.