Chapter 477: Little Junior Brother, How Dare You Defy the Heavenly Gang
“Don’t you want to change back?”
Bai Feng glanced at Little Jiu, who was clad in a flimsy sleepwear and trailing behind him, and couldn’t help but ask.
Little Jiu tilted her head to the side, giving no sign of answering.
“At least swap out of that outfit,” Bai Feng pointed at her pajamas.
Little Jiu turned her head to the other side, still silent.
“If you won’t change, I’ll do it myself,” Bai Feng threatened.
Hearing this, Little Jiu looked up at Bai Feng, stared at him for a moment, then puffed out her cheeks, spun around and went back to her bedroom.
A moment later, she emerged dressed in a pretty dress, still refusing to turn back into her fox form.
Bai Feng looked at Little Jiu, who was more than happy to stay in her human form rather than revert to her cute fox self. He suspected she was protesting in a very… special way.
But did such a protest really work?
He sneaked a glance at her tail poking out from her dress. Yeah, no way that’s going to stop him.
During dinner, Little Jiu sat at the table, glaring and munching on her fox food, occasionally shooting him a side-eye.
On the road, she pouted, trailing behind him like a tiny angry ghost.
Inside the research institute, Little Jiu, like a tethered spirit, stood stiffly in place, glaring at Bai Feng.
Eventually, Bai Feng couldn’t take it anymore. He walked over and started soothing her, “Alright, alright, I’ll give you some new maps and new characters. Will you stop pouting like a banshee and follow me? Otherwise, people might think I’m haunted by a vengeful soul!”
“Really?”
“Do you think I’d lie to you?” Bai Feng sighed helplessly.
After pondering, Little Jiu realized Bai Feng hadn’t actually lied much — though he definitely set other kinds of traps. Sharing fake maps and characters was safe enough, no traps there. Still, she thought, better not poke too much fun.
So she nodded, “Fine, I guess I’ll accept your ‘reward’…”
“Why do you say it so weird?” Bai Feng snorted.
Once she got her ‘reward,’ Little Jiu quieted down considerably, cuddling her Image Retainer and continuing to play her game—or so it seemed. What puzzled her was she still hadn’t transformed back into her fox shape.
Bai Feng didn’t pay it much mind. Maybe it was because she had often lounged around in her transformed form in front of him before. Recently, he noticed Little Jiu was starting to not mind her transformed look when she was with him—no more kicking up a fuss.
…
With the new weapon production line operational, output shot up, and orders from the Southern Region flooded in.
“Ever since I teamed up with you, making money’s been so easy—what’s your secret?” Yu Yao stroked her chin, staring at Bai Feng. “Did your brain just grow that way?”
Especially with those strange pipeline-like methods Bai Feng proposed; if it were her, she’d simply find a big merchant guild for an exclusive partnership, produce a couple of Array plates periodically, and auction them off. She couldn’t imagine dismantling Array plates for production by less skilled Array Masters.
“It’s just a bit of cleverness plus trusting my senior sister,” Bai Feng said with a smile.
“Ugh… that’s so cheesy!” Yu Yao fake gagged, but her lips curled up in a smile. “By the way, you haven’t heard what’s happened in Xuan Guang City, right? Want me to fill you in?”
Bai Feng was curious. He remembered Yu Yao had been busy with city affairs recently. He nodded, “Yes, please, senior sister.”
“Well, our ‘Life Array’ products are selling quite well, right? And many merchants started copying our ‘Life Array’ techniques. Some even sell third-party accessories for our Arrays, which has caused the Array Masters in Xuan Guang City to become a bit overwhelmed. Plus, more low-level cultivators want to learn Array formations to make money—way more than alchemists and smiths.”
Yu Yao’s gaze lingered on Bai Feng for a few seconds. Before this, she never imagined that just some commercial products could elevate the status of Array Masters among low-level cultivators.
In the coming years, other places she wouldn’t dare to claim, but in the Northern Region, Array Masters seemed to be surpassing even alchemists and smiths.
After all, becoming an alchemist required painstakingly finding the right Dān scrolls or having a master teach you, plus preparing a costly Dān furnace. But even then, you couldn’t finish pills without lots of ingredients and experience. It kept low-level cultivators locked out.
Once, Array Masters were not much different from alchemists. But Bai Feng’s ‘improved’ Array Masters were a whole new thing: no tools needed, no materials, not even talent—just knowing some basic Array formation principles was enough to join a factory, working for Spirit Stones. No investment, safer than roaming secret realms, and with a little talent, you could get into better factories and earn more Spirit Stones.
Wait, you ask why not join a minor sect? Yu Yao was curious about that too. She even asked the person in charge of Yu Ling Long to find out about some outer disciples from small sects.
Apparently, those sect outer disciples work harder than even the factory staff, earn fewer Spirit Stones, and have no cultivations beyond Foundation Establishment unless they stumble upon some luck. It’s better to work at Yu Ling Long for a few years, save up Spirit Stones, buy a good cultivation manual or pills, and break through—way more comfortable than being a beast of burden in a small sect.
Yu Yao was left speechless. No wonder many cultivators with better innate talent than most low-level scattered cultivators came to Yu Ling Long looking for work. These guys had escaped small sects.
“So, are you planning to set up an ‘Array Academy’ to teach others?”
Bai Feng remembered Yu Yao had asked him about Array formations before, borrowing a few basic books to study at home. He guessed, “So, you want to do that?”
Yu Yao giggled and nodded. “Yep, since the factory always needs people. Complex products like those require months of training that no new employee can handle. So I talked with my aunt-in-law, and we’re opening a ‘Array Academy’—for everyone in Xuan Guang City, even kids. And if they sign a contract with Yu Ling Long, not only are tuition fees waived, but they get free meals and housing. Graduates directly join Yu Ling Long.”
“Didn’t expect you to be so inventive,” Bai Feng said with some surprise.
“Heh, I learned it all from you,” Yu Yao lifted her chin proudly, wearing a victorious smile.
Seeing her proud expression, Bai Feng couldn’t resist reaching out and rubbing her little face. “So, senior sister, what reward do you want?”
“Wait… let me think!” Yu Yao suddenly snapped back, placing her hand on Bai Feng’s cheek and giving it a vigorous rub. “Little Junior Brother, how dare you defy the Heavenly Gang—that’s something only senior sister should say!”
“To punish your disrespect for senior sister…” Yu Yao’s gaze flicked aside slightly, and if you looked closely, her ears were blushing. “Let me think… I’ll make you be my little follower today, following me around all day!”
“Yes, senior sister. Where are we going today?” Bai Feng asked cheerfully.
“You just need to stay by my side. No need to think about that—right now I’m hungry and want some barbecue. Come to my place and let’s eat together.”
“Yes, senior sister.”
