Why Are You Looking at Me Like That

"Your master? The one from Lionhead Mountain?" Leon Zane raised an eyebrow.

He had already been ordered by Evan Xiao to investigate that person's background, but ended up finding nothing at all.

Even he couldn't uncover anything. That person's origins must be anything but simple.

"Of course! Do you think I have a second master?"

"You studied under him for just a month, passed the Spirit Alliance exam, and even learned to cook this well?"

"Exactly! Isn't my master amazing?"

Leon Zane raised his eyebrows, glanced at Evan Xiao, but said nothing.

"Imperial Advisor, actually, I specifically asked the General to invite you here today," Grace said.

"Why did you want to see me?"

"To apologize!" Grace said. "Last time was all a misunderstanding, and I hope the Imperial Advisor can forgive me!"

"No. Way!" Leon Zane said flatly. "Forgive you? Absolutely not!"

"Uh..." Grace scratched the back of her head. "Alright then..."

No forgiveness, whatever. Honestly, she wasn't really here to ask for forgiveness anyway.

She was... here to collect a debt.

During the meal, Grace watched Leon Zane eat with gusto. She cleared her throat and said, rather tactfully, "My master gave me a Breakthrough Elixir of the eighth rank. That pill is truly priceless!"

Leon Zane curled his lip but said nothing.

Evan Xiao looked at her. "You really are about to break through to the Eighth Rank. Clearly you've been working hard lately."

"Of course! I've been training day and night, cutting my sleep down to just two hours every night. I'm working super hard!"

As she spoke, Grace sighed again.

"What's wrong?" Evan Xiao asked her.

"About that pill I mentioned... Guess what happened to such a precious elixir?"

"Did someone steal it?" Leon Zane asked, curious.

Grace shook her head. "It was eaten by one of my... spirit pets. It actually ate it!"

"Spirit pet? Little Cutie?" Leon Zane looked at Evan Xiao. "Why would it eat something like that?"

Evan Xiao kept eating, calm as ever, and said nothing.

"Not Little Cutie! It's a new one I just got," Grace said.

"Oh? You have a new spirit pet now? What about Little Cutie? You don't want it anymore?" Leon Zane's eyes lit up.

"Of course I do!" Grace said. "Why can't I have two spirit pets at the same time?"

"Two, huh..." Leon Zane looked at Evan Xiao again. "Spirit pets are just like people—they get jealous! Isn't Little Cutie jealous?"

Based on what he knew about his Highness, he'd probably kill the other one.

"Hmm... yeah, a little. They even fought each other," Grace said. "But it's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal? So, what kind of spirit beast is your other spirit pet?"

"It's... Oh, whatever, that's not the point. The point is... my elixir is gone." Grace looked at Leon Zane.

Leon Zane looked at her, baffled. "If your pill is gone, just go ask your master for another one! Why are you looking at me?"

"My master said he only had that one pill, no more," Grace said. "So..."

Actually, her master never gave her any spirit medicines.

He said that if things came too easily, she'd lose the true meaning of cultivation. It would be harmful to her.

"So what?" Leon Zane was starting to get a bad feeling.

"Imperial Advisor, do you remember our bet?"

"What bet? Did we make a bet?" Leon Zane's eyes widened.

"Last time, you said if I could join the Spirit Alliance, you'd grant me one request... Well, now I'm here to ask for that favor. Please help me get an Eighth-Rank Breakthrough Elixir!"