Chapter 139: The Flavor of Ingredients

This was the exact reason why Elder Li had been willing to hand over the token of the Gale Academy so quickly.

No matter what, there had been bad blood between them before, and this could be considered an apology.

Having lived for so many years, they understood very well what winning over a powerful martial artist meant for them.

Even if they could not be friends, they must not become enemies.

Ji Tianxin and Suqing returned to the estate before nightfall.

Just as the two of them stepped back into the residence, a figure quietly poked his head out from a distance away.

He was holding a folding fan, with delicate facial features and the scholarly air of a literati, yet his gaze was fixed intently on the direction of the General's Manor entrance where Ji Tianxin had gone inside.

His eyes were sinister, revealing a fierce aura that completely clashed with his gentle, scholarly demeanor.

"Just what... on earth is she?" That scent on her was so familiar... It felt as if he had smelled it somewhere before. At last night's banquet, the way she looked at him had actually caused a visceral, instinctive fear deep within him.

In a fleeting moment, it had even given him the illusion that he was looking at *that person*!

And then there was the Qiongqi; that useless piece of trash had actually acknowledged a mere child as its master, utterly disgracing the ancient mythical beasts!

Suddenly, as if sensing something, his figure instantly flashed and vanished from the spot.

Just as Ji Tianxin stepped through the estate gates, her nose twitched slightly, and she cast a glance back outside.

"I smelled it again." She frowned slightly.

She had smelled this scent last night inside the imperial palace as well.

It was on someone.

Suqing was puzzled. "What is it?"

A hint of confusion flashed in Ji Tianxin's eyes. "The scent of an ingredient."

It could technically be considered the scent of an ingredient, yet it was not pleasant at all.

Suqing assumed she was smelling the food cooking in the estate. "But it doesn't seem to be time for dinner yet."

Ji Tianxin looked down at Shiyue, who had jumped from her shoulder to the ground and was also gazing outside the gates. "Did you smell it?"

Shiyue withdrew its gaze, looked up at Ji Tianxin, and nodded slightly.

Having no idea what her mistress and Shiyue were speaking in riddles about, Suqing also twitched her little nose and sniffed hard, but she still couldn't smell a thing...

"Oh my! Miss Tianxin is back! Are you hungry, Miss? If you are, this servant will go right away and have the kitchen prepare something for you!" The steward hurried forward the moment he saw Ji Tianxin standing in the courtyard, playing the flatterer to the absolute extreme.

The surrounding servants couldn't help but twitch the corners of their mouths. The steward wasn't even this much of a bootlicker toward Lord General himself nowadays...

Even so...

"Miss Tianxin must be tired from going out."

"Indeed, Miss Tianxin, please go back and rest quickly. Make sure you don't tire yourself out..."

...

The greetings from the servants rose and fell one after another, though out of fear of disturbing Ji Tianxin, they strictly maintained the decorum expected of servants.

The steward was displeased. Were these fellows trying to vie with him for favor? He shot a cold glare at those ingratiating servants. Trying to compete with him for favor in front of Miss Tianxin?? Had they ever been kicked by Miss Tianxin before??

During this brief interval, Ji Tianxin and Suqing had already walked away and returned to the South Courtyard.

As for how the General's Manor viewed Ji Tianxin—initially, they truly revered and feared her like a ghost or a god, terrified to the point of wanting to hide ten miles away.

Gradually, however, everyone realized that while this Third Young Miss could be fierce when she wanted to be, she was actually quite well-behaved most of the time.

As long as you didn't provoke her, the Young Miss certainly wouldn't beat you. Therefore, over time, that initial terror and dread had gradually transformed into an awe mixed with a desire to please.