At first, when he heard that sweet voice, Chu Ning didn't realize it was calling him.
Until the other person spoke again.
"Is that Junior Brother Chu Ning from the Spirit Plant Room? Please stop for a moment."
Chu Ning looked up in surprise.
He saw a petite and delicate female disciple in a blue sect robe walking quickly toward him from not far to the right.
Although she was petite, her chest was quite ample.
The female disciple came in front of Chu Ning, slightly raised her head, and asked with a smile:
"Are you Junior Brother Chu Ning from the Spirit Plant Room?"
Chu Ning found it a bit strange that she knew him, so he nodded.
"My name is Mu Ling, I'm also a disciple from the Hundred Arts Hall. It was Senior Brother Zhuang Yunde who told me to wait for you here."
Upon hearing the petite girl's words, Chu Ning suddenly realized and bowed slightly to greet her:
"Greetings, Senior Sister Mu."
As he bowed his head, he happened to see Mu Ling's eyes shining brightly at him, and Chu Ning couldn't help but mutter to himself in his heart.
This senior sister seemed very interested in him.
But his display of Third Layer of Qi Refining strength shouldn't be interesting to her.
After all, Chu Ning's Qi Observation Technique couldn't see through her depth, indicating her cultivation was above the Sixth Layer of Qi Cultivation.
As he mulled over this, Mu Ling quickly spoke up:
"Junior Brother Chu, are you here to hand over the Talisman Paper as the Ink Spirit Bamboo harvest?"
Chu Ning nodded again, now convinced that Zhuang Yunde had indeed informed her about him.
"Then just right, you can give the Talisman Paper to me. Senior Brother Zhuang went out for a while, giving it to me is the same."
As she spoke, Mu Ling stared at the cloth bag Chu Ning was holding, reaching out her small hand with an eager expression.
Upon hearing this, Chu Ning immediately became vigilant, showing a troubled expression:
"This... Senior Sister, Senior Brother Zhuang specifically instructed that the Talisman Paper should be handed to him personally to deduct the harvest in the hall."
"Giving it to me is also for deducting the harvest." Mu Ling's delicate brows furrowed.
"Do you think I would embezzle something from a new disciple like you?"
Not necessarily.
Chu Ning kept muttering in his heart, feeling this was somewhat strange.
However, he was absolutely unwilling to just hand it over to Mu Ling.
Not to mention that he couldn't be sure if Mu Ling was truly from the Hundred Arts Hall.
Even if she was, what if after giving the Talisman Paper to her, she didn't submit it to the hall or submitted less?
"Senior Sister surely wouldn't bully a new disciple like me, but I've just entered the sect and truly don't understand these rules.
I better come back when Senior Brother Zhuang is here, no need to trouble you, Senior Sister."
Upon hearing Chu Ning's words, Mu Ling's face immediately puffed up in a cute expression of anger.
Chu Ning naturally noticed but was unmoved, knowing she was eyeing his Talisman Paper.
Just then, Mu Ling quickly changed her angry expression to a sweet smile.
"Junior Brother, how about this? I won't concern myself with the Talisman Paper for the sect's harvest deduction, but you should have some extra Talisman Paper, right?"
Chu Ning was just about to speak when Mu Ling's two shiny black eyes stared straight at him.
"Don't say you don't have any, or I'll just take them by force."
Chu Ning's expression changed slightly, and he gripped his cloth bag a bit tighter.
Mu Ling's cultivation was clearly higher than his.
Moreover, she brazenly claimed she would snatch them, as if ready to act directly.
This made him feel quite troubled.
Seeing her threat working, Mu Ling showed a slightly smug smile and continued:
"Don't worry, I won't take them for free; I'll trade spirit stones for them.
If you hand in the Talisman Paper to the sect, roughly 55 sheets would exchange for one Lower Grade Spirit Stone, but I'll give you one Lower Grade Spirit Stone for just 50 sheets."
Hearing Mu Ling's offer to buy with spirit stones, Chu Ning relaxed a bit, asking somewhat puzzled:
"Senior Sister, 50 sheets per spirit stone is the same price you'd get in the sect or the market..."
"Never mind that, I find it troublesome. Isn't that enough?" Mu Ling seemed impatient.
"Are you going to sell them or not?"
Chu Ning sighed softly in his heart, you've already put it this way, how can I refuse?
If he didn't sell, wouldn't she just forcibly take them?
So, Chu Ning asked, "How many Talisman Papers does Senior Sister wish to buy?"
"However many you have, I'll buy them all!" Mu Ling waved her storage bag generously.
"I have plenty of spirit stones."
Chu Ning looked at the spirit stones, lifting the smaller of the two cloth bags he held, preparing to open it.
He had indeed brought along some extra Talisman Papers, initially planning to ask Zhuang Yunde if the sect would buy them back.
After all, claiming to have produced none extra would be unbelievable, but Chu Ning didn't want to overly expose himself.
Right now, this small bag contained 2050 sheets meant for trade outside the sect, which he planned to declare as his entire stock.
Currently, he intended to separate the 550 sheets meant for Zhuang Yunde and give the rest to Mu Ling.
But before he could proceed.
As soon as the bag opened, Mu Ling grasped a spell and instantly transferred the entire bundle of Talisman Papers into her storage bag.
Chu Ning's expression changed slightly, yet Mu Ling took out a sheet from her storage bag, examined it carefully, and said with satisfaction:
"The quality of this Talisman Paper is pretty good. I took them first in case Junior Brother goes back on his word."
Saying this, Mu Ling paused her speech, seemingly using magical power to sense a storage bag, before continuing:
"There are 2050 sheets in total, equating to 41 Lower Grade Spirit Stones."
After that, Mu Ling took a small pile of spirit stones from her storage bag and handed them to Chu Ning.
Seeing this, Chu Ning hastily accepted them, tucking them into his sleeve.
Observing Chu Ning place the stones directly in his sleeve, Mu Ling asked curiously:
"Oh, does Junior Brother not have a storage bag?"
Chu Ning shook his head, saying: "This is my first season's harvest, and I don't have enough spirit stones yet to buy a storage bag."
Mu Ling blinked, then quickly pulled a small bag from her bosom, addressing Chu Ning:
"Junior Brother Chu, I have a spare storage bag here.
If Junior Brother is willing to do me a small favor, I can give this storage bag to you."
Chu Ning didn't respond immediately, feeling such a falling pie was a bit unusual.
Mu Ling didn't insist, smiling at Chu Ning as she said:
"No rush to decide, Junior Brother. You should go see Senior Brother Zhuang first. I saw he seemed to be inside just now."
With that, Mu Ling turned and left, leaving Chu Ning in a slight daze.
Thinking a bit, Chu Ning decided to continue walking towards where Zhuang Yunde lived.
Originally, he planned to return home and bring the 550 sheets meant for Zhuang Yunde back later.
But hearing that Zhuang Yunde was actually at home, he thought it better to find him now.
The odd appearance of Mu Ling, although not a loss considering he was forced to sell, still made him uneasy.
He needed to clear things up with Zhuang Yunde to feel at ease.