A few days later.
Li Xuan was lazing in his bamboo basket, basking in the sun.
Ever since he obtained this thing from Yuqing Pond, it had become Li Xuan's exclusive cat bed.
After a few days of recuperation, his body had improved significantly.
At least it wasn't like before, where even the slightest movement caused agonizing pain.
It was currently time for Zhao Feng to guide Yu'er in her training, and both Li Xuan and Ankang were watching quietly from the side.
Ankang would occasionally stroke Li Xuan, sneaking in a bit of cat petting.
After a good while, Zhao Feng finally finished guiding Yu'er and let her continue her training on her own.
As the days of Yu'er's Cultivation grew longer, Zhao Feng's guidance no longer needed to be as meticulous as it was in the beginning; he only needed to give general pointers, and Yu'er would understand his meaning.
Zhao Feng sat down next to Li Xuan and also snuck a pinch of his little ear.
In the past, Li Xuan would have definitely bared his fangs and snarled at Zhao Feng to show his protest.
But for the past few days, he hadn't had the strength for that.
Therefore, Zhao Feng had been exceptionally arrogant lately, teasing Li Xuan whenever he had nothing to do, watching him roll his eyes wildly yet remain helpless.
"Li Xuan, something interesting happened recently. I wonder if you've heard about it?"
Zhao Feng teased intentionally.
Li Xuan gave him an even bigger eye-roll.
Aside from relieving himself, he had been lying in this bamboo basket almost the entire time; where would he have the chance to listen to court gossip?
Clearly, Zhao Feng was just deliberately teasing him.
Although he understood this, Li Xuan's little ears couldn't help but perk up secretly.
Seeing Li Xuan's "repulsed in eyes but honest in body" expression, Zhao Feng laughed heartily.
After he had finished laughing, he finally brought up the matter.
"A few days ago, the First Prince, the Fourth Prince, the Sixth Princess, and the Eighth Prince got into a brawl at Xiaoyao Villa. They were severely punished by Your Majesty and have been confined for quite a few days."
"I'm afraid they won't be able to come out until the competition next month."
Zhao Feng shook his head, wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes.
Li Xuan couldn't help but feel puzzled after hearing this. Does having those four people together count as a brawl?
Wouldn't it be more likely that the Eighth Prince was being ganged up on by the other three?
At this moment, Zhao Feng added another sentence.
"Oh, right."
"Xiaoyao Villa is the Eighth Prince's residence."
Li Xuan widened his eyes in surprise. The First Prince and the others actually went to the Eighth Prince's home to corner him.
What kind of imperial city bully is the First Prince!
Seeing Li Xuan's expression of someone just waiting for the tea, Zhao Feng couldn't help but shake his head.
"In my opinion, the reason the Princes and Princess were fighting is probably because of you."
"Meow! (What does that have to do with me!)"
Li Xuan was the first to disagree.
He had been obediently recuperating in his sickbed; how could this still involve him?
Seeing Li Xuan so unconvinced, Zhao Feng's gaze glanced towards his tail, reminding him:
"Have you forgotten?"
Li Xuan followed Zhao Feng's gaze and saw the bone ring on his tail, and immediately displayed a blissful expression.
He had never imagined that the greatest gain from his trip to Yuqing Pond would actually be this ring.
When the Three Little Ones came out of Yuqing Pond that day, didn't they come out empty-handed?
At the time, Li Xuan thought that Ankang and Yu'er had left the fruits of his hard work from the night behind in Yuqing Pond, and he had meowed incessantly.
It turned out that after getting home, Ankang explained to him that those things were all in the ring on his tail.
This unassuming bone ring had an imposing name: the di hong bone ring.
Legend has it that Di Hong was an ancient Divine Beast that possessed the power to control space.
It's just that after such a long passage of time, the Human Race only remembers this one name.
But this bone ring was ironclad proof that Di Hong once existed.
This bone ring was polished from the remains of Di Hong, and thus it contained magical spatial power within.
This was all information that Zhao Feng had told them.
Later, Li Xuan tried to open the di hong bone ring according to the method Zhao Feng taught him.
As a result, he discovered that there were three spaces of about one cubic meter inside, and he could store and retrieve items at will according to his own thoughts.
And in the first space, the various treasures that Li Xuan had obtained from opening the Treasure Trove in Yuqing Pond that night were placed there.
Moreover, Zhao Feng also told Li Xuan that according to ancient records, there were a total of ten spaces inside the di hong bone ring: six small ones and four large ones.
Ordinary people could open the first space after completing the binding.
Afterwards, for every grade of strength one improved, they would unlock the next space, until reaching the first grade, which would unlock all spaces.
It was said that the binding process was very complicated and was also a closely guarded secret.
When Li Xuan was unconscious at the time, it was Chief Steward Shang who stepped in to help him complete the process of binding the di hong bone ring.
After hearing about the various wonders of the di hong bone ring at the beginning, Li Xuan couldn't help but feel a bit dazed.
He was even worried that Emperor Yongyuan had lost his mind, placing such a precious treasure inside Moon Yin Pond.
Li Xuan really wanted to believe that this was something Emperor Yongyuan had prepared specifically for him.
But he felt something wasn't quite right.
The di hong bone ring was simply too precious.
This was not a treasure that someone of his current strength should have obtained.
Although Li Xuan had such concerns, there was no reason for him to return a treasure that had been given to him.
He could only treat it as a gesture of goodwill from Emperor Yongyuan.
But he also understood one truth: all of fate's gifts have already been marked with a price in secret.
It was inevitable that he would have to pay the corresponding price for this di hong bone ring in the future.
But for now.
He might as well just enjoy it in secret first.
Seeing Li Xuan smiling foolishly without stopping, Zhao Feng knew he was feeling smug again.
For the past two days, Li Xuan would occasionally have this episode, hugging his tail and refusing to let go, kissing and rubbing it, which made Ankang feel a bit jealous.
If it weren't for the fact that she couldn't pull the di hong bone ring off Li Xuan's tail, Ankang would have wanted to take this ring and properly ask Li Xuan whether she was more important, or if this ring was more important.
Unfortunately, Ankang couldn't even manage the first step.
After being bound, the di hong bone ring was tightly fastened to Li Xuan's tail, and it was incredibly hard.
Ankang had secretly tried a few times, but Li Xuan noticed every time, and she returned empty-handed.
Seeing Li Xuan smiling foolishly, Zhao Feng stopped keeping him in suspense and said directly:
"I guess nobody expected that these things were in your hands."
"The Princes and Princess misunderstood each other, which is why they started fighting."
Hearing this, Li Xuan immediately felt even more justified.
"Meow... (It's not like I forced them to fight.)"
Seeing Li Xuan's expression, Zhao Feng also guessed his meaning to some extent.
"You're not wrong there."
Li Xuan was stunned; Zhao Feng being able to understand his meaning with such tacit understanding really made him, as a cat, feel a bit unaccustomed.
"Right, Li Xuan."
"When you feel your body is mostly recovered in a few days, remember to come to the Internal Affairs Bureau. My godfather has something to tell you."
Seeing the look of confusion on Li Xuan's face, Zhao Feng continued:
"There's no rush for this matter."
Li Xuan nodded. He had previously been wondering that since Chief Steward Shang had something to say to him, why didn't he come to Jingyang Palace to find him.
It turned out Zhao Feng gave the explanation directly.
Li Xuan indicated that he had noted this matter.
His ability to successfully reach the bottom of Moon Yin Pond this time and obtain the di hong bone ring was thanks to the guidance of Chief Steward Shang.
If it hadn't been for Chief Steward Shang telling him to Cultivate the Turtle Breathing Technique in advance, Li Xuan would not have been able to dive to such a deep position.
After practicing the Turtle Breathing Technique to Perfection, it not only allowed Li Xuan to seize the opportunity to obtain the di hong bone ring, but also maximized the effects of Moon Yin Pond.
This favor was something Li Xuan would always remember.
Regardless of what Chief Steward Shang's purpose was, he had genuinely helped Li Xuan.
For Li Xuan, clarifying this point was enough.
Moreover, Li Xuan guessed that the matter Chief Steward Shang wanted to discuss with him was likely related to the di hong bone ring on his tail.
Ever since he obtained the di hong bone ring, apart from the introduction Zhao Feng had given him, no one else had mentioned it to him.
Li Xuan felt that even if Great Xing was wealthy and powerful, it wouldn't be so dismissive of a treasure passed down from ancient times.
After conveying the message, Zhao Feng finished supervising Yu'er's morning training and then took his leave.
After seeing Zhao Feng off, Yu'er, who had worked up a sweat, sat down to rest and casually stroked Li Xuan.
Li Xuan's fur was as soft as satin and very warm, feeling excellent to the touch.
Usually, Ankang and Yu'er liked to pet him a few times, but recently Li Xuan had been injured, so they had restrained themselves, suppressing the urge to pet the cat.
But for the past few days, Li Xuan's body had recovered quite a bit, and he could already withstand their clutches.
After Yu'er sat down, she asked:
"Your Highness, what were you two talking about just now? I saw Li Xuan looking like he was about to laugh himself silly."
Yu'er teased.
Li Xuan immediately meowed in dissatisfaction to show his protest.
"Hee hee, we were talking about the di hong bone ring."
"Sister Yu'er, you also know how much Li Xuan treasures that ring on his tail lately."
Ankang explained.
"So it was about this ring."
Yu'er picked up Li Xuan's tail and shook the di hong bone ring fastened on it.
At first, the two girls also felt it was very magical.
They couldn't understand no matter how they thought about it, why such a small ring could fit so many things inside.
"If we're talking about the ancient period, there really were many magical existences; there were even Divine Beasts that could control space."
Yu'er sighed, and Ankang, who was on the side, chimed in:
"Exactly, Sister Yu'er."
"I've been reading books lately and discovered that the Beast Race all have various strange and peculiar abilities."
"For example, the gathering soul bell in our home; I heard it only had that effect because it was mixed with a special type of turtle shell, but I heard that kind of turtle seems to be extinct now."
Ankang had gained quite a bit of knowledge from reading books lately.
Especially in books about the Northern Territory, the existence of various Beast Races was always mentioned.
In the process of learning about the Northern Territory, Ankang had instead come to learn about many strange Beast Races.
"It's like we of the Human Race are the most ordinary."
Yu'er couldn't help but say.
"That's not right, Sister Yu'er."
Ankang waved her finger, looking like an old scholar, and began to lecture.
"The Human Race not only has generally the highest intelligence, but also has an appropriate lifespan, and can Cultivate."
"And our creativity is our best talent."
"That gathering soul bell, and the di hong bone ring on Li Xuan's tail, weren't they all created by the Human Race?"
Hearing Ankang's remarks, Yu'er immediately changed her mind.
"Now that Your Highness puts it that way, the Human Race is indeed quite remarkable."
As Yu'er said this, she couldn't help but look down at her own palm, seemingly somewhat unable to believe that she was also one of such remarkable Human Race.
She couldn't help but silently feel a sense of pride in her heart, no longer just feeling that she was a small Palace maid, but one of the greater existences.
Li Xuan was also listening from the side, revealing a look of gratification.
Ankang was very intelligent, and more importantly, she was willing to actively absorb knowledge from books.
This point was actually very important.
Otherwise, no matter how intelligent one was, if they didn't make good use of this ability, it would all be in vain.
Guarding a Treasure Trove without using it was nothing more than a waste of heaven's gifts.
Such people were not even as good as those who had no talent but were willing to work hard.
Li Xuan was very gratified; at least Ankang was not such a fool.
At this time, Yu'er suddenly recalled Ankang's previous words and asked suspiciously:
"Your Highness, you just said the Human Race generally has the highest intelligence. What does that mean?"
"Is there any existence with higher intelligence than the Human Race?"
Ankang seemed very happy that Yu'er could take the initiative to ask questions. She nodded excitedly and then began to show off the new knowledge she had just learned.
"Yes, and there is more than one."
"I was reading books about the Northern Territory, and I heard that there is more than one such existence in the Arctic Tundra."
"Among them, there are Beast Races, and there are also other races."
"The book says that all things in heaven and earth can have intelligence; mountains, rivers, wind, snow, thunder, and rain can all give birth to intelligence from within them."
"And after these natural existences possess intelligence, they will transform into the'Spirit Race', possessing an almost infinite lifespan."
"It's just that they are too rare, so not many people have seen them."
Mentioning the existence of the Spirit Race, Ankang's eyes sparkled with brilliance, making it impossible for anyone to look away.
Whether it was Li Xuan or Yu'er, it was the first time they had seen Ankang like this.
At this moment, Ankang was exceptionally dazzling in their eyes.
"It seems this girl's curiosity is quite significant."
"Feeling curious about this world..."
Li Xuan watched Ankang excitedly gesticulating as she explained, thinking silently in his heart.
"One day, I will accompany you to traverse every corner of this world."
Li Xuan changed to a comfortable position, lying in the bamboo basket, and watched Ankang gently and vividly describe the magnificent world she had seen in the books.