Li Luo wore a gentle smile and said, "It's nothing else. The previous fifty portions of grade four Spiritual Water and Strange Light have been used up, so I wanted to trouble Sister Cai Wei to help me purchase another hundred portions."
The expression on Cai Wei's fair, smooth, oval-shaped face froze bit by bit. Her beautiful eyes widened as she stared at Li Luo, her full chest heaving slightly.
"Purchase another hundred portions? Grade four Spiritual Water and Strange Light?"
Cai Wei's hands clenched involuntarily. How many days had it been since she took charge of Luolan Manor's finances in Tianshu Prefecture? Was she going to be driven straight to bankruptcy?
She endured and endured, but finally couldn't take it anymore. She slammed her hand down on the desk, her willow eyebrows standing upright.
"Li Luo, do you really want to force me to quit?"
Faced with Cai Wei's violent reaction, Li Luo was taken aback. Seeing the anger written all over her oval face, he felt somewhat awkward and quickly said, "Sister Cai Wei, what are you saying? Your capability is evident to all; how could I possibly want you to quit?"
Cai Wei stared at Li Luo with her beautiful eyes for quite a while before finally calming down. "Forgive me, Young Mansion Master. I spoke too harshly just now."
She paused. "However, Young Mansion Master, you want to purchase another hundred portions of Spiritual Water and Strange Light? This—this is no trivial matter."
"Furthermore, Young Mansion Master should know that while Spiritual Water and Strange Light can elevate resonance grades, using them haphazardly will instead cause the Resonance Palace to seal prematurely."
Cai Wei was aware of Li Luo's congenital empty resonance, so she had not wanted to speak too bluntly, lest she touch upon his sensitive spots.
After a moment of thought, Cai Wei's gaze suddenly sharpened. "Could someone be deceiving Young Mansion Master in secret, trying to obtain the Spiritual Water and Strange Light by using your identity?"
Although the people remaining in the old residence had all undergone rigorous screening, with both Mansion Masters missing for many years now, it was hard to guarantee that no one had harbored ulterior motives. Spiritual Water and Strange Light were extremely expensive items, and it was not entirely impossible that someone might attempt to deceive the Young Mansion Master to defraud him of them.
If such a thing were truly happening, Cai Wei would definitely make that audacious culprit pay a heavy price.
Li Luo shook his head and said earnestly, "Sister Cai Wei, don't let your imagination run wild. I truly have need of that Spiritual Water and Strange Light myself."
Cai Wei's willow eyebrows furrowed deeply. "Though it may be overstepping my bounds, I wonder if I might ask what Young Mansion Master intends to do with so much Spiritual Water and Strange Light?"
"I am not interrogating Young Mansion Master, but I am simply worried that you might make some mistake out of impatience. If something were to happen to you, I wouldn't know how to answer to Qing'e."
She knew how much pressure Li Luo's so-called congenital empty resonance had brought him, and youths were naturally prone to rashness. She feared that Li Luo might have picked up some unorthodox remedy from somewhere and wanted to try breaking the curse of this congenital empty resonance.
Hearing this, Li Luo pondered for a moment before finally saying, "It's fine to tell Sister Cai Wei the truth. Actually, this is a secret technique left to me by my parents, which will eventually allow me to awaken a resonance, and those Spiritual Water and Strange Light items are absolute necessities. Sister Qing'e is also aware of this matter."
Sooner or later, the emergence of his resonance would come to light and inevitably draw curiosity, so the secret technique left by his parents served as a very good cover story.
Besides, if he wanted to purchase more Spiritual Water and Strange Light in the future, he would still have to go through Cai Wei, so it was better to clear up her doubts now.
Cai Wei was startled. "A secret technique left by the two Mansion Masters?"
Yet she remained somewhat skeptical, keeping her gaze fixed on Li Luo's eyes. Seeing that his expression was calm and collected, not appearing false in the least, she could only nod in the end.
"If that is the case, I will have it purchased for you later." Cai Wei sighed softly. Dropping another hundred portions of grade four Spiritual Water and Strange Light would cost hundreds of thousands of heavy gold once again. Consequently, Luolan Manor's funds in Tianshu Prefecture would be cut in half, making it even more troublesome for her to deal with the aggressive encroachment of those three clans.
Even so, she still knew the priorities. She realized that if this could truly enable Li Luo to awaken a resonance, it would be worth it even if they had to abandon all of Luolan Manor's properties in Tianshu Prefecture.
Looking at the slightly furrowed brows on Cai Wei's sleek, oval face, Li Luo asked somewhat apologetically, "Is it because I've drawn away too many funds that Sister Cai Wei is facing difficulties here?"
Cai Wei raised her head. Looking at Li Luo's handsome face—which still retained a hint of youthful greenness but had inherited the fine genetic traits of his parents—she smiled softly, her mood improving a little. "It does feel a bit binding, but it's not too troublesome. Rest assured, Young Mansion Master, I will handle it."
Li Luo sighed inwardly. If just a hundred portions of Spiritual Water and Strange Light could leave Cai Wei so flustered now, compared to what would be needed in the future, this was merely a drop in the bucket.
"Can the Luolan Manor headquarters temporarily mobilize no funds?" Li Luo asked.
Cai Wei gently shook her head and said with a hint of apology, "Young Mansion Master, you should already know something of Luolan Manor's situation. Coupled with the fact that Pei Hao previously annexed the three pavilions, the loss of their revenues has only added frost to snow for the headquarters."
The implication was clearly that the headquarters could not mobilize funds either.
Li Luo nodded, deciding not to dwell further on the matter. After chatting and joking with Cai Wei for a while to build rapport, he took his leave.
Cai Wei stood in a daze as she watched him depart. She found herself thinking that the Young Mansion Master actually had quite a decent personality; he was gentle to others without any arrogance, and his appearance was striking and handsome. In time, his looks would surely not fall short of his father Li Taixuan, that man who had once set the hearts of countless noble ladies in the Great Xia Kingdom fluttering with yearning.
From these perspectives, he and Jiang Qing'e actually made a rather well-matched pair.
The only flaw was the problem of his congenital empty resonance. In this world, regardless of wealth or power, everything ultimately had to be built upon the foundation of strength.
Just like Luolan Manor—while Li Taixuan and Dantai Lan were still around, it was one of the five great manors of the Great Xia Kingdom, blazing with brilliant light that no one dared to covet or provoke.
Yet once those two pillars vanished, Luolan Manor's light began to dim, leaving it buffeted by wind and rain.
Given Jiang Qing'e's talent, her future was bound to be boundless; she might even break the record for the youngest Duke Stage expert in the Great Xia Kingdom. And if that day truly arrived, her engagement to Li Luo would likely become a heavy burden dragging her down.
As a close friend of Jiang Qing'e who had spent years in the turbulent vortex of the royal capital, Cai Wei knew all too well how dazzling Jiang Qing'e was there, and how many top-tier prodigies yearned for her.
Compared to that place, Nanfeng City was truly just a small town.
Her thoughts surged, but ultimately Cai Wei suppressed them all. She stood up, summoned her subordinates, and went to prepare the procurement Li Luo had requested.
The items Li Luo needed were all acquired by noon. After praising Cai Wei's administrative efficiency, he grabbed the two boxes of Spiritual Water and Strange Light and headed straight for the attic.
During the remaining days of his holiday, Li Luo dedicated all his time to cultivating his resonance power and elevating his resonance grade.
Earlier, it had taken Li Luo only two days to advance his resonance power level from the third seal to the fourth seal, mostly due to his accumulated reserves, allowing for extremely rapid progress. The subsequent advancement from the fourth seal to the fifth seal, however, would be somewhat slower.
Yet this "slow" was only relative to the previous leap.
When only the final day of the holiday remained, Li Luo's resonance power level finally made further progress, truly stepping into the fifth seal stage.
Apart from the enhancement of his resonance power, his grade four Water-Light Resonance also completed its first evolution after he consumed and absorbed the last dose of grade four Spiritual Water and Strange Light, advancing to grade five.
With this, Li Luo's week-long holiday came to an end.
Early in the morning, Li Luo stepped out of the old residence, facing the sunlight with a brilliant smile.
For him, this past week was undoubtedly a transformative rebirth; the former boy with an empty resonance had already begun to reverse his destiny.
Standing at the doorway, he looked in the direction Jiang Qing'e had left a week ago and let out a deep breath.
"Saint Xuan isim Academy—"
"I will definitely go there."
(A bit late because I went to get a haircut. I'm almost as handsome as Li Luo, pity you can't see it.)
When Li Luo stepped into Nanfeng Academy once again, despite it being a mere week, he had a strange, surreal feeling as if a lifetime had passed.
He gazed at the surging crowds coming and going, their boiling clamor manifesting the youthful vigor of boys and girls.
However, Li Luo also noticed that amidst the passing crowds, quite a few peculiar gazes were fixed on him, and he faintly caught snatches of discussion.
"Isn't that Li Luo? He's finally come to the academy."
"Why has his hair changed? Did he dye it?"
"He seemed to have taken about a week off, didn't he? With only a month left until the academy grand exam, he actually dared to take leave like this. Has he completely given up?"
"I heard Li Luo is about to drop out soon. He might not even participate in the academy grand exam."
"Surely not?"
Listening to the low murmurs, Li Luo felt somewhat speechless. He had only taken a week off, yet it had unexpectedly spawned rumors about him dropping out.
Nonetheless, he had no interest in offering explanations. Cutting straight through the crowd, he hurried toward the direction of the Second Academy.
Upon reaching the entrance of the Second Academy's drill ground, Li Luo slowed his pace because he spotted Xu Shanyue, an instructor of the Second Academy, standing right there, fixing him with a rather stern gaze.