CHAPTER 1338: CHAPTER 1339: 17 NOBLES

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

Najia, who was passing by with a small feather duster, asked curiously. Long Boduo explained everything they had been discussing. Yang Hongzhi, while a bit surprised, found it unsurprising. After all, for such a luxurious manor to be abandoned so casually, it could only be done by someone at the level of the Seventeen Nobles.

While admiring the surroundings enviously, Yang Hongzhi remarked,

"The foundations of these nobles are truly beyond our imagination..."

"It’s just a manor; why would you say that?"

Najia looked at Yang Hongzhi with puzzlement, seemingly not understanding. Smiling bitterly, Yang Hongzhi replied,

"It’s just a manor, but to this day, I don’t have nearly enough money to acquire something like this..."

Feng Yuan, holding Xiao Ji, overheard this and said disdainfully,

"Cut it out. With your thousand-year wishlist weapon, it’s not just this manor—several of them could be within reach."

"That item doesn’t cost that much,"

Yang Hongzhi tried to argue, but Feng Yuan rolled his eyes and retorted,

"Are you talking about the original price? Not including the original price, do you think I don’t know the actual value of that thing?"

Scratching his head, Yang Hongzhi chuckled awkwardly without responding. He had indeed forgotten that Feng Yuan was quite knowledgeable about these rare weapons. Qi Chen and Dou Yanlan walked over, looking at the group with curiosity, and asked,

"What are you all doing?"

"Nothing much, just someone with a thousand-year wishlist weapon pretending to be poor,"

Feng Yuan said offhandedly while glancing at Yang Hongzhi, who remained silent. Qi Chen looked a bit puzzled and asked,

"It’s just a weapon, isn’t it?"

"Hmm? Want me to gift you one of the thousand-year wishlist weapons?"

Feng Yuan looked at Qi Chen with a mischievous grin. Scratching his head, Qi Chen, though unclear on how rare the thousand-year wishlist weapons were, recalled how expensive they seemed in that weapon shop and immediately refused without hesitation.

"Tch!"

"Where would you even get a thousand-year wishlist weapon? It’s unlikely anyone would easily gift one to you,"

Agunas asked, puzzled as he looked at Feng Yuan. As Veronia cleaned the window nearby, she remarked,

"Does he need anyone to gift him one? I think he’d be more likely to bring the materials straight to Bola Machinery and have it crafted, probably insisting you go along to oversee the process."

Agunas waved his tail in exasperation and stared at Feng Yuan. Seeing the mischievous gleam in Feng Yuan’s eyes, he couldn’t help but say,

"What are you thinking? There’s no way I’d help you with something like that."

"How about asking Najia to help?"

"Uh..."

Najia seemed troubled by Feng Yuan’s suggestion. Long Boduo looked at Feng Yuan with confusion and asked,

"Aren’t you skilled in forging? Crafting a weapon on par with a thousand-year wishlist weapon shouldn’t be too hard for you, right?"

"Not hard at all; it’s actually quite simple, but it wouldn’t fetch nearly the price of one from the thousand-year wishlist series."

Rubbing Xiao Ji’s neck, Feng Yuan said with a headache. Yang Hongzhi looked at Feng Yuan and said,

"That item—it’s impossible to sell it."

"Selling it could earn you multiple estates like this; aren’t you tempted?"

With a sly grin, Feng Yuan said to Yang Hongzhi. But Yang Hongzhi shook his head and replied,

"Not tempted. These things aren’t as important as weapons. Especially when you’re outdoors—your weapon could determine your safety."

"So why envy them in the first place?"

Feng Yuan said smugly. Scratching his head, Yang Hongzhi realized why Feng Yuan had brought up this topic. And on second thought, it indeed seemed true. As for whether the Seventeen Nobles of Dantia possessed weapons from the thousand-year wishlist series?

That couldn’t be said for sure. After all, Bola Machinery doesn’t just sell items based on wealth; they also consider one’s potential, strength, and connections. Like Yang Hongzhi—if not for Najia, they wouldn’t have gifted him a Thousand-Year Wishlist Type Three weapon.

The Seventeen Nobles of Dantia sound impressive, but with Drochkar’s decline, they are merely prominent nobles within the Dantia Region. There’s no certainty that they would even catch Bola Machinery’s interest.

"Speaking of which, why don’t we head over to Bola Machinery after exploring the snowy mountains?"

Suddenly, Feng Yuan proposed. Though they were uncertain of what he had in mind, Qi Chen instinctively felt that it probably wasn’t anything good. Sure enough, Feng Yuan waved his finger and said,

"What do you say? How about I go there and compete with them in weapon forging?"

"You’d be thrown out immediately."

Agunas shook his tail in exasperation, unsure how to respond. Bola Machinery wouldn’t be foolish enough to engage in such a competition—it wouldn’t benefit them to win, and losing would harm their reputation. They would likely choose to avoid the challenge altogether and kick Feng Yuan out.

Doing so wouldn’t tarnish Bola Machinery’s image and would spare them unnecessary trouble. As for recruiting talent—given Feng Yuan’s behavior, it seemed unlikely.

"Hehe~ Wouldn’t it be fun?"

Scratching his head, Feng Yuan laughed. After staring at him for a while, Najia said,

"Please, don’t cause trouble for Bola Machinery, alright?"

"Hmm... since you put it that way, I wasn’t planning to trouble them anyway. But maybe I could establish a Starry Sky Wish series of weapons there?"

Feng Yuan’s eyes lit up as he spoke. He did want to gift Qi Chen weapons—not ordinary ones. He planned to give Qi Chen something even better than a thousand-year wishlist weapon. But to wait until the weapon gained fame would take far too long.

If Bola Machinery helped promote it, the time needed to make it well-known could be drastically reduced. As Feng Yuan pondered how to proceed, Najia asked helplessly,

"Why are you so fixated on the reputation of a weapon?"

"Hmm, because a good weapon doesn’t necessarily look impressive. If others don’t know its worth, wouldn’t that be inconvenient?"

Feng Yuan said, glancing at Najia. His own Black Scythe is an example—most people see it as intimidating, but few know it’s actually more powerful than the Nien Wheel weapon.

Covering his forehead, Qi Chen said,

"If it’s truly extremely valuable, I absolutely wouldn’t accept something like that."

Although Qi Chen wasn’t sure how strong Feng Yuan’s Black Scythe was, he guessed its significance based on how often Feng Yuan used it. After spending three years together, Qi Chen felt confident he could somewhat predict Feng Yuan’s intentions.

Scratching his head, Feng Yuan said regretfully,

"Okay, but the weapon I give you—make sure to use it, alright? It’s only meaningful if you use it."

He wasn’t crafting rare collectibles; even his Black Scythe was meant for practical use—to cut through things rather than lie unused. He didn’t believe good items were meant to be hoarded away.

"I understand, but I probably wouldn’t use weapons much."

After hesitating for a moment, Qi Chen replied. Yang Hongzhi looked at Qi Chen and said,

"That may not be the case. Once you enroll, you’ll understand."

After chatting for a while, they parted ways to continue cleaning the activity room. It took quite a while, but they eventually managed to finish tidying up. During that time, Queen Hua Xiao even brought them lunch.

Holding a small ice flower beast, Feng Yuan gazed out at the darkening blizzard outside the window and remarked,

"She still hasn’t figured it out, has she?"

"Maybe, but there’s nothing we can do to persuade her."

Yang Hongzhi roasted skewered meat over the campfire as he spoke. The skewers were meant for Xiao Hui, who lay nearby. As for the campfire? Agunas had spatially treated the area to ensure the fire wouldn’t damage the flooring or nearby furniture—otherwise, they wouldn’t dare light a fire indoors.

Though an ultimate move could extinguish flames instantly, it was someone else’s estate. They weren’t shameless enough to wreak havoc here.

"Hmm, could these little ones comfort her?"

Feng Yuan glanced at the playful small ice flower beast in his arms and said. Xiao Ji wagged its tail feathers, rubbing its head against Feng Yuan’s hand and letting out a pitiful chirp. Chuckling, Feng Yuan scratched Xiao Ji’s head and said,

"You... if you turned into your Eggshell Chicken form, I could carry you around; but in this form, forget it. Aren’t you afraid of accidentally getting burned by the fire?"

They were gathered around the fire for warmth. Given Xiao Ji’s eagle-like form and size, an accidental tumble into the campfire wouldn’t be unimaginable. Hearing Feng Yuan’s warning, Xiao Ji imagined the scenario and shook its head in panic, seemingly frightened.

Agunas shot Feng Yuan a speechless look, unwilling to point out the fact that ordinary flames couldn’t possibly harm Xiao Ji. What did he think Divine Beasts were—fragile creatures?