Chapter 166 - Virtuous Phantasms1 versus Magic Pets

Zhao Hai lightly laughed. "Miss Laura is too serious. Later on, I will need much help from the Young Lady."

After Zhao Hai said that, Searle, who had walked out of the room earlier, came back with a big box. This box was around a meter long, half a meter wide, and about thirteen centimeters thick. Moreover, Searle handled the box with care, as if he were holding a newborn baby.

Zhao Hai looked curiously at Searle, then turned his head puzzledly towards Laura and asked, "Miss Laura, what is this?"

Laura smiled. "This is the gift I prepared for Mister."

Searle placed the box softly on the table and opened the lid slowly.

Zhao Hai looked into the box and saw that there was some hay inside it. There were five very large eggs placed on the hay, and each egg was around 40 centimeters3 long and greater than ten centimeters in diameter. What was more strange was that the color of each egg was different. Their hues were yellow, blue, red, green4, and purple.

Zhao Hai was puzzled as he examined the eggs while Green, startled, said, "Virtuous Phantasm colored eggs!"

Gawking, Zhao Hai asked, "Virtuous Phantasm colored eggs? What's that?"

Green looked at the five eggs and explained, "Virtuous Phantasms are special magic beasts and are very rare on the continent. This type of magic beast doesn't have any attack skills of their own.

"However, it has a very unusual ability. They can be used as an auxiliary. So long as a human obtains an egg of a Virtuous Phantasm, once they hatch, they can form a contract with the Virtuous Phantasm slowly. This is how you can use a Virtuous Phantasm. Moreover, they can help their master attract magic elements in order to aid them in battles. An adult Virtuous Phantasm can even turn into a weapon, helmet, or piece of armor. That's why on the continent, there is something known as biological magic staffs5 or living armor6."

Zhao Hai was in a daze. He hadn't thought that there would really be something like this, and couldn't help but look at the eggs with a pair of shining eyes.

Laura, on the other hand, was surprised to find out that Green knew so much about Virtuous Phantasms. Anyone who knew so stuff about Virtuous Phantasms would definitely not be any average person. Low rank warriors and magicians didn't even know the existence of these beasts. She didn't think that Green would know so much about it, which made her a lot more curious as to what was Green's real identity.

Green carefully examined the eggs, sighed, and said, "I am sure that these are Virtuous Phantasm colored eggs. They are different from the other magic beasts eggs because the eggs of Virtuous Phantasms have a natal attribute associated with their color. These eggs should be of the earth element, lightning element, water element, wind element, and fire element, all of which are very rare. Just these eggs alone would have a total value of over fifty thousand gold coins. They probably wouldn't even have a real market price."

Zhao Hai was shocked. He hadn't thought that these eggs would be so unexpectedly precious. No wonder Searle had been so careful when handling the boxes. If these eggs were to be damaged, it would only mean that they were throwing away fifty thousand gold coins.

Zhao Hai gently covered the box and slowly closed his eyes. He sat in his chair and didn't speak for some time. Laura looked at Zhao Hai's appearance and her heart couldn't help but clench.

Within this period of time, she had a certain understanding of Zhao Hai's attitude towards receiving gifts. Since this gift was somewhat expensive, Zhao Hai might not necessarily receive it. Even if he did, she feared that he would also wish to return a gift to her. Looking at Zhao Hai's appearance, it appeared that he was satisfied with this gift and was already thinking about what gift to give in return. If he wanted to give a gift in return, it wouldn't be another Virtuous Phantasm colored egg. 7.

Laura didn't dare disturb Zhao Hai as she understood the temperament of Zhao Hai. She knew that if Zhao Hai didn't want to receive the gift, then she wouldn't be able to persuade him, so Zhao Hai would probably end up not accept it.

After some time, Zhao Hai breathed out. He opened his eyes and looked at Laura. "Miss Laura, your gift really is too expensive. I don't want to receive it, but this gift is very important to me, so I will take it."

Laura's face was like a blossoming flower as she smiled upon hearing what Zhao Hai said. She was afraid that Zhao Hai wouldn't receive the gift, but was glad he did and hastily said, "This is a gift prepared for Mister, so please don't be too polite."

Zhao Hai waved his hand, smiled, and said, "I accepted such an expensive gift from Miss Laura, so if I don't give anything back to the Young Lady, then it won't be justified. I know that Miss Laura is a knight, so I should give you something that a knight needs."

He smiled after saying it and Green knew what Zhao Hai wanted to give. Green hastily said, "Master…"

Zhao Hai waved his hand. "It's all right, Miss Laura is to be trusted. Moreover, she is a person that knows the severity of things. We are lucky to have Miss Laura helping us, so giving her something in return is normal."

Laura was actually shocked after seeing how they were acting. She didn't have any idea what Zhao Hai might be giving her in return, probably something of precious value comparable with the Virtuous Phantasm colored eggs that she'd given.

Waving his hand, Zhao Hai told Green to hand over the Magic Peach8 Core and then placed it in front of Laura. He said, "This little thing is what I'm giving to Miss Laura."

Laura looked puzzledly at the little thing. Even after careful observations, she couldn't find out anything different about it. Finally, she looked at Zhao Hai, confused.

Zhao Hai laughed. "No wonder Young Lady doesn't know about this thing. This thing is something I obtained and is possibly an ancient magic product9. To tell you the truth, Young Lady, its function is mainly as a Pet Jewel."

Laura, still puzzled as she looked at the item in her hand, murmured, "Pet pig?" She was still thinking about Virtuous Phantasms and not about jewels, thus, she thought it was a pig.10

Zhao Hai smiled upon seeing that Laura's expression wasn't right, then said, "It is a Pet Jewel, not a Pet Pig. This thing can help Miss Laura receive a Magic Pet, no matter what rank, no matter how large. So long as Miss Laura wishes for it, you can rein them in by using this little thing. The method is very simple; just place a drop of Miss Laura's blood on the Pet Jewel, then collect a drop of blood from the Magic Beast and also place it on the Pet Jewel.

"Miss can also use the Pet Jewel normally. When in battle, the Magic Pet you subdued will be interlinked with the Young Lady's mind, and you can easily command them. Also, even if they are seriously injured, so long as they didn't die and as long as the Magic Pet touches the jewel in time, the Magic Pet can recover automatically."

Laura froze. A Magic Pet was an existence that was a lot more precious than a Virtuous Phantasm. Although it could be said that Virtuous Phantasms were very convenient as they could turn into armors and weapons, they also required some form of consumable in return. It wouldn't just be a common thing, but rather the battle qi of warriors or a magician's magic power.

Most importantly, Virtuous Phantasms fluctuated when changing into a weapon, which wasn't very good. The weapon would be of a very low grade. Even if it were finely forged and wielded by a superior warrior, the only advantage was that one could accumulate magic elements, enabling them to turn the weapon into a magic weapon.

However, magic beasts were different. Magic beasts had a high rank and a powerful strength. If one could get a big dragon to become a Magic Pet, that would almost be equal to being unmatched in the world.

Moreover, this thing, this Magic Peach Core, could cure the injuries of the magic beast and could also interlink the minds of the master and the Magic Pet. With regards to being a knight, there would be no hesitation upon trading five Virtuous Phantasms, or even ten for this thing.

Laura blankly held the Magic Peach Core. She didn't know that it was just a peach seed. Moreover, it was being regarded as an ancient magic product. The number of such ancient magic products on the continent was far too few and were even desired by deities. This was why Laura easily believed that it was an ancient magic product.

Green, who was beside Zhao Hai, wanted to laugh. He hadn't thought that Zhao Hai would say that it was an ancient magic product. Green laughed inside and thought that Zhao Hai was really talented. Nobody would suspect that this thing unexpectedly came from the inside of a plant.11

After some time, Laura revealed an awed expression, as if she were holding something rare instead of just holding a Magic Peach Core. Her eyes were sad as she gently placed the thing on the table and finally said to Zhao Hai, "This is too unfair to Mister. This gift is too expensive and more precious than the five Virtuous Phantasm colored eggs. Thus, I cannot receive it."

Zhao Hai faintly smiled. "Miss Laura is too polite. Please accept it as this thing would be more useful to you. However, don't think that this is such a good thing. Be careful when using it, otherwise it will bring you a great deal of trouble."

Laura was not stupid and immediately understood. Just like what Zhao Hai had said, if she didn't use it carefully, this thing would become a curse.

Zhao Hai looked at Laura's appearance, smiled, and said, "For Miss Laura, this thing will be very useful. However, the danger it represents is very large. If Miss Laura doesn't want to receive it, then I will not force you."

Laura looked at the Magic Peach Core on the table, then looked at Zhao Hai and clenched her teeth. Finally, she decided to take the Magic Peach Core and carefully embraced it. Then she bowed to Zhao Hai and said, "Laura will have to apologize to Mister Zhao Hai."

Zhao Hai waved his hand and said, "Miss Laura is too polite. This was an equal exchange, thus, you don't owe me anything."

Laura smiled bitterly. How could she not owe anything to him? Although five Virtuous Phantasm colored eggs were precious, they could not be compared to the unique ancient magic products of the continent. The difference wasn't as simple as just being a few streets apart.

Zhao Hai firmly said to Laura, "Miss Laura, I do hope that you won't tell anyone that I am the one who gave you this Pet Jewel. Ok?"

Laura nodded and said, "Mister, rest assured that I will not say anything. But if one day, some people chase me down in order to kill me because of this Pet Jewel, I ask Mister to save me."

Zhao Hai smiled at Laura, and couldn't help but laugh as he knew that Laura was cracking a joke. Everyone knew about Laura. Don't even look at just his relationship with her, there was also Quinn John, who wasn't an average person. In addition, she was of the Markey Dell clan. On the continent, the number of people who dared to move against her would only be a few.

Notes:

- This chapter was MTL'ed. Please leave a comment for constructive criticisms and advice.

- Please support the author if you love this novel.

- Please check out the Editor's footnotes, thanks.

1 幻兽 - Huàn shòu. Literally, Fantasy Beast. Huanshou are also known as Eudaemons which are mythical good spirits or angels with their counterparts being cacodaemon. Anyways, the idea is that these are "good spirits", which is why we decided on Virtuous Phantasms. The Virtuous is self-explanatory, but the Phantasm part is because these beings are a mix of beast and spirits, as will be explained by Green. I couldn't think of any suitable name, and Shif wanted awesome, so you get Virtuous Phantasms, probably the most overwhelming name we'll ever have in the story. Eff Dragons, we got Virtuous Phantasms...↩

2 魔宠 - Mó chǒng. Literally, Magic Pet. Another name is Familiar, but Magic Pet fits best in my opinion, mainly because of all the other magic named things in the story.↩

3 The actual measurement was 40 fen (分) thick. A fen can mean a third of a centimeter, but it can also just mean a minute (time), or fraction, or minute (angle, 1/60th a degree). So yea, I hated this.↩

4 I personally hate this character, Qing (青). It can either mean blue or green or green-blue, which makes translation a chore. Basically, Lan (蓝), in this sentence here, means blue, so Qing here would be Green. What's troubling is that 青 is also in 青石山庄, which is Bluestone Villa. So yea, eff this word. Oh yea, Green can be 绿 (Lǜ) for Green or 绿色 (Lǜsè) for Green Color.↩

5 生物魔法杖 - Shēngwù mófǎ zhàng. 生物, Shēngwù uses the same characters as the creature/biological part of Undead. Mófǎ is, of course, magic. Zhàng would be cane or staff or wand, the same as Zhao Hai's Ghost Cane.↩

6 活盔甲 - Huó kuījiǎ. Living (活) Armour (盔甲).↩

7 Basically, if Zhao Hai likes it and wants to return an equivalent gift, he may not have the capability to do so, which may mean he wouldn't accept the gift at all. Remember, he didn't even get 50,000 gold coins from the recent events, never mind producing something on the level of 5 Virtuous Phantasm coloured eggs.↩

8 I just realized I still hadn't translated this. 魔桃 - Mó táo. Basically, Magic Peach. Tao is the same as the one in Taoyuan.↩

9 上古魔法用品 - Shànggǔ mófǎ yòngpǐn. Not to be confused with 上古魔法用具 - Shànggǔ mófǎ yòngjù. This word (用品) is product or supply or goods, while this word (用具) means tool, appliance, utensil.↩

10 宠物珠 - chǒngwù zhū is Pet Jewel. On the other hand, it could also mean Spoiled Object Jewel. What Laura was thinking of was 宠物猪 - chǒngwù zhū, which is Pet Pig. Same word (zhū) and all.↩

11 Before people get mad for thinking he gave a simple magic peach core to her, please realize that it does everything he stated it does. I say this because some may have forgotten about it. Should I give the chapter where it says all that? Yeah, I'll give it. http://trungnguyenwriter.blogspot.com/2016/04/bringing-farm-chap-90-sponsored.html↩