Chapter 95: The Creditor Comes Knocking
It was midday, and the sun hung so brightly in the sky that a mortal person wouldn’t even be able to look at it directly.
Standing in that bright sunlight, Gu Muqing shone like an immortal. Though her pale orange daoist robe covered her from head to toe, she was attractive in a way the garment couldn’t conceal. The curves accentuated by the fabric made it possible to imagine the kind of slender, elegant figure that was hidden beneath. The skin not covered by the sleeves of her robe was as fair as a lotus in the snow, and coupled with the waterfall of black hair going down her back, made her exceptionally beautiful.
As Zhang San looked at her bathed in sunlight, he seemed a bit distracted, and was even blushing a bit. In contrast, Xu Qing, who still stood in the shadows, didn’t look any different than usual. In fact, his cold eyes were currently measuring up the young woman’s throat. To him, it didn’t matter if she was beautiful.
This wasn’t his first time encountering her. There weren’t a lot of conclave disciples in the capital city, and he recognized the time he’d encountered her at the entrance of the medicine shop a few months ago. [1]
He had brushed past her, nothing more. But the fact that she knew his name caused his guard to go up even more than usual. He needed to determine quickly whether or not she was a threat.
After assessing her, he came to the conclusion that if it came down to a fight, he could kill her. Her cultivation base wasn’t bad, but in terms of her state of readiness or the way she carried herself, she couldn’t come close to the rogue cultivators on Sealizard Island. Then he considered that she was a conclave disciple from the Second Peak, and given that the Second Peak focused on the dao of alchemy, he quickly checked the area for signs of poison.
“You don’t need to look so surprised, Junior Brother Xu Qing,” Gu Muqing said with a sweet smile. Her voice was clear and charming. “Elder Brother Zhang San didn’t tell me about you. I heard your name somewhere else.”
At this point, Zhang San’s heart was racing, and he was thinking that this girl really did deserve her reputation as being chosen by heaven on the Second Peak. And he was very pleased with the way she called him Elder Brother. Zhang San laughed heartily and was about to say something when Xu Qing’s calm voice cut through his laugh.
“I’m not surprised.”
“Uh....” Zhang San said, looking at Xu Qing. Inwardly, he sighed and thought, Ahh, Xu Qing. Don’t you know what to do when a pretty girl takes the initiative? You’re not even reacting! If it was me, I would start chatting her up and then ask her out on a date. Come on, this is pure destiny!
Hearing Xu Qing’s words, Gu Muqing smiled, took out a medicinal pill, and extended it in her palm for Xu Qing to look at.
“Junior Brother Xu Qing, you sold all of your white boluses to my shop! I’ve been researching your medicinal pills for a long time now. I’m really curious: how did you manage to get such a high level of purity?”
Xu Qing looked at the pill and could tell it was one of his. After thinking for a moment, he didn’t answer her question, but instead took out a few sealizard skins.
“I have eighth level skins for 530 spirit stones, ninth level skins for 960 spirit stones, and great circle skins for 1,030. How many do you want?”
These were the same prices that the skins would sell for on the open market. He had the feeling that if he tried to sell them directly to a shop, he wouldn’t get as good of a price. Since Gu Muqing wanted to buy lizard skins, it made sense for him to deal with her directly.
Upon seeing the lizard skins, Gu Muqing’s eyes lit up. However, she didn’t immediately buy them, but instead repeated her previous question, though worded slightly differently. It seemed that, after realizing she was talking with Xu Qing, her interest had shifted from lizard skins to something else.
Xu Qing frowned. But then he considered how many white boluses her shop had purchased from him, and that she was now considering buying his lizard skins, he decided to just patiently answer her question.
“When blending the mixture, I add in an appropriate amount of nightcorpse morning glory to improve the purity level.”
Upon hearing this, Gu Muqing thought about the answer for a moment, then asked another question. She was very polite, but Xu Qing felt irritated nonetheless. As far as he was concerned, knowledge was valuable, and shouldn’t be given away without compensation. For her to ask for free information was a bit over the top. In contrast, Elder Sister Ding had a sense of propriety, and had offered him something valuable along with every question she asked.
Therefore, instead of answering her, Xu Qing actually came back with his own question. “Is there any way to increase the poison level in ghostlonging horseshoe crab blood? And is there a way to keep it fresh for longer?”
Gu Muqing considered the question. Then, looking very sincere, said, “I never thought about that before. My Master mostly teaches about vital yang medicine. Let me think for a moment.... If it was me, I’d add in some inworld tea leaves as a thickening agent. That would make the ghostlonging horseshoe crab blood more poisonous.”
Xu Qing’s gaze turned serious, and after thinking about her answer for a moment, he perked up a bit. Her suggestion had opened up a new path for him to explore, something he hadn’t thought about before. As such, he had to ask another question.
“Inworld tea is usually used as a neutralizer, but it does have some poison elements. How would you turn those poison elements into medicinal primers?”
“Ahhh? More poison questions? Well, let me think.... Maybe you could pull it off by using goldbutton weed?” Although Gu Muqing wasn’t sure of her answer, it was obvious from Xu Qing’s reaction that something had clicked in his head.
This got Xu Qing even more excited, and thus ensued a deep conversation with Gu Muqing regarding the dao of medicine. It was something of a strange conversation. Xu Qing mostly asked questions about poisons, and Gu Muqing mostly asked questions about medicines. But that didn’t matter. Both parties could confirm that what the other was saying was correct. And as they talked, both of them were able to clear up areas of confusion they’d had. Eventually, Gu Muqing stepped into the shadows next to Xu Qing as they went back and forth talking to each other.
Time passed.
As the sun shone, a delicately handsome young man stood with a pretty, spirited young woman. It was like a beautiful painting that was marred only by Zhang San standing there in his grubby work clothes.
Zhang San was flabbergasted by what was happening. As he looked at the two of them, he sighed inwardly and mused that being good-looking really was a huge advantage.
Furthermore, he was really starting to worry about his sea venture. That said, Xu Qing had just returned from a sea voyage, and likely wouldn’t go out again soon. Breathing a sigh of relief at that thought, he said, “Hey... Junior Brother Xu Qing, why don’t you give me your dharmaboat? It doesn’t seem like the two of you will be done chatting any time soon. I can start working on it in the meantime.”
Xu Qing clasped hands respectfully to Zhang San, then took out the bottle with the flying boat in it and handed it to him.
Zhang San took the bottle without even thinking about it. Then he looked down at it, and his eyes went wide as he saw that there was only one dilapidated flying boat inside.
“Isn’t this the flying boat from inside the dharmaboat? Where’s the actual dharmaboat?”
“Destroyed,” Xu Qing said calmly, and then he turned back to Gu Muqing and asked about something related to the dao of poison.
Zhang San inhaled sharply as he looked at the little bottle. That was when he started to realize that Xu Qing had definitely encountered some deadly situations while out at sea.
Four hours passed.
Eventually, the afterglow of the setting sun caused the lands to be filled with a dappled mixture of brightness and darkness. Gu Muqing seemed like she wanted to keep talking, but Xu Qing ended the conversation and also completed the sealizard skin deal with her.
“Thank you so much for clearing all that up, Junior Brother Xu Qing. It’s getting late, so I’ll say goodbye for now. I want to get back and try some of the things you suggested regarding white boluses. I still think it’s going to be hard. After all, I made a lot of attempts, but never managed to get the level of purity as high as yours.”
Gu Muqing looked somewhat frustrated.
As for Xu Qing, he was of the mind that part of his success was due to the tutelage of Grandmaster Bai, and part of it was because he had no mutagen in him. Because of the latter, the medicinal pills he concocted would have less impure energy, and thus, the results would be purer. Of course, that wasn’t something he would reveal to anyone.
Shaking her head, Gu Muqing turned to leave, wrapped up in her thoughts.
Xu Qing gave her a respectful salute, then watched her leave. He had benefited a lot from their exchange, and it had given him an even more rounded understanding of the dao of poison. Furthermore, he now had some new directions he wanted to explore.
After Gu Muqing was gone, Zhang San returned. With a concerned sigh, he said, “So... Xu Qing. Your boat.... It’s not going to be an easy job. I don’t even have enough spirit stones in savings to cover everything. You basically need a new boat. It’s going to be really expensive.”
Xu Qing didn’t say anything in response. He just looked around to make sure they were alone, then took out the three godly lizard skins.
The instant Zhang San laid eyes on them, he started shaking. All of his concern vanished, and his eyes went wide. Looking at the golden glow coming off of the skins, he inhaled sharply, then said, “Those....”
Without saying another word, he grabbed Xu Qing and pulled him into the warehouse. Once inside, he reached out with trembling hands to take the lizard skins. As he examined them closely, he started to breathe heavily, until finally he looked up at Xu Qing.
“Godly lizard skins! They’re from Foundation Establishment sealizards, but I can even sense a Gold Core aura! These things are worth so much money! If you showed these off in public, it would lead to mass slaughter! How did you get them?”
“I won them in a fight,” Xu Qing replied calmly. “Is it enough for a new dharmaboat?”
Upon looking at Xu Qing’s facial expression, Zhang San’s pupils constricted. He could tell that there was a lot of shed blood behind Xu Qing’s explanation, and finally realized why Xu Qing had gone out to sea on a dharmaboat and come back on a flying boat.
“It’s more than enough,” Zhang San said. “With this, I can make you a dharmaboat that will be incomparably stupefying! But I need some time. Come back tomorrow!”
Zhang San’s eyes were shining. He knew that with the godliness in these lizard skins, he could create a dharmaboat that would be a masterpiece, something the likes of which he had never created before.
Xu Qing nodded, then took out about 5,000 in spirit notes and put them off to the side. After some thought, he took out another ten thousand spirit stones from his bag of holding, and also put them off to the side. Many of the spirit stones were splattered with blood.
Seeing them, Zhang San’s eyes went wide, and his heart skipped a beat. With an odd expression on his face, he asked, “How many people did you kill?”
“Not many,” Xu Qing replied.
“If you use all your spirit stones for a new dharmaboat, then what will you use for cultivation? Also... do you really trust me this much?”
“There’s someone who owes me a few thousand spirit stones. I’m going to collect them tonight. As for trust.... Elder Brother Zhang San, I’m pretty sure the stuff you have in your warehouses is worth a lot more than what I just handed over.”
Clasping hands to Zhang San, he turned and left.
It was evening, and everything was rapidly turning dark. As Zhang San watched Xu Qing walk off into the distance, he thought, Someone out there owes him thousands of spirit stones? Also... considering how much he trusts me, there’s no way I’m going to skim anything off the top. I’ve thrown my lot in with him, so I’m going to support him to the bitter end!
***
As evening fell over Plankspring Way, the old innkeeper sat there complacently, smoking a pipe and reveling in feelings of success.
“I really came out on top this time,” he said. “A mid-Foundation Establishment lizard skin! This thing is worth 5,000 spirit stones! It’s a pity I couldn’t get those godly lizard skins. That said, there’s no way that poisonous brat had an easy time back there. The more I think about him leaving empty-handed, the better I feel. Hahaha! I haven’t opened for business in quite a while now. I bet I’m going to get a lot of customers tonight!”
As the innkeeper sat there feeling very pleased with himself, the huge anaconda suddenly smacked her head into him, then made numerous indignant cooing sounds.
The old innkeeper glared at the anaconda and was about to chide her, when he realized how sad she looked, and felt bad. He sighed.
“Ai. The young fellow is plenty crafty. If things got bad, he could always just run away, right? I doubt he ended up dead.”
The anaconda seemed to feel slightly better hearing that, but she still seemed dispirited as she shrank back into the corner. The old innkeeper said a few more comforting words. Eventually, it was dark outside, and the innkeeper heard the footsteps of customers outside.
“I’ll get you some good snacks to eat later,” he said. “Enough chatting. It’s time to open the doors.”
Stepping outside, he saw a customer rushing toward the inn. A smile broke out on his face. However, only a moment later, that smile disappeared.
A dagger flashed through the night, flying like a lightning bolt, stabbing right into the neck of the criminal that had been running toward the inn. It threw him through the air until he slammed loudly into the wall on the other side, leaving behind a huge plume of blood. The criminal screamed. Then the screams turned into gurgles.
After that, more footsteps could be heard from the surrounding darkness.
1. Xu Qing encountered Gu Muqing in chapter 61. ☜