Chapter 58: Giving a Spirit Coin

The events of that night made Xu Qing very annoyed; he had not wanted to kill anyone on his first day at Seven Blood Eyes, but the other party had forcibly framed him.

If not for Xu Qing’s sufficient cultivation and combat strength, had it been anyone else, their life or death would have been uncertain in that frame-up that night.

Thus, his strike just now was incredibly swift, and as his voice rang out, the screaming woman abruptly fell silent, her whole body trembling, yet she knew where her advantages as a woman lay.

She also understood that to a man, a terrified woman would, to some extent, evoke pity, so she exaggerated her terror.

Xu Qing was expressionless; while chewing the last candied hawthorn in his mouth, he walked toward her, not forgetting to remain vigilant for any accomplices, and as he approached, the passersby had long since cleared a distance.

Even a few among them who had cultivation, seeing the woman’s miserable state and wanting to intervene, quickly dismissed the thought after noticing Xu Qing’s formidable aura.

Seeing Xu Qing walking over, the woman, whose sole had been pierced and was now struck by sharp pain, made her body tremble even more intentionally, sweat covering her forehead; she had recognized Xu Qing’s voice.

In fact, ever since she framed Xu Qing that day and perceived the ruthlessness in his eyes and his strike, she had been very vigilant; she knew clearly that she had provoked a terrifying existence.

So she had been hiding these past few days and had not gone out; today, she felt the heat should have died down, and that terrifying existence was likely a "dragon passing through the river," surely not daring to act recklessly in the daytime.

That was why she had come out, yet she never expected that she would actually encounter him.

Encountering him was one thing, but she was confident in her ability to escape; after all, she had the status of a commoner, and with the Inspection Division responsible for law and order, she was safe under the rules.

But now, looking at the figure who had walked to her side and squatted down, she suddenly had an intuition that before the Inspection Division could arrive, she might die right here.

Thus, she fully manifested that sense of pity inherent to a woman through her trembling body and the fear in her eyes, wanting to stall for time.

"Stop pretending." Xu Qing squatted in front of the woman and pulled the bamboo skewer out of her sole.

The sharp pain and the fact that her intentions had been exposed by him made the terror in the woman’s eyes real; she also noticed that the other party was very close to her now, and she struggled in her heart, her tightly clenched right hand twitching, yet she still did not dare to scatter the poison powder in her hand.

Just then, a whistling sound came from the street in the distance; a team of Inspection Division cultivators patrolling here seemed to have noticed the incident and were rushing over.

Hope immediately appeared in the woman’s eyes.

But soon, as Xu Qing took out the badge of the Crime-Hunting Division from his person, that group of Inspection Division cultivators turned and left without even looking back; the hope in the woman’s eyes was replaced by despair, and amidst her trembling, she suddenly spoke in a low voice.

"The last time, it was my fault; I am willing to make amends, I... I know a clue about a wanted criminal!"

She did not bargain with Xu Qing; having walked in the dark for many years, she knew clearly that when facing someone stronger than herself, someone capable of crushing her, she had no qualifications to bargain; submission was the only path to survival.

So, without waiting for Xu Qing to speak, she quickly blurted out the clue.

"That wanted criminal is Qing Yunzi, a renegade of the Spirit Cloud Sect; he has been staying at Banquan Road these past few days, in that inn where we met last time."

"A wanted criminal?" Xu Qing took out the jade slip given by the Captain, checked it, and found the name Qing Yunzi; he glanced at it, and the reward was around twenty spirit stones.

"Also, I heard what your Crime-Hunting Division is investigating recently; I also know the location of a Night Vulture stronghold." Under this immense crisis, in order to save her life, the woman gave it her all and hurriedly continued, informing him of the stronghold’s location.

After listening, Xu Qing gave the woman a meaningful look, thought of the Captain’s informant, and took out a spirit coin, handing it to her.

"If you have such clues in the future, wait for me here."

The woman was stunned and hesitated for a moment; she knew the significance of these words, and soon she gritted her teeth hard, nodded, took the spirit coin, and limped away rapidly as Xu Qing watched her go.

Until the woman’s figure disappeared into the crowd, Xu Qing stood up; he did not go to verify the truth of the Night Vulture stronghold she mentioned; he only needed to report it to the division, and naturally, someone would go to verify it.

So, after patrolling the city a bit more, at sunset, Xu Qing went to the inn where he had stayed that day.

During the day, the inn was also open, but almost no one entered.

Xu Qing scanned it from afar, remembered the eeriness of the old man at the inn, and did not act rashly; instead, he returned to the Crime-Hunting Division, reported the stronghold clue he had obtained, and left after his shift.

As for whether the woman would agree on the surface and then disappear later, Xu Qing did not care, because she had taken that spirit coin, and on it... there was poison.

In three days, she would need the antidote.

On the way, he met a few members of the Sixth Team; seeing Xu Qing, they all scanned him coldly and didn't speak to each other, except for one middle-aged member who smilingly invited Xu Qing to go drinking together.

In Seven Blood Eyes, where killing each other is not allowed on the surface but mutual plundering happens in the shadows, such an invitation was somewhat abrupt and made Xu Qing even more vigilant, so he calmly declined.

Today was a special day; he did not want to kill anyone and wanted to be alone.

Additionally, he also planned to make a trip to the apothecary.

He needed to buy some herbs for refining White Pills, to try refining them to earn money; at the same time, his poison and Black Pills were running low and needed to be replenished, and he had more ideas regarding poisons that he wanted to verify.

Following the map outlined in his mind, Xu Qing soon found an apothecary.

This apothecary was large, and there were quite a few people coming and going inside, all dressed in gray Daoist robes.

Disciples from every peak needed items like elixirs.

Xu Qing’s entry, due to his delicate appearance, attracted the attention of some, but most just glanced over, their expressions not showing obviously on their faces.

Xu Qing’s expression was calm; he scanned the crowd in the shop as well and walked toward the counter without a word.

At the counter, besides an old man who looked like the shopkeeper, there was a little fatty.

This little fatty had an ordinary appearance, and a gray Daoist robe was very tight on him, looking like circles of fat; he had some freckles on his fair, chubby face and looked to be sixteen or seventeen years old; he was also a customer.

At this moment, he was yawning and putting the herbs piled on the counter, handful by handful, into a huge bag he carried with him.

There was no method to his movements; outsiders might not see anything, but Xu Qing could tell at a glance that the other party did not understand medicinal herbs.

There were some inside that could not be placed together, yet he stuffed them into the bag indiscriminately.

"Shopkeeper, the herbs this time are a bit scarce; is this all there is?" As Xu Qing approached, he heard the little fatty’s dissatisfied voice.

"You come every day, you’ve bought them all out; tomorrow, tomorrow the proprietor’s shipment will arrive." The shopkeeper was clearly very familiar with the little fatty; after taking out all the herbs the other party had purchased, he looked at the approaching Xu Qing.

"This Junior Brother, what elixirs do you need?"

"I need ten-year-old Butterfly Bone Flowers, thirty Golden Wing Leaves, ten processed Exquisite Branches, Seven-Leaf Grass of any age, and one hundred Golden Button Grasses," Xu Qing said calmly.

"Also, ten each of Rhinoceros Fire Flowers with roots, Spirit-Condensing Leaves, and White Root Backs."

"Additionally, I wonder if you have Cloud-Rotting Mud and Black Rose Thorns?" After thinking, Xu Qing added a few more types of snake venom and poisonous herbs, and after finishing, he looked at the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper’s eyes narrowed, and he looked at Xu Qing carefully; usually, those he encountered here were disciples buying elixirs, and occasionally he could meet some buying herbs, but they were mostly fellow disciples from the Second Peak, or others like the little fatty who didn't understand anything.

But this youth before him spoke so clearly and thoroughly, and was a stranger, so he was likely not a Second Peak cultivator, which was very rare.

Especially since most of the herbs the other party wanted were for White Pills, which made the shopkeeper thoughtful; after giving Xu Qing a deep look, he shook his head.

"I have the others, totaling three hundred and eighty spirit coins, but only the Spirit-Condensing Leaves, the last hundred portions, were bought by him," the shopkeeper pointed at the little fatty who was packing.

Xu Qing nodded; although Spirit-Condensing Leaves were important, it wasn't a problem to wait one more day; as for the price of the herbs, it was considered reasonable; if successful, he could probably refine about one hundred White Pills and some poison powder.

Just as he was about to purchase, the little fatty on the side looked up, sized Xu Qing up, and asked curiously.

"Spirit-Condensing Leaves? You want this stuff too? What is this thing used for? I’ve asked the shopkeeper several times, and he won't tell me."

"You ask a bunch of questions every time; if I told you every single one, would I still be able to do business with others..." the shopkeeper sighed helplessly.

Xu Qing looked at the little fatty, thinking of how he himself had once been so thirsty for knowledge, and spoke softly.

"The main uses of Spirit-Condensing Leaves are two: one is to catalyze other herbs, causing them to mutate in the direction one desires, and the other is that it has a very good nourishing effect on the skin."

Upon hearing this, the little fatty suddenly realized, and very generously took out a handful of Spirit-Condensing Leaves, about seven or eight of them, and placed them openly in front of Xu Qing.

"Thanks, brother, these are for you." After saying this, the little fatty shouldered his bag and walked outside happily, as if to him, giving some herbs to others was just a trivial matter.

Xu Qing was stunned and hesitated, about to refuse, but the little fatty had already walked out the door in a rush, and even took out a jade slip, appearing to be sending a voice transmission.

The shopkeeper on the side spoke with a smile.

"This little fatty is named Huang Yan, a disciple of the Seventh Peak, and also a lovesick eccentric; I don't know which female disciple has him bewitched; he has been coming to me to buy herbs for many years; if he keeps buying like this, the money he has spent over these years would be enough to become my proprietor; however, this kid is not simple either; being so high-profile, he can actually still be alive today."

Xu Qing gave a deep look at the direction the little fatty had left in, said nothing, and left after purchasing the remaining herbs at the apothecary.

All the way back to the berth, after checking that everything was fine as usual, Xu Qing walked into the Dharma boat and immediately activated the defenses; only after the defenses appeared did he heave a sigh of relief.

Compared to the outside world, the Dharma boat could give Xu Qing more of a sense of security; at this moment, he entered the cabin, sat down, took out the herbs he had bought, and placed them in categories, the recipe for White Pills appearing in his mind.

Although he had not been able to gather all the herbs needed for White Pills before, Xu Qing had never slacked off on the blending of elixirs, so now that these herbs were complete, he pondered for a while and began refining.

Time passed slowly, and midnight arrived.