Chapter 96: The Creditor Comes Calling

It was noon, the sunlight was intense, and the sun hung high in the sky, difficult for any mortal to look at directly.

Just like Gu Muqing, who stood in the sunlight at this moment, she was incomparably bright, surpassing even a fairy.

Although her pale orange Daoist robe concealed her figure, its excellence could not be completely hidden by the garment; amidst the curves, one could imagine what kind of slender and graceful body was hidden beneath.

The soft, jade-like arms exposed outside her sleeves, her elegant and smooth fragrant neck, and a waterfall of black hair, paired with delicate, tender, and moist skin like ice and jade, truly made her look graceful and poised.

This beautiful scene fell into the eyes of Zhang San, and his expression became somewhat dazed, his old face flushing; yet, Xu Qing, who stood in the shadows nearby, showed no change in his expression, his gaze coldly measuring the neck of the woman before him.

Whether this woman was beautiful was unimportant to Xu Qing; this was not his first time seeing her, and since he had seen few core disciples in the main city, he recognized at a glance that she was the woman he had met outside the apothecary a few months ago.

They had only brushed past each other that day, but now she called out his name, which made Xu Qing extremely vigilant, so he needed to determine if she possessed the strength to threaten his life.

After scanning her, Xu Qing made a judgment in his heart: if they were to truly fight, he was confident he could kill her quickly; her cultivation base was passable, but whether in her stance or her vigilance, she was far inferior to the rogue cultivators of Sea Lizard Island.

As for her identity as a core disciple of the Second Peak, considering that the Second Peak focused on alchemy, Xu Qing instinctively scanned his surroundings to check for traces of poison.

"Junior Brother Xu Qing, you don't need to be surprised; your name wasn't told to me by Senior Brother Zhang San, I learned it inadvertently." Gu Muqing smiled brightly, her voice clear and pleasant to the ear.

Zhang San’s heartbeat quickened at this moment, feeling that this woman was truly worthy of being recognized as the heaven-gifted beauty of the Second Peak; that address of "Senior Brother Zhang San" made him feel incredibly comfortable.

He laughed heartily and was just about to say something, but Xu Qing’s calm voice came out.

"I am not surprised."

"Uh..." Zhang San glanced at Xu Qing, sighed in his heart, and thought to himself, *Xu Qing, oh Xu Qing, a young maiden is being so proactive, how can you still have no reaction? If this were me, I would definitely go up and strike up a conversation immediately, then extend an invitation; isn't this how fate begins?*

Hearing this, Gu Muqing smiled lightly, took an elixir from her person, placed it in her palm, and handed it to Xu Qing.

"Junior Brother Xu Qing, all your White Pills were sold to my shop. I have studied your pills for a long time and am very curious why the purification of these pills is so high."

Xu Qing glanced at it and recognized that it was indeed his pill, so he thought for a moment and, instead of answering her inquiry, took out several pieces of sea lizard skin.

"Qi Condensation eighth-level sea lizard skin, five hundred and thirty spirit stones; ninth-level sea lizard skin, nine hundred and sixty spirit stones; Great Perfection, one thousand four hundred and thirty spirit stones. How many do you want?"

Xu Qing’s asking price was the retail price in the shops; he felt that if he sold them to a shop, they probably wouldn't offer this price, so since this Gu Muqing wanted to buy them, selling to her was more cost-effective for him.

Gu Muqing looked at those sea lizard skins, her eyes lighting up, but she didn't buy them immediately, instead continuing to ask about her previous topic; it seemed that after recognizing Xu Qing, her interest had shifted away from the sea lizard skins.

Xu Qing frowned slightly, but thinking that her shop had bought many of his White Pills and that she was going to buy his sea lizard skins next, he spoke with patience.

"During the blending stage, adding some Night Corpse Morning Glory will increase the purity somewhat."

The young girl showed a thoughtful expression upon hearing this, and after a while, she asked again, her manner very polite, but Xu Qing’s impatience rose once more; in his view, the acquisition of knowledge could not be free.

What she was doing was a bit excessive.

Senior Sister Ding, for instance, understood this principle well; every time she asked a question, she would offer something of value.

Therefore, Xu Qing did not answer, but instead asked a question about the way of medicine.

"For the blue blood of the Ghost Desire Horseshoe Crab, is there any method to make its toxicity greater and preserve it for longer?"

Gu Muqing pondered for a moment, her expression serious as she spoke.

"I haven't thought about this point; what Master taught were all medicines of Righteous Yang. Let me think... if it were me, I would add In-the-World Tea; with the density of In-the-World Tea, I would enhance the toxicity of the Ghost Desire Horseshoe Crab."

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed upon hearing this, and after a moment of contemplation, his mind fluctuated slightly; her words opened up some lines of thought for him, so he asked again.

"In-the-World Tea is used for neutralization, but it also contains a certain amount of toxins; how can one turn its toxins into a medicinal catalyst?"

"Ah? Poison again? Let me think... perhaps you could use Gold Button Grass to force it out?" Gu Muqing said uncertainly, but her words were still enlightening to Xu Qing.

This increased Xu Qing’s interest, and he began to exchange knowledge on the way of medicine with Gu Muqing; their exchange was somewhat strange, as Xu Qing mostly asked about the way of poison, while Gu Muqing mostly asked about the way of medicine.

Yet, it did not interfere; they both felt a sense of mutual verification, and the more they communicated, the more they both felt enlightened. In the end, Gu Muqing simply walked into the shadows, and she and Xu Qing continued to exchange words.

Time passed.

Under the sunlight, the two in the shadows—the man handsome, the woman spiritually bright—looked like a beautiful picture, only Zhang San, standing to the side like an old farmer, seemed somewhat out of place in this scene.

Zhang San was dumbfounded at this moment, blankly watching the two, and after a long while, he sighed in his heart, thinking that being good-looking really had too much of an advantage.

His heart sank again, wondering if his business of going out to sea would fall through, but thinking that Xu Qing had just returned from sea and would likely not go out again, he felt relieved, yet he still couldn't help but speak.

"Um... Junior Brother Xu Qing, why don't you give me the Dharma boat first? I'll go refine it for you; I see that you two won't be done talking for a while."

Xu Qing cupped his fists toward Zhang San upon hearing this and took out the flying boat to give to him.

Zhang San subconsciously raised his hand to take the small bottle containing the flying boat, then his eyes suddenly widened, and he stared blankly at the thin, broken flying boat inside the bottle, stunned for a moment.

"Where is the Dharma boat? Isn't this the flying boat I put inside your Dharma boat?"

"It shattered," Xu Qing said calmly, then turned his head to ask Gu Muqing about the way of poison again.

Zhang San took a breath, looking at the small bottle in his hand, realizing in his heart that Xu Qing’s trip to sea this time must have been a brush with death.

Just like that, two hours passed.

Until the sunset glow fell, and the shadows on the ground merged with the light of the outside world, as if they had fused together; at Gu Muqing’s lingering reluctance, Xu Qing ended the exchange and completed the trade of lizard skins with her.

"Junior Brother Xu Qing, thank you for your clarification. It’s getting late, so I will take my leave. I will go back and try the method you mentioned, though I think it’s highly likely it will be difficult to succeed; in fact, I’ve tried many times before, and only occasionally could I reach that level of purity."

Gu Muqing said with distress.

Xu Qing thought about it; he felt that on one hand, this should be related to the blending method taught by Master Bai, and on the other hand, it might be related to the fact that his own body had no foreign substances.

When he refined pills, he never emitted any impure aura, and nothing was integrated into the pills.

But he naturally would not say this.

Gu Muqing shook her head and took her leave with a thoughtful expression.

Xu Qing watched her go and bowed slightly with a serious expression; he had gained a great deal from this exchange, becoming more proficient in the way of poison, and some ideas for refining poison had faintly sprouted in his heart.

Now seeing that Gu Muqing had left, Zhang San came to Xu Qing’s side, sighing with a sorrowful face.

"Xu Qing, that boat of yours... it’s not easy to handle. I can't cover that much with my spirit stones; this is equivalent to building a new one, it’s too expensive."

Xu Qing didn't speak; he looked around and took out one of the three pieces of divine lizard skin from his person.

The moment this lizard skin appeared, Zhang San only needed a glance to tremble all over; in an instant, all his sorrow disappeared, his eyes widened, and looking at the golden glow on the lizard skin, he gasped.

"This is..." He had just said this when he grabbed Xu Qing and headed straight for his warehouse; once inside, he tremblingly took the lizard skin from Xu Qing.

After carefully inspecting it as if it were a treasure, his breathing became increasingly rapid, and after a while, he suddenly looked up at Xu Qing.

"Divine lizard skin!"

"And it's a Foundation Establishment lizard skin, and it even possesses a trace of Nascent Soul aura! This thing is too valuable; if it gets out, it will definitely cause a great deal of killing and fighting. How did you get this!"

"I snatched it. Is it enough to build a new Dharma boat?" Xu Qing said calmly.

Looking at Xu Qing’s expression, Zhang San’s pupils contracted; he heard the thick scent of blood in that sentence and finally understood why he had left with a Dharma boat and returned with a flying boat.

"More than enough! The Dharma boat built with this thing will reach an incredibly astonishing level. I need some time to prepare; come get it tomorrow!"

Zhang San turned his head to look at the divine lizard skin, a strong light appearing in his eyes; he felt that the Dharma boat built with this item would be the most outstanding work of his years.

Xu Qing nodded and took out some spirit notes, about five thousand, and placed them to the side; then he thought for a moment and took out the spirit stones from his storage bag as well, totaling over ten thousand.

Among those spirit stones, many were still stained with blood.

These spirit stones made Zhang San’s eyes shrink again, his heart shaken, and his expression became increasingly strange; he couldn't help but ask a question.

"How many people did you kill this time?"

"Not many," Xu Qing shook his head.

"You’re using all your spirit stones to refine the Dharma boat, what about what you need for cultivation? And... do you trust me that much?" Zhang San looked at Xu Qing.

"Someone still owes me a few thousand spirit stones; I’m going to collect them tonight. As for trust, I think the things here at Senior Brother Zhang San’s place are worth more than what I gained this time."

Xu Qing said earnestly, cupped his fists toward Zhang San, and turned to leave in a clean and decisive manner.

It was dusk outside, and the world was gradually darkening; Zhang San watched Xu Qing’s retreating figure, his heart full of emotion.

"To think there is someone who dares to owe this person spirit stones? Besides... since he trusts me so much, I shouldn't secretly skim off the top; since I’ve bet on him, I’ll stick with it to the end!"

Meanwhile, in the dusk, at the inn on Banquan Road, the old man was happily smoking his pipe, looking smug.

"I’ve made a fortune this time; a Foundation Establishment mid-stage lizard skin is worth five thousand spirit stones! It’s just a pity I didn't get the divine lizard skin."

"But that poison brat probably didn't have it easy either; he might be empty-handed."

"Just thinking that he gained nothing makes me happy. Haha, I haven't been open for many days; surely many people will come to stay at the inn today, a double blessing."

The old man was just feeling smug when a great force rushed toward him.

It was that large snake; it slammed hard into the old man at this moment, making a sorrowful gurgling sound.

The old man glared and was about to discipline it, but seeing the snake’s sad appearance, his heart softened and he sighed.

"Sigh, that brat is very cunning; seeing things were not looking good, how could he not run? He won't die, he won't die."

Hearing this, the snake’s mood eased a little, but it was still somewhat listless, curling up in the corner.

The old man felt a pang of pity and comforted it until the sky outside had completely darkened, and the figures of guests could be seen approaching from afar.

"I'll get you some snacks later; enough for now, I need to open for business."

The old man hurried out, looking at the guests arriving in the distance, a smile appearing on his face, but the next instant, his expression suddenly changed.

A dagger flashing with cold light whistled through the air like lightning the moment night fell, piercing the neck of the wanted criminal who was about to enter his inn and pinning him to the wall nearby.

The force was so great that the wall let out a boom, and blood splattered everywhere.

A scream rang out miserably at this moment, then came to an abrupt end!

Only the sound of footsteps approached calmly from the distance in the night.