Chapter 248: The Dragon

"Sir, take a look, have a look—whatever you like, buy it."

The vendor beside the stall noticed Li Rui pausing.

He immediately called out warmly.

Li Rui stepped forward.

He gazed at the emerald-green, smooth, round jade stone placed prominently in the center of the stall.

"How much for this jade?"

The vendor looked at Li Rui and blinked.

'A Yu national?'

Instantly, his face lit up with a grin.

Yu nationals are great!

There are many Yu merchant caravans in Wubei City now—these people are all foolishly rich and lavish with jade.

"Sir, not expensive at all—ten thousand taels will take it home."

Li Rui rolled his eyes: "One thousand."

The vendor's face dropped immediately: "Sir, don't joke—no one slashes prices by nine tenths outright."

Li Rui's expression turned regretful: "Seems I'm not destined for this, then. Never mind."

With that,

he rose to leave.

He had taken only a few steps when the vendor called out: "Hey, let's talk some more!"

Li Rui acted as if he hadn't heard, walking on as if alone.

Seeing Li Rui truly leaving, the vendor dashed out from behind his stall and grabbed his arm: "Sir, we can still negotiate the price!"

"Three thousand. I'll sell it to you for three thousand."

Li Rui didn't even lift his eyelids: "One thousand one hundred."

"Two thousand five hundred. Not a copper less."

"One thousand two hundred."

"Hey, sir, you can't run a business like this!"

In the end, Li Rui bought the jade for fifteen hundred taels; as he watched the vendor wrap it, he picked up a large gray-white stone and said, "This thing's unusual—throw it in too. I'll take it home as a decoration."

The vendor glanced at it and grinned: "If you like it, sir, just take it."

Li Rui didn't refuse—he picked up the large stone and took the wrapped jade from the vendor's hands.

Then he walked straight back to his room.

In the empty room, Li Rui sat alone beside the bed.

The jade he'd bought for a thousand taels lay discarded beside him; his eyes locked onto the large gray-white stone resting on his knees.

"This stone emits dragon qi."

"It's real dragon's saliva!"

The world believes dragon's saliva is whale feces, but in truth, genuine dragon's saliva exists.

It is the crystallized residue left by a jiao dragon of third-rank or higher after death.

That is true dragon's saliva.

Li Rui never imagined he'd find this legendary artifact on a small stall in Wubei City.

Truly, search as you may, it appears when least expected!

'That jiao dragon must have died at least ten thousand years ago—the dragon qi in the saliva is completely masked; had I not borne the dragon form, I'd never have noticed it.'

Pure luck.

Real, pure luck!

Li Rui's lips curled upward involuntarily.

If this dragon's saliva were put on the market, its value would be incalculable.

More importantly, dragon's saliva is an excellent material for nurturing immortal weapons, aiding the spirit of the golden carp to leap the Dragon Gate.

"Iron Senior should love this."

Li Rui planned to give this dragon's saliva to Tie Kuang, to help him realize his dream of forging an immortal weapon.

He had always been the kind to repay even the smallest kindness with a flood of gratitude.

Without Tie Kuang, he'd still be struggling to open his qi sea, and might have remained stuck due to unstable foundations.

Tie Kuang had gone to great lengths to borrow the Hammer of Blazing Heaven and helped him immensely.

This debt must be repaid.

'An unexpected windfall.'

Li Rui found a large wooden box and placed the dragon's saliva inside.

Because it had been buried for so long, the dragon's saliva was mixed with too many impurities—it needed refinement by Tie Kuang before use.

Only in the southern frontier, where demonic beasts still gather, could such a buried treasure be found; in Yu, such a lucky find was nearly impossible.

At noon,

Tan Hu and the others slowly emerged from their rooms.

Each looked refreshed and invigorated.

Like generals returning from victory.

"Brother Li."

"Chief Li."

Tan Hu and the others greeted Li Rui, who was already seated in the courtyard.

Li Rui saw them, stood up with the box in hand: "Let's go—we should return to Qinghe."

Tan Hu hesitated: "We came all this way—why not stay a bit longer? Talk more with Brother Dao."

Li Rui rolled his eyes.

Talk to Dao Mo?

More like talk to the witch girls.

He saw right through Tan Hu's hidden motives.

Normally, staying a couple more days wouldn't hurt—but now that he had the dragon's saliva, he feared delays. Better to deliver it to Tie Kuang as soon as possible.

For the forging of an immortal weapon, Li Rui treated it as his top priority.

"There'll be plenty of chances later. Let's go."

Tan Hu, caught out, grinned sheepishly: "Whatever you say, Brother!"

Immediately,

Li Rui led the Benhu Cavalry to find Dao Mo.

After explaining their purpose,

Dao Mo naturally tried to persuade them to stay, but seeing Li Rui's firm resolve, he gave up.

"Brother Li, remember to come back often."

"I will."

Li Rui took his leave, then departed across the Wu border under the escort of Wu military troops.

Past the Yu checkpoint,

they galloped five hundred li through the night and returned to Qinghe.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The hour of Chou.

All doors were tightly shut; the blacksmith's shop rang with urgent knocking.

"Who is it? Disturbing sleep at this hour?"

"Come forge in the daytime—we're closed."

The knocking continued without pause.

"Master… Master?"

Liu Tiezhu, half-asleep, opened the shop door and froze when he saw Li Rui.

"Master, what are you doing here?"

Li Rui smiled faintly, lifting the large wooden box: "I've brought something for Iron Senior."

Liu Tiezhu nodded, turning to call Tie Kuang—

only to see Tie Kuang already standing behind him. Liu Tiezhu jumped; he'd sworn just moments ago that the old man's snoring had been louder than thunder, yet now he was fully dressed.

Ghosts.

"For me?"

Tie Kuang regarded Li Rui with keen interest.

It was the hour of Chou—only farmers feeding cattle or horses were awake; visiting at this hour broke etiquette.

But Li Rui wasn't someone who ignored customs.

Coming to him in the dead of night meant something important—bringing something meant it was something vital.

What mattered to Tie Kuang?

Only something related to an immortal weapon.

Tie Kuang couldn't help but wonder what Li Rui would give him.

"Yes, Elder, just watch."

Saying this,

Li Rui lifted the lid of the large wooden box, revealing a gray-white boulder inside.

Tie Kuang and Liu Tiezhu's gazes were immediately drawn to the boulder.

"Master, this is—this is—"

Liu Tiezhu stared for a long time but couldn't make out anything unusual.

The boulder looked like nothing more than an ordinary stone, nothing remarkable about it.

He ran through every rare material he knew, yet still had no clue.

Tie Kuang also furrowed his brow slightly.

Not only could Liu Tiezhu not tell what it was—even he, a master smith, was baffled. It truly seemed like nothing more than an ordinary, even somewhat ugly, rock.

"Li kid, explain this."

Tie Kuang never hesitated to ask when faced with something he didn't understand.

Li Rui slowly uttered three words: "Dragon's Snot."

"Dragon's Snot."

Both Tie Kuang and Liu Tiezhu involuntarily repeated it.

Tie Kuang's eyes instantly sharpened. He snatched up the gray-white boulder, tapped it with his knuckles, then pressed his nose close and sniffed for a long while.

He looked at Li Rui with doubt: "Li kid, how did you know this is Dragon's Snot?"

According to ancient texts,

Dragon's Snot should emit a potent fragrance detectable ten li away—otherwise, it wouldn't have the word "fragrance" in its name.

Li Rui explained: "This Dragon's Snot has been sealed for ten thousand years. I found it by accident in Wu Country. It requires your expertise to refine it and reveal its true nature."

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Tie Kuang's eyes lit up instantly.

He immediately urged Liu Tiezhu to get to work, even though it was late at night.

"Light the fire."

"Begin!"

Moments later, the room glowed red from the furnace.

Tie Kuang carefully placed the gray-white boulder into the iron furnace, then sank his qi into his dantian and slowly infused it with Fire-Form true qi.

The searing true qi warped the air around it.

Tie Kuang's gaze burned with intensity.

Soon,

under Li Rui and Liu Tiezhu's watchful eyes, the blackened boulder began peeling away layer by layer, then melting.

At the same time,

a uniquely refreshing fragrance drifted from the furnace.

"It really does scent ten li away!"

This fragrance was more precious than agarwood worth a thousand or two taels of silver.

Tie Kuang frowned slightly.

Instantly, he clenched his palm.

The Fire-Form true qi sealed the furnace's interior, trapping every trace of fragrance inside.

Li Rui understood Tie Kuang's intent.

Within the city, besides the government and the Peace Guard, there were still the Eight Sects—if they sensed this, trouble would follow.

As the refining continued,

eventually, only three tiny, translucent pearls, each the size of a thumb, remained in the furnace.

Seeing this,

Tie Kuang slowly withdrew his true qi.

He burst into laughter: "It really is Dragon's Snot! Heaven favors me!"

Dragon's Snot is a divine substance for nurturing Dragon-form spirit cores—rare beyond price.

Even the imperial treasury holds very little of it.

He himself could never obtain any—and yet here it was, perfectly delivered to his doorstep by Li Rui.

"Good. Very good."

Tie Kuang regarded Li Rui with admiration: "With this Dragon's Snot, the pace of forging weapons will greatly accelerate. I can now craft Immortal Weapons—your contribution is paramount."

Coming to Qinghe was the right decision.

Had he not met Li Rui,

he would have had zero chance of forging Immortal Weapons.

Even a one percent chance was a fantasy.

Li Rui genuinely felt delighted: "As long as I can help you, Elder, that's enough."

Tie Kuang paused thoughtfully: "This Dragon's Snot is precious. I'll find a way to compensate you."

Li Rui immediately grew solemn:

"Elder, don't speak that way. This is merely a small token from this junior."

Tie Kuang raised his white eyebrows.

Good heavens.

Dragon's Snot—a small token?

Even the emperor's tribute wouldn't be of this caliber—it's anything but small.

Tie Kuang now understood: Li Rui's target was him.

"Fine, fine, fine. I'm strapped for resources right now. Consider this a debt I owe you."

Li Rui chuckled:

"We're family. What's owed or not owed?"

Tie Kuang glanced sideways and feigned a sigh.

'What a terrifying young man.'

This was Dragon's Snot.

Even if not used for weapon cultivation, for someone like Li Rui, who carries a Dragon-form essence, it was a supreme tonic—not inferior to a Grand Elixir.

Li Rui's gesture was no small thing.

At least, if it were him, he'd never part with it.

Li Rui chuckled.

Hard to part with?

Naturally, a little.

But for him, this Dragon's Snot was an unexpected find—worth a thousand taels at most. Viewed differently, spending a thousand taels to deepen his bond with Tie Kuang?

Pure profit!

When Li Rui returned to his home in the Peace Guard, the horizon had just begun to lighten with dawn.

Having finished his business,

Li Rui felt light and carefree.

Back in his room, sleep eluded him, so he picked up his blade and trained until daylight fully broke.

"Master, when did you get back?"

Early morning,

Wang Zhao had just woken and saw Li Rui practicing his blade, surprised.

If he remembered correctly,

his master had left the city.

Li Rui smiled faintly: "I got back at dawn. Thought you were all asleep, so I didn't wake you."

"Oh."

Wang Zhao didn't think much of it, merely nodded and went to cook porridge.

Now the only young man in the courtyard, it was only right he move quickly.

Twenty minutes later,

steaming meat porridge was ready.

Smelling the food, Yang Yong stepped out of his room.

Li Rui looked at his old brother: "Old Yang, I asked someone in the capital to get you a pill—it prolongs life. Should arrive in a few days."

Yang Yong frowned: "I'm just an old useless thing. Why waste something so precious on me? Save it for Xiao Zhao and the others."

He felt his life had already been more than enough.

Every extra day now was pure gain.

When he was young, who would've dreamed of living in a four-courtyard mansion, eating meat every meal?

He never even dared to imagine it.

It's only because Old Brother Li Rui is so loyal; otherwise, once someone becomes wealthy, they won't even glance at their old comrades—that's the norm in Yu State.

Li Rui is a rarity among rarities.

So he dare not ask for more.

Li Rui glared at Yang Yong: "What, you trying to sneak ahead of me again?"

This white-haired man has buried too many black-haired ones.

He truly wants to keep this old comrade Yang Yong by his side a little longer.

He's only seventy—take more longevity elixirs, replenish his vitality, living to a hundred shouldn't be too big a problem.

"I'm telling you, boy, you'd better live to at least a hundred—I'm going to the imperial court to claim a reward then."

Hearing this, Yang Yong laughed:

"Alright, alright, a hundred it is."

Many martial artists live to a hundred, but for ordinary people, reaching a hundred is exceedingly rare—often not even one in an entire city.

The imperial court regards seventy-year-olds as achievements of good governance; a Company Commander is a rarity among rarities.

It's an omen of great prosperity.

The emperor might even send a special envoy to visit.

A tremendous honor!

The three in Li's residence ate meat porridge.

Li Rui chatted a while longer with his old comrade Yang Yong; he'd been so busy with official duties and cultivation that chances to speak with Yang Yong were few and far between.

Until midday.

Yang Yong, tired of being nagged, got up to go play paijiu.

Only then did Li Rui walk out of Anning Guard, hands behind his back, smiling.

(End of Chapter)