Chapter 21: Greed

"How come this Brother Ruan is out again?!"

Qin Ming never expected he'd come again and find no one home.

Having experienced the changes brought by the Hundred Treasures Glass Scripture, he was utterly eager for the remaining techniques—looks like he'd just have to wait a little longer.

Qin Ming wandered through other shops in the marketplace, bought a spirit beast pouch and some meat, then returned to the shantytown.

The next day.

Qin Ming made breakfast with golden spirit rice and demonic beast meat.

He was just about to eat.

Knock knock knock! A tapping came at the door.

He peered out through the door crack.

It was a neighbor from nearby—someone he rarely interacted with.

Still, out of politeness, Qin Ming invited him inside.

"Hehehe, I heard Brother Qin has become a Rank One Spirit Planter! I've come specifically to offer my congratulations!"

"A small token, just a little gesture—please accept it."

The visitor said this, then handed Qin Ming a small bag of gifts.

Seeing how enthusiastic the man was, Qin Ming couldn't refuse; he thanked him and accepted.

When the neighbor's gaze fell upon Qin Ming's dining table—the meal made of demonic beast meat and spirit rice—his face betrayed unmistakable envy.

After some polite small talk, the man had fulfilled his social call and took his leave.

Qin Ming finished eating and was about to wash the dishes.

Knock knock knock! The door banged again.

!!!

Qin Ming frowned tightly, muttering: "What's going on today?!"

As usual, he glanced out through the door crack.

Better not to look—this time, he nearly jumped out of his skin! 'Damn!'

It was his female neighbor, Li Yan.

She was dressed elegantly, holding a small package in her hand.

Seeing her like this, Qin Ming let out a breath of relief.

'Good, good—she probably just came by for a social visit.'

'Just socializing.'

'Not here for anything else.'

Li Yan entered the house, offered her congratulations as well, chatted briefly, then left.

Her face had grown slightly haggard lately; though she'd applied rouge, Qin Ming saw through it at a glance.

"Looks like she still hasn't recovered from Long's death."

She'd lost Long as her major patron.

Her future days were likely to be hard.

Qin Ming didn't try to keep her.

As Li Yan left, she cast him only one lingering, bitter, sorrowful glance.

In the days that followed.

One after another, numerous nearby cultivators came by to pay social calls.

Qin Ming found this all deeply annoying.

He hated these kinds of social gatherings most of all.

Though the gifts they brought weren't valuable, he couldn't refuse their goodwill—he thanked each one and accepted everything.

One day.

Qin Ming sat on his meditation cushion, cultivating.

His message talisman suddenly stirred.

He paused his cultivation, opened his eyes, and checked the message.

"Brother Qin, are you available now?"

"I'm passing near the marketplace, but I have urgent business to attend to and can't go home."

"This trip will last at least one or two years, possibly three to five—no return to the marketplace."

"If you're free, come see me—we can finish our transaction."

"Brother Qin, don't worry—I happened to run into an acquaintance from the Lingyu Sect patrol team, and we're together right now."

Qin Ming hesitated a moment, then sent a reply.

"Where shall we meet?"

"On the road east of the marketplace."

"Alright, I'm coming."

After sending the message talisman, Qin Ming packed his things and stepped outside.

As he passed by the river in the shantytown.

Several middle-aged female cultivators were washing clothes.

They saw Qin Ming but didn't greet him.

Only after he'd walked away did they glance sideways and sneer: "Pfft～So what if he's a Rank One Spirit Planter?"

"He's not even a Rank One Alchemist. What's so impressive?!"

She spoke a bit loudly, and Qin Ming hadn't gone too far, so it all carried to his ears.

Qin Ming pursed his lips and ignored her.

……

The time it takes to drink a cup of tea later.

Qin Ming had arrived near the spot Fellow Daoist Ruan had given him.

He didn't rush to show himself, first observing from a distance for a while.

Cold wind brushed his face, wild grass swayed.

Both sides of the road were endless fields of wild grass.

On the road not far away.

A few human silhouettes appeared, coming into his view.

Fellow Daoist Ruan, with a smiling face, was chatting back and forth with two people in Spirit Feather Gate patrol team uniforms.

Qin Ming looked closely.

He recognized both of those Spirit Feather Gate patrol team members.

The two of them often patrolled the alleys of the shantytown area; they were familiar faces.

"So it's them."

Only then did his doubts fade.

Qin Ming stepped out and walked straight toward the group.

"Oh! Fellow Daoist Qin has arrived, please wait a moment, you two."

"I have a small matter to handle, I'll be right back."

The moment Fellow Daoist Ruan spotted Qin Ming coming, a happy expression appeared on his face. He quickly gave the two Spirit Feather Gate patrollers a salute, then walked toward him.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, my apologies. I've had important matters lately, really too busy to get away."

Fellow Daoist Ruan cupped his fists toward Qin Ming.

"No problem. Fellow Daoist Ruan, you brought the thing with you, right?" Qin Ming forced a faint smile.

"Of course. By the way, Fellow Daoist Qin's beast-fang rice should be ripe too, right?" A look of expectation appeared in Fellow Daoist Ruan's eyes.

Qin Ming patted his storage pouch and directly took out a small bag of beast-fang rice, exactly ten jin.

He opened the bag and showed it to the other party.

White spirit rice the size of canine teeth, translucent red inside, exuding a captivating fragrance.

"It really is beast-fang rice, and the quality is quite good!"

A trace of imperceptible greed surfaced in Fellow Daoist Ruan's eyes.

"May I ask Fellow Daoist Qin, the harvest of beast-fang rice should be quite good, right? More than just these ten jin?"

Qin Ming's brow furrowed at those words.

"Fellow Daoist Ruan, how much beast-fang rice I plant doesn't really have much to do with you, does it?"

"Hehehe, of course, I was just asking casually." Fellow Daoist Ruan laughed awkwardly.

Having said that, he took out from his storage pouch the beast hide that recorded the "Hundred Treasures Glazed Sutra."

One side handed over the hide, the other handed over the rice.

The beast hide was in hand.

After Qin Ming checked it and found no errors, he was just about to let out a slight breath of relief.

"Not right!"

The qi and blood guarding his body suddenly sensed a burst of intense killing intent! This information was conveyed precisely and unmistakably straight into his mind.

Although Qin Ming had noticed something amiss.

He kept a straight face, still pretending to look through the beast-hide scripture.

'One. Two. Three. Four. Five.'

A full five streams of killing intent targeting him were silently gathering toward him.

Three of them came from Fellow Daoist Ruan, and the two Spirit Feather Gate patrol cultivators.

The two people emitting the other two streams of killing intent hadn't even shown themselves yet.

In just an instant.

Qin Ming realized his current predicament.

Yet not a trace of panic showed on his face.

'Fellow Daoist Ruan is at the fifth layer of mid Qi Refining. Of the two Spirit Feather Gate patrol members, one is at the fifth layer of Qi Refining, and the other is at the sixth layer of Qi Refining.'

As for the other two hidden in the dark, Qin Ming couldn't sense their magic power aura for the moment.

Very quickly.

Countless thoughts flashed through Qin Ming's mind.

In just a few breaths.

A barely perceptible flash of ruthlessness passed through Qin Ming's eyes.

He made his decision on the spot.

(End of chapter)