Chapter 17: Is Your Pill Authentic?

The next day, at the first light of dawn.

Lou Qinghe opened his door, and just then, a few loose cultivators passed by.

"Have you heard? Manager Wu of the Secondhand Clothing Workshop is dead."

"Who doesn't know? It's spread all around Longmen Market now. She died at home, stark naked, and they say her lover was there too."

"Killed with a single sword strike to the throat. They say the killer is a formidable sword cultivator."

"Manager Wu of the Secondhand Clothing Workshop?"

Lou Qinghe muttered to himself as he knocked on Pei Siyu's door.

He had no money to buy a Daoist robe, not even a second-hand one, so he had never met this manager.

In his memory, the only person related to the Secondhand Clothing Workshop was Pei Siyu.

"Fellow Daoist Pei!"

Soon, Pei Siyu, wearing a veil, opened the door and whispered, "Sheng... Fellow Daoist Shengkui, is something the matter?"

"This is beast meat. Keep it to eat."

Lou Qinghe glanced around before taking out the beast meat Huang Gensheng had given him yesterday.

Pei Siyu waved her hands hurriedly, saying, "Beast meat is very expensive, I cannot accept it..."

As she spoke, she prepared to close the door.

Just then, a thick palm blocked the door.

"Wait!"

Lou Qinghe held the door.

Pei Siyu was startled; she snuck a glance at Lou Qinghe and lowered her head again.

"Take it!"

Lou Qinghe's voice deepened as he shoved all the beast meat in his hand into Pei Siyu's arms.

What to do when a woman says no?

If you force it on her, will she refuse?

Pei Siyu stood dazed, holding the twenty-plus catties of beast meat, clearly lost in Lou Qinghe's overbearing manner, unable to collect her thoughts.

Lou Qinghe thought for a moment before asking, "Manager Wu of your Secondhand Clothing Workshop passed away last night. Did you know?"

"Manager... Manager Wu passed away?"

Pei Siyu's pupils dilated slightly as she came to her senses, clearly shocked.

Lou Qinghe sighed, "Since you are at the Secondhand Clothing Workshop, you must be more careful."

"I only heard it from others. This world is too dangerous; a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator was actually assassinated."

To be a manager of a shop, one had to be at least a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator. How could he not be worried that such a person died silently in their own home?

Pei Siyu lowered her head, "I... I no longer work at the Secondhand Clothing Workshop."

Lou Qinghe was about to speak when he suddenly caught a faint scent: "Has something burned?"

"It's... it's my spirit rice."

Pei Siyu's face turned pale, and she hurried toward her house.

Inside the kitchen, the spirit rice had already turned black, emitting a scorched smell.

Pei Siyu scooped up the rice, saying with a pained heart, "It can still be eaten."

"How can you eat this?" Lou Qinghe frowned slightly.

"It's possible."

Pei Siyu picked up a piece of the hard, black spirit rice and took a light bite.

The spirit rice was hard and bitter, but she swallowed it anyway.

"Is it that good?"

Lou Qinghe snatched the half-eaten rice from her and, under her shocked gaze, wolfed it down.

"You..."

Pei Siyu's lips parted slightly, staring blankly at the man before her.

That spirit rice was half-eaten, with tooth marks still on it. Didn't that mean the two of them had indirectly...

Lou Qinghe rubbed his stomach, "I've finished your rice, you can cook a new batch now."

Having said that, Lou Qinghe strode away.

Until his back completely disappeared, Pei Siyu stood dazed in place, seemingly still recalling Lou Qinghe gnawing on the rice she had eaten.

Days passed one by one.

Lou Qinghe spent his days at home and rarely went out.

Occasionally, he would make a trip to Longmen Market to buy spirit rice and herbs. Every time he went out, he would disguise himself, changing his robes and wearing a mask.

He was extremely cautious and careful.

During this time, he also refined some Huiqi Pills and sold them to Long Men Tang.

Meanwhile, the chaos in the market continued, even intensifying. Now, the Zhou Family was the sole power in Longmen Market, allowing many loose cultivators to act recklessly, causing the original ecological order to collapse completely.

This situation also attracted many loose cultivators and desperate outlaws from the surrounding areas.

Because of the chaos, the number of people in Longmen Market did not decrease; instead, it became even more bustling.

Every day, scenes of slaughter, bloodshed, violence, and backstabbing played out here, with no rules to speak of.

In the market, batches of loose cultivators were replaced one after another.

Unknowingly, more than two months passed.

It was September; the autumn chill had not yet fully set in, but a coolness was secretly emerging.

"My cultivation has reached the Qi Refining Fourth Layer."

Lou Qinghe sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, exhaled a breath of turbid air, and slowly opened his eyes.

【Name: Lou Qinghe】

【Lifespan: 27/67】

【Cultivation: Qi Refining Fourth Layer (3/7200)】

【Spirit Root: Mid-Low Grade Fire Spirit Root】

【Heart Method: Shangqing Taixu Art (Second Layer 65/200)】

【Alchemy: Huiqi Pill LV3 (64/100); Healing Pill LV2 (1/50); Juqi Pill LV3 (2/100)】

【Spells: Fire Control Technique LV5 (5/10000); Basic Evasion Technique LV4 (1/400); Yijian Sect Sword Control Technique LV2 (7/200)】

【Alienation Degree: 25%.】

【Hidden Value: 100%. (100% proficiency gain)】

In two months, his cultivation had gone from the Qi Refining Third Layer to the Fourth Layer, making him a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator.

Besides that, his hard work during this period had brought his Fire Control Technique to LV5.

The only thing that worried him was that his Alienation Degree was still climbing, so Lou Qinghe planned to refine some Quhua Pills as a precaution.

"My Spirit Stones are almost spent; it's time to go to the market to sell some pills."

Lou Qinghe muttered to himself; the Spirit Stones he had obtained from Zhou Lin were basically all gone.

Now he needed to continue refining pills to earn Spirit Stones. Fortunately, his Juqi Pill had reached LV3, and he could often refine First-Grade High-Grade Juqi Pills.

And Juqi Pills were much more valuable than Huiqi Pills.

Next, he disguised himself, changed his robes, and put on his mask. After everything was done smoothly, Lou Qinghe pushed open the door and headed toward the market.

The market now was vastly different from before; the number of people had more than doubled, and cold, sharp gazes often swept over him. Loose cultivators without any strength dared not show their faces in this Longmen Market.

"You dare spread rumors!? Rip his arms off for me!"

Just then, a cold shout rang out.

Following the sound, he saw a loose cultivator surrounded by four or five others, with Hou Peng as the leader.

"Crunch!"

Then came a crisp sound of breaking bones, and the cultivator couldn't help but wail.

A flash of ruthlessness crossed Hou Peng's eyes as he stomped hard on the cultivator's dantian. The cultivator's pupils suddenly froze, and after struggling for a moment, he stopped breathing.

The three people beside him directly took the belongings from the corpse and tossed it aside.

So ruthless!

Many loose cultivators present felt a chill in their hearts.

Hou Peng acted as if he had done a trivial task, looked around, and said, "This is the price for spreading rumors about the Zhou Family!"

Having said that, he left with several Dao Soldiers, nearly brushing shoulders with Lou Qinghe.

However, because of the Wind Breath Art, Hou Peng did not recognize him.

A long time later, faint whispers emerged in the market.

"Is it true that the Zhou Family is colluding with the Baigu Sect?"

"Shh, you still dare to discuss this privately?"

"Let's go quickly."

Baigu Sect!?

Lou Qinghe raised an eyebrow, shocked in his heart, thinking, "The Zhou Family is colluding with the Baigu Sect? There are such rumors in the market; no wonder Hou Peng was so ruthless just now."

In Huangshi City, if anyone colluded with an evil cult like the Baigu Sect, there was only one outcome.

Not to mention a family like the Zhou Family, even a larger family would find it hard to contend with the Huangshi Sect in Huangshi City.

"This matter has nothing to do with me; it's better to leave quickly."

Lou Qinghe arrived at Long Men Tang in a low-key manner and took out his Juqi Pills, preparing to exchange them for some Spirit Stones.

But after learning the purchase price, he exchanged only a few and left in a hurry.

"This Zhou Family is truly black-hearted. Should I try setting up a stall myself..."

On the way, Lou Qinghe couldn't help but think.

Thirty-some Juqi Pills, including some First-Grade Mid-Grade and High-Grade ones, should logically be worth over 150 Low-grade Spirit Stones, but Long Men Tang only gave him one Middle-grade Spirit Stone.

If this continued, the pills he refined would basically be working for Long Men Tang.

Thinking of it, he did it. Lou Qinghe walked directly toward the stall area of the market.

The market was still messy, with little order.

Arriving at a corner, Lou Qinghe took out a piece of animal skin, placed it on the ground, and then put the refined pills on it.

Huiqi Pills, Healing Pills, and Juqi Pills—all three types of pills were categorized by grade.

It didn't look too shabby.

After doing all this, Lou Qinghe sat down, feeling somewhat uneasy.

People came and went, but not a single person came to inquire.

He didn't know how much time had passed when a female cultivator walked over, picked through them for a while, and asked, "Fellow Daoist, what is the price for these Juqi Pills?"

Lou Qinghe replied enthusiastically, "Three Low-grade Spirit Stones for First-Grade Low-Grade, five for Mid-Grade, and eight for High-Grade."

After saying this, he felt nervous inside.

His price was the same as everyone else's; it shouldn't be expensive.

"Fellow Daoist, is your pill authentic?"

At this moment, a mocking voice came from behind the female cultivator.

PS: It's on the first round of recommendations. Whether I can continue writing depends on the upcoming recommendations. 0.0 Kneeling and begging for readers to keep following.