Chapter 17: Windfall

"You killed him?"

Before Luo Chen could answer, Wang Yuan nodded to himself.

"Looks like it."

As Luo Chen retreated in nervousness, Wang Yuan walked over to the charred corpse and swung his broadsword.

The head, burned beyond recognition, was casually severed.

Wang Yuan glanced at the tense Luo Chen and the storage bag in his hand, his gaze complex.

The night wind was chilly, and the blood-stained body felt even colder.

Luo Chen forced an awkward smile. "Brother Wang, I haven't finished that book yet."

As if remembering something, Wang Yuan’s complex expression gradually faded, and his eyelids drooped once more.

"Go home early. Dahe Market is very dangerous at night."

"Mm-hmm."

Luo Chen turned to leave, but hesitated before walking back to arduously hoist the snake-skin bag full of herbs onto his back.

That was his entire livelihood.

Watching Luo Chen’s back as he neared the alley exit, Wang Yuan sighed inexplicably.

"Take this. Consider it payment for this head."

A black nail, the length of a chopstick, landed at Luo Chen’s feet. It was stained with fresh red blood and even bits of flesh.

"Brother Wang, you’re too kind."

"Get lost. Take the small woods, don't take the main road."

"Understood."

With a heavy nod, Luo Chen ducked into the small woods without looking back.

In the alley, Wang Yuan stood for a moment, holding the three heads, before gradually fading into the darkness.

"Wuwu..."

Ding!

"Haa!"

Luo Chen slumped against the bed frame like a dead fish, drenched in sweat, his underwear soaked through.

On the floor in front of his bed lay the other Soul-Breaking Nail that had been driven into his waist.

Enduring the intense pain, Luo Chen grabbed a jar of ointment from the side and poured it into the wound.

This was his homemade healing medicine, specifically for the danger of cauldron explosions during alchemy; it had helped him many times before.

Today, it had found an even greater use!

As the powder entered his body, a cooling sensation emerged, followed by a searing, fiery pain.

"Damn! Damn, damn, damn..."

Low, growling curses echoed intermittently.

Never had Luo Chen felt as angry as he did now.

He wasn't angry at the damage the enemy had caused him, but at his own weakness.

If he were as strong as Wang Yuan, he wouldn't have ended up in this state today.

Only after binding the wound with cloth did Luo Chen finally let out a breath.

Enduring the pain, he went to the living room, opened the snake-skin bag, and sorted the various herbs onto different shelves.

These low-grade herbs and spiritual materials could not be mixed for long, or their effectiveness would be greatly diminished.

His stumbling footsteps, under the bean-sized oil lamp, looked pitiful.

Luo Chen even felt this scene was exactly like his past life, when he would go to work sick after surgery.

"No matter where I am, I can't escape a life of toil. No wonder my lifespan in my past life was only seventy-five."

After finishing all this, he finally had the energy to lie down on the bed.

The persistent pain in his waist kept him awake, even though he was exhausted.

Helpless, he had to find something else to do to distract himself.

"Let's see what kind of good stuff that guy who died even younger than me had."

The storage bags of Qi Refining stage cultivators were undefended, as they lacked spiritual sense and could not set up restrictions.

After the owner died, the magic power imprint on it naturally dissipated.

Luo Chen mobilized his remaining bit of spiritual power and opened the storage bag.

A pile of items instantly filled his wooden bed.

"Today is the day of the big market; this guy actually bought a whole pile of things."

A low-grade magic robe, a box of Soul-Calming Incense, five bottles of Grain Bigu Pills, one bottle of Qi-Nurturing Pills, one bottle of Golden Cabinet Powder, and a stack of talismans.

There was also a bundle of withered spiritual herbs; this was the stuff that took up most of the space on his bed.

Besides these, there were the spirit stones Luo Chen cared about most.

"Ninety-two low-grade spirit stones. Damn, he's a pauper!"

Luo Chen cursed, then happily began putting the items back one by one.

The spirit stones were indeed few, not matching the status of a fifth-layer Qi Refining cultivator.

But the value of the other items far exceeded those ninety-two low-grade spirit stones.

Not to mention the low-grade magic robe; although a bit worn—likely what the short-lived ghost had been wearing—it was worth at least a hundred spirit stones if sold.

This thing’s activation speed was even faster than talismans.

That was why Luo Chen had been able to activate it so quickly earlier, and why the short-lived ghost had immediately activated the robe's defensive light shield when hit in the face by the Fireball Technique.

If it had been a complete mid-grade magic robe, it could have withstood six or seven fireballs, but unfortunately, it had already been damaged by Wang Yuan earlier.

It hadn't even withstood the third hit.

Three breaths of time were not enough for the severely injured Chen Xiao to use other means.

The five bottles of Grain Bigu Pills weren't worth much, and their quality wasn't as good as what Luo Chen refined himself, but they were still worth one spirit stone.

As for the others, they were very valuable.

Soul-Calming Incense was one of the best external aids for low-grade cultivators to assist in cultivation.

One stick of Soul-Calming Incense a day was enough to allow a cultivator to practice their core cultivation technique five more times; it was said to be able to restore the fragile souls of low-grade cultivators.

A box, containing twelve sticks, was worth 120 spirit stones.

Needless to say, the Qi-Nurturing Pills; the pattern mark on them indicated they came from the Spirit Medicine Pavilion.

Fixed price: 100 spirit stones per bottle!

Good stuff; after swallowing and refining them, they could increase spiritual power.

As for that stack of talismans, based on Luo Chen’s experience, they should be worth fifty or sixty spirit stones.

He didn't recognize the withered spiritual herbs that filled the bed, but the fact that they were specifically bought and kept in the storage bag meant they were definitely useful.

By this calculation, the total value was already 400 spirit stones!

A windfall!

Indeed, a horse doesn't get fat without night grass, and a man doesn't get rich without a windfall.

In just that short moment tonight, Luo Chen’s net worth had quadrupled.

And his biggest gain wasn't even these items.

It was the storage bag itself!

Its volume wasn't large, just one cubic foot; it was the smallest and cheapest type of storage bag.

But in the Wanbao Pavilion, it was worth 10,000!

He didn't know if the short-lived ghost had been given it by someone else or had stolen it, but he definitely couldn't have afforded it.

Or rather, the vast majority of low-grade cultivators couldn't afford even the smallest storage bag.

This kind of thing was standard equipment for inner sect disciples of large sects; outer sect disciples didn't even deserve to own one!

"I'm rich, I'm rich!"

"No wonder killing people and seizing treasures is a classic trope in web novels; no matter the genre, it always has a place."

"It’s just that the risk is too high. One slip-up, and you’re finished, burying a lifetime of effort."

Tonight, two instances of killing for treasure had happened right in front of Luo Chen.

Li Zixiong of the Dajiang Gang gathered three people to surround and kill Wang Yuan, and the result was a disaster!

The fifth-layer Qi Refining short-lived ghost intended to kill Luo Chen instantly, and the result was a disaster!

"Such dangerous things are better left to the professionals; I can't handle the shock."

Luo Chen’s mind turned, and he picked up the last jade bottle that hadn't been put into the storage bag.

Golden Cabinet Powder, one of the signature elixirs of the Spirit Medicine Pavilion.

It had excellent healing effects for any damage caused by metal-attribute magic tools, and it only cost ten spirit stones.

High quality and low price; it had always been loved by the loose cultivators of Dahe Market.

He sniffed it; the smell was fine, not poison.

Besides, no one would put poison in a healing elixir bottle in their own storage bag.

If one were severely injured and confused, taking the wrong medicine would be a huge joke.

It just meant he had to painstakingly undo the bandages he had just tied.

Sighing, Luo Chen had no choice but to act.

The next day at noon, Luo Chen woke up in a daze.

This was a rare sleep-in for him.

In the second half of the night, he hadn't been able to resist the weakness and had fallen asleep.

Opening his eyes wide, he lay on the bed in a daze for a while before Luo Chen gritted his teeth and forced himself to crawl up.

No matter how bitter or difficult, it was no excuse to lie there and rot.

He went to the living room, picked up a handful of spiritual herbs, spread them flat on a winnowing basket, and prepared to take them out to dry.

Pushing open the door, the noon sun made it impossible to open his eyes for a moment. When he adapted, he was shocked to find Wang Yuan standing outside.

The other man casually tossed something, and it landed in the basket full of spiritual herbs.

"Take it. From now on, you are a member of the Poshan Gang."

"If anyone gives you trouble, just say you’re under my, Wang Yuan’s, protection."

Luo Chen looked at the iron token in the basket with a stunned gaze.

"Thanks, Brother Wang."

Wang Yuan waved his hand. "What’s there to thank? Back when I was at my lowest, you lent me a few bottles of Grain Bigu Pills, and I didn't say thank you to you either."

"Alright, the item is yours, I’m heading back. The outer city might not be peaceful for a while, so be careful when you come and go."

Having said that, he turned and left, without the slightest hesitation. ===== CHAPTER 18 =====