Chapter 153: Singing Pills

Zheng Dong did not get the answer from the direction he expected. Turning his head, this time he met Xiao Qiu's gaze, the meaning of which was very clear and firm—you are from Zheng Shou.

Zheng Dong lowered his head, stammered twice, and finally opened his mouth, his voice hoarse and trembling: "Young Master Shang, I'm sorry... I, spoke wildly..."

"Slap yourself," Xiao Qiu said flatly.

"Eh! No need," Qijiao Shang Huaitong waved his hand with a smile, "Just a small matter."

"Slap!" Xiao Qiu shouted.

Zheng Dong looked at this second brother with red eyes, lowered his head, and "slap! slap!" twice, blood streaks immediately swelling on his face.

"Young Master Shang?" Xiao Qiu looked at the man.

Qijiao Shang Huaitong smiled: "I have already said it is enough, why bother with a child."

He shook his head, turned around to pick up his cloak from the cabinet, and walked toward the entrance without looking sideways.

It turned out he hadn't intended to attend this Pill-Singing Meeting at all.

This was the first time Seeing Pei Ye had truly seen this "choice for the crown." If one didn't talk about his own stance, this Seven Serpents direct descendant had nothing annoying about him; on the contrary, he could be called composed and graceful.

Seeing Pei Ye remembered Li Piaoqing talking about Bai Yuliang two days ago, mentioning how this senior brother performed when faced with provocation—at that time, he just glanced at the person and flicked his sword scabbard onto the other's face. The person flew more than a zhang away, and half his teeth were shattered.

In comparison, Qijiao Shang Huaitong's treatment of Zheng Dong could be called patient.

Seeing Pei Ye watched the man walk to the entrance, but his gaze was attracted by Zhang Junxue, who was still standing at the entrance. Her figure was broad and solitary. Seeing Pei Ye's clothes had at least been washed, but the woman's were dirty and old from several days of training, neither grey nor white, and the whole person looked like a grey-haired ostrich that had been soaked.

She lowered her head and moved a step inside, but seemed to find too much mud on her shoes, so she retreated and rubbed them while tilting her feet.

At this moment, Qijiao Shang Huaitong passed by her side, just like a golden eagle.

He wore jade boots and black robes, with clouds in his hair and sword-like temples. When he walked, he seemed never to lower his head, thus giving people a feeling—as long as it was the path he was going to take, it would be a smooth road.

When he was about to go out, he shook the black cloak and draped it over his body, like a pair of great wings unfolding and closing. The black velvet rolled and silver light flickered, just like a starry night sky.

In the blink of an eye, the two had passed each other. Zhang Junxue straightened up silently, her shoes finally a little cleaner. She lowered her head and stepped into the venue, rainwater still dripping from her forehead.

——

With Zhang Junxue coming in and Qijiao Shang Huaitong going out, it was as if a switch had been flipped, and people began to file in.

Groups of orioles, falcons, magpies, and swallows, young masters and young ladies, martial artists and scholars, they chatted and stepped into the terrace. Afterward, some middle-aged men with dignified bearing gradually appeared. Zhang Mozhu flashed past in the crowd, walking side by side with a tall figure. Seeing Pei Ye only saw their backs, and a sense of familiarity flashed by.

On this side, Zheng Dong was still stiffly lowering his head. Xiao Qiu pulled him, and the two were about to go to the empty seats behind.

"Zheng Dong, you sit here," Li Piaoqing said softly.

Zheng Dong raised his head, his eyes red: "Miss Li... I'm sorry."

Li Piaoqing frowned and shook her head: "What are you sorry for, it is I who am sorry to you."

Zheng Dong bit his lip, and Xiao Qiu cupped his hands gently from the side: "Miss Li, let him follow me."

"..." Li Piaoqing looked at Zheng Dong, "Then go back to Zheng Shou early, in the future... just mention the Cuiyu Jianmen less."

"... Hmm."

"Apologies," Li Piaoqing's lips pressed into a straight line.

"..."

"I will send him back tomorrow, don't worry, Miss Li," Xiao Qiu cupped his hands, and the two left.

Li Piaoqing watched their backs disappear, leaned into the small cabinet, turned her head, and looked blankly at the vast Catch-Moon Lake outside the terrace. Seeing Pei Ye followed her gaze, and the rain stirred up a thin veil on the lake surface.

The young girl's low mood was obvious.

"... I remember you said before that you weren't very familiar with Zheng Dong," Seeing Pei Ye said, sitting down beside her.

"True, I haven't seen him many times, he's rogue-like, following behind the senior brother," Li Piaoqing said.

"Then why are you so unhappy?" Seeing Pei Ye smiled and poked her shoulder with his finger, "It's as if Zheng Dong were a Cuiyu disciple."

"Cuiyu sent him an enrollment letter long ago, but he didn't join himself, feeling that this way is more free."

"..." Seeing Pei Ye paused.

In everything that had just happened, he actually couldn't integrate into their kind of shared hatred. His dislike for the Seven Serpents Cave only came from the Lake Heart Gang and the young girl's account, and in the scene just now, if the youth were to tell the truth, Zheng Dong was a more annoying character than Qijiao Shang Huaitong.

Most people in the venue must have felt the same way.

If Zheng Dong and Qijiao Shang Huaitong's personalities were swapped, the youth's feelings of like and dislike might be easier to sort out.

And Li Piaoqing didn't continue this topic. She said in a low voice: "Don't you think my words just now were a bit too few?"

"..."

"Cuiyu Li Piaoqing, Seven Serpents Qijiao Shang Huaitong, they should have been parallel names, but do you think... the two people just now were on the same level?"

Seeing Pei Ye didn't speak.

Of course not.

Qijiao Shang Huaitong was composed and at ease, neither losing his bearing nor damaging the Seven Serpents' dignity, resolving this sudden offense in front of everyone while chatting and laughing.

Such a person, if taken to the Divine Capital or the Sword Cultivation Academy, would not damage the face of Bowang Prefecture.

"Because I didn't know what to say at all," the young girl continued, looking at the lake surface. "I also thought of suitable words, but didn't dare to say them. Because speaking means I have taken over this situation, and I was afraid that I didn't have the ability to master the subsequent development. If it went wrong, it would be Cuiyu's face that was lost."

"I could only watch Zheng Dong being bullied by him."

But wasn't this asking for trouble?

The youth listened quietly, this thought flashing through his mind.

He actually didn't know where Zheng Dong's hatred for Qijiao Shang Huaitong came from, nor did he figure out why Li Piaoqing naturally stood in the same camp as Zheng Dong.

But the young girl's fragility and loss at this moment were so real, almost within reach.

She had been learning for a long time, trying to become a reliable backbone. Everyone could see that the Cuiyu Jianmen was waning, but standing under this setting sun, she had to appear incomparably firm and unshakable, making people believe that she could really carry this great sun back up with a pair of thin shoulders.

The young girl had also been burying such a belief in herself, talking to herself every morning and evening, sometimes almost to the point of deception.

She had really firmly believed that she could revitalize Cuiyu.

But today's unexpected meeting placed the naked reality in front of her: regardless of anyone's will, the Seven Serpents Cave was far stronger than the Cuiyu Jianmen, and Li Piaoqing was ridiculously immature in front of Qijiao Shang Huaitong.

"I certainly don't have the ability to bear it, but what makes me even more depressed is that I don't even have the courage to bear it," Li Piaoqing hugged her knees, really looking like a fledgling bird that hadn't left the nest.

"You are only seventeen," Seeing Pei Ye tried to be gentle, "Seven years away from twenty-four."

"... But the Cuiyu Jianmen doesn't know how many seven years it has left," Li Piaoqing was still looking at the lake outside the terrace. "The expenses for coming to the prefecture city to participate in the competition this time, we diverted silver from three places to make up; the recruitment of new disciples this year has been going on for more than half, we have lowered the standards again, but we recruited five fewer people than last year... In every place that can be seen and cannot be seen, the Cuiyu Jianmen is decaying rapidly."

Yes, the Cuiyu Jianmen was being gradually eroded and weakened. There was no conspiracy that happened overnight, nor were there any unspeakable tricks, so there was no chance for a sudden reversal.

If you want to turn defeat into victory, you can only reverse it and win step by step.

But wanting to take the first step was so difficult.

A chance close at hand was the Jin Qiu Wu Bi, but the young girl certainly couldn't grasp it. Even if she had learned the Yellow Jade, the gap between the Fifth Life and Sixth Life was a chasm that was extremely difficult to cross.

For Cuiyu, the Jin Qiu Wu Bi was less of a chance and more of another heavy death warrant. Because the crown was almost already in Qijiao Shang Huaitong's pocket, and if Li Piaoqing happened to lose to Qijiao Shang Huaitong in the top four, the consequences would be even more disastrous.

"Seeing Pei Ye." The young girl called the youth's name directly for the first time. She turned her head, and her eyes were actually damp, "I rarely think about it, but if, there is no chance of victory anymore..."

Her voice went hoarse, and the youth's somewhat blank and frowning expression made the words behind her unable to be spoken.

She suddenly let go of her knees, raised her hand to rub her face twice, and laughed lightly with a hoarse voice: "Apologies, I am too weak."

Seeing Pei Ye looked at her, and chaotic thoughts surged into his mind.

He could make some kind of promise to the young girl—"If I say no, then Qijiao Shang Huaitong won't get this crown."

He had this impulse in his heart, but for the youth, a promise was something that had to be taken with extreme caution. He had to be responsible for himself, responsible for the symbiotic Black Chi, and responsible for the hatred they carried together.

Many times, a hot head would only let things slide into a track he couldn't control.

"If you can't win the martial competition, what do you plan to do?" Seeing Pei Ye looked at the young girl with slightly red eyes and asked in a low voice.

Could the Cuiyu Jianmen really not find even a tiny chance of victory?

The young girl was silent for a moment, then suddenly gave him a smile.

Seeing Pei Ye paused and followed the young girl's gaze to the terrace.

On the Wind-Watching Terrace, the guests were already seated. In front, a middle-aged man in brocade clothes led a team of green-clothed men up—it was actually the boss of the Dingyun Firm.

But Seeing Pei Ye's mood at this moment was not on Zhang Dingyun. He looked at the box covered with red silk brought up by the green-clothed men; the things contained inside were self-evident.

Seeing Pei Ye's gaze stuck to it, and he suddenly held his breath.

Li Piaoqing, could she really absolutely not win against Qijiao Shang Huaitong?

Seeing Pei Ye glanced at the young girl beside him.

She was depressed because of frustration and pressure, not because she was collapsing because she was at her wit's end.

Ascension Pill.

The significance of this pill to the Cuiyu Jianmen far exceeded what Seeing Pei Ye had thought.

The young girl had already learned the Yellow Jade. If she could use this pill to enter the Sixth Life, then Qijiao Shang Huaitong would immediately face an opponent worthy of being called a threat.

Victory or defeat was yet to be known.

"Shh." Li Piaoqing pointed a finger at the youth who was looking over blankly, and that kind of lightness appeared on her again, "The pill singing has begun."

With this sentence falling, a crisp knock came from the terrace.

The sound of silk and bamboo began to rise, surrounding the terrace. And all around the high terrace, huge silk curtains hung down from the top, adding a layer of membrane between the cold wind and drizzle outside the building and the guests.

The terrace quieted down. The middle-aged man in brocade clothes exchanged greetings with the guests, and then immediately entered the main topic, starting to talk about this pill.

This was the first sale of the Ascension Pill, and actually its first appearance. Many people came this time actually just to get to know and understand it.

The Dingyun Firm, which hosted this Pill-Singing Meeting, also clearly knew this point. This singing sale was also far more about reputation than profit for them.

Seeing Pei Ye followed the prompt of the Dingyun boss on the terrace and took out a delicately made small booklet from the wooden box beside him. Flipping through it casually, the origin, ingredients, uses... it introduced the pill in detail and comprehensively.

Seeing Pei Ye flipped through two pages and handed it to Li Piaoqing.

This introduction session took nearly half an hour, and only then did it enter the singing sale session.

"Then, let's start selling. As usual, we have to report a base price, but the base price of this thing is as if it doesn't exist, as if it's not set," the Dingyun boss smiled and cupped his hands toward the terrace, "Master Bai, isn't your grandson aiming for the top eight this session? Why don't you come and report a price."

"Ten wen," a hoary voice came from below the terrace.

A burst of laughter rang out on the field.

"Good! Just ten wen!" the Dingyun boss sang loudly, his ability to walk the streets in his youth not lost at all, "Cabinet A-9, ten wen to buy the Ascension Pill—competitors, hurry up, three sings and it's settled."

The second sing couldn't even be uttered, and the field suddenly boiled over.

"Twenty wen!"

"Thirty wen!"

"Fifty wen!"

"One tael!"

"Master Sun! You're offering too much!" someone laughed.

"One tael and ten wen!"

This joking atmosphere lasted for a quarter of an hour, until a voice rang out.

"Sixty taels."

The atmosphere on the field suddenly became solemn, and more than half of the people quieted down. The true base price had just appeared.

But before the first sing could be uttered, someone followed up.

"Sixty-three taels."

"Sixty-eight taels."

"Seventy taels!"

About eight or nine people followed one after another.

Seeing Pei Ye turned his head and glanced at Li Piaoqing. The young girl just sat quietly.

At this time, a young voice rang out: "The Bai Bamboo Pavilion offers one hundred taels."

The field went completely quiet for the first time.

This time, after the first sing was called, a heavy voice followed up: "One hundred and five taels."

By this time, it was already quite close to the value of this pill here and now, and the bidders began to consider carefully. As usual, the subsequent price increases would become slower and slower, and it was very likely to increase by one or two taels.

But suddenly, a dull female voice rang out in the corner: "One hundred and forty taels."

Seeing Pei Ye turned his head violently to look, but it wasn't abrupt, because the sound of turning heads rang out everywhere in the field.

This was a price that didn't consider the value of the pill itself at all, shattering the game that was supposed to last another quarter of an hour. The determination revealed by the bidder was very clear—she wanted this pill, regardless of the cost, doing her best.

"Cabinet D-7, one hundred and forty taels of silver to buy the Ascension Pill! Three sings and it's settled!"

No one spoke.

"Cabinet D-7, one hundred and forty taels of silver to buy the Ascension Pill! Three sings and it's settled!"

Still no one spoke.

This was indeed a price sufficient to end the bidding. Unless you urgently needed this pill to save your life, you could completely wait for the normal-priced pills from the two furnaces next year.

"Cabinet D-7, one hundred and forty taels of silver—"

"One hundred and sixty taels," the young girl beside Seeing Pei Ye sang the price.

She did urgently need this pill to save her life.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 154 =====