Chapter 36: Rust Pill

Li Banfeng held up a candle, searching the room for the gold-rimmed glasses and the corpse of Tiger Cub.

He found no corpses, only some scattered items in the corner.

He found the tattered clothing of the two men; from the extent of the damage, the garments had been forcibly ripped off their bodies by some external force.

The items inside the clothes remained—Li Banfeng found both men’s wallets.

The cloth bag containing the Snake Spot Lotus was also there, and all the lotus flowers inside were intact.

Next to the copper lotus, Li Banfeng found the gold-rimmed glasses, along with a wooden eyeglass case beside them and a metal cigarette case beside the case.

But one thing was missing—the gold-rimmed glasses man’s folding fan.

Li Banfeng was deeply intrigued by that fan, which carried an odd fragrance; its material and craftsmanship were extraordinary—it could be folded into an iron rod, or opened to serve as both blade and shield.

Where was the fan?

Had the copper lotus eaten it?

What of the corpses?

Had they been eaten too?

It devoured two corpses and stole the gold-rimmed glasses’ weapon.

Why did the copper lotus want a weapon?

Could this lotus actually wield a weapon and fight?

And previously, the copper lotus consumed Snake Spot Chrysanthemum and refined it into Snake Spot Pill.

Now that it swallowed corpses and weapons, why did it ignore the Snake Spot Chrysanthemum belonging to the gold-rimmed glasses and Tiger Cub?

Was it because it had meat to eat and no longer wanted vegetables—waiting to devour the fan later, just to clean its teeth?

That idea made sense.

Then what was inside these three lotus seeds?

Had it refined the gold-rimmed glasses and Tiger Cub into pills too?

Li Banfeng carefully peeled the three lotus seeds from the seven-pored lotus heart; the flower immediately closed.

Two seeds swelled in his palm; after about ten seconds, they cracked open, each releasing a single red bead.

These beads were slightly larger than Snake Spot Pills, their color pure, glowing brilliantly under the candlelight.

What kind of pill was this?

As he pondered, the third seed also burst—inside was only one bead, rust-colored.

Not only did it look like rust, its texture felt like rust—a dull, repulsive grittiness clung to his skin.

It wasn’t just gritty—it stung. Li Banfeng tossed the rust pill aside and found a red mark on his palm, stinging with a numb tinge.

Poisoned?

Li Banfeng didn’t know how to respond, when suddenly the red mark split open, a trickle of blood oozed out.

After the blood flowed, the stinging and numbness vanished.

Yu Zhaixiu possessed strong self-healing abilities within his residence; the bleeding must have been an active detoxification process.

But Li Banfeng hadn’t expected that mere brief contact with the rust-colored bead could inflict such severe harm.

If contact lasted longer—or if he’d swallowed the rust bead outright—could he even be saved?

Even Yu Zhaixiu, within his own residence, probably couldn’t save him.

In the spirit of seeking truth, should I conduct an experiment myself?

At this thought, Li Banfeng suddenly sneered and muttered to himself: “Am I mad?”

Li Banfeng emptied the wallets of the gold-rimmed glasses and Tiger Cub, padded his hands with the torn clothing, placed the two pills into separate wallets, and squatted to study the copper lotus’s properties.

The red bead and rust bead would henceforth be called Red Pill and Rust Pill.

The Red Pill likely came from the corpses of the gold-rimmed glasses and Tiger Cub.

The Rust Pill likely came from the vanished folding fan.

The copper lotus transformed them all into pills; Li Banfeng couldn’t comprehend the exact mechanism, nor did he yet know the purpose of these two pills.

Li Banfeng’s foremost concern now was: what principle did the copper lotus use to select materials for pill refinement?

Previously it chose Snake Spot Chrysanthemum—why now ignore it?

Could it someday take an interest in me and turn me directly into a pill?

Li Banfeng carried the Snake Spot Chrysanthemum bag to the copper lotus; the flower showed no reaction.

Then why did the Snake Spot Chrysanthemum I brought back last night turn into Snake Spot Pills?

What was different when I returned last night?

As he pondered, Li Banfeng’s head began to spin again.

This was a normal reaction after inhaling toxic mist—dizziness would be followed by nausea.

Nausea!

Li Banfeng remembered: the first thing he did upon returning to his residence was to vomit; unable to find a suitable place, he vomited directly into the flower bag.

Before that, he had dumped the Snake Spot Chrysanthemum from the bag onto the floor.

Could it be that the copper lotus had no reaction to Snake Spot Chrysanthemum if it was enclosed in fabric?

Li Banfeng opened the bag and poured the forty-odd Snake Spot Chrysanthemum collected by the gold-rimmed glasses near the copper lotus.

The moment the chrysanthemums touched the ground, the copper lotus’s petals began to tremble.

Sssss~ sssss~

A metallic scraping sound rose as each of the seven petals slowly unfurled.

Li Banfeng was again awed by this intricate mechanism—he could no longer tell whether modern civilization or these strange technologies were more advanced.

Once the seven petals fully opened, Li Banfeng clearly saw the seven-pored lotus heart.

He felt the air in the residence flowing in an unnatural direction.

The air spun into a vortex, its center precisely the seven-pored lotus heart.

The forty-odd Snake Spot Chrysanthemum on the ground slowly rose, swirling and dancing through the room.

This scene must have occurred last night too—but I slept so deeply, I noticed nothing!

Li Banfeng instinctively stepped back two paces from the copper lotus, fearing he’d be sucked into the lotus heart.

Forty-three Snake Spot Chrysanthemum were drawn into the flower; the petals closed again.

So the copper lotus only responded when the material was directly within its line of sight.

Line of sight?

That word seemed inappropriate—could the copper lotus even see?

As he pondered, Li Banfeng heard a sharp crack; he lowered the candle and searched for a long while—the Rust Pill had fallen to the floor.

Didn’t I put it in the wallet?

Li Banfeng picked up the wallet and saw a hole beneath the leather, surrounded by blackish-blue scorch marks.

Was it corroded?

Could the Rust Pill even corrode things?

What would happen if I swallowed the Rust Pill?

Even Yu Zhaixiu probably couldn’t withstand it—nor could a Poison Cultivator!

Li Banfeng grew even more curious.

He padded his hands with the torn cloth and carefully placed the Rust Pill inside the metal cigarette case.

Would a metal box resist corrosion?

No.

The corrosion effect was even more obvious than on the wallet.

The moment the metal cigarette case touched the Rust Pill, it began rusting rapidly; by the time Li Banfeng removed the pill, the entire case was covered in rust, unrecognizable.

Metal won’t work—what about a wooden box?

Li Banfeng placed the Rust Pill inside the eyeglass case, observed for a moment, and found it did not corrode wood; he then placed the case safely in the room’s corner.

Li Banfeng waited silently beside the copper lotus; after roughly half an hour, the petals opened again, revealing a new lotus seed inside.

Li Banfeng held the seed in his palm; the moment it left the lotus heart, it swelled rapidly.

Boom! A muffled crack—and a black-and-white pill exploded outward.

It was a Snake Spot Pill!

Li Banfeng counted: ten pills in total.

Previously, he had refined eight pills from thirty-seven chrysanthemums; this meant the copper lotus required four and a half chrysanthemums per pill—far superior to any pharmacy’s method.

This time, fewer chrysanthemums were consumed, yielding a higher output—likely because the gold-rimmed glasses’ chrysanthemums were larger.

Li Banfeng dumped out all the Snake Spot Chrysanthemum—Qin Xiaopang’s, Oil Peach’s, Grass Leaf’s, Old Smoke Cannon’s, Tiger Cub’s, Baldy’s, and his lackeys’…

Three hundred and thirty-two flowers total were drawn into the lotus heart.

Again, after half an hour, the petals bloomed—this time, three lotus seeds rested within.

Li Banfeng peeled off the seeds and waited quietly as each one burst.

Minutes later, he gathered the shattered seeds from the floor—seventy-six Snake Spot Pills collected.

Adding the eighteen Snake Spot Pills he and the gold-rimmed glasses had previously refined, the total was ninety-four.

Money!

It was pile upon pile of money!

Li Banfeng bought two cloth bags from the general store, but actually used only one to store the pills—the other he filled with vomit.

He put the elixirs into the remaining clean cloth bag and tidied up the gold-rimmed glasses and Tiger Cub’s legacy.

The gold-rimmed glasses had 2,613 yuan in cash; Tiger Cub had 3,528.5 yuan on him.

Li Banfeng no longer cared about such small sums—he collected the money out of respect for the two dead men.

After all, they had known each other, even partnered up; he must safeguard their belongings!

After resting over two more hours in his portable dwelling, Li Banfeng left Kufu Mountain and walked to the gathering spot of the herbal shops.

The cultivators carrying Snake-Spotted Chrysanthemums were still arguing with the herbal shops—they claimed they wouldn’t sell, yet never moved far.

If not to the herbal shops, then to whom?

They merely hoped this resistance would secure them a higher price, as one middle-aged cultivator said: “Even thirty would do; twenty-five is too cruel.”

Li Banfeng had no interest in watching their bickering—Xiao Pan and the others were waiting for him in a quiet spot.

Li Banfeng had been gone nearly three hours; Xiao Pan was frantic!

“I shouldn’t have let him go alone! This mountain is vast—where do you even find an old woman? He spent the whole night up there—isn’t this killing him?!”

Xiao Pan paced back and forth, rubbing his hands.

Grass Leaf lowered his head: “If Brother Baisha truly gets elixirs in exchange, I’ll take half…”

Oil Peach muttered to himself: “An old woman—what kind of old woman? Did he meet a lucky star…?”

When they saw Li Banfeng’s figure, everyone was delighted, but Li Banfeng had no time to listen to their thanks or exchange pleasantries—he handed out the elixirs directly.

“Oil Peach, you had thirty-eight flowers; you got four elixirs.”

Oil Peach gasped: “Aren’t we short two flowers?”

Li Banfeng said: “I made up the difference—just rounded it off.”

Oil Peach looked at Li Banfeng, grateful yet ashamed.

Li Banfeng pulled out six more elixirs: “Grass Leaf, you had sixty-one flowers—too far off to make up the difference, so I just rounded down.”

Grass Leaf was overjoyed and immediately checked the elixirs’ authenticity.

Next came Xiao Pan.

His account was messy—he originally had twenty Snake-Spotted Chrysanthemums, worth two elixirs.

After splitting the Snake-Spotted Chrysanthemums from Old Smoke Cannon and the bald men’s group, Xiao Pan had eighty-four.

Altogether one hundred and four; accounting for Xiao Pan’s care along the way, Li Banfeng gave him eleven elixirs.

Xiao Pan held the elixirs, his hands trembling uncontrollably.

“One elixir is ten thousand—let’s go sell them right now!”

Grass Leaf stopped Xiao Pan: “Big Brother, where do you plan to sell them?”

“To the herbal shops, of course—it’s right here!”

Grass Leaf shook his head: “Don’t sell them to the herbal shops—their origin is unclear.”

Xiao Pan frowned: “How’s it unclear? Isn’t it just—that thing…”

The truth really couldn’t be explained—and even if it could, no one would believe it.

Grass Leaf said: “I worked as an apprentice in a herbal shop—elixirs with unclear origins aren’t accepted. If they dig too deep, it’ll bring us trouble.”

Indeed, they couldn’t sell to the herbal shops.

Li Banfeng said nothing, quietly observing their plans.

Xiao Pan grew disheartened: “Then what do we do? We swapped for elixirs, but they’re still stuck in our hands.”

Oil Peach laughed: “How could they be stuck? So many want elixirs—and they’re rich. Ten thousand yuan might not even buy one.”

You take their money, and they’ll remember your kindness. Such a profitable business—you couldn’t dream of it.”

Li Banfeng’s brow relaxed—there was still a way.

But it wasn’t suited for me.

Oil Peach meant selling through private channels to those who wanted them.

Li Banfeng was unfamiliar here—he couldn’t find suitable buyers. He glanced at Xiao Pan—did he have any sales channels?

Xiao Pan scratched his scalp: “But this isn’t something you can sell overnight.”

Oil Peach was puzzled: “Why rush? Elixirs won’t spoil overnight!”

“That’s true…”

Oil Peach had no patience to argue with Xiao Pan—she turned, bowed to Li Banfeng: “Your kindness needs no thanks—I owe you these elixirs, I owe you my life.

If you ever come to Waigou Mabam Village, ask for You Xuetao—you’ll find me. If you need anything, just say the word—I won’t blink at fire or knives!”

You Xuetao—Oil Peach—her nickname and name were similar.

She gave her address—if Xiao Pan couldn’t find buyers, they could always find her later.

Grass Leaf bowed to Li Banfeng: “Big Brother Baisha, I’m Xue Yingying. In Waigou Sanpu Village, ask for the Xue family—you’ll find me.”

Oil Peach pulled out two elixirs: “We can’t repay this debt yet—take these elixirs, as a token of my gratitude.”

Grass Leaf also pulled out two elixirs: “I have a token too.”

Li Banfeng waved them off—he refused their elixirs.

The two women thanked him endlessly—but if they knew he still had sixty-five elixirs, what would they think?

Oil Peach looked at Li Banfeng—she actually had a thought.

Wu Xiu’s thoughts were straightforward.

If she could meet a man like him, his looks might not be worse than a flat one.

Grass Leaf’s thoughts were more complex.

Though she hadn’t seen the scene clearly, the bald men’s group had indeed died at his and Xiao Pan’s hands.

This was a man who could accomplish great things!

With his backing, the herbal shop could truly be opened!

The two women took their leave one after another; Li Banfeng stood still, pondering his journey back to Yuezhou.

Logically, with so many elixirs, money certainly wouldn’t be lacking.

But until the elixirs were sold, they weren’t money.

How could he sell them quickly?

Li Banfeng looked at Xiao Pan—Xiao Pan also seemed desperate for cash.

Yet after sitting silently so long, the once frantic Xiao Pan had gradually calmed down.

He thought Oil Peach was right: “Selling elixirs doesn’t need haste—that woman was right; this is a precious thing.

I won’t just get a good price—I’ll make many good friends through these elixirs. So there’s no rush at all!”

You’re not in a hurry anymore?

That won’t do!

“I’m in a hurry!” Li Banfeng sat beside Xiao Pan. “I need money urgently.”

Though Li Banfeng had taken plenty of cash from the gold-rimmed glasses, bringing these elixirs back to Yuezhou seemed useless.

Xiao Pan was curious: “What’s so urgent? Can I lend you some?”

Li Banfeng waved him off: “I don’t want to borrow—I just want to sell these elixirs fast.”

“Sell them fast…” Qin Xiao Pan understood Li Banfeng’s thought—he was from outside Yuezhou, unfamiliar here, didn’t know many ordinary people, let alone wealthy elites.

After a moment’s thought, Xiao Pan pinched his chin: “There is one place where you can sell quickly—but the price will be discounted.”

Li Banfeng’s eyes lit up: “How big a discount?”

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(End of Chapter)