Chapter 61: Tai Sui Jade

"Good... hmm? What did you say? Which one did you choose?" Ma Tianshou had originally believed Xu Yuan would definitely choose the second option.

"I choose the first one. Please, my lord, send someone to escort me back immediately. It's almost dark; Lin... my mother must be waiting anxiously at home."

Ma Tianshou hummed, as if wanting to offer some advice, but ultimately said nothing, stood up, and walked away with his hands behind his back.

"Yan Lao will be here shortly; please wait a moment."

This time, Xu Yuan didn't have to wait long; Yan Lao arrived and personally escorted Xu Yuan back.

After escorting the person back, Yan Lao immediately came to see Ma Tianshou: "Such a fine seedling, and you're letting him go just like that?"

Ma Tianshou was alone in the temporary study, having been drinking bitter tea in silence for quite some time.

In the past, when the old lord pondered matters, he liked to drink bitter wine alone.

Later, his late wife confiscated his wine, warning him that drinking bitter wine harmed his health and forbidding him from doing so in the future.

The old lord dared not disobey his wife's command, so he switched to drinking bitter tea instead.

"I also thought that fellow would definitely choose the second option."

"Setting aside whether he, being so young, has the patience to endure three or five months in the River Works Alley, let's just speak of his character. One look shows he is the type who is bold yet meticulous, and dares to act.

Moreover, the case of Chen Liangxuan concerns his own safety. Having fought his way back alive from Qihe Tai Town, with that experience behind him, he must surely believe even more that he must grasp his own destiny in his hands—not just watch from the River Works Alley and pin his hopes on us.

He will suspect that although my words were beautiful, what if the matter ultimately fails?"

Yan Lao held the same view, so he was puzzled: "Yet that fellow偏偏 chose the first one."

"I even began to doubt whether I misjudged the person, but just as you entered, I suddenly thought..." Ma Tianshou stopped halfway through his sentence, then lifted his teacup and took a sip.

On the way back, Yan Lao had also considered a possibility and tested the waters: "Could this fellow... be bargaining with us?"

The noodles served with dinner were clear broth and water, utterly tasteless.

The stepmother seemed distracted, so Xu Yuan had reason to suspect: "Lin Wanmo, did you forget to add salt when cooking?"

The stepmother glared at him and said in a bad mood: "If you think my cooking is bad, make it yourself."

Xu Yuan immediately felt aggrieved: "I just handed over a large sum of money to the family yesterday, and today you feed me this?"

The stepmother was indeed somewhat in the wrong, but she certainly wouldn't admit fault or soften her stance.

She put down her bowl and chopsticks, stopped eating, and asked: "The people from the Evil-Dispelling Bureau came looking for you; what exactly happened?"

Xu Yuan hadn't intended to hide anything anyway, so he recounted today's experience in full detail, finally saying: "Ma Tianshou, the old lord, asked me to convey a message to you: Over a hundred years have passed; hardly anyone in the court still remembers the so-called 'Six Villages Rebels' of that year—Lin Wanmo, what exactly does this sentence mean?"

The stepmother's expression became solemn: "The Evil-Dispelling Bureau has indeed set its sights on you. Uncle Mao Si returned today and told me that you killed two Seventh-Rank cultivators alone; I knew then that the Evil-Dispelling Bureau would not let you go."

Xu Yuan grew impatient: "I'm asking you a question; why don't you answer me first?"

The stepmother let out a cold, derisive "Tch," and said: "He is merely a deputy commander of the Southern Jiaozhi branch; how dare he speak such words? Hmph, wait until he is qualified to enter the 'Forbidden Star Tower' of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau and check the Juan Sect records from back then; only then will he realize how ridiculous he is."

Xu Yuan was about to ask again, but Lin Wanmo had already pushed her bowl and chopsticks aside: "Wash the bowls; I'm going to sleep first."

"Hey, explain yourself clearly..."

Lin Wanmo had already slammed her bedroom door shut with a bang.

"You people really... you all like to speak in riddles, don't you? Only I answer whatever is asked directly." Xu Yuan stood outside the stepmother's door and shouted loudly: "Just you wait; next time you ask me something, I'll only tell you half the story too, hmph!"

Xu Yuan went to wash the dishes, making a clatter and clank in the kitchen.

After cleaning up, Xu Yuan returned to his own room to rest.

Xu Yuan's decisive rejection of Ma Tianshou was because he truly wanted to choose the first option.

This matter looked obviously complicated; if he could simply lie low and escape it, that would be best.

But Xu Yuan feared... he might not be able to escape.

In a world where evil spirits are everywhere, there is a saying: "What you fear is what comes."

Xu Yuan's decision was actually: if he truly couldn't escape, he would indeed need to negotiate the terms of joining the Evil-Dispelling Bureau.

Look at the Demon-Extermination Army; Uncle Rong Kui came on behalf of my second uncle to recruit me, constantly painting various beautiful prospects for me.

As long as I agreed, they would certainly offer generous conditions.

What Ma Tianshou mentioned was requesting a favor from the Son of Heaven to erase the crimes of the River Works Alley from that year.

Xu Yuan was indeed very tempted; this favor from the Son of Heaven should be able to resolve the hidden crisis within the Xu family that the stepmother had always refused to mention.

But that is a matter for later.

Right now, it's about my own affairs—if we don't discuss terms before joining, we can't expect them after joining.

If they aren't even willing to promise terms before joining, it shows the Evil-Dispelling Bureau doesn't value me at all.

Having thought through this matter once more, Xu Yuan began to tally the gains from today's battle.

After killing Xing Guolong and Old Eight during the day, Xu Yuan casually took Xing Guolong's Sword Pill.

This was a fine item; its quality was far superior to the Sword Pill Xu Yuan had previously possessed.

Xu Yuan "fed" this Sword Pill to himself and began refining it with the fire in his belly.

This time, however, it did not go smoothly. This Sword Pill was at the level of a seasoned Seventh-Rank cultivator; Xu Yuan used the fire in his belly to refine it for over an hour, yet could only barely control it. Not only was it not as smooth as if it were part of his own arm, but even the process of transforming from "Pill" to "Sword" was extremely slow.

Xu Yuan exhaled, a wave of heat blasting out, raising the temperature of the entire room.

"I'm afraid it will take several more days of effort before I can truly use it."

Before the "Illegal" dissipated, Xu Yuan had already stripped everything suitable from the two Seventh-Rank cultivators' bodies—this was something Xu Yuan had already mastered through repetition.

From Xing Guolong, he also retrieved an iron box no larger than a palm.

Inside lay a piece of warm, beautiful jade, emitting a faint medicinal fragrance.

This was a rare spiritual herb named "Tai Sui Jade."

It was actually the flesh of a giant shellfish from the deep sea.

Hunting such giant shellfish was already extremely dangerous, and only this single piece from the entire body could be used to prepare the spiritual herb.

The preparation process was also extremely complex, with an extremely low success rate; thus, the price of this spiritual herb was incomparably high.

As for this piece belonging to Xing Guolong, it was either a reward from Master Chen or plunder taken by killing its original owner.

The use of this spiritual herb is that it can almost lure out any kind of gu insect.

Xu Yuan weighed it in his hand and chuckled to himself: If thrown into Ghost Wushan, the entire Old Locust family would likely fight and kill each other over this object.

But for cultivators, the greatest use of this spiritual herb is: to counteract gu insects.

If someone has been poisoned with gu, this object is used to lure the gu insects out themselves.

Except for a very few types of gu insects, none can resist the temptation of this spiritual herb's scent.

Xu Yuan put the thing away; it might prove of great use in the future.

(End of this chapter)