Chapter 66: Smuggling Out of Licheng

"Fellow Daoist Shufu, this medicinal meal is called [Hundred-Bitter Pill]. I concocted it using various tears of sorrow, the bitter glands from the bodies of over a hundred strange entities, and various sweet confections."

"Each pill is extremely bitter upon entering the mouth, but the lingering aftertaste is a distinct sweetness, with no two ever the same."

"An ordinary person who eats one will be overcome by the urge to hang themselves before they can even experience the sweetness."

"For you, however, it is just right—enough to bring you pleasure."

"As for side effects, there is some addictive quality, so Fellow Daoist should try to control the intake."

……

"Fellow Daoist Mi... Sister Mist, this medicinal meal is called [Beauty Fillet]. I used various medicinal herbs and ingredients for beauty and nourishment, boiled them down intricately until they condensed into a crystal meat jelly, and then took the flesh of a mermaid-like strange entity, keeping only the skin, to fill and fuse it all together."

"The effect is simple: it nourishes the complexion and supplements yin, perhaps equivalent to several days of cultivation for you, Sister."

"Furthermore, it is very convenient to carry and has a shelf life of half a year."

"As for side effects, there are none."

……

When Li Yu finished the last sentence, Mi Wuniang, who had been waiting to hear about the side effects and the price, couldn't help but chuckle, then cast an ambiguous, flirtatious look at Li Yu.

Yet, her actions remained perfectly proper; she didn't offer Li Yu any benefits, such as letting him get a glimpse of the beautiful scenery at her chest.

She simply picked up her chopsticks, ate a piece of fish fillet with great elegance, and asked Li Yu:

"How is it that everyone else's medicinal meals have side effects, but mine does not?"

"Is it that you want to live with me, and were too thin-skinned to agree at first?"

"Or is it that you have some other request?"

Li Yu did not answer immediately, but glanced at the other five people.

The entire Ninth Exploration Team!

Because of these medicinal meals he had customized for them, everyone was in an excellent mood.

Thus, he put on a casual air, smiled, and waved his hand:

"An accident, purely an accident."

"Being able to join the City Lord's Mansion, Li Yu is already immensely satisfied; how could I dare to have any excessive demands?"

"However, now that you mention it, I do have a small matter to inquire about."

"Although I haven't reached the perfection realm at Sequence 8, I can't help but start planning for Sequence 7."

"Unfortunately, one of the main spiritual materials required for my secret medicine formula cannot be found in Wanfu City at all—everything here has rotten hearts and livers... *cough*."

"In short, I must go to the three kingdoms of Gan, Li, and Jing to find it, and I have to harvest it myself while it's still fresh; even hiring smugglers won't work. It is truly troublesome."

"But my current merit in Licheng is insufficient, and I haven't saved enough for the proper fee to renounce my status... of course, I wouldn't dare trouble everyone with these things."

"I only wish to ask: do you seniors know of any other ways to leave the city?"

"Oh, and the prerequisite is safety. If there is danger, I would rather not go."

On the surface, Li Yu's acting was passable.

But the six Sequence 7 veterans who had been mixing in the city for years, including Zhan Kui, had eyes as sharp as knives.

With just one glance, they saw through Li Yu's "clumsiness."

After exchanging looks, they all smiled.

Then, the two-headed elder, Luo Sheng, chuckled and replied:

"Kid!"

"The main spiritual material you speak of—could it be the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys of practitioners from the Orthodox God sects?"

"To need righteous people, and to harvest them yourself while they are still fresh... tsk tsk, the God-Ascension path you cultivate, even if it isn't a Forbidden God sect, likely has some connection to one."

"Ah!"

"How... how could that be."

At this moment, Li Yu wore a look of utter shame, as if he had been exposed.

The six of them couldn't help but snicker inwardly at the sight.

And the reaction of the six also made Li Yu happy in his heart.

This was exactly what he wanted!

Li Yu never thought that the six members of the Ninth Exploration Team, including Zhan Kui, were good people; good people who could make a name for themselves in Wanfu City simply did not exist.

So he deliberately let it slip, detailed his medicinal meal skills—which were clearly linked to [Human-Dish Culinary Arts]—and engaged in seemingly excessive probing.

This led the six to believe: this kid is an evil cultivator with amazing medicinal meal skills who is involved with the Forbidden God sects, but is not very bright.

Only then would the six feel at ease and unguarded, and in order to control this good private chef, they would provide some extra benefits.

Just as Li Yu expected, Luo Sheng changed the subject:

"If you don't want to talk about it, we won't force you. There's plenty of time."

"However, the path you want does indeed exist."

"It's not complicated; it's just smuggling."

"There are many practitioners in the city who, like you, need materials for their next sequence that can only be obtained within the three kingdoms, or like the Sequence 8 [Courtesan] of the Sinful God path, whose advancement ritual requires the chaotic cooperation of ordinary mortals—and the number of mortals in the city is far less than in the three kingdoms."

"The reasons for leaving the city are varied, but most don't meet the proper criteria, so naturally, only smuggling remains."

"This is actually tacitly approved by the City Lord's Mansion and the four major districts. Anyway, these evil cultivators who smuggle themselves out to do business will return soon. The route is extremely safe, and there is a trip every few days."

"Of course, practitioners without connections or relationships don't know about this at all."

"We happen to know an intermediary who does this, but to join, you must first pass a background check to prove you aren't a spy from the three kingdoms or a coward just trying to escape taxes, so as not to implicate the entire smuggling chain." "A background check...?"

"Here, take this."

Just as Li Yu was wondering if "background check" meant what he thought it did.

He saw Luo Sheng reach into his robe and toss him a [Bronze Communicator].

Li Yu caught it, his face showing confusion.

The six exchanged looks and burst into laughter again, and finally, Zhan Kui spoke up:

"Kid, did you think that when our City Lord's Mansion recruits people, we wouldn't even conduct an investigation? You already passed it last night."

"I didn't expect it, though—tsk tsk, you kid are ruthless."

"That night of the battle royale, bringing a mechanical maid and slaughtering so many refugees—your methods are quite something."

Hearing this, Li Yu showed a look of shock that was half-real and half-fake.

=9+Shu_ba

As expected, none of them are good things!

They were friendly and gave benefits upon the first meeting.

But in secret, they had investigated him thoroughly.

It was fortunate that Li Yu was "clean" to begin with; he was neither a spy from the three kingdoms nor someone who needed to escape taxes.

Seeing his reaction, the six laughed even more heartily.

Fortunately, at this time, the sound of a steam airship came from above the camp, and the six stood up together, each taking the portion of medicinal meals Li Yu had prepared in advance, and headed toward the airship.

Before leaving, they only instructed Li Yu:

"We won't be back for two days. You only need to check in every day and busy yourself with medicinal meals at the camp."

"When you leave the camp at the hour of the Rooster, you can call the mechanical doll to report losses. I have already set the permissions in advance. As long as you don't empty the entire camp and just take some supplies home, no one will pursue it."

"Understood, Captain!"

Li Yu replied with a brilliant smile while tucking the communicator into his robe.

The six members of the exploration team were still immersed in the joy of their newly acquired rare medicinal meals, and not one of them noticed the sincerity in Li Yu's waving farewell.

It was as if he wasn't saying a temporary goodbye, but thinking that he would never see them again.

……

At the hour of the Rooster, the massive camp outside the City Lord's Mansion was once again a scene of bustling activity.

The difference was that this time, it was the end of the shift.

Amidst the flashing neon signs, the sound of whistles, and mechanical dolls flying about, practitioners in various attires left the camp to return home, some empty-handed and others carrying various items after reporting them.

Among them, one employee was slightly conspicuous.

It was a disheveled youth wearing a work pass. Just like everyone else, he was leaving work and carrying items, but this fellow walked to the steam elevator with a large parcel on his back, looking completely matter-of-fact.

Needless to say, it was Li Yu.

He certainly hadn't emptied the entire camp, but he hadn't been too polite either.

He had picked and chosen, packing up a portion of the pill materials, strange objects, and rare foods he could use.

After he reported his departure, the mechanical doll was still beeping as it calculated the accounts, issuing some routine prompts: "The material consumption rate of the Ninth Exploration Team camp is a bit high; please adjust in time, otherwise there is a chance of having rewards deducted..."

Li Yu left the camp, hailed a monster bus, and headed toward the Heavenly Mechanism Workshop.

Before long, Li Yu pushed open his courtyard gate, and Hongdou came to greet him as usual, holding an electric eel lamp.

However, this time, Li Yu didn't have time to take a second look at this heartwarming scene; he headed toward the alchemy room with considerable urgency.

"Hongdou, let's go, time to refine pills."

"Understood, Master!"

Although she didn't know what had happened, the mechanical maid cooperated with Li Yu unconditionally.

……

Still this day, at the midnight hour of the Rat.

The gate of the butcher shop residence opened again, and Li Yu, disguised under who knows how many layers, walked out holding a mechanical fox.

He casually hailed a night-shift monster bus at the entrance of the old street, let it follow its route, got off at a random stop, and hailed another bus on a different route... after repeating this many times, half an incense stick later, Li Yu's figure suddenly appeared in a dilapidated residence in the South District of Wanfu City, near the gate leading out of the city.

Before him, a steam airship painted entirely in black was parked.

There were already quite a few people on the airship, and they were all chatting animatedly.

It was as if they weren't planning to smuggle themselves out of the city tonight, but were just going out to buy something or see the sights.

Seeing this, Li Yu!

The slight worry he had originally felt about "entrapment" instantly vanished into thin air.

It seemed that the Vanguard Commander and the others were right; for some cultivators with connections and ways, smuggling out of the city was nothing at all.

Only those at the bottom like Sun Sanniang and Jiao Qing!

Would be so honest, hardworking, and utterly foolish as to save up for some fee to renounce their status and redeem themselves.

PS: Thanks to book friends "Xiao Mi Hu You Mi Hu" and "Tian Xia Wu Di La La La La La" for their generous rewards.

Thanks to the following book friends for their tips: Book Friend 160429185033701, A Firefly, Book Fish, Loving Villains for a Hundred Years, Cat Stewing Koi, Tian Xiao Lai Qu, Book Friend 20240807223445953, Tao Li o, Yi Ren Pan Jun Gui, d.d. Bear, Book Friend 20211130081821814, Facing the Wind Watching the Sea Wind in the Sea, Wen Dao Yi Zai, Chu Chen Lv Tu, Heaven and Earth Passerby 666, Ni Gong Zi c, Ji Ya, After Consecutive Losses, Lan Xi Chen, Book Friend 20211109143045436, Dong Fang Rui, Fei Niao Liang, Zhi Zhen Shang Shu, Book Friend 20200701002822473, Book Friend 20240816213923398, Jin Qi, True Person Yu Shi, Luo Xiu Fan Fa... or if any were missed, thank you all very much.

(End of this chapter)