Chapter 176: Night Talk

Xiaoyao Cave.

The sky grew dim, the miscellaneous market dispersed, and all sorts of people from the three teachings and nine schools surged from the dark alleys onto the street.

Bu Hanying, wrapped in a black cloak, walked within the damp alley, her brows furrowed as she pondered the manor's recent arrangements.

The Daoist sect had suffered a major blunder, the Buddhist sect successfully established itself in Jingcheng, and the martial arts world was stirring; naturally, the Gu Du Pai heroes also wanted a share of the pie.

Lu Wu Zhen was too domineering; even allowing the Buddhist sect to rise was due to their guilt, so he would not let any other sect gain the qualification of a decision-maker.

However, the Monk Wuxin had released many of Master Sikong's ancestral scorpions and venomous snakes back in the day, creating a karmic bond of merit between them; plus, he belonged to the inclusive faction, so if the Gu Du Pai showed a good attitude, they might be allowed to return to the fold.

For this reason, the Manor Master's instruction was for him to move connections, find someone to speak well of them, and see if they could start with a "pilot project."

For instance, let the Queyue Manor enter first to supervise one prefecture and one county within the passes, and observe the results.

The Queyue Manor could also love the country!

Since the Chilong Cave and the Three Corpses Cave could not enter, the Queyue Manor would become the officially recognized leader of the Gu Du Pai by the Great Qian imperial court; the Manor Master would change to Sect Leader, seizing the initiative...

Bu Hanying thought this idea was good, very much in line with the Gu Du Pai's style of internal strife and raising Gu!

It was just that he couldn't even beat the Qintianjian gate guard, so running connections was a bit difficult; this matter still had to rely on the "hands and eyes reaching everywhere" Wanyi.

Additionally, the Manor Master prepared to exchange one Sixty-Year Lotus for the antidote to the Seven Stars Nails.

The human body has seven hundred and twenty acupoints, and the Seven Stars Nails antidote targets seven random spots among them; miss one, and the foundation is damaged.

Although more unsolvable than the Immortal-Burning Gu, exchanging one Sixty-Year Lotus for a one-time antidote felt like bleeding out a loss no matter how one thought about it.

However, the Manor Master intended to use this favor to build a personal debt with the promising "son-in-law apprentice," so Bu Hanying complied; she had just gone to discuss this matter.

Returning to the Bird and Flower Street of Xiaoyao Cave at this moment, Bu Hanying looked at the street full of all sorts of people and felt this place was much safer than Sanliu Alley.

Since moving here, apart from being visited once by the Theft Saint Bai Zhan to demand debt and threaten her, no miscellaneous people had bothered her again.

While lost in such wild thoughts, Bu Hanying entered the shop through the back door; just as she poked her head out from the staircase on the second floor, she found a pair of "monk shoes" right before her eyes.

?

Looking up again, a fist the size of a sandbag arrived before her eyes.

Boom~

The glasses shattered, and the entire world fell silent...

—

At the same time, Lin Fu.

Inside the pill room of the front residence, Lin Zisu carried Meiqiu, pondering some pill-making techniques of ghostly craftsmanship; Lin Wanyi, in the living room, was chatting with her father, the Left Hospital Administrator of the Imperial Hospital, about the passing of the Qian Emperor.

Inside the boudoir of the back residence, there was no light and no fire.

After sending Seeing Mo Mo home, Xie Jinhuan could not sleep alone in the new mansion, so he detoured to his father-in-law's house; seeing Wanyi was busy, he sat on the bed himself and used the faint glow emitted by the Yellow Qilin Seal to read family letters.

The letter wrote about many things, all daily trifles; since it was written before the He family incident, it also reminded him to go north early and beware of retaliation from the He family.

Xie Jinhuan had already resolved the He family, but currently, one suspicious Crown Prince remained!

If the Crown Prince had no issues, that would be best; he only needed to lure away a few close female friends and could then develop in the north.

But if the Crown Prince had issues, that would be troublesome.

Lu Wu Zhen and the Monk Wuxin had found no issues, indicating the problem was hidden very deep; he couldn't even approach the Crown Prince, let alone see the problem.

For this reason, this matter could only be investigated from the bottom up; if the Crown Prince was related to the Demonic Dao, there must be runners below, who would inevitably do some things in the shadows.

However, there were currently no clues to pursue; the only thing he could do at present was to crazily increase his strength, so he would have the power to respond when the matter surfaced.

After swallowing the Dragon-Alive Pill, he was startled awake from his coma, sealed the medicinal effect, but actually still had twenty percent undigested.

Digesting the medicinal effect and finishing the remaining few Dragon Blood Pills might raise his cultivation a bit, but it definitely would not reach Rank One.

Without Rank One strength, he had no confidence to go to Sanjiangkou, crush all opponents, and obtain the Hu Gu Teng.

The Hu Gu Teng was an essential medicinal herb to enter Super Rank quickly; he must get his hands on it...

After pondering for a moment, Xie Jinhuan asked:

"Wife, is there any way to raise my strength another notch within nine days?"

Ye Hongshang had been leaning nearby, watching with Xie Jinhuan; hearing this, she thought for a moment:

"There are many ways: involving the Demonic Dao, crazily sacrificing fellow Daoists, heavenly treasures and earthly gems, and dual cultivation with female Ancestors, big carriages with small horses..."

Xie Jinhuan knew that the Demonic Dao did not measure strength by time, but by the number of people killed; however, this path easily turned one's brain into tendon muscle, and True Person Qixia had sealed himself away for this reason until now, so it could not be taken unless absolutely necessary.

As for the female Ancestors, with his current cultivation, the only "big carriage" he could drive was likely Bing Tuotuo; Wanyi, Seeing Mo Mo, and the Princess could only drain him...

Speaking of which, True Person Qixia was guaranteed to be at the fifth realm of the Immortal Dao, or even possibly the sixth; not to mention eating her, even just smelling her...

Then the Tiansheng Mace and the Zhenglun Sword in hand would have to mean the opposite...

Xie Jinhuan pondered slightly and felt it was more reliable to seek heavenly treasures and earthly gems, so he asked:

"What heavenly treasures and earthly gems can I find now?"

Ye Hongshang, now remembering the experience of fighting side by side with True Person Qixia, considered slightly:

"If only raising half a rank of power, one can use the 'Mortal-Shedding Pill'; its main ingredients are Hundred-Year Black Ginseng and Jin Gang Dew; its function is to nourish meridians and moisten vessels, and consolidate the Qi Sea. The Black Ginseng should be easy to find, but the Jin Gang Dew is a precious treasure of the Buddhist sect; near Jingzhao Prefecture, only the Fanyun Temple should have it, and they normally would not give it out."

Xie Jinhuan knew the Monk Jingkong was of the Buddhist sect; this matter could be inquired about tomorrow. Just as he was thinking thus, footsteps came from outside the door:

Tap tap...

Creak~

The footsteps approached from afar, then the door opened; a graceful figure entered the room, closed the door, and came to the bed to fumble for the lamp.

After several rounds of detoxification, Wanyi's nearsightedness had improved, but obviously not enough for a hundred times; with no light in the room, she completely failed to notice him sitting on the bed.

Xie Jinhuan waited quietly; as the light turned on, the plump waist and hips of the figure bending to hold the lamp appeared before his eyes, the curves like a gourd, with even the bowl-like contours visible on the ribs, swaying gently with the movement...

Xie Jinhuan carefully admired, then raised his hand:

Slap~

Ripples spread in waves!

Lin Wanyi was thinking about the Emperor's passing, completely unprepared, when a sudden pat on her lower back made her nearly jump; before she could scream, her mouth was covered.

"It's me, it's me."

"Mmph!"

Lin Wanyi curled her hands to her chest, realized the figure behind her was her husband, and, relieved, turned to pin the man down and pound him:

"You scared me to death! Sitting here silently in the dead of night—I've been feeling something unclean around me these past few days..."

Xie Jinhuan leaned against the pillow, paying no mind to Wanyi straddling and pinching him:

"Alright, alright, I'll work like an ox and a horse; let you ride me all night, okay?"

"Pah! You wish."

Lin Wanyi had no desire to ride; it was mortifying. She flopped down beside the pillow, pulled a slip of paper from her sleeve, and said:

"Junior Uncle Bu came by today and gave me the situation regarding the Seven Stars Nails; take a look."

"So soon?"

"The sect must have prepared in advance; anyway, it looks quite urgent."

Xie Jinhuan unfolded the paper; visible on it was a meridian chart, detailing the flawed points where problems had arisen, with tiny fly-head characters below describing the general condition of the body.

Ye Hongshang naturally appeared at that moment, lying on the outer side in the same posture as Wanyi, hands resting on her chest, revealing the red-jade golden-dragon-patterned bracelet of a great wife, joining to examine:

"Hmm... in order, sequentially unblock Zhongfu, Quchi, Taichong..."

Xie Jinhuan, with plump and graceful wives on both sides, felt his thoughts slightly muddled, yet still fetched paper and brush, writing the acupoints on the paper:

"Then. Must unblock in order; absolutely no mistakes."

Lin Wanyi blinked her eyes, finding it hard to believe;

"Is it really that simple?"

"Can't say it's simple; if one cannot see the method, one might spend a lifetime guessing which seven acupoints."

After Xie Jinhuan finished speaking, he demanded today's reward.

Lin Wanyi did not dodge; supported by the shoulders, she lay on the pillow, holding the paper and carefully memorizing, only to notice the coolness before her, then put the paper away, lowered her gaze to the newly bought peony-patterned hollowed-out undergarment, bit her lower lip, and her face turned red;

"What is there to look at?"

"Hehe~"

Xie Jinhuan lowered his head right to the peony flower and took an epic lungful.

Rustle rustle~

"Oh, you~ acting like a child..."

Lin Wanyi's face flushed red; she patted his shoulders twice, then raised a hand to extinguish the lamp.

But this big pig trotter wouldn't let her turn off the light!

"Turn off the light, okay~"

"Your eyes aren't healed yet; without a light, you can't see."

"What would I see~? I won't look..."

"Then I'll look at you."

"I won't!"

Rustle rustle~

The curtains fell; a snow-white full moon soon appeared between the bed, obediently letting the man come close to look...

——

Sigh~ Wrote over ten thousand characters, deleted and revised until only six thousand remained; too embarrassed to ask for monthly votes or2

(End of this chapter)