Chapter 70: Big Pig's Trotter

The next day.

Golden morning light spilled from the horizon, and the clamor along the banks of the Chongming River gradually rose.

Xie Jinhuan rode his little red horse down the street, catching snippets of conversation from idlers walking along the roadside:

"That Hero Xie is truly formidable—arrived in Danyang only a few days ago and already wiped out every demon and monster…"

"What hero? He's a young hero, not even twenty yet…"

"At this rate, within ten years that Wei Wu Yi of Daizhou will have to step aside for a better man…"

……

At the age of three, Xie Jinhuan had vowed to outcompete every local native; all he wanted was the day he could walk down the street and have everyone look up to him in admiration, ladies' legs go weak at the sight, young ladies swear they'd marry no one else, and Meiqiu could eat whatever she caught on the street.

Now the scene really wasn't far off from the fantasy of his childhood.

But thinking of the ghost bride about to pop out, he had no heart to feel pleased; along the way he kept mulling over where to find a Sixty-Year Lotus to refine pills. Lost in such wild thoughts, the man and his bird arrived outside the clinic on Ning'an Street.

Meiqiu, already an old hand, leapt from his shoulder and landed on the second-floor window of the clinic, peering inside:

"Gooji gooji?"

"Meiqiu?!"

Crash~

Thud thud thud…

From upstairs came the sound of a chair being shoved back, along with hurried footsteps.

Then a face of breathtaking beauty leaned out from the window, eyes behind gold-rimmed spectacles brimming with anxiety.

Sensing the worry of the great beauty Lin, Xie Jinhuan swung down from his horse and was about to greet her, when Lin Wanyi's expression darkened again:

"And you still know how to come back?!"

She looked just like an angry wife who'd caught her husband out all night!

?

Xie Jinhuan's smile froze; he spread his hands slightly:

"I just went out for a stroll. What's wrong?"

"You are simply…"

Thud thud thud…

The figure vanished from the window; footsteps shot through the corridor and down the stairs, reached the first-floor hall, then with sleeves rolled up she charged over furiously, her bosom trembling so violently it made one's eyes blur.

Seeing the situation, Xie Jinhuan figured she wasn't about to throw herself into his arms sobbing, so he quickly raised a hand:

"I'm wounded. Grabbing and pulling at each other in the street wouldn't look proper."

Lin Wanyi rushed up to him, little fists clenched, and demanded:

"Why did you run off yesterday without a word? Fine, run if you must, but you didn't even wake me!

"I opened my eyes and found myself lying in bed, with the Pill King and Dean Zhang leading a crowd at the door, and Linghu Qingmo lecturing me like some useless vase—do you have any idea how I got through it?"

Xie Jinhuan hadn't expected the Pill King to come offer his regards either, and said apologetically:

"I healed your wounds, saw you sleeping soundly, so I didn't wake you. Didn't I leave a note? Didn't you see it?"

Lin Wanyi, still puffed up with grievance, wanted to keep complaining, but at the thought of the "Two-Headed Dragon" plan she held back, and instead grabbed Xie Jinhuan's sleeve and headed toward Wencheng Street:

"Hurry and go pay your respects to the Pill King, and get your hands on the Martial Dao Divine Scripture. The day before yesterday I passed your words along to Lord Tie; the Pill King also read your poem of aspiration and was moved to tears, nearly promising you the Princess of Changning…"

Xie Jinhuan blinked. "The Princess of Changning agreed?"

"You and Miss Linghu are in an unclear situation, and they're as close as sisters—if she agreed, wouldn't that be stealing someone's beloved?"

"Oh…"

Lin Wanyi's gaze darkened. "You sound rather regretful, don't you?"

"Not at all. I prefer love that grows with time."

"Hmph…"

Lin Wanyi tugged his sleeve along with light, quick steps:

"Anyway, the Pill King has a very favorable impression of you, and right now he's looking for you everywhere. Hurry and go pay your respects—just mention you want to learn the Martial Dao Divine Scripture, and you'll definitely get it…"

Xie Jinhuan did want a supreme divine art, but no matter how powerful, twenty days wouldn't be enough to master it in a rush. He thought for a moment, then asked:

"Zisu's medicine may not be all that reliable, but at critical moments it really can save a life. How much silver would this Vigorous-as-a-Dragon Pill cost to make?"

Lin Wanyi frowned. "Don't set your hopes too high on Zisu's medicine. And ten times the efficacy won't cost just ten times the price—setting aside the priceless Sixty-Year Lotus rhizome, the remaining ingredients alone would cost at least this much."

She raised her left hand and held up three fingers!

Xie Jinhuan's steps faltered slightly, and his face darkened several shades.

When the bespectacled girl gestured like that, it definitely wasn't three taels of silver.

Three hundred thousand taels of silver in twenty-one days—averaged out, that's ten thousand taels coming in every week.

Such a huge sum—even if he braced himself as a gigolo and went at it with steel wool, he might not earn a fraction of it.

Even confiscating ill-gotten gains at the brutal pace of a nine-nine-seven schedule, he couldn't find that many generous fellow cultivators with deep pockets.

And that was only to gather the ingredients—the Sixty-Year Lotus, the big-ticket item, wasn't even counted yet…

"The Sixty-Year Lotus only grows on Mount Zihui?"

"Mount Zihui does have some, but they're alive—digging them up would destroy the sect's foundation. Unless you wipe out Mount Zihui, you can't get any."

Lin Wanyi said this, then looked Xie Jinhuan over:

"What? You really planning to refine the Vigorous-as-a-Dragon Pill?"

Xie Jinhuan didn't want to refine it either, but he had no choice.

The worst-case scenario of the ghost bride blowing open the tomb wasn't that she'd scatter the thirty-two prefectures of Daqian to the winds—it was that she'd lose control and scatter him to the winds.

So before the worst-case scenario arrived, he at least had to obtain enough strength to seal the Demon-Suppressing Tomb, just in case.

But these matters were not suitable to share with the girl wearing glasses, so Xie Jinhuan merely said:

"Cultivation is like a boat against the current; if you do not advance, you retreat. If there is an opportunity, one naturally strives for it; whether we encounter it remains to be seen."

Lin Wanyi completely disbelieved the prescription claiming "tenfold medicinal effect, one pill takes effect," but since Xie Jinhuan insisted, she still replied:

"The Sixty-Year Lotus is mostly used by Super-Grade experts for cultivation; its naturally withered roots and stems are priceless treasures. Apart from the ancient Laojiao Sects, only the Great Qian Imperial Treasury possesses them. Without Super-Grade strength, it is impossible to obtain such an item."

Xie Jinhuan only needed to know where it was to have a chance of obtaining it; thinking further, he asked:

"By the way, the agreement was to learn the Divine Scripture within three years. If I deliver the goods in six or seven days, won't you have to give some extra reward?"

?

Lin Wanyi silently covered her small purse, speaking timidly:

"You... what do you want?"

Xie Jinhuan glanced slightly at her plump, juicy, and graceful figure, feeling that Wanyi would probably not give it:

"Hmm... I will figure out the Sixty-Year Lotus myself. As for the remaining ingredients, can you help me provide some?"

"Me?"

Lin Wanyi covered her small purse, thinking inwardly—kiss me, touch me, and now you want me to pay silver? Does he really take me for a wife and partner...

But Xie Jinhuan had completed the task so quickly; it would be inappropriate not to give some extra reward. She hesitated for a moment and replied:

"The wastelands of the Southern Frontier are full of materials and treasures. If you insist on refining pills, I will have the Queyue Manor find ingredients for you in the Southern Frontier. Medicinal herbs there are cheap; Queyue Manor smuggles them over, saving merchant taxes, shipping costs, and middlemen. At the very least, you can get a twenty percent discount."

Calculating a twenty percent discount, it could save six thousand taels of silver. Xie Jinhuan nodded:

"Fine, it's settled. I will try to gather the deposit recently."

"I advise you not to do this, lest you pay a huge price and end up getting sick, only to blame me for not advising you..."

"Hehe..."

The two held the horse's reins and chatted aimlessly along the way, unknowingly turning into a side street and arriving at the entrance of Qingquan Alley.

Lin Wanyi originally intended to go directly to the Wang Fu, but Xie Jinhuan's ears twitched slightly; he discovered a "rustle~" sound in his courtyard, sounding like someone sweeping the yard.

The only person who could help him sweep the yard was the beautiful, kind-hearted, and silly Mo Mo.

Seeing this, Xie Jinhuan turned his head to look deep into the alley, only to see a charcoal-red steed stopped outside the Yang family gate, with Yang Dabiao hanging his luggage and sword on the horse's side.

Yang Dabiao's sister-in-law held a little girl over a year old, her eyes full of reluctance as she chattered:

"Be honest when you are out; if I find out you are flirting with flowers and grass, I will take the girl and remarry..."

"Nagging. I am going to handle official business; do you think I am going out for socializing?"

"Where does the government office get so many matters? Really... Eh? Young Master Xie is back."

"Hmm?"

Yang Dabiao quickly turned his head, discovered the two standing at the alley entrance, and slapped his thigh:

"Oh! Jinhuan? You are finally back..."

At the same time, commotion came from inside the residence.

Hoo~

Linghu Qingmo, dressed in a snow-white skirt, held a broom and leaped onto the wall, anxiously looking toward the alley entrance, then, as if relieved, said angrily:

"I told you not to run around recklessly. Who let you sneak out? Do you know how many people the government office sent to find you?"

Her eyes were filled entirely with worry and concern.

Xie Jinhuan handed the reins to the beautiful Lin Da, turned, and walked into the alley:

"Originally I wanted to go see Mount Zihui, but climbing mountains and crossing ridges was truly too much for my body, so I ran back. I won't force myself next time."

Linghu Qingmo confirmed Xie Jinhuan was unharmed and also secretly breathed a sigh of relief; seeing the 'Principal Wife' standing at the alley entrance, she did not dare to approach to check his body.

Xie Jinhuan arrived in front, saw Yang Dabiao's appearance, and felt slightly puzzled:

"Is Brother Yang preparing to go on a long journey?"

"Sigh, don't mention it."

Yang Dabiao waved his hand, his eyes full of distress:

"The case of the Mad Corpse Flower is solved, but the origins of the three skeletons excavated by the Li family have not yet been clarified. Tai Shu Dan probably had not arrived in Danyang half a year ago; the person was likely killed by other demons and bandits of the Mingshen Sect.

"The 'Mummy Case' in Jingcheng this year, you should know; seventeen people died from the Yuan-Stealing Demonic Art. The situation is largely similar to the three skeletons. The higher-ups suspect the three skeletons are related to the Mummy Case and have ordered me to go over and check the situation. I estimate I will be back in four or five days."

Hearing he was returning to Jingcheng, Xie Jinhuan immediately perked up and said with righteous dignity:

"I participated fully in the Tai Shu Dan case and understand it quite well. I will go to Jingcheng together with Brother Yang..."

"No!"

Before the words had fully faded, a delicate rebuke came from the courtyard wall.

Seeing Xie Jinhuan's old habit of getting restless whenever he encountered demons and evil again, Linghu Qingmo could not agree; she leaped down from the courtyard wall:

"You are running again! You have injuries and should be resting well at the Dan Hospital. What use is following him to Jingcheng?"

Xie Jinhuan following him back to Jingcheng would be of great use.

The wild monsters in Danyang had already been cleared by him; it would be difficult to respawn them in a short time. He only had twenty days; he could not just sit at home waiting for evil spirits and demons to come knocking to deliver travel funds.

Jingcheng gathered rare treasures from the four seas; he could definitely find the Sixty-Year Lotus there. Moreover, making money was much faster than in Danyang. If he did not go with them now while there was business, after resting for a few days, he could not go rob old man Li.

"All good things must come to an end. I grew up in Jingcheng since childhood. Now that the case is solved, I want to return early to take a look. It just so happens Brother Yang can take care of me a bit."

Hearing "All good things must come to an end," Linghu Qingmo's heart trembled slightly; she glanced at the courtyard still being swept:

"You... you mean leaving Danyang and not returning in the future? The house you rented, you've only lived there a few days..."

Xie Jinhuan actually had no relatives in Jingcheng either; returning was purely to make money and kill people. Seeing Mo Mo suddenly look lost, he replied:

"How is that possible? I will go with Brother Yang to take a look. Once Brother Yang finishes his business, I will naturally return with him."

Seeing this, Linghu Qingmo secretly breathed a sigh of relief:

"You have injuries; how can a rough old man like him take care of you? Hmm... you go first to meet the Dan King and see if the Prince allows you to leave."

Lin Wanyi also came forward: "Yes, you go to the Wang Fu first to take a look; I will help you tidy the room."

"That works..."

(End of this chapter)