Chapter 70: Great tonic! Overdoing it!

Looking at the things before me, I couldn't help but recall that previous night of unrestrained pleasure, and what Liu Junyan said.

He said, Xiao Jiu, from now on don't make offerings of this kind of thing.

But after the last offering, his condition clearly improved a lot, right?

So the thing is good, it's just… the side effects are rather big.

For a moment, I felt somewhat torn.

But I didn't expect Li Qingying to quickly rewrap the tiger whip, pat Jin Wuya on the shoulder, and say boldly, 'Boss Jin, you've shown your heart; from now on we're brothers who've shared life and death—come to the pawnshop for anything you need.'

Jin Wuya nodded.

I glanced suspiciously at his earlobe—why are his ears red?

·

After returning from the teahouse, Li Qingying went straight to the main courtyard; I opened the chest and saw the two million in cash inside, feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Suddenly coming into such a large sum, I need to allocate it wisely.

First, take out ten percent to give Li Qingying; she put effort into the whole matter, so she deserves a share of the profit.

Then set aside several thousand for the pawnshop's daily expenses.

The rest goes into the bank.

For Jin Wuya's matter, I asked the Tang family for help; when I have time I'll buy some gifts to go thank the Tang family.

As for Master Huizhuan, Jin Wuya has already taken care of it; I don't need to worry.

Moreover, Master Huizhuan helped this time by liberating so many resentful souls; I don't know how much merit has increased, but he must be delighted beyond measure.

For cultivators, wealth can never compare to merit!

Having decided, I packed Li Qingying's share of the dividend and sent it to her room.

Upon entering, I saw Li Qingying wiping her whip, with the oil Jin Wuya gave her placed on the table beside her.

She did it very carefully, slowly dripping oil onto the whip, spreading it evenly, gently working the oil into the whip, then taking a cloth to slowly wipe it, so focused that she didn't notice me approaching.

Only when I put the money on the table, making a sound, did Li Qingying lift her eyes to look over.

"These are your dividend; put them away." I said.

Li Qingying didn't want it, saying she wasn't short of money, and besides she had gained some merit, so she couldn't take both.

But she couldn't resist me, so in the end she had to accept it.

After sitting down again, she said, "Actually, compared to this money, I prefer this bottle of oil; my whip hasn't been maintained in a long time, and Jin Wuya really has a lot of good stuff."

I asked, "What oil is this?"

"Deep-sea whale oil." Li Qingying said with beaming brows, "A rare treasure you can't easily find; if this bottle were placed in the ghost market, it would surely be snatched up."

Jin Wuya really is generous!

But this is good too; at least it shows Jin Wuya's heart leans toward the pawnshop, and he can be considered an external staffer of our pawnshop.

I was happy inside, but I still hid something, starting to speak several times then stopping.

Li Qingying, having been with me a long time, understands me well and asked, "Xiao Jiu, are you here to take that tiger whip? Don't worry, I've already offered it to the Seventh Lord."

Ah?!

I indeed planned to get the tiger whip back.

I wanted to first put that thing away as a collectible, then take it out when Liu Junyan truly needs it later.

If it never gets used, I could just resell it.

I didn't expect Li Qingying to have already offered it over.

I stood up and walked toward the main hall, muttering, "He just received the Golden Scale; maybe he doesn't need such a great tonic for now?"

Yes, over-tonic is also not good.

Better I help him put it away first.

But when the main hall doors opened, I saw the offering table completely empty.

At that moment I felt as if someone had struck me on the head.

Strangely, my lower back also felt inexplicably sore.

That afternoon I was absentminded; although the weather had started to cool, after dinner I still broke a sweat on my forehead.

As the sky gradually darkened, Li Qingying cleared the dishes, and I squatted at the pawnshop door to catch a breeze.

Looking up, I unexpectedly discovered that under the west corridor, the entire hexagonal palace lantern was bathed in a faint golden light.

That golden light had already overflowed to nearly halfway.

I sprang to my feet, took a few steps to stand beneath the hexagonal palace lantern, and looked up carefully.

Yes, that's right, it's fast approaching halfway.

Last time it clearly had only the bottom layer.

No, no, where did all this merit suddenly come from to enter the hexagonal palace lantern?

Indeed, a lot has happened recently, each matter being quite thorny.

First, Tang Xun helped bring in that painting, which is now enshrined in the Qingquan Daoist Temple; it should continue to gather some merit.

Furthermore, there's the matter of Jiyu Si this time.

At Jiyu Si we broke the formation array, repelled the black snake, and liberated countless resentful souls, from which we can gain a large amount of merit.

On Master Jin Wuya's side, we could probably count it as part of our pawnshop's contribution, right?

Of course, the largest share should come from the Golden Scale.

The first piece of Golden Scale, Liu Junyan inlaid it onto Feng Wu, empowering Feng Wu with merit; this piece, Liu Junyan collected it, and the merit of the Golden Scale blessed the entire pawnshop.

Is its merit power really that strong?

Oh, I forgot, there's also that tiger whip...

I scratched my head, still feeling something was off.

Besides these, could there also be…… Xiaoye?!

That unconventional man treats Liu Junyan pretty well; he might not bear to see her stuck in this Dang Pu, unable to move an inch.

Didn't Liu Junyan say that as long as more than half of the Merit in the hexagonal palace lamp is accumulated, he can use the lamp to go out for a walk?

Could it be Xiaoye helping?

That must be it!

Just thinking that Liu Junyan would soon be able to leave the Dang Pu with the hexagonal palace lamp, my mood instantly became elated.

Just a little bit more.

As long as I try a little harder, I'll be able to.

Tonight I was supposed to guard the Dang Pu, but after just past ten, Li Qingying kept yawning, saying her injury wasn't healed yet, she was tired and wanted to go back to sleep.

Outside was calm, so I kept this street‑facing door of the Nan Shu Fang open, closed the door linking to the Funeral Shop, and we each went back to our rooms to sleep.

At first I didn't feel anything, but once I lay down on the bed, I suddenly became wide awake, my heart pounding.

My head inexplicably heated up.

I frustratedly hit my forehead: "Xiao Jiu, Xiao Jiu, what nonsense are you thinking? Go to sleep!"

But the next moment, the bed behind me suddenly sank, a familiar sandalwood scent enveloped me, and the man's scorching breath pressed against my neck.

Without a word, the scorching kiss eagerly fanned the flames everywhere.

The man's chest was like a furnace, so hot I could barely breathe; soon my whole body felt as if washed in water, drenched in sweat……

The room was dark, only the floor lamp in the corner of the wardrobe glimmered with a faint yellow light.

But later, even that point of light seemed to be shattered bit by bit, specks of light, shadows……