“Beauty-Brightening Grass, water vine, qi-li branches, bitter straw… These should be enough.”
Xia Liu piled a large sack of herbs in the center of the room.
When the bag hit the floor, the white cat in the old woman’s arms nearly stood up and hissed at her.
It probably thought the girl who had been rummaging through boxes and cabinets since she walked in was trying to rob the place.
The old woman’s eyelid twitched imperceptibly.
Xia Liu had taken nearly half her stock—five or six hundred stalks of spiritual herbs in dozens of varieties.
That was enough to feed a spirit pet for several years.
“Senior, there are roughly two thousand spirit stones here. Please count them.”
Xia Liu counted out the spirit stones from her storage ring, placed them in a small pouch, and handed it over.
The bulging bag of gems made the white cat’s eyes sparkle, but the old woman simply shook her head slowly.
“Not enough? Then Senior, just name your price.”
Xia Liu showed no irritation or dissatisfaction.
An aura of “money is no object” radiated from her, as if ten times the amount would still be nothing.
Su Zhan silently calculated the actual value of the herbs behind her and couldn’t help clicking her tongue in amazement.
These herbs weren’t particularly valuable.
Even though each stalk was at least a century old, most were worth only one to three spirit stones apiece. Only a few higher-grade ones cost more, but none exceeded fifty.
Two thousand spirit stones was already far too generous.
As an inner sect disciple, Su Zhan received three hundred spirit stones per month from Qingyun Sect.
After accounting for natal sword maintenance and daily living expenses, she could save only a few dozen at most.
As a dan cultivator, Xia Liu had no reason not to know the true prices, yet she had selected the herbs without batting an eye.
She even looked a little reluctant to stop, as if she still wanted more.
Su Zhan suspected Xia Liu had originally planned to buy every last herb but left half behind because she saw the old woman was ill.
Sure enough, among all cultivators, sword cultivators really are the poorest, Su Zhan thought with a sigh.
“This old one is already half in the grave. Spirit stones are nothing more than rocks to me.”
The old woman coughed twice and spoke softly. “If you want them, help this old one with a few small tasks. You may take most of the herbs here, fairy.”
So generous?
Su Zhan, who had assumed the old woman would haggle, felt her interest stir. She was about to agree immediately.
Sensing her thoughts, Xia Liu gently reached out and gripped Su Zhan’s wrist, giving it a light squeeze.
Su Zhan glanced over instinctively, but Xia Liu didn’t turn her head. She simply smiled at the old woman.
“May I ask what tasks Senior needs help with? My senior sister and I are not high in cultivation and are unskilled in combat. If the request is too difficult, I’m afraid we won’t be able to complete it.”
“The tasks are not difficult. Simply run a few errands and deliver a couple of messages.”
As the old woman spoke, her gaze landed on Su Zhan.
It was strange.
Whenever Su Zhan entered her line of sight, the old woman would unconsciously look over—studying her back, her eyes, as if seeing someone else through her.
“Could Senior please explain in more detail?”
Xia Liu shifted slightly to the side, positioning herself directly in front of Su Zhan.
She couldn’t completely block her, but it was enough to draw the old woman’s attention back to herself.
She had noticed the odd look in the old woman’s eyes long ago.
There was no malice in the gaze, so she hadn’t called it out directly.
Still, she disliked it. She couldn’t say exactly why, but she simply didn’t like it.
The old woman withdrew her gaze, remained silent for a moment, then spoke.
“About twenty kilometers from here, in the mountains, there is a small sect called Fangcun Sect. There should be seven people left in the sect. The head disciple is named Li Xingyue, and the last remaining disciple is named Su Beiyan. If the two fairies have time, could you deliver something to them for me?”
“What is the item?”
Xia Liu pressed, then quickly added, “I’m only curious. If Senior feels it’s inappropriate, you don’t have to answer.”
“It’s only right to be cautious when traveling outside,” the old woman shook her head. She gently patted the white cat’s head. The little creature meowed, leaped down, and gracefully ran back into the inner room.
A moment later, the white cat returned with a wooden box in its mouth and placed it directly in front of Xia Liu.
Xia Liu lifted the box and opened it without hesitation.
Inside were two pills the size of a fingertip, each marked with three cloud-like patterns.
Her brows furrowed, and her expression grew serious.
“Senior, this joke is in poor taste.”
Xia Liu said softly.
“If I’m not mistaken, these are not healing pills but Heart-Devouring Pills—a type of harmful poison pill… May I ask what Senior’s intention is in having the two of us deliver these pills to those two fellow cultivators?”
The moment the words left her mouth, Su Zhan’s natal spiritual sword was already unsheathed. She gripped it firmly in her hand.
She might not understand pills, but her junior sister would never joke about something like this.
Ordinary dan cultivators didn’t refine such things. Only poison cultivators made pills like these.
In this world, the term “poison cultivator” was far from complimentary.
She stepped out slowly from behind Xia Liu, shielding her junior sister.
In contrast to Su Zhan’s wariness, the old woman remained calm and composed.
She let out a soft chuckle, her expression even carrying a trace of nostalgia, as if she had experienced a similar scene long ago…
“These are meant for them, yet not entirely for them.”
After laughing, the old woman couldn’t help coughing again.
She looked at Su Zhan, a hint of melancholy in her eyes.
She seemed completely unaware of the gleaming natal spiritual sword in Su Zhan’s hand, stubbornly wanting to gaze longer into Su Zhan’s eyes.
“Poison and medicine are not so different. How they are used and where they are applied is what matters… Many times, if you look at it from another angle, medicine can harm people, and poison can save them.”
Su Zhan stayed silent.
The words sounded far too ambiguous.
She disliked riddle-speakers, and she especially disliked having to solve riddles in a situation like this.
“If I truly meant you harm, the two fairies would already be unable to stand before this old one,” the old woman said indifferently.
“…That’s exactly why I thought Senior was joking,” Xia Liu replied from behind Su Zhan. She had already confirmed that neither she nor Su Zhan showed any signs of poison invasion.
“But my senior sister doesn’t appreciate jokes. Please stop circling around the issue with us.”
“This old one was just about to explain. The two fairies are simply too impatient.”
The old woman paused, then let out a soft sigh.
“After Fangcun Sect was established, they have constantly fought the demons and monsters around Fangyou Mountain. They finally managed to suppress all of them. Those monsters go into a frenzy every few years, requiring sect members to enter and fight them. Over time, the number of people in the sect has dwindled until they are nearly extinct.”
“Therefore, this old one developed a new method—grinding these specially made pills into powder and delivering it to every suppressed monster through arrays and techniques. This way, the monsters can cause no further trouble.”
“I wished to hand these over to Fangcun Sect, but no one from the sect has come down the mountain in a long time. This old one is also unable to travel there, so I have kept these two pills until now.”
“If the two fairies are unwilling, this old one will not force you. Simply go to Fangcun Sect on my behalf, check whether they are safe, and return to tell this old one.”