Early the next morning.
Ding!
[Today’s Tip One!]
[Lu Zhiyi plans to find her sister and run away while you are out!]
[Today’s Tip Two!]
[Early this morning, the owner of the clothing shop in the marketplace had a fight with his cultivation partner. In his carelessness, he marked the prices incorrectly. The high-quality clothes on the left side of the shelf are priced at only 30% of their original cost.]
Su Xuan had just woken up when two pieces of information popped up in succession, letting him know that everything he had experienced yesterday was not a dream.
‘Wants to escape?’
Didn’t she cry from being moved yesterday? After just one night, she was already changing her mind?
He frowned, feeling somewhat confused.
Could it be that one meal wasn’t enough to sustain her loyalty for long?
In that case, he would simply take her along to buy some clothes. He had to keep her with him; he couldn’t leave her at home.
Just as he made up his mind, the girl’s voice came from outside.
“Master, the hot water is ready.”
Lu Zhiyi walked in carrying a wooden basin of hot water and placed it respectfully by the bed. Seeing that he was awake, she whispered softly.
Su Xuan looked at the sun outside, stood up to take the towel, and began to wash.
“Master, your Spiritual Rice was finished yesterday. Should… should you go buy some more?”
Lu Zhiyi watched him cautiously. She hesitated, looking as if she wanted to say more but held back several times before finally asking.
“Yes. I need to go out to sell some pills and then buy some food to bring back,” he said casually, acting as if he hadn’t seen through the girl’s little scheme.
“Come with me in a bit.”
Lu Zhiyi pursed her lips. Before she could even feel happy about the first part, Su Xuan’s addition left her stunned on the spot.
“I — I still have many chores to tidy up — “
She hurriedly tried to think of an excuse to decline.
“Hmm?”
Su Xuan only let out a grunt, but it made her body tremble.
Hmph, thinking of escaping?
A moment later, the two of them were walking along the long street of the Marketplace.
Su Xuan led her along while constantly observing the diverse crowd of the Marketplace.
Various banners hung in front of doors, and shops selling talismans, pills, and formation flags could be seen everywhere. Occasionally, he even saw the bloody corpses of demonic beasts being carried and sold on the street.
Aside from games, this was his first time personally experiencing the world of cultivators, and he found it quite fascinating.
Lu Zhiyi, however, gritted her teeth with a face full of trepidation. She didn’t know if her master insisted on bringing her along because of a coincidence or if he had discovered her plan.
Arriving at the stall the original owner had rented, Su Xuan had just finished laying out his pills when an old man from the neighboring stall leaned in.
“Little Su, I’ve got the good stuff, the good stuff.”
The old man had one of his two large yellow buckteeth broken in half. He was skinny and held several small booklets with a wretched expression.
Su Xuan recalled that this old man was surnamed Zhang. He usually sold real and fake talismans and cultivation techniques, but he also sold things for adult cultivators under the table.
He glanced down instinctively; as expected, they were various erotic art manuals.
Having been influenced by all sorts of “teachers” in his previous life, Su Xuan naturally looked down on such crude things, especially since the young girl was standing quietly behind him.
Just as he was about to sternly refuse, his gaze suddenly froze on one of the booklets.
Churui Miscellaneous Records!
This was exactly the book mentioned in the tip — the one that contained a pill formula!
He had expected to spend a long time searching for it, but it had turned up without any effort at all!
“How much for this one?” he asked, suppressing his excitement and picking up the booklet as if asking on a whim.
“This was written by the Nascent Soul Cultivator Zhezhi Daoren of the Acacia Sect. Although it isn’t a core mental cultivation technique, the things recorded inside are…”
Old Man Zhang rubbed his hands together, the wrinkles on his face bunching up like a withered chrysanthemum. He cast a lecherous glance at Lu Zhiyi behind Su Xuan and chuckled.
“The things in here are exactly what a kid like you can use. You’ve got quite the luck with women…”
Su Xuan held the small booklet, feeling as if it were burning his hand.
This Zhezhi Daoren loved to torture and humiliate young women, the younger the better. He was notorious in the cultivation world.
Sure enough, looking back, the girl had frozen upon hearing the name. she was staring at them with a look of mixed caution and disdain.
“Two Spiritual Stones. How about it?” Old Man Zhang held up two fingers.
“Ahem, too expensive. One at most.”
Su Xuan coughed lightly, ignoring the girl’s gaze, and reflexively cut the price in half.
“Deal!”
Old Man Zhang acted as if he were afraid Su Xuan would regret it and tossed the booklet directly into his arms.
‘Damn, I offered too much…’
Su Xuan realized instantly. These old guys were all cunning spirits; if he wasn’t careful, he would suffer a loss.
“Five Inedia Pills. The market price is one Spiritual Stone. I’ll trade you those.”
Thinking it over, he grabbed a porcelain bottle from his stall and tossed it over. Since he was going to sell them anyway, he might as well save some time.
“Stop trying to trick me. With those crappy pills of yours, they don’t deserve to be called — “
Old Man Zhang laughed and cursed, intending to throw them back, but his nose twitched and he stopped.
“Hmm? Pill fragrance? Are these really Inedia Pills?”
Doubtful, he poured one out from the bottle and observed it carefully for a long time. He then turned around with a flattering smile.
“Fellow Daoist Su, you’ve really become an Alchemist? Don’t forget about me when you rise to greatness in the future!”
“Just luck, just luck. We’re old friends, after all.”
Su Xuan exchanged a few pleasantries with him before Old Man Zhang returned to his own stall with the pills.
“Being able to follow an Alchemist, you can be considered lucky, little girl.”
As he passed the stunned girl, he sighed to himself with no small amount of envy.
Lu Zhiyi’s large eyes blinked repeatedly, making her look like a dazed goose.
She clearly remembered that when her master had finished yesterday, it wasn’t even late at night. He had used less than half the time he usually took!
And could one really refine pills using an iron wok? Since when had her master become so powerful?
She felt a bit of admiration, but then she glanced at Su Xuan, shook her head fiercely, and thought to herself.
‘Even if he can refine pills, he’s still scum! Buying that kind of book! And reading it in public! Shameless…’
Su Xuan had no interest in those “experiences.” He went straight to the seventh page.
As expected, he could faintly see several pill ingredients and refining methods described in that section. However, because it was illustrated with text and images, he couldn’t see it clearly in a short time.
With a light cough, he tucked the book into his chest, planning to study it carefully after returning home that night.
He turned around and began to hawk his pills. He had serious business to attend to now.
The original owner had a few regular customers, and in a short while, several bottles of pills were sold.
The nine bottles of pills sold for a total of nine Spiritual Stones, which was five times more than what the original owner usually made in one trip.
“Let’s go. Time to buy some things.”
He stretched his limbs and pulled the girl toward the deeper part of the Marketplace.
“Master, where are we going?” Lu Zhiyi asked timidly.
“First, I’m buying some clothes for the two of you.”
Seeing that it was still early, Su Xuan led her straight toward the clothing shop in the Marketplace.
At the entrance, the girl shrunk back, not daring to enter.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, puzzled.
“It’s… it’s too expensive, Master. How about we do what we used to do and just buy a bolt of hemp cloth to sew ourselves?”
Lu Zhiyi’s voice was weak, and she seemed a bit afraid.
When someone who had mistreated her for three years suddenly started being so good to her, she couldn’t figure out what Su Xuan was up to, and she instinctively felt some resistance.
“Stop talking nonsense. Your master is an Alchemist now. You two dressing like this is just embarrassing me, isn’t it?”
Unable to explain the matter of the tip, Su Xuan pretended to be disgusted by her clothing and pulled her inside.
“High-quality fabrics! All fellow Daoists are welcome to browse. May I ask if you are…”
As soon as they entered, a tall female cultivator approached them and spoke respectfully.
Although she wore a plain, loose, standard long dress, her full, slightly trembling chest combined with her cinched waist and long, straight legs allowed her to display her beautiful curves to the fullest.
“It’s you? What are you doing here?”
Halfway through her greeting, the woman’s respectful tone shifted, becoming filled with loathing.
Su Xuan was also stunned, but then it dawned on him.
The female cultivator before him was a neighbor who had moved in a month ago, an 18- or 19-year-old named Lin Chengyun.
When she first arrived, the original owner had harassed her and had been taught a lesson in return.
Yesterday, she was also the one who had rushed over to help send the older sister, Lin Zhiwei, to the medical clinic.
No wonder her tone was so unfriendly now.
“I’m buying some clothes for the sisters. Please help them pick some out,” he said politely, withdrawing his gaze from the female cultivator without taking offense.
“Hmm?”
Lin Chengyun stared at him.
She remembered that Su Xuan was normally extremely harsh to the sisters. He wouldn’t even replace their hemp clothes when they were torn.
Why had he suddenly come here to buy clothes for them today?
Had he found his conscience?
Or did he have some other ulterior motive?
“Welcome.”
With a look of suspicion on her face, she slowly moved aside to let them in.