Xia Yunzhao munched on a spirit fruit while muttering to Shang Shuangze. Nobody knew what he was saying. Then he turned toward the two female cultivators and asked, “Is there a catalogue for this auction?”
The women hurriedly answered, “There is.” They took out two jade slips and handed them over.
It was Xia Yunzhao’s first time seeing a jade slip, so he was extremely curious. Shang Shuangze personally guided him through how to use it.
They were both cultivators, but a Qi Refining cultivator was still fundamentally mortal flesh and could not even project divine sense. Only at Foundation Establishment did one truly step onto the path of immortal cultivation, at least to the point where divine sense could finally be used.
It was Xia Yunzhao’s first time trying to control his divine sense, and he could not quite get the hang of it. Shang Shuangze simply touched Xia Yunzhao between the brows, sent his own divine sense into Xia Yunzhao’s sea of consciousness, and guided him around once.
Xia Yunzhao immediately shivered. What a strange feeling! It was like being hugged by someone, except even more comfortable than a hug…
Shang Shuangze’s eyes darkened slightly. This was also his first time guiding another person’s divine sense. He had not known it would feel like this either… He gently wrapped his divine sense around Xia Yunzhao’s and led him into the jade slip.
Behind them, the two female cultivators exchanged strange looks. …Does looking at a jade slip require divine-sense intercourse?
They looked at the state of the two men and exchanged glances again. A bedroom game. It must be some kind of bedroom game.
Xia Yunzhao almost did not want to look at the jade slip anymore. He dawdled and rubbed his divine sense lightly against Shang Shuangze’s.
Shang Shuangze gave a quiet laugh. “Look at the catalogue first.”
Xia Yunzhao reluctantly immersed his divine sense in the jade slip. After looking for a while, he asked, “Does every auction sell this many pills?”
The two women hurried to answer. “Senior may not know, but bulk auctions are held only once every five days. Many merchant caravans and major powers wait in line for them. Selling several thousand pills in one auction is completely normal.”
Xia Yunzhao started from the beginning. Most of the first section consisted of Level-One pills: Dew-Condensing Pills, Qi-Replenishing Pills, Bloodstanching Pills, Light-Body Pills, and so on. Each lot contained at least fifty pills and at most three hundred. Anyone other than a major power or a large caravan truly could not afford or even need such quantities.
He continued downward and found his own pills among the Level-Two offerings. A small line had even been specially added beneath them: *Grade A pills. Pill-testing puppets available for advance demonstration.*
Xia Yunzhao immediately asked, “What’s a pill-testing puppet?”
One woman explained, “Pill-testing puppets are magical artifacts unique to Danxia Hall. Although they are puppets, they are crafted with great precision, complete with meridians, flesh, and blood. After taking a pill, they can display roughly eighty percent of its medicinal effect. Because they are extremely expensive to make, we provide them only for Grade A pills.”
“I see.” Xia Yunzhao thought about it. This was an auction, after all. If buyers who were already tempted could see the medicinal effect demonstrated by a pill-testing puppet, would they not become determined to obtain it? The price would roll upward faster and faster.
Once again, he marveled at it. No wonder other pill cultivators were so rich. So this was how they made money.
As he was thinking, a gong sounded downstairs. The auctioneer stepped onto the stage with a smile and began his opening remarks.
Xia Yunzhao looked down. Every seat below was already occupied. Some people wore masks or otherwise concealed themselves, but most openly showed their faces without concern. It seemed Danxia Hall’s security was considered reliable.
He also spotted members of Beiliang City’s local cultivation families, as well as people who clearly belonged to merchant caravans. The latter looked vigilant and carried a fierce, battle-hardened air.
Come to think of it, joining a merchant caravan was a good option for some unaffiliated cultivators. Many caravans hired them as guards, and the income from a single journey could be considerable. It was dangerous, but still an excellent way to accumulate cultivation resources.
After inspecting the first floor, Xia Yunzhao looked at the second. There were six private rooms in total. He occupied Room One, while Rooms Three, Four, and Six were also occupied. The remaining two rooms were empty.
There were no soundproof barriers inside the rooms, so laughter and joking could be heard from some of them.
Xia Yunzhao shook his head, thinking that spoiled young masters really did exist everywhere. He wondered which family’s disciples those were. Could they belong to the Du family?
Speaking of which, he had been in Beiliang City for several days and had somehow not seen a single member of the Du family. That was strange.
The first auction downstairs had already begun. The item was Dew-Condensing Pills.
Xia Yunzhao had sold plenty of Dew-Condensing Pills before. Demand for them was high, so they were easy to sell at a good price.
The auctioneer brought up a jade box containing exactly one hundred pills. “One hundred Dew-Condensing Pills. Starting price, twenty-four thousand spirit pearls. Each bid must increase by at least one hundred spirit pearls. Bidding begins now.”
Xia Yunzhao sipped his tea and nodded. The starting price was about right. He had previously sold Dew-Condensing Pills for roughly that amount at the underground market.
But the longer he listened, the stranger it became. Bids came one after another. Although the required minimum increase was only one hundred spirit pearls, most people raised the price by several thousand at a time. In the blink of an eye, the bid passed thirty thousand and rushed directly toward forty thousand!
Xia Yunzhao leaned forward again. Those Dew-Condensing Pills were rated Grade B, and to his eye they really were not especially high quality. At the very least, they were far worse than his. “…Are Dew-Condensing Pills really worth that much?”
One of the female cultivators covered her mouth and laughed. “Dew-Condensing Pills are essential for Qi Refining cultivators. There aren’t enough pills and there are too many cultivators. Once everyone starts competing, naturally the price rises.”
Xia Yunzhao slowly sat back down. He finally understood why Xu Ziyu had said it was a shame for him to sell his pills at the underground market… Now even Xia Yunzhao felt those sales had been a waste!
In the end, the one hundred Dew-Condensing Pills sold to a major power for forty-two thousand spirit pearls. The buyer even looked quite satisfied and told the people beside him, “We got lucky at this auction. The competition wasn’t particularly fierce.”
Xia Yunzhao: …I’m done competing with rich people.
Then he suddenly remembered something. He cupped Shang Shuangze’s face in both hands and turned it toward himself, eyes gleaming. “Doesn’t that mean our pills could sell for an incredibly high price too?!”
Shang Shuangze: “…”
With a sigh, he removed Xia Yunzhao’s hands, then cupped Xia Yunzhao’s face in return and turned him back toward the window, meaning: Keep watching.
Xia Yunzhao watched with great interest. Auctions really were surprisingly entertaining. He saw two merchant caravans competing out of pure spite. Whenever one side wanted something, the other would deliberately drive the price high before withdrawing, following the principle that if the other party suffered, they were happy.
Two other tables sat far apart and appeared unrelated, yet the people there repeatedly exchanged glances and cooperated with each other. The pills they won generally sold for less than the surrounding lots.
Xia Yunzhao himself raised his bidding plaque twice. He did not truly want anything. He simply wanted to experience the atmosphere.
Other than him, however, nobody else on the second floor bid at all. Two rooms remained utterly silent, while one was constantly filled with flirtatious laughter.
After they watched for a while, the auction reached the Level-Two pills.
The auctioneer had been calling bids all night and still looked energetic. “Next are fifty Jade-Bone Pills. Starting price, fifty thousand spirit pearls. Each bid must increase by at least one hundred.”
Xia Yunzhao thought about it. Jade-Bone Pills were used to temper the bones and were practically essential during early Foundation Establishment. Fifty thousand was a very reasonable starting price. The question was how high the bidding would go.
Level-Two pills were even more popular than Level-One pills. The auctioneer had barely finished speaking when someone below raised a plaque. “Sixty thousand!”
The price rose ten thousand in a single bid.
“Seventy thousand!”
“Seventy-five thousand!”
Xiao Xia leisurely sipped his tea. In barely any time, the price was already approaching eighty thousand…
In the end, the fifty Jade-Bone Pills were purchased by one table downstairs for eighty-eight thousand spirit pearls.
Xia Yunzhao looked down. Everyone at that table wore white robes, but unlike Shang Shuangze’s pure white clothing, theirs combined white and silver, with flowing-cloud patterns embroidered on the cuffs.
They completely ignored the gazes directed at them. Spending eighty thousand spirit pearls looked as effortless as spending eight. They carried themselves with a faint air of regarding everyone else as beneath them.
Xia Yunzhao lowered his voice. “Do you two know who they are?”
One of the female cultivators replied reservedly, “There are rumors that people from Yunjiangguan are attending this bulk auction. Whether that’s actually true, this junior doesn’t know.”
Yunjiangguan was the greatest power in the surrounding region, so naturally they could afford to buy this many pills.
Xia Yunzhao asked again, “If they’re from Yunjiangguan, why aren’t they upstairs?”
The other woman was livelier and laughed. “People from Yunjiangguan never use private rooms. They believe they have nothing shameful to hide, so they usually sit openly in the main hall.”
Xia Yunzhao: “…”
He was baffled. What did sitting in a private room have to do with whether someone had something shameful to hide? They might as well admit they simply enjoyed showing off.
Perhaps amused by his speechless expression, the woman said, “Yes, Fellow Daoists from Yunjiangguan are indeed… somewhat proud.”
That “somewhat” was doing a lot of work.
Several auction lots later, they finally reached Xia Yunzhao’s pills. The first to appear were the Cold-Dispelling Origin-Transforming Pills.
The auctioneer’s smile widened. “Our next lot is a rare pill that Danxia Hall went to great effort to obtain: the Cold-Dispelling Origin-Transforming Pill. After taking one, the user can remain protected from cold for four hours while simultaneously nourishing their vital essence and strengthening their vitality.”
Xia Yunzhao continued silently drinking tea. What a storyteller. What did he mean, “went to great effort to obtain”? Xia Yunzhao had walked into Danxia Hall on his own! And although the Cold-Dispelling Origin-Transforming Pill really did have some ability to nourish vital essence, “strengthening vitality” was ridiculously exaggerated. It might not even help with injuries! Its main purpose was getting rid of cold!
The auctioneer continued, “These pills are rated Grade A, one of only three Grade A pill categories in tonight’s auction. There are one hundred and forty pills in total. Starting bid, two hundred and eighty thousand spirit pearls.”
Xia Yunzhao choked on his tea. “Two hundred and eighty thousand?! Two thousand spirit pearls per pill?!”
The two female cultivators exchanged looks, unable to understand why he was so excited. They had merely been ordered to accompany these two seniors and did not know their identities. One asked in confusion, “Senior, these pills are rare, their effects are valuable, and their quality is excellent. That price is completely normal.”
Xia Yunzhao coughed repeatedly. “That price is… normal?”
“Perfectly normal,” she said. “Level-Two pills commonly sell for anywhere from two thousand to five thousand spirit pearls each. Pills with particularly powerful effects can exceed five thousand apiece, and plenty of people will still buy them.”
Xia Yunzhao had just opened his mouth when the auctioneer continued below. “If these Cold-Dispelling Origin-Transforming Pills were transported to Xuexiao City, their price would certainly rise substantially. It all depends on which honored guest moves fastest.”
Xia Yunzhao watched several caravan leaders’ eyes immediately light up. One shouted, “Can we see the effect on pill-testing puppets?”
“Of course.” The auctioneer clapped his hands, and three pill-testing puppets were brought onto the stage.
The puppets looked similar to ordinary puppets, except their skin was etched with meridian patterns and their flesh even felt soft.
The auctioneer took out three pills and fed one to each puppet in full view of everyone.
The medicinal power immediately became visible along the puppets’ meridians, exactly matching the auctioneer’s description. He then invited a cultivator at Great Completion of Qi Refining onto the stage and had him cast an ice-attribute spell at one puppet. The puppet was completely unaffected.
The crowd gradually stirred, and bids began ringing out one after another. “Two hundred and ninety thousand!”
“Three hundred thousand!”
“Three hundred and fifty thousand!”
Xia Yunzhao: “…”
Listening to these people shout numbers made spirit pearls stop feeling like actual spirit pearls.
Not many buyers specifically needed Cold-Dispelling Origin-Transforming Pills. Most were leaders of large merchant caravans, but their competition was fierce.
Just as the auctioneer had said, these people saw the tremendous profit behind the pills. The price might not be exceptionally high locally, but if they transported the pills to an extreme northern city such as Xuexiao City, they could probably sell them for more than ten times as much.
Xia Yunzhao watched the bid pass four hundred thousand and approach five hundred thousand. Then, before he could properly react, it broke five hundred thousand and raced toward six hundred thousand… It finally sold for exactly six hundred thirty-four thousand eight hundred spirit pearls.
The oddly precise final number showed just how intense the competition had become. Even Xia Yunzhao himself became excited toward the end and almost wanted to jump in and start bidding!
What? He was the one providing the pills? Never mind, then.
After that fierce competition, the auction paused for about seven and a half minutes. Attendants moved among the tables downstairs distributing snacks and refreshments, all free of charge.
Someone also came upstairs to ask whether the private rooms needed anything. Xia Yunzhao was already too full to eat and simply told them not to bring anything.
The other two quiet private rooms declined as well. Only the noisy room ordered two jars of spirit wine.
Xia Yunzhao became curious about what those people were doing here. He himself had at least joined in the fun and bid several times, yet those three rooms had not made a single sound. Were they all pill cultivators supplying pills to the auction?
The break quickly ended. The auctioneer returned to the stage with that familiar mysterious smile. “Honored guests, our next lot is another rare pill that Danxia Hall went to great effort to obtain: the Jade-Essence Skin-Tempering Pill. Rated Grade A.”
The moment he finished, murmured discussion spread throughout the hall. Not many people had heard of this pill.
The auctioneer continued, “As everyone knows, commonly used skin-tempering pills for Foundation Establishment cultivators include Jade-Skin Pills, Golden-Pattern Pills, and others, which respectively improve toughness, recovery, sensitivity, and similar qualities. The Jade-Essence Skin-Tempering Pill, however, improves every aspect of the skin comprehensively. Furthermore, Danxia Hall has already tested it on a pill-testing puppet. Its tempering efficiency is thirty percent higher than ordinary pills!”
An uproar erupted below. Thirty percent higher?!
What did that mean? It meant an effect that would normally require ten pills could be achieved with only six! Saving money was secondary. More importantly, it saved time!
Every cultivation stage had a limited lifespan. One could only survive by breaking through before that lifespan ran out. Saving time was practically equivalent to saving one’s life!
With that realization, everyone’s eyes turned red as they stared at the stage. Nothing more needed to be said. Hand over the pills!
Seeing that one explanation had successfully stirred the crowd, the auctioneer relaxed slightly. The auction house had set an extremely high starting price for the Jade-Essence Skin-Tempering Pills, and even he had not been certain they could sell. Judging by the reaction now, things looked promising.
Still smiling, he announced, “Jade-Essence Skin-Tempering Pills. Level Two, Grade A. Two hundred pills in total. Starting price, eight hundred thousand spirit pearls. Each bid must increase by at least one hundred spirit pearls. Bidding begins now!”
The person most shocked by that starting price was not anyone below. It was Xia Yunzhao himself.
Eight hundred thousand spirit pearls… That meant each pill was priced at four thousand spirit pearls, already exceptionally high for a Level-Two pill!
More importantly, the Jade-Essence Skin-Tempering Pill was only used during early Foundation Establishment!
What surprised him even more was that the previously silent second floor finally produced a bid.
From the noisy room to his left came a lazy male voice. “One million.”
Immediately afterward, Rooms Four and Six both called out, “One million five hundred thousand.”
Both sides fell silent. Finally, Room Six called again. “One million eight hundred thousand.”
Xia Yunzhao inexplicably began feeling as though he were earning dirty money. In only a few moments, the price had already more than doubled! Eight thousand spirit pearls per pill…
He nearly whispered, “This price… is normal too?”
The two women exchanged looks again, unable to understand why this senior kept doubting their auction prices when he was not even buying. “It’s completely normal, Senior. Demand for the earlier Cold-Dispelling Origin-Transforming Pills was limited, so only a few caravans competed. Far more people need Jade-Essence Skin-Tempering Pills. Every early Foundation Establishment cultivator needs them! Naturally the price is higher.”
“I understand the logic…” Xia Yunzhao rubbed his face until his cheeks turned red.
Shang Shuangze stroked his cheek twice with obvious concern and murmured, “Why are you feeling sorry for their money? Nobody is forcing them to buy.”
“No, I’m not feeling sorry for them.” Xia Yunzhao sat upright and pinched his thumb and forefinger close together. “I’ve just realized my horizons are a tiny bit narrow.”
Right now, he felt like a village child visiting a city for the first time and watching people casually spend eighty or a hundred thousand on one meal. Even though all that money was flowing into his own pocket, some simple part of him still could not help thinking, That’s enough money for me to live on for a whole year, isn’t it?
Then he calculated again. At his normal cultivation rate, he burned through fifty thousand spirit pearls a day. One million eight hundred thousand would last him… thirty-six days. So, about a month. Never mind.
The auction continued in a tense frenzy. Everyone still bidding now was a true heavyweight. The caravan leaders could not keep up for more than a few rounds and reluctantly dropped out.
The price climbed past two million four hundred thousand and continued rising.
Only three bidders remained: Yunjiangguan’s table downstairs and Rooms Four and Six upstairs.
Room Three had already withdrawn at two million with a bored “Not interested.”
Xia Yunzhao watched the bidding closely. He had assumed Yunjiangguan would ultimately win, given that it was the greatest nearby power.
Unexpectedly, the successful bidder was the person in Room Six. He never showed his face from beginning to end, and when he finally won the pills, all he said was, “Not bad.”
Xia Yunzhao silently nodded. This guy really understands the essence of looking cool. Meanwhile, the people from Yunjiangguan looked livid. They stood and left without even waiting for the remaining auction lots.
After thinking for a moment, Xia Yunzhao said to Shang Shuangze, “Why don’t we leave too?”
The two female cultivators did not understand but stood along with them.
Xia Yunzhao turned toward the attendant waiting outside. “Where do I collect the spirit pearls?”
The attendant hurriedly answered, “Once the auction ends, they’ll be delivered to your room.”
“No need. I’ll collect them myself.” Xia Yunzhao lowered his voice. “Lead the way.”
Naturally, the attendant did not refuse and hurried ahead.
Xia Yunzhao successfully collected his auction proceeds. The Cold-Dispelling Origin-Transforming Pills and Jade-Essence Skin-Tempering Pills sold for a combined total of three million four hundred forty-five thousand spirit pearls. Danxia Hall took a twenty-percent commission, leaving Xia Yunzhao with two million seven hundred fifty-six thousand spirit pearls.
The employee receiving him smiled so broadly that his face seemed ready to blossom and handed Xia Yunzhao a plaque. “Senior, with this jade plaque, you may participate in auctions at any Danxia Hall establishment. As your cumulative sales increase, Danxia Hall’s commission rate will also decrease.”
Xia Yunzhao asked, “How much does it decrease?”
The man smiled. “Once your cumulative sales reach ten million spirit pearls, the commission drops to ten percent.”
That was quite a substantial reduction. On three million spirit pearls, ten percent alone would be three hundred thousand.
Xia Yunzhao put both the money and jade plaque into his Hundred-Compartment Pouch, then returned to Yuexian Inn with Shang Shuangze.
It was already quite late when they returned, yet Boss Lin was somehow still awake and waiting in the main hall. The moment he saw them, the portly innkeeper shuffled over looking aggrieved. “Senior, y-you went to Danxia Hall to auction your pills? Is Yuexian Inn not good enough?”
Xia Yunzhao was speechless. Is this even about whether your inn is good? We’re talking about hundreds of Level-Two pills. Are you seriously not afraid of choking on that much business? If something went wrong and the crowd demolished your inn, then you’d finally learn.
Boss Lin continued pitifully, “Then… then the next time you come to Beiliang City, will you still stay here? I won’t charge you for the room.”
Xia Yunzhao looked at the fat man. His eyes were already nothing but two narrow slits, yet somehow he still managed to squeeze an aggrieved expression out of them. Xia Yunzhao could not help laughing. “Yes! Whenever I come to Beiliang City, I’ll stay here. Happy?”
“Hehehe! Then I’m relieved!” Boss Lin immediately brightened. He had run an inn in Beiliang City for somewhere between fifty and eighty years. Of course he knew what Pill Cultivator Xia was capable of, and he certainly knew Yuexian Inn could not swallow all those pills at once. He was merely afraid Xia Yunzhao might be recruited away by the Pill Cultivator Alliance. As long as the pill cultivator continued staying at his inn whenever he visited, that invisible signboard would remain! At minimum, Boss Lin could live off that reputation until the next Pill Cultivator Grand Competition!
He immediately became attentive again. “You two should hurry upstairs and rest. I’ll have someone bring tea!”
Xia Yunzhao truly was exhausted. Too tired to argue with him, he waved and went upstairs. The moment he entered the room, he threw himself onto the bed and fell asleep, without even knowing when Shang Shuangze went to bed.
When he woke the next morning, his whole body felt refreshed. His outer robe had been removed, his face and hands had been wiped clean, and even his hair had been loosened. He had slept extraordinarily comfortably.
Xia Yunzhao thought for a long time but could not remember taking off his clothes the previous night. Could Shang Shuangze have undressed him? Surely not. Xia Yunzhao was not dead. How could Shang Shuangze move him around that much without waking him?
While he was thinking, the door opened and Shang Shuangze entered carrying a food box. Seeing Xia Yunzhao awake, he gestured for him to come eat breakfast.
Xia Yunzhao hurriedly washed up and ran over. When he opened the food box, he found food not from Yuexian Inn but from stalls in the outside market. Looking again, every single dish was something he had praised over the past few days!
Xiao Xia was immediately touched. “You went out specially to buy these?”
Shang Shuangze nodded as though it were the most natural thing in the world. “We’re leaving today. It will be a long time before you can eat them again.”
Xia Yunzhao grabbed a steamed bun and took a bite. The stall was run by a married pair of unaffiliated cultivators. Every morning they bought freshly slaughtered beast meat, and they never skimped on the filling. The wrapper was thin, the meat plentiful, and one bite released a burst of rich, savory juice.
Xia Yunzhao finished one bun in two or three bites and stuffed another into his mouth. Only then did he mumble, “It’s fine. If I want them again in the future, we can just come back.” He raised his head and looked at Shang Shuangze with puppy-like eyes. “You’ll come with me, right?”
Shang Shuangze chuckled softly and reached out. Xia Yunzhao instinctively closed his eyes. The back of Shang Shuangze’s hand brushed the side of his face, and when Xia Yunzhao opened his eyes again, Shang Shuangze had simply taken a steamed bun. “If you can’t finish them, put the rest in the Hundred-Compartment Pouch.”
Xia Yunzhao: “…”
He chewed his steamed bun while muttering. Somehow, Shang Shuangze felt a little different lately.
Only after Xia Yunzhao finished eating did Shang Shuangze say, “Someone is waiting downstairs for you.”
“Downstairs? Who?” Xia Yunzhao ran to the corridor and looked down. “Huh? Pill Master Lipan?”
It was still early, and nobody was eating in the inn yet. Aside from the attendants cleaning the hall, Pill Master Lipan was the only person there.
Xia Yunzhao went downstairs. “Pill Master Lipan, did you need something?” As he spoke, he instinctively lowered his eyes toward the black ribbon around the man’s wrist.
By local custom, an elder who buried someone younger tied a strip of black cloth around the wrist. The material did not matter, but its length represented how deeply the elder mourned the deceased child. Some parents believed a child who died before them had been unfilial and therefore wore only a short strip.
Pill Master Lipan’s ribbon, however, was extremely long, nearly trailing to the ground.
Nobody knew how long Pill Master Lipan had been waiting. The moment he saw Xia Yunzhao, words that seemed to have been rehearsed countless times spilled out. “Would you be willing to become the head of the Pill Cultivator Alliance’s Beiliang branch?”
Crash! Behind them, Boss Lin, who had been eavesdropping, walked straight into the counter.
Xia Yunzhao said helplessly, “Definitely not. I still have things I need to do. Besides, I’m an outsider. Even if I somehow took the position, nobody would listen to me, would they?”
Pill Master Lipan said, “If you agree, leave everything else to me.”
Xia Yunzhao refused again. “Still no. I don’t like being tied down.”
Pill Master Lipan silently sighed. “Then forget it.” Before he came, Senior Jinhu had already said Xia Yunzhao would refuse, but Pill Master Lipan had still wanted to ask.
He was simple by nature, but that did not mean he was stupid. After reviewing everything that had happened over the past two days, he realized that whenever the situation was about to spiral out of control, Xia Yunzhao had spoken at precisely the right moment. Without those two remarks, Beiliang City might already have fallen into chaos.
Senior Jinhu might have been capable of killing every troublemaker, but by then Beiliang itself would no longer be the Beiliang it was today.
Only now did Pill Master Lipan realize how many years he had spent trapped by the deaths of his old friend and his wife, obsessed with discovering the truth. He had failed even to notice that his friend’s son was being corrupted by demonic qi. He had made too many mistakes and done far too little for Beiliang City.
He sighed. “In that case, I’ll ask the main Alliance to send someone else to take over.” He looked at Xia Yunzhao. “I intend to leave Beiliang City, travel the world, and improve my pill arts.”
Xia Yunzhao said, “I wish you a smooth journey.”
The deep line between Pill Master Lipan’s brows seemed to soften slightly. “And may your road ahead be smooth as well.”
Xia Yunzhao watched his retreating back and thought that he had no idea whether Pill Master Lipan’s pill arts would improve, but the man would probably be happier away from Beiliang City.
Shang Shuangze came downstairs.
Without even turning around, Xia Yunzhao asked, “Everything packed?”
“Mm.” Xianchan, still half asleep inside Shang Shuangze’s lapel, poked out its head, glanced around, and burrowed back inside to continue sleeping. Shang Shuangze held Xiao Qing and Mingyun in his hands.
Xia Yunzhao took Xiao Qing and stuffed it into his robes, then left two letters on the counter and asked Boss Lin to deliver them to the places where Guang Xingyu and Bei Wan were staying.
The Pill Cultivator Gathering was not yet over, and Beiliang remained lively that day. The two followed the stream of people out of the city and released the Green Bamboo Carriage.
The carriage, fragrant with bamboo, rolled leisurely forward. Spiritual energy stirred its silver bells into clear, pleasant chimes, accompanied by the rhythmic clopping of bamboo hooves as the two set off once more.