Grasping Evil

The Second Step of Intent Realm

Cao Kang contemplated internally but he could not find any reason as to why Ning Fan would cough out blood.

Anyways, since he had taken Ning Fan’s money, it was impossible for him not to feel responsible for the latter’s safety.

“Are you the one who brewed this wine?! Explain! Why did my friend cough out blood after drinking your wine?!”

Cao Kang’s eyes turned cold as he looked at the owner of the wine stall. His expression looked rather imposing even though he did not reveal his anger. The stall owner was a young teen who was only a Third Level of Vein Opening Realm cultivator and looked poor and weak when faced with Cao Kang’s question.

From Cao Kang’s perspective, asking the stall owner directly was the most straightforward method to find out why Ning Fan coughed out blood.

Besides, the stall owner was just a Third Level of Vein Opening Realm cultivator whereas he, Cao Kang, was a Harmonious Spirit Realm cultivator. In front of him, how can the teenager be bold enough to lie?!

The young teen’s face turned pale as he was being questioned by Cao Kang. His techniques in brewing spiritual wine were indeed inadequate. Strictly speaking, this batch of spiritual wine was not even considered first level spiritual wines. Naturally, there weren’t any excellent wines among them.

However, although the wine he brewed were not of excellent quality, they were at least perfectly safe to drink. It was impossible for anyone to cough out blood after drinking his wine!

When he heard Cao Kang’s domineering tone, the young boy knew that this matter was probably going to be a big deal if he could not give him a satisfying answer.

Just like Cao Kang said, the one who coughed out blood was his friend! How could the young boy who was just a Vein Opening Realm disciple offend a Harmonious Spirit Realm expert’s friend?!

“D-Deacon Cao. This junior really does not know why this brother puked blood. However, this junior is willing to compensate…”

“Fine! Compensate him! If you can compensate him well, my friend and I will not look into this matter!” Cao Kang glanced over his shoulders. Ning Fan had already wiped off the bloodstains on his mouth and stood there deep in thought.

After seeing that Ning Fan was still in good condition, Cao Kang felt a sense of relief. He did not want to make this matter a big deal. Good or bad, he was also a member of the Green Bamboo Palace. Even though he had an excuse to reprimand the brewer and ask him to compensate them as a wine of his own sect had caused someone to puke out blood, he felt it unnecessary to really teach this disciple a lesson.

“Yes! This junior is willing to compensate t-ten immortal jade…”

The teenage youth was terrified. Cao Kang, a dignified Harmonious Spirit Realm cultivator, was an external deacon of the Green Bamboo Palace who was in charge of new disciples like him.

He was very afraid of offending Cao Kang. Therefore, he certainly was willing to buy peace with some money. However, the problem was that the amount he offered to compensate was somewhat less than everyone’s expectations.

“Ten immortal jade?”

Cao Kang chuckled in anger.

He had already given this young boy a chance to make amends but he did not expect that the latter would be so insensible.

His wine had caused Ning Fan to puke out blood and he only offered to compensate ten immortal jade?!

Who was Ning Fan? Even though he was just a Vein Opening Realm junior, he possessed a massive amount of immortal jade. Would he even care about the young teen’s ten immortal jade since he could give away one thousand immortal jade as he pleased?

“One hundred immortal jade!” Cao Kang’s tone turned cold this time.

“I-I can’t! One hundred immortal jade is all the money that I have…” The teenage youth begged.

“Humph!”

Anger rose within Cao Kang. He was not going to go easy on the young boy anymore. Since the latter showed no sincerity in his compensation even after he had given him the opportunity, he felt that there was no harm in extorting him.

Well, it was appropriate to help someone eliminate disasters after taking the person’s money. Moreover, he had taken one thousand immortal jade from Ning Fan.

“You, come here! You will compensate as much as the blood he had puked out!” Cao Kang rolled his sleeves up, preparing to beat someone up. This act scared the young boy.

This scene made Ning Fan shake his head helplessly.

To a certain extent, this Cao Kang was a man with a sense of justice. He thought it was the young boy’s fault that Ning Fan puked out blood and he wanted to seek justice for him.

However, since when did Ning Fan, a dignified devil lord, need a Harmonious Spirit Realm junior to seek justice from an insignificant Vein Opening Realm ant?

“Fellow Daoist Cao, please calm down. There’s nothing wrong with this wine. It’s some other reason that made my spit blood. It has nothing to do with him.”

Ning Fan flicked his sleeve and blocked him. Cao Kang’s fist softened and he actually felt that he could not muster up any strength for a while. A strange feeling filled him.

“Are you sure you are all right, Yun?”

“Yes. I’m fine. This wine is not bad. I’ll take all of them. How much do they cost?” Ning Fan smiled as he asked.

“Huh? You still want to buy them? Aren’t you afraid of spitting out blood again after drinking them?” Cao Kang was puzzled.

“I won’t spit out blood anymore. The mouthful of blood that I expelled just now was the pent-up hatred that I have been clinging to since my youth. I was only able to expel it until today. Thanks to this mouthful of blood, I finally understand why this wine could give me so many insights… That explains the matter.”

With the help of a light and watery wine, Ning Fan actually obtained a tremendous comprehension.

“B-Brother Yun, I brewed all these wines and they cost two hundred immortal jade… But… I don’t dare to take your money. Since you are Senior Cao’s friend, I will give them to you as a gift…”

The young boy was too scared of Cao Kang. Thus, he certainly would not dare to ask Ning Fan for money.

“Really? I, Yun Fan, can’t take your wine without giving you something. These wines are excellent. They are the wines of my native place… Your ancestors are cultivators from Wu Country of the eight hundred cultivation countries, aren’t they?” Ning Fan spoke.

“Yes. Are Brother Yun’s ancestors also cultivators of Wu Country?!” The young boy beamed with joy. It was the same feeling when one runs across an old friend in a distant land.

“Yes. The wines of Wu Country are always unforgettable. They contain memories as well as resentment. I thought I have already forgotten the grudges that I harbored in the past. However, I’ve come to realize that there are too many things in this world that we could pick up but not let go. Therefore, the mouthful of blood still remained within my heart after all these years. It was only after drinking the wine of Wu Country that you brewed a moment ago that my mind gained clarity and expelled it out of my body… Hatred and grudges aren’t something easy to let go of. Wine is unable to help one forget his memories. It still depends on one’s heart to let go of those memories.”

Ning Fan’s words stunned Cao Kang and the young boy. His words were baffling to them. However, Ning Fan did not explain much. He only patted his storage pouch and took out a bottle of Vein Opening Pills. He then gave it to the young boy as a gift.

“Since you won’t accept my immortal jade, I will give you pills then. Your personality is too weak and you are always being bullied by others. However, you can’t always tolerate them. In the life of a cultivator, one should straighten his back and only then will he have the opportunity to seek his own Dao.”

He placed the bottle of pills there and kept all the spiritual wine with a flick of his sleeve. Then, he left for other stalls without any hesitation. As for Cao Kang, he was literally stunned by what Ning Fan did.

Vein Opening Pills?! It can’t be wrong! He has given the young boy a whole bottle of Vein Opening Pills! There are at least twenty of them!

That bottle of pills is worth at least one thousand immortal jade!

Buying a whole bunch of useless mortal wine with one thousand immortal jade? The way he spends his money is way too excessive.

“It’s such a waste! He does not have to spend his money that way even if he has tons of them! Even though he has no concept of money, he should at least understand how precious Vein Opening Pills are! Is it because he has seen too many Vein Opening Pills and he does not care about these pills at all? Could it be that he comes from a famous and influential family that is being guarded by a Gold Core Realm expert?”

Cao Kang heaved a deep breath. The longer he looked at Ning Fan’s back, the more he felt that his guesses were right.

If he isn’t a descendant of a Gold Core Realm family, how could he spend his money like water…

He darted a complicated glance at the young boy and coldly uttered.

“My friend is fine now. Consider yourself lucky. You may continue running your business. But remember, don’t mention the matter just now to anyone else!”

“Yes. This junior will never say a word of it.” The young boy held the bottle of pills tightly in his hands. He was so excited that his heart nearly flew out from his throat.

Cao Kang snorted coldly and quickly caught up with Ning Fan.