Ch.28 Part 1 – Reinforcement (I)

Meng Qi was taken aback.

No money?!

Her pair of bright eyes widened, staring at Qin Xiumo in a daze.

His eyes seem to hide…a slight smile?

The IOU was in her hand. Even if the other party said that he has no money, she always had a way to collect this debt. Some thoughts flashed through Meng Qi’s mind. She had never doubted that people like Qin Xiumo and Chu Tianfeng would renege their debt. And just now, did this guy mention Chu Tianfeng?

 

“Sixth-realm Jingxin pill, did Chu Tianfeng sell it to you?” Meng Qi asked.

“Right.” Qin Xiumo nodded.

“Did you meet him?” Meng Qi asked again.

Fentian Palace had a dedicated medical hall, and there were high-level medical cultivators there. It was not impossible for them to refine a sixth realm Jingxin pill. But Chu Tianfeng and Qin Xiumo had fought back and forth for Lu Qingran so many times in the previous life. Meng Qi has seen it before. Their fights couldn’t be said to be a normal brawl, but more like a deathly match.

Her mind turned fast, but her face remained calm. His treatments had reached this point, if she didn’t continue, would all her previous efforts be in vain? The water in the cold pond was so cold, even with the help of the spring warmth pills, Meng Qi still felt chilled to the bone.

Paying the debt with his body?

Hehe.

Meng Qi was about to speak when her eyes suddenly lit up. Why didn’t she think about this before?!

If Meng Qi wanted to solve the jackdaw poison from Xiao Qi’s body, besides some precious medicinal ingredients, she would also need a large amount of jade cicada vine. Although she could find that in the area around Fentian City, she had to go to the place called Yuchen Cliff1. The aura around the cliff was very thin, thus also known as a ‘dead place.’

According to legend, one thousand years ago, a powerful celestial demon cultivator and an elder of Fentian City fought there for three days and three nights. At the end of the great battle, all the vitality within the radius of a hundred miles was dissipated. Ordinary cultivators wouldn’t be able to absorb the aura they needed to cultivate there.

Those who in the Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment stage usually relied on simple means of transportation to fly at low altitudes. For example, Meng Qi has a paper crane folded from talisman paper. Using a spirit stone as the source of energy, she could use it to fly. Although the speed was not fast, it was still better than walking on foot.

But the item was completely unusable in jade cicada cliff. There, people in the Foundation Establishment stage could barely use a magic tool, and it was impossible to fly to the cliff to cut the jade cicada vine. Only Golden Core cultivators could barely use a flying tool. Of course, for the Nascent Soul stage and above, the impact would only be smaller and smaller.

Cultivators of the Nascent Soul stage, however, could serve as elders even in a large sect like Fentian Palace. It was impossible for them to be responsible for mundane chores like gathering medical ingredients. This jade cicada vine was not a legendary treasure and rarely used when refining medicine. Even if it was sold in the Cloud Immortal Pavilion, the quantity was small, and the price was still very high.

Meng Qi originally planned to search for a solution after arriving in Fentian City, the only place in the Eastern Realm where jade cicada vine was grown. If nothing really worked, she would have to find a Golden Core cultivator to help her took the jade cicada vine in exchange for some spirit stones. The price of hiring such a high-level cultivator wasn’t low. Moreover, those people usually have great pride, and it would be hard to find one who would be willing to help her, even with a high payment.

She looked at Qin Xiumo up and down. This guy already reached the peak of the Golden Core stage. After he was healed, he should be able to overcome the tribulation and breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage.　Meng Qi’s mind suddenly moved. Using one hundred eighth-grade spirit stones, how many times could she hire a Golden Core peak, or even a Nascent Soul Cultivator? Meng Qi indeed had concerned about so many things that were inconvenient to do with her low cultivation base.

Cultivators in Three Thousand Worlds, the stronger they were, the higher was their pride. As a Qi Condensation cultivator, if Meng Qi wanted to find a Golden Core or even Nascent Soul cultivator to do her bidding, it would probably be very difficult, no matter how many spirit stones she was willing to pay.

“Okay.” She nodded, “I will hire you to do some work for me at the market price until your debt of one hundred eighth-grade spirit stones is paid off.”

Qin Xiumo was a double cultivator. Both his sword technique and spell usage were very strong. But would he really keep his words? Meng Qi was somewhat uncertain. She had seen Qin Xiumo turning his face and not acknowledging his promise. This guy had no moral code in restrain.

“Alright…” Meng Qi took out a pill from her storage bracelet and handed it to Qin Xiumo, “To prevent you from reneging your words, take this medicine.”

“Don’t worry.” She paused, “It usually won’t have any effect on your body. But you will need me to suppress the toxicity once a month.”

“Okay.” Qin Xiumo reached out and took the pill. Without even asking about the tragic effect of the poison, he stuffed the pill into his mouth.

Meng Qi: “…”

When did Qin Xiumo ever be so obedient? She looked at the man suspiciously. Was he still Qin Xiumo, who was later called the Little Devil Lord by people in Three Thousand Worlds?!

“I will continue your treatment.” Meng Qi said, her face indifferent. She knew that Qin Xiumo would not return to the Southern Realm before he was ready to break through to the Spirit Severing stage. Until that time, he would stay in the Eastern Realm. If she used this guy properly, many medicinal ingredients that she could not get because of her low cultivation base should be available.

She could even use him to hunt down some fierce beasts. Before her death, Meng Qi was never able to defeat those kinds of fierce beast, even though many parts of their body could be used to refine medicine. Before meeting her master, she could only escape if she accidentally met any of such beasts.

Meng Qi made up her mind, but her face was as calm as usual. After going back, she would ask around for the market price of hiring a Golden Core cultivator. Anyway, it’s not that she wouldn’t pay, just with a different form.

“I will come again tomorrow.” Meng Qi nodded towards Qin Xiumo and turned around to leave.

“Wait.” He stopped her, “If it takes too long, remember to charge the interest, I’ll properly pay.”

“…Okay.” Meng Qi couldn’t help but glance at him one more time.

What an eccentric guy!

Meng Qi shook her head. No wonder he was called the Little Devil Lord, she really couldn’t figure out this man’s line of thought.

Yuchen means jade cicada. Since my pattern is using translated names for items/materials/herbs and pinyin for place names, Yuchen Cliff and jade cicada vine it will be.