Chapter 123 The Madam's Schemes Lead to Enemies Everywhere (Please Subscribe)

Don't despise money; even a deity descending to earth has to consider the value of their own money.

[No hero without wealth, no true man without money]

[A true hero is one who has money; a noble spirit is a treasure.]

Upon entering the Qianlou building, two towering wooden pillars stand on either side, each bearing various slogans.

Li Xian thought to himself, "It's a bit blunt, but it seems to be true."

"Force can coerce one person, a hundred people, or even tens of thousands. It can force even the devil to do the millstone, and it can force people to bend over."

"But only money can truly motivate people to do things willingly."

Then let's talk about that village.

The lady's martial arts skills were unfathomable, but what kept the manor running was money. Guards, servants, waiters, shop assistants, and maids all received salaries.

...

Inside the pavilion, it was bustling with activity. The decorations were magnificent, with carved beams and painted rafters. Soon after the two entered, Madam Wen, quite familiar with the place, walked to a copper bell and gently rang it.

A clear, metallic sound rang out, and a steward came running.

"Gentlemen, are you here to collect orders?" the steward asked with a warm smile.

He could tell that the two men respected the lady in white. But seeing Li Xian's extraordinary appearance, he decided to be prudent and address him as "the two heroes," knowing he wouldn't offend anyone.

Madam Wen said, "Bring me a jade pendant as a token." She handed over a jade pendant as a token.

The steward examined the token, his face showing surprise. He realized that this woman was no ordinary person, and his words became even more respectful: "Please, Madam, prove yourselves."

Madam Wen retrieved the jade pendant, her wrist trembling slightly. Unbeknownst to anyone, she used some magic, but the pendant emitted a faint golden glow. It was quite extraordinary.

"Alright, alright, please wait here, I'll get the order for you right away." Seeing this, the steward hurriedly left.

Madam Wen remained calm and composed, seemingly understanding everything. Li Xian, however, was quite puzzled and asked, "Madam, what is this?"

Madam Wen put the token into her sleeve and said calmly, "You are new to the world, so naturally you don't know."

"Jiuzhang Qianlou is a money shop of the Qianmeng of the Great Wu Dynasty."

“Money can be obtained with a written contract. But for us martial artists, money can easily amount to hundreds or thousands of taels of silver. Wouldn’t such a transaction be too inconvenient?”

"Therefore, money shops are set up in prominent places in some trades. If a martial artist wants to buy something, he does not need to carry money with him, he only needs to come here."

"By presenting a token proving your identity, you can obtain a token from the money exchange shop, and then use the token to purchase items."

Li Xian's eyes were wide open: "So that's how it is."

Before long.

The steward delivered the green token. Madam Wen remained silent, her hands tucked into her sleeves. Li Xian, sensing the situation, stepped forward and accepted the token.

"Farewell, Madam," the steward said with a smile. The lady, however, ignored him.

Li Xian examined the green token, gently stroking it with his fingers. He discovered that the token was neither gold nor silver, but rather forged from some kind of secret iron. With a gentle squeeze, its shape could be altered.

“The coins are all made of secret sand. In all transactions of money and goods, each grain of secret sand represents one coin.”

“A green token represents approximately one thousand taels of silver. If you spend any of it, the amount will be deducted from your account.”

Madam Wen looked at Li Xian with great interest.

Li Xian's heart tightened, and she quickly wrapped the green token tightly with her clothes. Madam Wen smiled and thought, "Having this lad by my side is quite amusing."

"Let's hurry up." Madam Wen raised her hand and grabbed Li Xian's right arm, taking a step forward. Li Xian felt light and airy, and the scene before him changed, yet he had already moved several feet away.

Clearly, the lady's lightness skill was extraordinary, beyond comprehension. She was enveloped in inner energy, carrying Li Xian at a rapid pace.

The Hundred Thousand Medicine Mountains nurture countless medicinal herbs.

Grass, trees, snakes, insects, rodents, rain, dew, mud, and stones... can all be used as medicinal materials.

"Snake and Insect Alley".

The lady walked straight into the depths, and only stopped slowly when she reached the entrance of Snake and Insect Alley.

The alley was full of Zhou's medicine slaves, who depended on the Zhou family for their livelihood, and their stalls displayed all kinds of snakes, insects and medicinal materials.

The lady walked to a stall and her eyes were drawn to a long black worm.

The so-called "dried worm" is actually a type of winged centipede. This centipede is non-toxic and harmless, but its mouthparts are sharp enough to bite through metal and stone.

Seeing that Madam Wen had stopped moving, remaining aloof and elegant, and distant from those around her, Li Xian couldn't help but think to himself, "She's supposed to be the dignified Madam of the Broken Sword, yet she makes me do everything for her, exploiting me like this."

He stepped forward and asked, "Brother, how much are these insects for you?"

"Young hero, I'll sell you this Flying Feather Black Insect for twenty taels each," the medicine servant said with a grin.

Li Xian cursed, "You're lying, I'm not buying it." The medicine servant raised his hand to shoo him away, saying, "How is it lying? If you don't want to buy it, then don't buy it. Anyway, there are other people who will."

Li Xian sneered: "This insect is not some flying black-feathered insect. It is clearly a dried insect. These kinds of insects that fly in the sky and burrow underground are the easiest to mistake. If you don't know the difference, I can teach you."

He knew nothing about the market price of dried insects; he was just spouting nonsense to scare people. But with that kind of imposing presence, even a lie could be made to sound real.

What's more, he was right.

"This...this..."

The medicine slave was stunned and dared not argue, fearing that it would attract a crowd. He hurriedly grabbed Li Xian's hand and pleaded, "Good brother, I was wrong, I was wrong... You... twelve taels of silver, buy this insect!"

The market price for dried worms is fifteen taels each.

Li Xian saw that this one was quite small, but weighed ten grams, which was enough. He handed over the green token. The medicine slave also took out a token, and when the two tokens touched, the secret sand flowed into the medicine slave's token.

This completes the transaction.

"This method of trading is indeed extremely convenient," Li Xian thought to himself.

A single dried worm weighs over ten ounces, but the lady has come to prepare medicinal herbs. It's impossible that there's only one worm.

Li Xian walked along the street, outwitting the medicine vendors at their stalls. He collected every dried worm he saw into his pocket.

Money is like quicksand... a few hundred taels of silver can disappear in an instant.

"Martial arts practitioners are truly money-grubbing dens. For Madam, a few hundred taels is nothing. But these dried worms are merely the cheapest ingredient for starting a furnace to refine pills. Starting a furnace once... costs at least a thousand taels of silver!"

Li Xian silently calculated, then recalled his early years as a hunter. He and his father went into the mountains to hunt, searching for animal tracks, and they caught a wild boar, for which the landlord only paid a little over ten coins.

"Madam, are these dried worms enough?" Li Xian had already searched most of the area and his medicine bag contained fifty dried worms.

"It's barely enough," the lady said with satisfaction.

Returning to the Nine-Foot Money Tower, the Green Token was handed back. The reduced Secret Sand was converted into silver and deducted directly from the account.

The lady still had some spare change.

Instead of leaving, I walked along the street to see if there were any medicinal herbs that I liked.

As time passed, more and more people arrived in Zhoucheng, mostly to buy medicine. Amidst the jostling and pushing, the crowd suddenly surged forward like a wave. Li Xian stepped forward, shielding the lady from the throng, and said, "Madam, please be careful."

Madam Wen smiled meaningfully. Li Xian's "Be careful, Madam" had an element of flattery. Madam Wen wouldn't have fallen for this when she was younger, but now she found it quite appealing.

We had lunch in Zhoucheng.

They then decided to turn back.

On the way out.

Suddenly, a commotion was heard not far away:

“I clearly saw this fragrant meat and lingzhi mushroom first. How could you snatch it away like this? This is so unreasonable.”

"Reason? My higher price is the reason. I want this fragrant meat Ganoderma."

"Fine, Sun Hao, you're deliberately going against me. I, Cheng Hu, the Swallow Blade, won't tolerate you either."

"Come and see, everyone! Come and judge this!"

A crowd of pedestrians gathered in front of a pharmacy.

Those who frequent pharmacies are usually skilled in martial arts; if this commotion happens, it will be difficult to resolve.

Li Xian showed no interest, but the lady moved with elusive grace, weaving through the crowd as if taking a leisurely stroll.

Knowing he was in the wrong, Sun Hao, the "Stone Hand," retorted angrily, "Cheng Hu! What do you mean by this? Do you think I'll back down just because you made a scene?"

Cheng Hu gave a cold "snort" and continued to call for people to gather around.

Enraged, Sun Hao suddenly attacked, kicking Cheng Hu in the lower back. Cheng Hu cried out and rolled forward, dissipating most of the force.

"Cheng Hu, don't say I'm bullying you. Since you've taken a liking to this Ganoderma lucidum, so have I. Let's have a fair fight between us martial artists!"

"Whoever wins takes the prize!"

Sun Hao said.

Cheng Hu was also furious, "Fine!"

Both men were considered skilled martial artists and were quite famous in the surrounding area. The onlookers, hearing that the two were about to fight, all began to egg them on.

The two were caught in a bind; they had no choice but to fight. Just then, a voice rang out:

"There's no need for you two to rush into a fight. I have a way to turn your hostility into friendship and restore your harmony so that you won't have to let this Ganoderma lucidum ruin your relationship."

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound.

A young man emerged from the crowd; it was Li Xian. Just now, the lady had instructed him to intervene.

"Kid, you really have a way?"

"If you make fun of us, I'll kill you."

"What's your plan? Tell me quickly."

Sun Hao and Cheng Hu stared intently, their expressions fierce.

Seeing that these two men were as strong as tigers, and with such imposing presence, Li Xian suspected they had long since entered the realm of food essence. Moreover, they were renowned martial arts masters, far stronger than the likes of Zheng Xuezhang.

He said, "The solution is... how about you just hand over this fragrant Ganoderma lucidum to me?"

Sun Hao and Cheng Hu were taken aback. They exchanged a glance, both revealing fierce expressions, and said in unison, "It seems we're really getting old. Even a young punk dares to make fun of us."

"Boy, if you don't know what's good for you, don't blame us for crippling you."

The two men, one on each side, took a large step forward and pressed down on Li Xian's left and right shoulders respectively.

However, in the next instant, the two of them froze on the spot, several acupoints on their bodies were pressed, their bodies stiffened, and they could not move at all.

Both of them were sweating profusely and stammered, "Madam...Madam..."

Madam Wen was standing right behind Li Xian. She had deliberately kept herself hidden, so no one could see her.

As the two approached, she exhaled as if striking acupoints from a distance, freezing them in place.

Madam Wen smiled and said, "Li Xian, these two want to cripple you. What do you intend to do?"

Li Xiandao said, "The way of a person is returned to the person himself?"

Sun Hao and Cheng Hu wanted to kneel down and kowtow, but they were unable to move and could only await their fate.

Madam Wen said, "This is bad. With your current cultivation level, I'm afraid you can't cripple them both."

"How about this, you cut off one of their hands each, and that will settle the matter."

Li Xian said, "Good." He drew his sword and slashed with it. This slash was sharp and decisive, full of inner energy, revealing a mastery of swordsmanship, which was quite remarkable.

The blade pierced several inches... yet it failed to sever the hand with a single strike.

Li Xian struck again, but the result was the same. Firstly, the powerful physique of the martial artists who consumed essence was a factor; secondly, the internal energy they cultivated allowed them to autonomously protect their masters.

On the contrary, Li Xian's hands felt sore and numb.

It wasn't until the fourth cut that Sun Hao's left hand was severed.

They then did the same thing, cutting off Cheng Hu's left hand as well.

Only then were the two able to move, and with a thud, they knelt on the ground.

Madam Wen looked down at him indifferently and said, "Gentlemen, how about it? Is his method still effective?"

"Madam Wen, spare us! Madam Wen, spare us! We were ignorant of your greatness!" the two begged.

"If that's the case, whose is this fragrant meat Ganoderma?" Madam Wen asked.

"It's the madam's, it's the madam's." The two grimaced in pain, but dared not show any displeasure, anger, or resentment.

“Wrong,” Madam Wen said. “Slap him.”

The crowd that had been stirring things up earlier fell silent. They all felt that the lady was far too ruthless, not only cutting off someone's limbs but also humiliating them in this way.

Li Xian thought the same thing, but she could only obey, slapping the two men across the face twice.

"I'll ask you two again, whose lingzhi is this?" Madam Wen asked.

“Yes…” Sun Hao had a sudden inspiration: “It’s this young master’s, this young master’s.” He pointed to Li Xian.

Madam Wen nodded in satisfaction: "Li Xian, why don't you buy the Ganoderma lucidum and come with me?"

...

...

The carriage departed from Zhoucheng.

Li Xian examined the lingzhi mushroom and asked curiously, "Madam, do you have a grudge against those two?"

Madam Wen lay on her side on the bed, closed her eyes to rest, and said, "If there were any enmity between them, how could they only lose one arm?"

"This Ganoderma lucidum is a gift to you. Please accept it and do not ask any other questions."

A smile played at the corners of her lips... So far, Li Xian had satisfied her greatly. If she didn't make him create more enemies, how could he truly become inseparable from her?

"Take this box of lean meat. Eat it when you get back to the manor and try to enter the Essence Consumption Realm as soon as possible. I want to see what kind of form you can achieve."

"This box of lean meat...take one gram every two days."

"If I'm not mistaken, it will be enough for you to cleanse yourself of all impurities, reveal your rebirth, and join the ranks of those who consume essence."

Madam Wen spoke in a languid voice, waving her delicate hand.

A beautifully crafted box, about the size of a palm, peeked out from behind the carriage curtain.

(End of this chapter)