Chapter 18 Chapter 18 A simple boy like you...

Song Chenxi went to the secret realm, and Ruan Mingyu was finally able to sleep alone. Touching the empty bed, he still felt a little uncomfortable.

Ruan Mingyu was ill and needed the elixir made by his master. Old Man Sanqing would not give it to him for free and asked him to exchange it with spirit stones every month. As time went by, there were not many spirit stones left from the sect in a month, so he decided to try making the elixir himself.

Sanqing was not stingy and generously wrote him a recipe for the elixir. He patted his chest and said, "If you can refine it, I will accept you as my master. My hundreds of years of cultivation are not in vain."

Ruan Mingyu began to try to make pills by himself. He used the spirit stones he had accumulated for several months to buy medicinal materials, and then started to make pills according to the prescription given by the old man.

In order to avoid being lazy, Ruan Mingyu put the medicine furnace in his room so that when he got tired of watching the furnace, he could just lie down on the bed and sleep.

But after failing several times, he couldn't help but feel a little frustrated.

Ruan Mingyu was busy making medicine and had no time to care about how Song Chenxi was doing in the secret realm. Half a year later, when heavy snow fell again, someone gave him a package, saying it was from Song Chenxi.

Naturally, there is no contact with the outside world in the secret realm, but from time to time, some people are eliminated and some return to the sect. Song Chenxi catches those who are about to be eliminated and asks them to hand over their things to Ruan Mingyu.

Ruan Mingyu opened the package and found a jade pendant and a letter. Ruan Mingyu had seen the jade pendant before, the one Song Chenxi often wore around his waist, made of emerald green jade and a white silk ribbon.

Ruan Mingyu didn't have time to read the letter. The elixir he'd been dreaming about for the past two days was finally ready. If it worked, he wouldn't have to spend a fortune on his master's medicine. He casually placed the jade pendant and the letter on the table and went to tend to his furnace. If the fire wasn't strong enough, he'd add some spiritual power; if it was too strong, he'd remove some.

Refining the elixir is very troublesome, and Ruan Mingyu has no time to think about anything else.

Finally, the furnace banged twice. Ruan Mingyu thought it was a fresh elixir about to be released. He excitedly put his hands on his hips, believing he had succeeded. But a moment later, a thick plume of smoke billowed from the furnace. Ruan Mingyu, sensing something was amiss, scrambled out.

As soon as he climbed out of the door, there was a loud "bang" in the house. He turned around and saw that his whole house had exploded!

Good news, he is fine, bad news, the house is gone!

Ruan Mingyu's face was dirty, covered in black and gray, and he ran out with a messy head of hair.

The loud noise blew away all the disciples. The elder sister came over first. Seeing his appearance, she couldn't help laughing: "Have you imitated my cat and went to the stove to warm yourself? Look at you, you are so dirty. Go wash up quickly."

Senior Brother Ji Ying, who was embroidering peacefully, came over when he heard the noise and asked Ruan Mingyu, "Have you ever worked in the Thunderbolt Hall before?"

The master also came over, looking distressed. He went over to Ruan Mingyu and said, "Next time you come to me for elixirs, remember to pay for the house repairs as well."

Ruan Mingyu: "Can you please let me feel the warmth of the sect..."

Seeing that he was fine, the disciples stopped worrying about him and went back home to sleep.

Ruan Mingyu found a place to wash himself and changed into new clothes. Suddenly, he remembered something and ran back to the dilapidated house. He found the gift Song Chenxi had given him from among the ashes.

The house had long been reduced to ruins, and the jade pendant Song Chenxi had given him was broken into two pieces. As for the letter he wrote, it was definitely gone, having turned to ashes long ago.

The jade pendant was made of top-quality jasper, and now it was broken into this shape, which made Ruan Mingyu feel a little sad.

Furthermore, if Song Chenxi came back from the secret realm and saw that the jade pendant he gave was broken into two pieces, wouldn’t he feel alienated and think that Ruan Mingyu didn’t take him seriously?

Ruan Mingyu thought that this was not acceptable. He had finally gotten close to this person, how could he let him down? He found a day off and went down the mountain to find someone to repair the jade pendant.

The weather has been cold recently. Although the bracelet on his hand can keep him warm, Ruan Mingyu still dressed warmly. He put on a furry white scarf and hurried down the mountain.

When he got to the foot of the mountain, Ruan Mingyu asked around if there was anyone who could repair the jade pendant, and finally found a shop.

The shopkeeper picked up the jade pendant, weighed it carefully, and said, "It's fine jade, but it would be too expensive to repair. Why don't you buy a new one from me? I'll give you a discount."

Ruan Mingyu asked him, "How much does it cost to repair it?"

The shopkeeper quoted a price.

"So expensive?" The spirit stones on Shen Ruan Mingyu's body were not enough.

The shopkeeper said: "You can ask elsewhere and get the same price, no more, no less."

Ruan Mingyu went to two more stores, and sure enough, they all had the same price. He sat outside the store, propping up his head with one hand, feeling a little worried.

How could he get some money? He needed spirit stones to buy medicinal materials for alchemy, and he also needed spirit stones to repair his jade pendant. Without spirit stones, he couldn't move a step. He thought for a long time and remembered that he still had some elixirs he had made before. If he could sell them, he might be able to raise enough money.

The pills he refined were not very good, but at least they were effective. Ruan Mingyu was just about to use his eloquence to sell some pills when he took only two steps when someone caught up with him from behind, grabbed his shoulders and shouted:

"Alright, I've caught you. I haven't settled the score with you for what happened in the secret realm yet! You're still so calm in front of me. Give me back my demon beast's inner core!"

Ruan Mingyu turned around and saw a young man who was waving a fan in his hand and wearing gold and silver jewelry. He was quite handsome and looked like a nouveau riche.

Ruan Mingyu felt puzzled. He had never seen him before. Was this man trying to scam him?

Ruan Mingyu pointed at himself, his big eyes filled with confusion: "Are you talking to me?"

"Are there any other people here besides you?" Gu Xiaoxiao said, "Give me back the demon beast's inner core, and I won't bother with you."

Ruan Mingyu: "What inner elixir? I don't know what you are talking about."

Gu Xiaoxiao: "Song Chenxi, you want to default on your debt!"

OK, so I mistook him for Song Chenxi.

Ruan Mingyu: "You've got the wrong person, I'm not Song Chenxi." He was worrying about where to get the money and didn't have time to mess around with him.

Gu Xiaoxiao grabbed his wrist and wouldn't let him go.

Ruan Mingyu: "Will you let go?"

"Are you really not Song Chenxi?" Gu Xiaoxiao was a little confused. He felt that although the man in front of him looked very similar to Song Chenxi, his eyes were larger and he spoke with a Jiangnan dialect. Unlike Song Chenxi, who could make people angry with just a few words.

Gu Xiaoxiao looked at him carefully, her eyes almost touching his face.

Ruan Mingyu shrank his head back, wondering which of his admirers from the book this person was. He asked him, "What's your name?"

Gu Xiaoxiao: "I am the eldest young master of the Gu family. I keep a low profile when I go out, and I won't advertise any other names."

Ruan Mingyu recalled that there really was a person named Gu Xiaoxiao in the book. He was called the Money-Giving Boy in the book. Whenever he encountered any problems, he would use money to solve them. He was considered a minor character in the book.

Ruan Mingyu looked at him and came up with an idea.

He changed his attitude and said to him with a smile: "Sir, you have the wrong person. I am not Song Chenxi."

Gu Xiaoxiao touched his chin and said, "It seems so. If it was Song Chenxi, I wouldn't be able to catch up with him."

"To be honest, Song Chenxi and I are from the same school." Ruan Mingyu said again.

"Wow, you are his fellow disciple. Then I will tell you about this man's evil deeds. Go back and tell your brothers, sisters, uncles and uncles about it."

"Oh, did he do something evil?"

"That's not quite it," he gritted his teeth, "but it's almost there."

"I entered the secret realm with him. He greeted me with a smile at first, just like you are now. But after two days, after I tricked the monster's inner core into giving him the inner core, he immediately gave me a cold shoulder."

Ruan Mingyu said that this shouldn't be the case. The cultivation level of the person in front of him was just average. According to Song Chenxi's style, he should have just grabbed it directly.

Ruan Mingyu said, "Is this true? I don't think Song Chenxi is that kind of person."

Seeing that he didn't believe her, Gu Xiaoxiao said anxiously, "You're so naive. You're helping people count money even after being cheated. Let me tell you, I was the only one who knew the entrance to the monster's cave in the beginning. I agreed to let him go in with me because he looked kind. But as soon as we got in, he turned on me and killed the monster. It would have been fine if he'd just beaten the monster, but when I went to argue with him, he actually beat me up! I didn't even stay in the secret realm for half a month before I was eliminated!"

As he said this, he rolled up his sleeves to show Ruan Mingyu the bruises on his body.

Ruan Mingyu thought to himself, what's so strange about this? Given this person's cultivation level, he might be chased and beaten by a monster, so what's the point of talking about inner elixir? Even if Song Chenxi didn't go with him, he wouldn't be able to get the inner elixir.

However, he also wanted to deceive this person, so he pretended to be heartbroken and said:

"Then he's very bad."

Gu Xiaoxiao acted like she had met a soulmate, put her arm around his shoulders and said, "You understand me."

"I understand."

Gu Xiaoxiao's eyes were filled with tears, and she felt a sense of familiarity towards Ruan Mingyu, as if she had met an old friend in a foreign land.

"My dear fellow Daoist, I will treat you to a meal today."

Ruan Mingyu followed him into the hotel. At the dinner table, he pretended to be mysterious and asked, "Do you know why he has such a high level of cultivation at such a young age?"

Gu Xiaoxiao looked around, confirmed that no one was around, and whispered, "Could it be...he has cultivated magic?"

Ruan Mingyu's eyelids twitched. He had sworn that he would never tell this to anyone.

Although Gu Xiaoxiao was right by accident.

He shook his head and said to Gu Xiaoxiao in a low voice:

"Not really. The reason why his cultivation is so high..." Ruan Mingyu kept it a secret.

Gu Xiaoxiao cooperated and asked, "Why?"

Ruan Mingyu took out the elixir he had previously refined, as if presenting a treasure. He bought a gorgeous box to put it in, and it looked really real.

"Look at this medicine." Ruan Mingyu held it in front of him. "The secret to Song Chenxi's rapid growth in cultivation lies here."

Gu Xiaoxiao: "Is this true?"

Ruan Mingyu: "I am his fellow disciple, how could I lie to you?"

Gu Xiaoxiao: "It is precisely because you are his fellow disciple that I am wary of you. Otherwise, I would force you to sell it to me no matter what."

Ruan Mingyu heard there was a good opportunity and quickly continued to seduce him. "I'll give you one. If you feel good after eating it, you can come back and buy one from me."

"No rush, listen to me and tell you more about Song Chenxi's evil deeds." Gu Xiaoxiao said, "I had a fight with him, but I didn't win. Not only did he not win, but he also scolded me."

Ruan Mingyu suppressed the upward curve of his lips and asked him, "What did he scold you for?"

Gu Xiaoxiao imitated Song Chenxi's tone and said, "You're just a useless straw bag, a quail with no ambition. Even my junior brother is better than you!"

The corners of Ruan Mingyu's mouth dropped.

What does that mean? Is he stupid?

Ruan Mingyu listened to him for a long time, reacting in a variety of ways. It would be unreasonable not to buy after such a long conversation, so Ruan Mingyu planned to rip this fool off.

"Are you really not going to give it a try? One will refresh your mind, two will improve your cultivation, and three will give you the potential to ascend to heaven."

"Is it really that good?"

Ruan Mingyu didn’t know whether it was good or not, but it definitely wouldn’t kill anyone.

"Can I sell it to you?"

"How many spirit stones?"

Ruan Mingyu made a two. He originally wanted twenty spirit stones, which would be enough to repair the jade pendant. Unexpectedly, the fool in front of him said, "Two hundred spirit stones? That's a bargain."

Ruan Mingyu's eyes sparkled: "If you want it, I can give you a better discount."

"No need, this is already a good deal." He took out a purse and threw it to Ruan Mingyu, "Take it."

Ruan Mingyu smiled happily, her beautiful eyes narrowed, and she nodded at him.

Gu Xiaoxiao looked at him and blushed. "You're so happy just because I gave you 200 spirit stones. You're just too naive. Fellow Daoist, you must be very careful when you go out. A boy as innocent and pretty as you is easy to be deceived, especially when you meet someone like Song Chenxi, who is so ruthless."

He gave her money and said whatever he said was right. Ruan Mingyu just nodded blindly, feeling extremely happy.

Two hundred spirit stones is equivalent to his one-year disciple allowance!

Ruan Mingyu took the money and went back to ask the shopkeeper to repair the jade pendant.

Gu Xiaoxiao: "Hey, wait, don't leave so quickly, what's your name?"

When you go out, you give yourself a name. Ruan Mingyu: "Just call me Ruan Qiang."

Gu Xiaoxiao: "What a nice name..."

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