Chapter 65 First published on Jinjiang Literature City
As the group moved through the crowd, Qi Mu said to Yao Sisi, "Based on my experience and what I just heard and saw, the inner city should be in that direction."
Following the direction he pointed, Yao Sisi quickly thought that this person actually remembered her poor sense of direction and thoughtfully pointed it out.
"We've only just arrived and you already know so much! That's amazing!"
Qi Mu pursed his lips. In fact, it wasn't entirely his own conclusion, but rather something that the soul body on the hairpin had keenly sensed.
But just as they found their way, a malicious voice rang out in front of them: "Fellow Daoist, where are you in such a hurry to go?"
The newcomer had a scar on his face, a white mark left long after the scab had healed. He was dressed in drab gray, making it difficult to guess his age. His gaze was fixed on Yao Sisi, and he didn't seem to care much about Qi Mu and Liu Yuan.
Unfortunately, they were also surrounded from behind.
Yao Sisi exclaimed, "Fellow Daoist, you are so fast!"
The scarred man stared at her menacingly, his gaze sweeping over the group as if they were lambs to the slaughter. Yao Sisi said, "Is there anything we can't discuss?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Yao Sisi quickly threw an exposure talisman on the ground, and then Ling Yun flew out, carrying the group of people away in a fast-moving manner.
The scarred man thought she had thrown some kind of magical weapon, so he jumped back a good distance. However, the bright light blinded him instantly, and when he came to his senses, she was nowhere to be seen.
He looked at his brothers behind him and asked, "Did anyone see which way they ran?"
Everyone lowered their heads in dejection.
The scarred man spat and said, "The duck meat that was almost in our mouths has flown away! Search! Search every inch of it!"
Yao Sisi didn't have time to talk to Qi Mu and Liu Yuan at the time. After the exposure talisman was released, they couldn't see anything for a while, so she pulled them onto the flying artifact. She originally wanted to fly towards the inner city, but she accidentally flew in the wrong direction and didn't know where she was after landing.
Fortunately, the exploratory symbol didn't harm the eyes; it was just that the sudden bright light was uncomfortable, but it subsided after a while.
After Qi Mu regained his composure, he found himself standing on an unfamiliar street again. Looking around, he saw the city gate not far away. "Miss Sisi, the city gate is just ahead. Should we leave the city to hide?"
Yao Sisi put away Lingyun and looked around awkwardly. "No, it's more dangerous outside the city for us. At least we're not allowed to kill people openly inside the city. We made a bit too much noise just now, and they'll definitely notice. Let's leave this place first!"
Qi Mu nodded, knowing that she had flown in the wrong direction in her haste, and did not dwell on the topic. She obediently said, "Then let's go into the inner city. People like that would definitely not dare to cause trouble in the inner city."
Not long after they left, the scarred man's men found out where they had just appeared. It was much more conspicuous to suddenly encounter someone flying in the sky than to walk on the ground, and there weren't many people in the outer city who had flying artifacts.
Yao Sisi and the others headed towards the inner city. They moved quickly, and as they walked, Yao Sisi analyzed, "The allure of the spirit stone mine is too great. Those people won't give it up easily, but they also won't want anyone else to share in it. It seems that we are safe for the time being, except for them. However, although it's not allowed to kill people in this city, it's not forbidden to arrest people either. There are always gray areas, and we can't gamble with our lives."
Although Qi Mu yearns for the light, he is not unaware of the darkness; in fact, he knows more about it than anyone else. “Miss Sisi is right. Although the law is clear, it cannot be imprinted in the hearts of these people. It’s always good for us to be careful since we are new here.”
Yao Sisi: "Thank you for understanding me, but it was my carelessness at the time, which caused you all to suffer..."
Seeing her blaming herself, Qi Mu wanted to go forward and comfort her, but it was inconvenient to do so while traveling. He reached out and tugged at her sleeve, "Miss Sisi, don't feel that you dragged us down. We've been through so many dangers together, we're already one."
Liu Yuan, not far away: "..."
He didn't know why, but he just felt superfluous...
At this point, he finally dared to suggest, "Should we split up and travel separately? That way, the chances of us being recognized will be lower..."
Yao Sisi: "Separating is fine, but why don't you two travel together and we'll meet up near the inner city?"
Qi Mu disagreed and said worriedly, "If we go our separate ways... what if Miss Sisi goes in the wrong direction? We're already missing Fellow Daoist Ri Jiu. If we can't contact you... I won't feel at ease."
Yao Sisi touched her nose and retorted softly, "How could that be? I've never gotten lost in the jungle before..."
It was difficult to contradict him, so Qi Mu remained silent for a moment. But Liu Yuan wasn't afraid of offending anyone, especially since he knew his young master's situation best. He immediately retorted, "Fellow Daoist Yao, that's because you have a directional disk to help you. But a disk needs to stop and stabilize from time to time to be accurate. It's not convenient for us to use it while we're moving at high speed. You should come with the young master. It's easiest for me to sneak around alone. I'm dressed in a drab gray and inconspicuous way, which is actually safer."
Qi Mu took off the wooden hairpin from her head and handed it to Liu Yuan, saying, "You'll be much safer with him."
Yao Sisi had always noticed that he treasured this hairpin quite a bit. From her perspective as a weapon refiner, this wooden hairpin was extraordinary, though she didn't know its specific function.
“That works too. Anyway, I’m their main target. If Liu Yuan goes alone, he’ll be a smaller target. Let’s split up now and keep in touch with communication talismans.”
Liu Yuan's cultivation level is now high enough to use communication talismans. He nodded and secretly glanced at his young master, thinking to himself: This time I'm finally not superfluous.
Because I am no longer here.
Liu Yuan hadn't gone far when the hairpin in his arms began to transmit a message to him, "Tsk, you're really loyal. Even at a time like this, you're still thinking about romantic matters. Isn't escaping for your life the most important thing?"
Liu Yuan was a little unaccustomed to his way of speaking, his tone was so different from his young master's, but he was very respectful, after all, this was his young master's Dao body and soul, so he quickly explained: "Escaping is of course important, but it would be easier for us to escape if we split up. Besides, young master and fellow Daoist Yao are more powerful than me, and taking me with you would only be a burden, so it would be better to split up."
On the other side, Yao Sisi led Qi Mu away. She looked at herself and said, "I always feel that our clothing style is a bit different from the locals', and the clothes in our storage bags are also quite different."
Qi Mu pointed ahead: "There's a clothing store over there, shall we change into another outfit?"
Yao Sisi looked back into the distance. They had been walking so fast that they didn't know if they had been caught yet, but sharpening the axe didn't waste any time. "Alright, let's hurry up and change."
The two changed into common local clothing at a clothing store and blended into the crowd, speeding all the way to the inner city. Yao Sisi saw Qi Mu sending a message to Liu Yuan, while she focused her attention on the city gate. The inner city was very different from the outer city, and it would take a spirit stone to pay to sneak into the inner city through the city gate.
Although it wasn't much, this one spirit stone stopped many people from going to the inner city. Yao Sisi didn't know why the city had set up such a rule, and she didn't have time to think about it. She quietly observed from a distance. When Liu Yuan arrived, the three of them lined up to pay the spirit stone, and the other party gave them a small wooden plaque.
The small wooden sign has a sensory restriction, so it is safe to move around within Maoling City. However, once you step outside the city, the small wooden sign will shatter on its own, and you will have to pay spirit stones again to enter the city.
There are other forms of identity tags, with calculation methods to suit various situations. Yao Sisi and her group temporarily used the most common small wooden tags and only registered a temporary identity.
The inner city looks much more luxurious than the outer city, with a more refined feel compared to the roughness of the outer city, but overall it is still very solemn. The streets in the city are wide, and flying is not allowed in the sky. People often drive magical artifacts to fly overhead.
Yao Sisi said, "I wonder how high the cultivation level of the city lord here is."
Qi Mu looked around: "It's common to see Foundation Establishment cultivators traveling with us, so the city lord must be at least Core Formation stage..."
Yao Sisi nodded: "Yes, maybe it's the Nascent Soul stage. It's said that the Nascent Soul stage has a lifespan of nearly a thousand years!"
They inquired around the streets and gained some understanding of the prices here. In the outer city, it was possible to trade without spirit stones, but in the inner city, everyone used spirit stones, which were divided into three grades: high, medium, and low. The most common were low-grade spirit stones.
If they stay at an inn, it will cost several spirit stones a day, while an ordinary second-tier demon beast can only be sold for a dozen or so low-grade spirit stones at most. A third-tier demon beast will cost several times more, ranging from tens to hundreds of spirit stones.
Third-tier demonic beasts are comparable to Foundation Establishment cultivators. Although there are quite a few Qi Refining cultivators in the inner city, very few are at the low Qi Refining stage; most are at the high Qi Refining stage or close to Foundation Establishment.
As for the outer city...
The place was a mixed bag, so Yao Sisi and her friends temporarily avoided confrontation when they were unfamiliar with the area, but that didn't mean they let those people go.
After strolling around for about half an hour, Yao Sisi said, "I sold some odds and ends that I didn't need before to make the teleportation array, and I've basically spent all of it. If we want to stay here long-term, we can't just sit around and eat our savings away. Do you have any suggestions?"
They weren't together when they sold the materials, so Qi Mu wasn't quite sure what she sold. He only asked with concern, "Selling things you don't need is just like freeing up your storage bag. Miss Sisi, please don't sell your good stuff. I still have spirit stones here that I can use!"
Yao Sisi: "I'm selling things that are useless to keep but a pity to throw away. I don't need your help now. There are still some I haven't sold. The teleportation array is just a source market, and the prices are low, so it's not worth selling them."
Qi Mu lowered his head, seemingly lost in thought, before turning his gaze to her. "There's no need to be so clear about how we should help each other."
Yao Sisi scratched her head: "Even close brothers need to keep clear accounts. How could I take advantage of you in everything?"
Qi Mu: "From the beginning until now, you haven't taken advantage of me in any way, let alone in everything. On the contrary, I'm the one who often troubles you."
Yao Sisi said uncertainly, "You didn't bother me with anything, did you? Actually... I'm just used to being alone, probably... because I'm an only child?"
Qi Mu found the term novel: "Only child?"
Yao Sisi accidentally let slip, but thinking about it, it didn't matter. Different regions are very different, so why would he think so much? "It's just that my parents only have one child, and they are very busy. I've been used to doing things on my own since I was little. Sometimes I'm quite silly. For example, there are my family's clothes hanging on the clothesline, but when I go to get them, I might only put my own clothes away, and I'll just pretend I can't see my family's clothes."
Qi Mu was a little puzzled. Thinking of her previous behavior, he asked, "Does Miss Sisi wash her own clothes? But I feel like you don't seem to know how to wash them very well."
Yao Sisi didn't want to explain any more to him, otherwise she would definitely be exposed, especially since it involved the space itself, which was already quite troublesome: "I didn't wash it myself, but that's not important. What's important is that I probably enjoy being alone now and don't want to get involved in anything more complicated. I don't know why it turned out this way. I just feel that even if I had a Daoist partner, it would still be like this..."
When she said this, she recalled the state of her relationship back then. Indeed, she was her own person and didn't want men to get involved. She didn't care about the other person's financial situation. You could tell what kind of person he was, whether his daily spending was reasonable, and whether it matched his assets. Both of them were in a very relaxed state.
She couldn't be bothered with the other person, and more importantly, the other person wasn't allowed to bother with her either.
Qi Mu: "A Daoist partner..."
Yao Sisi: "In short, I can only take care of myself. Making steady progress is the most important thing. Everything else is just icing on the cake."
Qi Mu didn't speak. Yao Sisi couldn't figure out what he was thinking every day, nor did she want to. She was too lazy to care about other people's delicate thoughts. They were all friends who had come together. If they were compatible, they would go further together; if they were incompatible, they would part ways. It wasn't such a complicated thing.
At worst, we can simplify things. If we can't afford to offend her, we can at least avoid troublesome matters.
Although she didn't say it aloud, Qi Mu could tell from her face. They had lived together for so long, spending every day together on the flying artifact. He paid extra attention to her every move, and he knew all about some of her little habits that she herself was unaware of. Although he sometimes couldn't understand her thoughts, such times were rare.
"Sisi is right, we should live in the present." There's plenty of time in the future, no need to rush.
Yao Sisi didn't take it seriously and chatted casually, "I just took a look around and felt that the level of weapon crafting here is average. I can make money by crafting magical artifacts."
Qi Mu said, "That's right, it's just a bit tiring. I got some seeds in the secret realm, which I can cultivate and sell later. Does Sisi know how to make square basins?"
Yao Sisi: "It's a flowerpot that can automatically adjust its size, right? I haven't made one before, but I can give it a try."
Qi Mu: "Cultivators use spiritual herbs and flowers all the time, so I think this is a safe way to make money."
The group had a lot to do next. First, they needed a place to stay, and then they needed to buy the materials for refining the square basin. The group divided the work clearly: Yao Sisi went to find a place, and Qi Mu and Liu Yuan went to buy the materials.
In the evening, Yao Sisi chose a house instead of the restaurants and inns outside. The house she chose was not big, just enough for a few people to stay temporarily, and it had a training room and a weapon-refining room.
Yao Sisi paid one month's rent. As for whether they would still be here a month later, it was uncertain. There was no need to pay too much, especially since she didn't have much money left and couldn't pay more even if she wanted to.
That evening, Qi Mu bought some food and brought it back. He was quite satisfied with the secluded courtyard he had chosen. He didn't ask how many spirit stones he had spent, secretly not wanting to be so calculating with her. After all, it wasn't like she had to renew the lease. He wasn't trying to take advantage of her; he just wanted to treat himself as hers…
Yao Sisi looked at the food box he was carrying and arranged the dishes inside on the table one by one. The food looked and smelled delicious, and it was really tempting. "Are these local specialties? They look so appetizing!"
Qi Mu: "These are dishes made by Shi Xiu. They're kind of specialty dishes. Anyway, we've never eaten these before. They looked pretty fresh, so I ordered them. They're all mild and nourishing. We've been traveling for so long, so I thought I'd buy some mild and nourishing dishes to help us stay healthy."
Yao Sisi praised, "You're so thoughtful. Although we were traveling a lot, you guys always made sure we had all the food, and it was delicious." She touched her waist and said, "I feel like I've gained several pounds from all the food you've been feeding me."
Qi Mu's eyes seemed to sparkle with light as he said happily, "As long as you don't feel wronged, that's fine. We were always on the move, and what we ate depended on what we encountered; resources were scarce."
Yao Sisi picked up her chopsticks and comforted her, saying, "I didn't even think about that at the time. I was already very satisfied to have delicious food every day while traveling. If you can make so many different dishes with so few ingredients, wouldn't that be even more amazing?"
She picked up a piece of food and put it in her mouth, praising, "It tastes good, but I don't think it's as delicious as what you made. Does Young Master also want to become a culinary cultivator in the future?"
Qi Mu shook her head, thinking to herself: I only want to be your food cultivator.
"I have no interest in cooking for others; I only feel satisfied when cooking for my own family. Whether this is suitable for food therapy is another matter; I'll just treat it as a hobby and have some fun!"
Yao Sisi nodded, picked up her chopsticks and handed them to him, "You must be hungry after running around all day, come and eat something."
When the three of them were together, Liu Yuan rarely spoke, which was related to his previous status. He couldn't speak out when his master was around, especially during meals.
He was mostly like an invisible man and would never steal the spotlight, which caused Yao Sisi to often overlook him. However, he didn't care about her ignoring him at all. On the contrary, he felt very comfortable with it. It would only make him uncomfortable if she really thought about him in everything.
Yao Sisi could also see that the other person was keeping their distance from her, so naturally she wouldn't want to make things difficult for them.
She saw that Qi Mu ate his meal slowly, gracefully, and calmly as always. Eating with him was a pleasure to behold, and it made her feel relaxed and comfortable.
Thinking about how busy everyone had been that day, she asked while eating, "How did your ingredient shopping go? I'll try to refine it after I finish eating."
Seeing that his young master was chewing something, Liu Yuan spoke up for him, saying, "The materials have been purchased."
Qi Mu nodded, swallowed the food in his mouth, and instructed Yao Sisi: "We didn't buy many materials, but we bought a complete range. I discussed with the shopkeeper and ordered another batch of materials. We'll pick them up in a couple of days."
Yao Sisi: "You really don't need to buy too much at the beginning. By the way, have you thought about how you plan to sell them?"
Qi Mu: "When we were buying materials, Liu Yuan and I also took a look around. There's a place in the west of the city that specializes in selling all sorts of trinkets. We can just rent a stall there."
Yao Sisi: "So fast, you even found out the location!"
Qi Mu: "Since we're going to do a small business, we naturally need to find out about the local area. That's not difficult."
Yao Sisi: "Oh, so how do you plan to sell it? Will you sell the spirit plants together in the four rice bowls?"
Qi Mu: "If we're selling, we can be more flexible and sell some separately. Besides this, is there anything else you want to sell? We can put it all together at the stall."
Yao Sisi paused, thought for a moment, and said, "I can't think of anything to sell right now. I'll sell some magic items when I'm not refining them. Anyway, I have a lot of materials in my bag, enough for me to play with for a long time."
Qi Mu chuckled and said, "It seems that Miss Sisi really enjoys weapon crafting, comparing it to playing around."
Yao Sisi: "Sometimes I find it fun, especially when I refine something new or get new materials. But sometimes it gets annoying. When I get annoyed, I just do something else. There are so many things I can do, why force myself to do something I don't like?"
Qi Mu resisted the urge to serve her food and said softly, "Miss Sisi is so carefree. If you get tired of refining the square basin, you must tell me. Don't just put up with it because I need you."
Yao Sisi: "Hey? What if I get annoyed but still need it... How about I take on an apprentice?"
As an ancient person, Qi Mu knew the importance of skills. When he saw that she was looking for an apprentice instead of a disciple, he knew that it was definitely not for the purpose of passing on the skills. So he teased, "Miss Sisi, aren't you afraid that your skills will be learned by others?"
Yao Sisi: "It's just the skill of refining square basins. Let them learn it. Otherwise, no one will refine them for us. Consider it payment for hiring them."
After finishing her meal, Yao Sisi plunged into the weapon-refining room. She prepared all the tools, came up with several designs for square basins, and began to refine them little by little.
The square basin itself is not difficult to make. The only difficulty lies in the fact that if the melting of the star sand is too light, the square basin will be easily broken, and if the temperature is too high, it will affect the size of the square basin.
However, Yao Sisi had worked with star sand stones quite a bit before, and she had already mastered the skill of controlling the heat. Before long, she had finished refining a square basin shaped like a small money bag. Because she was worried about failing since it was her first time refining, she used very little material. The square basin she refined was relatively small, only the size of a palm in her hand, and the internal space was no more than ten times its size.
When using it, you need to enlarge it to its original size. After planting, you can shrink it to the size of your palm. Visually, the spiritual plants inside will also shrink proportionally with the square pot.
With her first successful case, Yao Sisi's subsequent refining went much more smoothly. In one night, she filled a table with square basins of various sizes and shapes, roughly dozens of them, which was very efficient. She herself, with slightly sleepy eyes, pushed open the door of the refining room, intending to go back to her bedroom for a nap.
The next morning, Yao Sisi got up with a yawn. Although cultivators don't sleep as long as ordinary people, she had exhausted a lot of energy the night before and only slept for a little over an hour, so she was still a bit tired.
If it weren't for wanting to gain a foothold here as soon as possible, she wouldn't have to work so hard. Sure enough, it wasn't just her; Qi Mu next door also got up early. When Yao Sisi woke up, she could smell the aroma of food.
Seeing that Liu Yuan had already started preparing the meal, she asked, "Don't you think it's a waste of time for us to eat so much every day? You have to make all this food every day, which is hard work and interferes with your cultivation. I wonder how the other people in the city live."
Qi Mu happened to hear this and said, "I quite enjoy making these things. It doesn't waste time. I feel very calm when I'm arranging these ingredients, which is good for my mindset for cultivation. Besides, it's not something I have to do every day. You forgot we have storage bags, so we can make a lot at once and take it out to eat whenever we want. It's you who didn't rest all night, that's what's tiring."
Yao Sisi helped set the table. "I saw that this was something you made this morning, and I forgot about the storage bag thing. I was too attached to it. But we still need to prepare some fasting pills for when we go into seclusion."
Qi Mu took out a small porcelain bottle from his storage bag and handed it to her: "I still have some Bigu Pills here, but each one doesn't last long and can only last for three days."
Yao Sisi shook the bottle; there were at least a dozen pills inside, enough to last for more than a month. "Do you have any more? Don't give them all to me."
Qi Mu: "I still have some here, and I want to try refining pills, so I'll use the Bigu Pills to practice."
Soon the group had set out the meal, and Yao Sisi went to the washbasin behind the screen to simply wash herself with water. Whenever she had the chance, she preferred to clean herself in a more human way.
"I hadn't heard that you were going to refine pills; I thought you didn't like it."
Qi Mu: "As you know, my family is in the herbal medicine business and also employs some alchemists. I used to watch them refine pills and practice myself, but the success rate wasn't ideal. Back then, I had a bad mindset and was not stable in my work. Now I always feel a little regretful."
Yao Sisi: "Then let's give it a try! Did you buy the herbs? I have some here that I picked while traveling before."
Qi Mu smiled and said, "I collected quite a lot while traveling, but I haven't used any of it yet."
After cleaning herself up, Yao Sisi sat down at the table to eat with them. "Okay, let me know when you need it. Anyway, I don't plan to learn alchemy. If you become an alchemy master, I'll be your lapdog."
After saying this, Qi Mu paused for a moment, a blush creeping across her face when she wasn't looking. Then she realized what she meant and lowered her head to pick up some food to cover it up, but her chopsticks accidentally bumped into Yao Sisi's chopsticks.
Now that they're familiar with each other, the serving chopsticks have been removed. Now, if two chopsticks accidentally touch, it's like an indirect kiss. Under normal circumstances, Qi Mu wouldn't feel anything. They've lived together for so long that the separation between men and women isn't as strict as before. But right now, he's just been thinking about some embarrassing things, and touching the chopsticks like this feels like they're hitting his heart, making his whole body tense.
Liu Yuan, who was quietly observing the whole situation from the sidelines: Hmm, just watching the drama unfold...
Seeing Qi Mu pause and look dazed, Yao Sisi asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"
Qi Mu composed herself. "It's nothing, I just happened to be thinking about something."
Yao Sisi nodded, "Oh, right, you still haven't said whether I can cling to someone's leg or not!"
Qi Mu braced herself, her heart pounding with a mixture of shy joy and trepidation, and said, "Of course I'll give it to you."
Yao Sisi: "Then you'd better work hard at refining pills. Remember to come and check on the square basin you've finished refining after dinner."
Qi Mu pursed her lips, clearly still recovering from the embarrassment, and only gave a soft "hmm".
Seeing that he seemed uninterested, Yao Sisi tilted her head to look at him, which made Qi Mu even more sensitive.
She asked, "Are you under too much pressure?"
Qi Mu didn't understand why he would suddenly say that: "No...no."
Yao Sisi breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought I was putting pressure on you just now. Don't be afraid of alchemy. Just practice for fun. Even if you're not particularly talented in this area, it's not a big deal. We'll gradually discover your other talents."
Qi Mu then realized that his embarrassment had caused her to misunderstand, thinking that he was worried about not being able to refine the pills well and wanted to comfort him first so as not to upset him.
Why is she so kind?!
Qi Mu was increasingly blind to love, while Yao Sisi increasingly felt that alchemy was no simple matter and worried that he would blame himself if he didn't do it well. She thought to herself: Young master is naturally very competitive, so please don't make things difficult for yourself.
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