Chapter 138: Wang Feifei
Yao Cheng was a city where merchants and alchemists gathered, with the latter having the highest influence. The sphere of influence of the Nine Pills Sect was mainly spread across other continents, but not all cities had the honor of having their own branches.
“Unfortunately, I expected to see their branch here. They have quite good recipe books!” sighed Xie Qing. However, even if the city did not have such high-quality books, there was still something to see. People were also looking for alchemists who would sell them pills.
“It seems that there is relatively free trade in pills and open competition here. But, of course, you need to find out first which trading organization accepts the best terms.” Xie Qing wandered around the city and asked about it. Although money was not his primary necessity, considering his current financial stability, he still wanted to gain some funds for the road.
His hobby, which he inherited from his Master – collecting expensive spiritual wine and drinking it on special days after some time, hit his wallet hard. “Although it is very expensive, in the long life of a cultivator, a hobby is what needs to be valued. That’s why I have a collection of all the works of the great artist Haose De!”
…perhaps some began to admire his love for art. However, the artist named Haose De… was a porn artist. His works were sold in an instant, and Xie Qing even exchanged letters with him, not hiding his identity. The artist happily provided him with all the works for a good sum.
And Xie Qing had so many of these works that they could fill an entire room. All these “treasures” he carefully carries in a spatial ring, which he always keeps with him. If you are interested in the total number of these works that Xie Qing has, then there are 17,524 of them.
“Heh, it’s time to milk the clients… I mean, show my skills!”
***
Skipping the rather tedious process of pill refining… Xie Qing set a box with twenty vials filled to the brim with pills in front of him. “And so… this is the last batch. I have a total of five boxes. In total, this is… a hundred vials of pills! I think I’ll be able to sell them at a good price!”
Although these pills were not particularly rare – their name was “Wisdom Pill,” which helped cultivators from Foundation Building to Qi Condensation meditate more easily, they were valued on the market, but not so much that there was a battle for them. For such a vial, a fair price would be 240 Spiritual Stones. As a result, Xie Qing, under the best conditions without taking into account all the expenses, will earn…
24,000 Spiritual Stones gross! Considering that he did not spend much time on it, it was already good. “Moreover, there is no guarantee that the price will remain at market level. After all, each of these pills is purified by 97%!” Xie Qing smiled: “Not many people know about my achievements in alchemy… so I can just come up with a new pseudonym for myself.”
For a cultivator, it was normal to have several pseudonyms and hidden identities to have a trump card in case of anything. Xie Qing wanted to have two images – one of a genius swordsman and the other of a genius alchemist. This was, at least, his current goal.
“I want to develop. Now is the time to show off my talent as much as possible. This is a chance for every genius!” Difficult times created strong people. Therefore, Xie Qing understood that the competition would be great. However, if he could stand out, his name would be heard by everyone.
And according to his explanations, he did it all for very important reasons… “I want to one day pull off my mask and say: ‘Ha ha, bastards. You thought I was Ge Hong (pseudonym made up just now), but no, I am Xie Qing!’… something like that.” …I will not comment on this.
***
Commerce ‘Silver Moon.’ An organization of merchants, and one of the largest, if not the largest, organizations. Their influence covers the entire Dynasty and goes beyond the borders of one continent. They have a lot of money. A lot. Most sects, especially large ones, are financed directly by them, and they have a large share and a lot of power.
Their leader’s name was Wang Feifei. She was the one who ran this entire organization. However, what was surprising and oh, Heaven… what a coincidence! “Lady Wang Feifei! I’m sorry for making you wait! I didn’t expect you to come to such an insignificant place!”
In the city of Yao Cheng, in the mayor’s residence, in a luxuriously decorated room with two sofas facing each other and separated by a tea table, two people sat. One of them was the mayor of the city, his name was Zhou Xiaolong. Despite his rather cute name (Little Dragon), he did not look very attractive.
He was short, overweight, and looked unhealthy. There were many pimples on his face, and his whole body looked weak. In contrast to him, Wang Feifei looked quite attractive. She had long, slender legs – she was dressed in a red qipao.
Her hair, as if tempered by fire, was neatly braided into one braid. Her eyes, like molten gold – shone brightly, but gave off coldness. Her chest could be compared to Xu Mei’s.
“Mayor Zhou… I am in this city in passing. I decided to look at how the construction of our branch is going” began the conversation Wang Feifei in a businesslike tone, not paying attention to the hints of Zhou Xiaolong: “I would like to ask about some rumors before everything continues.”
“Of-of course, lady! No problem! I will satisfy your requests, no matter how difficult they are!” flattered the mayor with a flattering smile. He was like obsequious eunuchs at the emperor, who at any time were ready to lick the boots of their master to a shine.
Fortunately or unfortunately for Zhou Xiaolong, Wang Feifei was not one of those who liked flattery, let alone having her boots licked. She always kept herself cold and only raised topics about business. Narrowing her beautiful golden eyes, she asked one question that interested her:
“I heard that an alchemist appeared who can purify pills up to 98%. I am very curious to learn about his identity, because, surprisingly, my subordinates were unable to see through his past” explained her question Wang Feifei.
“Ah, amazingly, but this time I guessed the question of the Lady…” smiled the mayor and, seeing that the cold gaze of Wang Feifei intensified, he awkwardly coughed and changed the subject: “Well, what I know is hardly likely to satisfy the curiosity of the lady, but at least I will tell you everything I know.”
“…”
“…The man is called Gu Heng. I can assume that this is a pseudonym. He has another name… um… but it seems to be fake too. We believe he is related to the Sect of Heavenly Sword, but most likely it is a forgery. Unfortunately, I dare not pronounce this fake name” said the mayor with embarrassment on his face.
“Hm? What is this fake name?”
The mayor almost lost consciousness. He was already very embarrassed to talk about it, but this woman wanted him to say that name. “Please spare me, lady” the mayor bitterly smiled.
“Stop dragging it out, Zhou Xiaolong. I swear by the Heavens, I will not harm you!” Wang Feifei scowled and shouted.
“His… um…”
“Zhou Xiaolong! Are you doubting me?!”
The poor mayor wanted to cry, but he had no tears. Woman, are you seriously insisting on this? However, there was no other choice but to say this name and…
“Cao Ni Ma… um… that’s what he’s called…”
“What?!”
Wang Feifei, being a rather long-lived cultivator, for the first time lost the power of speech and could not understand what to answer to this. Although her face did not express anything, she could not help but feel annoyance and shame. Now it’s no wonder that the mayor was so embarrassed! In addition to the fact that he was forced to utter such a rude insult…
It was also in front of her – the head of a major trading organization, and first of all, a woman! “This…”
The woman fell silent. She didn’t even know how to react to this. Could there be anyone with such a humiliating name? “This…”
The woman thought. She even didn’t know how to react to this. Could there be anyone with such a humiliating name?
“This… is definitely a fake identity. The Sect of Heavenly Sword, although it has reliable tokens, mostly they can be simulated with the help of experienced formation masters…” Wang Feifei thought and narrowed her eyes: “If the sect learns about such an incident, they may even kill this cultivator. Therefore, I should use this fact as a lever of pressure.”
An alchemist who can purify pills so well cannot be an ordinary person. To recruit such a person, a lot of effort had to be applied. Wang Feifei, as a businessman first of all, was ready to use cunning methods to achieve her goal.
“But still… this person must be very cynical to choose such a pseudonym…” thought Wang Feifei, clicking her tongue: “For some reason, I feel like I won’t get along with him.”
***
“Achoo…” Xie Qing sneezed and wiped his nose, puzzledly looking out the window: “Damn, beautiful women are thinking about me again. I can’t even rest on my day off… sigh!”
Now he was in a rented two-story house. He was sitting in the bedroom and drinking wine. And when he looked at the stars…
Knock-knock.
“Hm?”
In his field of vision, outside the window, a creature appeared. When the moonlight illuminated it, Xie Qing was surprised. “An owl? I thought they were extinct…”
Silver Owl – a special kind of spiritual creature, which is not easy to tame. Their feathers are sold at a high price as a material for alchemy, and the meat has concentrated Yin energy in it, and female cultivators often buy it. Therefore, their population was low and was under protection.
“Hm? Does it have a letter in its hands?” Xie Qing wrinkled his surprised face: “Maybe I was invited to a magic academy or something?”
