AST 830 – Bone Softening Powder, Hu Yuanqing
Qing Shui wasn’t particularly concerned when the Cui brothers left. They weren’t strong enough to cause him any kind of trouble, so he didn’t have anything to worry about.
Tiger Stream Valley!
This area was surrounded by steep, mountain rock walls and there was only one exit that lead to the outside world. The place seemed like a giant open-air premise but the air felt a bit suffocating in it.
The grasses on the ground were dense which filled the entire valley with a pleasant smell of fresh green grass. It had been an exhausting and speedy journey for the past few days, so this change of beautiful scenery was a good chance to sit back and relax for a while.
Qing Shui glanced at Long Lingyun and Qi Gang – they appeared to be as the same as before even after what they had been through. Just then, he wondered what kind of impressions they had on the Cui brothers but he figured that they kept the brothers around because they were still useful. The reason he was curious was because awhile ago, the brothers looked down on his abilities.
“Qing Shui, are you selling the herb you required or are you collecting it for a mission? Or maybe you are collecting the herb to refine medicine?” When Long Lingyun finally had some spare time, she sat beside Qing Shui with a smile and asked him questions.
“I am going to use the herb to refine medicine.” Qing Shui told the truth. Lying was unneccessary at this point.
“So you are an alchemist.” Long Lingyun wasn’t surprised. Even though alchemists were widely respected by the public, most Xiantian alchemists wouldn’t be highly regarded in the eyes of Martial Saint warriors. However, no one would dare to underestimate them just in case a Xiantian alchemists had some secret recipes that could overlook most powerful recipes. If a Xiantian alchemist had managed to refine such medicinal pills, then the Martial Saints could benefit hugely from the alchemist’s effort.
So in most circumstances, any alchemists – including Xiantian alchemists – would be respected regardless. Alchemists were strangely known to be popular with both the public and martial warriors.
“I think so!” Qing Shui said in a flat tone as he smiled at Long Lingyun.
“What do you mean ‘I think so’? It’s either a yes or a no.” Long Lingyun chided angrily.
“It’s a yes.” Qing Shui replied.
“What kind of medicinal herb you need? Tell me, maybe I can help you find it. And if I can’t, then you can try the Cloud Auction House to ask for it. Oh right, why didn’t you go to the Cloud Auction House to post it as a mission?” Long Lingyun spoke in a moderate pace, yet with some sort of rhythm. She had a mellow voice that sounded pleasant.
“That is an option. Well, what I need is a Sky Penetrating Grass of more than 5,000 years old.” Qing Shui chuckled.
“5,000 years above…..” Long Lingyun skipped the part about the herb’s name when she heard the words ‘5,000 years’. Whatever herb it was, 5,000 years was a ridiculously long time.
Qing Shui looked at the shocked expression on Long Lingyun’s face. Even Qi Gang and Qian Mo were shocked at well. Despite not being an alchemist themselves, they still had a bit of knowledge about medicinal herbs, especially when it came down to the age of the herbs. Those 5,000 years old herbs were extremely valuable, so they knew these precious herbs were not something that a Xiantian alchemist could use to concoct a medicinal pill with.
“Can you even use a 5,000 years old herb to concoct medicinal pills?” Long Lingyun glistened with curiosity when she asked Qing Shui.
“I think I can. But I haven’t use it before.” Qing Shui replied with a smile.
Long Lingyun pouted her lips and remained silent. Qing Shui’s words had the ability to get on her nerves easily. She initially thought she had met a low-profile man of superior talent but reality wasn’t as straightforward as she had thought.
Just then, the Cui brothers came back with two musk deers that were already skinned and cleaned properly, including the inner organs. They greeted everyone and began to start a fire to roast the deer meat.
Within a few minutes, a fragrant smell of cooked meat travelled through the air. When the meat had turned to a subtle yellow color, the Cui brothers took out some condiments and salt then marinated the meat before they continued the roasting process.
After a while, the meat’s fragrance became stronger and richer, which had caused everyone to salivate. However, Qing Shui could sense something odd in the fragrance. His intuition told him that there was something wrong with the roasted meat.
The Cui brothers took the roasted meat and gave them to Long Lingyun and Qian Mo first. Both the ladies picked the lower joint of the legs, while Qi Gang tore off the loin of the meat for himself.
When it was Qing Shui’s turn to pick, he chose the two front legs without hesitation and began to eat. When he tasted the meat, he knew something was wrong – it was tasteless and unpalatable, as if something had disturbed its taste. Luckily, Qing Shui’s Nature Energy had an extraordinary ability that could release an astonishing energy throughout his body and began to cleanse the odd substance from his system.
The Cui brothers also ate the meat but only after they saw everyone took a bite first. They seemed relieved when they had affirmed that everyone had consumed the meat.
Qing Shui could understand why the Cui brothers were able to consume the tainted meat – they must have consumed some sort of antidote beforehand. Long Lingyun and Qi Gang didn’t seem to show any kind of reaction, and Qing Shui was unsure what kind of drug the Cui brothers had used, so he decided to wait patiently and observe the situation closely.
Ultimately, he wasn’t worried. The ‘poison’ inside his body had already been countered by his self-generating Nature Energy. All he had to do now was to observe what the Cui brothers would do next.
After the time to burn an incense stick had passed, Qian Mo decided to wash her hands at a nearby lake. But when she had tried to stand up, she realized her body was devoid of energy as her bones began to feel weak. Then immediately, she dropped to the ground, unable to move her muscles.
“Ah, why do I feel so weak!?” Qian Mo shouted in panic as she laid on the ground. She was the youngest in the group, after all.
Long Lingyun and Qi Gang were startled by Qian Mo’s cry and immediately stood up to help her. But they sat back down soon after that, clearly weakened by the poison in the meat. Qing Shui, on the other hand, remained motionless. This drug must be outrageous if an Elementary Martial Saint was affected as well.
“Hahaha!”
At that moment, Cui Hao let out a roaring laughter. A gloating smile was plastered openly on his face.
“Cui Hao, what did you do to us?” Qi Gang shot a furious look at Cui Hao.
All of their summoned mounts and demonic beasts had been called back instinctively. They felt powerless, unable to lift even a muscle on their body, not even an ounce of energy left to summon their demonic beast to protect them. Alas, it was as if their opponents had intended for this to happen.
Maybe they had waited for this moment to come for the past few days. Today was finally the best moment to strike.
“Do what? What do you think? The Cloud Adventurer Guild will soon unite with the Mighty Tiger Adventurer Guild. Meanwhile, the son of the Mighty Tiger Adventurer Guild’s leader has his eyes on Miss Long and Miss Qian.” said Cui Hao with a nasty smirk.
“You will die sooner or later. So why don’t you let us have some fun with you.” Cui Dang darted his perverted eyes all over Long Lingyun’s body.
“You’re from the Mighty Tiger Adventurer Guild?” Long Lingyun’s face was as pale as a ghost. She gulped down a breath as she asked with a cold tone.
“Heh heh, since it has come to this, then I will tell you. You’re right, we are from the Mighty Tiger Adventurer Guild. We have been waiting for this day to come for so long.” the Cui brothers cackled. “You all were highly vigilant when you chose your companions. Yet you chose us because we were weak and possessed a low cultivation base. That’s how we got you to be less cautious about us and even allowed us to join the group.”
“I swear I will kill you!” Qi Gang shouted on top of his lungs.
His face was red and fuming with anger as he felt extremely helpless for falling into their calculative trap. He was disappointed in himself for allowing two pathetic trickster to best him. Qi Gang felt like he could vomit a pool of blood if he continued to think about this humiliation by the Cui brothers.
“If you can stand up right now, then I will personally cut out my brain and serve it to you on a plate.” said Cui Hao in a provoking smile at Qi Gang.
Qi Gang let out a loud roar and quickly straightened his body. But as soon as he managed to perform the ‘horse stance’, he lost his energy and flopped to the ground on his butt. His eyes grew increasingly red with rage and bitterness.
“This isn’t a common Bone Softening Powder. Even a low levelled Peak Martial Saint will be weakened to an ordinary feeble person. You can forget about struggling because this effect will last for 24 hours.” Cui Hao sneered.
Clap clap clap!
Just then, Cui Dang clapped his hands three times.
“Today is a good day.” A clear voice rang out, followed by the appearance of a group of seven people.
Qing Shui cocked his head to observe the group. The leader was an evil-looking man who seemed young but his real age was uncertain. However, he should be more than 50 years old, based on Qing Shui’s intuition.
Behind this man was a handful of young men, each wore an embroidered clothing and a belt adorned with variety of jadea. These young men had a foppish aura on their appearance but they were not as simple as the profligate sons from those supreme sects. They were more snobbish and narcissistic than the ones he had met before. Despite the negative traits, they were all still regarded as a genius in terms of their cultivation. If anything, they should be considered as the real powerful profligate sons, not the other way around.
What caught Qing Shui’s attention were the two old men behind the leader. They have a head full of white hair but their complexion were more energized, unlike those of a typical old man. A strange light flashed in their eyes, which seemingly locked upon Long Lingyun from the moment they had appeared with the other men.
“Young master Hu, you’ve arrived.” The Cui brothers bowed and greeted in respect.
“You guys did great. Watch from the sidelines. After we are finished, these ladies will be yours. You do know where to go out from here, right?” Young Master Hu snided.
“Yeah, we know. Thank you Young Master Hu!” The Cui brothers gestured with deep gratitude.
Even a fool would be able to tell what they wanted to do from here.
“Back then, the old fool Yun could protect you all. Now that he’s dead, I will show the Cloud Adventurer Guild what I can do and we will see how that woman Yun Duan will react. So what if she’s going to marry into my family? She’s only another woman for my father. The Cloud Adventurer Guild will still merge with our Mighty Tiger Adventurer Guild.” said the evil-looking man as he gazed at Long Lingyun in a towering position.
“Hu Yuanqing, fight me fairly if you have the guts. What kind of man uses such despicable method on his opponents?” Long Lingyun shouted in rage. However, her breath grew short, which had caused her shout to sound slightly muffled.
“Missy, you will know soon enough what kind of man I am. Save your breath later when you scream for pleasure.” said Hu Yuanqing without a shred of anger in his expression.
“Uncle Yong, Uncle Xie, I know you like them very much. Take them as a gift from me. I hope you like what you see.” said Hu Yuanqing as he turned to face two old men with a smile.
Qing Shui was unsure how strong the Mighty Tiger Adventurer Guild was. The two old men behind Hu Yuanqing seemed to be Peak Martial Saints with the strength of two stars. Judging by their power, they must be basking in the glory of their influence, showered with admiration and respect by the public and members.
Moreover, this Hu Yuanqing was quite the guy. Qing Shui could see an unquenchable thirst in Hu Yuanqing’s eyes when he gazed at Long Lingyun. Even so, he was willing to give her away like an item – Hu Yuanqing was a man of wild ambitions.
“How kind of you. Don’t worry, we know how exceptional you are, which is why we’ve been very supportive of you. Since it’s a gift to us, then it’s impolite to refuse your kindness.” The old man on the left smiled wickedly.
It was an evil smile that could send shivers down a spine, especially for women.
“Young Master Hu, we will show you how it should be done.” The other old man chortled. Both of them walked towards Long Lingyun’s direction and abruptly shredded their clothes into pieces within the first three steps, leaving two Interspatial Silk Sachets on the ground.
Such generosity – to show everyone their naked body………
Qing Shui was just beside Long Lingyun, so he was able to see her face turned 50 shades paler when she saw the naked bodies of the two old men. Not a surprise, given that she was a woman after all. Startled, she quickly shut her eyes tightly as the two old men walked closer towards her.